RTW#3: Vietnam, Maldives, and Tackling India’s Golden Triangle. (AC/OZ/SQ/AI/TK)
Jun 23, 2015, 10:40 pm
#91
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: YVR - Vancouver, with most winter weekends in Whistler.
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Posts: 4,609
The Rambagh Palace
Jaipur, India
We met our representative who was wandering around the secure side of the airport terminal. He strangely knew my full name, but perhaps because we were also the only foreigners on the whole flight. He wasn’t very friendly or welcoming but he did offer to get our bags from the belt.
We were led to our Honda CRV ride and officially welcomed by attired representatives. It was professional, but a little corporate and scripted warmth. I believe the other character was an airport authority representative that wasn’t officially employed by the hotel, but I never really did find out as we never got a proper introduction. After he turned our bags over, we never saw him again.
After a short 15 minutes drive, we arrived to the impressive Rambagh Palace property. The Palace used to belong to Maharajah Man Singh II. The property is gorgeous in an old world style and staying here is a true experience of staying in a palace.
After exiting the car, we were showered in Rose petals (with an traditionally attired keeper carrying a parasol next to us) and provided a welcome towel and drink in the lobby. We were also informed that we had been upgraded to a Palace Room. We received a paint dot on our head, as was “tradition” in this region. It was a unique arrival experience that was unlike any other that we’d experienced at a hotel. It’s not ever day you get showered with rose petals; it was a first for me.
We were asked if we wanted a tour of the property on our way to the hotel, and our butler representative explained some of the features of the property on our way to the room. The first impressions of the hotel were quite grand and inspiring in its public areas. Despite the grandeur, it’s an intimate property with only 79 rooms. We only saw a small handful of guests during our stay.
We were led to upgraded Palace Room #234. It was a square room with high 15” ceilings, and a 4 post bed. Being a historic room, it had a smaller sized bathroom. It was darkly appointed with black marble and rose petals in the tub. I found the room colors to be a bit dated- and even though it was a historic property, the colors seemed a bit drab. The photos don't really do the wear and tear factor any justice.
The property is constructed with outdoor hallways, with paintings of previous dignitaries that have stayed there. Queen Elizabeth II has visited twice, along with the Shah of Iran, Jacqueliene Kennedy Onassis and, of course, Prince Charles and Lady Diana. It added to a bit of interesting history that doesn’t always happen in today’s hotels.
The Rambagh Palace property used to be a kings’ palace, and is the sort of place that has grand spaces, veranda dining and peacock animals all over the property. During our visit, there were elephant and camel rides available for guests, in addition to live entertainment, including dancing every evening from 7:00 - 730 PM on the Veranda. The property also offers a history guided tour of the property daily at 5:30 PM.
We took the guided tour which was provided by a member of the concierge staff and an obviously well educated historian. The tour outlined the history of the property, which used to be a hunting lodge, a boarding school, and then a hotel from 1972.
The hotel pool was added in 1972 and had an interior and an exterior version. Apparently, there was a swing at one time in the indoor pool, but it wasn’t there today.
There were heaps of Peacocks around the property. Thankfully, they weren’t too noisy. They did add a colorful charm to the place.
One of the beautiful parts of the hotel were the public and private areas of The Rambagh Palace. The Hall of Princes was mostly off limits, but seemed to act as a reception area for the opulent conference rooms. Even The Polo Lounge was an enjoyable spot for a drink.
Even the breakfast “The Rajput Room” room was an opulent affair. The Rajput Room had a tiered dining area with opulent arches that had been restored.
The fine dining room “Suvarna Mahal” was a bit of a surprise. The setting and high ceilings of the dining room were wonderfully exotic and elegant. Surprisingly, the prices in the fine dining room were priced the same as The Verandah restaurant. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the opportunity to try it. However, the reviews from guests that we spoke with apparently raved about this place.
We enjoyed several dinners at the casual restaurant “Steam”. The themed restaurant was the train. It was really nice after a day’s sightseeing to camp outside and enjoy a Kingfisher beer.
The property also offered free horse and carriage rides (through the parking lot – surprisingly).
The property was a nice resort to stay at night. As some of the compound living hotel properties are around the world, the Rambagh Palace was pleasant to walk around in after dinner. The way the palace is lit up at night is spectuctular and truly unique.
We also enjoyed a dinner out on The Verandah terrace after our day of sightseeing at the Amber Fort. It was pleasant to eat outside in the cooler tempartures. I had a chicken briyani that was perfectly cooked, with probably some of the most flavorful rice that I’ve ever had the pleasure of enjoying
Once the initial impression settled after our three night stay, we found the room itself to be a bit past its prime. It’s like once you get past the first date, you start seeing her, warts and all. Unfortunately, the sheets in the bed had tears. The sheets were changed the next night and we didn’t get torn sheets again. But continuing the trend, the shower leaked water all over the floor, the towels were quite limp and tired and the bath mats were starting to show signs of wear. On our second night, we went to get a cold drink from the mini bar and it wasn’t even turned on! All drinks were warm. I know this sounds like I'm a bit of a priss for saying this, but it was 42 degrees Celsius (107 Degrees Fahrenheit) outside. Thankfully we were able to rectify that by flipping the power switch; somehow it was left off by housekeeping? The furnishings appeared to be nearing the end of their commercial life. Although not damaged, they appeared exceptionally worn in comparison to the Leela Palace New Delhi, which was very sparkling. The room, for the price point charged, didn’t meet the up keep of the rest of the property, which was otherwise immaculate.
It’s also worth nothing that Taj hotels, has a very restrictive reservation policy. We were interested in making a change (early departure after 2 nights stay) to our reservation prior to arrival. Being on the road, I wrote the hotel through email and received a very vague answer that indicated that there would be a cancellation fee for early departure. I wrote back and asked about what the fee was but never received a clear answer prior to our arrival.
