Commendation

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Country United_States_of_America           2007-02-14

Barb,bhigbee@comcast.net
Hi Durjay, I wanted to thank you for another very nice trip.  We realize that MP is not as prepared for tourists as Rajasthan.  The lack of a steady flow of electricity is more of an irritation than a real problem.  I think my favorite place was in Mandu where the electricity was off more than it was on.  We liked the accomodations.  They were very basic but the atmosphere made for a very enjoyable stay.  They were able to provide sealed bottles of water for us even though we saw other bottles being refilled and placed side by side with the ones we purchased.  While we were in Gwalior the state fair was taking place and we were able to attend.  What a lot of fun that was.  In Ujjain we could have dealt with the bed with only one sheet and the bucket of hot water in the evening.  Unfortunately I went in the wrong door and ended up in the kitchen which was what prompted the call to you.  Thank you for making the change. The Fort Amla was quite an adventure.  While the owner assured us it was only a 45 minute trip it did take us about an hour and half each way.  The last maybe 9 kilometers was on a very poor road which was dug out in two places.  The driver and guide and us were  laughing so hard by the time we got there we couldn't stop.  The Fort was nice and clean and the owner talked with us until dinner was prepared.  The dinner was very tasty and good but I thought it was a bit over priced at 300 rupees for peas pulao, cauliflower and potatoes. There was also dessert which was good.  We did enjoy the stay. The monuments we saw were outstanding.  Hopefully more tourists will be able to enjoy them soon.  Gwalior Fort/Orchha/Shivpuri/ Sanchi/Bhimbetka and Ujjain were all well worth visiting.  It would have been nice to have a guide in Shivpuri as the gentleman who showed us around had minimal English skills.  The other guides seemed very knowledgeable and we enoyed each of them.  Oh also Deeg was really nice, I'm so glad we were able to see it. There were a few concerns.  The bird sanctuary was a disappointment.  We had particularly enjoyed the boat ride with the many water birds.  I wish we had been told that the monsoon did not come last year and therefore there were no water birds and no boat rides.  Had we known that we would have opted to see Mathura.  While we seemed to see the sights we were supposed to we were sent for 'rest periods' fairly often.  In Orchha our guide received a phone call that he had to take another group on a tour. We were taken to the hotel to 'rest' and finish our tour later in the afternoon.  In Bhopal our guide suggested we didn't need a guide at the Museum of Mankind and had the driver take us.  We saw what we could of the museum building.  There were few visitors and most of the lights were not turned on.  I suspect that there was an outdoor part of the museum that we may have missed.  Our guide opted for us to see the State Museum in Bhopal. It was one of the very nicest museums I have ever seen.  The quality and visibility of the displays exceeded either the British Museum or the Egyptian Museum.  I sent them an email to tell them how much we enjoyed it.  Neither Bhimbetka nor Sanchi took a whole day so we 'rested' in the afternoon.  It would have been nice to see the Arts Museum in Bhopal on one of the afternoons.  During the course of the trip I finished three books during our rest periods.  We did add stops in Dhar which were very enjoyable.  In Ujjain we made 3-4 stops.  We saw another State Museum in Indore that we could have missed.  Durjay let me emphasize that we did have a nice trip and these concerns did not overall spoil our experience. We did find the trip more strenuous than our other trips.  Another concern was that we understood that India has now been classified as a high cost tourist spot.  Please be honest with us.  Are the prices rising so much that India will be out of our price range for future trips?  There a other places we would still like to see but if the cost is too great we understand.  Please feel free to refer others who want recommendations on Compass services to us.  We most definately will always give a very positive recommendation. Warm regards Barb
USA