A Visitor from Canada
While I was in Canada last summer, my friend Alex that I was staying with in Vancouver introduced me to Sheila, a retired lady who lives in his building. Sheila had been planning her first visit to India, but unfortunately the friend she was going to travel with had to cancel due to her parents' ill health. Sheila didn't want to do the trip on her own, nor did she want to join an organized tour group, so when she heard from Alex that I offer personalized orientation and introduction tours of south India, she asked to meet me. We had a cup of tea together, and I told her what I can offer and sketched out a possible itinerary.
We hit it off right from the get-go, figured out the dates that suited both our schedules (mid-December 2013 to mid-January 2014), and booked her flights that same morning. Over the next few days, I polished up our itinerary, and we both did some reading and research to make sure it suited her expectations.
When I returned to India in September, I started making our lodge reservations, and booked our trains as soon as the 60-day window opened. Goa for Christmas was a real challenge -- all the reasonably priced places I knew about were already booked months in advance, and I had to go through a travel agent in Mamallapuram that I had been dealing with for years to get us a relatively expensive but very nice facility for four days for the holiday period.
Our final itinerary, with two to three days each in most of the places we stayed, was as follows: Mamallapuram; Ooty; Mysore; Belur; Hospet/Hampi; Goa; Ratnagiri; Gokarna; Murudeshwar; Anandashram; Fort Kochi; Varkala; Kovalam Beach; Kanniyakumari; Rameswaram; Madurai; Trichy; Pondy; Mamallapuram.
Sheila enjoyed the trip very much, except for getting a bout of Delhi belly in Trichy, which meant that during our time in Pondy she spent the time recuperating in our lodge rather than being able to visit the town and Auroville as we had originally planned.
FYI for prospective visitors who may want a personally escorted tour -- I don't charge anything for advice and planning assistance. If you want me to travel with you as your escort and guide, I just ask that you pick up the tab for our accommodation, meals and travel. For a budget tour, that would be about $100/day total for the two of us. For a mid-range comfort zone, with an occasional splurge, count on about $125 (which is what the trip with Sheila cost). If you want A/C and first class all the way, plan for $150 to $200.
I've been averaging one or two visitors a year for the last several years, and can provide references if you like.
We hit it off right from the get-go, figured out the dates that suited both our schedules (mid-December 2013 to mid-January 2014), and booked her flights that same morning. Over the next few days, I polished up our itinerary, and we both did some reading and research to make sure it suited her expectations.
When I returned to India in September, I started making our lodge reservations, and booked our trains as soon as the 60-day window opened. Goa for Christmas was a real challenge -- all the reasonably priced places I knew about were already booked months in advance, and I had to go through a travel agent in Mamallapuram that I had been dealing with for years to get us a relatively expensive but very nice facility for four days for the holiday period.
Our final itinerary, with two to three days each in most of the places we stayed, was as follows: Mamallapuram; Ooty; Mysore; Belur; Hospet/Hampi; Goa; Ratnagiri; Gokarna; Murudeshwar; Anandashram; Fort Kochi; Varkala; Kovalam Beach; Kanniyakumari; Rameswaram; Madurai; Trichy; Pondy; Mamallapuram.
Sheila enjoyed the trip very much, except for getting a bout of Delhi belly in Trichy, which meant that during our time in Pondy she spent the time recuperating in our lodge rather than being able to visit the town and Auroville as we had originally planned.
FYI for prospective visitors who may want a personally escorted tour -- I don't charge anything for advice and planning assistance. If you want me to travel with you as your escort and guide, I just ask that you pick up the tab for our accommodation, meals and travel. For a budget tour, that would be about $100/day total for the two of us. For a mid-range comfort zone, with an occasional splurge, count on about $125 (which is what the trip with Sheila cost). If you want A/C and first class all the way, plan for $150 to $200.
I've been averaging one or two visitors a year for the last several years, and can provide references if you like.
posted by IndiaJP at 2:08 AM
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