Exotic India W/Air

Dear Nazir, Not having travelled on a tour prior to this trip, Brian and I were a bit concerned about how the itinerary would work for the two of us who tend to be rather "foot loose and fancy-free”. Our interaction with you and Mandira, while arranging our tour, was very positive, so we were quite hopeful that the tour would be just right for us. Brian and I appreciated your attention to detail, to making sure our needs were met and especially your pre-trip phone call to answer any questions we had. Our positive interaction with Explore India continued with all the staff throughout India. Our first meeting with knowledgeable, efficient, and friendly Rajeev who so competently managed all the details throughout the tour and Harry, our erudite, articulate and enthusiastic guide quickly dispelled any concerns we had. Our drivers were quite wonderful, as they took us through the hectic crowded streets of Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, and Varanasi, and through the rural roads that were crowded with oxen and other animals, keeping us safe at all times. Our assistants, in particular, Amid, were charming, taking great care of us and always providing us with much needed cold water whenever we came back to the bus. Our tour was a small group, and we quickly meddled into a cohesive group, enjoying each other’s company and sharing in the delight of exploring northern India together. The tour suited us perfectly, no name tags to wear other than the first morning when we were introduced to each other, no flags to follow, rather just a group of travellers exploring together. The Impressions of India tour was extremely well organized and the itinerary provided us with the opportunity to see the majority of historical sites in the cities and rural areas we visited. India’s history is complex and the tour and Harry our guide provided us with many insights into the past world and architecture of the Mugals, Rajputs, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists as well as providing many insights into modern India. All of the sites we visited were both impressive and moving, however, none more so that the shimmering beauty of the Taj Mahal in Agra. While we found the cities fascinating, the countryside and its people were more interesting to both of us. A request to stop by the roadside so that I could photograph the women working in the fields turned into an incredible opportunity to stop at a tiny village where we were able to interact with some of the villagers. I think the villagers were as intrigued with us as we were with them. I was very honored to be given a wee, naked baby girl to hold by a shy young mother. Throughout our trip, we continued to have opportunities to interact with the local people, which was a pleasure for all of us. It was quite interesting that in the rural areas, we were considered exotic, and as a result, a number of the locals asked us if they could take photos of us with their children. It didn’t seem to matter that our Hindi was limited to please and thank you and our only Urdu was thank you, or that many people we interacted with had no English, we were able to communicate with smiling eyes and with joy and appreciation for all the children we encountered. A highlight for all of us was an unplanned stop at a government-sponsored school in rural Rajasthan. We arrived just as the whole school, from kindergarten to high school was meeting in the hot, dusty centre courtyard. The children and teachers were thrilled to meet us and we were equally thrilled to meet them. We were introduced individually, including our occupations (or former occupations) and treated with much respect, especially Brian as a former principal, and Tina as a former mathematics teacher. Our decision to sing Oh Canada was completely spontaneous and utterly moving as the nine of us sang with great pride our national anthem to a rapt audience of students and teachers. Three teenage girls then sang the Indian national anthem with sweet young voices again to a rapt audience of staff, students, and Canadians. All too soon it was time to say goodbye as the students returned to their classrooms and we headed off to continue our exploring. Our hotels were luxurious with wonderfully attentive staff. The food was excellent wherever we were with a variety of curries and Indian specialties available at every meal. There was nothing better than freshly baked naan with each and every meal. Street vendors had small carts with the most interesting and delectable food offerings and as our stomachs grew accustomed to the Indian diet, and with our guide Harry’s direction, we were able to try some local specialties including deep fried vegetarian balls dipped into a spicy cilantro sauce, crispy potato samosas, refreshing plan in Varanasi, local sweets, and masala chai made with camel milk at a small remote tea stand. Indian culture is very different than our own and it was important to us that we not judge the people and their ways through our Western eyes but rather just let ourselves experience all that India had to offer. India is a rich and vibrant country that provided us with the most fascinating multi-sensory experiences and gave us just a small glimpse into its world and its warm and welcoming people. We feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to have been there and feel equally fortunate to have found your Explore India company which provided us with such an incredible variety of experiences in a short period of time. We definitely could not have seen as much as we did without your fascinating itinerary. Returning home to a very rainy October, we are already thinking of returning to India, and of course, when we do, we will definitely be in touch to book another trip with you. With warm regards and much appreciation,

