Live from Uniworld's India and the Sacred Ganges - Feb 6, 2017

[jpalbny]

Friday, February 17th. Chandannagar

 

Dinner was quiet tonight. We sat at one of the small tables for two. The menu tonight:

 

 

Plum in red wine was Chris' starter.

 

 

I had the Calcutta Fish Crepes to start.

 

 

Chris had the turkey meat for her entrée.

 

 

And the sea bass filet for mine.

 

 

We both had ice cream for dessert.

 

 

It was a quick dinner tonight. Service was very fast, as it often is at a small table. We were finished, and ready for bed, before 9:00. How embarrassing!

 

No need to pack tonight. We have all day tomorrow to relax on board, until our ride leaves at 4:30. We can even have access to our suite until we leave the boat. Very civilized!

[jpalbny]

Saturday, February 18th. Kolkata

 

Today was unfortunately disembarkation day. We slept late, as we were fortunate enough to be disembarking in the afternoon. And even better, we did not have to vacate the stateroom until we left the ship!

 

Since Uniworld does not run this itinerary every week, there's at least a week off between sailings. So no rush to vacate the stateroom for the next group.

 

Ganges Voyager I was out in the river in the misty morning light, waiting to pick up its guests later today. Amyr was on that sailing, and we wondered if they would be embarking before we left the boat.

 

 

Since we weren't in any rush today, when we'd had enough of the view, we went to the lounge for cappuccino. A relaxing pre-breakfast.

 

 

We headed down a little before 8:00. Here are the items that you can order from your waiter, if you don't want the self-serve items.

 

 

We finally found Romica after breakfast, and he had some good news for us. He said that after some complex accounting they'll be able to apply the unused OBC towards our excursions.

 

It will be complicated. First, the shipboard account has to transfer our unused OBC to the land touring company. Then that company has to send the money to Uniworld Corporate HQ. Then Uniworld will refund this directly to us. We will get a refund from Uniworld in a week or two, he says! Awesome if that works, so we don't have to down another bottle of champagne today.

 

We packed up and lazed around on deck the rest of the morning. The locals were doing laundry, same as last week. We have that to look forward to when we get home, but our task is much easier.

 

 

The lunch buffet was as nice as usual, even though there weren't too many of us left on board. After lingering in the dining room for a long time and lots of wine with Cruise Critic Chris and Mr. Chris, we said our goodbyes to the staff and the chef. It was sad to leave.

 

Then we lounged some more on the back deck, getting up now and then for an occasional lap around the boat. Every once in a while, people would leave and we'd watch. Soon it would be our turn.

 

 

Another lap around the deck. It's relaxing but also sad to know that your turn is coming up soon. It will be good to be home, but hard to get back to reality.

 

 

Finally we headed back to the room for a shower and a final change of clothes, and then we vacated the stateroom. We left our suitcases outside the door, and took our carryon bags to the lounge, to wait until our 4:30 departure.

[jpalbny]

Saturday, February 18th. Kolkata

 

The dock, just as it was last week.

 

 

Since the ship was empty, it was a good time to take a few last-minute pictures. Here's some decor in the upstairs lounge.

 

 

And some of the lounge furniture. There are lots of books and games if you want. We actually did play Scrabble once. Chris clobbered me.

 

 

The outdoor observation deck, at the aft of the ship.

 

 

We spent many hours on these comfortable sofas.

 

 

An appropriate map for this ship. It's amazing how big this country is, and how we've only seen a tiny piece of it.

 

 

Back to the lounge. Because of our 8:15 PM flight, we're in the very last disembarkation group. There are only six of us left on the ship now.

[kathy9]

So sad the cruise is over!

[jpalbny]

kathy9, me too! It was such fun. But I'll be glad when this blog is over. We leave for a long week of independent travel to Prague, Berlin, and Copenhagen in just under four weeks, and I really need to get planning for that trip soon.

[jpalbny]

Saturday, February 18th. Goodbye to Ganges Voyager II

 

We took a few pictures of the lounge to pass our last few minutes on board. There is a 24-hour coffee station here, but we preferred fresh cappuccinos from the bar when we needed coffee.

