Hotel List, Logistics, Notes, Best shops
Swagatam Tours & Travel,
www.swagatam.com
This was out third India trip arranged by Swagatam. They are flawless,
wonderful, knowledgeable, patient, and accommodating. What more could
one say about a travel agent? Oh yes... we saved a huge amount
booking this with an Indian agent (instead of a USA agent who probably would have just
subcontracted it to Swagatam). Our driver, Mr. Raju, (who was also our
driver in our Tamil Nadu trip) is
not only a skillful driver, but is a charming individual. We have also
referred a number of our friends to Swagatam, and they too have had
perfect experiences.
Food – We love Indian food, and enjoyed the rich spices of the
Karnataka cuisine. In India, we are strict vegetarians – refrigeration
is iffy, and once we saw a counter piled high with unrefrigerated dead
chickens in a town’s market. (You can only get a little sick on bad
vegetables – but bad meat has no limit on how sick it can make you.)
South Indian cooking is truly exciting, deeply spiced, and staggeringly
cheap. Our typical lunch or dinner would cost about $1.50 (total) – with
bottled water.
Poverty and Beggars - India has many poor people. It’s heartbreaking
to see so many needy people, knowing how much we have by comparison.
There is no way to give to everyone we saw, and yet we felt we had to
give when we could. There is a difference between poverty and misery.
Many of India's poor don't seem to be miserable, but many beggars were
very good at conveying their misery. Coming to terms with the poverty is
difficult. We never became numb or indifferent. To do so would be
inhuman.
Mumbai: Suba Palace -
www.hotelsubapalace.com
Perfect location one block from the Taj and the Gateway of India, clean
and comfortable, staff was incredibly warm and helpful.
Bangalore: Chancery Hotel -
www.chanceryhotel.com
A large business/conference 4-star hotel. Good location on MG Road, the
best breakfast we had anywhere in India.
Mysore: Viceroy Hotel (could not find a direct website)
Nice in-town hotel, across from the Maharaja’s Palace and adjacent to
some movie theatres. But Mysore is a dusty noisy city. The Lalitha Mahal
(palace) would probably have been a better choice, even though it’s out
of town.
Nagarhole: Waterwoods -
www.waterwoods.net
This tiny “boutique” lodge is more expensive than the government hotel –
and worth every cent. The owner, Ms. Sutiksha Ram, is a charming
knowledgeable host. She knows how to make guests feel at home, the food
was excellent, the staff was very attentive. Ms. Ram runs the safaris
herself, and is a wealth of information about the animals and the
efforts to protect them. Our stay there was the high point of our visit!
Hassan: Hoysala Resorts - (non hotel-owned website:
www.karnatakatourism.com/south/hassan/hoysala.htm)
While this hotel was adequate in its comforts, it is in an isolated area
out of town, therefore one has to have all meals there. The night we arrived,
they closed the restaurant because a small group requested a buffet
dinner in the garden, leaving us no alternative but the overpriced
buffet. At 9:30pm the group started a STAGGERINGLY LOUD disco/indypop
party, and the speakers were pointed directly at all the rooms. A
staffer at the front desk said that the music would end at 10:30pm.
Needless to say, at 10:45pm we had to DEMAND that they either turn down
the music NOW or move us to a new hotel. The management can’t figure out
if they’re running a disco or a hotel. Avoid this place; use the Ashok
instead.
Hospet: Malligi Tourist Home
This hotel was a welcome surprise, much nicer than our guidebook had
indicated. We were greeted with a welcome sign at check-in, a fruit
basket, and a very comfortable room. The central garden gives the hotel
an air of privacy – which is good, as Hospet is a dusty, noisy city.
Badami: Badami Court
(could not find a direct website)
This hotel was another pleasant surprise. The pool was nice and
surprisingly cool. There are no other nice hotels in town.
Bijapur: Hotel Madhuvan
(could not find a direct website)
Nice hotel, but the mattress was as hard as a marble slab. They have
extra mattresses on request, as this appears to be a common complaint. Excellent
location walking distance from town and the Gol Gumbaz. Excellent
restaurant, wonderful staff!
Best Scarf Merchant: M/s. Desai Shivlal Lalchand - M/s. J.K.
Traders, Shop B-340, 5th Lane (end), Mangaldas Market, Mumbai 400
002. A beautiful selection of fine silk and cotton scarves. Do not
allow a tout to show you where it is. You will need to be extremely
assertive to get rid of the touts. There are only 7 or 8 lanes (more
like aisles) at Mangaldas market. Just start walking around and you'll quickly see the
lane numbers.
Best Pharmacy: Bharat Medical
There are zillions of pharmacies in every city. On my last visit, I
found Bharat Medical, 43 SB Road, Opposite 3rd Pasta Lane, Colaba,
Mumbai (tel: 2287 5666). Again, we used them for our purchase of meds.
Mr. Sunil speaks English very well, he’s extremely knowledgeable, and
they’re honest and helpful. The local doctors and clinics all get their
medications here. Pharmaceuticals are over-the-counter in India. Expect
to pay about about a quarter of what you do in the US, often less. Only
an idiot would try to smuggle controlled substances into the USA.
Eyeglasses
Prescription eyeglasses in India cost about $10-$15
per pair. I usually buy a few pair with each visit. If you have an
astigmatism of 1.00 or less, either learn how to translate your prescription or ask the
optician to do this for you. Astigmatic correction is usually quite
irrelevant for midrange and reading glasses. For my glasses on this
trip, I used a Colaba optician: I have not bought bifocals there yet; perhaps on
my next visit.
MB OPTICIANS, 93 Colaba Causeway; Mumbai
tel: 283 6049
Air Ticket Agent: Alanita Travel,
www.alanitatravel.com
Based in Watertown, Mass., they specialize in India, and their prices are significantly lower than
anyone's!
Milan: Hotel Amadeus (part of the Comfort Inn group)
www.choicehotels.com/ires/html/HotelInfo?hotel=IT022
Everything about this hotel is perfect: location, staff, room,
breakfast, price. We couldn't have made a better choice.