Enchanted by my real Best Exotic Marigold Hotel trips
POOR Jenni Murray, who did not enjoy her trip to India (Femail) and was disappointed that it was not like the film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. She has missed out on the best holiday ever. I have visited India ten times in 20 years and would go back at the drop of a hat. All the problems Jenni encountered were the fault of the travel company, not the country. A whistle-stop tour is not the best way to see India — you need to go at your own pace. The food, countryside and people are a delight. Wherever you go you will be welcomed into homes and treated like a family member. India is a place to relish, it should not be a mad rush to tick all the sightseeing boxes.
M. KEMP, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey. MY HUSBAND and I had the same experience as Jenni Murray when we visited the Golden Triangle — Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. The hotels were once wonderful Maharajahs’ residences, with enormous rooms and bathrooms, but we had to endure hours on coaches stuck in noisy traffic jams. The food was a constant stream of self-service curry buffets and there wasn’t a day off from the relentless sightseeing. My fellow tourists, all in their 70s, began to flag, with some taking to their rooms or sleeping on the coach. They didn’t see much of India. Day after day we had to pack our cases to set off again in the early hours — I had my first migraine in more than 20 years as we travelled in a jam-packed train to Simla. A so-called restful day driving around Ranthambore National Park to see tigers rattled our brains, not to mention our other ends, as we were bounced up and down in a Jeep. We didn’t see any tigers, and when I complained the guide emailed me a picture of one in recompense in case I didn’t know what a tiger looked like! The pollution in Delhi was so bad we both came home with chest infections and had to book a cruise round the Med to get over it. J. STOROZYNSKI-TOLL, Southend, Essex. OH DEAR, Jenni Murray, what a misery! My husband and I visited the Golden Triangle and it was a wonderful experience. Yes, it was tiring with very early starts, but surely she should have realised that from the itinerary.
DEE TIDMAN, Stourbridge, W. Mids. I HAD wanted to visit the Golden Triangle since I was a child because my mother was born in Agra but left India at the time of Partition. So, for my husband’s and my 60th birthdays, we decided to go on a two-week trip. Instead of choosing a package tour, we travelled in an air-conditioned private car with the same driver for the whole trip, meeting a guide at each stop. We stayed in wonderful hotels and saw tigers in their natural habitat. It was a dream come true. CELENE KENNISH, Onchan, Isle of Man.