One of the interesting things we have encountered as part of our group travel packages with Gate 1 Travel has been the local handicrafts. We tend to be a little torn with these stops during our trips. These stops are usually at a complex that is one-part local artisans and one-part shopping. It is evident…
Typically, when we travel as part of a group tour, we pass on some of the nighttime optional cultural dinner theater shows. To be completely honest, on at least one occasion after a big dinner and a few adult beverages, we have nodded off in the confines of a warm, dark theater, especially after…
We probably mentioned previously that before booking any of our travel packages we research all of the accommodations. This was our fourth Gate 1 Travel tour and the hotels have never let us down. Originally, this tour package showed us staying at one of the Trident Hotel properties in Jaipur. However, somewhere it was changed…
We spent an awesome afternoon experiencing a Bollywood movie in an iconic cinema and shopping in a local Jaipur bazaar
We have always been thrilled with the hotel selections on our Gate 1 Travel packages, and our Classic India package, aside from a few REALLY hard beds, was no exception. We typically research to see where we’ll be having breakfast and to check out their spa treatments as we know that generally the days…
After leaving the city of Agra, one of our stops on our full day drive to Ranthambore was at a small ancient city called Abhaneri (we also saw it spelled Abhanagri) in Northern Rajasthan. Like other small towns along the road to Ranthambore, Abhaneri had some small, very modest homes, local vendors along the…
One of the reasons Chuck and I picked the dates for our India vacation was because it fell over the Hindu spring festival of Holi. You’ve probably seen pictures of people, usually dressed in white, throwing colored powder and water on each other. The colors are bright and beautiful. Each color actually has its…
With the majority of our vacations, we attempt to get pictures of the hotels, their restaurants, and public spaces. We know that these are things of importance to people who are not only considering a Gate 1 Travel tour with the same itinerary but to travelers in general. Trident Hotels Planning for this trip…
Last year on our trip to Kenya, Chuck and I met a gentleman on our flight from London to Nairobi. He was seated next to me on the flight down, and coincidentally, two weeks later, on our trip back, we ran into him and his son. While we were talking, he mentioned that he…
As we were leaving Delhi and continuing on to Agra, the second city of our tour, we stopped at Swaminarayan Akshardham. This is a magnificent Hindu temple on the outskirts of New Delhi that was built in 2005 As I begin writing this blog post, I am conflicted for several reasons. There are very few…