Hotel Review: Radisson Zuri White Sands Resort, Goa

This is a 5 Star Resort on Varca Beach which is about 45 minutes from the airport. It is right next to the Club Mahindra Resort. To summarise the review it is equivalent to any other Five Star Resort with nothing more or nothing less. It is more of a corporate / business resort as compared to the other resorts in Goa. You can take a taxi to the resort and it will cost you between Rs.400 to Rs.500.

They had a traditional welcome at the reception with a Goan Necklace and hat. I found it pretty cool. The Welcome Drink which was made out of pineapple extract was also very good. The check-in process can be time consuming if there is a crowd given that there were only 2 tellers at the reception. However I did not face any such problem.

The resort interiors are fabulous and appeared to be very new. I have visited some of the Taj properties especially in Lucknow where the paint was wearing off and the room had an aged look – this was not the case here. The room and corridors have a very new and clean look and so do the restaurants etc.

The service was a bit slow – as I asked for the Times of India and they took 45 minutes to bring it, but I think that was a one off glitch in an otherwise perfect experience. I ordered food which came promptly and was very good in terms of taste as well as the portions. The room is very well equipped and has a balcony overlooking the swimming pool. I would even rate the interiors to be better than the Taj Lands End, Bandra and the room size was big as well. The Zuri resort has two swimming pools, a tennis court, table tennis tables etc. so there are a lot of recreational activities to be undertaken. I found the spa much better than most 5 star resorts as I found the massage experience more blissful than the rest. The cost is also reasonable as compared to other reports and is priced at Rs.800 for the 45 minute full body relaxation massage.

I had the breakfast as well as the Dinner Buffet at the coffee shop. The spread was good. I found their dessert options to be very good especially the Rasmalai and the Chocolate Mud Cake. You have options for watersports you can do Jetskiing, Parasailing and the Ringo / Banana ride for approx Rs.800 each. If you have a limited budget, I suggest you do the Jet Ski as compared to the other two as it is more fun. For women I would recommend Para-sailing as the Jet Ski can be a rough ride.

The tariff of this resort is approximately Rs.13000 / night. I feel it is on the higher side, however they have discounted weekend packages etc. which you can avail off.

Do enjoy your holiday in Goa!

Attraction Review: Jaipur City Palace, Jaipur

I would not call this much of a Palace. I think it was less of a palace and more of a museum. I would recommend you take a guide to help you navigate this city palace. There are 7 or 8 sections of the city palace which the guide will take you through. The Chandra Mahal where the current king lives, is not open to tourists. There is a proposal to open up two stories of the same with an entry ticket of the Rs.2000 or so which is expensive by any means.

The artillery section can be avoided as there are too may weapons and I got bored watching them while my wife went through the details reading every plaque. The central exhibits with the Clothes work by the various kings and queens are very boring again unless you are interested in textile history. I am more of the stories guy and what fascinated me was the story of the 2 huge urns kept in the courtyard which the king took to England full of Gangajal. Since the Jaipur City Palace is much more recent as compared to Udaipur City Palace and Amer Fort there are very few ancient stories associated with it which makes it boring. However I did manage to spend two and a half hours walking around out here.

There is a restaurant in the city palace which is very shady and the quality is also very poor. Jantar Mantar is very closeby and you can cover both Jantar Mantar and the Hawa Mahal on the same day as the Jaipur City Palace. Your guides are most likely to recommend some Rajai shopping places after the tour, on the outskirts of the City Palace. Please do not go to these places, you will get better deals in the Government approved shops in Jaipur City. Some of these shops also demonstrate the Vegetable Block Prining Technique which is interesting, so do go for the same and politely excuse yourself when they try to sell you stuff.

Hawa Mahal has nothing much to offer other than lots of air and walls where every inch is defaced by young Indian Tourists. I felt more embarrassed than happy at visiting the Hawa Mahal. Jantar Mantar is good fun if you are mathematically and astronomically inclined. Spend maximum of 1 hour at Jantar Mantar and Hawa Mahal, however a guide is a must at Jantar Mantar.

The Jaipur city palace is not as beautiful as the Udaipur City palace, which has much more to offer in terms of history. It is more a collection of photographs, clothes and weaponry of the Jaipur Royal family. However it just may be because we did not pick the right guide.

Attraction Review: Jaigarh & Nahargarh Forts

The Jaigarh and Nahargarh Forts are about 7 kilometers away from the Amer Fort and are about 5 kilometers away from each other. If you have time for only one of the two forts then it is recommended that you go to the Jaigarh Fort.

The Jaigarh fort houses the world’s largest cannon. You can take your car / taxi within the fort and navigate the fort in your car as distances are significant. Taking the guide is advisable and you can get a common guide for the Jaigarh and Nahargarh forts and the fee charged is Rs.100. In Jaigarh fort you will see the cannon and hear the stories associated with it. Apparently the last time it was fired, people within a 500 m radius turned deaf … or so the story goes.

I was also intrigued by the water storage & drainage system in Jaigarh Fort and going by the story told by the guide the kings who built the fort were very scientifically aware. The story goes that below one of the tanks the entire wealth of the Rajput Kings was stored which was emptied later in the 70’s and the Jaipur Delhi Highway was chock a block with trucks ferrying this wealth to Delhi.