On arrival, I asked about changing the reservation and were told from the manager, via the butler, a flat out “no”, translated as there would be a 100% fee charge for changes. This led me to believe that the TAJ Hotel early departure fees weren’t consistent with some of the major corporate chains (Marriott / Starwood / Hyatt) and eventually read on the fine print of our original booking that no changes were permitted within 14 days (as opposed to 24 hours notice with most other international chain properties).
Ultimately, staying here was a unique experience. The room wasn’t exactly that nice, and the property was old world elegance, but not over the top excellent. The rooms were a lot less well maintained than the historic rooms that I'd previously stayed in with Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. I found that Taj Hotels often wanted you to “experience” things, but often didn’t communicate that they were available. Horse Caleche ride? Free – but only if you happened to be on the Verandah Bar between 5-7 PM and happened to ask about the horse and carriage sitting there… Elephant procession viewing? Yes – it’s been arranged for that conference group over there, but don’t you worry about it since it has nothing to do with you. Unfortunately, it was nothing like our stay at the completing Leela Palace hotel chains and it fell a bit short by comparison.
The service was quite professional, if not a little impersonal. The Leela Palace had genuine anticipatory service and we had conversations with staff there that we will remember for a long time. The Rambagh Palace we would be typically asked how things were, or if everything was alright several times in a row by several different people, often 2-3 minutes apart from each other. It didn’t seem that the staff were all that empowered to make things right as evidenced by our early check out request. Would we stay here or at a Taj property again? Probably not, unless no other options were available. However, it was nice to take in a little local history by staying in a legacy property that many dignateries and royalty have visited and stayed at. It’s an experience you’re guaranteed to get by staying at the Rambagh Palace. And, it does look pretty darn good in photographs.
Jaipur, India
We met our representative who was wandering around the secure side of the airport terminal. He strangely knew my full name, but perhaps because we were also the only foreigners on the whole flight. He wasn’t very friendly or welcoming but he did offer to get our bags from the belt.
We were led to our Honda CRV ride and officially welcomed by attired representatives. It was professional, but a little corporate and scripted warmth. I believe the other character was an airport authority representative that wasn’t officially employed by the hotel, but I never really did find out as we never got a proper introduction. After he turned our bags over, we never saw him again.
After a short 15 minutes drive, we arrived to the impressive Rambagh Palace property. The Palace used to belong to Maharajah Man Singh II. The property is gorgeous in an old world style and staying here is a true experience of staying in a palace.
After exiting the car, we were showered in Rose petals (with an traditionally attired keeper carrying a parasol next to us) and provided a welcome towel and drink in the lobby. We were also informed that we had been upgraded to a Palace Room. We received a paint dot on our head, as was “tradition” in this region. It was a unique arrival experience that was unlike any other that we’d experienced at a hotel. It’s not ever day you get showered with rose petals; it was a first for me.
We were asked if we wanted a tour of the property on our way to the hotel, and our butler representative explained some of the features of the property on our way to the room. The first impressions of the hotel were quite grand and inspiring in its public areas. Despite the grandeur, it’s an intimate property with only 79 rooms. We only saw a small handful of guests during our stay.
We were led to upgraded Palace Room #234. It was a square room with high 15” ceilings, and a 4 post bed. Being a historic room, it had a smaller sized bathroom. It was darkly appointed with black marble and rose petals in the tub. I found the room colors to be a bit dated- and even though it was a historic property, the colors seemed a bit drab. The photos don't really do the wear and tear factor any justice.
The property is constructed with outdoor hallways, with paintings of previous dignitaries that have stayed there. Queen Elizabeth II has visited twice, along with the Shah of Iran, Jacqueliene Kennedy Onassis and, of course, Prince Charles and Lady Diana. It added to a bit of interesting history that doesn’t always happen in today’s hotels.
The Rambagh Palace property used to be a kings’ palace, and is the sort of place that has grand spaces, veranda dining and peacock animals all over the property. During our visit, there were elephant and camel rides available for guests, in addition to live entertainment, including dancing every evening from 7:00 - 730 PM on the Veranda. The property also offers a history guided tour of the property daily at 5:30 PM.
We took the guided tour which was provided by a member of the concierge staff and an obviously well educated historian. The tour outlined the history of the property, which used to be a hunting lodge, a boarding school, and then a hotel from 1972.
The hotel pool was added in 1972 and had an interior and an exterior version. Apparently, there was a swing at one time in the indoor pool, but it wasn’t there today.
There were heaps of Peacocks around the property. Thankfully, they weren’t too noisy. They did add a colorful charm to the place.
One of the beautiful parts of the hotel were the public and private areas of The Rambagh Palace. The Hall of Princes was mostly off limits, but seemed to act as a reception area for the opulent conference rooms. Even The Polo Lounge was an enjoyable spot for a drink.
Even the breakfast “The Rajput Room” room was an opulent affair. The Rajput Room had a tiered dining area with opulent arches that had been restored.
The fine dining room “Suvarna Mahal” was a bit of a surprise. The setting and high ceilings of the dining room were wonderfully exotic and elegant. Surprisingly, the prices in the fine dining room were priced the same as The Verandah restaurant. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the opportunity to try it. However, the reviews from guests that we spoke with apparently raved about this place.
We enjoyed several dinners at the casual restaurant “Steam”. The themed restaurant was the train. It was really nice after a day’s sightseeing to camp outside and enjoy a Kingfisher beer.
The property also offered free horse and carriage rides (through the parking lot – surprisingly).
The property was a nice resort to stay at night. As some of the compound living hotel properties are around the world, the Rambagh Palace was pleasant to walk around in after dinner. The way the palace is lit up at night is spectuctular and truly unique.
