India's Golden triangle Delhi/Agra/Jaipur

I am now going to tell you about my experience doing Delhi/Agra/Jaipur golden triangle. I just came back from this amazing tour, one of the wonders of the world and it is true what they say.  My tour started with a quick 1/2 day tour in Delhi visiting New Delhi where the british were established in most of the area. New Delhi is unbelievably busy with an incredible amount of cars, bikes, rickshaws, buses all muddled up together. Although the driving is scary, drivers respected each other and somehow knows who goes first. We visited mini Taj Mahal in Delhi and the place where Mahatma Gandhi was murdered now a very peaceful garden and museum.  Overnight at the lovely Claridges hotel.

The next day, we were leisurely transferred to Agra by coach, on arrival we were upgraded to The Oberoi in Agra and were given a room overlooking the Taj Mahal. WOW, what a wonderful hotel!!  It was the most amazing feeling and we thought that we had won the lottery.  The Oberoi is a small 5*+ boutique low rise hotel with outstanding views of the Taj Mahal from every room.  I had the best indian dinner from the Oberoi.  I just cannot describe it to you, everything was magical.

The Taj Mahal itself is simply STUNNING.  Everyone should go and see it if they can.  It is unbelievable to see such beauty built in the 15th century, a building that took over 21 years to build and it is in such pristine condition.  All built by hand and elephants carrying all the marble.  As you can probably tell, the whole Agra experience is by far my highlight and my favourite part of my trip.  A must see!!

On one of the pictures you will see a huge bathtub with steps on the side of the bathtub. This was used by the king in those days.

The next day, we took a 7 hour drive to Jaipur, the pink city, visited Amber fort on an elephant back, City Palace, the Observatory.  Jaipur is a very different city with lots of architecture, history, forts, palaces and lakes. Jaipur is a very rich city as they have everything there.

Finally we ended our tour in Delhi, visiting and watching a beautiful musical bollywood show at the Kingdom of Dreams. Everyone should watch this, it is sooo much fun.

Beautiful Sri Lanka!

I’ve had to write a little something about some of the places that many of us visit when we go to this sizeable island. There’s quite a bit of ground to cover on the average tour but, sitting in a comfortable minibus with nine agreeable people on my tour, I barely noticed the time passing.

There’s so much to look at. The ‘wet’ zone goes into the dry’ zone, the foliage changes, the coconut trees stop and cashews are no longer sold by the roadside. Now it’s pineapple and then spices ….

Drop to the south and you’re in tea plantations and further south-west and you’re back to the coast – and if you’re very lucky a visit to Yala National Park where game drives take you out morning and evening in the hope of catching a glimpse of the elusive leopard.

All the resorts down the west coast, both north and south of Colombo, have different things to offer. Some of the villages, such as Bentota and Negombo, are turning into quite the little resorts – as we know them. Cafes, bars and shops are springing up around the better hotels and you no longer feel cut off – just you, the hotel and the beach. As with everything, one person’s idea of the perfect hotel or resort isn’t another’s so we have to hear what you like before we choose one. However the interior towns offer a more limited selection so I’ll mention some of them here.

Unless you head for the north (requiring more hours on the road) most itineraries take you east from Colombo. En route you can easily make a stop at Pinnawala and visit the elephant orphanage and watch the rescued elephants of all sizes tread carefully between the shops and cafes on their way to the river. A couple of hours further east and you’ll be in Habarana. This is where you rest up for a night or two so that you can visit Sigiriya Rock Fortress, Sri Lanka’s first UNESCO listed World Heritage Site, and Polonnaruwa, the capital of Sri Lanka in the 11^th century.

I stayed in the Chaaya Village, a low rise collection of horseshoe shaped little cul-de-sacs of rooms, set in sweeping gardens adjacent to the lake. You can also contact experts from pest control vancouver to make your garden free from pests and to make it more impressive The poor relation to its sister hotel, the Cinnamon Lodge just next door, it offered me everything I needed and the buffet meals were truly great. The pool’s a tad small and the Cinnamon Lodge is more elegant so if your budget allows go for that; it’s not much more.

Sigiriya, inhabited from 3^rd century BC, and the medieval city of Polonnaruwa are both way more fascinating and rewarding than they seem to be from the literature! The sophistication of these ancient cities is awe-inspiring. Three of the ten people on my tour actually made the climb to the top of Sigiriya but it’s not obligatory and it’s not for the faint-hearted.  The UNESCO site says it better than I can ……

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/201

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/202

From here we drove for about an hour and visited the caves at Dambulla where giant statues of the buddha were discovered centuries ago, and on to the Spice Garden where we walked around the gardens being regaled by Bonny, the most dynamic lecturer I’ve ever known, and where we bought cinnamon oil, sandalwood, lime oil, red oil (arthritis). Then we carried on and within a couple of hours arrived into Kandy, a city built around a large man-made lake and with lush hillsides as a backdrop. I wasn’t expecting anything so stunning. Lovely, lovely Kandy.

We stayed at the Cinnamon Citadel and given that I was on the 3* tour I was pretty impressed with this hotel. It’s a few minutes outside Kandy, overlooking the river. The rooms are luxurious and large.  It did have yet another of those large brightly-lit restaurants with self-service buffet but the choice was staggering. At every meal you have a choice of western or Sri Lankan cuisine, meat, fish or vegetarian, vegetables or salad, and so it goes. In the morning you can sit out on the terrace enjoying the view – and the heat of the sun. Best get up early for that experience.

Here you see the Temple of the Tooth Relic (don’t ask), which is cute enough but you wouldn’t want to drive here just for that. It’s Kandy itself which is worth the journey. Walk around in a small group here, though, as you would in Colombo.