Hi, Nazir. Sorry, I haven't written sooner but I have had a bad cold since returning from our amazing India trip. Both Stuart and I had a wonderful experience as it was much more than either of us expected. As our guide Yajure explained to us, India has been "cleaning itself up". What a wonderful surprise. Delhi being a bustling mega city, was a joy to experience in the few days we were there. Our bus rides, while exciting due to the different "vehicles, animals and people on the roads, made our journeys very colorful. Yajure was a wonderful, generous and knowledgeable guide. He is a walking encyclopedia. He was extremely accommodating and adaptable at a moments notice. Seeing the Taj Mahal, Buddha's birthplace, the Red Fort, the  Ganges in Varanasi and of course the city of Jaipur brought the trip to life. It was all mesmerizing. Your colleague Rajeev in Delhi was very helpful and kind and protective of us. Although he was mourning the loss of his dear father, he made himself available to us. So that's it Nazir. We certainly will not hesitate to recommend your company to any of our friends and family. Yours truly,

Hi Nazir, We came home safely and the trip was great, I phoned you the next day want to tell you we enjoy the India trip but you weren't in the office. We also emailed to Ashish Khurana your local tourist guard and special thanks for his effort to take care of us all the way and we also ask him to say special thanks to Rajeev Shaarma he is a great leader to look after us from city to city. This trip really opened my eyes to understand India, they are a great nation during this money currency crisis, each bank lots people line up but no fighting. Again my wife and I thanks very much for your arrangement, hope to see you for any future trips.  May we wish you and your family have a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year.

I got home yesterday from a fascinating and wonderful tour of India. The excellent service that we received from your colleague and support staff made this trip a success. Rajeev was very attentive and personable and I was pleasantly surprised that he took the time to phone and talk to each and every member of our group, in the middle of our tour, to hear of any concern that we may have. Such commitment to great customer service is to be commended. My sincere thanks to you, Rajeev, and all members of the team for the excellent service. I will definitely recommend Explore India to family and friends.

Hello Mandira and Nazir, We just wanted to thank you for all the help and suggestions during the planning of our recent trip. We had a great time and enjoyed visiting both India and Nepal. We feel that we gained a good glimpse of their history, culture and way of life. Trip organization, our guides, hotels, meals were all superb. We felt safe and well taken care of at all times. Above all, we had fun! Thank you, Zuzana and Allan

Namaste! Our trip to India was amazing. It was the best organized tour I've been on. I liked the fact that we didn't have to worry about anything from tipping to what to do. Everything was done to detail, and we were not rushed. The itinerary was really well planned. I also liked the casual start in the mornings instead of getting up at 5am to be on the road at 6:30am every morning, All the hotels we stayed at were exceptional, and Ashish, our Tour Guide was very good. Had good information and stories of all the attractions, and had a very good sense of humor. We had lots of laughs. Everyone on this trip got along famously, were very friendly and welcoming. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the entire trip. I want to also thank you again for all your help in the preparation for it. For all your patience to all my phone calls to you.

A hearty thank you to you and all involved with Explore India. Angela and I are very pleased with everyone and everything that happened during our tour. attached find an ad for my art show this Saturday at the Two Rivers Art Gallery in Prince George, I managed to finish a few paintings of India for the exhibit. Thank you again!

A Journey of the Senses and it was! I don't believe I could have found a better way to see this part of India, thanks to Explore India. It was an absolute adventure and I didn't want to miss a thing! The tour was very well organized, safe and educational. Tour guide Ashiesch Korana was excellent as was our guide in Nepal - Sanjay Nepal. I learned so much from these 2 special people. The hotel accommodation was excellent as was the bus transportation. All in all this trip was an experience of a lifetime for me and many thanks to you Nazir and explore India for enabling me to visit India and Nepal - 2 countries on my bucket list. Sincerely, Barb Schimpl

Leona and I thoroughly enjoy our trip. The trip was just right, not too short or too long.With a small group, we got to know everyone and even promise to travel together in the future. No problem with the Hotels or our meals. Kingfisher beer and only Kingfisher beer, no complaint. Our tour guide Sanjay, was excellent. He was very knowledgeable and funny. Overall, it was a good trip and I highly recommended your company to our friends as a place to deal with. We are planning to go back in 2 years to see the south part of India or trekking north to Darjeeling, Sikkim area.

