ISLAMABAD – NEW DELHI – AMRITSAR – LAHORE – ISLAMABAD
UN-451 flight to New Delhi. Flight time about 2 hours. Arrival in Delhi airport 12.00 hours.
Accommodation in Ajanta hotel. Address 36, Arakashan Road, Ram Nagar, N. Delhi 55 at 1000 INR per night – say that you are from UNMOGIP. Room 308 is the best – AC…. The area, where the hotel stands, is not very nice, but the hotel itself is ok. Even travelling with family.
Visit Red fort afternoon – taxi 200 INR. Rickshaw 100 INR from the parking place and back waiting for hour. Entrance fee 2 INR, Guide 100 INR - volunteer, but very good. Inside the Red Fort there was still one museum, 25 INR video camera and entrance fee about 2 INR.
Dinner in hotel restaurant (4 star), at Connaught Place about 500 INR with some alcohol drinks. Alcohol is relatively expensive in India. They tax alcohol in with different percentage than other things.
Rickshaw taxi 25 – 30 INR. Taxis more expensive – always agree the price before the trip although they have taximeters.
FRIDAY, 18 AUGUST
Round trip in Delhi including all main sightseeing. See travel guides what sightseeing for example guidebook (Eicher) 345 INR. Taxi for 8 hours 600 INR from the hotel – without AC, but the reliable driver. I did not go to museums – to hot at that time 35 –36 degrees.
McDonald’s of course for lunch, Big Mac Meal 89 INR!
The nightlife concentrates in Connaught Place, where are the most restaurants and some quite good bars. Discos you can find in the biggest hotels, but you should live in those hotels. Always you can try with white skin.
I just ate little dinner in my hotel restaurant. Cheap!
SATURDAY, 19 AUGUST
Presidential Palace: exchange of guards normally 0800 Hr on Saturdays. But that day Indian president left the building early in the morning, so there was none. Presidential palace area worth seeing – everything is big. From there it is a marvellous scenery also for India Gate.
Shopping: Remember to bargain!
Indian silk carpet 4 x 6 feet, 20 000 INR = 587 USD, but without bargaining.
I bought bronze sitting Shiva 1000 INR, Dancing Shiva with flames 1300 INR and some silk paintings 600 INR apiece. Poorer quality you can get much cheaper.
Worth visiting is also Food & Craft Bazaar, entry 7 INR. There are different kinds of restaurants in the area, cheap good food – Chinese, Nepalese, Punjabi etc.
SUNDAY, 20 AUGUST
I was lazy and bought a railway ticket straight from the hotel’s travel agency – 100 INR fee, but I could spend my time more interesting way than standing in the queue/line in railway station. Morning train 0720 Hr from Delhi railway station near Ajanta hotel to Amritsar. 1220 INR executive class with AC – I can recommend. Breakfast is served in the train and there is AC in the car. Train is arriving in Amritsar about 13.00 Hr.
I was lucky and got a good Sikh taxi driver, name Tarlok Su, car number PID 7920. He took me to Royal Castle hotel, 309, Albert Road, Amritsar, tel. 225562-63-64, fax. 0183/224463. Hotel’s old name Oberoi Castle might be in older advertisements. Price for the room 1200 INR.
Sightseeing afternoon: SIKH’S GOLDEN TEMPLE of course – it’s a must. Other: Kuka Memorial, Jama Mashid Kherudin and Jallianwala Bagh.
Dinner in Kwality restaurant – good food, quality is guaranteed in this restaurant. Dinner less than 500 INR include starter, main dish and water and soft drinks.
MONDAY, 21 AUGUST
Breakfast does not include to room price: price with taxes 178 INR served into your room, of course.
10.00 left the hotel to BCP in Lahore. Taxi 400 INR, 40 minute drive. Your passport will be checked at least five times, but everything goes quite fast. You must walk through the border, but there are bearers: 40 INR. Pakistani side he took already PKR 150, but I did not asked in the beginning. Always ask the price before any service. Taxi driver took 600 PKR and took me to Pearl Continental hotel. The night costs already 3300 PKR + taxes, but the atmosphere is already very international.
Before evening programme went to local zoo, 7 PKR. Walking 1,5 km and back in taxi 30 RS.
Wahga border flag ceremony at 1815 Hr. Departure from the hotel is about 1715 Hr. 475 PKR per person by Adventure n Culture Tour Operators. Say that you are from UNMOGIP. Chief of the agency called MOEEN offered me a dinner next day near Lahore Fort.
Wahga border ceremony is really worth seeing, in a way very funny but interesting. After ceremony a Pakistani Ranger Captain invited me to cold drinks. I could also take pictures from the very border standing on frontier line.
Dinner in hotel restaurant (Chef’s special) with taxes 603 PKR and the food was good.
TUESDAY, 22 AUGUST
Breakfast included in room price. International level like in any ***** hotel.
Morning and afternoon tour, 300 PKR per person each.
Morning tour: Badshahi Mosque – Lahore Fort – Jehangir’s Tomb – Noor-Jehan’s Tomb – Lahore Museum – Art Gallery (if exhibitions). Pick up from the hotel, 0850 Hr, tour starts 0900 Hr, ends 1230 Hr.
After morning tour I went swimming in the hotel pool. There is a Finnish and Turkish sauna.
Afternoon tour: Shalimar Gardens - Old Walled City - Shahi Hamam – Wazir Khan’s Mosque – Golden Mosque – Oriental Art Gallery Pick up 1550 Hr, start 1600 and end 1900 Hr.
I had my dinner near Lahore Fort, Gallery Iqbal Hussain, house No. 2168/A, Fort Road. Good food.
WEDNESDAY, 23 AUGUST
From the hotel with luxury taxi car, 422 PKR with taxes to Daewoo bus station. They said that you cannot leave *****hotel with whatever car. I said yeah, let’s go. Lahore Daewoo buses are leaving from KALMACHOK station, which is not the Lahore bus station, drivers know. Address something 231 Mainsy Road. Buses are leaving every half an hour/hour to Rawalpindi and it takes 4 hours. Midway break about 15 minutes. There is still a shuttle bus to Islamabad near F 8/4 market.
Information/reservation: 111-007-008
10.00 o’clock left the VIP bus to Rawalpindi. 360 PKR per person. Be at station half an hour before. Economy price is 270 PKR. VIP bus provides you a small snack and drinks. There is also a video in the bus. They show you Mr. Bean’ s adventures and a long film. Headphones are in the seats. AC of course.
I can warmly recommend this trip to everybody.