India arrangements

Julie Skurdenis’ article on Gujarat (March ’09, pg. 62) brought back many pleasant memories of the trip my wife, Audrey, and I took there in 2003, especially of sites like the Modhera Sun Temple and the hike up Mount Shatrunjaya in Palitana.

Our party included a (then) 80-year-old friend who insisted she could make it up the nearly 4,000 steps at Palitana without the doolie (dholi, or litter) carriers. She did, and we made many new friends as we stopped along the way. The Indian pilgrims were amazed to see an older Westerner with such stamina!

My only disappointment with the article was the cost listed at the end. Ms. Skurdenis mentioned the company that made her arrangements, then added, “… I would have to estimate the cost of a 3-week private tour of Gujarat alone at around $6,200 per person, including airfare from New York City as well as some lunches and dinners and site admissions.”

For our 2003 trip, we worked with Shakul Garg of Pacific Classic Tours India (49, Bansal Nagar, Fatehabad Road, Agra 282001, U.P., India; phone +91 562 4031350, fax 4005987, e-mail shakul@discoverydreams.com) using a fixed quote of $100 per day after our discussion of the type of trip and accommodations we’d like. We had only six days in Gujarat and were moving every day; a less stressful trip would provide more 2-night stays.

I asked Shakul for an updated itinerary at 2009 prices, and he created a trip of 19 days for about $2,700 per person plus $250 for domestic airfare. International airfare was not included, but with some research I found airfares from the West Coast still in the $1,000-$1,200 range that we paid six years ago, and I found prices from Lufthansa for New York-Mumbai at less than $600. Overall, this is significantly less than the trip described in the article.

Shakul’s sample tour includes all local guide fees, safaris and site admissions, with visits in Gujarat to sites such as the Sun Temple, the Stepwell, Champaner-Pavagadh, Ahmedabad’s archaeological park, Jamnagar, the tribal area in Banni and Palitana.

The hotels (for example, the Revival in Vadodara, the Vijay Vilas Palace at Palitana and the Darshan Guest House in Dwarka) are equivalent to or of a higher grade than those described in Ms. Skurdenis’ story.

We have enjoyed several tours of India using chauffeured cars and would not want people to miss their chance because they thought the price was too high.

STEVE ESTVANIK
Seattle, WA