An Adventure to Remember in Istanbul, India and Nepal
India
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Oct 29 - Dec 4, 2025
Our 2025 trip was close to ten months in the planning. Working with Rajat Gupta was fantastic. Rajat was very responsive to our goals and objectives. This trip started with attending a family wedding in Lucknow and expanded to a 37-day adventure around the family function. My wife and I realized we were covering a lot of ground, but we wanted to get a sense of the places we might choose to revisit in the future for a longer period. The trip was customized for just the two of us and all our guides and drivers were wonderful. We felt very safe and in good hands every step of the way.
We especially want to thank our driver Rajinder, who carried us everywhere in the first half of the itinerary. He always had water for us and he was always there waiting for us at every site. We felt like rock stars finding Rajinder with the car door open ready to take us to the next location. We also want to thank Hemant, Rahul, Anu and Kumar for their insight and knowledge. We saw so much and feel fortunate to have experienced the wonders of the region. More UNESCO World Heritage sites than we could ever imagine. And we literally had a trip of trains, planes and automobiles.
The main sites like the Taj Mahal were of course great, but one of our favorite places visited was in Ranakpur. We stopped at the Kumbhalgarh Fort, built in 1443. It took 15 years to complete. This fortress is overwhelming with the second longest wall in the world. Our guide that day introduced us to custard apple fruit bought from a roadside vendor. He made sure it was safe and ripe and it was amazing. That day we also visited the Ranakpur Jain Temple with amazing carved marble throughout supported by 1444 unique pillars and a ton of peace, spirituality and tranquility. We also had one of our best meals at Harmony Restaurant on our way to the Jain Temple. And if you are so inclined, the owner of the restaurant guides nature adventure tours. We were also fortunate to attend the Pushkar Camel Festival. Here's where Rajat did wonders for us. Some friends highly recommended the festival. I chatted with Rajat and he adjusted our itinerary to make it happen.
Another favorite was Nepal. The grandeur of the Himalayas was breathtaking and we were able to see the Annapurna range on a clear morning at sunrise. We also enjoyed the scenic boat ride on Phewa Lake, one of Pokhara’s most iconic attractions. We made our way across the lake to start an 1100 foot hike to the top of the hill leading to the serene Buddhist stupa, perched on high overlooking the valley. Overall, we felt we got the best of everyplace we visited. After our family event, we headed south from Lucknow. Our houseboat experience in Kerala was fantastic and one night was perfect. Finishing off our trip in Mumbai was terrific and High Tea at the Taj Hotel is worth it.
We took three cooking classes on the trip. They were all different in their own way, but we learned a lot about the techniques of Indian and Nepalese cooking. As for the food in general on the trip, we never got tired of the local cuisine...both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. We did have to convince some restaurants to prepare our meals "medium spicy." However some places still gave us mild. We enjoyed many of the curated retail stops, some benefitting local women and children...and other well established family businesses known for their quality.
For those planning to follow in our footsteps, we did learn a few things. The air quality in the big cities of India is pretty bad. My wife and I suffered from upper respiratory issues for the entire trip. Make sure you bring plenty of cold remedies on your journey and wear a mask often when air quality is bad.
Be prepared for flight changes when flying Indigo Airlines. In fact, I would not recommend Indigo. Make sure to check when sites are open. Some are closed on specific days. And ask your guides if you need walking sticks to help with some of the long walks.
Overall, this was an adventure to remember and we will choose KimKim for our future international travel.
Hotel Reviews
The best feature of this house is meeting the owners. Photos of the family travels from their government postings adorned the walls. The room was comfortable and clean. Be aware, they do not take credit cards.
Wish we could have stayed longer. Beautiful public areas with a long pool beautifully landscaped. A place of real serenity. The room was spacious and clean.
Very comfortable accommodations on board the houseboat. Food was very good. Very relaxing experience.
Great hotel. They gave us a room upgrade as well.