There is also an exhibition of the Jaipur Rajput Royals in Jaigarh fort with a lot of focus given to Sawai Mansigh II (the father of the current King). There are a lot of photos and medals and you may find it worthwhile going through this if you have the time. There is also a shopping place for jewellery and silverware but again very very expensive as compared to the Government outlets in Jaipur city. You can spend a maximum of an hour and a half in Jaigarh Fort.

Nahargarh has much less to offer as compared to Jaigarh. This fort gives a good view of Jaipur City and is a good place for panoramic photography. There is a two storied palace with many rooms and passages similar to Amer Fort. The architecture is beautiful, but this fort is definitely not as well maintained as the other two. Thirty minutes in this fort would be sufficient.

Attraction Review: Chowkidhani Theme Village, Jaipur

This is a Rajasthani Theme Village on the outskirts of Jaipur. I would rate the Chowkidhani Theme Village and the Amer Fort as the two must visit attractions on your trip to Jaipur. It is situated near Sanganer Airport and the entry ticket is Rs.700 odd which covers the food and performances only. Experiences such as Fortune telling and Massages need to be paid for separately. You need to pay for the other attractions within the village.

Firstly you can start with the camel or elephant ride which is quite an experience. This is just about a 5 minute ride just to get the experience of it, especially as most of us will not have the time or inclination to go get an actual one. After the rides you can go to the various stalls. The recommended ones are the head massage one, which costs Rs.20 for 5 minutes but the massage quality was very good, my wife got Mehendi put on which was very intricately done as well. There were also 3 fortune tellers, one a PhD who charged Rs.100 (while the others Rs.20) however they all spoke non sense and you could guide him to say whatever you wanted by asking smart questions. This fortune telling stall is avoidable.

There are several places to shop for footwear, Jewellery , Rajais etc. however they are a bit more overpriced from what you will get in the regular Government stores. There are also puppet shows and performances by tribal Rajasthani dance folk who invite you to dance with them and it was heartening to see many Indian tourists actually take up the offer and Dance. Do remember to leave them a small tip after the dance is complete, more as a sign of encouraging the art and prevent it from dying. There would be about 50 stalls in total which can keep you busy for about 3 hours. You must try to cover as many of them as possible as each stall is very different and has a different experience to offer.

Food is included in the price of the ticket. When I visited Chowkidhani, the buffet option was not there, you have to sit on the floor in the dining area and the staff serves you in traditional Rajasthani style (Ghevar, Bajra roti with Ghee etc.). They welcome you with the traditional Ram Ram Sa …… fit your head with a turban and then stuff you with food until you puke. They keep insisting you eat more and more and do not let you get up (there were times when I found it annoying as well). The food is authentic Rajasthani food and I did not like it much, but that does not mean it was bad. My wife who is more adventurous with food, loved the experience.

All in all it was 3 hours well spent. This theme village is a Must visit, it will give you a good idea of Rajasthani culture & village life which you will otherwise not get to see in Jaipur / Udiapur and other major cities. I think the Govt. of Rajasthan has done a good job of promoting this site.

Attraction Review: Amer Fort, Jaipur

This is the top attraction in Jaipur and your trip to Jaipur will not be considered complete unless you visit the Amer Fort which is located on the outskirts of Jaipur.

At the outset, let me inform you that the best part of the fort is the Sound and Light Show which happens every evening at 5:30pm (Hindi) and 6:30pm (English). Please enquire about the timings as they may change from time to time. If I remember correctly the ticket cost is Rs.250 per person. This beautiful sound and light show gives you the history of the Amer Fort right from the time it was built to the time the last of the Rajput Kings lived in the fort. The show is very informative from the historical perspective, is well scripted and the sound and light is co-ordinated very well. Full marks to the government of Rajasthan (tourism department) for putting up a world class show which we can be really proud of, I could hear the firangi foreigners cooing in delight at the end of the show.

To visit the fort you need to take the car up the hill (there is parking on top) and enter from the back gate or you can go up the main entrance of the fort on Elephant Back. This fort was depicted in Jodha Akbar as well as Hum Saath Saath Hain and both the movies show entry through the main entrance either on Horseback of elephant back. If you take the car route, when you get off make sure you are not eating anything as there are monkeys all around who will come and snatch anything edible from your hand.

It is advisable to hire a guide as you will get to know the detailed history for the place. The guides tend to give you detailed stories which are very interesting and are good pieces of dinner conversation to narrate when you get back home. You get a Government approved guide for Rs.150 who will give you a detailed tour for 1.5 hours.
There are different parts of the Amer fort such as Sheesh Mahal, the ministerial Court, the Bedroom area, the cooking area etc. I found the bedroom area most interesting which had 13 bedrooms for each of the princesses and secret tunnels from the Kings room to all the 13 bedrooms so that no other princess knew which room the king was in. I found that very innovative for that time.

A lot of the fort is defaced badly with “I Love you” messages from Indian tourists – so please do not add to the filth, we will lose whatever little we have left of our heritage monuments. What I was impressed with a lot is that there were toilets for public use and separate private toilets as well which you could use by paying Rs.5. These toilets were almost 5 star equipped with baby changers and the works, and I am sure that the foreign tourists will find these very useful.

After touring the Amer Fort and if you still have some time left before the Sound and Light show you may want to visit a Hanuman Mandir which is in the by lanes near by. Nothing much to see here unless you are an architecture student – but definitely a good place to go and kill time. The local guides will show you the place.

Enjoy your tour of Amer Fort!