Notes From India Field Trip

February 2016 sees the launch of our exciting new India Food Tour. Acland and cooking school chef, Kelly Lord, ducked off to India for 5 days to finalise details with our Indian 'fixers' and test elements of the tour. In short, if you've never been to India before then you absolutely MUST go. It is simply amazing and a delight for all the senses. The idea of this short field trip was to sample the food, check on hotels and investigate cool shopping experiences as well as taking in the major sites.

Food:

I guess everyone worries about the dreaded 'Dehli Belly', but we didn't come to India to eat in our hotel, so armed with our local food guides we sampled a dazzling array of street food. The food was fresh, tasty, mainly vegetarian and delicious - and neither of us became ill. Sadly we were too busy eating to take pictures of all the food but I have to say India really does give Thailand a run for its money when it comes to the sheer variety of food on offer. We have both never had so much vegetarian food and I've never been so full.

Photos:

India really is unique and is a photographer's delight. From historic buildings and ruins to colourful characters, you will need plenty of batteries and lots of SD cards or storage. This guy was 'charming his pet cobra' in the car park: Our local rickshaw guys catching up on the latest news: Peaceful ruins in the local park: And of course, I left my charger in Bangkok so my trusty camera died but you as the saying goes; 'the best camera is the one you have on you' and the iPhone proved the point and shoots cool video as well:

slo mo from the iPhone.

Things To Do:

Delhi is home to some groovy neighbourhoods that are packed with trendy cafes, cool bars, great fashion and homewares. These neighbourhoods are a delight to explore and make a change from the upmarket massive shopping centres that the rich middle class people flock to. There are ruins, monuments, tombs, museums and a history that extends back thousands of years that make Delhi (and the rest of India) a destination truly worth visiting.

Safety:

Make no mistake, India is a confronting place but at no time did we feel threatened in any way. People were very helpful and English is widely spoken. There are still some concerns, the subway has women only cars, don't look at or talk to beggars. Street food is tasty, cheap and with a good guide, quite safe to eat. The huge rise in the middle class is creating changes in attitudes, culture including fashion and food. Make no mistake, there are beggars on the street and people living in slums along the side of the road but there are also palatial shopping centres, people driving Audis. This is thanks to a huge surge in the middle class. Well educated and newly rich Indians are bringing back ideas, trends and influences from the West - making Delhi an interesting cosmopolitan city - but you don't have to scratch too far below the surface to find the REAL India.

Summary:

Our 2016 Indian Tours are going to be fantastic and the perfect way to 'dip your toes' into the proverbial Indian 'water'. Limited to eight fun-loving adventurers, our February tours are fully booked, but we are planning more for November. Visit our Indian Tour Page for more details.