My travels have taken me around the world, and I’ve seen many amazing places, but the Taj Mahal was magnificent. Before I went my expectations were low and I thought, oh…so…it’s a big building—big deal…but then you arrive and that initial glance blows mind. There’s little doubt why its considered one of the 7 wonders of the world. To enter the complex it costs foreigners a whopping 750 INR (for locals its 10 INR)–double pricing in India sucks but even worse they didn’t accept my Employment Visa as proof of residence in India (they did in Delhi) which in most countries qualifies you for resident pricing on the basis a big chunk of taxes is paid to the government via your employment. The Taj Mahal is best seen in the morning hours to avoid crowds and because the color of the marbles changes throughout the day.

Matt’s wonderful tip: Go to the Taj Mahal for sunrise and then check out the Taj Mahal from the other side of the river (free) during sunset.

Yet another Air Deccan flight took us to Delhi where we had just a few hours to explore the city. A pleasant spread-out city when compared to Mumbai/Bombay and I enjoyed the short site-seeing we accomplished…but in the afternoon it was off to catch a train to Agra.

We took a 3-hour bus ride to Patna where we caught an overnight train to New Jaipur in West Bengel. New Jaipur is the transfer point to the world-famous UNESCO toy train up the hill to Dajeeling—the Queen of Hill Stations as their motto goes. I unfortunately didn’t book a ticket in advance which I should have. If we had caught the train it would have been an 8 hour ride with switchbacks and zigzags up the hill. The total cost for the ticket was 120 Rupees (or $3)…so yah, it’s better to book the ticket than to miss this once in a lifetime opportunity. The second option for travel up to Dajeeling is via suicide car/bus ride up the winding road with signs along the way that read “donate blood in blood bank, not on this road”. It can be done in 2 hours.

Dajeeling is a beautiful mountain town (about 4x better than Matheran) overlooking the Himalayans. Unfortunately though, during monsoon season the area remained relatively foggy with low visibility…but I saw pictures of what it’s suppose to look like on a clear day and the views were spectacular. Even on a foggy day though, the uniquely designed hillside town and small village-like atmosphere is well worth a visit.

After a night sleeping in Kolkata airport, we caught an express train from Howarth Station to Gaya Junction. Gaya junction is a 20 minute/100 Rupee rickshaw ride to Buddahgaya, the pilgrimage town where its believed Lord Buddha gained enlightenment while meditating under a tree. That tree still sits there and is the center for activity in this bustling tourist town. I tried my luck meditating under the tree, but I think I’m still a ways off from gaining enlightenment. Buddhists of all nationalities flock to the site but traveling with a Thai, it was clear that several Thai pilgrimage tours pass through the city weekly. It was nice being greeted with Sawasdee rather than the Konechwa. Thais apparently believe fallen leafs from the tree are considered good luck if they have them in their possession—we got 6! One word of caution though, there appears to be at least a few charity scams going around this town…so beware before donating to an unknown charity, I was almost fooled and I’ve heard almost every scam in the book.

It’s been a really, really, really hectic past few months, so these posts have come with some delay.

We flew to Kolkata on a redeye AirDeccan flight out of Mumbai. It was the first time I have flown AirDeccan and I can safely say it sets the standard for a no-frills airline. I ranted about AirAsia in a past post, but Air Deccan makes Air Asia seem like a luxury carrier. To start with, AirDeccan essentially reserves the right to cancel any flight for any reason it deems fit (including it not being booked to capacity) without any liability except the cost paid for the ticket. So AirDeccan sells tickets 6 months in advance but if on the day of departure overhead costs of operating the flight outweigh the income earned by paying flyers, management can simply cancel the flight…which it often does. A cursory glance at their live online flight status table clearly confirms that under “typical” operation at least 10% of their flights get canceled, and almost all are delayed. The result is passengers who are left stranded and frustrated. I consider us lucky, because of the 4 sectors we’ve flown with AirDeccan two were delayed 2+ hours, but luckily none were canceled. A canceled flight would have been disastrous because AirDeccan makes no assurances of proper transfers. So if you miss your connecting flight because their plane came in late, you’re stranded at your transfer point. One last rant, I’ve never seen so many seats crammed into an Airbus A-320 before. If you’re over 6 feet tall, good luck! To be fair though, AirDeccan tickets are often half the price of their nearest LLC competitor…which unfortunately for my travel stress level, keeps me as a repeat customer.

