Nazir,   Just back from our trip to India and I wanted to thank you for a wonderful tour. Everything was well organized and went smoothly. I would like to stress to you the exceptional service that we received from our guide Harry. His historical knowledge and love for the culture made the tour. Harry went above and beyond with his service to ensure we gained a clear appreciation of the beautiful sights and sounds. His personal added value experiences were irreplaceable and I thank him for these. Harry is an exceptional guide, Explore India is lucky to have him as he will definitely remain in our hearts. I look forward to travelling with him again.   I will be coming to the Mumbai are in the spring so will keep an eye on your site to see if there are any offerings.   Many thanks,

Namaste Nazir,   We are back home after our amazing trip to India. I thought the tour package that you put together was very well thought out and gave us a good look at what India is all about. I don't feel that I missed anything that I was hoping to see and experience in India, at least the north part.   Your team in India could not have looked after us any better. Lynn and I spent two days on our own and felt that Rajeev was there making sure we were safe and organized whatever it was we wanted, from a numerologist to the market, organized dinners and vehicles to get us around. It can be quite intimidating when one first gets there so we really appreciated his advice on what to do and what not to do.   Lo Chen, in Darjeeling, was a very gentle, kind and very knowledgeable man who made sure we learned about the area, had fun and were safe. Whatever anyone requested he made happen which is hard in a group our size.   Arvind, well, he indeed was our leader and mentor. He is a very honorable, spiritual, knowledgeable man who is passionate about his country. We learned so much of the history and culture of India from this amazing man. Whatever anyone wanted it was always "no problem" and it would happen. We were very fortunate to be in India during Diwali and the celebration of the sun. From fireworks in front of a restaurant and dancing to Indian music after a beautiful buffet dinner to going out on a boat to watch the celebration of the sun on the Ganges, he worked very hard to please us all. We even got to meet his parents at their home on our request. I will never forget this very wise man.   All in all, the trip was more than we could have expected. Sincerely,

We just returned today from our wonderful trip to India. We did so many different things on our trip, and they were all very interesting.  We learned a lot about India, and have a better appreciation of India than before.   The scenery in Darjeeling was one of the highlights.   Sandeep Singh was excellent as our guide. All of his talks were always very interesting, and with a little humor thrown in as well. I don't thing anyone could have done a better job. We really appreciate the effort he made to make our trip enjoyable. He deserves a 10!   Our guide in Darjeeling was also excellent and also deserves a 10! He was very friendly, informative and interesting to listen to. We cannot think of any negatives things on this trip at all.....it could not have been better.   We would certainly highly recommend this tour to others.

Dear Nazir, I wanted to let you know what a wonderful experience I had on our Explore India, Journey of the Senses tour, which began on Oct. 17. From the time we arrived in New Delhi until we left from Mumbai 2 weeks later I felt safe and even, pampered. All the hotels, transportation and food were of 5 star quality. I will remember the Taj Mahal chain of hotels, in particular, for their luxurious surroundings and amazing meals! Of course, the elephant and camel rides in the dessert, followed by specially prepared meals just for us were highlights, as well as our visits to a random village, a primary school, the Taj Mahal, the Ganges, a slum in Mumbai. The list goes on and on. I want to devote the next part of my email to writing about Shyaam Singh, our guide. He was a remarkable guide! He had extensive knowledge about every location we visited and he always shared his knowledge with respect and passion. He was able to answer all our questions, no matter how complex or trivial the questions were. Not only did he have a vast knowledge of history, but he also had a vast knowledge of present day India, from the local people and their customs and religions to geography to politics. He was always willing to answer any personal questions we asked him about his family and his life in general. We were all thankful that Shyaam discreetly made all arrangements for us so that everything ran smoothly. Shyaam was always able to organize our group and keep us on time for all our outings. We know he did a lot of work behind the scenes, remaining calm and controlled at all times. We all enjoyed Shyaam’s warmth and sense of humour. He was not only a remarkable guide, but a remarkable human being. He made our trip memorable and successful. I know that all the venues were selected by you, all the hotels, meals and travel arrangements were planned by you, but, your choice of Shyaam to be our guide made our tour truly wonderful. We all came to realize that a really good guide is integral to the success of a trip such as ours. Thanks again, Nazir, for a wonderful experience I will never forget.