 

 

And the bar, with snacks and drink selections.

 

 

Some of the available rums, and a local beer. I had a few of the Kingfisher lagers. They went well with the hot weather.

 

 

Wine selections. The local wines were perfectly acceptable but nothing I need to go searching for at home.

 

 

With that, we grabbed our carry-on bags and stepped off onto the pier. It will be about 33 hours before we can expect to get home, if everything goes according to schedule. Hopefully we can get some rest, somewhere along the way...

[jpalbny]

Saturday, February 18th. Homeward bound, part 1

 

Off the pier, up the ramp, and into our waiting bus - how sad, but we couldn't delay the inevitable any longer. It was time to get home.

 

They had used these buses to shuttle us to and from Kolkata last week, and we had them again today for the airport transfers. They weren't quite as nice as the buses that we'd used in the first half of the trip, but perfectly adequate for an hour-long ride.

 

 

Considering that there were only six of us, it was a lot less crowded than the other local buses!

 

 

We'd passed this building a few times last week and it always made me wonder. What is a casual vagrant?

 

 

The rest of the ride was fairly uneventful aside from the traffic, and we arrived at the airport a little before 6:00. Security was checking for flight itineraries at the door, and I hadn't printed out our flight itinerary. Luckily I found my Air France e-mail on my phone, and I had it ready for them, so no problem there.

 

There was a short line at business class check-in, then we had some time to relax in the so-so lounge on the domestic side. It was a portion of a balcony, overlooking the check-in area, and really didn't feel like much of a lounge at all. The food wasn't exciting, and it was pretty crowded, but it was a place to pass the time once we found a seat.

 

Our itinerary was Kolkata to Delhi; Delhi to Paris; Paris to JFK. So our first Air India flight was technically a domestic flight - except that the gate was located beyond passport control. So we had to use a special lane to bypass passport control so we could get to the gate. Odd.

 

Boarding was quick once we got there, and we took off about 8:30. I had my last meal of Indian food on this flight. We landed promptly in Delhi, and deplaned to a bus. We were driven to the International Arrivals gate on time, at 10:45. This is the exact same place we had arrived a little over two weeks ago. But, this puts us outside of passport control, and we hadn't cleared immigration or customs. What to do?

 

It was a bit of a confusing process from here, after landing. Why had we had landed on the International side, despite being on a domestic flight? Apparently, Air India pre-clears their own customers who are connecting on to an AI international flight. Those passengers could just go to their International gate now. We could not, since we were connecting to Air France, so our ticket was stamped "Domestic." One of the disadvantages of a mixed itinerary, I guess.

 

There were AI agents at the entrance to the International gates. They looked at tickets, and we were directed to re-enter through passport control. So we had to re-enter through a special customs lane for transfers, which was surprisingly well-marked and very simple. The agents just looked at our ticket, saw that it said "domestic," scanned it, and we were back "in the country" from there, like we'd never left.

 

Then we had to exit through the baggage claim area, and find our way back to the departures terminal. That part was a bit of a pain! It was NOT well-marked at all, so we wandered around a bit, lost. Eventually we found a back escalator at the far end of the arrivals hall, leading up to passport control.

 

Once there, we (finally) got on line, exited immigration, and then passed through security (yet again). The lines were not horrible, but certainly not fast, and there is no separate line for business class. So don't schedule a tight connection here. We had lots of time.

 

On the way to the lounge, I exchanged the last 2000 of my rupees. All together, it took an hour to get from gate to gate. We were in the lounge a little before midnight. Nothing too exciting here either, but an actual room this time, so it was a quieter place to stay for about 45 minutes. We had a few prepackaged snacks and a glass of wine to pass the time, but otherwise we waited for the food on our plane.

 

 

Sunday, February 19th. Homeward bound, part 2

 

We left the lounge about 12:40 and walked to our gate, which was 10 minutes away. Boarding was delayed until a little before 1AM due to the plane's late arrival, and the lines were very long. But we were onboard soon enough, and airborne before 2AM.

 

The delay made our very late dinner just a little bit later, but we were surprisingly awake. The cold plate was nice despite the late hour. I watched a mindless movie (Nine Lives) and slept a few hours.

