Passages to India
Former Wish You Were Here…? and Holiday presenter John Carter previews Ramblers Worldwide Holidays’ latest tours of the Subcontinent, and remembers his visits to a country of uncompromising beauty and unique, unforgettable experiences…
Some time ago, in Goa, I was with a group of British holidaymakers for whom this trip was a grand adventure. Greece was the farthest any of them had been hitherto. For most, the Costas of Spain were all they had experienced. They spent most of the fortnight lounging by the hotel pool, complaining about the price of wine in the restaurant, and the food, which was not what they had expected (having assumed it would be like the meals they ate in the flock-wallpapered familiarity of their local Indian restaurant). As it was a working trip, my colleagues and I departed every morning, returning late in the day with stories of our rides on steam trains, our encounters with villagers, our meetings with storytellers and street hagglers, our visits to tombs and temples, and of all the rich wonders that lay beyond the hotel grounds. With difficulty, we persuaded some of the group to hire a taxi and spend a day, or even just half a day, in nearby Panjim. We explained that, for about the equivalent of 50 pence, the driver would stay with them for as long as needed, and be on hand to return them to the hotel. A few took our advice, but one young lady returned saying everything was “awful, smelly and dirty”, and the best thing about the excursion was that she had found a Benetton shop “where everything was so amazingly cheap”. Some people you just can’t help.
I hope I’m not putting you off, for that is far from my intention. But India is not simply another tourist destination: it is an uncompromising assault upon all your senses. From the moment you step from the aircraft you will encounter unfamiliar sights and sounds, tastes and aromas. And though you will, of course, also encounter standards of service in hotels and restaurants that can stand comparison with the best, do not think that India will make any other concessions to your European tastes. A visit to India – the real, true India, which alone justifies your journey – is full of sights and experiences that will live in your memory for ever. But its jewels are to be found in a very rough setting. India has the Taj Mahal in Agra, the Pink Palace in Jaipur, the ornate palaces of the Maharajahs of Rajasthan, and the mind-blowingly elaborate – and explicit – carved temples at Khajuraho. It has, in the words of Indiaphile and Ramblers Worldwide Holidays tour leader Annette Cotter, “a timeless landscape that is almost biblical, an overwhelming richness of architecture, and a surfeit of faiths and religions”. It also has beggars and poverty and the casual cruelty of crowded city streets. India can break your heart at the same time as lifting your spirit. In fact, when I was asked to write about walking holidays in India, my first reaction was to refuse because I was afraid some readers would react like those Brits in Goa. But then I decided that most walk readers are likely to be of an inquiring, even adventurous, disposition, and prepared to take India as they find it. In the current jargon, you’d be ‘up for it’! The current all-inclusive holidays in the Ramblers Worldwide Holidays brochure are suited to the first-time visitor as well as someone who has sampled India and wants to build on that previous experience.
One 14-day deal, called Tigers, Temples and Ancient Cities, includes the almost obligatory Delhi/Agra ingredient and puts you on a train to Rajasthan for a three-night stay in Ranthambhore National Park, where the tigers of the title are to be seen. Then it’s on to Keoladeo National Park, which claims to be one of the most important bird-breeding and migratory areas in the world. A visit to Khajuraho’s ornate Hindu and Jain temples is also included in this holiday, which is classed as a UNESCO world heritage site. The ancient and sumptuous erotic carvings represent the sexual couplings of gods and goddesses, as well as humans, and leave little to the imagination with their graphic and gymnastic poses. However, in their proper setting and context, they are not shocking and quite beautiful. Southern India is another rewarding destination, and there is a Ramblers Worldwide Holiday that flies you to Bangalore and then takes you by road, rail and internal air service to Hassan, Mysore and Ootacamund. The latter is a hill town that the British, during the days of the Raj, would escape to from the summer heat, and its air of superiority and prim suburban architecture mean it’s still known as ‘Snooty Ooty’ today. The vast nature reserve at Kumarakom is next, then Cochin and, finally, Chennai (Madras) for the flight home. It is a 19-day trip, possibly best for a second or third-time visitor. When I met Annette Cotter recently, she had just returned from yet another visit to the country she loves so much. I suspect she has lost count of the number of visits over the last 25 years, but she was enthusing about an 18-day holiday she had been researching on behalf of Ramblers Worldwide Holidays. A Himalayan Odyssey isn’t yet in the brochure, but, having seen its itinerary, I’d advise you to watch out for it.
A two-week trip to India with Ramblers Worldwide Holidays (✆ 01707 331133, www.ramblersholidays.co.uk) starts at £1,955 per person, including return flights, transfers, half-board accommodation and the expert guidance of a tour leader.
For your chance to win a two-week walking holiday for two, worth approx £4,000, courtesy of Ramblers Worldwide Holidays (new brochure out now), simply answer
this question: Since which year has Ramblers Worldwide Holidays supported the Ramblers? Complete the entry form online by 31 August 2010 or send your name, address and contact number to: Samos Competition, Ramblers Worldwide Holidays, Lemsford Mill, Lemsford Village, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire AL8 7TR. The first correct entry picked at random after the closing date will win. Prize details and terms and conditions are available at www.walkmag.co.uk/competitions. Find out more about Ramblers Worldwide Holidays at www.ramblersholidays.co.uk
