Golden Triangle+Goa
India. "GOA + Golden Triangle" from 02.03. 2010 – 17.03. 2010
We have just returned from India. We bought a combined tour: 12 days was a vacation in Goa, and then there was a tour of the Golden Triangle 4 days / 3 days. (Delhi, Agra, Jaipur).
Before you go, read a lot of reviews on the Internet. Used some tips.
There were a lot of offers on the Internet for this tour, but at the last moment Pegas touristik put up an SPO with a Nord Wind charter flight from Sheremetyevo Terminal C (the planes are old, there is a narrow distance between the seats, it’s cold in the cabin, you had to ask for blankets ).
We chose a hotel in the north of Goa, Baga district, "Riverside Regency" 2 * (the hotel is basically good, clean, in a quiet place, 7 minutes walk to the beach). We opened visas in advance, it cost us $90 per person. Another tip: if you open visas yourself, then ask for a double or triple entry mark in the visa. This mark will make it possible to fly on a 2-day excursion. to Singapore, Bali, etc.
And now our review.
Goa - did not justify the hopes that we represented. This is a bunch of dirty coastal villages, the beaches are more or less clean (fine sand). The water in the sea is not very clean and not transparent. Many rivers flow into the sea and carry away a lot of different dirt. So if you like to swim in a mask and admire the beauty of the underwater world, it is better to leave the mask at home. The water in the sea is like fresh milk, though on some days there were strong waves and it was impossible to swim, near the shore the wave rose a meter, mixing and foaming with sand, even knocked down, the air t was 35-40, the humidity was very high, so things are always were wet.
In "shakes" (coastal restaurants), prices are different everywhere, in some Indians are fooling. The menu says: "shrimp" and the number is not indicated. Therefore, when ordering, you need to specify, ask for 10 pieces, salad and french fries. Otherwise, they will bring you 6 pieces of shrimp with sauce and that's it, for the same money. The only worthy place on the outskirts of Baga is the Brittos shake, there is a large menu, delicious food, even wealthy Indians come there for a special lunch. There are a lot of annoying sellers on the beaches, they carry various Hindu rubbish and fruits.
We went to the daytime markets on Wednesdays in Anjuna and night markets on Saturdays in Arpora. They sell various cheap Indian consumer goods of the lowest quality, we didn’t buy anything. There is also nothing to buy in roadside shops, only rubbish. We went to Panajim, according to descriptions from reviews on the internet, there should have been good shops and you can buy something.
But they were disappointed, those Ribok, Nike, Adidas that describe everything so colorfully on the Internet, in fact, small shops and there is less choice than in a shop in any of our markets.
So shoppers will be disappointed. Although people have different interests, and there are many tourists from mono cities, they bought cheap jewelry, Indian saris, cheap leatherette bags and all sorts of rubbish there. There were even individuals who bought “diamonds” of dubious origin in a rundown roadside shop. In a word, "Russia tourist" money has nowhere to go, so they go and buy everything in a row.
We hoped that the purchases would be feasible in the cities. After a vacation in Goa, the Golden Triangle began: we flew to Delhi with a landing in Bombay (we sat in the cabin) a / c Air India (a very good plane, the distance between the seats is wide, each has a TV in the back of the chair, they were fed twice, in general no complaints. Pegasus works in India with a partner, Sita, so we were met at the airport by Sita's guide, Gopal Verma (Gosha). We visited the Jama Masjit, which is the largest mosque in Asia, then the Red Fort. Had lunch at one from restaurants, lunch was bad, but our guide collected 200 rupees as a tip.
All the way our guide was silent, only reluctantly answered our questions, and then in broken Indian-Russian, and on the second day we made a remark to him and he started talking.
On the second day we took a bus (205km) to Agra. I really liked the Taj Mahal Museum - this is one of the wonders of the world, then we visited the Agra Fort.
On the third day we moved to Jaipur (250 km. ) There we visited the Amber Fort and the City Palace, drove past the Palace of the Winds.
All three days were heavily loaded with additional excursions, which our guide organized in his own selfish interests. Every day there were jewelry stores, carpet factories, Indian consumer goods and handicrafts from stones of various products. The guide received a decent percentage of the purchases of our tourists. As a result, every day we did not have a minute of free time, we did not have time to visit a single store, we did not buy a single souvenir, because we were always brought late at night to the hotel and we only had time to check in.
Every day the guide collected 200 rupees for photographing on the monuments, and at the end managed to collect 300 rupees, allegedly for the fuel surcharge of the Spajs Jet. We flew from Jaipur to Goa with a landing in Ahmedabad, where we sat in the waiting room for 4.5 hours. (the planes are old and bad, the distance between the seats is narrow, only water from drinks, the rest for money, they didn’t even feed) For what they collected 300 rupees from us is unknown.
The bus driver, on which we traveled around the cities, was very good and we decided to thank him, collected 200 rupees each, but our guide took even this money and said that he would give it himself.
The guide was very cunning and dishonest. We were convinced of this, once passing by one of the mosques, he persuaded the group to stop and visit it, as if they could take good photos in the garden. We refused and stayed for a walk near the entrance to the mosque, the guide collected 250 rupees from the rest and they all followed him. We were “pleasantly” surprised when we asked at the box office in front of the entrance to the mosque how much the entrance costs, the cashier showed a ticket of 110 rupees. And imagine, such fees were at all the monuments.
We flew from Jaipur for a transit stop in Goa, we were settled in the La Paz hotel, from there the next morning at 5.30 we were picked up by a car and at 8.30 departure a / to Nord Wind by the same terrible plane, 7.5 hours in crowded and cold, 1 time really gave a bite to eat.
Outcome is this:
It is necessary to go to India to know the world, to compare with other countries. But 2-3 times in a row, this is an amateur.
Goa is only a tenth of India and just a village, and the "Golden Triangle" in 3 days is "Galloping through Europe" and is not worth the money, with such a service. But not having been to Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, but only to Goa, this will not mean that you have been to India. So choose the tour program very carefully and discuss all the details.
The Arabian Sea, which is in the South, which is in the north of Goa, the waves are equally large. The beaches in the south are better, but in the evening, from boredom, it is better to spend time in the north of Goa.
A lover of smoking weed and harder, there is expanse and Goa is just right for them.
For those who want to visit massages in Ayurvedic salons, you need to choose and bargain. Everywhere different prices and quality of service. Hindus are far from Thais, so don't be alarmed, shabby massage parlors, creepy showers in these centers, this is India.
For gifts to friends, you can buy Himalaya cosmetics products and medicinal products from this company in almost all pharmacies.
A good gift for men is local rum (in Goa 110 rupees / $ 2.5 -0.75 l. ).
The rest of the souvenirs, magnets, shells, it's up to you.
Good luck with your travels.
The choice of operator Pegasus with his partner Sita is not the best. Try to find others.
