The Travel Blog: India
Those of you who follow me on Instagram will know that I have recently returned from my first ever trip to India. Despite having some reservations about the heat, poverty, tummy troubles and much more, it was truly wonderful and a travel experience I will never forget.
So many of you have asked questions about the trip (especially those who have never been but would love to) so here’s the lowdown and some top tips.
We travelled to an area in north India called Rajasthan starting in Delhi then onto Agra (Taj Mahal), then Jaipur (the ‘pink city’), Jodphur (the ‘blue city’) and finishing up in Udaipur. It was, in a nutshell, a chance to see some incredible architecture, meet some lovely people and eat delicious food but it was so much more than that. We visited several temples and forts and never failed to be wowed by the intricacies and beauty of everything we encountered in![]()
those places. I think I took about a million photographs!
I suggest you visit all the most popular sightseeing spots that are recommended online as they were all worth seeing. The extras like hotels, restaurants, bars and shops were either recommended or stumbled across and would definitely add to your itinerary….
In Jaipur, we loved 47 Jobner Bagh, an 8-bedroom hotel beautifully decorated, understated and super stylish. Plus, if you’re into shopping, you must visit the Indian Art House which is a fabulous store selling Indian artefacts, art, textiles and more over three floors (the owner lives there with his parents and their living space is part of the shop!) Lastly for Jaipur, I highly recommend eating at Bar Palladio which is a stunning restaurant with a very stylish outdoor seating area and fabulous food. Plus they did an excellent margarita (always a good sign!)
Our next stop was Jodhpur which we fully intended to travel to by train but the train was delayed indefinitely so we found a taxi to drive us the whole way! (slightly relieved about this) Whilst on this subject, if you’re making long journeys a car is great but don’t book it through a hotel (far too expensive). Also, around town, Uber is cheaper than a tuk tuk (!) but we preferred the experience of the tuk tuk (exhilarating to say the least!)
Jodhpur is known as the ‘Blue City’ because the majority of buildings are painted this colour which makes for some amazing sights. We stayed at the House of Rohet, another very small hotel that is actually a private home with eight beautifully appointed rooms just outside the city. The shopping is great in the Sardar Market (came back with many things) and we found some really lovely restaurants. Our favourite was The Stepwell Hotel Rooftop (best views of the Mehrangarh Fort and very good food all in a beautiful setting). Lastly, if you want to really live it up in Jodhpur, visit the Raas Hotel (we went for a drink because we wanted to be nosy - my goodness, it’s almost inappropriately beautiful but the views are great and the ice - and probably the bath water! - is all filtered water.
Our last stop was Udaipur where it was all about magnificent Lake Pichola with its floating palace and beautiful sunsets. We stayed right in town in the Manuscript Jhilwara Haveli which is very much a haven from the chaos of the streets. The hotel has a rooftop restaurant and pool with amazing views of the City Palace all for the grand price of £130 per night including breakfast. Favourite things in Udaipur were our tour of the City Palace, a boat trip on the lake at sunset and dinner right by the water at Ambari (within the Ahmet Haveli Hotel). We also found a very basic little rooftop bar called Rainbow in a quieter part of the city with great shopping nearby - more fabulous views and cheap beer!
India was a joy to visit and that was down to so many factors although one of the biggest being the people. Also, we didn’t get ill (maybe due to the probiotics we started taking before we left or that we used a LOT of hand sanitizer but we even ate street food and were absolutely fine). Last top tips - you need cash for everything except the smarter establishments and I recommend sorting out your data roaming before you leave the UK or buy an Indian SIM when you get there. Plus if you’re going to this area in January, take a coat because it’s blooming chilly until you get further south. I can’t wait to go back and see some other parts of this crazy, lovable, colourful country. Highly recommend you go if you ever get the chance.