Beautiful Hotel! Fantastic room! Wonderful grounds and common areas. Great outdoor dining.
Lovely hotel with a nice room. We did not have a chance to enjoy the amenities.
This hotel could have potential. Unfortunately, we found our spacious room with carpets on the floor stained with cat pee. The air conditioning was inadequate. The bathroom was spacious but far detached from the bedroom. Coming in late made things a bit more difficult.
We would not recommend this hotel for a variety of reasons. The bathroom flooded with two inches of water on the floor when using the shower. The water temperature fluctuated and at times was very hot. Our room was situated right next to the elevator on an upper floor. Members of the staff stood by outside our room carrying on conversations late into the night. The restaurant staff, while accommodating did not guide us effectively with the menu choices.
We had an upgraded room (the honeymoon suite). We were at the top of the building up four flights of stairs including a spiral staircase. The view was tremendous.
Amazing hotel. Historical significance. Very large accommodations. Good food.
Great natural setting. Not an urban hotel. Room was smaller than other accommodations.
A business hotel. The food was good. The room was ample, yet smaller than other accommodations.
The nicest Ramada we've ever stayed in. The owner often camps out in the lobby keeping tabs on quality control. He's the guy with Mala beads wrapped around his wrist.
Room and bathroom were smaller than average.
Beautiful Hotel with a great deal of historical significance. The room was nice. Did not like the shower without a door, so water tended to get on the floor.
Incredible hotel. The room was lovely and the grounds spectacular.
Beautiful natural setting. Our room was lovely with a patio. Common areas are wonderful. Observation areas are very nice to be able to see the Himalayas. The bathroom was a bit difficult. The shower tub wall was very high making it hard to enter and exit. The single glass on the shower did not keep water from getting on the floor of the bathroom.
Activity Reviews
Fantastic! No lunch because we arrived late.
We hd a fantastic time at the Camel Fair. The sites and smells were amazing. We had a chance to be invited into a special horse breeder's tent to get to know Indian Horses. His stock was magnificent. At this time, My wife Susan was showing signs of a bad cold. Hemant and Rajinder helped us find medication to help Susan.
Great day! Covered everything planned in the itinerary. Rahul shared a lot with us.
We were particularly appreciative that our guide and driver, Peter and Ajai, were able to get us to a doctor to determine if Jonathan had pneumonia so he could make the flight back home. Luckily he did not and the doctor prescribed medications for him to take. Both our guide and driver helped us achieve all of this. As for the tour, Susan went on the tour while Jonathan stayed at the hotel. Because we had to go to the doctor, she missed the Box Lunch portion. But she took the train and found it interesting. She thought the laundry was very interesting. Her favorite thing on the tour was where Ghandi had stayed for a substantial part of his life. The Gateway of India was interesting and she also saw where the Taj Hotel was located so we could have High Tea at the Taj.
Great experience of Istanbul. Haghia Sophia was a bit dissapointing because of its disrepair. The palace was wonderful. Sadik was an excellent guide.
This cooking experience was very different from the first in Delhi. We were invited into a private home. The owner, Himanshu Rathore runs a catering business out of his home as well as a bed and breakfast. We were welcomed into his entire family. He is also a hunting guide and we had a great deal in common. We cooked in the kitchen and helped prepare the dishes for the evening meal. We all sat together like a family and enjoyed good food and great company.
Combined in one day and rated previously
Great tour of the new city along the waterfront. Everything was timed well and we made our transfer to the airport cleanly.
Planned itinerary went very smoothly.
We arrived very early in the morning. Had the pleasure of meeting Rajat Gupta, our trip organizer. Got to the hotel and unfortunately had to wake up staff to check in.
Great Day! Thank you Hemant and Rejinder.
The sunrise visit to the Taj Mahal was fantastic. The weather proved favorable and the sky was clear. Rahul guided us well and we took a lot of pictures. Seeing the Taj was a highlight of our trip.
