The Discover India

Sorry we didn't get to meet. I know you were in NY and thought perhaps we might meet here.  

First, I want to thank you for a wonderful tour. I will definitely recommend Compass to others.  Pawan was on top of things all the time and available at any hour.  Most of the guides were excellent. Particularly Angelique in Jaipur, and .. now I'm forgetting his name, our guide in Varanasi. They don't get any better. They worked far beyond the call for duty. Both highly intelligent with great personalities. Couldn't do enough for us.

It was especially great to have a female guide who understands the interests of women more.. like shopping desires.

Our driver Devin or David was extremely attentive and caring. He worked really hard and took care of my mother. He also worked over and beyond the call of duty. A very thoughtful, kind person.   The only thing is for me he drove too fast and weaved too much for comfort in between cars.  I did tell him and he definitely improved.

Our driver the last day in Delhi who we didn't have much contact with and I believe he didn't really feel comfortable with English, a very nice man from Nepal, driving style was more comfortable for us. 

The hotels were excellent, I loved the Havelis particularly the one Jodpur. What a treat! 

All the sites were fascinating.  The only city that I thought the sites that were on the schedule were not of interest were in Delhi.  We were now in the capital of India and we didn't need to see anymore ancient monuments when we only had one day there. I noticed a sign on the road for Gandhi's museum and then for Indira's and our guide took us there. We were both so fascinated by it. I believe westerners would be quite interested to visit both.   Then in the afternoon we went to the old market in Old Delhi and that was also a treat.

We did manage to hook up with Isaac from the synagogue late at night and in fact, Pawan joined us. I was happy to make that contact for him.  Isaac is a good speaker and quite involved in diplomatic relations about the topic of Jews in India. He is from the old Bene Israel tribe.   A good contact for any of your Jewish travelers who go to Delhi.

We also had a lovely lunch with someone else I connected with named Gulu Ezekial.  Gulu writes about cricket. He has a column in the India Times and has written several books on the subject. We met because I learned he is half Jewish.  He took me and my mom and his sister to lunch at a lovely restaurant called The Kitchen.  I highly recommend this place for your tourists.

Also, I would say the best Indian food we had was at the restaurant our guide Angelique took us to for lunch in Jaipur.  I don't remember the name but I'm sure she does.  It was not the fanciest place but the food was fabulous.  She introduced us to a vegetarian dish that was not spicy - navaratan korma (sp?) with cashews.  Yummy. Mom and I don't do well with spicy food.   I ate a lot of chicken tandoor and chicken tikka masala.  Both delicious and what I eat often in the states.

Having the cell phone made us feel secure. We knew we were not out of contact with our family in the states and we had a means to contact Compass or anyone in India. Thank you. It's a real plus. I understand it was your idea and I can only say a great idea that makes a huge difference.

We always felt taken care of and never alone.  The way the tour was organized with a local compass rep and a local guide was perfect. 

I was so impressed by the number of universities.  And so impressed by the people who are so poor but don't feel poor.  I loved learning about the Jaine people, visiting their, learning about Buddha.

Varsha, in  all, I was blown away.  Blown away by India, by the people, by Compass service.   I want to come back and explore the areas I have not been to.. further north, Punjab, the south and so on.

You know what they say, Incredible India!

I will look for some pictures and forward to you.
Are you on Facebook?

Warmest regards,
Gayle

Hi

I owned a travel agency in NY for 25 years and am now doing outside sales for Time Travel and I must say Compass was above and beyond.

You delivered everything you promised and more.  This was one of my best trips .I would never hesitate to do business with Compass.

All the hotels were great,  However if I stayed in Delhi for 3 nights or more I would have liked a property in a better location--for our 2 nights it worked out fine.

I read Gayle's letter to you and I share all her thoughts
I am definitely going to recommend Compass to my colleagues.
If I can help you out in any way do not hesitate to ask.
By the way ,You have a charming husband.

Regards 
Mildred

Good Evening,

First of all, I/we just wanted to thank you for all of your hard work and for the wonderful tour that you put together for my mother, Mary Lou, and I during our stay in India.

I know that there are lots of people (welcomers, drivers, local guides) to contact and we appreciate that you did it on such short notice.  In short, THANK YOU!!!!!:):)

Regarding future trips (I would LOVE to go back to India and travel with you again), mom and I wrote a list of comments during the trip about welcomers, drivers and guides so that we could send them to you at the end and not forget anyone/anything. :):)  I hope that it is useful for you.

Regarding our time in Delhi, everyone was very helpful and very good.......welcomers, drivers.....guide,etc.   Although I didn't catch his name, the young man who picked us up at the airport upon our return to Delhi at the end of the trip was a very well-educated nice young man.

Khajuraho was lovely as were the people who helped us there.   Soni Anand was funny and friendly and very helpful and accomodating as a welcomer and as a local guide, Pranay Karmokar was wonderful!!! Pranay was very knowledgeable, very patient, gave great explanations....and was a sweet person and good human being, in my opinion.  You need to keep them around!!:):)

Orccha and Jhansi were good....as was Agra. Everything went well in those places and our driver was super.

Regarding drivers, for the last four days of our trip in Agra, Jaipur and Udaipur, we had a spectacular driver, Dinesh. He was such a nice man. He was helpful, patient, accomodating. He even stopped for us to take pictures of animals sometimes because he knew we were interested even though we didn't ask.  And, of course, the most important thing about a driver is his driving. He was an excellent driver at all times........very good and we always felt very safe with him.

Regarding great tour guides, I would have to say that they got better and better as we reached the end.   In Jaipur, our guide was Angelica. We thought that Angelica was a great guide, especially for women, because she understands us and knows what we like and want to see.  She took us to textile places, jewelry places and places to buy spices......all kinds of things we were interested in aside from the touristic sites. We appreciated her knowledge and helpfulness.

Our last tour guide for Udaipur and Ranakpur was Deepak.  This man has a calm way about him and has SO MUCH information to share. I found him to be warm, patient, helpful, incredibly informative in a very positive way and a great reader of people. I mean that he goes the extra mile to help people and give them what he thinks they want.   He is refreshingly frank and not afraid to answer questions that most other people would run from :)  He was the guide that I was most impressed with during the trip because of the incredible amount of information that he manages in a superpositive way.  When I asked him about meditating, we even meditated together in the temple at Ranakpur!!:):)

Concerning welcomers/greeters or whatever official name you have for them, I was also highly impressed with Govind Rathore.  He was very welcoming and very very accomodating. As you know, I made a special request to have Ranakpur added to our itinerary.  However, since the flight returning to Delhi was leaving at 1240, 5 hours earlier than originally calculated, that meant that I might not be able to see the temple,as it doesn't open until 12pm.  I expressed my excitement about seeing the temple to Govind and while most people would have said "Sorry, it isn't possible because of the time of your flight", Mr. Rathore was incredibly helpful and tried to think of different ways to help us.  He came up with the quick solution of taking our boat ride right then when we arrived....and that way we could go to Ranakpur the following day.  I was so happy that I could go there and the experience was well worth it.  Mr. Rathore is a warm person who inspires trust and makes guests feel real Indian hospitality.

All of that being said, we are quite happy that we chose to travel with Compass Inc. and would not hesitate to travel with you again on our next trip and we will surely recommend you to our friends and acquaintances.

Thank you again for your help and your patience in the whole process.

Sincerely,
Michelle and Mary Lou Tabolt

Hello,

We are back home, and have given the logistics of our past trip to east India some thought.  I would like to share them with you. I'm sure Mr. Gorman will also be sending along an email later.

I'm glad we chose you as our tour company.  You, Anupama, responded immediately, clearly, and with interest to all of my emails from the very start of our communication so many months ago.  I sent out "feelers" to several other companies, but your email communication skills were the best---AND prompt!

