Travel Designers Our last day at Agra and its a free day to do as we please before taking the Delhi Expressway back to Delhi. I awake at 7am in time to get up and have some breakfast before indulging in a massage at the spa. It’s the perfect answer to my illness and I come out feeling like a new person, I take the opportunity for 30 minutes by the pool in the hot sunshine of Agra and feel renewed enough to face the journey to Delhi. Two decide to do this, two take the opportunity of a lie-in and 2 head off for another visit to the Taj Mahal for sunrise and a tour of the Agra Fort with our guide.
We agreed to head off at 10 am and take the new expressway which would allow us to arrive in Delhi for 1-1.30pm. The idea of this was so we could lie by the pool or go out shopping in Delhi, but this is India and we soon discover the quick 3 and a half hour trip is going to be the normal 6-hour bus journey. In hindsight, we should have opted for the later arrival in Delhi and enjoyed the peaceful location of the hotel in Agra.
As we arrive at the new Delhi Expressway we discover that a local village boy had just been killed on this new road by a car and all the villagers have come out to sit on the road in protest. We now have to wait 2 hours until the police arrive and remove the protesters. It can only happen in India and we are accepting of this incident and increased time to our journey.
At last, we arrive at our hotel, the “Vivanta by Taj Ambassador and check in to our rooms. Not all the rooms allocated are perfect but on a hole, it is another traditional hotel with charm and the feel of India, including a lack of hot water.
My room is fine although later at dinner I hear of others who are not so lucky and it appears that not all rooms are perfect. Upgraded rooms are a consideration when staying at this hotel.
It is here I would make the point that Indian hotels vary in standard and those that have the old history and charm also have some limitations with them. Whilst worldwide brand names such as Hilton and Radisson may not appeal to everyone, they do deliver exactly what they promise, so choose wisely.
Our last dinner tonight is at the Oberoi Delhi where we have a hotel inspection and then a presentation of the hotels within the group. The story of the founder of Oberoi is quite fascinating and there is a book of his life story available, although not yet on kindle! I’ve sent my request to the marketing department at Oberoi Group, seriously it should be a download. The Oberoi Delhi was the first ever built hotel by the founder and it is perfect in design even today, 47 years later. His vision of the future and his perception of customer service still runs through his hotels even after his death. One of our group, states he is a legend and it’s a very good description, he was after all a self-made millionaire within 16 years and his hotels are the ultimate in luxury, every room with butler service.
Another group of agents from the UK have arrived to start the same tour of as our group but with a visit to Amrisa rather than Shimla. We wish them luck with their hard itinerary ahead but assure them that India will get under their skin.
We head back to the hotel, thankful it is the last night and sleep like babies in the knowledge we have a late start at 8am.
Day 9 – The final day of A Tour of India