Sara and I hadn’t met for the longest period of time. I was going to meet her family for first time. We had been speaking online for a long time and we were really close. One fine day she finally decided that she is going to travel to India. She planned a very short trip for 7 days. I barely had time to show her much.
I advised her to go slow as her family would be very tired and they have never experienced jetlag and things of that nature.
PLAN
2 days she meets my family. Let everyone settle down and enjoy Indian Diwali. Then we would start traveling.
2 nights in Agra
2 nights in Delhi
1 night in ITC Grand Bharat
As I wanted to reduce her expenditures yet give her a royal treatment and best of Indian hospitality.
I booked ITC Mughal using points as it was the best value at the time considering it was just 3000 points per night vs Rs 7800 + 28% Tax.
We used 2 nights in Holiday Inn Mayur Vihar using PointsBreak Promotion and hence she could stay for as little as 5000 points per night. I asked her to buy the points when there was 100% points bonus sale. It barely cost her $100 for 2 nights.
For last stay, we used ITC Grand Bharat and we decided to pay in cash as to provide them with the relaxed royal treatment.
I have already reviewed ITC Grand Bharat and Holiday Inn Mayur Vihar here before.
While there was amazing Etihad sale for 30%, I asked them to book their entire family on Etihad in which they scored a great deal. I asked them to book 2 separate PNR to get the maximum value of the sale. 1st PNR having 3 guest and next PNR having 2 guest to deal with the variable pricing. Luckily for them, they snagged all 5 tickets at the same price. However, on domestic – we used my favorite Jet Airways. In that way, they could add Jet Airways miles to Etihad Miles and would help them in future to snag nice award seats.
I will be talking about ITC Mughal and Taj Mahal here.
I had my reservations when planning an international trip to a distant, and vastly different country. Once I got there though, India proved to be a trip that I will never forget, and a trip that I plan to make again. The people and the places were both fascinating and beautiful on so many levels. I have never met more hospitable people or felt more welcomed in my life than I did as I took in the culture, the food, and the history. Our hotel accommodations were easily the most luxurious I had ever seen, with the best possible service provided. The Indian civilization, being a much older culture, prized their history and preserved ancient tombs, statues and monuments. The Taj Mahal being a man made wonder and a must see, was at the center of it all. The history and the way the Taj was constructed made it worth all the hype leading up to our visit. India was a beautiful country and definitely a recommended tourist destination. Anyone considering a trip there can take it from me: set aside anxiety and reservation and make the trip. It is always advisable to plan and plan well on such a big trip for maximum enjoyment and relaxation, but don’t hesitate to visit.