 

After an early breakfast, we were ready for landing in Paris at 6:00, right on schedule. Wheels touched down at 6:01 and it was official - we'd left India. Still a long way to go, though.

 

 

We taxied to the K gates. Luckily our JFK flight is also departing from the K terminal, so no terminal change was necessary. It was just a quick walk through security, no passport control since we're connecting non-Schengen to non-Schengen, and then we hit the lounge. The K terminal at CDG is the original 2E terminal, so this is the original AF lounge, in the basement level. It's old and not as nice as the ones in L or M terminals, but it's nostalgic and I like it.

 

We spent the whole three hour layover in the lounge, snacking on some non-Indian food, and sipping some French wine. Even though it was breakfast time in France, it was lunch time in India, so we were ready for some wine before headed out for boarding!

 

They had started boarding before we arrived at the gate, so the lines were short. But unfortunately, we were in line behind a poor Middle Eastern gentleman, who got grilled by the customs agent while we waited. So close to boading...

 

The flight home was good, but we didn't sleep at all on this leg. There was some typical North Atlantic turbulence, and it was a daytime flight, so it was not conducive to sleeping.

 

Luckily, we made good time and approached JFK for an early arrival. Instead of circling, we made a quick landing approach and our wheels were down at 11:23 instead of noon. A taxi to the gate, and we were one of the first off the plane, about 11:40. We zipped through Global Entry and were waiting for our checked bags by 11:45. So far, so good.

 

Our bags were not in first batch but we got them right around noon, and headed out to the Air Train to pick up our car in the long term parking lot. Pretty impressive speed delivering luggage; usually JFK is much slower so Global Entry doesn't save much time for you. Today it worked well.

 

The train ride to the car wasn't bad, and we started driving just after 12:30. We had to make one stop for gas, but traffic wasn't heavy, and we finally made it home at 3:20. It had been 33 hours and 20 minutes since we'd stepped off the Ganges Voyager II. Quite a slog! Thankfully tomorrow (Monday) is Presidents Day and we are not working, so we have the rest of today, and all of tomorrow, to recover.

 

Our old cat was happy to see us, and we were likewise happy to see that she'd survived our absence. She's 20 and frail, so it's getting a bit nerve wracking to leave her at home for such a long period of time.

 

After doing a few things around the house, we went out for an early dinner at the local tavern. We both had a huge hamburger to satisfy our craving for beef! Then it was time for some serious sleep.

 

What a great trip it has been! Thanks for following along and sharing the adventure with us. I hope some of you will get to experience this adventure first hand on future voyages. I'll be here to answer any questions you might have, and to wrap up with a summary of our thoughts later.

Edited April 24, 2017 by jpalbny

[mimmy52]

Thank you so much for your review. I enjoyed traveling along with you. I'm among those who have no desire to see India in person, but I enjoy reading about it and especially liked your review with all the photos. Thanks for taking the time to create it.

[mlld3536]

I can't thank you enough for this wonderful account of your trip. Every day I checked to see if there was a new installment, and I enjoyed each one. I have always wanted to visit India, but for a variety of reasons, that is unlikely to happen. I really felt as if I were along for a wonderful ride. Thank you again, and happy travels!

[Cruise Critic Chris]

Now that J.P's trip has come to an end....I can announce that we have an India River Cruise section, where all of our India River cruise content is collected: http://www.cruisecritic.com/india-river-cruises/ri/?cache=disable

[SuiteTraveler]

Well, I just loved your travelogue! What an amazing trip!

 

I have been studying Indian cooking on and off for the past 20 years or so. One of the most interesting characteristics of it is that unlike most cuisines, there are no classic recipes at all. This is because all the foods were developed by home cooks, each of whom had her own recipe. As a result, there is actually no one right way to cook each dish. Also, there are actually four very distinct cuisines in India - Northern and Southern and then Eastern and Western. The Northern cuisine is all about the bread and curries. The North is the home of the Samosa as well. Potatoes are popular. Garam Marsala is the most popular spice mix. The South is all about the rice and there are many amazing rice dishes often accompanied by lentils as this makes a complete protein. Sambar powder is the most famous spice mix of the south. This is the home of the Dosa (thin crispy filled crepe. ) Western Indian food includes many milk products and a lot of fish, corn, sugar, coconut and peanuts. Pork is eaten as well. Eastern Indian food is famous for its simplicity. They have lots of fish and pork dishes and some of the most famous sweets of India such as Sandesh, (paneer and sugar), Rasgolla (dumplings in syrup) and kheer (rice pudding, often with cardamon).