Hi Nazir, Greg and I thoroughly enjoyed our trip to India.  We were impressed with the excellent service from all Explore India personnel.  Your choice of hotels, points of interest and breakfasts were excellent.  Our driver and bus helper were especially good. Thank you for a wonderful trip.  Ram, ram

Hi Nazir, Just wanted to let you know how much Maggie and I enjoyed our tour. I have to admit that India wasn’t high on my bucket list and that Maggie was the one who was really keen to visit. I’m now a convert and was overwhelmed by the history, culture and the teeming life of the country. The organization of the trip could not be faulted, the quality of hotels exceeded my expectations and our tour guide Rajeev Sharma was the perfect host being informative, entertaining and attentive throughout the visit. The entire experience was excellent value for money. My only complaint is that I now have several thousand photographs to sort through. Kind regards, Rod and Maggie Pye

Hi, Nazir. Sorry, I haven't written sooner but I have had a bad cold since returning from our amazing India trip. Both Stuart and I had a wonderful experience as it was much more than either of us expected. As our guide Yajure explained to us, India has been "cleaning itself up". What a wonderful surprise. Delhi being a bustling mega city, was a joy to experience in the few days we were there. Our bus rides, while exciting due to the different "vehicles, animals and people on the roads, made our journeys very colorful. Yajure was a wonderful, generous and knowledgeable guide. He is a walking encyclopedia. He was extremely accommodating and adaptable at a moments notice. Seeing the Taj Mahal, Buddha's birthplace, the Red Fort, the  Ganges in Varanasi and of course the city of Jaipur brought the trip to life. It was all mesmerizing. Your colleague Rajeev in Delhi was very helpful and kind and protective of us. Although he was mourning the loss of his dear father, he made himself available to us. So that's it Nazir. We certainly will not hesitate to recommend your company to any of our friends and family. Yours truly,

Explore India Tour September – October 2015-10-27 Pre Tour; your notes and advice before the trip started proved to be very useful – from how to obtain a visa to suggestions of clothing to toiletries and travel insurance. I’d advise any traveler to read these carefully and apply the ones that suit. Flights: after flying such long distances with Cathay Pacific I have to say that I would fly with them again anywhere. Superb service. Also I was expecting less from the Indian regional airlines but Spicejet and Indigo exceeded the performance of any regional airline I have flown with in North America. Air India is not so great! Hotels: again, I was astonished at the quality of the Hotels and the facilities offered. The variety was also beyond expectation. The Greenhouse Hotel in Pushkar is unique – I could have stayed another week and dinner on the roof at the palace hotel in Ranthambore was magical. Food: We were never short of drinking water on the bus – thanks to the kind attention of the driver and the hotels which provided it freely. Sadly I am not one who can eat hot, spicy foods and the foods at most of the dinner buffets were heavily spiced and I had to circumvent many offerings. Western foods are more available at breakfast buffets and I would advise travellers to eat a hearty breakfast. Towards the end of our trip I had to admit that there was little chance of mild spice so gave up trying. I did find that an occasional energy bar went a long way to solving this problem. Daily Tours: in general the topics were very interesting and some excelled. I cannot imagine anything in the world that is as beautiful as the Taj Mahal. It brings tears to the eyes. The boat cruise at Udaipur was reminiscent of Venice and the tour of the palace there quite illuminating. The visit to the Exotic Marigold Hotel near Jaipur was sheer delight. Lunch was hot! I didn’t expect to see too many tigers at the tour of Ranthambore National Park and was not disappointed. It was, however, pleasant to get out into the more untouched countryside. Probably, with some exceptions, my strongest memories and the completely enjoyable part was the getting there. The bus journeys were so full, so complete, so much of the human experience that I was always sorry when we arrived at our destination yet what we found once there was another unique experience. Personnel: I cannot say too much about the people on your team. Obviously there is no such thing as equal so some must stand out. Raheev, your Operations Manager, talked to us individually each day to monitor progress and seek to know if there were any changes he could initiate to make our trip better. Your local manager in each town was on site to greet us and explain the local programme and introduce the guide. The Guides: all tried to make their own particular place especially interesting. I do think that some guides might work harder to improve their language skills. Some start speaking slowly and concisely and, getting excited about the message, speed up and lose some of their precision. I know that they are speaking infinitely better English than I could ever speak Hindi but it’s useful to remember that listening very, very carefully to language other than one’s own can be very tiring. In my own work before retirement I was in similar situations often and know the weariness that language can bring. The Guides could mix up the message so that some modern facts and events are mixed in with the history. If I were doing their job I’d be tempted to also distribute a brief “info highlights” sheet – not to replace the spoken script but to augment it. There were several anecdotal events with Guides, some hilarious, some touching, but never did they allow us to put ourselves at risk. They all were watching over us. Drivers: the client is with the driver for most of the tour. We became fast friends with our driver BaBu who nursed us like a mother hen for twelve days. He checked on us before leaving each morning with a broad grin and “Good morning everybody. Passports, wallets?” He never once exhibited irritation or annoyance with the road or traffic conditions and was patience itself when we caused delays. He could find anything (Strepsils for a viciously sore throat) and weave his way through traffic like a camel through the eye of a needle. He proved to be a gem in Explore India’s crown. Varanasi: when arranging the trip you suggested we add a visit to Varanasi to our itinerary with the words (paraphrased) “some people think you haven’t seen India unless you’ve seen Varanasi”. Sounded like a sales pitch to me but I went along with it and how right you were. It is everything one imagines India to be – everything you’ve seen in National Geographic. The Ganges, the Holy Men, The Cremation Site, the Museum and archaeological site where Buddha gave his first sermon. Even the streets seem different - Spiritual (?) - despite the mess. But even in Varanasi it’s still people who make the difference and you have an excellent local manager but brilliant guide. Jha Rahi, a very spiritual and academic man was a joy to be with and he explained many of the mysteries of the local condition and the seeming religious contradictions. If asked, I would undoubtedly say that the once in a lifetime memories would be of the Taj Mahal and Varanasi – and our driver’s skill in traffic. Others would point to the day we saw a Black Python trying to cross the road in front of us or the death defying traffic in Old Delhi or the three hundred booth carpet exhibition that Jha managed to get us into. Perhaps the thing that everyone could remember would be how the staff of Explore India paid such great care and concern to the safety, well-being and pleasure of their clients. Summary: perhaps, most important is how a client would answer the question “Would you go again and would you go with Explore India”? My response would be a heartfelt “Yes – in a heartbeat”.