South – and quite a drive – you can stop in at Nuwara Eliya, 6200 feet above sea level and  right in the middle of the tea plantations. If I try to explain how heart achingly beautiful this part of Sri Lanka is you’ll start yawning but it really, really is. The town itself is scruffy but safe to wander about and finally get down there with the people and know that you’re in Asia but please splash out just a bit and stay in the Tea Factory. The place is a legend all on its own.

And on to Yala, a vast area of forest, scrub and grassland and home to wild elephants, monkeys, leopard, boars, crocodiles, mongoose, and my favourite – the sloth bear. Game drive guides know where to head for but seeing these animals in their own habitat isn’t always easy, even though your morning drive starts at 5am. Still it’s hard to miss the constant stream of creatures at the watering hole if you sit quietly by the pool at the central hotel and anyway you’ll hear monkeys run over your chalet roof at night! There are other interesting things to see in Yala; You can save money and stay in Tissa, about 13 miles away, and just come into the park for the daytime but if you can stay close to the park entrance at Chaaya Wild Yala it’s worth it. They have jungle chalets (so don’t snack on the deck) and beach chalets for anyone whose idea of heaven is jungle behind them and the Indian Ocean in front (me).

And back west to the beaches. I can’t go into all of those here. Maybe I’ll add some reviews in later but if you ever want to ask about Sri Lanka I’m always happy to drop whatever I’m doing and chat about it. You’re never going to be under any pressure to book from me.

Some people want the desert island, traditional Maldivian experience and in that case they’re going to need a smaller island. At 1.8km from top to bottom, Kuramathi is one of the larger islands, and for a longer stay, or for eating in a different restaurant every night for a week, and not always bumping into the same people in the bar (because there are six of them) Kuramathi is a fabulous island.

Here’s what makes Kuramathi special.  Firstly, it’s stunningly beautiful with tall trees of different species, wide white sandy paths, and endless beaches and coves that are never, ever busy – some better for snorkelling, some with shade from trees, some overlooking rocky reefs, others the boats and if you’re lucky you’ll see a school of dolphins pass by. Then there’s the sandbank where it’s just you and the horizon.

The island is spotlessly clean and unbelievably well organised. There are no rooms as it’s an all villa resort and everything about the thatched, dome-roofed villas is of a very high standard. The service is faultless and it’s a well-documented foodie’s paradise with its selection of signature restaurants. There’s live entertainment if you want it with singers, jazz trios, disco, occasional movie nights and even karaoke. The snorkelling, as is usual in the Maldives, is fabulous and it’s one of the few remaining places to see a hammerhead shark.

I was there in December and although all my customers’ feedback had been excellent I was still transported into a parallel universe when I stepped onto the jetty. It happened to me time and again. I was relaxing on the beach under the shade of a tree and a tall bird that looked like a multi-coloured species of stork picked its way right past the foot of my sun bed. Swimming with a sea turtle, rays, the first sight of a shark. People I knew were staying in the beach villas in the northern end so I walked up there on my second night, underestimating the distance. In the dusk, and aware I was going to miss the sunset from the sandbank, I stopped in the Laguna bar and got chatting with a lady at the bar who suggested I have a cocktail and watch the manta rays being fed. She’d been there for three weeks and did this every year – which is what I find with Kuramathi. It has a devoted repeat clientele.

If you’re new to the Maldives and not sure how you’ll be on an island for any length of time why not do what I did and combine a stay with a tour of Sri Lanka? The flight between the two takes under an hour. Prices for 2014 start from £1198 per person for 7 nights on All Inclusive and my prices are as low as anybody’s.

A natural tropical Island, lush in vegetation and surrounded by a stunning house reef, which offers excellent snorkelling and diving opportunities. Filitheyo Island is the only resort island in the unspoilt Faafu Atoll, a short 35 minute seaplane journey from Male International Airport.

Choose from a range of villa’s which are dotted around the island or over the water on stilts, purposefully designed to blend in with the island atmosphere.  There are 125 villas in total over 3 different categories:

Superior Villa’s (94) are semi-detached and have a part open air bathroom with an outdoor shower.  A great experience in itself, it feels so liberating and not to worry no one can see you.

Deluxe Villa’s (15) are detached offering more privacy.

Water Villa’s (16) are built on stilts over the lagoon and have a sitting area and private wooden deck.

All rooms are equipped with Air Conditioning/Satellite TV/CD Player/IDD Telephone/Hair Dryer/Tea/ Coffee Making Facilities/Mini Bar/Wooden Sundeck with Seating/In-room Safe

There are 2 restaurants and 2 bars which are sure to tempt your taste buds.

The Main Restaurant is buffet style with international cuisines from all corners of the world. For breakfast, lunch & dinner with 14 days cycle menus with guaranteed satisfaction

The Sunset Restaurant & Bar offers freshly blended juice, cocktails, coffees & snacks. Not to forget wide range of fine wine from the vineyards of Europe.

Filitheyo Bar offers varieties of beverages to quench your thirst happy hours are not to be missed with buy one get one free from 16.00hrs to 18.00hrs

Gourmet Menus are also available for those celebrating special occasions including dinner on the beach, at the pool side, or BBQ.

Filitheyo Spa invites you to “embrace nature” and transform your holiday with a range of relaxing, healing and pampering treatments.

There is also a variety of water sports and activities available (charges may apply) windsurfing/catamarans/canoeing & sailing/volleyball/table tennis/internet access/library/gym/billiards/large swimming pool

Not forgetting the unspoilt Faafu atoll is a diver’s paradise with their beauty & splendour. Werner Lau Diving Centre offers you international standard equipment, instructors and a complete range of multi-lingual dive courses by SSI, CMAS & PADI and specialised diving such as NITROX.

So whether you want a relaxing flop on the beach or an active holiday Filitheyo Island is perfect as you can do as little or as much as you like.