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Varanasi, Delhi, Agra
After visiting Bhutan and Nepal over the past 3
weeks we were on an obvious high as our
experiences there were wonderful. Arriving in
India for the last leg of our trip opened a new
realm of appreciation for a country that
obviously was so so different from that of our
Bhutan experience. Everything from numbers of
people, traffic, noise and access to sites could
have been unsettling but we found that again our
drivers and guides in the three cities were
exceptional.
We must thank Tomas for recommending Varanasi as
that was not on our original radar but was most
fascinating. Our experiences in New Delhi and
Agra were exceptional as our guides in each city
worked at accommodating our desire to see the
“their” city and not the typical tourist
portions of their city.
In all our travels we would not hesitate to
recommend Tomas and Footloose Travels to
recommend and coordinate excursions or who
country experiences wherever his network
extends. Great Job!
Jack
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Kerala private
tour
hi tomas, thank you. wow, it is hard to try and sum
up the trip, all i can really say is that we were
extremely impressed with your planning as well as
your staff and accommodations. thank you so much. it
was worth every penny. we were made to feel welcome
and special everywhere we went, thanks in part to
the accommodations as well as the amazing
hospitality. we found india to be a true gem in
terms of landscape and the people who inhabit the
country. from the moment we stepped off the plane to
the time we left, we were taken care of and treated
with the utmost respect by your staff. the guides
were all incredibly knowledgeable and the drivers,
while perhaps a little risky on the road, were all
extremely competent (They were, after all just
keeping up with the nutty flow of traffic over
there). all in all, this was one of the best
experiences of both my and evan's life and we thank
you for that. oh yes, the houseboat. we had a
wonderful time on the houseboat. mosquitoes were not
the issue, but perhaps the 9 or 10 salamanders
slithering about, whose job it is to eat the
mosquitoes kind of freaked us out a bit.....but the
staff was very gracious and the accommodations were
comfortable, and the food, delicious! it was an
experience we'll never forget!!
it was a great trip and we would love to use your
services again or recommend you to any friend
traveling to the areas you cover.
best
caroline and evan
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Rajasthan and Varanasi
Dear Tomas,
Our vacation was fantastic. The local tour company
was wonderful. The guides and drivers professional
and informative. The hotel accommodations were often
luxurious. The highlight of our trip was our first
venue, Varanasi. I was also moved by visiting
Sarnath for what it represented, but learned from
everywhere we went. In addition to the usual tourist
experience we also had the opportunity, particularly
in Varanasi, but also elsewhere to wander on our own
and see some of how the people live. I think that
going as we did just the two of us with drivers and
guides gave us a unique opportunity to learn about
India that would have been missed if in a large
group.
Thank you for arranging this for us.
Sincerely,
Serle
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Rajasthan and
Goa
Hi
Tomas! India was exactly as we expected. The
hotels were wonderful, the guides were informative,
and the drivers were excellent. We were met on time
at all the airports and there were no problems.
But.... the guide in Udaipur was exceptionally
good. I can't remember his name but he realized
what we were interested in and he told us more about
the caste system, marriages, etc. He took us on a
morning walk of the the town and was so interesting
we were sorry to end the tour!
For some
unknown reason, the hotels had our address as the
U.S. Consulate in Wash DC. We received incredible
treatment! We were upgraded to suites, had a butler
at one hotel, and were given all kinds of extras --
Goan prawns which were ordered specially for us and
then we were comped for the entire meal, etc. At
the Taj Exotica when the head executive chef came
out to talk to us, he mentioned that we probably
knew other people from the embassies! We know that
the Taj hotels and Oberoi hotels are known for their
service, but they went overboard trying to please
us! We were extremely happy with everything and very
easy to please! But they asked us over and over and
over -- even calling us to ask what more they could
do! At almost every meal the chefs came out with
special dishes made specially for us (and they
didn't go to anyone else's table) and then they
wouldn't charge us for these dishes! Even the
breakfast chef made us coconut yogurt then came out
to explain how he made it with real fresh coconut
and the entire staff (about 8 people) stood around
(you like it? you like it?).
Overall
it was a great trip. You did a fantastic job
planning it for us! Thank you so much for
everything you did for us!