I thought the hotel selection was very well thought out on your part. Very nice hotels generally, with great breakfast buffets, and excellent locations. Especially appreciated were the locations of the Visaya in Delhi, and the Peerless in Kolkata because they were so very close to the subway.

Also, the Fortune Resort in Darjeeling was located very conveniently, but wasn't up to the standards overall of the other hotels. The breakfast service there was very confused and confusing, and quite minimal.

Our trip included a lot of flying because of Mr. Gorman's and my own destination requirements.  I do wish we could have taken the train from Varanasi to Bhubaneswar, even if it meant traveling overnight. The train experience would have been worth the pain, I think. We are not the usual travelers---we went to places few Westerners go, but that suited us just fine, so I think we would have appreciated the train.

The guides and drivers varied quite a bit, as expected.  Several drivers were truly excellent: Manas in Bhubaneswar/Puri, and our driver in Varanasi stand out as especially good.

As for the on again, off again plans at the end of our trip in Darjeeling:  It was for political reasons, and we know that could not be helped---you did what you could and it is appreciated.

So---all in all, you may ask. "Would Mr. Maxim recommend Compass to friends who want to visit India?"  Yes, and YES. You are a fairly large company that caters to big groups and, from your brochures, rather high end. But you also give a great deal of time and attention to organize for small, specialized groups such as Mr. Gorman and myself.  I can assure you Ms. Anupama, your efforts on our behalf in a very complicated business, are much appreciated. Please send along this email to Mr. Ujjwal Mukherjee, and Mr. Vikram Singh Chauhan. I do not have their email addresses.

Good luck to you, Anupama.
David Maxim

Hi

I'm sorry it has taken me so long to respond to your email.  I wanted to make sure that I had time to write to you properly.

Chris and I really want to thank You, Ashish, Simran and our driver for making our trip to India an incredible, memorable and fun experience.  The coach was a great  and comfortable way for our 15 person group to travel and we all felt very safe with our driver (i'm sorry I cant remember his name) he was great at manuevering through the heavily congested highways and streets.   Chris and I really appreciated the big "Veronica weds Christopher" sign on the coach, that was a special touch.  The day tours in Delhi, Agra and Jaipur were wonderful and having Ashish and Simran as knowledgeable guides made it a true cultural learning experience.  I think everyone’s favorite day tours were the rickshaw ride through Old Delhi, the elephant ride up to the Amber Fort in Jaipur and of course the Taj Mahal (but that goes without saying).  The girls in the group (and Peter, Chris's brother) all loved having our hands painted with henna.

As for our wedding, it was beyond our hopes and expectations.  Our friends are still talking about the painted elephants that Chris and I rode up on.  I must add that it was such a fun highlight!  It made us feel like Indian royalty.  The flower decorated horses and baghis that our guests rode in were fantastic and made them feel special.  The site of the wedding with the Taj Mahal in the background was a dream come true!  The flower strewn path that we walked up, the flower sprinkle and the welcome musicians really built up anticipation for the actual ceremony.  Having never been to a traditional Hindu wedding before we did not know what to expect.   The ceremony itself was a mixture of beautiful solemnity and also a lot of fun. 

Unfortunately it began to rain, but we appreciate how quickly solutions were found  to continue the festivities.  The Rajasthani dancers and musicians during the cocktail hour were great and helped to get people up and dancing.  The wedding dinner at the Amarvilas was delicious and everyone left completely stuffed.  We very much enjoyed the sitar players and the dancer during the dinner.  Thank you for the little special touches of the napkins with our names and wedding date imprinted on them, and for the chocolate boxes for us and our guests.  You really made our dream wedding come true.

Thank you Anupama for arranging a car and driver to Ganeshpury so that Chris could visit his Gurus ashram, that was very special for us.

Our only negative comment would be on our day trip the last day in Mumbai we had a driver and I believe you suggested that we wouldnt need a tour guide that day but when we met our driver he did not speak one world of English and had to spend an hour with the tour agent trying to find an English speaking guide at the airport.  The guide we ended up with was subpar and we felt we would have done better on our own that day.

On the whole our trip to India was a truly a trip of a lifetime and we really appreciate how much help you and the group at Compass Tours made it possible.  Thank you again! 

If you are ever in Los Angeles please let us know so we can show you some of our favorite places :)

Wishing you all the best,

 Chris and Veronica Ashworth

As our family has just departed from the holidays, we wanted to take this opportunity to first thank you for the lovely complimentary meal that was arranged for us at the Estate hotel and the thoughtful gifts given to us, the beautiful scarf and the Genisha for good luck.  The dinner at the Estate, we felt, was the best of our trip. 

We also want to reiterate that the trip exceeded our expectations.  Varsha, your plan for the days that we had available was perfect, we feel that the itinerary maximized the time we had available so that we were able to see so many wonderful monuments and historic sites.  Our guides were knowledgeable and were very able to impart the important information to us so that we got the most out of each location.  Our driver was a miracle to us, and we felt extremely safe with him.  We came away from this trip loving our time and experiences in India and have told everyone how much we enjoyed India and how fortunate we were that we used your company and would happily recommend you to anyone who wants to visit India.

Thank you again, and please feel free to contact us if you would like any other information.

Ron and Joan Fuest

Hi,
sorry its taken me this long to reply...  It was nice talking with you on the phone in India on my way to Khajuraho, although I didn’t realize it was you until after I hung up and the driver told me. All the same, it was a nice touch.

I loved the tour with car, guide and driver. Its my favorite way to travel, except I would bring my wife next time! Just about everything was good. If I could have changed anything, I might have upgraded a hotel or two, but that's a minor thing and I believe I could have done that from the start if I wanted to add to my costs. It might be beneficial however for people like me to make their own arrangements for hotels. I realize that would cut into your profit margin, but it could add appreciably to overall tour satisfaction - at least for that piece of it. That said, the hotels were all fine. The guides and drivers were all above average and a few were exceptional.

All of your greeters were fine. They were professional and took their jobs seriously. They always gave me the correct information and made sure everything ran well.

The Raunak International in Delhi for the first night was substandard, but they upgraded me on my return visit and it was fine. My first night there was Diwali and I realize it was an unusual time and your company had gone out of their way to pick me up at the airport and transport me back the next morning. It was an interesting neighborhood, the food was good, the staff attentive. limited internet and ambience, nothing special really. Acceptable hotel. Great guide however! I think all of your guides were freelancers, but R. J. Rahi was exceptional. He was extremely knowledgeable and entertaining. He was willing to tailor the tour to meet my needs, was friendly and sociable. He quoted Gandhi, Shakespeare, Tagore, and chanted from the Veda. I loved it! He knew his religion, art, history and culture, and literature too. Can’t say enough good things about him. The driver was fine too in difficult Delhi traffic.

Master Paradise in Pushkar was a nice room and close enough to walk to city center. I liked it. Very limited internet. It was a short stay but very interesting and I am very glad it was included. My original guide was good, gave me a wonderful tour of the mela, a visit to the Brahma Temple and filled me in on Hindu philosophy and religion at my request. The next day, my driver Mr. Lucha Singh took over and gave another quick tour of the town. His English was not as good as most of your guides, but he was the driver, and was wonderful in all ways- making himself understood well enough and taking me on a very interesting tour of the ghats, odd shops and temples. He was also an incredible driver. I am sure you know how difficult traffic can be in India. But he was the best! He got to places no one else could have without getting stuck for hours...from Ajmer to Pushkar to Jaipur to Agra. I recommend a raise.

The Umaid Bhawan in Jaipur was a very nice hotel. Lots of character and very attentive staff. I highly recommend it. The guide was very good and very knowledgeable. There was a lot of historical in cultural information to learn in Jaipur and he did a very good job of imparting that information without overwhelming me. I did like Jaipur a lot, especially the Jantar Mantar and Amber Fort. It was foggy and rainy at times, but I am never bothered by the weather. The Sun came out when it needed to and I got great pictures everywhere.

