by Debbie Ross
Womens Travel Network founder

Day 08 India tour – Fly  to Kochi located in Southern India

Today we move to the South of India for the the second half where there`s a different culture and feeling.  We flew from Jaipur and connected through Mubai for our continuing flight to Cochin.  Some of the ladies were at the front of the plane and the rest of us at the back. unfortuately the ones at the front didn’t know to stay on the plane. Needless to say this caused a bit of c an issue and our guide and the flight staff had to track the ladies down in the terminal to get them back on the plane. Thank heavens they did otherwise they would have been stuck in Mumbai. All ended well and we continued our journey to Southern india.

The historic city of Kochi  was the first European foothold in India and is known as the “Venice of the East”. We discovered the city’s old-world charm with its  winding streets crammed with 500-year-old Portuguese houses, and the oldest European Church in India, dating back to 1503 D. The cantilevered Chinese fishing nets are a sight to see.  Some of our gals test their ability at bringing in the large nets. it’s quite a system they use, with heavy stones as their pully system.

The warf is lined with stalls wheren the merchants are selling their fresh catch of the day, colorful clams and a variety of fish and seafood.

Our stay is at the CasinoHotel, Kochi, a landmark hotel located on Willingdon Island, a man-made legacy of the Raj era.

by Debbie Ross
Womens Travel Network founder

Day 07 India Tour – Jaipur’s Amber Fort

Today we traveled like maharajahs on the backs of elephants up to the Amber Fort to explore the magnificently preserved complex of palaces, halls, pavilions, gardens and temples and enjoy the spectacular views. As soon as we step off the bus the hawkers are there to sell their trinkets. The shopping begins!

We board the elephants from a large platform and sit in basket type chairs for our scenic ride up to the amber fort.

The construction of this elaborate palace started in the 16th century and was finished in the 1800’s.  Many additions were added by each generation. Here you will find the largest mirror palace in the world, second to the Chateau Versailles in France.  The garden in the central courtyard was dsigned to look like a persian carpet and back in the time of the Maharaja’s the flowers were selected to create the carpet effect. The view from the palace is magnificent.

Tour finished, we head out of the palace gates and are greeted by snake charmers. The hawkers are watiing for us with their wares. Hand made rugs, musical instrumets, bangles, carved elephants and more.  Jeeps are waiting to take us to the  Anokhi museum which is run by a local cooperative that creates beautiul fabric deisigns with block printing. During our visit we were given a demonstration by a master carver. What a treat to watch him make one of his masterpieces. Just down the hall another master is using the blocks to print on the fabric.

The drive from the museum to the bus is interesting and of course the hawkers are waiting for us at the bus. The ladies are really enjoying Bus Shopping. We sit on the bus and our guides bring the trinkets to us so we can select. It’s great fun!

Our next stop is back into Jaipur to view the summer palace. As we step off the bus one of the elephants from the fort goes by. He’s going home for the day. The laws have been set to protect the elephants, they can only work from 9am to 11am. The owner is happy to stop for a photo opportunity and he seems very proud of his elephant.

This afternoon we enjoy lunch at alocal restaurant which is ownd by the cousin of our tour guide. The food is delicious.  Afterwards we have a quick stop at a pottery shop which has Jaipur’s famous Sanganer Blue Pottery. After a brief visit it’s back to the hotel to get ready for our International Women’s Day celebration.  The ladies are excited. Not only will they meet local women they are also wearing saris for this special occasion.  We’ve arranged to have a few ladies at the hotel to dress them in their saris.  It certainly is a technique to be mastered, wrapping and tying all that fabric into a beautiful dress.

by Debbie Ross
Womens Travel Network founder

Day 07 India tour – Jaipur, City Palace, shopping in the local market Bollywood Movie and dinner at the Exotic Marigold Hotel

This morning we visited the Jantar Mantar, the largest of the five remarkable observatories representing the high points of medieval Indian astronomy and the City Palace, a former royal residence built in a blend of the Rajasthani and Mughal styles.  After touring the sites in the city we visited the 5 star Trident hotel where we had an enjoyable lunch.

Back on the bus we head back into the heart of the city to explore the markets where the locals shop. What an experience!  the steets are filled with people going about their daily lives, the traffic hums in the back ground, motorcylces, cars, pedicabs, cows and pedestrians all vying for their place on the busy streets.  There are rows and rows of  fabric stores,  the ladies delight in shopping for tops,scarves,pashminas , shoes, bangles and more.

To save time we decide to take pedicabs to the spice market. What a hair raising ride!

