Click on any of the maps to enlarge them

This trip to India was, for us, an uncharacteristically last minute decision. Friends were sharing their upcoming travel plans which included a small group tour to India when asked if we would be interested in going on the trip, we thought about it for a moment and said why not! In less than 3 weeks, we got ourselves ready, including accessing the necessary medical prerequisites taken care of, with one day to spare.

The trip operated by Explore India, with offices in both Vancouver and Delhi, was just two weeks from woe to go including flights to and from Victoria. Although it was short, we feel that we saw and learned a lot in that time. The pace didn’t feel rushed, helped no doubt by staying in each hotel for two nights. There were 16 in the group, all from the Great White North. This is our third small group tour we have undertaken since making VIctoria home. First it was Turkey, then Peru and now India - we have found the small group format meets our needs and expectations. The hotels selected by Explore India offered a variety of styles and ambiance which we appreciated. The food and service in the hotels were very good, with staff anxious to make a good impression, encouraging positive comments to be posted on Trip Advisor.

Our route - this map is the area covered by the red rectangle on the map of India

Over the two weeks ,we visited a number of grand buildings, most originating during the time of Mughal invasions which is reflected in the strong Persian architectural influences. These buildings, whether forts, mausoleums, mosques or temples occupied so much more land than the footprint of the actual structure. Satellite images of some the buildings are included which I hope will convey something of the scale and setting of these imposing landmarks.

Unfortunately, the air quality was very poor almost the entire trip. Clearly, the number of vehicles contributes to the poor air quality; it should be noted, however, the thousands of tuk tuks almost all run on compressed natural gas so are more eco-friendly than cars. According to news reports another major source of air pollution comes from rural areas where burning off the stubble after harvesting is still a common practice. However, we didn’t see any burning off in the agricultural areas we passed through. Air quality is now such a significant issue that expat employees, be they in government embassies or in the private sector are being offered increased financial compensation either directly in the form of bigger salaries, or paying for children to be educated outside India, or offering paid short vacations for family members to escape the pollution.While in Delhi, a cricket test match against Sri Lanka was postponed due to poor air quality one day - the locals claim the visitors were “wimps”. It was observed that neither the PM, nor any government minister made one single public statement on air quality during the entire time of the hazardous air quality conditions. The only ones to raise alarm bells were in the medical community. You will notice that the haze shows up in many of the photos.

Typical hotel security - baggage and personal checks

Security measure were evident at hotels in Delhi, Agra and Varansi - there were armed guards at the gate, all vehicles were stopped and checked. One guard would check the underside of the vehicle with a mirror on the end of a pole. Whenever one entered a hotel, baggage and outer jackets were put through screening while all guests were checked with a wand or patted down. Everywhere there were two lines, one male and one female. Additional security was in evidence at the airports with armed military personnel on duty at all entrances. The ongoing tensions along the India-Pakistan border as well as terrorist bombings, such as in Mumbai and the Punjab have caused the government to be on high alert.

Everyone in our group enjoyed the tour - for some it was their first time in India, for others it was return visit. For those first time visitors, there was agreement they would come back to India, but would look to explore other parts of India, especially the south, and/or Nepal.

Selecting photos was a challenge - with an SD card, the risk of running out of space is almost nil, unlike the old days when one had to purchase another roll of film - should it be a 24 or 36 was the big question. We could have posted many more photos, we hope we selected the right ones!