[b]Jasvilas! & my first trip...

Jasvilas! & my first trip to India

Thanks to indiamike.com, I found Lily & Mahendra a few days before departing for Delhi and what a find that was! After a couple of weeks working in Delhi, we headed off on a two-week tour of Rajasthan, organised by Mahendra. I've done the back-packing thing many times before in various countries (starting with the obligatory European interrailing holiday in my teens...) and I felt that I've done my bit for back-packing for the moment. This time I treated myself to a suitcase! From Delhi, via Agra, we reached Jaipur and walked into Jas Vilas to be greeted by Mahendra, Lily and their two sons. We immediately felt at home and the entire hotel was a sight for sore eyes - beautiful rooms, sparkling swimmingpool, pretty Rajasthani decorative touches etc etc... The owners are delightful and couldn't have been more helpful - we got sightseeing & shopping tips, help with phone calls & bookings & flight tickets, yoga lessons in the hotel, numerous chats & delightful dinners. The food... my god... best Indian food I've had and that includes the Imperial in Delhi and at the Lake Palace, as well as the oodles of other places I ate at during a month in India! Basically, I cannot recommend Jas Vilas strongly enough - add to this that it's great value for money and you're on to a winning recipe. Thank you, Lily & Mahendra! So, rather than a backpacking tour, we travelled around in an Ambassador car and stayed in comfortable (not to say rather plush...) hotels in Jaipur, Pushkar, Deogarh, Jodhpur, Rohet and Udaipur. We had a fabulous time and Mahendra kept in touch to check we were ok and to sort out a few little niggles. Our driver Dinesh was brilliant too - a safe & comfortable driver, didn't bat an eyelid when we vanished for several hours more than we had planned to, didn't push his cousin's brother's brilliant carpet/gem/elephant shop too strongly, always turned up prexactly at the arranged time (usually 30mins early), kept the car spotless inside & out etc etc. If you need someone to organise a tour in Rajasthan, I would strongly recommend using Mahendra - we specified a budget and it was met exactly, giving us great value for money and more luxury than we had hoped for (certainly more luxury than I've ever had on any trip in my life!). Mahendra also suggested restaurants and gave various hints & tips & sightseeing suggestions, which was great for us India virgins. We had a final day in Mumbai too, which was fun, if only to show us that this isn't a place we want to spend much time in! Mahendra organised a trustworthy taxidriver for us, who looked after our luggage and got us back to the airport in one piece at the end of the day. Of all the hotels we stayed in, I have to mention a couple in addition to Jas Vilas: Rohetgarh was heaven on earth and if you've always craved a ride on a stunning Mewari horse, this is the place... Having seen innumerable equine wrecks during my work (I'm a welfare biologist), it was great to see the wellkept Rohet horses and chat with their knowledgeable owner. I got up at 6 am and had a fabulous ride on a beautiful black stallion... Could've stayed for a week quite happily! The food was superb too and the pool was pure bliss. Udai Kothi in Udaipur was also fantastic - better views than the Lake Palace (after all, you can't actually SEE the LP when you are in it... hehe) and a fantastic swimmingpool on top of the roof. My impression of India, both as a professional and as a tourist is 100% positive. Everything works (and if it doesn't, they know a man who can fix it!), everything happens when it's supposed to, nothing is too much trouble and everyone is unfailingly polite and friendly, even if you turn up in a 5* deluxe hotel looking like a complete slob. Ok, so we got conned at every turn and probably overpaid for everything we bought and the beggars/touts/shopkeepers/rickshaw drivers were a pain and it was chaotic and filthy and beautiful in equal measures... But what a place! We'll be back! Thanks indiamike.com and Jas Vilas for saving our holiday and giving us so much useful advice! Cheers! czoona