August 4th, 2010
On 20th September Steve and I will set off for Cochin and the Kerala Travel Market [KTM]. It will be our fourth visit to this interesting biennial market where ’sellers’ present their wares. It is the place where we find the good new homestays and heritage houses that are entering the marketplace. It is also the place where we meet many old friends like CP Moosa from Ayisha Manzil, Motty Mathew from Alleppey and Victor Dey from Tranquil Resort in Wayanad. From KTM we will travel up to the Periyar area and inspect several new properties and re-visit the best ones like Spice Village and Paradisa Plantation Retreat.
Sunrise over the pool at Paradisa, a beautiful boutique hotel near the Periyar National Park, central Kerala
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April 23rd, 2010
This morning Max left to recce the Corbett Game Reserve in the Himalayan foothills and I had my first fully free day since arriving in Bombay on 4th April.
I couldn’t put it off, some shopping had to be done and I found the ideal place in New Delhi, Khan Market. This cluster of small shops has a wide range of goods on offer including the excellent Fabindia store where very high quality cotton goods are available, to small boutique shops selling clothing and household articles. A great place for buying presents.
For lunch I visited the Saravana Bhavan south Indian vegetarian restaurant on Janpath, not far from the magnificent art deco Imperial Hotel. The 9 dish tali served on a banana leaf was excellent. The sweet lime soda was also excellent and very necessary as the heat is still intense…about 41c today.
But I have nothing left to do now, except laze by the pool until it’s time to brave the ash cloud fallout at Delhi airport.
Graham
www.ellisonroberts.co.uk
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April 21st, 2010
The day started so well. Max and I visited Rajghat Samadhi, the site of Gandhi’s funeral pyre and a place of great reverence to the majority of Indians. We then visited the Jama Masjid, India’s largest mosque and following that we had an enjoyable stroll through the Red Fort and a bicycle rickshaw ride through Chandni Chowk, the narrow alleyways of the silversmiths and sari sellers.
In order to get quickly to The Lalit Hotel for our inspection we took the underground and without too much difficulty we arrived 10 minutes later, but I discovered that I was minus my mobile phone! Now I have used underground railways from Moscow to Paris to New York and I am very aware of the dangers. But the Delhi pickpockets did me good and proper. I never felt a thing.
Of course the next hours were spent dealing with the aftermath and this included a visit to the nearest police station to report the theft, or so I thought. I learned over the course of an hour in stiffling room that if I reported a theft I would spend at least the next few days being shuffled from indifferent policeman to disinterested policeman and it would be so much better for everyone if I admitted that I was just a stupid tourist who had misplaced his mobile and, to get the police stamp I required for a possible insurance claim, I agreed. Simples!
The Jama Masjid - the Mosque of Friday - India's largest
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April 19th, 2010
The Tiger's Nest monastery, Paro, Bhutan
Today Max and I completed the strenuous but rewarding hike to Tiger’s Nest, Bhutan’s most famous monastery, which clings vertiginously to a rock face at 10,240ft above the Paro valley.
The hiking trail, through dense forest, is well maintained but the climb of 2,000ft from the starting point is quite demanding and on several occasions I wished that I had taken the pony option…but pressed on.
After 90 minutes of lung bursting effort we emerged at the viewpoint just above the monastery. It was worth it. The view is spectacular.
After our hike we returned for a welcome shower followed by a good lunch. Our hotel, Zhiwa Ling, is superb and I recomend it highly.
Graham
www.ellisonroberts.co.uk
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April 19th, 2010
A pleasant one and a half hour drive from Darjeeling and a drop of two thousand feet or so brings you to the Glenburn Tea estate. This is one of the premier estates around Darjeeling and produces some of the finest tea available anywhere in the world. The accommodation comprises eight luxurious suites in two bungalows with splendid views of the hills and tea gardens all around and, weather permitting, of the spectacular snow clad peaks of the Kanchendzonga range.