We had a great week in London going back home to Vancouver this afternoon. Our trip in India was amazing thanks to your taking care of all details, organization and putting it together so well. The tour of Kerala was incredible as well. We enjoyed the lush green plantations, forests and spice gardens. The houseboat was such a treat we could enjoy another night. Cochin has lots of history and sites to explore. We will recommend Explore India to friends it exceeded our expectations. Keep well and all the best,

Dear Nazir, Not having travelled on a tour prior to this trip, Brian and I were a bit concerned about how the itinerary would work for the two of us who tend to be rather "foot loose and fancy-free”. Our interaction with you and Mandira, while arranging our tour, was very positive, so we were quite hopeful that the tour would be just right for us. Brian and I appreciated your attention to detail, to making sure our needs were met and especially your pre-trip phone call to answer any questions we had. Our positive interaction with Explore India continued with all the staff throughout India. Our first meeting with knowledgeable, efficient, and friendly Rajeev who so competently managed all the details throughout the tour and Harry, our erudite, articulate and enthusiastic guide quickly dispelled any concerns we had. Our drivers were quite wonderful, as they took us through the hectic crowded streets of Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, and Varanasi, and through the rural roads that were crowded with oxen and other animals, keeping us safe at all times. Our assistants, in particular, Amid, were charming, taking great care of us and always providing us with much needed cold water whenever we came back to the bus. Our tour was a small group, and we quickly meddled into a cohesive group, enjoying each other’s company and sharing in the delight of exploring northern India together. The tour suited us perfectly, no name tags to wear other than the first morning when we were introduced to each other, no flags to follow, rather just a group of travellers exploring together. The Impressions of India tour was extremely well organized and the itinerary provided us with the opportunity to see the majority of historical sites in the cities and rural areas we visited. India’s history is complex and the tour and Harry our guide provided us with many insights into the past world and architecture of the Mugals, Rajputs, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists as well as providing many insights into modern India. All of the sites we visited were both impressive and moving, however, none more so that the shimmering beauty of the Taj Mahal in Agra. While we found the cities fascinating, the countryside and its people were more interesting to both of us. A request to stop by the roadside so that I could photograph the women working in the fields turned into an incredible opportunity to stop at a tiny village where we were able to interact with some of the villagers. I think the villagers were as intrigued with us as we were with them. I was very honored to be given a wee, naked baby girl to hold by a shy young mother. Throughout our trip, we continued to have opportunities to interact with the local people, which was a pleasure for all of us. It was quite interesting that in the rural areas, we were considered exotic, and as a result, a number of the locals asked us if they could take photos of us with their children. It didn’t seem to matter that our Hindi was limited to please and thank you and our only Urdu was thank you, or that many people we interacted with had no English, we were able to communicate with smiling eyes and with joy and appreciation for all the children we encountered. A highlight for all of us was an unplanned stop at a government-sponsored school in rural Rajasthan. We arrived just as the whole school, from kindergarten to high school was meeting in the hot, dusty centre courtyard. The children and teachers were thrilled to meet us and we were equally thrilled to meet them. We were introduced individually, including our occupations (or former occupations) and treated with much respect, especially Brian as a former principal, and Tina as a former mathematics teacher. Our decision to sing Oh Canada was completely spontaneous and utterly moving as the nine of us sang with great pride our national anthem to a rapt audience of students and teachers. Three teenage girls then sang the Indian national anthem with sweet young voices again to a rapt audience of staff, students, and Canadians. All too soon it was time to say goodbye as the students returned to their classrooms and we headed off to continue our exploring. Our hotels were luxurious with wonderfully attentive staff. The food was excellent wherever we were with a variety of curries and Indian specialties available at every meal. There was nothing better than freshly baked naan with each and every meal. Street vendors had small carts with the most interesting and delectable food offerings and as our stomachs grew accustomed to the Indian diet, and with our guide Harry’s direction, we were able to try some local specialties including deep fried vegetarian balls dipped into a spicy cilantro sauce, crispy potato samosas, refreshing plan in Varanasi, local sweets, and masala chai made with camel milk at a small remote tea stand. Indian culture is very different than our own and it was important to us that we not judge the people and their ways through our Western eyes but rather just let ourselves experience all that India had to offer. India is a rich and vibrant country that provided us with the most fascinating multi-sensory experiences and gave us just a small glimpse into its world and its warm and welcoming people. We feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to have been there and feel equally fortunate to have found your Explore India company which provided us with such an incredible variety of experiences in a short period of time. We definitely could not have seen as much as we did without your fascinating itinerary. Returning home to a very rainy October, we are already thinking of returning to India, and of course, when we do, we will definitely be in touch to book another trip with you. With warm regards and much appreciation,