A must read for someone who is a first timer to Delhi. If this is your first visit and you are apprehensive of what you will have to face in that city, read ahead. Please note the tips in this review and you will be better off.
A trip to Delhi was something we had not thought of this year. But then, it happened.
My daughter and another student took part in a dance competition, a 4 day event from 26th Oct 2015 to 30th October 2015, called Indradhanush organized by SUNAINA, in R K Puram, New Delhi.
So, we took an early morning Spicejet flight and landed in Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport by 8:15am. A pickup had already been organized, so no issues with that. We took the cab and went straight to Karol Bagh where we checked into a hotel Sunshine, which was a decent accommodation (not classy I would say). It's a budget hotel, suitable for families looking for basic necessities, decently clean rooms and bathrooms, enough space for 2-3 people. It's in the heart of delhi, close to shopping markets and well connected to the rest of the city.
Our stay was a mixed bag of good and bad experiences. I would rather just say an experience coz it's a learning about a culture and people we never experienced before.
Here's my review on the entire trip. I believe it would help people who are visiting Delhi for the first time on their own.
Day 1: Delhi local sight seeing
Our day started with 6 of us (3 adults 3 kids) squeezing into a Maruti Suzuki Eeco. Originally we planned to cover Birla Mandir, Lotus Mahal, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament south block, Qutub Minar, India Gate and back to hotel. We started with Birla Mandir, spent about an hour there and headed towards Rashtrapati Bhavan. Here's what happened. We finally covered Birla Mandir, on the move view of Rashtrapati Bhavan, Qutub Minar, India gate. In all we would have actually spent about 3 hours including all these places. Rest of the time was wasted in traffic, waiting at a hotel that the driver took us, we waited too long and took a decision not to eat there as nobody was attending. Went to another restaurant, again the driver took us there. This was slightly away from Lotus Mahal and quite an expensive one for middle class family travelers.
Tips: Do not depend on the driver's advice. Plan your travel in advance before you start. Tell him specifically that he should stop where you tell him to stop for food. If possible, search and fix a restaurant near to the place you would be at lunch time and tell him to go there. If you let him take decisions, he will delay your travel and also take you to hotels where he can draw commissions.
Day 2: Agra, Mathura, Gokul, Brindavan
Day 3: Delhi local sight seeing and shopping
Day 4: Attended dance competition
Day 5: Haridwar
Day 6: Return to Delhi and back to Bangalore
Pros:
Cycle rickshaws, shared autos, auto rickshaws
Cons:
Expensive food, Private taxi
A trip to Delhi was something we had not thought of this year. But then, it happened.
My daughter and another student took part in a dance competition, a 4 day event from 26th Oct 2015 to 30th October 2015, called Indradhanush organized by SUNAINA, in R K Puram, New Delhi.
So, we took an early morning Spicejet flight and landed in Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport by 8:15am. A pickup had already been organized, so no issues with that. We took the cab and went straight to Karol Bagh where we checked into a hotel Sunshine, which was a decent accommodation (not classy I would say). It's a budget hotel, suitable for families looking for basic necessities, decently clean rooms and bathrooms, enough space for 2-3 people. It's in the heart of delhi, close to shopping markets and well connected to the rest of the city.
Our stay was a mixed bag of good and bad experiences. I would rather just say an experience coz it's a learning about a culture and people we never experienced before.
Here's my review on the entire trip. I believe it would help people who are visiting Delhi for the first time on their own.
Day 1: Delhi local sight seeing
Our day started with 6 of us (3 adults 3 kids) squeezing into a Maruti Suzuki Eeco. Originally we planned to cover Birla Mandir, Lotus Mahal, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament south block, Qutub Minar, India Gate and back to hotel. We started with Birla Mandir, spent about an hour there and headed towards Rashtrapati Bhavan. Here's what happened. We finally covered Birla Mandir, on the move view of Rashtrapati Bhavan, Qutub Minar, India gate. In all we would have actually spent about 3 hours including all these places. Rest of the time was wasted in traffic, waiting at a hotel that the driver took us, we waited too long and took a decision not to eat there as nobody was attending. Went to another restaurant, again the driver took us there. This was slightly away from Lotus Mahal and quite an expensive one for middle class family travelers.
Tips: Do not depend on the driver's advice. Plan your travel in advance before you start. Tell him specifically that he should stop where you tell him to stop for food. If possible, search and fix a restaurant near to the place you would be at lunch time and tell him to go there. If you let him take decisions, he will delay your travel and also take you to hotels where he can draw commissions.
Day 2: Agra, Mathura, Gokul, Brindavan
Day 3: Delhi local sight seeing and shopping
Day 4: Attended dance competition
Day 5: Haridwar
Day 6: Return to Delhi and back to Bangalore
Pros:
Cycle rickshaws, shared autos, auto rickshaws
Cons:
Expensive food, Private taxi
