RSD Travel
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India and the RSD Travel Experience
This verges on two stars, but I've given RSD the benefit of the doubt. Starting with the positives: The courier Reiss had a through knowledge of his subject. He also immediately addressed issues and concerns. We learned so much about India, its history and its culture. That said, there are a number of negatives: 1. There is a significant amount of time spent on a bus (I hesitate to call it a coach. No loo and basic) 2. Because of the itinerary, you are living out of a suitcase all the time and have no downtime 3. I will never touch a chicken curry again. It was a constant feature of the diet. I've never had a curried omelette for breakfast before, and never will again 4. In Delhi and the northern circuit of the trip, the bedrooms were very cold. There was little or no heating and in one venue we were told "It is not necessary". We thought it was. I acknowledge that this was a cultural tour and we knew in advance what the itinerary was. The highlights of the trip (to us) were the Amber Fort and the Taj Mahal. That said, there was a "sameness" about some of the venues. In the words of one of the group "I'm forted out". In our view, there are only so many palaces and forts you can see before they become repetitive and lose their magic. This is clearly not a criticism of RSD, but the smog and pollution is ever present, to the extent you can taste it. The class divide is significant and the poverty endemic. Be prepared for a culture shock. That said, the poorest of the poor will still smile and wave as you go by. A lesson to us all in my view. We both contracted a nasty stomach bug (and no we didn't try the street food). My wife needed a doctor. We were not alone with this problem on the trip. This is not ideal when you have to travel long distances on a coach with no loo. Would we travel with RSD again? Most probably not. They do their best, but I think the business model doesn't work, at least for us. The offering is comparatively inexpensive, but in my opinion, it shows.