Jill
Lipman
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Ladakh, India
Hi Tomas,
Our trip was FANTASTIC!! Don't even know where to
start....Guest House Deskit was all you said it would
be... your Ladakh crew, Lobsang were excellent...our guide,
Gyalson Konchuk was a delightful young man and did a
great job, got a great cook and assistant - we had very
good meals...stayed in village houses which was a nice
way to see Ladakhi life...weather was outstanding -
gorgeous sunny, clear, warm days, cold nights with full
moon and starry skies - could not have asked for
better... weather starting to turn with clouds and snow
on the higher elevations when we returned to Leh. The
Sham trek was good for us, both Diane and I worked hard
on the steep places, but just went slowly and had no
trouble with elevation with the exception of panting on
those steep climbs, Jim could have easily done a longer,
higher trek, but it was great for all of us. Absolutely
wonderful monasteries and Gyalson made sure we got into
the "chapels".
I would certainly recommend Footloose to anyone - it was
great.
Best regards,
Nancy
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Ladakh, India
Dear Tomas,
Please forgive my delay in answering your email query
about our Sham Trek, but we still are traveling. We're
in Malaysia right now.
To answer your question, the trek was wonderful. Ladakh
is beautiful, the people are welcoming and kind, the
monasteries are among the best we have ever seen, with
many monks in residence. Our guide, Gyaltsen, was a
delightful companion, a very polite young man, and a
very good guide. Our trekking crew was very good.
Leh was very interesting, and Lobsang and his wife were
perfect hosts. Their guest house was very comfortable
and clean and it offered the best view in Leh, I think,
with Tang Kangri and the peace stupa on the horizon.
You offer the best trekking value and quality we have
ever found, and we have been trekking for more than 20
years in a half dozen different countries. We will
contact you when we plan our next Asian or European
trip.
Very best regards,
Jim Pearre and Diane DeRocher |
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Ladakh
Here is my website address and
you can read all about it.
Sheila
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
The World's Best Travel Reviews
www.TravelsWithSheila.com
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ |
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Trekking Ladakh to
Spiti
Tomas,
The Rumtse to Kibber trek was a
success. On the whole your team did a good job. Lopsang Punchok was very
business like and put us in a wonderful guest house in Leh. He also got all
our Leh purchases delivered to Manali and made sure we had Volvo bus
reservations to Delhi.. The young guide Gel and the Nepalese cook, Shekhar
were great. We spent an acclimatization day hiking the hills above Rumtse
where we discovered prehistoric pictographs. As a result, I'm in touch with
Carlo an Italian we shared the Rumtse camp site with, and I'm looking for an
appropriate archeologist to review the photos.
Although Laura and I had camped
at 18700ft. on our 2003 Mt Kilimanjaro climb and also made it to the top of
19700ft. Mt Elbrus in 2004, we were initially surprised by the fierce sun
and wind on the high plateau around the two lakes and beyond.. I think the
high dry desert made the weather more intense. We did adapt though. I never
mentioned it but I injured my left hamstring on Memorial Day. The leg
improved steadily on the trek and both Laura and I made it over the 18850
ft. Parang La in snow and fog without problem. After that we really enjoyed
the rest of the trek to Kibber.
We had a great experience at
Johnson's Lodge in Manali. They let us stay in our hotel room until 5pm on
Thursday although checkout time was twelve noon. They also served the best
trout dinner I've ever had. We had the same great treatment at the Park
Hotel in Delhi. The Manali bus arrived in Delhi at 7:20 am instead of 10am
as scheduled. The Park gave us our room at 8am without extra charge. Harrish
the travel agent you had arranged to get us to the airport was really
efficient and helpful. He got us there in plenty of time for our flight and
saw us through right up to security. We were impressed with Indian
hospitality. We really enjoyed the trip.
All the best,ll the best,
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Ladakh, India Jeep
Safari
Hi Tomas,
Back home I want to
let you know that our holiday in Ladakh was one of the nicest we have
had so far. Apart from the country itself, the people and landscape
which you all know better than we do it was perfect timing, no stress ,
excellent guide and driver - excellent hotel in Leh and Delhi, fine
resort in Tso Morriri - only the camp in Nubra Valley was not too clean,
the food very poor, and I think parties of two or four people should
better be put in a guesthouse...the tent itself is romantic, but the
rest isn't. Also we personally would go back from Tso Morriri on the
same road, instead of the Tso Kar on....I remember that you
suggested this version....but I did not listen to you.......
Mahabodi is a
special place - we were the only clients, and liked it very much .
Excellent service, excellent food - staff more than friendly, David
special person - but maybe not suitable for "normal" tourists, who might
prefer the pollution and chaos of Leh and would probably not be too
happy with the low electricity (one can hardly read in the tent or find
something) and the lack of shade.
Ciao-ciao
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India
tours
720-220-6998
]