North India – Interview with a Traveller
Enchanting Rajasthan represents India at its most vibrant and colourful, explore the Golden Triangle teaming with historical splendour or head off the beaten track to the many hidden gems, miniature forts and desert camps of rural Rajasthan. Explore the pink sandstone city of Jaipur, savour the exquisite lake palaces of Udaipur and be awestruck by the formidable ramparts of Jodhpur’s Mehrangarh Fort.
1. What made you decide on choosing this particular tour of Northern India?
We have travelled to many different parts of India but the North was somewhere we hadn’t truly visited.
2. You started your trip to India in Delhi. As the bustling modern capital of India, what were your impressions of the city?
In Delhi there is a real juxtaposition between the ancient and modern. There is old Mughal Delhi, the regimented town planning of the British Raj and then the modern sprawl of New Delhi. The British version has a great feeling of space with open boulevards and avenues. There is also a great contrast between the rich and poor, the poverty of the city is apparent everywhere and maybe it is just the concentration in the city but it did feel poorer than the countryside.
The Imperial Hotel was wonderful, especially the food – my wife and I loved the Spice Route who served up some really delicious Indian food and the chef and staff couldn’t have been friendlier, chatting to us during and after the meal and they even gave us a lovely wooden box full of spices.
3. After Delhi, you headed north to Amritsar – the spiritual centre of the Sikh religion and home to the impressive Golden Temple? Can you tell us a little about your visit to the temple, it is the most visited building in India, with over 100,000 visitors a day? Did you manage to carry the shrine in the Palki Ceremony?
We travelled to Amritsar by train, a journey taking about six hours – and we loved it. It’s amazing it makes British Rail look sophisticated but it gave us a real experience of being a local. The Golden Temple at Amritsar was amazing, we visited it twice during our stay, once in the morning and once at night when the whole complex, surrounded by shimmering water looks truly magnificent. The temple is covered in hundreds of kilos of gold and the contrast with the white buildings behind the temple provide one of the most photogenic settings in India. We watched the Palki ceremony from a distance, it is after all the highlight of the day and if you are not a Sikh it is difficult to be involved. Despite 100,000 people visiting the temple daily it doesn’t feel crowded – there is enough space to dodge the crowds or to simply look back and survey the scene. You have to have your head covered and your feet bare and the cool, spotlessly clean marble floors can be a welcome relief from the hear. We found the feeding process remarkable – every day they give food to 10,000 people, who range from the poor to the local bigwigs and the process is something to behold. Dal (lentils), rice and aloo (potatoes) are heaped on plates, which are then all washed by hand – the whole thing is so noisy but wonderful to see – the hurling of plates around the room, the clack of forks being dropped into bowls and the cheery chatter of the army or washer uppers.
4. Amritsar is not just about the Golden Temple, what else did you do or see in the city?
Apart from the must-see Golden Temple we visited the site of the massacre. Although not much to behold it is fascinating to see, although we think that their retelling of events was slighly skewed.
5. Following Amritsar you drove up to Dharamsala – that must have been an incredibly beautiful and winding drive, how would you describe the scenery up there?
The winding roads that snake up to Dharamsala are very dramatic, as you drive you pass monasteries studded into the hillsides and deep gorges that make you slightly nervous when lorries are thundering towards you, but luckily our driver was the epitome of ice cool and we never felt in any danger.
In Dharmasala we stayed at gorgeous little hotel called Chonor House. All the rooms are styled individually with a Tibetan theme – the room we stays in was called Birds of Tibet. The hotel has a lovely terrace for enjoying the cool mountain air and in the evening you can sit listening to the buddhist chants emanating from the monasteries with a cool gin and tonic in hand. Unsruprisingly the hotel has a reasonably extensive Tibetan menu, not something that we will see a cookbook on soon.
We loved the large Tibetan monastery adjacent to the Dalai Lama’s residence. Our guide showed us around several and we were able to go inside and look around the different interiors.
6. Between Dharamsala and Taragarh you visited several Buddhist monasteries, which was the most impressive?
Our favourite monastery was the main one mentioned above in Dharamsala. Although we also thought the ruined fort at Kangra was really impressive. It feels cut into the mountain and the builders had the surrounding hills levelled off so that they couldn’t be looked down upon.
7. In Pragpur and Shimla, how did you spend your time? How was the mountain railway?
Pragpur was wonderful. There wasn’t a lot to do but it was just the being in the town that we adored. We had booked into the Judge’s Court hotel, run by the grandson of the eponymous judge who we believe was the first to receive a knighthood for his services. What was lovely was being able to stroll through the hotel’s gardens and into the village. The small train that takes visitors up to Shimla was a remarkable feat of engineering snaking along mountain sides, across gorges and plunging through tunnels. Shimla itself is like ‘Little Britain’ a home away from home for the civil servants of the Raj, the streets and shops wouldn’t odd in a market town and the grand baronial architecture of some of the country home is very impressive.
8. Where did you tend to eat, did you eat in the hotels or did you explore what was on offer in the cities and which was your most memorable meal?
We really didn’t want to get ill on our trip so we erred on the side of caution and mainly ate in hotels. We love Indian food and everything we ate throughout the trip was delicious.
9. If one experience will stick in your mind from your holiday to India, which would it be?
It has to be the Golden Temple at Amritsar – seeing it at night with the gold of the temple and the shimmering white of the marble buildings around the lake was unsurpassable. It was awe-inspiring and incredibly moving.
10. Was this your first time travelling with Greaves India?
Would you travel with them again? Absolutely. They have now looked after us on three different journeys to India and each of them have been amazing. Greaves look after you beautifully and understand what a guest needs and take away all the little worries. Their guides are excellent and drivers are safe and trustworthy. They even help you jump the long lines at immigration control.
For more details and how to book visit Greaves India or telephone 020 7487 9111
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