The decor and ambience is English country house chic and Neena, the charming host, ensures that everything runs like clockwork and is immaculately maintained. The staff are efficient and friendly without being intrusive and the freshly prepared food just keeps on coming. There are many walks around the plantation and down to the River Rangeet in the valley bottom. It is a bird and butterfly enthusiasts paradise and one of the “houseboys” is an enthusiastic and knowledgably naturalist who will guide you to all the best spots.
View of Kanchendzonga from Glenburn
Our day starts just before six as the sun rises over the mountains. After a quick cup of fresh “first flush” we head downhill walking on small tracks that wind through the tea bushes. Plenty of birds to watch and a few more ticks on the bird list including a grey-headed woodpecker, long-tailed broadbill, Asian barred owlets and a brown-headed barbet. One of the jeeps comes to pick us up with more tea and some chocolate brownies and saves us the walk back up the hill.
After a magnificent breakfast a tour of the tea estate and the tea factory where processing of the “first flush” harvest is in full swing. Lunch is al fresco on the verandah and followed by a snooze as the temperature rises to a very comfortable 28C.
Afternoon tea is followed by pre-dinner drinks on the lower lawn terrace with a bonfire and display of folk dancing by the local school children. Dinner, served in the candlelit dining room, provides an opportunity to swap stories with the other guests and after a couple of glasses of very acceptable red wine it is time for bed. It would be hard to imagine a better place to relax and unwind. A minimum three day stay is recommended.
Suite at Glenburn
Steve.
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April 16th, 2010
There is something otherworldly about Bhutan and the visitor has a sense of a country and a people just slightly off kilter, outside of, or possibly oblique to, the concerns and interests of the world. And that is its charm.
Bhutan is certainly among the cleanest and safest countries on earth. It has a saleable surplus of energy generated from hydro-electric stations and crime rates are very low. It has a pristine landscape of snow-capped mountains overlooking sub- tropical valleys warm enough to grow rice and bananas and, outside of Thimpu, a deeply religious, feudal agrarian society largely unchanged over hundreds of years. The visitor will have an exhilarating and enjoyable time among friendly, welcoming people, but there is a fly in the ointment – the food. It is unspeakably dreadful.
It is not a lack of ingredients, as in the Thimpu market I saw fabulous fresh vegetables, fungi, ginger, and a myriad spices for sale. But what is served in nearly all hotels is a strange anti-cuisine, based on a seemingly wilful lack of understanding of methods, flavours and textures, and it is easy to imagine the Bhutanese cook staring bemused at a chicken, seeing it as if for the first time, and wondering what to do with it. Perhaps it will go nicely with jam.
The ubiquitous hotel buffet - dreadful
Last night, to avoid the ubiquitous hotel buffet and in desperation, I ordered tomato soup and a cheese sandwich for my dinner.
Today I am inspecting Thimpu hotels and I will find out more about food in Bhutan.
Graham
www.ellisonroberts.co.uk
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April 15th, 2010
Returning to Darjeeling after a break of three years we were struck by how far some areas had deteriorated since our last visit. It has always been a fairly chaotic place but the ongoing campaign for an independent Gurkha state or Gorkaland has caused what appears to be a complete breakdown of co-operation between the local people and the West Bengal government based many hundreds of miles away in Kolkata.
All the locals we talked to complained of a total lack of state investment in the local infrastructure and added to the lack of any planning controls, traffic management, water supply controls and waste disposal this creates a rather different impression to the cool, green and pleasant image that the term “hill station” brings to mind.
Red panda in Darjeeling
All is not lost however and the area still has a lot to offer the visitor. The area around the town is a green patchwork of tea estates, terraced farmland and forests. The views of the Kanchendzonga range are spectacular on a clear morning especially from the Tiger Hill viewpoint. Shopping for books on India and the Himalaya at the Oxford Book Store on the Chowrasta or the finest Darjeeling tea at Nathmulls in the Mall, or having a cold beer at Glenarrys are still recommended.