IIn the spice market their is a delightful odour coming from the shops and the displays are very colourful. I enjoy this opportuity to mix in with the lcoals and to observe their daily life. We purchase teas, spices and scented oils.  There’s a great flower market in front of the spice shops. What a colourful sight to see.

We board the bus for our transfer to the jewelry factory. After a demonstration on how their fine products are made we are taken to the show room to shop for jewelry. Our shopping expedition over, we head back to the hotel to change for dinner and get ready for a Bollywood movie. Our movie of choice is Hey Bro, a comedy spoken only in Hindy. The actors are quit attractive and the music and dancing are a treat.  

Dinner this evening is at the Narayan Niwas Palace Hotel. This fabulous hotel is where they filmed the movie “Exotic Marigold Hotel”.  Dinner is in a covered tent on the lawn of the hotel.  The night air is warm, the full moon shining down on us and musicians and dancer entertain us with their tradtonal music and dance.  This is a special evening for one of our girls, it’s Rowena’s birthdya. Everyone is happy to celebrate this joyous occasion.  This has been a long, busy, fun filled day.

This evening we are welcomed into the home of the Singh family. Mr. Surander, Mrs. Smriti and their lovely daughter Ambika.
Smriti Singh is an amazing woman and through her humanitarian efforts her family has grown to 46 children, including her own natural aughter Ambika. She has opened two homes for children that have been orphaned , one for the girls and one for the boys. Smirtir is quite involved in the daiiy running of the homes and goes almost everyday.  The girls were at the Singh residence the day we went for dinner.  What a delightful group of children ranging in age from 1 1/2 years up to 16. The children had been practicing their henna technique and were happy to demonostrate on us by decorating our hands with fabulous henna designs.  They also entertained us with a wonderful song and dance that was very well choreographed.
Mr. Singh works for the government so he has a busy job out of the home. He comes from a royal family of Maharajas and is quite proud of his heritage. He took us on a tour of his home and showed us family photos of his ancestors and of the palace which was once their royal home. Afterwards a delicious dinner was served outside in the garden area.  The temperature was perfect and the comapny divine. A very memorable night for all.

by Debbie Ross
Womens Travel Network founder

Day 05 India tour – Holi Festival celebrations.

Today we had great fun taking part in Holi, an ancient religious festival celebrated with extravagant colour! We had the pleasure of enjoying the festivites with Mr. Davinder and his wonderful family and friends.  There are no words to describe this experience but I expect this will be one of the highlights of the tour.
As we step off the bus we are greeted by a trio of drummers that escort us to Mr. Davinder’s home, and the fun begins. Everyone was smearing bright coloured paints on each other with a Happy Holi salutatuion. The drumming is infectious and everyone began to dance in the street. We followed the drummers to the local temple. You could feel the excitement in the air. There were many people here and a band was playing music and singing songs.  Everyone was dancing together,men women and children. It was so much fun. Our hosts lead us back to their home, each of us dancing our way through the streets.  It’s been a fun morning and we certainly worked up an appetite. Our gracious hosts serve a nice lunch.
We returned to the hilton hotel where the ladies made a grand entrance by blowing their mini horns and wishing everyone a Happy Holi.

by Debbie Ross
Womens Travel Network founder

Day 04 India Tour – drive from Agra to Jaipur

This morning, we set off for a full day’s drive to Jaipur. Today we had our first taste of India’s fantastic roads. Along the way we were entertained by the brightly coloured trucks, cows, camels and vehicles of all types sharing the road. Our first stop, the UNESCO World Heritage site of Fatehpur Sikri, briefly the capital of the Mughal Empire. This is the site of one of the largest mosques in India within a marvellous complex of monuments and temples, carved entirely from red sandstone. Jaipur is famous for its profusion of palaces, forts, and its walled city: a medieval labyrinth of bazaars and ancient private mansions.

We say our goodbyes to our fabulous guide Haji and continue our drive to Jaipu. It’s midday and time for lunch. There aren’t too many places to stop along the way but Shiv has found a hidden gem for out lunch break. The Bagh Hotel in the town of Bhartpur. This area is known for it’s bird life. Visitors come form all over the world to take walking tours. Visitors come form all over the worls to visit the national park, home to thousands of species of birds.

The restuaraunt at the hotel is a charming buildining and lunch is delectable.

e bord the bus to continue our journey to jaipu, which takes about 4 hours.  The trip is well planned with a convenient break along ghe way. It feels great to stretch our legs and the hotel staffare waiting with refreshing chai masala. The gardens at this hotel are spectacular.

