Visiting Panjab or India

Notes of a trip during April 2001

Flew via United Airlines from London Heathrow Airport to Delhi Airport, economy class, taking about 9 hours without stopping anywhere, which was about £70 cheaper than British Airways return journey via trailfinders in Birmingham; they charged £418 for each adult, and £280 for a child, with the total UK and Indian airport taxes at £195 (covering 4 adults and 1 child) (otherwise you have to pay a separate tax at Delhi airport on the return journey at £11 per person). Used Trailfinders, 22-24 The Priory, Queensway, Birmingham to make the flight arrangements (0121-236-1234 / 0121-236-3456 (Fax))

Delhi

Delhi airport arrivals had very limited services after going out of Arrivals Immigration and Customs:

2 Offices for exchanging foreign currencies

1 Office for booking taxis

1 Office for booking seats in air-conditioned bus to Panjab

Exchange rate given at Delhi Airport was £1 : 66.10 Rupees, including 1,000 Rupee notes

Taxi Fare from Delhi Airport to Hyatt Regency Hotel (5 star) was 1,150 Rupees in a 5 passenger car, which was also large enough to carry 3 large suitcases, plus 5 hand-baggages.

Hyatt Regency Hotel, and other 5 star hotels, can be booked from England using the computer Internet system, with typical prices being 215 US Dollars per night, plus about 22% taxes.

The Hyatt Regency Hotel typical charges in one of the hotel restaurants (it has several restaurants within the hotel) were as follows:-

1 Mineral Water bottle 70.00 Rs

1 child buffet 350.00 Rs

4 Fixed Lunches 2,254.24 Rs

4 Coke 327.84 Rs

1 Fanta 81.9 Rs

8% Sales Tax 208.34 Rs

12% Sales Tax 57.58 Rs

Expenditure Tax 308.40 Rs

Total 3,658.36 Rs

Typical room service charges were :-

4 cornflake cereals 360.00 Rs

1 Fresh Toast 95.00 Rs

1 Aloo Paratha 140.00 Rs

3 Teas 255.00 Rs

8% Sales Tax 68.00 Rs

Expenditure Tax 85.00 Rs

Total 1,003.00 Rs

5 Eggs, any style 700.00 Rs

The Hyatt Regency Hotel can provide a large Tata Sumo air-conditioned car, capable of easily seating 5 passengers, at 1,100 Rupees with a driver for 4 hours; this is useful for looking around Delhi. They also provide tours to various attractions in Delhi and to the Taj Mahal in Agra. Transport bookings are made from within the hotel, using a company called Travelite; their telephone is 6791083, 6890083; this company has an office in other leading hotels such as Hotel Le Meridien, Hotel Inter Continental. A day long tour of the Taj Mahal at Agra cost 1,365 Rs per person on the hotel tour bus, and this includes the price of a lunch at a good quality air-conditioned hotel in Agra (part of the Oberoi hotel chain).

They can also book the Shatabdi air-conditioned, first class express train, from Delhi to Jalandhar; the train left Delhi at 7.20 am and got to Jalandhar at about 1230 (just after noon); it is important to book the train several days in advance, but we managed to book 1 day before travelling (they could not guarantee getting the tickets at such short notice). The charge for 5 persons was 2,520 Rs which includes meals, cold drinks, tea, etc in the ticket price. The ticket inspector will check your tickets against his computer printout, and there are armed policemen on this train to provide protection. The coolies only need to be paid about 10 Rs, but they manage to get about 50 Rs from foreigners, for carrying your suitcases/bags and putting them on board the train (there is a storage area above your seat); it is best to arrive about 30 minutes before the train is due to depart, so that your suitcases / bags can be stored above your seats, so that you can easily watch them,

You can buy a large bottle of mineral water at a shop for 12 Rupees.

Jalandhar, Panjab

A large bottle of best quality mineral water can be bought at a shop in Rama Mandi for 10 Rupees, whereas a hotel will charge 35 Rupees.

Important to take about 5 photo-copies of your passport page with photograph, since a copy will be needed if making payments by credit card. Hotels sometimes do not have a photo-copying machine, or they say it is broken. This can lead to delays at checking-out time, since someone will have to go and get a photo-copy from some other nearby place (which may be several miles away, or the electricity may be off at the time). Shops will charge about one Rupee for providing a photo-copy.

We stopped at the Grand Lilly Resorts hotel, GT Road (Paragpur), Jalandhar; the hotel telephone numbers are 0181-262036. It is about 10 km from the centre of Jalandhar, which puts it a few km from the outskirts of Jalandhar on the road out to Phagwara. Typical charges were 2,275 Rs per night for an air-conditioned room (they will give at least a 20% discount on this figure, if you ask for it); it is likely that the charges to local people will be even less, than this charge for foreigners. There are even charges for telephone calls from one room to another room.

Diesel cost 16.25 Rupees per litre, with a large air-conditioned Tata Sumo car typically taking 50 litres to fill the tank, costing say 800 Rupees in total; this is quite a comfortable car capable of taking 8.5 passengers plus a driver.

A mobile telephone can be hired locally at 1,260 Rupees for a month, and then you can pay 3,000 Rupees for a charge card, and use the telephone at your leisure (paying as you use it). This is cheaper than taking your UK phone, since you will pay the much higher UK rates.

We stopped at a nice air-conditioned restaurant at Rajpura on the GT Road, with European style toilets. 3 coke bottles, 1 mineral water bottle, 3 portions of chips, 3 egg omelettes with bread, 4 cups of tea, cost a total of 241 Rupees (less than £4).

Jalandhar to Delhi airport is about 400 km, and will take about 8.5 hours in a good air-conditioned car allowing for traffic in Delhi, and 2 stoppages for meals and tea; the charge for such good quality car, capable of taking 3 large suitcases, plus 5 hand-baggages, and 5 passengers, was 3,500 Rupees. The air-conditioned bus will take about 9 hours, and cost 550 Rupees per passenger. The first class air-conditioned express train (shatabdi) will take 5 hours, at 550 Rupees per person (this includes free meals and cold drinks, since they are included in the ticket price), but then you will have to pay extra for a taxi from the rail station to the airport (at about 1,200 Rupees for foreigners booking on the spot). The shatabdi train leaves at about 6 O’Clock in the morning, and will get to Delhi 5 hours later in daytime (thus providing daytime security); there are armed policemen on the train, who walk through the train carriages.

Your Holiday Checklist

q Sufficient quantities of any regular medication

q Vaccinations required – see your doctor

q Anti-malaria tablets, you will need to start taking these before you leave, and carry on taking them after you return

q Fly / Mosquito killer vapour tablets on an electric plug; these release a vapour for up to 8 hours killing all flies and mosquitoes within several metres.

q Travel sickness tablets

q Suncare protection cream

q Sting / bite treatment

q Anti-Diarrhoea tablets

q Rehydration sachets

q Antiseptic cream

q Water sterilisation tablets

q Bandages / plasters

q Pain relief tablets, e.g. Aspirins / paracetomols

q Contraceptives

q Copies of passport and travel ticket

q British Embassy address, telephone and fax numbers

q Pocket size packs of tissues / Packs of wet tissues; useful in general, but also if you need to go to a toilet urgently – most public place toilets do not have paper