I would like to thank you, Mr Om Prakash Varma for arranging a very nice tour for my daughter, niece and myself, as per our requests and requirements in Jan 2019. Firstly, i would like to say that the driver assigned to us, Mr Rana, was a very nice, helpful and knowledgeable gentleman, besides be
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I would like to thank you, Mr Om Prakash Varma for arranging a very nice tour for my daughter, niece and myself, as per our requests and requirements in Jan 2019. Firstly, i would like to say that the driver assigned to us, Mr Rana, was a very nice, helpful and knowledgeable gentleman, besides being a safe and good driver. It seems he has been with you since many years and I would certainly recommend him to others taking tours around north India through Select India Holidays.
From Jaipur to Agra with a stop at the world famous Abhaneri Step Well was a good start to our short tour. We reached Agra that evening and checked in at the Hotel Crystal Sarovar, which is a very good, well located hotel. Our tour of the Taj Mahal in the evening, before and during sunset was unforgettable, made especially interesting by Mr Manoj, the guide assigned to us, who is more of a historian than a guide. His knowledge and enthusiasm on the subject of Agra's various monuments made our visit to Agra a total pleasure.
The next day started with a visit to Agra Fort in the company of Mr Manoj. We wished later that all our guides would be as good as him, but that was not to be. Our long drive to Delhi was made interesting by Mr Rana giving us snippets of information along the way. The evening visit to the Akshardham Temple including the tour and Sound and Light show, was most impressive and should not be missed by any tourist to Delhi.
We were lucky to see the Changing of the Guard ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan next morning, as the ticket had to be booked in advance by submitting names and getting security clearance, but our names were not on the list, as they were not submitted. It was a very well performed impressive ceremony by our servicemen. The Qutb Minar, Jantar Mantar and Rajghat visits covered the rest of our tour, as we had visited Delhi previously.
The next day we left by Shatabdi for Amritsar. We drove straight to the Attari/Wagah border for the evening ceremony. The enthusiasm and patriotism of the crowd on the Indian side was quite enthralling. The service men and women participating in the ceremony were very impressive in their bearing and all the posturing was loudly applauded by the people. Very happy to have seen it. Then to the Golden Temple at night. Oh so magnificent! The lights and colour takes one's breath away ! A 'must' see for anyone touring India. A very different picture when visiting in the daytime, which we did the next day, but no less impressive. The cleanliness of the place, the service of the volunteers an the maintenance of the temple by the devotees, leaves one wondering why this is not emulated in other temples. Of course the Langar and its preparation and serving, is in a class by itself !
The young guide assigned to us was very good and we would not have seen the Golden Temple the way we did were it not for him. Visited the Jalianwalla Bagh garden. Sad episode in our history, and quite harrowing for the descendants of the martyrs to think of the wrong that was done to their families.
Al in all a short, but well arranged tour by Select India Holidays. The rooms in Jaycee Vasant Continental in Delhi's were dated and need to be renovated, but the Sarovar hotels in both Agra and Amritsar were good. The air conditioned car was comfortable and Mr Rana as the driver, made us feel safe and well looked after. This is the second trip to Delhi, Agra & Rajasthan done through Mr Varma and I would recommend Select India Holidays for a visit to North India, as the owner, Mr Om Prakash Varma, personally takes care and is just a phone call away during the tour.
Thank you & Best Wishes Mr Varma.
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