Back onto the bus for the last hou of our drive.  Holi frestival is tomorrow so the roads are filled with people travelling home to celebreat the festivities with their families. This makes for avery interesting drive. There are busses so full the poeple sit on top. Unbelievable! Motorcylces have families of 4 and 5 on one bike.  Many woemn are out with their husbands which makes the scenery quite colourful with their saris in vibrant yellos, oranges and purples. The Rajasthan area is known for colour.  Coews, camels, donkeys share the roads with the buses, trucks, cars and bikes. The ladies are having a great time snapping photos of this incredible spectacle.

The streets on the outskirst of Jaipur are lined with gypsy tents. You can see the people living inthis area have quite a struggle with life.

One more stop before headig to the hotel, a textile shop where they do block printing on fabrics, weave camel hair rugs and make custom tailored clothing.  We are given a block printing and rug making demo. Some of the ladies test their skills. The ladies are loving the shopping. We also stopped here to pickup our outfits for tomorrows Holi festivities.. Rowena bought one of their lovely hand made carpets.

The Holi festival began at 630pm. When we left the textile shop we could see the smoke rising from the burning brush placed in the streets. Their are many people out purchasing the bright coloured paints for tomorrows celebrations.  There is a stageset up and the locals are  listening to music, dancing and celebrating.

Our hotel is the Hilton, Jaipur located in the heart of the city and near the most popular attractions.

by Debbie Ross
Womens  Travel Network founder

Day 03 India Tour – Agra.  Visiting the iconic Taj Mahal and the Red Fort

An early morning start to enjoy the sunrise at the spectacular Taj Mahal, glowing white in the early morning. It may be a visual cliché, but it is also the one of the few architectural icons that surpasses expectation.   Our incredible guide Haji walks us through the park like setting to view the perfect symmetry, the wonderful proportion and the sheer scale to inspect the exquisite detailing covering every inch of marble. Not only is he an exceptional guide, he’s also a great photographer. The ladies are delighted with the fantastic shots he lines up for us.  The historical site is teeming with visitors from all over the world, which is a site in itself.  The weather is perfect, the sky is clear and the Taj changes colour as the light changes and the sky turns to blue.  Here’s a fun shot of the ladies jumping for joy at the Taj Mahal.

After touring the Taj we went back to our hotel for breakfast, freshen up a bit and then back on the bus to continue our tour day.  First stop is to learn how the artisans make marble inlay treasures. This technique is the same one used to decorate the Taj Mahal. The pieces are exquisite and the men creating these masterpieces are extremely talented.  A little more shopping therapy.  The girls learned something new today, bus shopping..When heading back to the bus we are followed by young men and  children selling trinkets, books and post cards. Our guides bring the items onto the bust for the ladies to select.  it’s great fun, almost like being at an auction.

Our next site visited,  the historic Agra Fort. The towering red-sandstone ramparts house a variety of palace apartments, representing the different building styles of Akbar and his grandson Shah Jahan. The mirrored Sheesh Mahal and the Mina Masjid (the Gem Mosque) is a site to behold. Archways, domes, great courtyards, views of the great Taj Mahal acoss the river. Once again we enjoy the fun of photographing our fellow tourists.

  After a busy morning and afternoon the ladies are happy to go back to the hotel to relax, . Some sat by the pool, others took a nap and I enjoyed an hour long relaxing massage.  Ah, life is great!  At 5pm we board the bus for our interesting drive through the bustling streets of Agra.  The traffic is organized chaos. Cars, trucks,buses, bikes, people, cows. horse and cart and much more. We exchange smiles and waves with the poeple as they pass by. it’s so much fun.  Words cannot explain this experience. Maybe some of the photos will give you an idea of what we saw. We are off to .the river bank to watch the sunset and view the Taj in the evening light.  What a treat, a spectacular sunset on our right,  the Taj Mahal in front of us and a full moon rising on our left. It couldn’t be any better!

by Debbie Ross
Womens Travel Network founde

Day 02 India tour – Drive from Delhi to Agra

This morning we visited  the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, the city’s most prominent Sikh Temple. You must go in barefoot and have your head covered. Lucky for us  they gave us bright orange caps to wear.  The temple was a very moving experience. This is one of the most important sites in Delhi. The visitors are not just tourists, there are many sikhs that come here to worship. We felt honoured to be in this holy place while the men and women went about their daily prayer ritual . There was a wonderful calm feeling and and the marble structure is a site to behold. Inside the temple there is a trio playing soothing music and the priest  is seated under the elaborate gold dome. He is there to guard the holy book. We took a seat on the side to bask in the positivie energy of this magnificent place.  Outside there is a large pool where the worshipers dip their hands and feet to cleanser themselves.