We also enjoyed a dinner out on The Verandah terrace after our day of sightseeing at the Amber Fort. It was pleasant to eat outside in the cooler tempartures. I had a chicken briyani that was perfectly cooked, with probably some of the most flavorful rice that I’ve ever had the pleasure of enjoying
Once the initial impression settled after our three night stay, we found the room itself to be a bit past its prime. It’s like once you get past the first date, you start seeing her, warts and all. Unfortunately, the sheets in the bed had tears. The sheets were changed the next night and we didn’t get torn sheets again. But continuing the trend, the shower leaked water all over the floor, the towels were quite limp and tired and the bath mats were starting to show signs of wear. On our second night, we went to get a cold drink from the mini bar and it wasn’t even turned on! All drinks were warm. I know this sounds like I'm a bit of a priss for saying this, but it was 42 degrees Celsius (107 Degrees Fahrenheit) outside. Thankfully we were able to rectify that by flipping the power switch; somehow it was left off by housekeeping? The furnishings appeared to be nearing the end of their commercial life. Although not damaged, they appeared exceptionally worn in comparison to the Leela Palace New Delhi, which was very sparkling. The room, for the price point charged, didn’t meet the up keep of the rest of the property, which was otherwise immaculate.
It’s also worth nothing that Taj hotels, has a very restrictive reservation policy. We were interested in making a change (early departure after 2 nights stay) to our reservation prior to arrival. Being on the road, I wrote the hotel through email and received a very vague answer that indicated that there would be a cancellation fee for early departure. I wrote back and asked about what the fee was but never received a clear answer prior to our arrival.
On arrival, I asked about changing the reservation and were told from the manager, via the butler, a flat out “no”, translated as there would be a 100% fee charge for changes. This led me to believe that the TAJ Hotel early departure fees weren’t consistent with some of the major corporate chains (Marriott / Starwood / Hyatt) and eventually read on the fine print of our original booking that no changes were permitted within 14 days (as opposed to 24 hours notice with most other international chain properties).
Ultimately, staying here was a unique experience. The room wasn’t exactly that nice, and the property was old world elegance, but not over the top excellent. The rooms were a lot less well maintained than the historic rooms that I'd previously stayed in with Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. I found that Taj Hotels often wanted you to “experience” things, but often didn’t communicate that they were available. Horse Caleche ride? Free – but only if you happened to be on the Verandah Bar between 5-7 PM and happened to ask about the horse and carriage sitting there… Elephant procession viewing? Yes – it’s been arranged for that conference group over there, but don’t you worry about it since it has nothing to do with you. Unfortunately, it was nothing like our stay at the completing Leela Palace hotel chains and it fell a bit short by comparison.
The service was quite professional, if not a little impersonal. The Leela Palace had genuine anticipatory service and we had conversations with staff there that we will remember for a long time. The Rambagh Palace we would be typically asked how things were, or if everything was alright several times in a row by several different people, often 2-3 minutes apart from each other. It didn’t seem that the staff were all that empowered to make things right as evidenced by our early check out request. Would we stay here or at a Taj property again? Probably not, unless no other options were available. However, it was nice to take in a little local history by staying in a legacy property that many dignateries and royalty have visited and stayed at. It’s an experience you’re guaranteed to get by staying at the Rambagh Palace. And, it does look pretty darn good in photographs.
Jun 24, 2015, 4:56 am
#93
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Sydney, Australia
Programs: points traveller
Posts: 329
for those heading to the taj, try to head down the outside (i.e. before ticketing) right hand side when facing towards the river. keep walking right down to the river and you may get a guy with his little boat offering a ride out over the water. also highly recommend the amarvilas for those overnighting in Agra - truly outstanding hotel experience.
great report worldtraveller73 - bringing back some fun memories of our trip to India last Easter.
great report worldtraveller73 - bringing back some fun memories of our trip to India last Easter.
Jun 24, 2015, 8:41 am
#94
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: US Air, UA BA LH AI DELTA MARRIOTT CHOICE SGP
Posts: 9,883
WT73 Fantastic photos. Your description of " getting past the first date" is very apt !
Hope you really had great tasting foods....All regions in India excel at different foods.
Hope you really had great tasting foods....All regions in India excel at different foods.
Jun 24, 2015, 5:27 pm
#96
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: US Air, UA BA LH AI DELTA MARRIOTT CHOICE SGP
Posts: 9,883
WT73 The rice you had is a variety called Basmati. You may find it in some mainstream supermarkets in Metro areas or for sure in Indian grocery stores.
Hydrabadi Biryani is considered the best. You may find a variation in Littles India.
Hydrabadi Biryani is considered the best. You may find a variation in Littles India.
Jun 26, 2015, 4:35 pm
#97
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: YVR - Vancouver, with most winter weekends in Whistler.
Programs: Aeroplan 35K, Alaska MVP, Marriott Titanium / Lifetime Platinum, Hertz President's Circle
Posts: 4,609
Jaipur (Old City),
India.
Jaipur rounds out the third city in the Indian Triangle. Jaipur (pronounced JAP-OUUUR) is the capital of Rajasthan. In addition to having some great historical sights, the Old City is an intriguing visit and a method of getting closer to the locals of India. When I was doing research, I was told that Jaipur was the nicest of the three cities. Those reports were right. Jaipur was downright pleasant compared to New Delhi and miles ahead of Agra.
On our day of sightseeing, we decided to go freestyle for a change. We were initially a bit concerned about independent travel in India, but it turned out that all the gloomy CNN and BBC news stories about treatment and safety of women in India were sensationalistic. We had no issues at all around Jaipur.
We started off by taking an Uber X (low cost) car from the hotel into the Old City. The ride, about 5 km (3 miles) came out to 56 Rupees ($0.80 cents). The driver was prompt, and driving a Hyundai Accent. He didn’t speak any English but he was very professional.
After we were dropped off, we took the Lonely Planet walking tour by starting at one end of the Pink City and walking to another. The Old City of Jaipur has a walled portion to it which is known as The Pink City. The buildings in the walled portion were all painted pink due to a visit by a dignitary. It’s as close as you can get to organized chaos with noise, disorganization, broken sidewalks and many things to see along the way.
