in love with India

India. It's a country that has fascinated me since I was a child with my very first teacher, Mrs. Saromi, who must have had the patience of a saint at Montessori school. Every day was a visually rich event - as I was excited to see what she would wear to school the next day. It was all so very glamorous to me and, like so many, I am still fascinated by the color, texture, history and mystery of what was and still is India.

 

So my husband, Remco, and I decided to spend almost three weeks there a few months ago - and it couldn't have been a better experience. Anup Nair, our travel agent based in Delhi (referred to me by the Indian consul here in the Southeast), took the time to listen to us and understand the kinds of experiences we wanted to have - and then came back with great ideas. In fact, his firm arranges extensive business travel tours for most of the top 10 MBA programs in the U.S. So with his extensive experience and knowledge of both our target budget and the kinds of experiences we wanted, he set up a trip of a lifetime. He not only arranged flights, but all transfers and security whenever we needed it.

 

Remco and I jointly decided to focus on the Rajastan area of India. We found ourselves meeting wonderful guides with the knowledge of historians teaching us about every city we toured. Traveling all across the north was a breeze, and it was run as efficiently as a Swiss train. Seriously, in India. Who knew? We were a bit shocked and delighted when day after day, everything worked almost perfectly.

 

Further, Anup's connections were great. There were a few wonderful upgrades at hotels, and when, at one point, yours truly needed a doctor in short order, he arranged it. In less than half an hour a top city doctor was in my hotel room with his assistant and a box of prescriptions designed to tackle what they lovingly call "Delhi Belly" - a cute name for a not-so-cute bug that inadvertently helped me lose those pesky last 3 pounds I complained about. Yes, I learned my lesson!