 

Anyway, before I bore you with the history of Indian cooking, here is a really good Indian food identification guide:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indian_dishes

 

My favorite curry is Murg Saagwala but my husband favors Malai Kofta Kashmiri. But there are so many Indian foods we like, I would be hard pressed to list all of them.

 

Anyway, thank you so much for all the photos and telling us all about your amazing river cruise! What a dream come true to be able to do that!

[jpalbny]

Thank you so much for your review. I enjoyed traveling along with you. I'm among those who have no desire to see India in person, but I enjoy reading about it and especially liked your review with all the photos. Thanks for taking the time to create it.

 

Thanks mimmy. It's worth the trip, but it isn't easy. I don't know if we'll go back but it was amazing to see.

 

I can't thank you enough for this wonderful account of your trip. Every day I checked to see if there was a new installment, and I enjoyed each one. I have always wanted to visit India, but for a variety of reasons, that is unlikely to happen. I really felt as if I were along for a wonderful ride. Thank you again, and happy travels!

 

Thanks for following along, mlld3536. Uniworld does offer a great trip to India, so if you ever change your mind and want to go, it's a great way to visit.

 

Now that J.P's trip has come to an end....I can announce that we have an India River Cruise section, where all of our India River cruise content is collected: http://www.cruisecritic.com/india-river-cruises/ri/?cache=disable

 

Hi Chris, sorry I took so long to finish. Didn't realize that you were waiting, with your nice India cruise page! You should have given me a gentle nudge to finish sooner... ;)

 

Well, I just loved your travelogue! What an amazing trip!

 

I have been studying Indian cooking on and off for the past 20 years or so. One of the most interesting characteristics of it is that unlike most cuisines, there are no classic recipes at all. This is because all the foods were developed by home cooks, each of whom had her own recipe. As a result, there is actually no one right way to cook each dish. Also, there are actually four very distinct cuisines in India - Northern and Southern and then Eastern and Western. The Northern cuisine is all about the bread and curries. The North is the home of the Samosa as well. Potatoes are popular. Garam Marsala is the most popular spice mix. The South is all about the rice and there are many amazing rice dishes often accompanied by lentils as this makes a complete protein. Sambar powder is the most famous spice mix of the south. This is the home of the Dosa (thin crispy filled crepe. ) Western Indian food includes many milk products and a lot of fish, corn, sugar, coconut and peanuts. Pork is eaten as well. Eastern Indian food is famous for its simplicity. They have lots of fish and pork dishes and some of the most famous sweets of India such as Sandesh, (paneer and sugar), Rasgolla (dumplings in syrup) and kheer (rice pudding, often with cardamon).

 

Anyway, before I bore you with the history of Indian cooking, here is a really good Indian food identification guide:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indian_dishes

 

My favorite curry is Murg Saagwala but my husband favors Malai Kofta Kashmiri. But there are so many Indian foods we like, I would be hard pressed to list all of them.

 

Anyway, thank you so much for all the photos and telling us all about your amazing river cruise! What a dream come true to be able to do that!

 

Thanks for the reference, and your kind comments. It was such an incredible trip, and we only learned some of the history after we got home and had time to digest everything that we had seen.

 

WRT food, we definitely had a lot of the Northern and Eastern cuisine, with some of the Southern dishes mixed in. We didn't get to taste much of anything from the West, or at least it does not seem as familiar to me from your description.

 

I did buy a box of Garam masala to use some day. It should bring back some memories when I open it up.

[57 varieties]

JP many thanks for your wonderful blog.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[FuelScience]

JP,

 

Great job on the review! It's a great resource. If anyone asked me about taking a Indian river cruise, your review is the first place I'd send them. You really give an unbiased view of the trip. It's not for everyone, but I think that after going through your review, someone could make a good decision on whether the trip was right for them.