Most of the shops were for the local Indian population. There were a few souvenir stores closer to the tourist attractions. The main souvenir were hand crafted bracelets. We didn’t get hassled at all through our independent walk through the Old City. The walled city is kris crossed with alleys. In efforts to support proper santiation, they’ve installed public urinals for men at the entrances to most alleys. The entertaining part for me is that they are selling local sugar cane and lime drinks immediately across from the urinal (look toward the top left of the photo)
We headed up to Hawa Mahal, also known as the Palace of the Winds. This historic building is best known for its windows so that the royal ladies of the household could watch the street life. In addition to the unique front, the inner city palace offered great views of the mountains surrounding Jaipur.
There was a nice courtyard where we picked up water to deal with the 40 degree heat. This youngster decided to practice his English by commandeering my Lonely Planet and having an English lesson.
We left Hawa Mahal and headed over to Jantar Mantar. We passed by several shops along the way. One of the shop keepers was feeding monkeys bananas. He was kind enough to let MrsWT73 feed some monkeys who happened to be enjoying the whole thing.
We arrived to Jantar Mantar. Jantar Mantar was constructed around 1799 and was used to study astronomy. It’s received UNESCO World Heritage Status and it’s an entertaining visit to see what times of star gazing instruments were in use several hundred years ago. If you visit, try to plan your visit outside of the middle of the day for the heat. We were through around 2 PM and it was scorching hot with 42 degree temperatures and very little shade. It was free admission today thanks to World Heritage Day.Cows were not part of the free admission eligibility.
MrsWT73, continuing on with the rock star popularity, had her photo taken a few hundred more times by the locals.
After Jantar Mantar, we headed almost immediately across the street to the City Palace. The City Palace was where Jai Singh resided. It was well maintained, but not super opulent by any means.
We took a pedi cab back to the hotel. It was a little farther than we thought and I felt a little bad for the guy pedelling the 3 miles since it was about 42 degrees out. I gave him 300 Rupees (about $8 USD).
Overall, we enjoyed our day visit to the Old City of Jaipur. We had no issues with the safety and security while we wandered around. We were clearly the only tourists in some areas but we were pretty much left alone in the middle of the day. I can’t say the same treatment would have occurred after dark. The attractions were also interesting and worth a visit if you happened to be in the area. The real star, was the Amber Fort which we were to see the very next day.
India.
Jaipur rounds out the third city in the Indian Triangle. Jaipur (pronounced JAP-OUUUR) is the capital of Rajasthan. In addition to having some great historical sights, the Old City is an intriguing visit and a method of getting closer to the locals of India. When I was doing research, I was told that Jaipur was the nicest of the three cities. Those reports were right. Jaipur was downright pleasant compared to New Delhi and miles ahead of Agra.
On our day of sightseeing, we decided to go freestyle for a change. We were initially a bit concerned about independent travel in India, but it turned out that all the gloomy CNN and BBC news stories about treatment and safety of women in India were sensationalistic. We had no issues at all around Jaipur.
We started off by taking an Uber X (low cost) car from the hotel into the Old City. The ride, about 5 km (3 miles) came out to 56 Rupees ($0.80 cents). The driver was prompt, and driving a Hyundai Accent. He didn’t speak any English but he was very professional.
After we were dropped off, we took the Lonely Planet walking tour by starting at one end of the Pink City and walking to another. The Old City of Jaipur has a walled portion to it which is known as The Pink City. The buildings in the walled portion were all painted pink due to a visit by a dignitary. It’s as close as you can get to organized chaos with noise, disorganization, broken sidewalks and many things to see along the way.
Most of the shops were for the local Indian population. There were a few souvenir stores closer to the tourist attractions. The main souvenir were hand crafted bracelets. We didn’t get hassled at all through our independent walk through the Old City. The walled city is kris crossed with alleys. In efforts to support proper santiation, they’ve installed public urinals for men at the entrances to most alleys. The entertaining part for me is that they are selling local sugar cane and lime drinks immediately across from the urinal (look toward the top left of the photo)
We headed up to Hawa Mahal, also known as the Palace of the Winds. This historic building is best known for its windows so that the royal ladies of the household could watch the street life. In addition to the unique front, the inner city palace offered great views of the mountains surrounding Jaipur.
There was a nice courtyard where we picked up water to deal with the 40 degree heat. This youngster decided to practice his English by commandeering my Lonely Planet and having an English lesson.
We left Hawa Mahal and headed over to Jantar Mantar. We passed by several shops along the way. One of the shop keepers was feeding monkeys bananas. He was kind enough to let MrsWT73 feed some monkeys who happened to be enjoying the whole thing.
We arrived to Jantar Mantar. Jantar Mantar was constructed around 1799 and was used to study astronomy. It’s received UNESCO World Heritage Status and it’s an entertaining visit to see what times of star gazing instruments were in use several hundred years ago. If you visit, try to plan your visit outside of the middle of the day for the heat. We were through around 2 PM and it was scorching hot with 42 degree temperatures and very little shade. It was free admission today thanks to World Heritage Day.Cows were not part of the free admission eligibility.
MrsWT73, continuing on with the rock star popularity, had her photo taken a few hundred more times by the locals.
After Jantar Mantar, we headed almost immediately across the street to the City Palace. The City Palace was where Jai Singh resided. It was well maintained, but not super opulent by any means.
We took a pedi cab back to the hotel. It was a little farther than we thought and I felt a little bad for the guy pedelling the 3 miles since it was about 42 degrees out. I gave him 300 Rupees (about $8 USD).
Overall, we enjoyed our day visit to the Old City of Jaipur. We had no issues with the safety and security while we wandered around. We were clearly the only tourists in some areas but we were pretty much left alone in the middle of the day. I can’t say the same treatment would have occurred after dark. The attractions were also interesting and worth a visit if you happened to be in the area. The real star, was the Amber Fort which we were to see the very next day.
Jul 1, 2015, 1:27 pm
#98
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: YVR - Vancouver, with most winter weekends in Whistler.
