Susan,

You did a really spectacular job on our trip to India. The nuts and bolts — hotels, drivers, guides, airlines, train tickets, etc. — worked very smoothly. Your first hand knowledge of every site was really helpful in itinerary planning, so that we did not arrive at Agra or Aurangabad on a day the site is closed. You did a great job of customizing our itinerary. India is so huge and there is so much to see that we had to prioritize destinations.

This was hard for us as there was so much we wanted to see.

After much discussion about options, we followed your judgment to leave out Amritsar and use those days instead to go to Jaisalmer and Aurangabad. They turned out to be, along with Agra and Varanasi, the highlights of out trip, and it was your judgment we followed in choosing these places over other more standard options.

We also decided to follow your judgments about taking a break in the middle of our trip to stay a few nights in farm areas. You told us we would be exhausted after the first week despite our being “in great shape” and being really curious and energetic tourists.

You were so right. The time change, the flood of stimulation that is India, the “otherness” of it all really wore us out. We welcomed the downtime at a couple of ex-maharajah summer palaces to go bird watching, visit local villages, and just chill. Our special requests to you were fully honored by the in-country agency that actually books the guides and drivers, etc, so we were happy about that.

On the negative side — well, I really can’t think of anything. You really listened to what we told her about what was important to us. I could tell by the way you customized our itinerary and kept refining it in response to our comments. That is probably the most important reason we chose you over the other options for a travel agent.

So many bests!

The Taj Mahal, to which no picture can do justice; the Buddhist and Hindu caves at Aurangabad; bird-watching and relaxing in the luxury tents at Chhatra Sagur; the breath-taking sandstone fort and town of Jaisalmer; Varanasi, which is impossible to describe but should not be missed by anyone serious about understanding India; and an afternoon in Nizzamuddin basti, a medieval settlement.

Our guide was a young resident who has pulled himself up to get an education with his own determination and talent, plus the essential help of an NGO. Our guide was an awesome young man who was a real inspiration to us both.