Our next stop is at the cottage industreis to see a silk carpet weaving demonstration.  They seated us in a private room and served refreshing tea and cookies.  The gentleman that owns the rug shop is very knowledgeable and passionate about this dying trade. The hand woven rug deisgns have been in the families for hundreds of years.  The ladies enjoyed the demonstration and a few ladies bought some exquisite silk rugs . These are incredible works of art.  They also had traditional pashmina’s which some of the ladies purchased.  Afterwards we enjoyed a nice lunch at the Intercontinenatl hotel.

Our last stop in Delhi was the Baha’i Lotus Temple, designed by Canadian architect Fariborz Sahba.

We said our goodbyes to Priti and started our 4 hour ride to Agra. Some of the ladies took a nap, a few chatted quietly at the back of the bus and others took in the scenes of rural life in India. Farmers working the fields, children playing and cattle and goats grazing in the fields.  You can feel the tension of the big city slipping away as we move through the tranqui setting .It’s dusk as we arrive at Agra. The city streets and markets are bustling with people and the women are in awe at the scene outside of the bus.  Tomorow we will visit this interesting town.

We arrived at the Radisson, Agra,  hotel shortly after 7pm.  We had just enough time to take the bags to our rooms and then go for buffet dinner.  Afterwards we had a birthday party celebration for Rowena. It was a few days earlly but that was ok because we got to eat cake.

There are some lovely shops in the hotel. A few ladies went to check them out, while there we were treated to a puppet show.  The gentleman working the puppets also makes them. They are wonderful handicrafts. it was a fun day,
We’reoff to bed early as we must get up at 530am to go to the Taj Mahal for sunrise.

by Debbie Ross
Womens Travel Network founder.

Day 01 India tour – New Delhi’s sites and a rickshaw ride through old Delhi.

We arrived safely at the hotel around midnight, after 16 hours of travelling. The flight was smooth and time went by quickly.  Our guide Shiv and office manager Minoj greeted us  with beautiful flower leis made of merrigolds  Ruthy decided to wear hers as a crown.

After checking in everyone went straight to their luxurious rooms to unpack and go to bed.  Monday was going to be a busy day.

Breakfast at 7am and on the bus by 9am.  Our guide Shiv and local guide Priiti took us on a fabulous sightseeingt tour of old and new Delhi. First stop is old Delhi and the Jama Mastit or the Friday Mosque which dates back to the 1600’s. Unfortunatey its raining, but its warm and our spirits are high. To enter the mosque we must take off our shoes. Luckily they gave us slippers to keep our feet dry .  Our knees must be covered. Rifky had to wear a makeshift gown to cover up. It’s wasn’t very stylish.

Our next adventure is a hair raising rick shaw ride through the bumpy, narrow, busy streets of old Delhi.  It seems this part of the city is in need of re wiring. If you look hard enough you’ll see the monkey in that mess of wires.

The rain has stopped  just in time for our visit of the red sandstone Humanyun tomb. Built in 1565, this was the inspiration for the Taj Mahal. It’s hard  to believe this tranquil park like setting is located in a bustling city.

Our drive contnues along the wide sweeping avenues of new Delhi It’s midday and the traffic is crazy, cars and buses dart in and out and horns honk constantly.

Our guide recommends we stop at Veda for lunch,  a trendy restaurant owned by a fashion designer.  We opt for a set menu that gives us a wide variety of items to taste.  The food is fantastic, every mouthful flavourful and satisfying.

Our last stop for this tired, fading group is the impressive Qutub Mindar,dating back to 1198. What a site to behold.  The sun is shining and tourists of all race and colour are out enjoying this site.  Many of the Indian’s ask to have their photo taken with us. We are delighted to take part in this interesting exchange of photo taking.

The Qutab Minar is the world’s tallest brick minaret and one of the finest examples of Indo-Islam architecture and the monuments of the imperial city built by the British in the 1920s.

After  a successful day of sightseeing we went back to the hotel to relax, unwind, freshen up and enjoy a nice dinner at one of the restaurants in the hotel Then offf to bed early.  We have a busy day tocmorrow starting with more sightseeing in Delhi, then a scenic drive to Agra

Our hotel is the Royal Palace, Delhi.  A comfortable, business class hotel in the heart of the city.