Programs: Aeroplan 35K, Alaska MVP, Marriott Titanium / Lifetime Platinum, Hertz President's Circle
Posts: 4,609
Amber Fort,
Japiur, India.
The main attraction in Jaipur is the Amber Fort. It’s one of the most impressive forts that we’ve had the opportunity to take in worldwide. We booked a car and a guide through the Rambagh Palace. We had a hotel driver take us in a beautiful Jaguar XF up to the Amber Fort.
It’s about a 15 minute drive out of town. Our first stop was on the way up, where we were able to take in some terrific views of the walled fortress. Its truly an impressive sight, with different walls and a majestic view over the valley. It’s like the castle that you imagined visiting as a child.
Since the fort is a bit of a climb from the valley ground, you can elect to take an elephant ride for 1,100 Rupees, take a jeep or car ride up, or walk. We opted for the elephant ride, which is somewhat of a tradition for the Amber Fort visit. It’s apparently the only fort in India that allows elephant rides which was typicial in the times of the marahajah. Arriving to the elephant loading station, we passed through some of the most aggressive vendors, including some who followed us up the hill shouting at us on the elephant ride.
Nevertheless, it’s a beautiful and bumpy ride up. I needed to set a high shutter speed to capture these shots on the way up. It was pretty rocky! The champagne would have spilled for sure (not that they had any back then). We passed through the Sun Gate on the way up.
On arrival, we off loaded in the Jaleb Chowk where the Marahajah would have arrived to sounds of music similar to what the marahajah listened to. Of course there were lots of pressure for “Tips tips now please” for the camel driver.
The fort is unique as it features 4 tiered courtyards and sections that were each of a higher and higher level. Presumably, the exclusivity rose the higher and higher level The views were outstanding at even the first level.
The entry stairs are impressive and were designed to keep out intruders with doors and gates at the top.
We passed over to the second higher courtyard. The second courtyard was the Hall of Public Audiences called the Diwan-I-AM. It had some interesting latticing and sculptures of elephants around the courtyards.
Passing upward to the third courtyard, we entered into the area where the Marahajah had his apartments and residence.
There were also an ornate hall of mirrors, which I believed was the Jai Manir (Hall of Victory). Along with detailed interior section that was quite elaborately designed suitable for royalty.
The last and forth courtyard was where the marahajah had bedrooms for his concubines. It was a bit more austere than the rich gardens in the third courtyard. You can tell how hot it was by the mount of people gathering in the shade in these next photographs.
The layout was cleverly designed so that the marahajgah could visit the conbunines without each other knowing about his visit’s as the rooms were separate but accessible from various hallways.
Other interesting features of the Fort were a water retrieval system of buckets attached to conveyor belts. These were drawn right from the ground valley floor. The bats had made this area their home at moment.
After our tour, we hopped in the car and headed back down to the Summer Palace of Jaipur. The Summer Palace was a summer getaway for the royalty and is on a lake just outside of town.
We were treated to a highly entertaining magic show by a local girl. She was actually quite skilled in her craft I gave her a few US $ and she was a bit stumped by the foreign currency but appreciative nevertheless.
We headed back to the hotel, but not before a stop at the local wine shop 1 block from the hotel to procure some Sule Chenin Blanc which was the domestic Indian wine. An interesting local set up with an open store front. We opted for the chilled bottles in the cooler.
All in all, it was an excellent day of sightseeing. It was easily among the highlights of our visit through India. It was a really unique visit to a part of the world that I didn't know exactly what to expect.
Most visitors to the fort appeared to be on coach bus tours and were groups of older 60-70’ year olds. We were among the few younger middle aged travelers. If you visit, I’d highly recommend bringing a guide as most of the Amber Fort features aren’t posted and it’s easy to get quite lost in the place in the harsh heat of the day. I’d also recommend visiting away from the hottest part of the day since there are some, but not many covered areas in the Fort.
Japiur, India.
The main attraction in Jaipur is the Amber Fort. It’s one of the most impressive forts that we’ve had the opportunity to take in worldwide. We booked a car and a guide through the Rambagh Palace. We had a hotel driver take us in a beautiful Jaguar XF up to the Amber Fort.
It’s about a 15 minute drive out of town. Our first stop was on the way up, where we were able to take in some terrific views of the walled fortress. Its truly an impressive sight, with different walls and a majestic view over the valley. It’s like the castle that you imagined visiting as a child.
Since the fort is a bit of a climb from the valley ground, you can elect to take an elephant ride for 1,100 Rupees, take a jeep or car ride up, or walk. We opted for the elephant ride, which is somewhat of a tradition for the Amber Fort visit. It’s apparently the only fort in India that allows elephant rides which was typicial in the times of the marahajah. Arriving to the elephant loading station, we passed through some of the most aggressive vendors, including some who followed us up the hill shouting at us on the elephant ride.
Nevertheless, it’s a beautiful and bumpy ride up. I needed to set a high shutter speed to capture these shots on the way up. It was pretty rocky! The champagne would have spilled for sure (not that they had any back then
). We passed through the Sun Gate on the way up. On arrival, we off loaded in the Jaleb Chowk where the Marahajah would have arrived to sounds of music similar to what the marahajah listened to. Of course there were lots of pressure for “Tips tips now please” for the camel driver.
The fort is unique as it features 4 tiered courtyards and sections that were each of a higher and higher level. Presumably, the exclusivity rose the higher and higher level The views were outstanding at even the first level.
The entry stairs are impressive and were designed to keep out intruders with doors and gates at the top.
We passed over to the second higher courtyard. The second courtyard was the Hall of Public Audiences called the Diwan-I-AM. It had some interesting latticing and sculptures of elephants around the courtyards.
Passing upward to the third courtyard, we entered into the area where the Marahajah had his apartments and residence.
There were also an ornate hall of mirrors, which I believed was the Jai Manir (Hall of Victory). Along with detailed interior section that was quite elaborately designed suitable for royalty.