Howard Park Plaza in Agra was probably a good Tourist Hotel, but to tell the truth I don't even remember it, so it didn’t make much of an impression. And I was there for two days. Like so many other tourist hotels, I suppose - comfortable but boring. I much prefer a hotel with character, even if its not perfect. The guide was good, his English very good. (All of your guides spoke English well.) I liked the Ghost City Fatehpur Sikri, The Taj Mahal of course, and Agra Fort. Traffic was a nightmare, but our intrepid driver, Mr. Singh got us there safe and sound. Wait, now I am remembering it. I saw some great wedding parades out front of the hotel! and it had two very colorful and helpful doormen. That part wasn’t boring at all. So it probably is a good choice.

The train to Jhansi was quick and fast. The first train from Delhi to Ajmer was also quite enjoyable. The trains themselves could use some freshening up, but if you like trains, they were both good trips...

Orchha Palace was nice and the food was great at the restaurant we stopped at. The guide was fine, and another guide met us at the old Palace. He knew his history and culture, but I had a hard time understanding him. A driver then took me to Khajuraho. He had very little English and the car was old, but I liked him a lot. He had charm and energy and a great smile. He was replaced the next day by another very good driver but I felt bad because I never got the chance to tip him.

Usha Bundela was another just ordinary tourist hotel that was perfectly comfortable but boring. But it did meet my needs and all I was looking for was clean and air conditioned. So it definitely fit the bill. Closer to the temples would be nicer I think. The guide again was good with lots of knowledge. The Laser light show is silly and touristy. I do not recommend it. the tour I got of the old town was really wonderful. I visited a school classroom in session and toured the back alleys and shops with a resident of the town. It was very good. And the temples themselves are a highlight. Very impressive... 

The drive to Satna for the train ride to Varanasi was another highlight. We had time to kill so stopped at the Maharaja of Khajuraho's old hunting palace in the hills to take pictures and at the Panna Tiger Resort to sip ginger tea overlooking the river and watch the world going by. Very enjoyable. The driver was great and it was a newer SUV for this last leg of the trip. Essentially, this driver too was now the guide and got me safely to my train. He was an excellent driver, very professional and someone who you might look at for promotion once he improves his English a little.

At first I got on the wrong compartment but we soon figured it out and he got me to the right compartment. Someone was in my berth however, and I had to take another berth in the hallway. The train was air-conditioned, and I was so tired it didnt matter. I just wanted to sleep... But I do recommend guides get you settled in the right seats or compartments before they depart. They were very good at this in China, as it easy for someone like me to get lost and confused about where to go.

Meraden Grand in Varanasi. At first I didn’t like it, because its another big box hotel with a mildewed room and bad carpets, but it grew on me. The food was quite good and they arranged an early check in for me at 6am! The train arrives at 5am and they dont guarantee anything until someone checks out. But they did accommodate me and I thank them for that! The guide was also exceptional. Another real professional with lots of knowledge and tour experience. He did great with the ghats and the tour of the old streets and especially with the art and history at Sarnath. Again he was genuine and sociable and went beyond the expectations of a regular tour guide. There was also a remarkable lighting festival going on in Varanasi that we witnessed from a boat in the Ganges River. It was very memorable. All told, it was a remarkable tour.

Thank you Anupama for your efforts to make it all turn out well. The people and the colors and textures and smells and food of India are all unique. Everyone I met was open and friendly and inviting and there seemed an energy and optimism in their conversation.

Despite its poverty and problems with sanitation, water, education, employment, and housing, etc. India is still a very special place it seems to me. And It covers itself well with a rich veneer of religion, mythology, and magical storytelling that exists nowhere else in the world. I took lots of pictures and have memories that will last a lifetime.

Thanks again.
Sincerely, Michael Donahue

Hi

 Our trip was great , even if we only saw 1 tiger !   It was amazing , I wish I would have had more luck and see more tigers , but I know how things are with nature.

I would like to thank you, your organization was very efficient and we are very satisfied. The drivers / guides were all very nice and helpful and all went smooth.

The hotels were excellent. 2 of them were incredible!!  The one in Bharatpur and the one in Jaipur, really fantastic!  And people were very nice at every hotel we stayed.

The hotel I likes less was the one in Agra, just because it looked more ordinary, continental , but it was the way I expected too. The service and food were good.

 I appreciate your cooperation when I wanted to change plans in Bharapur, that’s important, thanks.

 The driver we had for most of the days was really really nice, Karambir I think was the name (I don’t know if is spelled right).

 In the park I felt like guides and drivers are equally qualified, the drivers were as good as the guides. I really liked the guides and drivers we had in Kanha (Manu and Sukman) and the driver in Bandavargh (Neeraj I think) .

 My comments would be that I think is better to always have the same guide in the park, as we did in Kanha, instead of changing every day as on other parks. We always had the same drivers though and they are amazing drivers!. Also I think it was good but it could be better if the guides / drivers would speak better English. I felt like there was a bit of communication difficulties and it could be more helpful being able to understand each other more. The same for the driver. Considering lots of time was spent in the car, it would have been more enjoyable if we could talk more with the driver but it was kind of hard.

 Also I think in the future you may want to give a little more info about tipping that could be helpful.

 Anyway I think we had a wonderful trip and I appreciate all your help and Compass efficiency.

 I have great memories of India, especially how really nice welcoming you all are. I’ll have to go back one day to see more tigers and explore a different area. 

I hope this help.

Best regards,
Sandra Critelli

On the whole we were quite satisfied with the service of Compass India and had an excellent tour. The appearance of a company rep at the beginning of each stop to introduce the tour guide and provide emergency contact number was particularly professional and useful. The use of the same driver through out the trip was good too. All our tour guides and the driver were competent and professional. One of the tour guides who teaches English literature was a pleasant surprise. The B&B in Delhi for killing time before going to the airport turned out to be very pleasant and enjoyable. We would have preferred that over the hotel we stayed at the beginning of the tour. If I were to name one negative thing of the trip, it would be the road side lunch stop from Jaipur to Delhi; the service was unfriendly and the food poor and very pricey. Overall, I give Compass India an A for the tour package they provided.  

David

Hello
Just checking in to let you know that, for the most part, things have been going very well.  We had some difficulty with a guide in Ranthanbore, and also with the Compass agent at the Bharatpor station, but other than that, everything has been great.  Our guides have been wonderful, especially Raj in Khajaraho and Pavan here in Jaipur, who is the Compass representative.
 
We have had the same driver, Rajeesh, for several days now, and I can't tell you how marvelous he has been!  He takes excellent care of us, drives us from store to store helping us find just the right souvenir, and is always concerned for how we are feeling and what we want to see.  On the long drive from Agra to Jaipur, he pointed out sights and was overall an excellent guide, even though he is only a driver.  His English is very good and his knowledge of the country has been excellent as well.  We could not ask for a better driver.
 
We will be sure to fill out the comment form at the end of our tour, but we wanted to give you a quick update.  Thanks for all of your help...we are having a wonderful time and love India!
 
Elizabeth and Sydell Carlton

Greetings

We were very pleased to receive your e-mail and invitation to become a friend on Facebook. So far Tom and I have not joined, but when we do we will surely enjoy what you have posted.

We have been meaning to e-mail you to tell you what a wonderful experience our tour was. We had a marvelous time.

We have traveled often though Asia. Compass India is by far the best agency we have ever had the pleasure of working with. The guides were so informative and attentive;our driver was the best; the hotels more than met our expectations (with the exception of the Lallgarth Palace which was lovely on the outside but very basic on the inside); the Forts and Palaces were incredible! It was a very secure feeling to know that at each stop on our adventure a representative of Compass was there to make sure we were being taken care of and satisfied with our accommodations. Thank you so much for your attention to detail!