 

Well done!!

[jpalbny]

JP many thanks for your wonderful blog.

 

Thanks for following along! Glad you enjoyed it.

 

JP,

 

Great job on the review! It's a great resource. If anyone asked me about taking a Indian river cruise, your review is the first place I'd send them. You really give an unbiased view of the trip. It's not for everyone, but I think that after going through your review, someone could make a good decision on whether the trip was right for them.

 

Well done!!

 

Thanks so much for the comments. I had a harder time with this one than I have had with my other reviews. I had a week there where I almost gave up.

 

You are right that this trip is not for everyone. But luckily, it was a lot of fun for us, and a great way to dip our toes (figuratively, not literally!) into India. We kept our toes safely covered up, inside our closed-toed shoes, thank you!

[SC Retired Cruiser]

Thank you for taking the time to review your trip!!! I really enjoyed your posts.

 

Your detailed chronicle with stunning photographs brought back wonderful memories of New Delhi, Agra and Jaipur when my wife and I visited a couple of years ago. While we were there, we decided to return, and your chronicle reinforced that. We have sailed on Uniworld a few time and it's clear the Indian tours live up to their excellent standards.

 

Bob

[kathy9]

JP and Chris, Thanks for taking the time to write this review of your amazing India adventure!

Still can't convince my DH to go.....

But in some small way I feel as if I have seen part of India!

Relax and start planning that next adventure.

Safe travels!

Kathy

[jpalbny]

Thank you for taking the time to review your trip!!! I really enjoyed your posts.

 

Your detailed chronicle with stunning photographs brought back wonderful memories of New Delhi, Agra and Jaipur when my wife and I visited a couple of years ago. While we were there, we decided to return, and your chronicle reinforced that. We have sailed on Uniworld a few time and it's clear the Indian tours live up to their excellent standards.

 

Bob

 

I hope you get to go back and experience this adventure. They do a really nice job of showing you the highlights. While you do spend a fair amount of time in a bubble, there's chances to get out of the bubble and brush up against the real deal. The walks through the small villages in West Bengal were pretty cool.

 

JP and Chris, Thanks for taking the time to write this review of your amazing India adventure!

Still can't convince my DH to go.....

But in some small way I feel as if I have seen part of India!

Relax and start planning that next adventure.

Safe travels!

Kathy

 

Oh, too bad...I was hoping that you could convince him! Hope you get there one way or another. There were two ladies traveling together on our trip who had left their husbands home because they didn't want to go to India.

 

It's worth the hassle. The sights are pretty amazing.

[Bimmer09]

JP and Chris, thanks for recounting this epic adventure and for all the great photos of a country I may not get to visit but whose cuisine is my favorite for the past 40 years as I once lived in London, England where great Indian restaurants abound. Thanks for all the food photos! I am particularly glad that you chose to show the India away from the magnificent hotels and temples-the poverty and the disrepair. The happy faces of the school kids and the wavers on each bank as you sailed by speak volumes for the spirit of the people. We can all learn from them. There but for fortune....

So which new Audi did you pick up in Ingolstadt?

Cheers!

Norris

[jpalbny]

So, I'm working on a few final thoughts about the trip, and some tips. But first, an update!

 

We didn’t hear from Uniworld until three weeks after our return home, when we got a nice surprise. They mailed us a check for the remaining OBC, to make up for what we’d spent on our two optional land tours! I was not expecting this to happen, and after two weeks had passed I figured it was a lost cause. I know that the Hotel Manager had said that he’d start the process, and I had no reason not to believe him, but it seemed like such a complex process … I was convinced that it couldn’t get accomplished.

 

So, kudos to Uniworld for this. They certainly could have said that OBC is only applicable to the sailing part of the itinerary. I almost didn’t bother to ask, because I expected them to say that. But they went the extra mile to make it work for us, and we are grateful for that. Impressive customer service!