Last weekend I took a break and headed to the hill station of Matheran about 2 hours by suburban train outside of Mumbai. Locals head here for weekend getaways from the hectic Mumbai lifestyle. Unfortunately, the historic toy train connecting Neral with Matheran wasn’t working (apparently it stopped working 9 months ago, but a local says it should be running again by next year when it celebrates an anniversary)

Matheran is a wilderness retreat and pleasantly doesn’t allow motor vehicles inside. Instead you can opt to hire a horse (120 Rupees/hr) or get carted along in a human powered push cart. I’d recommend a horse because the human-powered cart over unpaved, muddy road does a lot more damage to the butt (and gave me a headache).

To get to Matheran, take a suburban train to Neral on the Karjat-line train (different from Nerul which is on the Harbor line). The train code is S. From the Neral train station, walk right (past the toy train tracks) to the share taxis that will take you to Matheran car park (50 rupees/per person). From there you can choose your method of green transportation (human-powered push card, horse, or walk) to Matheran town (there’s also a 25 Rupee/per person park entrance fee). I stayed at the Regal Hotel and was satisfied with the value. If you are going during the off season, there’s no reason to book ahead (it’s more expensive online).

Enjoy the beauty and clean air…at least by Indian standards.

I was in Las Vegas a few weeks ago for the Interop Show & Conference and was staying at the Excalibur Hotel…walked into the fitness center and found out they require staying guests to pay $20/day to use the otherwise vacant facilities. I understand the travel industry, particularly the budget-minded family sector, going all-out in an attempt to cut costs and generate additional revenue but $20/day is a rip-off. I also tried really hard to get it comp’ed (including signing up for a gambler’s playing card) but I was unsuccessful.

My only comment is $20/day will buy you an on-the-beach luxury room in some countries.

After too many weekends and late-night hours of work, I was taken to the laid-back beach resort of Goa for some rest and relaxation. It was a pleasant change from the hectic, urban life of Navi Mumbai.

Goa is the gorgeous beach province about 10-hours (by bus) south of Mumbai. It’s the resort getaway of choice for Indians and foreign tourists alike. I went with my (all twenty-something year old) co-workers and had an awesome time. The abundance of foreign tourists comprised mostly of Europeans (many with British accents) unfortunately gives it a very non-native atmosphere, but the twist of hippy-ness adds something unique.

Perhaps the most memorable time (although certainly not most enjoyable) was experiencing the ridiculous conditions of a 3^rd class overnight train in India. Wow…I wrote about the Mumbai suburban trains before, well the conditions don’t get any better just because it’s an overnight train that travels nonstop for 8 hours. Yes, there were 4-5 people to a 3 seat bench, people sitting (lying only if they were lucky) on the floor, and even more standing squished like sardines in the isles. I certainly didn’t manage to find any sleep with three individuals all vying for space on the floor which I thought was reserved for my feet or the crazed lady next to me who for some reason thought if she kept pushing, I’d somehow shrink. Although for 150 Indian Rupees (about $3.25 USD) it’s pretty much the cheapest way to get from Goa to Mumbai.

India’s outsourced service sector is booming, the way overseas manufacturing boomed in China several years ago; it’s apparent in both the call centers and software outsourcing industries. While India is making great leaps and bounds in its service sector, I question if Indian companies have the knowledge and personnel training necessary to deliver American standard service.

Maybe it’s just coming from world renowned Thai hospitality and the hotel industry, but the service at Mumbai eating establishments is horrible. From the waiter who disgustingly clears his throat before serving my food, to the ignored service requests, and the sweeping up of dust into the air; good service isn’t known in Indian restaurants. Certainly parts of my displeasure are culturally related but I think it stems a little deeper.

Of course training’s the only way to solve this shortcoming, but I wonder how easy that is to accomplish for a society who’s presumably grown-up lacking a service economy.

It seems the “thing to do” amongst Asian tourism authorities these days is to add an adjective in-front of their name and use it as a marketing slogan—you have Incredible India, Unseen Thailand, Uniquely Singapore, and a few I can’t remember but am positive exist for South Korea and Japan.

Unseen Thailand and the Tourism Authority of Thailand probably have one of the most developed tourist infrastructures in all of Asia, especially compared to India. I think the number and popularity as a tourist destination definitely show for it. TAT does a really good job of getting out there and promoting Thailand. When I worked in the hotel industry, we often received site-inspection visits arranged by TAT offices abroad—from the U.S., Russia, Europe, etc.

Are the marketing costs worth it? I think in Thailand’s case definitely; their whole economy is based around tourism and they have a full blown program, starting with advertising abroad, but also following through with support services for tourists who do make the journey.

But this post is really about me finding it not quite as easy getting around India as Thailand and the rest of the Southeast Asian hippy trails. Despite the relatively high percentage of natives who speak English, the tourism network in India is nonexistent. When you go to visit the Gateway to India and the Taj Hotel next door, there really aren’t many signs, tourist maps, historic information, or even tour guides around to help you. I walked right by the Taj, not even knowing its significance until later!