We have come back from 10 days in India saying this was our best holiday yet. India is so different to home, the people, food, noise, smells, heat, buildings, food shops and transport but many things are familiar too - English speaking, fruit and veg markets, reserved train tickets, tea, chips, hotels, palaces, mobile phones. I feel it's a great experience for children to be part of India and experience and learn about their way of life, history, culture, religion and values. They do stare at you but equally we are interested in looking at them with their colourful saris and motorbikes with four people on and cows in the street. Even thirty pounds of pocket money for our children can buy them some good souvenirs and teach them the value of money. You come back feeling different about our life and wonder why we are so materialistic and stress ourselves out filling our days with clubs, activities, music, x-boxes and so much driving. But it doesn't last for long until you get sucked into our way of life again yet long to go back and explore a different part of India and hopefully see a tiger next time!
What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Seeing the Taj Mahal for the first time though the entrance archway was unique, it's such a beautiful building and the reflections in the pools are stunning, and so calm and peaceful considering the busy and noisy Indian life outside. The blessing at Pushkar was quite moving and enjoyable just to soak up the atmosphere around the lake. I also found it humbling to see hard working happy families with just a fraction of what we have. The Indian people were happy to talk (especially a family we took pictures of in Jaipur and the school in Ranthambore) , via our guide about their lives and many a smile came into our conversations. The Indian way of communicating by moving their head from side to side was lovely to watch and you felt like doing it yourself.
What did you think of your group leader?
Pravar Obhan was our guide and he made sure we had a great holiday. We were the only family on the trip, namely myself and my two children (11 and 13) and Pravar arranged whatever we wanted to do, even things that were not on the optional activities, especially wildlife areas as we are keen wildlife photographers. Pravar arranged a trip to a local school in Ranthambore, additional trip to Keoladeo National Park and another park and bear sanctuary, a blessing at Pushkar, Langaan cricket video and pizzas in Pushkar (best bit of the trip for my children especially with the massive thunderstorm and electrics tripping), trip to a music shop to buy a trumpet and flute, taking pictures of local people going about their everyday life, palm reading, auto ricksaw ride, Bollywood movie, shopping, coconut drink even a massive Dairy Milk chocolate bar!. Pravar was considerate of our needs and well being, asking the guides to talk about the palaces in the shade, shielding us from one or two persistent child beggers, knowing where the safest food was, changing the itinerary when we felt the heat was too much. Pravar was quick to organise all the other activities for us (he had a lot of contacts and made new ones) or even change taxi drivers if they were late and the air conditioning was not working very well and arranging an extra bed in the room as we are a family of three. Pravar tried to keep up to date with the status of the trains to prevent us waiting unnecessarily at the stations and kept us informed what was happening. Pravar was a promoter of all things Indian and embraced important life values and beliefs alongside us. We had lots of fun too and have returned feeling very lucky for all the things that Pravar arranged and shared with us.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
For families with young children, the first few days seem quite hectic coping with the heat and the early mornings so try and take it easy when back at the hotels. Make sure you have bottled water to drink when out and about and an umbrella helped on the first day.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Try and join in a local cricket match if you see one, I wish we had stopped when we saw some teenagers playing.
Mary Braddock
TAJ, TIGERS & TEMPLES - FAMILY HOLIDAY
Written
India was an assault on the senses, the colours the noise the people.... It was incredible and wonderful and packed with sensations which will take a very long time to process. Our family had a great time.
What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
There are 5 of us in the family and each of us had several different responses to this question, impossible to pick out one moment amongst so many.
One morning, having visited a local village, our guide took us up through lush vegetation to a spot beside a small crumbling temple and there, in the shade of a majestic Banyan tree he hushed the group just for a moment. My daughter said that that gift of a few moments, listening to the sounds of nature teeming around us and looking out across the abundant landscape was magical for her. Thank you Krishna.
The Architecture, the food, the people the animals, the eclectic mix of transpot (bus, rickshaw, elephant, tuc tuc...) it was all inspirational.
What did you think of your group leader?
Krishna was a huge success for us. He was everything that you expect from a guide in terms of knowledge, organisation and professionalism. He was also kind, humourous, thoughtful and excellent with the children as well as us adults. He related well to each of the children both individually and as a group, something that meant a lot to us. We also felt that he was sensitive to our needs as adults and judged when we needed entertaining and when we wanted our own space, very well.
I liked that he tried to give us insights into the people and culture with anecdotes and myths, he also arranged impromptu local snacks for us which was really enjoyable.
My youngest daughter wanted to say that she thought he was really cool.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Ask for Krishna because he was really cool!!!
This is a really full on trip and you want to be on top form so make sure you sleep well on the outward flight and you keep yourself well hydrated. If you haven't been to a country with high levels of extreme poverty before you need to be prepared as it can be very difficult to cope with, particularly for sensitive children and young people.
Try to keep packing to a minimum. I also found that having seperate bags within a larger one with seperate items in, made all the changes of hotel, with the packing and unpacking involved, was much easier. Also with 3 children we made sure that each of them had their own bag so that things were easier to find.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Just that it was the trip of a lifetime for us and that Krishna our guide was a huge factor in making it that.
from 2 reviews.
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