THE LUXURY TRAVEL
MAGAZINE FOR INDEPENDENT
TRAVELLERS

Looking for the most romantic way to spend our twentieth anniversary, my husband, Steve, a travel photographer, and I chose India. Like our marriage, India is a mysterious anomaly that when taken all together is a beautiful experience, provided you go into it with the right attitude. Leaving aside our marriage for now, India challenges written description, and so, if you ask me, Steve had the easier job capturing the intense colors of Rajasthan, Mughal architectural wonders hanging from precipices and merchants with sun-worn faces enthusiastically selling their wares in street markets. He will tell you though, that the experience was so intense, he would have had to be a videographer as well as an historian to do the trip justice. The country has eighteen official languages (and hundreds of dialects), twelve religions (without counting the tribal religions), and three hundred and thirty million gods. A land of over a billion people that spans from sea to desert, from jungle to city high-rises, it has a growing middle class, a young population, and an economy that is growing extraordinarily fast. Yet the face of India, at least as it relates to the India tourists see, bears a remarkable resemblance to that of its historic past. It is steeped in a spirituality and tradition that defines the passage of time by centuries, rather than by decades.

One of the most significant paradoxes that confronts the traveler to India is the contrast of the incredibly high level of luxury in the hospitality industry, with the prevailing poverty among the greater part of the local population. The Westerner traveling to India may be struck by the disparity between their traveling like a Maharaja or Maharani and being surrounded by a populace, a large percentage of whom are struggling to make ends meet day to day. In examining this disparity, it's helpful to consider the enormous assistance the luxury traveler provides to the expanding economy. India wants you and needs you, and staying away based on perceptions of economic disparity between the traveler and the locals, does not help them. Rather it deprives them of one of the more lucrative ways to make a living. It also denies you an experience of hospitality unequalled in most areas of the world.

The key to travel in India, wherever you may wander, is choosing the right tour operator. India is not a country that is easy to navigate, due to the nature of the roads (or the lack thereof), the language barrier (English is only one of the official languages and one not used by many locals) and the diversity of cultural norms. I chose Greaves Travel (http://www.greavesindia.com) and their attention to detail exceeded my expectations. The experience was seamless from start to finish. Expert individual planning, representatives to meet us at the airport and at each location, drivers who have more experience than Grand Prix racers and New York taxi drivers combined, and a significant presence in India that seems to command getting things done.

Read about each city we visited and the stunning hotels that welcomed us royally, as we progressed from Delhi to Agra, home of the Taj Mahal, then on to Rajasthan to enjoy Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur.

Part 1 Delhi & the Imperial
Part 2 Agra & the Oberoi Amarvilas
Part 3 Jaipur & the Oberoi Rajvilas
Part 4 Jodhpur & the Umaid Bhawan Palace
Part 5 Udaipur & the Taj Lake Palace