[jpalbny]

JP and Chris, thanks for recounting this epic adventure and for all the great photos of a country I may not get to visit but whose cuisine is my favorite for the past 40 years as I once lived in London, England where great Indian restaurants abound. Thanks for all the food photos! I am particularly glad that you chose to show the India away from the magnificent hotels and temples-the poverty and the disrepair. The happy faces of the school kids and the wavers on each bank as you sailed by speak volumes for the spirit of the people. We can all learn from them. There but for fortune....

So which new Audi did you pick up in Ingolstadt?

Cheers!

Norris

 

Hi Norris! Glad to see you on this thread.

 

The human interaction was as interesting as the monuments, and more touching. Just a fluke of geography and the roles could be reversed.

 

We got an S6 from Ingolstadt about 18 months ago. It's a rocket. We are thinking about an RS5 next year, if the new build convertible is ready by that time. That pickup will be at the RS factory in Neckarsulm, instead of Ingolstadt. Hopefully we'll get to more areas along the Rhine, and Alsace, when that happens.

 

Best - JP

[Bimmer09]

Hi Norris! Glad to see you on this thread.

 

The human interaction was as interesting as the monuments, and more touching. Just a fluke of geography and the roles could be reversed.

 

We got an S6 from Ingolstadt about 18 months ago. It's a rocket. We are thinking about an RS5 next year, if the new build convertible is ready by that time. That pickup will be at the RS factory in Neckarsulm, instead of Ingolstadt. Hopefully we'll get to more areas along the Rhine, and Alsace, when that happens.

 

Best - JP

 

JP, I haven't been on the river boards in over a year as I am an ocean cruise lover most of all but have a partner who keeps mentioning river cruises, as we see them in Germany and Austria, without having researched them but it was your cruise on the Uniworld Antoinette (? If memory serves) that I would use to show her "what it's all about". It featured the Rhine which is in our blood from our many trips to Germany, where if you recall I did Euro delivery on a BMW 3 series coupe in 2003. Still driving it!

S is a zippy enough designation for an Audi. RS is of course the pinnacle and Germany has the roads to revel in a car's performance. Smooth as glass. I drive on the potholes of the Midwest as few of the roads are made of concrete.

This is my best rental ride ever in the USA and the best twisty roads (Death Valley before sunset and zero traffic)...an Audi S4. Sadly an automatic. It could move though. (November 2005)

Indian people- I have worked with a few and they were jolly cheerful and very witty folks and instantly likable. I can see those traits in the faces of those beautiful kids on their way home from school. It's hardworking, smiling people who haven't had the best start in life that are the things that make India great. Nowadays I just see them in restaurants but they are genial and unpretentious hosts. The best MD (by a mile) on Princess Cruises (where I live) is an Indian called Neville Saldanha and when he visits your table he'll leave you happy and laughing.

You and Chris tend to follow the roads less traveled and I salute you both for diving in head first and rolling with the punches. Ditto your Silverseas cruises which are beyond the norm for most of us. We have very limited vacation time but love what we have on land or at sea. I think if asked I'd say my most memorable trips would revolve around touring Germany in a fast car, where there is no schedule. Your sightseeing schedule in India, in buses on cluttered roads with overloaded carts and trucks would have made me wilt. But a good glass of wine or a few bottles of cold Kingfisher on the aft deck at sunset would have put things right. And that food!

I cook Indian food at home but have half of the 20 spices you were shown. Papadums we get from Amazon and they fry (flat ones) in hot oil in a pan in 2 seconds. Light and crispy! Look for products by a company called Patak. Good chutneys and pastes. Lamb vindaloos rule for me and I order them "Indian Hot" which usually causes waiters to say "are you sure, Sir?" Hell yes!





Great review-thanks again.





Feel free to read some of mine when you have a chance. No rivers but some beautiful big ships.





P.S. the Rhine drive, from Cologne south then inland at Bingen all the way to Colmar in Alsace is one of my favorite scenic drives.