We connected with our guide Anu. We were impressed with a town of only 20,000 having such a deep Hindu and Jain history. We visited the Western and Eastern temples and Anu truly made the experience compelling explaining the significance of the intricate carvings and stunning sculptures. The atmosphere was quieter and more serene.
First day of site seeing was great. Connect with out guide Hemant and driver Rajinder. Had a wonderful old market experience and Hemant helped us try some of the best delicacies. Unfortunately we did not make it to the Red Fort because there was a private event taking place there.
Wonderful cooking experience. It started with touring the market for local ingredients. There were two others in the class with us (a brother and sister from Sweden). so the experience was very intimate. Anchal of Tastsutra was excellent and we enjoyed learning the ins and outs of Indian cooking...of course enjoying what we cooked was great. The best, was Anchal sending us a full array of recipes to try when we returned home.
After our morning flight and checking into the hotel, we connected with our local guide. In the evening we ventured out to the Ganges River to witness the Ganga Aarti ceremony, where seven temple priests offer prayers and sacred flames to a packed crowd.
After an early morning train ride, we arrived in Pushkar. Hemant showed us the planned sites and we checked into the hotel to relax for the rest of the night.
It was very interesting being on the Ganges along with so many who do it daily or make the pilgrimage. The boat ride was worth it and placing our flame in the water was very spiritual.
We made our way to Udaipur. We checked into our hotel. That evening, Hemant escorted us to the Bagore-Ki-Haveli and the dance performance. Great fun!
We met our new guide Kumar and we transferred to our hotel after a morning flight. After lunch we started our tour to Dunbar Square and the Royal Palace of Nepalese Kings. It was a great afternoon.
Great Day!
The full day tour of Katmandu was amazing! Thank you Kumar!
We said goodbye to Hemant. Rajinder drove us to Ranakpur. We connected with our new guide who escorted us to the Fort, the Jain Temple and we had a great lunch on the road at the Harmony Restaurant.
This was our third cooking experience of the trip. For our guide Kumar, it was a personal invitation to visit his people who welcomed us with open arms and allowed us to get our hands dirty cooking food. The setting was very different in that we were cooking in a small space, but it was very intimate. We left the experience with knew knowledge and new friends.
In Jodhpur, we met up with our new guide Rahul. He would be with us through Agra. After checking into our hotel, we had a wonderful tour of the Blue City as planned. We really liked Rahul and of course Rajinder was terrific too.
We enjoyed the safari experience, although we have been to Africa and spent a great deal of time in the bush. The morning safari was in a large vehicle and apparently there was a little mix up in the planning, but we went with the flow. We saw a lot of animals, but no tiger for both safaris. It was still a wonderful experience ti get out into nature.
After a flight from Katmandu, we checked into our hotel in Pokhara. Later that afternoon we headed to Phewa Lake for a boat ride was very serene. Once across, we began our hike up 1100 feet to a Buddhist Stupa overlooking the entire valley.
The sunrise view of the Himalayas was breathtaking and the weather cooperated. We spent a lot of quality time at Sarangkot. Later in the day, the Pokhara city tour was fascinating, especially going through Davis Falls and the Gupteshwor Cave. Thank you Kumar!
The drive to Nagarkot was fun. Once we arrived at the hotel, it was an opportunity to relax in the breathtaking scenery. The next morning at sunrise, we hoped for a view of the Annapurna range of the Himalayas. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate and it was overcast.
Family Event
Sanjay was an outstanding guide. We had a great experience at both the Ajanta and Ellora Caves. He was very attentive to all our needs. When we returned to Aurangabad, he helped us find a small suitcase we needed to buy. Very helpful!
Because of issues with Indigo Airlines, we had to compress the Kochi site seeing into the next day. Our driver, Raj, was excellent and very prompt picking us up at the airport and getting us to the hotel.
This was a wonderful experience. Our houseboat was great as was our three man crew. The accommodations were excellent and so was the food. It was a very relaxing experience indeed.