The last and forth courtyard was where the marahajah had bedrooms for his concubines. It was a bit more austere than the rich gardens in the third courtyard. You can tell how hot it was by the mount of people gathering in the shade in these next photographs.
The layout was cleverly designed so that the marahajgah could visit the conbunines without each other knowing about his visit’s as the rooms were separate but accessible from various hallways.
Other interesting features of the Fort were a water retrieval system of buckets attached to conveyor belts. These were drawn right from the ground valley floor. The bats had made this area their home at moment.
After our tour, we hopped in the car and headed back down to the Summer Palace of Jaipur. The Summer Palace was a summer getaway for the royalty and is on a lake just outside of town.
We were treated to a highly entertaining magic show by a local girl. She was actually quite skilled in her craft I gave her a few US $ and she was a bit stumped by the foreign currency but appreciative nevertheless.
We headed back to the hotel, but not before a stop at the local wine shop 1 block from the hotel to procure some Sule Chenin Blanc which was the domestic Indian wine. An interesting local set up with an open store front. We opted for the chilled bottles in the cooler.
All in all, it was an excellent day of sightseeing. It was easily among the highlights of our visit through India. It was a really unique visit to a part of the world that I didn't know exactly what to expect.
Most visitors to the fort appeared to be on coach bus tours and were groups of older 60-70’ year olds. We were among the few younger middle aged travelers. If you visit, I’d highly recommend bringing a guide as most of the Amber Fort features aren’t posted and it’s easy to get quite lost in the place in the harsh heat of the day. I’d also recommend visiting away from the hottest part of the day since there are some, but not many covered areas in the Fort.
Jul 1, 2015, 1:38 pm
#99
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: YVR - Vancouver, with most winter weekends in Whistler.
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Posts: 4,609
They sure do offerendum - it was a little surprising to see how the top end hotels are really "over the top".
Thanks diningdecadence. That's a great tip and we will look out for him the next time we happen to be through town.
Thank you HMPS - the food was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. We happened to collect some Basmati from the airport duty free on the way out (foodie horrors I know)
The Oberoi Rajvilas was number one on our wish list for bookings. For some strange reason sgh, I was unable to get in there as no availability was showing from 6 months out right up to 1 month before departure. A conference or perhaps a major refurbishment? I can only guess. We ended up just opting for the Rambagh Palace. I did happen to note some Trip Advisor comments that the Oberoi was on the "wrong side of town" (whatever that means) so I didn't bother chasing down the reason for the lack of availability as the Rambagh Palace was quite conveniently and centrally located and a suitable alternative.
for those heading to the taj, try to head down the outside (i.e. before ticketing) right hand side when facing towards the river. keep walking right down to the river and you may get a guy with his little boat offering a ride out over the water. also highly recommend the amarvilas for those overnighting in Agra - truly outstanding hotel experience.
great report worldtraveller73 - bringing back some fun memories of our trip to India last Easter.
great report worldtraveller73 - bringing back some fun memories of our trip to India last Easter.
The Oberoi Rajvilas was number one on our wish list for bookings. For some strange reason sgh, I was unable to get in there as no availability was showing from 6 months out right up to 1 month before departure. A conference or perhaps a major refurbishment? I can only guess. We ended up just opting for the Rambagh Palace. I did happen to note some Trip Advisor comments that the Oberoi was on the "wrong side of town" (whatever that means) so I didn't bother chasing down the reason for the lack of availability as the Rambagh Palace was quite conveniently and centrally located and a suitable alternative.
Jul 3, 2015, 11:46 pm
#102
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: YVR - Vancouver, with most winter weekends in Whistler.
Programs: Aeroplan 35K, Alaska MVP, Marriott Titanium / Lifetime Platinum, Hertz President's Circle
Posts: 4,609
We didn't end up visiting Mumbai on this trip having squeezed in Vietnam and the Maldives earlier in the trip. We ended up in New Delhi as a result of wanting to plan the India portion at the end of our travels in the event we got sick (I did) and to avoid the monsoon rainy seasons in Vietnam and the Maldives. It seemed to work out okay - and indeed, it was hot! Mumbai and Udaipur are on the list for the next visit if and when we make it back.
I agree - reading a Trip Report about your home city is strange.
Jul 4, 2015, 12:06 am
#103
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: YVR - Vancouver, with most winter weekends in Whistler.
Programs: Aeroplan 35K, Alaska MVP, Marriott Titanium / Lifetime Platinum, Hertz President's Circle
Posts: 4,609
Air India
Economy Class
JAI – DEL (Jaipur International Airport – Indira Gandhi Domestic Airport)
AI611 – Economy Class (S)
5:10 PM – 6:10 PM
April 20, 2015
Booked: Airbus 319
Flown: Airbus 319
Before we knew it, it came time to leave the Rambagh Palace. It was around this time that the famous “Delhi Belly” struck my traveling stomach. Despite eating exclusively within hotels and on property, I managed to get pretty sick at around the sixth day in India. I suspect the source was a chicken pizza that I had the night before departing at the Rambagh Palace. I would have thought that pizza would have been safe, considering that its usually cooked to a million degrees. However, all signs were pointing towards it as the source. It wasn’t really a surprise, many of the travelers that we talked to on our journey had gotten sick in India at one point or another. I had the Zithromax antibiotic with me, but instead I opted for a steady supply of over the counter Immodium. Little did I know at the time that I would be taking these tablets for about 9 days straight in quanitites upwards of twenty pills along with a visit to the doctor and the biomedical lab on return home, but that’s another story entirely. The moral of the story being, if you come to India, come prepared with medicine. Thankfully, I had everything with me.
We booked a hotel car back to the Jaipur airport. We arrived at about 2 hours before the flight and the check in was not even open yet. We had to show our paper itinary to the military guard to be let into the airport, then additional baggage screening prior to being allowed into the check in area. The Jaipur airport was old school, even the Air India flight board was on a white erase board.
