Pleasant, Respectful and Helpful Driver

Larry

Last year for several weeks in January my wife and I traveled to several cities throughout Rajasthan. Our hotel secured the services of a driver for us; The driver was a young man perhaps in his late twenties, who we found to be most helpful, quite pleasant, knowleagable, respectful of our needs and preferences, fluent in English and not in the least bit pushy about taking us to places or stores that we had no interest in visiting. If he had "cousins", or relatives in the business, he quickly picked up on the fact that we had no desire to go to such shops. He informed us that he was saving to buy his own car and told us he would e-mail us when he completed his car purchase. I figured it was just the talk of a young man with a big dream, but given the prices of vehicles it was unlikely to really happen.

Well, I was quite surprised to get an e-mail a few weeks ago informing me that he had actually purchased his car. He also requested that I tell all my friends who might need a driver in Rajasthan about him and his guide services. I have no financial interest whatsoever in his business. I hope he does well and would encourage anyone who would like to work with an independent driver/guide to contact him directly to see if his services will meet your needs. Personally I would have no hesitation to contact him if I were to again travel in Rajisthan. His name is

Ravi Yadav
Plot No. 37, Abhishek Vihar B,
Gandhi Path, 200 Feet Baipass,
Vaishali Nagar, JAIPUR (Rajasthan) India.
Mobile : 9828377402
raviyadav_1982@yahoo.co.in

If you happen to contact him and choose to use his services, tell him that Larry and Jill say hello and wish him luck in his new business venture

Enjoy Your Trip,

Larry & Jill

Nick-H

Pleasant, Respectful and Helpful Driver Always the sort of thread title that makes Moderator alarm bells ring, as it is invariably a first post from someone claiming to be in Europe or USA but actually posting from India, and claiming to recommend a driver --- whilst almost certainly being that driver!

So it was with increasing surprise I read your post, realising that it didn't fit the usual template

Thanks for the recommendation.

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Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

Larry

Nick-yes-my post is a real post from a real person- not a shill nor a self endorcement touting my own business and I would never drive in India! I am not too crazy about driving in Philadelphia!

I see you are from Chennai--What is there to do in Chennai during Pongal? Does one have to go out to a village in oder to see the real Pongal traditions? We will be in Chennai in a few weeks.
Larry

Nick-H

Luckily I have Mrs N at my side, so can give her answer to your question, which is you must go to a village for Pongal celebrations.

Of course, you can eat pongal here any time

Enjoy your Chennai trip: any other questions and I and the other chennai-ites here will try to help.

I'm afraid I don't have any personal recommendations for a driver: we use a place because their office is close by. Sometimes the drivers are good, sometimes not-so-good. Mind you, they always get there and back! They will provide an English-speaking driver on special request, but with Mrs N with me there is no need for that.

I'd be very hesitant to recommend my own driving --- just finding my feet on the Indian roads . Today I have to make a journey I haven't done before, accross one of the busiest parts of town !

dhans

For a driver in Chennai:

We did a bit of a websearch, sent out some emails and got in contact with Mrs. Faith Pandian from Window to the World. (www.tourism-southindia.com No 4, Annai Avenue, Vasanth Nagar Extn, Kollidakarai, Srirangam Trichy - 620 006, Tamil Nadu (INDIA) Tel No. :+(91)-(431)-2433372/2437183/2435219 email : info@tourism-southindia.com). Faith reacted very promptly to our emails and did not need any payment up-front. She arranged a brand new ambassador car with AC and driver for us. We paid 875 euros for 25 days unlimited mileage (and unlimited service) which is a bit more than you would probably pay if you arrange it in India.

Our driver Gandhi was absolutely brilliant. Being a father himself he took extremely good care of us and especially of the children. Gandhi is very friendly and speaks good English. He was always on time, the car was clean inside and outside whenever he called in for duty in the morning or when we showed during the day. This is quiet a feat if you imagine our children putting their dirty shoes automatically against the back of the front seats. Gandhi was also a very useful source of information on sights, hotels and restaurants, without being pushy about anything. In the end he even managed to sing along to some of the Dutch songs we sang during the longer car rides. We highly recommend him (and Faiths travel agency).

Read morem in our journal at:

http://www.indiamike.com/india/journ...urnal&j=9 402

Hans

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Stories about our travels in India: Journal

Nick-H

It sounds good, and if you are touring Tamil Nadu it might not make much of a difference --- but if it is just Chennai and environs, better to get a local guy.