Third Time Is a Charm
Frances and I have twice before tried to visit India, the first attempt cancelled because of COVID and the second indirectly submarined by the Houthis. Both of those plans were to be cruise voyages with short but multi-day excursions to the interior of India. Perhaps it was best that we were delayed, as this Indian adventure will now be a land tour of two and a half weeks, including eight nights in the nation of Nepal. The travel company is Tauck, our first trip with this well-regarded company.
Our flights over were refreshingly trouble free, but it was still the usual long, draining, nearly sleepless experience that is simply something that must be endured. We did luck out with not having to change terminals at JFK. Even our luggage made it all the way to New Delhi. We arrived at our hotel just before mid-night August 7, beating our travel companions, Brian and Karen McKenna, by a couple of hours. They were still a bit groggy when they joined us for breakfast the next morning.
Our room, or suite rather, is in The Imperial New Delhi, a grand old hotel that displays its imperial heritage well. Built in the 1930s and located on an estate of eight acres in the heart of India’s capital, the hotel contains over 5,000 works of art and historic photographs. I hope we have time to tour the hotel and grounds.
The meeting was followed by a relatively short bus, er coach, tour of the capital. We had assigned seats on the bus and this will be standard (and changed regularly) throughout the trip, even in smaller conveyances. For now, on the large coaches, one can move to other seats, which Frances and I did once I located seats with more adequate knee room.
It’s 3:00 a.m. in the morning as I compose this posting. We’ve a full day of touring coming up in a few hours. I do hate my slow adjustment to major time zone changes jet—but it’s truly still so worth it!