3 wks-delhi, dharam,amritsar,rajast,agra?

tacita

i don't really see any rational alternative to this, steve, and think it makes very good sense in any event. i wouldn't even be worrying about it so far in advance if i didn't wish to get some very-busy-season accommodations nailed down. i guess sacrificing the taj under a full moon is a small price to pay for keeping my sanity (so much of it as i still have, anyway.) it's very difficult for me to negotiate transportation and hotels "on the fly" because of my hearing--i just can't decipher accented english well. but-for that, i'd chill a bit more and take things as they come.

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steven_ber

I'm not sure the special full moon openings are still happening at the Taj, I remember reading last year that the attendance figures were very low, and that tourists didn't feel they were allowed close enough to the Taj on these special full moon visits, I got the impression that the special openings would be halted, though I never actually saw a news item saying the special openings were ending.

I'll list the trains and times in the morning.

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Train information.

machadinha

Plus... what if it's cloudy?

I guess it's a sacrifice that can be made, if you can muster it, although the concept's well-understood.

That hearing thing is really far more intrusive than you might imagine, isn't it. Courageous to travel around the world regardless, I think. And Indian English can be hard to catch being good of hearing, believe me.

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steven_ber

Amritsar - Agra

Train 8238 departs Amritsar daily at 16:15 and gets to Agra Cant at 09:10 (2A, 3A, SL.)


Agra - Bikaner

Train 2307 departs Agra Fort daily at 19:35 and gets to Nagaur at 06:02, Deshnok at 07:47 and Bikaner at 08:30 (3A, SL)

tacita

thanks, mach. i really appreciated how demonstrably sensitive you were to the whole thing in a'dam. rather unusual for anyone outside my family and closest friends.

and, of course, planning to be at the taj for the full moon virtually guarantees clouds, doesn't it.

youdda best, steve. with that agra to naguar train, i can just coast on into town for the cattle festival and catch daredevil dromedaries trying to best one another.

NB, re: dromedaries. anecdotally, while checking my spelling, i learned that the word comes from, among others, the greek dromos (racecourse), and sanskrit dramati (he runs about). curiously, this tickles me.

thanks again to all who have taken the time to reply.

machadinha

LOL Janice. You never seen them running? Not in Turkey or someplace? Amazing really.

Instead of a trek, maybe look for a camel race. I suspect that Nagaur festival will feature them actually.

ps Thanks for kind words, I can only regret having been slow to pick up on it sometimes. Like I've told you, next time we'll come up with a secret sign so any misunderstandings don't have to be articulated at all. Now go have a swell trip! Ah, the planning, the excitement! And the waiting and counting the days, mostly!

And pps I knew Steve could do it

tacita

actually, i plan on both. yes, part of the allure of the naguar cattle festival was, i admit, the promise of camel races. from nagaur, it's on to bikaner, mostly because is farther off the beaten camel-safari path, and i understand it's a better jumping off point for such things. i wonder, though, they'll put me with a group, right? i mean, after my sikkim experience, i hardly think i want to go trotting off into the desert overnight with no one but a guide! need to find out how the bikaner "camel-man" handles these things.

my sister once lost it with an unaccommodating clerk or somesuch, who'd lost patience with me. she shreiked, "she's not stupid, you asshole, she's DEAF!" she's my heroine!

i think there should be a new gameshow, called "the great indian railway competition." contestants would be given a departure and arrival point and have to come up with the best train combinations for getting there. as the competition proceeds, the stations would become more and more obscure, the itineraries more and more complex. the first two contestants could be steve and "the man in seat 61". (steve would win, of course!)

what do you think?

machadinha

LOL. I think Steve did it already: How well do you know the travel options in India?

btw As you know I wanted to yell at people sometimes, I just didn't want to be the classic guy doing it for you Maybe next time I will. I guess I was just waiting for the go-ahead

ps Yes I think you should be in some company on a trek, although it might naturally be smaller as the place is smaller (was thinking Nagaur really. Bikaner should be alright, I think (?)) I don't know, find a trek organizer you trust and discuss your every requirement with them. I hear also in terms of food and so on this can make all the difference between a successful or a failed trek. Haggle hard on the price, then pass them (and esp. your driver!) a good tip afterwards. The thing is in places like Jaisalmer people seem to expect they can get on a ride for a couple of Rs., and they probably can, but don't expect more than water and dhal and an uninterested driver in that case. It's worth paying a little more for stuff like this, and you probably won't get a chance to do it again very quickly.

pps, Thinking some more: I've heard of frisky camel and horse drivers getting a little cosy with you yes, not just in India. You realize you'll probably be on there together right, with you in front to be precise and so the guy having every chance to get frisky? Make all the right arrangements. I stayed in a very nice non-pushy hotel in Jaisalmer (quite exceptional, as most of esp. the low-end places seem to be in it just for the treks, the cheap room is just to pull you in); a trek with them just never happened though, as some stuff came inbetween. (My own stuff, mind.) They (and being seemingly receptive to said goings-on, as far as they could) had been about to take me to a befriended camel herder's camp with no tourists at all, I regret it not happening to this day.

Having said all that, you're far from the only woman, solo or otherwise, to do this, it's just routine daily business to them. A complication if I may say so is that there will indeed be those who seem to find being driven around by some turbaned fellow ever-so romantic and exotic, leaving behind all the wrong impressions and so on. I don't know. Keep your eyes peeled.

capt_mahajan

And your powder dry

NeeliAankhen

Janice - when I saw your mention of Holi in Feb I got excited, as I will be in India at that time - but my research on a few sites indicates that this year it's on March 22, and not in February.

I think you'd already "de-prioritized" it so I'm hoping this information won't cause too much disappointment.

And - based on your itinerary I'm looking into the Naugar CAttle Fair.

tacita

thanks, neeli, and no disappointment at all. maybe even a bit of relief. i've wracked my brain, replayed my memory tapes, and cannot for the life of me recall how/why i believed the february full moon to be that of holi. sorry to have gotten you excited for naught, though.

either farther up in this thread, or in another one dedicated to the cattle fair, someone (wonderwoman?) provided some information about nagaur, both the fair and the town and its environs. even though i'm thinking my itinerary so as to spend more time in HP, i'd still like to experience the fair.

if you go, we must be sure to have a little IM meet-up! another member is contemplating going as well. i think it sounds like a great (and authentic) experience, in contrast to what i understand is the more "for-the-tourists" fair in jaisalmer.

thanks again for the holi correction.

tacita

neeli, about the fair, have a look here and here, and at the additional references in those threads. it sounds great, doesn't it?