We have one comment we feel is important to mention so that you may consider a different decision if this particular situation arises again. When we left New Delhi for Agra it was already dark and the fog was very thick. We could not have asked for a safer driver but the 6 hour drive in those conditions were very stressful and we feel dangerous. It would have been better to change our plans and leave the next day.

We have given your name and e-mail to Doris Francis who is thinking of making a trip to India with her husband. If they do decide to go we are sure they will use Compass after the recommendation we have given them!

Thank you, Varsha,
Best Regards,
Jerri Morin

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you.  Things have been somewhat hectic.  Here are my comments on our trip

Overall:  Flawless execution, the problems we experienced were truly cases of force majeur, and even then your organization delivered beyond expectations! Example: Assistance in Ahmedabad, when our flight was diverted from Delhi, arrangements and assistance in Mumbai when we had to reschedule our departure from Delhi to Mumbai just to name few.

Itinerary:  Good choice, Varanasi should be a must on any itinerary of Northern India.  Suggest to build in the evening excursion to the Ganges as a standard feature. No need to visit Samode

Hotels:  Outstanding, we only regret we did not have enough time to fully take advantage of the services and amenities offered  

Guides: Excellent with the exception of the gentleman who took my family to Samode.  As a general rule guides should be able to provide historical context of what the visitor gets to see.  Strongest guide in that respect was the gentleman who took us through Jaipur (Amber Fort)

As an aside could you please provide us with the names and addresses of the guides who took us through Varanasi and Ranthambore.  We promised to send them pictures.

Drivers:  Excellent, courteous and reliable; the gentleman who stayed with us from Jaipur to Delhi was outstanding.  If we could have a contact address for him, we promised to send him some pictures.

Conclusion:  You and your organization delivered a truly memorable experience, please feel free to use me as a reference

Also, we are currently considering to come back to India, this time we would like to do a tour of Southern India.  Any suggestions?
     
Per your request I enclose two pictures which might be useful for your website!

Best Regards

Christoph Adamski

India 2010

What is it that compels Patricia and me to return to India for a fourth time, after 15 years? The region we chose in 2010 is Tamil Nadu, a province in the south.The climate is hot and humid. The towns and cities are  unpleasant places to walk about, with clouds of air pollution and sewage odours. It seems as if every form of road transport, whether it be a truck, car or three wheeled auto rickshaw, is an emergency vehicle with horns blaring every few seconds. The poverty is unremitting, with the occasional islands of luxury in five star hotels and wealthy enclaves. The population has outgrown the infrastructure. Side walks are intermittent, Toilets are few and far between and power failures frequent. Tap water is undrinkable and hygiene questionable.

To move about the visitor relies on the rented car with driver. You do not want to drive your own car in India. Traffic lights are rare in towns and villages and most intersections in the cities. So busy roads are a study in chaotic madness. The white line down the middle of a highway is only a suggestion as to how opposing traffic should be divided. Our driver, Sadiq, was often forced off to the shoulder to avoid a head on collision with large trucks and buses. Sadiq never got upset by this. It's all quite normal in India.

And yet in spite of all these inconveniences we keep returning. For India is a fascinating country, rich in history, culture and all the arts. And it is a country most educated Westerners hardly know. Our schooling is centered around the American and European experience. Yet here stands India, 1.1 billion souls, with a rich, varied and mysterious civilization that goes back thousands of years. Each previous visit intrigued us, invited our curiosity and kept calling us back for more.
We spent 16 days and many hours on the roads connecting one destination to the next. At each stop we saw many Hindu temples dedicated to either Vishnu, The Preserver or Shiva, The Destroyer. For centuries the region was ruled by civilizations such as the Pallava, Chola and Pandya. Inspired by the many Gods and legends, they built incredibly ornate temples festooned with carvings on columns, walls and holy sanctuaries. We saw the great temples at Tanjore, Mamalapurim, Trichy, Madurai and Kanchipuram.

But this visit was more than an exploration of Indian temple architecture. We also wanted to see the traditional classical dances called Bharatanatyam. There is an annual music and dance festival held in Chennai (formerly Madras), each year in December and January and we were able to see six performances. The best was a story from the Mahabharata about a king losing his fortune and his wife to another king during a game of dice. It was told through music, dance and pantomime in brilliant fashion by the Kalakshetra School, equivalent to our own Julliard School of Performing Arts. The final dance of liberation from the clutches of the greedy king was so thrilling it received enthusiastic audience applause. It brought tears of joy to my eyes, something no Western dance performance has ever accomplished.

While going from one town to the next we made stops to see markets and craft centers. We saw loom weaving and a bronze foundry where statues of Hindu Gods were produced for homes and temples. We witnessed the harvesting of sea salt, rice planting and rope making.

After crossing into the neighbouring state of Kerala we had a chance to hike in the Periyar Sanctuary, a conservation area set aside for elephants, tigers and other wild animals. We saw none but were able to climb to the top of a large hill and get a view over the surroundings. It was a pleasant break from the crowds and the hours of sitting in a car. By coincidence a solar eclipse was anticipated and we raced down the hill to get a better view through coloured plastic sheets and reflections in still water.

The harvest festival, called Pongal, was being celebrated in Tamil Nadu. Oxen had their horns painted bright colours and special Pongal food was on offer. That brings up the subject of food in general. South India is known for its spices and a vegetarian can enjoy a wonderful range of tasty dishes. We certainly did at the frequent buffet dinners served in our hotels. We ate thali meals in local restaurants as well.

The hotels were mostly part of the Taj chain and were lavish and a sharp contrast with life outside the cloistered walls. Security inspection greeted us at each hotel including an examination under each vehicle using mirrors. It's all because of last year's terrorist attack on the Taj Hotel in Mumbai. The hotel room in Pondicherry, formerly a French enclave, was not so wonderful. It was not part of the Taj chain. Wall sockets and bathroom fixtures would would fall apart in your hands. Pulling a curtain cord, resulted in the curtain coming down. And the TV was placed in such a way as you could not watch it while lying in bed. All in all it was a very challenging room.

India has adapted to the computer and internet age and since our last visit cell phones are now everywhere. In fact they have literally skipped over the land line technology. We learned there are only 40 million land lines but 510 million cell phones. Contrast this with the United States which has about 270 million land lines and about the same number of cell phones. Indian cell phones are relatively inexpensive and have transformed communication here. Our driver and guides were frequently being phoned and cell phones pop up in odd places. We have seen Hindu priests and classical dancers in costume using them.

Just before reaching Pondicherry we stopped at Auraville, an ashram founded by a woman referred to as The Mother. People from all corners of the world gather there in pursuit of peace, friendship and brotherly love. A huge golden sphere was constructed for meditation inside its hollow interior. The thing must have been at least 200 ft in diameter and took years to complete. It all seemed very laudable but a bit too abstract for my taste.

We could not help but notice the friendliness of the Indian people. They were, without exception, genuinely polite and good natured. We could not possibly purchase all the products and services being offered to us but all the sellers accepted the disappointment with grace. I cannot say that about numerous other countries we have visited. Although Hindus represent 90% of the population there is a harmonious relationship between them and the Christian and Muslim communities.
On our last day in Chennai Patricia went off to find an art gallery. After getting lost, a helpful young Indian offered to show her the way. He also offered her opium which he claimed is of the highest quality in India. Even he cheerfully accepted a rejection of the offer.

Our return journey began at 1:30am when we were driven to the Chennai airport for a 4am departure. Eleven hours later we landed at Heathrow airport, exhausted from jet lag and a sleepless night but stimulated and happy with the vivid memories we now carry with us.