Norris

[jpalbny]

Final thoughts

I think Uniworld did a really nice job on this trip. Considering the time constraints, they got us to a good number of sites and showed us just about as much as possible. I think that the only way to do more would be to extend the trip by a few days. But two weeks is long enough to go without a hamburger... ;p

 

The two visits to the Taj Mahal were definitely a great plus for this itinerary. On the first visit you are just so excited to be there, that you don’t have time to relax and soak it all in. You’re rushing around to get the perfect picture and to make sure that you see it from every angle. The next day, it’s calm, less crowded, and you’re more relaxed. Good thinking, Uniworld.

 

Some have complained about having to buy a couple of meals on the first half of the trip. And you are pretty much limited to the hotel restaurants, which are not cheap; this is true. But this gives you the opportunity to eat as much or as little as you’d like. We did a big tasting menu one night that was phenomenal. Another night, we weren’t very hungry, so we ate a small dinner. It would not have been the same had there been a big buffet dinner every night. The variety of the meals was nice. But you do have to expect the extra cost; if you don't, you'll be surprised.

 

As I have mentioned previously, you don’t need a lot of cash. We probably could have made do with 2000 Rupees. Of course, we don’t shop much at all, but all the high end places take credit cards and the fees are not an issue. The street hawkers will usually take dollars. Caveat: when they say to do your souvenir shopping in the first half of the trip, believe them. Jaipur is the best place for knick-knacks. If you see something that you want while you're there, buy it.

 

If you can figure out how to do it, try to spend some time enjoying the beautiful hotels where you’re staying the first week. We didn’t make time for that. But it’s a tough choice between lying around at your hotel, or going out to see a unique sight. There is not much redundancy on this trip, so if you miss a tour, that may be your only chance to see something. We were so disappointed to not go swimming in any of the beautiful pools, but we simply didn’t have the time. In the scheme of things, we figured that we were more likely to come across another beautiful swimming pool on another trip. But we wouldn’t have another opportunity to visit Amber Fort, for example. But it still was a tough choice!

 

The saving grace of the hectic, go go go first week, is that the second week is very relaxing. You have ample opportunity to catch up on sleep, relax, and the excursions are the opposite of busy. The towns are small and an hour or two is all you need. The daytime cruising is great for taking it easy. So don’t worry if you push it the first week. You will have time to catch up.

 

The food will be different between the two parts of the trip. There are lots of lunch buffets and the Oberoi does a really nice job with them. Use them to sample a lot of different foods to find out which you like, and find out where your personal taste lies along the spectrum of spiciness. Dinner is often on your own so you can eat as much or as little as you’d like. During the included dinners, two glasses of wine or beer are complimentary.

 

On the ship, the food is less spicy. Some of that may be a regional difference (I’ve heard that West Bengali food is more subtly flavored, compared to Northern Indian cuisine) or some of that may be that they are trying to appeal to American palates. Whatever the reason, it tastes less spicy, and less complex, than what you’ll get at the Oberoi. Some of the dishes there will really make your taste buds stand up and take notice!

 

If you want spicy dishes on board, it’s simple to just ask your waiter to make it spicy. The chef will add chili peppers and your craving will be satisfied. There are also plenty of hot sauces available at the lunch buffets if you want to turn up the heat.

 

The crew is as great as you’d expect from Uniworld. Though tips aren’t included, you definitely feel as if you’ve received your money’s worth from them. We gave the recommended amount and then some extra Rupees here and there. Service was always prompt and with a smile.

 

So, I hope that this review will convince some of you to experience the trip for yourselves. If not, that’s OK…I won’t take it personally. It’s not an easy trip but we found that the rewards of the trip were worth the hassle. It is true that for many years, we had no hankering to visit India, but my colleagues finally wore us down, telling us that we should go, and I am glad that they did.

 

And honestly, after having it in our heads for years how “far away” India is, we were shocked to realize that we’ve made a number of longer flights. South Africa, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Madagascar are all at least as long, if not longer flights, if you change in Europe. Paris-Delhi is only marginally longer than JFK-Paris. So don’t let the supposed distance put you off.

 

We think we’d happily visit again some time. We want to experience some of the rugged north and see the mountains, and also make a trip to visit the tigers. I wish Kashmir were safe to visit, but I'm not sure any of us will live long enough to see that. :( Kerala in the south looks beautiful. But there are many other beautiful countries to experience, so it will probably be a few years before India comes back on our radar.

