A passage to India - Wednesday, 5th September 2007
Virginia Matthews
It was only when I visited India that I realised how much better life is with a butler. Jodhpur-clad Chandni was petite and Bollywood pretty. Yet she could send beggars and peddlers running with a haughty glare, supplied endless bottles of ice-cold water and ensured my itinerary went off without a hitch.
But then, being spoilt is what staying at Taj Rambagh Palace Hotel in Jaipur, the capital city of Rajasthan, eight hours east of Jodhpur, is all about - and it is dangerously habit-forming. Little surprise that past guests at this converted royal hunting lodge include Indian actress Shilpa Shetty and the Duchess of York.
The hotel was one stop in my maiden, week-long trip to India, which took in the so-called Golden Triangle of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, as well as Udaipur. Organised by Luxury Explorer, a two-year-old, web-based concierge service, the emphasis is not just on the fascinating culture and history of the sub-continent, but also on hand-picked, opulent hotels.
The first, the six-year-old Oberoi in New Delhi, offers an eighth-floor suite with views of India Gate and the legendary Humayaun Tomb. A personal guided tour of the city, meanwhile, shows 21st century India in all its conflicting glory: turban-clad, tobacco-chewing snake charmers on one corner, traders dressed in jeans on the other, as well as an army of street children, blackened palms outstretched for rupees.
From New Delhi, I take the Shatabdi Express to Agra. The modern train cuts the travelling time to just two hours, and provides a chance to ditch the chauffeur-driven Mercedes for a slice of modern Indian life, including a slightly dubious pattie for breakfast and a chance to chat to fellow travellers, both Indian and foreign. My driver Jitendra Singh collects me at Agra, dressed in white trousers and waistcoat with a bright scarlet saffa - a starched turban - and cummerbund.
(Indeed, beautifully dressed people are unavoidable on this trip: from the waxed handlebar moustaches and twirling parasols of hotel doormen, to the ochre, aquamarine and crimson saris, dhotis and salwar kameez of the staff inside, India's hospitality business sets out to dazzle.)
Agra is a painfully poor town, but is included on the schedule because of the Taj Mahal, that ultimate monument to romance. I stayed at the Oberoi Amarvilas, just 600 metres away, and the proximity allows you to truly appreciate the beauty of this marble dream: translucent at sunrise and hauntingly shimmering at dusk.
Agra's Oberoi is aimed at foreigners and eases the passage of the Indian first-timer with cool towels, discreet service and soft mattresses. While its slickness lacks the colonial-age elegance of the Taj, it provides much-needed competition. Continental dining is predictably good and the speciality Indian restaurant, complete with live sitar and tabla drums, offers a range of spices to suit all palates.
The five-hour drive from Agra to Jaipur, down a road that can only be described as still under construction, was slowed even further by lumbering freight lorries, deep potholes and stones the size of house bricks. But there is much to watch as you slowly amble along: street markets knee-deep in watermelon and mango, wild monkeys and boar rooting through rubbish.
Getting from A to B in India is never simple: our night-time crossing of the Dhoond Bridge just outside Jaipur turns tortuous after the way is blocked by a herd of camels indulging in a battle of wills with their stick-wielding, nomad handlers; even the horn-obsessed Indians are forced to wait their turn.
But it is worth it; Jaipur is beautiful. Known as the Pink City, because of the colour wash on the buildings, it was one of the first cities in the world to be built on a grid system. Its biggest employer is the gemstone industry, which cuts, polishes and sets into jewellery rainbows of precious and semi-precious stones, including Kashmiri sapphires and Burmese rubies.
Prices range from £500 ($1,010, E739) to over £50,000, depending on quality. The shopping continues the next day, after a short flight to Udaipur. The City of Lakes boasts good value local textile, silver and art markets. Painting House, a local artists' cooperative, is particularly good, selling exquisite miniatures painted with squirrel tail brushes.
Not that shopping is the only way to pass your time at Udaipur. You could take a short stroll to the town's City Palace (where I found the current maharaja, a titular title now, engrossed in a roundtable debate on education); while the achingly-romantic Taj Lake Palace – built in the 18th century as a love nest for a wayward prince - glistens in the middle of Lake Pichola.
Alternatively, back in Jaipur, you could take an elephant ride up to the 16th century Amber Fort, where the walls are adorned with murals from the Kama Sutra. Or, of course, you could just retire to your suite, complete with Chandni the on-call butler, champagne on ice and a private swimming pool, throw open the balcony doors and soak up India - luxury style.
Travel Notes
Virginia Matthews travelled from Heathrow to New Delhi with Jet Airways, www.jetairways.com. Accomodation, transfers and itinerary were arranged by Luxury Explorer, www.luxuryexporer.com. A typical seven day itinerary in high season (between November and March) staying in king bed garden rooms or equivalent, costs between £2,000 and £3,000 based on two people sharing. Return flights from London to Delhi with Jet Airways start from £485 economy; business class is £1,630.
