My mother-daughter trip to India with my 74-year-old mum
My mum had always dreamed of India, but never visited. She loves everything about the culture, and is a Bollywood obsessive, having spent large parts of the Nineties taping Indian films that were broadcast in the wee hours to watch at a more reasonable time. She did occasionally stay up until 2am to watch as they aired, such was her devotion. About a decade ago, her and my dad looked into a trip there, but decided they were too attached to their home comforts and couldn’t face the long-haul flights. They have friends who travel for weeks at a time across Central America or South-East Asia, but this lifestyle isn’t for them – they’d miss their slippers too much.
So, at 74, my mum resigned herself to the fact that she’d probably never see India. But this year, I was able to treat her to a trip of a lifetime, which made the holiday doubly rewarding – not only were we visiting a wonderful and remarkable place together, but I was facilitating something she had long dreamed about.
Our journey began in Mumbai, for a few frenetic days of sensory overload before we flew north to Udaipur. This peaceful city has several lakes, created 700 years ago by some very prescient planners hoping to harness the annual monsoon rains. We stayed at the Oberoi Udaivilas, which is without a doubt one of the most special hotels I’ve ever had the good fortune to visit. It’s modelled on a traditional Rajasthani palace, with more domes than you can count, glossy black and white floors, beautiful grounds graced by preening peacocks, and serene swimming pools. It’s right on the banks of Lake Pichola, with a terrace for drinks at the water’s edge and a jetty to embark on sunset cruises over to the City Palace (both heartily recommended).
Our first stop on the well-travelled Golden Triangle route was Jaipur, also known as the Pink City. Its buildings are indeed mostly a shade of dusky terracotta, painted this way to celebrate the visit of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1876 – it’s thought to be the colour of hospitality. We spent the morning touring flower markets and temples, stopping to make a typical local confection in honour of the autumnal Navaratri festival that was taking place. In the afternoon, we whizzed past the Albert Hall Museum in a female-driven pink rickshaw to meet our guide at the City Palace, a royal residence built in the first half of the 18th century. The day prior, we had toured the innards and ramparts of the golden Amber Fort, the Maharajah of Jaipur’s previous dwelling and an imposing, impressive structure high on a hilltop outside of the city. Both are equally captivating – though the bats lurking inside a forgotten corner of the fort elicited some high-pitched squeals from both mother and daughter.
TRY A MOTHER-DAUGHTER INDIA TOUR
In Agra, more pinch-me moments arrived when we checked in to the Oberoi Amarvilas there. This is a bucket-list hotel if I ever saw one. The almighty Taj Mahal is visible from every guest room and its balcony, with a beautiful communal terrace downstairs to admire it from, too. We arrived just as the sun was setting and were treated to a performance by some traditional dancers, as we got our first glimpse of the most famous mausoleum in the world.
The next day, we rose before dawn to meet our guide in the majestic marble lobby and tour the monument at sunrise. This is now a popular time to see it, so don’t expect it to be crowd-free, but, still, the light at this hour was very special. And it meant we were back at the hotel by 9am, for breakfast out on the terrace, with the Taj Mahal still standing before us in the distance. We would have loved to linger for another night to enjoy the hotel, and not just the famous landmark it sits next to – there’s a pool, yoga classes in the afternoon and a spa, making it the perfect leisurely pitstop if you have longer to spare on your Indian odyssey. But this is a vast country and our next stop was calling.
We travelled the four hours or so north to Delhi with our trusty driver Mayank, who by now felt like an old friend, so much so that we were a little sad to part with him at the Oberoi in New Delhi. The capital of India felt as overwhelming as Mumbai had at the start of our trip, but with the help of charming local guides and expertly arranged tours, travelling around the country was made so much easier. Delhi is formed from two parts, the old and the new. The former is most famous for its colourful chaos, with rickshaws, cows and entire families on the back of one motorbike all using the roads. Throughout the city, there are grand temples and monuments to take in, from the Red Fort, commissioned by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (of Taj Mahal fame) in 1639 to Humayun’s Tomb.
Even though I am a few decades younger than my mum, we were both a little tired by this point, having had such a whistlestop trip, covering huge distances in a relatively short amount of time. So the Oberoi New Delhi’s spa and outdoor pool were calling – though we did manage one final tour of the sights (and a few more delicious thalis, of course).
There’s so much more to see in India – it’s one of those places that is probably never really knowable, such is its vastness and variety. We would have loved to have tacked on Ranthambore National Park, famous for its tigers – this Good Housekeeping Holidays tour is perfect for combining the Golden Triangle with an unforgettable tiger safari. And, of course, the food is a huge part of what makes India so special. This tour is accompanied by the acclaimed Indian chef Atul Kochhar, who is famous for setting up Mayfair’s Benares restaurant in 2003, as well as other London establishments that celebrate his motherland’s cuisine.
One day, we’d love to see Kerala, Goa, Calcutta, Hampi, the Pakistan-bordering state of Punjab… I am also somewhat fixated on visiting Pondicherry (known locally as Puducherry), mostly because of its wonderful name. Needless to say, my mum and I are already dreaming of going back.
How to do it: Good Housekeeping Holidays has various tours to India on offer at the moment. Tour the Golden Triangle and the Ganges, from £6,209 per person for a luxurious trip staying at some Oberoi Hotels & Resorts, which were featured in the recent television series Grand Indian Hotel. Combine the Golden Triangle with tiger-tracking in Ranthambore National Park, from £2,801 per person. Or make food the focus of your trip and see the heart of India with the acclaimed homegrown chef Atul Kochhar, from £6,999 per person.
Browse more extraordinary journeys in the latest Good Housekeeping Holidays brochure.
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