Greetings fellow Freight Dogs.

Blessed with an 80 hour BOM overnight next month. Thinking of taking Kingfisher through DEL to AGR to see the Taj Mahal. Looks like too long on the train to go both ways. Anyone made the trek from BOM? Advice, suggestions, other things not to miss, etc. greatly appreciated. Anyone who will be in BOM 5-9 Feb is welcome to come along.

Cheers
captch11

When I was active duty, we did the Taj Mahal in one day from New Dehli via a contracted bus. I would highly discourage you from taking the bus.

The General and his staff took the train. You should be able to find express trains that get you there and back in a few hours.

I've never flown Kingfisher. However, whatever you do, bring lots of Pepto, your own toilet paper, and safe food and water. Do not trust the bottled water there because they reuse the bottles, fill them with local water which will make you sick, and then put a new twist off top on them without your knowledge.

"However, whatever you do, bring lots of Pepto, your own toilet paper, and safe food and water."

Looks like this experience traumatized you

I hear the slumdog Millionarie tour is good. You basically go outside your hotel and start walking.

Hey, someone that's not afraid to leave the hotel in India!

Good on ya, although I bet flying Kingfisher is going to be interesting. Let us know how it goes.

Although I wasn't doing the trip on a BOM layover, my wife and I visited the Taj Mahal on a vacation through India. We left Bangalore, flew to DEL, hired a car to take us to Agra, and spent the night at The Oberoi Amarvilas. Through the hotel we arranged for a sunrise tour: less heat, fewer tourists; arrive by 6 am and out by 8am before the tourist buses arrive.

The hired driver spent the night at a local hotel and drove us back to DEL after our tour. We promptly hopped on another flight from DEL and continued our holiday. PM if you need any additional information, we still have the contact information for the car and driver.

By the way, we took a private car because the buses all left DEL too early, and our flight arrived in the afternoon. The drive is about 4 hours and it's not pleasant, but the car was decent.

I did a CAPSTONE KC-10 mission to India (a big field trip for 30 generals). They even brought a doctor with them. We were there for 4 days and at some point we all had explosive diarhea.

The Taj Mahal bathrooms don't have toilet paper. You can donate money to a group there, and they will give you a few sheets ... but it isn't going to be enough.

I asked, "How much for the entire roll?" and the lady was shocked. In the end, capitalism won and I scored a roll for the crew.

Goodtimes

Kingfisher is fine. In my two years in India I never saw the trick with bottled water. I stayed in a Marriot, a couple of Oberoi's, a couple of Taj's, and various other "four and five stars". The five star quality can actually vary widely, but Oberoi, for example, is highly thought of. I did have food "events", but relatively few.

I never saw the Taj Mahal, but know many who made the trip. The best way is to arrange something from the hotel your crew stays at ( I assume it's similar quality to where I stayed). I like the idea of going over the night before and staying at the Oberoi, then getting an early start. Don't try to go it alone, especially by train. You'll be safe, but it's easy to get confused and/or ripped off. With a local, especially "sponsored" by your hotel, things'll go more smoothly (to the extent that things go smoothly there). Tip generously, but don't overtip. The hotel concierge can give good advice here. Be patient, stay loose, and you'll have a good time. I sure did.

Sounds like "stay loose" is the keeper here...

I haven't been to India in a couple of years, but I remember the Taj Mahal is closed on Fridays. Hope your 80 hour stopover will allow a tour on another day. Have a great time