We were led over to the Air India counters. There were only two that were open and we happened to end up at the Executive Class Counter. Our expired Star Gold cards were not questioned and we were not charged any overage on the baggage fee.
We passed through the “segregated by sex” security screening and into the departure concourse. Of note, I happened to see on the Air India website that it is permitted to carry a kirpan (ceremonial dagger) with you on board domestic flights within India. I didn’t see anyone doing this, but it’s a bit of a different concept to be allowing long curved knives on board when you are usually accustomed to an ultra security conscious North American environment. Getting back to Jaipur, the departure concourse was a very tired, dirty and depressing place with a few souvenir shops and pigeons flying about the hall.
Seems as there was no lounge, the customers fed the pigeons inside the hall for entertainment.
The flight arrived on time and we were boarding at T-15. There was plenty of bin space for the rollies since most in this part of the world don’t seem to use rolling suitacases. The plane was the now familiar red and orange. Although it wasn’t as dirty as our Male to Delhi flights, it wasn’t exactly an example of Spic and Span either. A quick board and we were pushing back early at T-5.
I am sure that the Health and Safety Committee would have something to say about hanging out here without being teathered in. Seems as though they were just killing time and watching the airfield go by.
We had a quick climb out thanks to no traffic. A pre-departure beverage of a small water bottle was dropped off.
The meal service was the same as on our way back, a small sandwich tray with a mango juice box.
We each earned a generous 36 Aeroplan Status Miles for this flight (25% of actual miles flown), which is less than I get filling up my car at Esso Gas Stations in Canada.
We had a round about descent into Delhi. We landed and started walking down the long terminal of Indira Gandhi International Airport. We ended up at the other end of the international arrivals hall and passed the mudras from the opposite angle. We bypassed international customs thanks to the domestic lanes and the “D” on our boarding card.
We easily found our driver and headed for the 1 hr transfer to the hotel. There were some interesting taxi’s outside for those that weren’t using Uber or other car services.
Overall, I have to say it was a reasonable flight. It certainly wasn’t big on frills. We had a tea time snack in the form of a mini sandwich. The Jaipur airport was a bit of disaster but I wasn’t really expecting much. Surprisingly, Air India actually had the audacity to send me an internet survey asking, of many things, if the planes were clean. Funny!
Jul 4, 2015, 12:20 am
#104
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: YVR - Vancouver, with most winter weekends in Whistler.
Programs: Aeroplan 35K, Alaska MVP, Marriott Titanium / Lifetime Platinum, Hertz President's Circle
Posts: 4,609
ITC Muraya
A Luxury Collection Hotel
Executive King, Club Floor
New Delhi, India
We had such an excellent stay with The Leela Palace on our last pass through, it was a shame not to be staying there again. In reality, we had a twelve hour layover, so we opted for something a bit more main stream. On our way in, I happened to see a new JW Marriott very close to the airport and we probably would have stayed there had we known it was so new. Instead, we went with an old Starwood standby: the ITC Muraya situated in the embassy district. We had a very chatty hotel driver from a company that appeared to be contracted on behalf of the hotel. The driver had a plain uniform on that was quite shabby. Of course, he had to throw in the suggestion that he needed tips to feed his family- it was a bit of a contrast from our Leela arrival experience.
We arrived to a very chaotic driveway area of the ITC Muraya. There were about 20 people standing around blocking the entrance way. We unloaded our bags from the van and they headed over to get security screened by X ray. We passed through a scanner and found the front desk. The difference between the Leela and the ITC Muraya was immediately apparent. There was no express check in here. First off, it was a bit of a wait to find an actual staff member to man the front desk and check us in despite 50-60 people wandering around in the lobby. This was followed by a further 10 minute ordeal to process all the paper work, take photocopies of the passports, then have the staff member complete the forms, then sign the forms. We were both Starwood Preferred Guest members with credit cards and electronic profiles in the mainframe somewhere but it didn’t seem to make much difference. Thankfully, we had no where to be but I can’t imagine what happens where there is actually a line up to check in- it must take forever. Some photos from much later in the night.
One of the nice features of this hotel is the lobby art feature. It’s unusual and has a certain look to it but I found it to be quite engaging. Usually most hotel lobbies are forgettable and tend to look the same after a while. The artwork featured vignettes of different personalities. The placard encouraged you to look for yourself.
I think I eventually found myself in the mosaic (with the camera), or any other Flyer Talking Trip Reporter.
We led ourselves up to Room #1441 on the Club Floor entitled on the “Grand Presidential Floor”. The hotel was built approximately 40 years ago and advertises itself as the “favorite for heads of state for over 40 years”. This statement, translated into reality, means that the rooms are quite small by today’s standards. We arrived to a compact room but nothing that wasn't unbearable for a brief 12 hour stay. It must have been the Grand Presidential Floor of small countries with small people. The room was even smaller once there were two suitacases and two rollies parked about the floor and stand. I had a good chuckle of the parkway square wood flooring; it reminded me of my grandfather’s house in the seventies.
We had lounge access. Drinks were not included in our rate, but were on 50% offer off between 6-8 PM. I’m sorry to report that the lounge was a pretty dismal place. It was a shabby beige room, with some depressing meager snacks that looked like leftovers from a party that you arrived about three hours too late to. The lone staff member that drew the short straw was totally overworked, serving 12 people at 6 different tables all by himself. Our order from the reception bar (prepared elsewhere by the looks of it) would take 20 minutes to arrive. There was no aura of exclusivity here as there were some customers who had taken their sandals off and were picking at their exposed bare toes with their fingers while they sipped their whiskies... You've gotten the image of the kind of clientele that was here on our visit.
We packed up here fairly quickly and went downstairs to an excellent dinner at Bukhara. Bukhara is well known amongst Indian restaurants and it featured robust North West Indian cuisine. It's one of the many restaurants inside the ITC Muraya hotel. We turned up at about 6:30 PM without a reservation and were able to get seated after about at twenty minute wait.
