MY INDIAN ADVENTURE PART 2
The wedding invitation
I thought I knew myself. I mean, at my age you would think I had a handle on exactly who I am…right? WRONG! If anyone had told me what my holiday in India was going to be like, I would definitely have thought twice about embarking on the journey. I am extremely grateful that I had no idea because as it turns out, I had an exceptionally fantastic time and surprised myself (in a good way) to boot. This is my story……
Two years ago I met my Facebook friend Keshar (Kiddo) for the first time. I spent a day and night in his village and knew I would be back as soon as possible.
I was privileged to be invited to the wedding of Rinku and Arjun (Rinku being the sister of my Kiddo), and after much deliberation (wedding dates are not set willy nilly in India), was told that the wedding day would be 11 March. This blew me away because it just happens to be my birthday. I was also told that I was the Special Guest and my name appeared on the invitation. I felt like a celebrity.
First things first….my baby girl (Schnukie my parrot) had to be taken care of for 3 weeks. Finding a carer was no easy task but thankfully I was given the number of Going Away Pet and House sitters and Somie came into our lives, and saved the day. I could now go ahead and book my trip.
Decisions, decisions….where to go and for how long????
I finally decided on the following itinerary, thanks in great part to my friend Himmat (also a Facebook friend).
Somie, my Schnukie's carer
| DATE | TRAVEL INFORMATION: |
ACCOMMODATION |
| Tues 8 Mar | Airport Check-in: 11h10 Depart East London, Etihad 12h10 [Ticket #6077798763471/72] Flight6267 (Seats – airport check-in) (flight time 1hrs45) Arrive Johannesburg OR Tambo 13h35 Term B [layover 6h 5m]
Depart Johannesburg Etihad Airways OR Tambo 19h40 Flight603 (Seat 10A) Term A (flight time ) | PASSPORT NO:
KESHAR: VIKRAM: |
| Wed 9 Mar | Arrive AUH (Abu Dhabi), 06h00 Term 1 [layover 2h 25m]
Depart AUH (Abu Dhabi) Etihad 08h25 Flight7605 (Seat 22F) Term 1 (flight time ) Arrive BOM (Mumbai), 12h55 (shuttle to hotel) Term 2 |
HOTEL: Residency Hotel Fort 26 Rustom Sidhwa Marg, Cnr D.N. Rd, Fort Mumbai, 400001, India Tel: +91 2266670555
|
| Thur 10 Mar | Depart BOM (Mumbai) Jet Airways, Chhatrapati Shiva 11h30 [Ticket #5897798763480] Flight412 (Seats) Term 1B (Airline confirm KLCQME) (flight time 1h 40m ) Arrive JDH (Jodhpur), 01h05 | Vikram to fetch at airport and drive to Artiya Keshar Singh Chouhan: |
| Frid 11 Mar | Artiya | Keshar’s home |
| Sat 12 Mar | Artiya |
Keshar’s home |
| Sun 13 Mar | Artiya | Keshar’s home |
| Mon 14 Mar | Artiya | Keshar’s home |
| Tues 15 Mar | Depart Artiya from Keshar – drive to Pushkar with Vikram Singh
| Kanhaia Haveli, Near Mali Mandir, Choti Basti, Pushkar, India Tel: +91 9414364046 |
| Wed 16 Mar | Pushkar | Kanhaia Haveli, Near Mali Mandir, Choti Basti, Pushkar, India Tel: +91 9414364046 HIMMAT: |
| Thur 17 Mar | Depart Pushkar by train to Jaipur | Hotel
|
| Frid 18 Mar |
Jaipur | Hotel
|
| Sat 19 Mar | Jaipur Visit Taj Mahal (by train from Jaipur to Agra) Train No: 12035 dept Jaipur 07:05 arr Agra 10:35 Train No: 12036 dept Agra 17:40 arr Jaipur 21:20 | Hotel
|
| Sun 20 Mar | Depart Jaipur to Himmat’s village by train | HIMMAT: |
| Mon 21 Mar |
Himmat’s village | HIMMAT: |
| Tues 22 Mar |
Depart Himmat’s village to Jodhpur | The Blue House |
| Wed 23 Mar | Jodhpur | The Blue House |
| Thursday 24 Mar |
Jodhpur | The Blue House
|
| Friday 25 Mar | Jodhpur | The Blue House |
| Sat 26 Mar | Airport Check-in: 12h35 Depart JDH, Jodhpur Jet Airways 13h35 (Airline confirm OBNMRZ) [Ticket #5897799528795] Flight335 (Seats) (flight time 1hrs35)
Arrive BOM (Mumbai), Chhatrapati Shiva 15h10 Term 1B | Hilton Mumbai International Airport Hotel Sahar Airport Road, Andheri East, Mumbai, 400099, India. Booking number: 207.283.830. Pin Code: 5351 Tel: +91 2228380000 |
| Sun 27 Mar | Depart BOM (Mumbai) Jet Airways, Chhatrapati Shiva 05h20 604 (Seat 17A) (Airline confirm KIJXDH) (flight time 13h15m) Arrive AUH (Abu Dhabi), 07h00 Term 2 [layover 2h 50m]
Depart AUH (Abu Dhabi) 09h50 (Seat 17K) (Airline confirm KIJXDH) (flight time ) Term 1 Arrive JNB 16h30 [layover 1h 45m]
Depart JNB 18h15 (Airline confirm KIJXDH) Arrive EL 19h40 |
|
Hindu Solanki Artiya
Wow....Dor. ...It's. Good.....
Amanda Davis
Looking forward to reading more about your adventures
Doreen
Thank you Amanda....so glad you're enjoying it so far
Isobel Abernethy
You never cease to amaze me, I could never have gone of on my own to a strange country, cannot wait for the next instalment, xx
Doreen
Thanks mom...I'll be writing this weekend xxxx
Himmat Singh Deora
Great ,i am so lucky of being Part of this tour ,Thank you so much
Doreen
I was the lucky one having you with me Himsa....thank you