INDIA & NEPAL
A once in a lifetime trip.
Bombay
Starting in Bombay, a city crammed full of hordes of people, beggars, filth, dirt and poverty. The narrow lanes of Old Delhi, travelling in a rickshaw, were amazing, the electric wires overhead were a mass of ‘black spaghetti’. One remarkable phenomenon is how men working in the city get lunch; after they have taken a local train packed in like sardines with the doors open into the city the wives prepare lunch consisting of several courses which are put in a ‘lunch box’ (watch the movie Lunch Box) consisting of a cylindrical stainless steel container with several separate small parts secured by a handle locking mechanism containing the food called Tiffin boxes. Five to six thousand Dabbawala’s, who neither read nor write and use a marking system, collect the boxes and deliver them on bicycles to 250,000 workers for lunch then collect them and return them to the wives. This service runs so reliably that it has been the subject of a study by the Harvard School of Business!
Udaipur
The ‘City of Lakes’ in Rajasthan is called ‘Venice of the East’. Stayed at the Taj Lake Palace, the former residence of the Maharana of Udaipur, located in the middle of Lake Pichola; it has been voted the best hotel in the world by Tripadvisor. The James Bond movie ‘Octopussy’ was filmed there.
Jaipur
Known as the ‘Pink City’, a tradition started in 1876 to mark the visit of the Prince of Wales. The city has wide streets in a grid system.
Agra
Home of the Taj Mahal, a beautiful ivory white marble mausoleum embedded with semi-precious stones, for the dead wife of Shah Jahan, is one of the New 7 Wonders of the World and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Panna National Park
The Royal Benghal Tiger population was zero in 2009 and now there are over 100 in 2026. It is not always possible to see them but we were able to see several of these magnificent larges cats in the world.
Varanasi
On the bank of the Ganges, Varanasi is India’s holiest city. At dusk thousands dip in the Ganges from the waterside Ghats. At dawn a river boat trip allows observation of the crematorium where the dead are burned and their ashes are put in the river.
Old and New Delhi
The seat of India’s government in New Delhi and the crowded narrow streets of Old Delhi where the largest mosque in India, Jama Masjid, is located. The bustling Chandni Chowk Bazaar is one of India’s largest wholesale markets.
Abercrombie and Kent curated the trip and did a spectacular job.
ST. MARTIN
Having visited visited many Caribbean Islands St. Martin has it all. The Grande Case Beach Club is on a sandy beach a few feet from the room and the water is warm. The rooms look out across the Caribbean Sea to Anguilla and have balconies to sit outside. Importantly, the room has a kitchen so being able to prepare one’s own breakfast and lunch is both convenient and cost-saving. The rooms are cleaned daily. The club has a nice pool and a the Sunset Restaurant on the property. Most Caribbean Islands have local food but the big attraction for those that enjoy gourmet food are the French Restaurants a ten minute walk into the town of Grand Case. The restaurants are reviewed in the Dining Section.
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