Jay Freeman

We had a wonderful vacation in India, which has exceeded our most optimistic expectations. We were very pleased with the services provided by Compass, particularly taking into account the last minute changes to our schedule that you had to accommodate.

You driver, Mahipal Yadav, was fantastic. He was able to timely cover a very challenging itinerary (which most tour operators had told us would be impossible), thereby enabling us to see everything that we had planned, and then some. He is a highly skilled driver and also very resourceful. He was very professional and courteous and we enjoyed his company very much.

Your driver in Delhi was also very good.

Many thanks to Ms. Surbhi Verma and to Ms. Susan Hunter who assisted and advised us at various stages of our planning

We are looking forward to our next vacation in India, which we will start planning in a few months. You will hear from us, probably next spring.

If there is a particular website where you would like us to post positive comments about your company, we will be more than happy to do so.

Thanks again,
Arleta and John Caridas

First, our apologies for not getting back to you earlier.  When going away for so long (I was away for one month and Steve was away two weeks), there are a lot of things to catch up on!  And we have to do it while still processing all these wonderful memories we have from India!

What a memorable trip!  It was truly excellent.  And we want you to know:  Compass India was a big catalyst for making this trip an outstanding vacation!  We will definitely recommend Compass India (and already have) to our friends and relatives who may come to India in the future.  We will be glad to be a reference for you!

We have just put some feedback below along with a couple of suggestions.

Drivers
The drivers were all good and our favorite was Babula !!  He was such a great driver, very calm and did not use the horn constantly.  We really enjoyed him.

Guides
The guides were all good and our favorite was Ravi Durga in Delhi and Shiek Sadiq in Kajuharo.  All were very knowledgeable! 

Compass India Representatives
-- You, Anupama, are great!  You were very easy to work with, always responding to our emails very quickly and made it so easy to plan this trip!  Thank you!
-- All Representatives who met us along the way were very courteous, very nice and professional.   They were always willing to help and we enjoyed meeting them.  Our favorite was Powan in Delhi and the young man in Agra (forgot his name).

Hotels
The hotels were all good (except Gwalior, which had cockroaches in the room).  
Most hotels had rooms for us close to the elevators, as we had asked.  
The food at the Park hotel (buffet for dinner) was too expensive.
In Agra, we had a room that had a view of the Taj Mahal!  That was very special! 

Suggestions
After coming back, I thought of a couple of things that I would like to do when I go back to India:

1.  Music
Music is something that is very primitive and connects us all on a very deep level.  There was not much music on this trip.  We had one opportunity in Agra and were so glad we did it:  The Compass representative there suggested to go to the live show and we really enjoyed it! 
Maybe more suggestions on music?
  
2.  Meeting families at their homes
Has Compass thought of offering the tourists to visit a family in India?  As tourists, we can see all the old ruins and castles and forts...we can see all the tourists places, but meeting people and seeing where they live is very special.  This could be something that people may enjoy.

Anupama, I took about 1400 pictures!  So many beautiful places!  I will email you a link to look at the 400 pictures I chose to be the best.  I hope you will enjoy the show!

Thank you again for all you have done to organize this memorable vacation!

Namasté

Isabelle Mollien & Steve Bradley

I started communication with Compass India Inc. in April 2009.  All of the e-mails were handled by Mrs. Anupama Singh (Executive Travel Management Services).  My family members had almost no confidence in internet booking of our tour.  We did not know anybody in Delhi, and if no one showed up at the airport, then what would we do?  Is this company like SOTC, which we were familiar with?

I used to e-mail Mrs. Singh.  She replied to all of my e-mails promptly and accurately.  I must mention that Mrs. Singh did excellent handling of the tour planning, booking, and arranging our extra luggage for storage while we were on the tour.  We wish her the best of luck in her career ahead.

At Delhi, Indira Gandhi Airport, Mr. Vinit and the driver, Rajesh Yadav arrived on time and my family and I received a warm welcome from the Compass Team.  The Compass Team Managers remained present at check-in and check-out, introducing our tour guides, and always asked if we had any inconvenience.  The tour managers were Mr. Ashish, Mr. Vinit, Mr. Anil, and Mr. Pratap Singh.  All were courteous, punctual, and had a expressive attitude to do their best.

The Compass Inc. selected the best guides for us.  The guides were very knowledgeable and presented the material in such a way that was entertaining for myself, my wife, and my two kids.  Mr. Ravi (Delhi guide), Mr. Atul Parmar (Agra guide), and Mr. Rajiv Rathod (Jaipur guide) gave an interesting detailed presentation of the many historical places.

I'm glad to mention that my family celebrated my birthday while on tour in India.  After dinner when we asked for the check, the waiter informed us that Compass Inc. generously paid for the dinner.  That was a pleasant surprise!  It really shows that this company goes above and beyond for their clients.

At the end of the tour, we felt that our decision to go with Compass Inc. was the best decision and it exceeded our expectations.  We will always recommend Compass Inc. to our friends and family who wish to visit India.  I am sending a separate email to a friend of mine that is visiting India this December, and I am suggesting your company for their tour.

Our feedback would be incomplete if we did not mention any suggestions for your company.  It would be better if we received a detailed tour information kit via mail prior to arriving in India.  By doing this, it would avoid apprehension of any Internet scam. 

With warm regards,
Suresh Gohel & family

Please convey our sincere Thanks to everyone in Team, who had helped us and made our Travel Memorable.

You folks are awesome Team excellent Planning / Follow-up and proffesional,  Hats off  for Durjay Sengupta / Bhawani Singh / Anupama Leading the Team.

I would like to convey my thanks and Best Wishes for everyone  ( there is no particular Order ),

1) Mr. Amilal Yadav
2) Mr. Sourabh Sharma  
3) Mr. Vineet
4) Mr. Vikram
5) Mr. Pamma - Jammu
6) Mr. Kuldeep - Agra / Jaipur
7 ) Mr. Yadav  - Delhi

Guides
1) Mr. Arjun    - Delhi
2) Mr. Sukhbir Solanki  - Agra
3) Mr. Sharma  - Jaipur 

I have no doubt in looking forward to travel with your team in the future and recommend anyone over here to recommend without any doubt.

Please convey to everyone mentioned above.

Last not least , Anupama , I do thanks especially  for arranging the communication media (cell phone) in INDIA.

PS: I do apologize , if i miss any names in above.

Thanks
Naresh Kumar Giri 

I wish to thank Compass India for what was a flawless tour of India. There was not a single problem encountered. We were met at each location not only by our local guide, but by a local Compass India representative as well. The level of attention by Compass Staff might be expected if we were a large tour group, but we were only a family of four. Our driver was very attentive and looked after our every need. He knew every aspect of our itinerary and carried us safely on our journey. When we arrived back in New Delhi early his every thought was on showing us more of the city before our scheduled departure.
 
With Compass India we learned that one can rely on good tour planning, extraordinary on-the-ground attentiveness, and quality.
 
Confidentially: our assessment of our local tour guides is as follows:
New Delhi: Overall good
Udaipur: Overall good
Jaipur: A master. Extraordinary knowledge and enthusiasm
Ranthambore: The safari drivers seemed to talk among themselves and did not focus on us.
Agra: Seemed in a rush do the Taj Mahal, get pictures, and then send us on our way. We ended up in Delhi about 4 hours early when we could have stayed at the Amar Villa a while and left a bit later.

MR. ROSS VINCENT & MRS. CLAIRE ELIZABETH

I’ve been meaning to write to thank you for all to did to make our trip possible, but have gotten distracted with away from it each time I sat down to type out a note.  We are happy to supply a comment for Compass as we truly could not have managed the trip without you. 

