India and Maldives Vacation Index:

1. Introduction
2. Overview and Statistics
3. Zurich, Switzerland
4. Dehli and Agra
5. Jaipur
6. Hyderabad
7. Aurangabad/Mumbai
8. Making Peace with the Poverty
9. Quotes
10. Top 10 Favorite Things About India
11. Maldives & 11.5 Maldives with the Meyers
12. Top 10 Favorite Things About the Maldives
13. Paris
14. What We Would Have Done Differently & What We Did Right
15. Meanwhile, Back At Home…..

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

A little over a year ago my brother, Michael, approached Ben and I and asked us if we’d be interested in traveling to India with them.  Ben served his mission in India and Michael wanted an insider to help them navigate the country.  We expressed interest but also concern thinking that it wouldn’t be financially possible for us.  Michael is a Points Genius and said that he thought we could do the trip for just a couple thousand.  That seemed doable so we talked to Ben’s mom and sister and they happily agreed to watch the children.  So we went to work earning points and planning.

Why India? Michael and Sarah have lived and traveled through Europe and they wanted a more adventurous and culturally interesting experience.  India definitely meets those standards.  I have always had a fascination with the country due to Ben’s connection.  It has been my most desired international location to visit for almost a decade.  We were well aware this trip was not about luxury.  The cities in India are often crowded, chaotic, and dirty.  It’s not a location for everyone but it beckoned to me.

Why the Maldives?  The only time I had ever heard of the Maldives was in a middle school science class when we were learning about atolls.  The Maldive Islands is an island nation in the Indian Ocean consisting of a double chain of twenty-six atolls (thanks for the definition, Wikipedia).  They are 250 miles southwest of India. They are one of the top luxury destinations and since we were so close Michael practically insisted we go there, too.  Best idea he ever had!  Ben and I were hesitant as it significantly increased the cost of the trip but after looking through pictures and resorts we decided to splurge.  Merry Christmas to us.

CREATING THE ITINERARY

So, Michael did the planning of the flights and many hotels while Ben did most of the planning about the locations and cities we would visit.  We had a few priorities – visit the Taj Mahal, be in Hyderabad for church on a Sunday, and visit the Ellora caves in Aurangabad.  Slowly, an itinerary started to come together until at last it looked like this:

We flew 16 different flights on 10 different airlines.

Care to guess the total distances we flew?  Well, over 22,00o.  The chart below is an estimate but doesn’t include a few of the plane rides we had getting to and from our resort in the Maldives.

Ben created a helpful excel spreadsheet for our family members.  “Just in case we go missing,” he said.  Not exactly the words I was wanting to hear.

India Trip Itinerary

At one point we listed the different modes of transportation we used throughout the trip.  It included:

1. Planes
2. Trains
3. Cars
4. Buses
5. Auto Rickshaws
6. Elephant
7. Camel
8. Motor Bike/Motorcycle
9. Golf cart
10. Sea Plane
11. Boats

DIFFICULTIES ALONG THE WAY

There were hiccups during the planning process of the trip…..

We had trouble finding 4 award tickets together on the flights to and from India.  Michael called the airlines every day for weeks checking on availability.  I originally agreed to leave the children for 7 days, 8 MAX.  However, due to the flight availability issues the trip turned into an 11 day journey.  It was a little longer than Sarah and I had wanted.

Our original itinerary had us visiting the Taj (they just call it the Taj in India, not the Taj Mahal) on a Friday but we discovered that Friday is the one and only day of the week it is closed for cleaning. Ben had to entirely rework things after that discovery.

The same thing happened with the Ellora Caves.  We had planned to visit on a Tuesday, which is the only day of the week the caves are closed.  We, at one point, had the entire trip flipped – we started in Hyderabad and ended at the Taj.  We had to rework thinks a few times.

We had a tremendous amount of difficulty obtaining our visas.  We were so desperate Michael flew to Atlanta and went between the processing company and consulate office for several days until at last he had them in hand.  That was stressful.

Michael and Sarah’s original babysitters backed out due to a job change.  Also, Michael was unsure, even a few weeks ago, whether he would be able to go because of changes going on at his office.  Ben and I were starting to think we were going to be flying solo since they had no babysitter and Michael was needed at work.

Luckily everything worked out and by Saturday, three days before our scheduled departure date, we were pretty confident we were all going and we all had visas to be able to go.

And so the journey began.

…….to be continued.