For less than £2 you can purchase day membership at the Planters Club and sip tea or something stronger surrounded by reminders of Darjeeling in it’s heyday. The Sherpa Tensing Himalayan Mountaineering Institute museum has an interesting display related to all things Everest, including the great man himself after whom the peak is named (apparently it should be pronounced ‘eeverest’). The Zoo next door is the most likely place that you will see red panda and snow leopard. The animals are very well looked after and there is a captive breeding and release to the wild programme in operation that is showing very positive results. The Lloyd Botanical garden has a fine orchid house and the Tibetan refugee centre an excellent line in hand made carpets. The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is a must for anyone who had a train set as a child, or still does for that matter, and a short trip by steam train up to Ghoom for a visit to the monastery is a real treat.
Prayer flags on Observatory Hill
One of the best things to do is take a walk to the top of Observatory Hill which is exactly what Penny did while I was out inspecting hotels. She returned covered in blessings from the many holy men who have set up residence there and with some great pictures of all the prayer flags and monkeys. I returned with my previous suspicions confirmed that there are only two decent places to stay: The New Elgin and The Windamere.
Steve
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April 15th, 2010
Arrived in Bhutan at Paro airport yesterday. The view of Mt Everest was spectacular.
Mt Everest seen from the Druk Air flight to Paro, Bhutan
Today we start our trek to Lake Simkota. Hope I am up to it. Ten days of luxury trains and luxury hotels in India has undone my fitness.
Graham
www.ellisonroberts.com
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April 12th, 2010
Steve and I are in the Rajasthan capital Jaipur for The Great Indian Travel Bazaar. This annual event is a showcase for Indian hotels with a focus on NW India, where there are so many wonderfully restored forts and palaces from the Moghul period and from the days of the Rajahs and the Raj.
We are now armed with lots of new ideas for India itineraries and we will be developing our thoughts and logistics around some special interest tours such as horseback trekking between palaces, wildlife, birding and special culinary tours.
Jaipur, known as the pink city because of the distinctive colour of the stonework, is a city of many attractions including the Amber Fort, the Jantar Mantar astronomical/astrological observatory, the City Palace, the Palace of Winds and the Turban Museum. A stay of two or three days is recommended.
- Samode Haveli, Jaipur, Rajasthan
As usual we have been inspecting hotels and among the smaller Jaipur hotels we have visited this time are Alsisar Haveli, Samode Haveli, and Mandawa Haveli. All are well kept heritage properties offering guests a comfortable stay at reasonable prices.
Steve will be attending the travel market tomorrow whilst I will be travelling to Delhi where I meet up with my son Max. We are bound for the magical, mysterious, Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan.
Graham
www.ellisonroberts.co.uk
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April 12th, 2010
April Fool’s day.
We seem to have fallen through a wormhole and woken up in the 1930’s.
The Windamere in Darjeeling started life in the late 19th century as a boarding house for British tea planters and government officers. Over the years it developed into a small hotel catering to royalty, the rich and the famous, who would use it whenever they visited the hill station.
It has retained the style and feel of those times without becoming either a museum or a theme park.
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Club at the Windamere Darjeeling
Afternoon tea; cucumber sandwiches, fruit cake, scones and of course the finest Darjeeling tea, is served by uniformed waitresses complete with frilly aprons, caps and gloves.
Dinner is served in the candlelit dining room and is a choice between a “proper” English roast with all the trimmings or more traditional Indian fare. The uniformed bar staff will serve you an excellent G&T, chilled beer or glass of wine and at any moment you expect Hercule Poirot or any number of English ladies as portrayed by Maggie Smith to engage you in amiable conversation.
The rooms are all varied and retain all the original furniture, pictures, fixtures and fittings with a few modern updates in the plumbing and wiring departments. Penny and I were ensconced in the best room in the house - The Chogyal of Sikkim’s suite. King Peter of Greece, the Princess of Siam and the Begum Aga Khan would have been our neighbors in former times. Today it was a couple from Jo’burg, a family from Munich and two sisters from Edinburgh, all of whom were having a great time. Mark Twain spent some time here in February 1896 and a fellow traveling companion commented on receiving the bill that he had now seen the highest thing in the Himalayas. Rates today are really rather reasonable.
The Windamere is still owned and run by the family. We arrived expecting something a little stuffy and formal and left feeling like members of the family (well distant cousins anyway).
Steve.
Windamere Hotel Darjeeling
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