 “Although we have traveled as a family internationally several times, planning our trip to India quickly became an intimidating exercise.  Once we found Compass India, however, the stress and uncertainty associated travel in India quickly dissipated. They allowed us to customize our itinerary and select options from their informed selections of stops, sightseeing and hotels.  It was very comforting knowing that we would find things as represented once our trip got underway.  Two things were especially rewarding in our dealings with Compass.  One, the car, driver and tour guides were all beyond expectations.  While planning, we felt like this was really extravagant, but once we got there it proved to be a necessity.  We learned so much and were able to focus on all the beauty and fascination of India and not how to get to the next stop.  Secondly, when faced with a 12+ hour train delay, which turned out to be a canceled train altogether, the Compass Team went to work and found a solution that resulted in virtually no delay and more importantly no missed stops on our itinerary.  Had we been on our own, I’m sure we would have blown two of our 16 days in country, not to mention the likely divorce proceedings that would have followed from all the stress and venting!  Joking aside, having Compass and their team looking out for us, allowed us to enjoy being together as a family in one of the most enriching environments possible, creating memories that we will cherish for the rest of our lives.”

“Compass was great!  Just the right level of assistance and care…there when you need them, close at hand when you don’t.  They made our trip to India more than we could have hoped for”

I hope those comments help.  Not for your web site or marketing efforts, but I want to make special mention of the driver and tour guide we had for 12 of the 16 days.  Meenu, our drive, was more than we could have ever hoped.  He was focused, attentive, and skilled.  We never doubted his ability to negotiate every possible object on the road way, animate or inanimate!  He was also just a wonderful person with a great personality and sense of humor that we enjoyed throughout the trip.  Surendra, our guide, was so far beyond belief, we must say thank you to whoever assigned him to us.  He was so well informed, so helpful, so unobtrusive and such a wonderful person that we felt as though he was and is a member of family.  We witnessed so many other guides that just didn’t seem to be of the same caliber and could not have imagined spending 12 days with them.  With Surendra, and Meenu, the 12 days flew by and we never once grew tired of their company.  Please pass these comments on to the person at Compass that coordinates the drivers and guides so they know how special each of them are.

Well, we only saw a small part of India, so hope to find time to return.  We’ll certainly be in touch if/when we do.

Regards,
Charlie Sloan & Family

The trip was fabulous!  Getting to experience India first hand was a trip of a lifetime.  There were too many highlights to mention them all.  Thank you for making it happen.

  Our driver Joshi and his assistant Bhoopi were exceptional.  Joshi learned quickly what things we wanted to see in addition to the normal tourist attractions.  He would initiate many side trips and events.  He would take us walking through small villages, stopping at weddings on the roadside, visiting local farmers, meeting village families and being invited into their homes, and touring local schools.  These were among the best things we did during the 32 days in India.  During these visits no one was trying to sell us anything.  No one was holding out their hand wanting to be paid or tipped.  We loved this.  Much different than visiting a dhurrie rug factory, or a textile shop, or an inlaid marble store where the guide was looking for his commission and the craftsman wanted us to buy his expensive product.  This was even better than seeing the forts and temples.  Not that it wasn’t interesting, but nowhere near as fascinating as seeing how real people live and not the people that sell things to foreign tourists.  (Just as an aside, you should warn American/European tourists that driving in India is not for the faint of heart.  Every day they will face many dangerous situations on the roads in India.  Driving in America is quite different – no cows, no goats, no ox-carts, no tractors, no camel-carts, no tuktuks moving at 15 km/hr, etc. and tourists should probably be warned.)

  The hotels were excellent value.  They were all clean and well maintained. With only two exceptions they more than met our expectations.  The hotel in Varanasi – Palace on Ganges – very importantly on the Ganges – but our room didn’t even have a window!  Ouch.  And the hotel in Pushkar - Pushkar Palace - no longer has a restaurant so we had to have our breakfast in our room and it appears a bit run down.   Some were spectacular like the Deogarh Mahal and the Samode Palace.

The details for the trip were well taken care of.  With only a few exceptions during the nearly five weeks of travel we were disappointed.  The guides were always waiting for us at our hotels.  They spoke excellent English and were informative, intelligent, and knowledgeable about the sites.  The hotel reservations were almost always in order and the hotel was aware of our needs with only a couple of minor exceptions.  We of course needed two rooms, one for us and one for my sister-in-law and her husband - the Zebelmans.  For the first couple of hotels there was a discrepancy in quality between the two rooms (they should have been the same level of comfort) and we were always having to remind the hotels that we had reserved king-sized beds.  

If I were to take this trip again I would suggest several changes.  There was too much driving.  We drove approximately 4100 kilometers in 28 days.  I would recommend that there be several rest days – like staying at Deogarh and Samode in order to sit by the pool and relax.  I would also suggest that we would spend 2 weeks less in Rajasthan.  One doesn’t need to see every fort and palace.  Perhaps take the train from Jodhpur to Jaisalmer and then back to Delhi to save some 4 solid days of driving.  Too much time in the van – Tempo Traveler.  But the money to take a van instead of a car was money well spent.  To be able to spread out in the van was very important in terms of comfort.  The two weeks removed from our trip in Rajasthan could have been spent as one week in Kerala and one week in the mountains perhaps Darjeeling .  This would add to the expense of the trip, with two more flights, but would greatly change the scenery and we would have experienced more varied parts of the country.

Minor problem.  The last nights dinner at the Laseez Faire restaurant on the way to the airport was fine.  We were shown a drink menu but there wasn’t any beer on the menu.  When we asked about beer they offered several possible choices of imported beer.  The meal was included as part of our trip but the two beers with service charge and VAT came to 1100 Rupees.  By far the most expensive beer I have ever purchased and we live in New York City, one of the most expensive cities in the world.  We questioned the charge with the waiters and then with the owner but he assured us that they always charge this much for imported beer.  Mind you, it isn’t the cost, we could afford it, it was that we felt we were being taken advantage of.  We paid for the beer.  The Compass Rep, Samesh, was terrific and quite understanding and reimbursed us for the beer.  I just thought you should be aware of the situation.  It left a bad taste, not of India nor of Compass tours, but for that restaurant and we wanted you to let the restaurant know that they should readjust the price of the beer or at least make the person aware of the cost of this most expensive beer before ordering it.  

Again, Thank you for an amazing trip.  We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Compass Tours to anyone thinking of traveling in India.  *****  Five Stars to Compass.

Howie

Howard & Paula Myers
10 Georgia Lane
Croton-on-Hudson, NY 10520 USA
914-271-4395

I used the services of Compass for my journeys to Rajasthan and Varanasi in the months of March and April, respectively. I chose your agency based on the recommendation received from Craig and others on the forums at Fodors.com.

The services rendered were excellent.  Sanjay and Shweta were prompt and efficient, and they easily tailored my programme to suit my choices.  They were also flexible enough to accomodate last-minute changes to my itinerary.

All the liason people at different locations in Rajasthan and Varanasi were professional.

The driver is an important consideration on any trip, esepcially in India, since I have had problems in this department before. For Rajasthan, Joginder Singh was assigned to me.  On the whole he was very professional, always punctual, and he readily followed my instructions.  I had only one small problem with him: he tried to chart my schedule every day.  He might have been trying to be helpful, but it really isn't his job to do so.  I mention this not as criticism, but as an area of improvement.  In Varanasi, my driver was Bablu and he was outstanding.  Both Joginder and Bablu are assets to your organisation.

That's all for now.  I look forward to using your organisation again in the future.