The food here was the best of the trip. The Burkaha bar has had famous visitors, including the Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, the British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Hollywood actor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the entire Bill, Hiliary and Chelsea Clinton family several times over.
We were well taken care of by Parveen who provided us with sample Dahl, Pehwara Kebabs, and Tandorii Aloo. No gas fires here, only tandori ovens and charcol grills in this kitchen. The dhal was especially famous – Parveeen indicated that they had sold over 2.5 milllion dishes in the past 15 years. The food flavours were sensational; spices unique to India along with freshness that could easily be approached. The naan bread was equally fantastic – a taste like unlike any other.
Overall, it was an excellent meal experience. It’s highly recommended if you happen to find yourself here in New Delhi for any reason. The meal experience was complimented by excellent service as well.
Our stay at the ITC Muraya was okay. It wasn't a spectacular stay by any means. I've had nicer and more personable stays at anonymous Westin hotels throughout North America. The ITC Muraya fills the void when you're on a fixed budget and you want a reasonable, but dated, property that offers all the fixings; a pool, a lounge and several international restaurants to choose from. It wasn't anywhere near in the same league as The Leela Palace but it was reasonable to have experienced both. My next stay will probably be back at The Leela Palace or somewhere new. Be forewarned, couples or families may find the rooms somewhat compact for their liking.
A Luxury Collection Hotel
Executive King, Club Floor
New Delhi, India
We had such an excellent stay with The Leela Palace on our last pass through, it was a shame not to be staying there again. In reality, we had a twelve hour layover, so we opted for something a bit more main stream. On our way in, I happened to see a new JW Marriott very close to the airport and we probably would have stayed there had we known it was so new. Instead, we went with an old Starwood standby: the ITC Muraya situated in the embassy district. We had a very chatty hotel driver from a company that appeared to be contracted on behalf of the hotel. The driver had a plain uniform on that was quite shabby. Of course, he had to throw in the suggestion that he needed tips to feed his family- it was a bit of a contrast from our Leela arrival experience.
We arrived to a very chaotic driveway area of the ITC Muraya. There were about 20 people standing around blocking the entrance way. We unloaded our bags from the van and they headed over to get security screened by X ray. We passed through a scanner and found the front desk. The difference between the Leela and the ITC Muraya was immediately apparent. There was no express check in here. First off, it was a bit of a wait to find an actual staff member to man the front desk and check us in despite 50-60 people wandering around in the lobby. This was followed by a further 10 minute ordeal to process all the paper work, take photocopies of the passports, then have the staff member complete the forms, then sign the forms. We were both Starwood Preferred Guest members with credit cards and electronic profiles in the mainframe somewhere but it didn’t seem to make much difference. Thankfully, we had no where to be but I can’t imagine what happens where there is actually a line up to check in- it must take forever. Some photos from much later in the night.
One of the nice features of this hotel is the lobby art feature. It’s unusual and has a certain look to it but I found it to be quite engaging. Usually most hotel lobbies are forgettable and tend to look the same after a while. The artwork featured vignettes of different personalities. The placard encouraged you to look for yourself.
I think I eventually found myself in the mosaic (with the camera), or any other Flyer Talking Trip Reporter.
We led ourselves up to Room #1441 on the Club Floor entitled on the “Grand Presidential Floor”. The hotel was built approximately 40 years ago and advertises itself as the “favorite for heads of state for over 40 years”. This statement, translated into reality, means that the rooms are quite small by today’s standards. We arrived to a compact room but nothing that wasn't unbearable for a brief 12 hour stay. It must have been the Grand Presidential Floor of small countries with small people. The room was even smaller once there were two suitacases and two rollies parked about the floor and stand. I had a good chuckle of the parkway square wood flooring; it reminded me of my grandfather’s house in the seventies.
We had lounge access. Drinks were not included in our rate, but were on 50% offer off between 6-8 PM. I’m sorry to report that the lounge was a pretty dismal place. It was a shabby beige room, with some depressing meager snacks that looked like leftovers from a party that you arrived about three hours too late to. The lone staff member that drew the short straw was totally overworked, serving 12 people at 6 different tables all by himself. Our order from the reception bar (prepared elsewhere by the looks of it) would take 20 minutes to arrive. There was no aura of exclusivity here as there were some customers who had taken their sandals off and were picking at their exposed bare toes with their fingers while they sipped their whiskies... You've gotten the image of the kind of clientele that was here on our visit.
We packed up here fairly quickly and went downstairs to an excellent dinner at Bukhara. Bukhara is well known amongst Indian restaurants and it featured robust North West Indian cuisine. It's one of the many restaurants inside the ITC Muraya hotel. We turned up at about 6:30 PM without a reservation and were able to get seated after about at twenty minute wait.
The food here was the best of the trip. The Burkaha bar has had famous visitors, including the Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, the British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Hollywood actor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the entire Bill, Hiliary and Chelsea Clinton family several times over.
We were well taken care of by Parveen who provided us with sample Dahl, Pehwara Kebabs, and Tandorii Aloo. No gas fires here, only tandori ovens and charcol grills in this kitchen. The dhal was especially famous – Parveeen indicated that they had sold over 2.5 milllion dishes in the past 15 years. The food flavours were sensational; spices unique to India along with freshness that could easily be approached. The naan bread was equally fantastic – a taste like unlike any other.
Overall, it was an excellent meal experience. It’s highly recommended if you happen to find yourself here in New Delhi for any reason. The meal experience was complimented by excellent service as well.
Our stay at the ITC Muraya was okay. It wasn't a spectacular stay by any means. I've had nicer and more personable stays at anonymous Westin hotels throughout North America. The ITC Muraya fills the void when you're on a fixed budget and you want a reasonable, but dated, property that offers all the fixings; a pool, a lounge and several international restaurants to choose from. It wasn't anywhere near in the same league as The Leela Palace but it was reasonable to have experienced both. My next stay will probably be back at The Leela Palace or somewhere new. Be forewarned, couples or families may find the rooms somewhat compact for their liking.