[jpalbny]

JP, I haven't been on the river boards in over a year as I am an ocean cruise lover most of all but have a partner who keeps mentioning river cruises, as we see them in Germany and Austria, without having researched them but it was your cruise on the Uniworld Antoinette (? If memory serves) that I would use to show her "what it's all about". It featured the Rhine which is in our blood from our many trips to Germany, where if you recall I did Euro delivery on a BMW 3 series coupe in 2003. Still driving it!

S is a zippy enough designation for an Audi. RS is of course the pinnacle and Germany has the roads to revel in a car's performance. Smooth as glass. I drive on the potholes of the Midwest as few of the roads are made of concrete.

This is my best rental ride ever in the USA and the best twisty roads (Death Valley before sunset and zero traffic)...an Audi S4. Sadly an automatic. It could move though. (November 2005)

 

 

 

Indian people- I have worked with a few and they were jolly cheerful and very witty folks and instantly likable. I can see those traits in the faces of those beautiful kids on their way home from school. It's hardworking, smiling people who haven't had the best start in life that are the things that make India great. Nowadays I just see them in restaurants but they are genial and unpretentious hosts. The best MD (by a mile) on Princess Cruises (where I live) is an Indian called Neville Saldanha and when he visits your table he'll leave you happy and laughing.

You and Chris tend to follow the roads less traveled and I salute you both for diving in head first and rolling with the punches. Ditto your Silverseas cruises which are beyond the norm for most of us. We have very limited vacation time but love what we have on land or at sea. I think if asked I'd say my most memorable trips would revolve around touring Germany in a fast car, where there is no schedule. Your sightseeing schedule in India, in buses on cluttered roads with overloaded carts and trucks would have made me wilt. But a good glass of wine or a few bottles of cold Kingfisher on the aft deck at sunset would have put things right. And that food!

 

I cook Indian food at home but have half of the 20 spices you were shown. Papadums we get from Amazon and they fry (flat ones) in hot oil in a pan in 2 seconds. Light and crispy! Look for products by a company called Patak. Good chutneys and pastes. Lamb vindaloos rule for me and I order them "Indian Hot" which usually causes waiters to say "are you sure, Sir?" Hell yes!





Great review-thanks again.





Feel free to read some of mine when you have a chance. No rivers but some beautiful big ships.





P.S. the Rhine drive, from Cologne south then inland at Bingen all the way to Colmar in Alsace is one of my favorite scenic drives.





Norris

 

 

Thanks for your additional comments! That Audi S4 looks sweet. Yes, an S model is more than sufficient for driving here in New York, but we are spoiled by the S6/S7 that we have. It makes our poor little S5, with "only" a 3L V6 turbo, seem sluggish in comparison. Thus we'll see what the RS5 looks like. Definitely hoping we can do some of that drive along the Rhine.

 

 

Cool that you still have the '03 Bimmer. They don't make them like they used to. I remember the picture you posted on my Rhine thread. Can't wait to get back there. Speaking of Audi rentals, check out Silvercar. They only rent Audi A4s. They are not widespread yet, but they are great if your plans take you to an area where they are available. There is also a rental agency in San Francisco that rents all models of Audi, called Audi on Demand. We haven't tried them yet.

 

 

I'll take a look for some of your cruise reviews. I don't spend much time on the ocean boards any more other than Silversea. We're on a really cool expedition trip from Guayaquil to Valparaiso in October-November of this year. Afterwards, we're going to Easter Island independently for a few days. Beyond excited about that.

 

 

Yes, the first half of this trip was pretty demanding. But the second half made up for it, and the interactions with the kids in the small villages was so different from lining up for pictures at the packed tourist sites in Delhi and Agra. A land of contrasts!

 

 

This trip was our first real introduction to Indian food. We've tried lots of other cuisines but hadn't really gotten around to trying it yet. It was a great way to do it, though, and we had so many enjoyable meals. Thanks for the recommendation; amazing what you can get on Amazon. I may not be ready for "Indian Hot" yet but getting there.

 

 

Take care and happy traveling!

[57 varieties]

Thank you JP for the terrific blog.

 

 

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