Regards
Rajan P. Parrikar

Hi
I wanted to thank you for another very nice trip.  We realize that MP is not as prepared for tourists as Rajasthan.  The lack of a steady flow of electricity is more of an irritation than a real problem.  I think my favorite place was in Mandu where the electricity was off more than it was on.  We liked the accomodations.  They were very basic but the atmosphere made for a very enjoyable stay.  They were able to provide sealed bottles of water for us even though we saw other bottles being refilled and placed side by side with the ones we purchased.  While we were in Gwalior the state fair was taking place and we were able to attend.  What a lot of fun that was.  In Ujjain we could have dealt with the bed with only one sheet and the bucket of hot water in the evening.  Unfortunately I went in the wrong door and ended up in the kitchen which was what prompted the call to you.  Thank you for making the change. The Fort Amla was quite an adventure.  While the owner assured us it was only a 45 minute trip it did take us about an hour and half each way.  The last maybe 9 kilometers was on a very poor road which was dug out in two places.  The driver and guide and us were  laughing so hard by the time we got there we couldn't stop.  The Fort was nice and clean and the owner talked with us until dinner was prepared.  The dinner was very tasty and good but I thought it was a bit over priced at 300 rupees for peas pulao, cauliflower and potatoes. There was also dessert which was good.  We did enjoy the stay. The monuments we saw were outstanding.  Hopefully more tourists will be able to enjoy them soon.  Gwalior Fort/Orchha/Shivpuri/ Sanchi/Bhimbetka and Ujjain were all well worth visiting.  It would have been nice to have a guide in Shivpuri as the gentleman who showed us around had minimal English skills.  The other guides seemed very knowledgeable and we enoyed each of them.  Oh also Deeg was really nice, I'm so glad we were able to see it. There were a few concerns.  The bird sanctuary was a disappointment.  We had particularly enjoyed the boat ride with the many water birds.  I wish we had been told that the monsoon did not come last year and therefore there were no water birds and no boat rides.  Had we known that we would have opted to see Mathura.  While we seemed to see the sights we were supposed to we were sent for 'rest periods' fairly often.  In Orchha our guide received a phone call that he had to take another group on a tour. We were taken to the hotel to 'rest' and finish our tour later in the afternoon.  In Bhopal our guide suggested we didn't need a guide at the Museum of Mankind and had the driver take us.  We saw what we could of the museum building.  There were few visitors and most of the lights were not turned on.  I suspect that there was an outdoor part of the museum that we may have missed.  Our guide opted for us to see the State Museum in Bhopal. It was one of the very nicest museums I have ever seen.  The quality and visibility of the displays exceeded either the British Museum or the Egyptian Museum.  I sent them an email to tell them how much we enjoyed it.  Neither Bhimbetka nor Sanchi took a whole day so we 'rested' in the afternoon.  It would have been nice to see the Arts Museum in Bhopal on one of the afternoons.  During the course of the trip I finished three books during our rest periods.  We did add stops in Dhar which were very enjoyable.  In Ujjain we made 3-4 stops.  We saw another State Museum in Indore that we could have missed.  Durjay let me emphasize that we did have a nice trip and these concerns did not overall spoil our experience. We did find the trip more strenuous than our other trips.  Another concern was that we understood that India has now been classified as a high cost tourist spot.  Please be honest with us.  Are the prices rising so much that India will be out of our price range for future trips?  There a other places we would still like to see but if the cost is too great we understand.  Please feel free to refer others who want recommendations on Compass services to us.  We most definately will always give a very positive recommendation.

Warm regards Barb

Hi
How are you?
Hope you are busy "Making Dreams Come True" for others!!

As for us we are just back to U.S from our long-long trip to India. We just cannot imagine if it would have been this memorable with out your well planned and well organized trip!!

We enjoyed every bit of our trip and it exceeded our highest expectation in every way, right from the reception at Delhi to Hotel accommodations to Our driver/companion (Seshram Ji) to excellent city reps to the guides through out and upto the final departure assistance !!. Everything is A++ grade!!

All this would not have happened with out and your personal attention and for that me and my wife would like to give you a "Heartfelt Thanks!!!"  (The only way to read this is to "feel it")

 I would definitely recommend you to all my friends and would only work with you for my future travel plans in India!!
 Please convey my thanks to each and everyone who made this trip memorable for me!!

 I am more than willing to share my feelings if there is an online form please send it to me!!

Thanks,
Vikran

I want to congratulate you and your team for the excellent work you have done. The arrangements were very good and the quality of hotels was excellent. I am speaking on behalf of myself and the rest of the members in our party. I think the following feed back may be helpful.  Pre tour communications and information sharing: Excellent. The main reason why we went along with you was your promptness in responding to our request and the detailed information provided. I dealt with another international company before contacting you. Your promptness was what made you to clinch our business.

Suggestions: I know we did not give you much time to work with. If there were time, may be some background information on the hotels might put the tourist's mind at rest about the quality of the hotels.

 Reception at the train station: Excellent. The gentleman in charge came to the platform and received us. He was very nice and went through the itinerary and the change of plans and put us in the loop.

 I need to make a special mention about Shazahan, the driver of the coach. I want you to convey our special thanks and appreciation for the way he conducted himself. He was simply superb. He was very friendly yet professional, very punctual and very accommodating. Lot of the credit goes to him for making the trip very pleasant.

Transportation was very comfortable.

 Boat house: very good. Would not recommend triple occupancy on the boat house.

 Hotels: They were of very good quality.

 Guides: They are very helpful with all the material help. It is in this area that there is scope for improvement. Even though it is useful to have some local person, who knows the area arround, it would be useful if they give more information about the sight seeing places, their history and generally being more communicative. The guides we had just could telll the name of the place we are visiting but had no idea of any details about those places. They need to read up more about the places and be more communicative. Shazahan, the driver was much more knowledgeable than the guides. So the suggestion is that they need more training about the history of the local places and when the tourist asks them to be more communicative, they should do so. A little bit of humor and being entertaining would add spice to the tour.

 Tourist places: All the places to which Shazahan has taken us were excellent. A little bit disappointed by the wild life sanctuary at Thekkady. Saw more animals on the streets than at the sanctuary!!!!!!!!!!!

 I liked your staff making sure that the return flights are confirmed.

 Overall, our experience with your staff and you in particular was extremely positive. We all would definitely recommend your organization to our friends and relatives (I already did for few people).

 Shweta, thank you for every thing and I wish you all the best with your future endeavors.

 Sincerely,
 Ratna Palakodeti.

 We had a wonderful trip, in so many ways because of your wonderful organization.  What follows in red is my post to the Fodor's web site about our trip and how helpful Compass was.  Thank you for everything.

 You will love India. We just returned from a 15 day trip with our children. New Delhi, Agra (Baby Taj is absolutely beautiful, a jewel box, and not packed with crowds) Fatekpur Sikri en route to Jaipur is amazing, and Kelodeo Bird Sanctuary is also wonderful but you will be exhausted when you pull into Jaipur. From Jaipur we drove back to Delhi and flew to Kolkatta (which was absolutely wonderful). We flew into Bagdogra and drove to Darjeeling which lies in the foothills of the Himalayas. You are truly at the ceiling of the world. Sunrise on Kantenjunga, the world's third highest peak, after K2 and Everest, is gorgeous. Our trip was very special in that we were searching for ancestral clues, graves, and homes belonging to my father and grandfather who's family had lived in Kolkatta (Calcutta) for generations. Months ago I read Craig's (by now) famous travelogue on this site of his trip to India with his wife. Compass Tours, based in New Delhi, made all the arrangements and he was very pleased with their work. I too utilized their services which I found to be excellent. All of the hotel bookings (very high end, and some mid-range) were in order as were the internal plane bookings. At every stop Compass was there to meet and greet. The guides and drivers they arranged were all personable (my family's age group is 13-50), knowledgeable, and kind. They're support team was equally thoughtful and helpful. I would not hesitate to work with them again. I was especially impressed with the team they utilized in Darjeeling, our guide Binod and driver Ranjit were fabulous. Have a wonderful trip.