I am sorry we took so long in replying to you. I came down with Delhi Belly after I got back to Canada!!!! We want to thank you for the most amazing trip of our life. It was so beautifully arranged. First of all Mandira thank you so much for all of our pre-flight information, booking our seats together and everything else you did to make this trip unforgettable. Nazir: Your company is the absolute best for touring India. The hotels we stayed at were super, except I have very long legs and beds that are about 2 feet off the ground and toilets that are low were a little challenging!! I managed but was extremely happy to get back to my very high bed! The food and care we received from Rajan greeting us at the airport, 4 very tired and shell-shocked individuals to taking us safely to our hotel. His presence throughout was a comfort. The best part was Ravi. What a very knowledgeably, thoughtful and considerate guide. He became a part of our family very quickly. He was always helping Mom, Marg Ann and it truly felt like we always being taken care of. Ravi anticipated that we needed to make bathroom breaks and lunch breaks on our trip. I am a diabetic and needed to eat regularly. He made sure the places were good for us to have a break and eat something. He herded us like cats through the various sites, helped us to get to an ATM and cross the street together in Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. I feel like I should get a t-shirt made saying” I survived crossing a street in India!” When he took us to our various shopping places he left us alone to do our stuff but if we needed an opinion or advice we could ask him. The saddest part was him leaving us in Kathmandu. Niraj was great, a young Ravi in training. We completely understood but we did feel a little lost. We were split up during our flight back to Delhi and my husband never got any lunch on Jet. Ravi would never have let any of that happen. I have recommended your company and the tour to everyone. My brother in Malaysia is interested. We wish you great success in all that you do and would like to tour with you again. I wish that you would work in other areas as I would trust your company any day. I was a little apprehensive at first but your company more than delivered. Your brother, Mansoor in India was our money exchanger to anything that was needed in-between. Explore India was awesome both in Canada and India. Our friend Colin was a Buddhist Monk and had helped the Drepung Gomang Monastery in Karnataka. They wanted to build a stupa for him and when I spoke to our friend he said that I could courier the ashes to the Monastery. I had no problems taking it out of Canada, unfortunately the no couriers would handle the urn. I spoke with Ravi and he spoke with Mansoor and I had 2 options. Neither of which were viable. So Colin made the trip with us to Kathmandu. With Ravi and Niraj’s suggestions we released him into the Ganges at Pashupatimath Temple. We were very happy to accomplish this. The Monastery has also said it was exactly what Colin would have wanted. I tell you this so that you can understand the depth of the compassion of your employees, now friends. Thank you so much for everything and we wish you great success in all that you do. Yours Truly Corinne & Mike

First of all a big thank you to you and your team in India for an excellent tour. It was most enjoyable. We would like to mention Rajeev and Yajur in particular. Rajeev was very welcoming and friendly and Yajur was an excellent and very knowledgeable tour guide. Kashmir was very interesting and beautiful - Bashir was very accommodating and we appreciated you calling him periodically to check that our trip was proceeding well. We would definitely recommend Kashmir to friends planning a trip to India. What we really appreciated was the diversity provided whether it be the food (we did go to some excellent restaurants), the monuments that we visited, the rickshaw ride in old Delhi and the nature of Ranthambore NP. The hotels were generally excellent particularly in Srinagar, Agra and Jaipur. Ranthambore was a bit on the rustic side but the setting was good and very close to the park entrance. There was no mix up with bags, and timing and transport coordination was excellent. One thing we really did appreciate was time to relax and have some down time at the hotels.