Awesome holiday/adventure

What a fantastic holiday, although it was more of an adventure than a holiday! The flights by Jet Airways weren't too bad, contrary to the many negative reviews we read on the internet, however, the seats were rather cramped for such long flights, one of which was overnight, but the staff were mostly friendly; however,towards the end of the flight back, the toilets were getting rather unkempt. We managed to check-in online and reserve our preferred seats free of charge for the outbound flight using our e-ticket numbers, as our PRN was a group reference number which didn't work for check-in (for our return flight, our tour manager got us checked in as a group, which was excellent). We were met on arrival at Delhi airport by our fantastic tour manager "K V", who was personable, attentive, very well organised and efficient throughout the whole of the 2 weeks. Indeed, both of the coach drivers and assistants, the 6 car drivers and the local guide in Amritsar were fantastic and looked after us very well. Our nice small group of 20 were transported by aircraft, coaches, cycle rickshaws, jeeps, train and 6 cars on the twisty mountain roads. We certainly experienced the "real" India from the comfort and sanctuary of our air conditioned forms of transport, as well as some strolls around villages and bazaars. All the 8 hotels were very different and mostly very comfortable with excellent facilities (villas with private plunge pools at the hotel in Dholpur - it was a pity we were only there for one night), and meals, although we were getting a bit fed up of the mostly spicy food by the end of the 2 weeks! From the slums of Delhi to spotting a tiger and her 3 cubs in Ranthambhore National Park (albeit via a very bumpy jeep ride, but well worth it!), to the wonder of the Taj Mahal to Jaipur's pink city and the Sikh Golden Temple in Amritsar. One of the highlights of the tour was witnessing the closing ceremony at the India/Pakistan border on the final evening - sheer theatre. There were a lot of very early starts, which were essential to see everything on the well organised itinerary and high humidity and temperatures in the high 30s up to 41C, which we soon got used to. The only negatives were the "inevitable" visits to carpet/textile, gem and marble factories, which none of us were really interested in, although the free drinks were welcome (however, we've never known anyone to buy a carpet on any of these visits!), and they were a bit of a waste of time. That said, this was a well organised tour and excellent value for money - thank you Newmarket, and we look forward to travelling with you again in October on he Elvis Presley's Memphis, New Orleans and Nashville tour.