Joseph Gubbay

Karen and I returned home on Monday and wanted to send you and your team a "thank you" for the fantastic trip! Your country is beautiful and offers an abundance of culture, spirituality, history and adventure.  From someone that has traveled to Europe, Asia and South America, it is by far the most fascinating country I have yet to visit. From the perspective of two westerners, it is so clear to us that we only started to scratch the surface of your country and have so much more to learn. 

Regarding the trip logistics, the accommodations, transportation and guides were exceptionally prepared and well thought out by Compass.  They exceeded our expectations. Everyone was incredibly friendly, helpful and mindful of our trip.  Karen and I have traveled extensively on our own in various countries and were not accustomed to the attention, care and safety provided by your team. We are very independent travelers that usually throw on a back pack and figure the trip logistics out on our own. Having a trip planned for us was a very different (and pleasant!) experience.  As a matter of fact, we are so used to taking care of ourselves that Karen and I felt badly that Naka had to escort us to the airport so late in the evening on our departure date (12:50 am flight).  That is normally something we would just take care of on our own. 

We will definitely recommend your company and services to our friends. Currently, I am trying to convince my husband to visit your country this year. I would love for him to experience the sites and culture as Karen and I did.

Please send a special thank you to Anand.  He navigated us through the whole trip safely from start to finish and did an outstanding job.  He made the trip a wonderful experience for Karen and I.  I especially appreciated the Hindi lessons and will be continuing with the language lessons here at home. Should my husband make the trip this year to India, we will be requesting Anand's services again.       Shweta, I am sorry we were not able to stop in on the last day to see you. There were some more sights in Delhi that Karen and I wanted to see and we kept Anand quite busy well into the evening getting us to them. I suspect we will be back soon and at that time we will come by to give you a hug and say "thank you" in person.

Sincerely,
Shannon

Compass Tours made our trip to India the best that it could be.  Out of the six of us that were traveling, none of us had previously visited your country and Compass took care of us from the moment we arrived until we left.  It gave us a special look into the caring personality of the Indian people.

Before we even left on the trip, we felt great.  Shweta, you worked with us everyday until we narrowed down a perfect itinerary.  We loved being able to have a say on what type of accommodations we would be in as well as what  type of vehicle we'd be transported in.  It worked very well.

The guides that you contracted with in Bikaner, Jaisalmer, and Jodhpur were some of the best I've ever met.  Not only were they hospitable and knowledgeable about their areas, but they took it one step further and invited us to view some of the culture first hand.  In Bikaner, Bihwanas invited us to his house for dinner and we met his family.  In Jaisalmer, we were also invited to Jintendra's mother's house for tea, and in Jodhpur, the guide took us to a friend's wedding.  On top of that, each guide was so open about their lives, which are completely different than our American lives.  They talked to us about their religion, their caste, their marriages, and much, much more.

I recommend that anyone who visits India should use Compass to arrange their trip.  The best thing about it is, that I as the customer, made all the decisions, and Compass did all the hard work!

Thank you so much for such a rich and rewarding experience! I cannot wait until I have the opportunity to go to India again!

Corinne Vail

Hope you had a happy Diwali.  It was a shame we missed you when we came into the office because we would have liked to say a big THANK YOU for all your help and for organising such a wonderful tour for us.

The service was excellent and we will certainly recommend your company to any friends planning to visit India.  We would particularly like to praise the services of our main driver and his helper, known to us as Captain and Surinder.  Their competent, safe driving gave us confidence and a comfortable journey always.  The Tempo Traveller was a great success and ensured the children coped with the long journeys very well as there was room to more about and be comfortable.  We really enjoyed our last minute visit to Agra over Diwali – the Taj Mahal is truly majestic.
 
We were very happy with most of the hotels.  The only exception was the Quality Inn HimDev which was noticeably below the standard of the other hotels and was disappointing. 

Thank you again for your help.

With our best wishes
Taylor Famil

Rather than fill out your Guest Feedback Form, I thought it would be easier to just write a letter thanking you for our trip. In a word - it was superb. Phyllis and I feel that it was, if not the best, certainly one of the best vacations we have ever taken, and we have traveled all over the world. Your itinerary was wonderful, as were all of the arrangements. Contrary to my expectations and usual experiences, nothing ever went wrong. Your local tour people and guides were efficient, always available, thoughtful and eager to please. All in all, the trip was fascinating and great fun. 

Following are a few comments on the specifics you asked for in your guest feedback form: 

ITINERARY : The itinerary was busy, just as we had requested. I think on the next trip we would do it very much the same, except for one or two free afternoons in a big city to let us get a little shopping done on our own. The Indian merchants pressure approach tends put us off, and we did most our purchases when we were on our own, going mainly to the government stores. We estimate we have seen about half of the World Heritage sites in India, and now we want to see the other half, so you can expect us to contact you about them in another couple of years. The weather incidentally, was just what we expected, a little warm but nice in the south, and cool (not cold) in the north. One thing, which we were not prepared for, was the Fog in the north, which interfered a little bit with sightseeing. One of our guides told us that it comes every year from about December 15 to January 15, and recommended visiting from January 15 to March 15. The problem with that, of course, is that it begins to get warm in the south. May be the last half of January is the best time. 

HOTELS : The hotels were all excellent. One thing I learned was to ask for quiet rooms. On Christmas Eve, we were right over the dance area, which made sleeping difficult until midnight. From then on, I asked for and always got, quiet rooms. The only minor disagreement. I had was in Udaipur, where we arrived early, had breakfast the day we arrived, and then left before breakfast on the day that we left. I tried to argue that we should not have been charged for breakfast, because we had a total of two breakfasts and had stayed two nights, but they wouldn't go for it. Strictly speaking, I guess they are right, since the deal is room and breakfast the following day. I'm enclosing the invoices for that in case you want to try to get them to refund the price of the breakfast. However, we're talking about only $22, so don't make an issue of it. 

TRANSPORT : Always excellent. The Jet Airways flights were on time and comfortable. The cars were usually Ambassadors, which were just right for the two of us with the guide and the driver. How they managed to cram our four suitcases into that little trunk is beyond me, but they all did. Even the 11-hour drive fro Khajuraho to Varanasi (made necessary because they had to cancel the flight because of the Fog) was interesting. 

GUIDES : The attitude of the guides was all-wonderful. Fluency with English varied considerably, although even the guides who couldn't really carry on an English conversation knew enough English to be able to tell us everything we needed to know about what we were seeing. They all accepted gracefully that we were not going to be shopping at the places they recommended. Our best guide by far was Raj in Varanasi. His English was great, his knowledge and attitude was wonderful, and he explained up front that he and the other guides got a 30-40% commission on the shopping areas, but he really understood that we weren't going to be buying very much. Your representatives were all great. Two of the outstanding were Naka in Delhi (you know him, of course!) and Jay in Varanasi. My only problem was figuring out whether it was appropriate to tip them. In the end, I decided that, appropriate or not. In the end, I decided that, appropriate or not, I was going to do so, and that seemed to work. Re tipping, you might advise your guests that they should stock up with a huge supply of 10 rupee notes when they convert their currency. It was more or less difficult to get change for 100 rupee notes from our hotels, some of who just didn't seem to have them. 

DRIVERS : All seemed excellent. 

PRICE : Hard to be exact, because I didn't compare this specific itinerary with others, but my impression is that it was excellent, and that the same itinerary would have a cost at least twice as much if I had done it with an American travel agency. 

OVERALL : As I have said. this was one of those rare travel experiences where there was nothing to complain about, and everything was not just adequate, but outstanding. I'm sending Susan a copy of this so that she knows how good you are, and we will be in touch with you in the future for our next trip to India. 

Thanks very much for making it all possible. 

Cordially, 
Sydney E. Pulver, MD