India 2012

We flew from the East Coast of the US on a direct flight to New Delhi, and arrived around 8:00 PM local time. We had dinner at our hotel, and got a great night's sleep before our adventure began!

Our guide and driver met us at the hotel in the morning, and took us on a comprehensive tour of New Delhi. We visited a Sikh Gurudwara,  marveled at the Qtub Minar and Humayun's Tomb, and saw the Rastrapathi Bhavan and Shanti Path area in central New Delhi.

Today we concentrated on Old Delhi, and enjoyed a tour of the Jama Masjid, the Red Fort, and took a rikshaw ride through Chandi Chowk. We finished the afternoon at the hotel pool after a pleasant stroll through Lodi Gardens. 

We spent time with our guide trying to find the house I  lived in as a teenager, and were granted special access to visit the American School where I completed 7th - 9th grades, even meeting a couple of old staff members. Then we headed to the train station for our overnight to train to Jaisalmer.

  Our train arrived around 11:00 AM, and we were able to check into our gorgeous hotel right away and enjoy lunch and a relaxing break at the indoor pool before setting out on a trip into the desert to ride camels and watch the sun set over the sand dunes!

Our guide met us in the morning and took us to see the beautiful havelis inside the 1000 year old walled city of Jaisalmer. We had lunch at a restaurant looking out from the ramparts of the ancient fort, and ended the day joining local families at a popular spot for watching the sun set over the fort.

Today we headed out with our driver, making the 5 hour drive across the desert from Jaisalmer to Jodhpur. We saw lots of wildlife on the way, and were lucky enough to stay in a hotel that's also a real Maharaja's palace, where they upgraded us to a suite!

Today we toured another amazing ancient hill fort, climbing the ramparts of Mehrangarh Fort, before visiting Jaswant Thada, doing some shopping at a huge local market, and touring our hotel's collection of the Maharaja's antique cars!

After a sumptuous final breakfast at the palace in Jodhpur, we hit the road again for the drive to Jaipur. It was a long drive with a lot of traffic and at the end of it we were thrilled to check into a fabulous suite at another palace hotel.

This morning we took the famous elephant ride up the ramparts of the Amber Fort outside of Jaipur. We also went carpet shopping, and my husband got a custom tailored Nehru Jacket!

This morning we visited more of the main sites around Jaipur, including the City Palace, the Hawa Mahal and Jantar Mantar. We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon at the hotel before going to dinner at the home of a local Rajashtani nobleman.

Today we headed to Ranthambore National Park . We had three safaris booked and hoped that would give us enough chances and we'd be lucky and actually see a wild tiger!

After an early morning safari (no tiger) we relaxed over a delicious breakfast and then took a tour of the huge and ancient Ranthambore Fort. After lunch and a pool break we took our final safari - and saw two tigers! 

Well satisfied with our tiger viewing experience, it was off to Agra to finally see the Taj Mahal. We stopped at the abandoned capital of Fatehpur Sikri on the way, and then checked into a modern hotel every bit as spectacular as the heritage palaces in Jodhpur and Jaipur, and with a of the Taj from our room!

Today was my birthday, and we started the morning very early so we could view the Taj at sunrise, and then spent the day lolling around in absolute luxury at hour hotel, before returning to see the Taj by moonlight. 

On our last day in Agra, we visited the tomb of  Itmad-Ud-Daul, otherwise known as the "baby Taj", and then toured Sikandra to see the tomb of Emperor Akbar. Seeing these beautiful places was a wonderful way to end our stay in India.

After a late breakfast and leisurely morning we departed Agra, headed for the airport in New Delhi, and the overnight flight home.  The trip would take 30 hours, but the extended travel was well worth it for the opportunity to spend time in this fascinating and beautiful country.