… No not that one… I am in India!
My trip to Varanasi came to an end and it was now time to go to Jaipur, the Pink City. A part of the Golden Triangle: : Delhi – Jaipur – Agra
Maybee you remember, that I wanted to experience the real India…
Not anymore. Well. Yes, I do. But why suffer… I have purchased a package from a local travel agent: Hotels and a driver. No more hassleing or delays with public transport…
The package includes: Jaipur (3 nights), Pushkas (1 night), Ramtaborne National Park (2 nights), Agra (Taj Mahal, 2 nights) + car with driver 24 hours all days
So I flew back to Delhi. It seemed like a great idea: 1 hour flight instead of 14 hours by train. But I did not take India into account.
The trip to the airport was 1 hour, I had to be there 2 hours before departure, and the flight was 1 hour late. Total 5 hours.
Still much better than the train – but I learned again about India…
The flight was with Kingfisher – who also is the largest brewery in India! – and it was excellent. Very good service, good standard of the plane, and beautiful stewardesses (not to forget!)
In Delhi airport (there is no direct flight from Varanasi to Jaipur) I was greeted by my driver for the next 9 days and we sat out for Jaipur. A mere 240 km. drive… But again. In India things take time. The road is good – highway – but on the way, there are a number of toll booths. And at every one of them, we had to wait 15 – 30 minutes to get to a gate. So. the trip took more than 5 hours!
Good news: The standard of my hotels are EXCELLENT… In Jaipur I will stay at a previous palace which – from photos – are amazing. In Pushkas I will stay at an even better palace so perhaps this trip to India takes a turn in my experience:
I now enjoy the IMPERIALISM and extended buying power from the west to get phenomenal experiences in the not-so-real India.
Pricetag? I know I paid to much, tourist price, but I still believe it is good value: 1200 USD for the Golden Triangle package, Varanasi, flight ticket, train ticket, sightseeing in Varanasi and 2 days with driver in Delhi. All in all: app. DKK 500 per day; which is within my budget (as I will travel a full year) – but then again: India was supposed to give me a little extra for the more expensive places like Japan.
