The horror of dealing for trip reservation

Jan End 
I was looking for a perfect destination to celebrate my first wedding anniversary. I shortlisted a few and and Dalhousie being one of them.

2nd Feb 2013
While roaming in the malls I filled a simple promotional coupon.

3rd Feb 2013
The morning started with a call,

Hello Sir I'm calling from Sterling Holidays, we had a lucky draw and your coupon came out and we are offering you a 2n/3d coupon and a few more free coupons as part of our promotional program for that you have to come to our office, go through a 45 mins presentation. Can we book a time slot for you?
I was like.... Ok madam, but can you please call after a couple of hours...

During next 3 hours I received two more such calls one each from Club Mahindra and Awesome Holidays.... As it was Sunday and we had nothing to do so we decided to go and pass time.... well a big mistake..

Presentation 1 - Sterling Holidays.... the 45 mins presentation stretched to 1.5 hrs and we had to pursuade them to finish it and let us go with our free coupons.... they finally let us...

Presentation 2 - Club Mahindra... the response I got was, Sorry Sir we wont be able to entertain you now as our target is achieved however fill this form and please collect your coupons after 30 mins....
We were like... THANK GOD....

Presentation 3 - Awesome Holidays ... we were a little tired and in no mood to go through the presentation however we tried to cut them short where ever we can so that we can leave at the earliest.... they started with 20 yr plan.... we didn't show any interest... then shift to a 5 year holiday plan which can be converted to 20 yr plan on maturity.... still no interest... and when we were about to leave they throw a lucrative deal... pay amount X and get a package for 3n/4d holiday anywhere in North India in any of our selected resorts under MAP plan + to and fro travel in 2nd AC in train (if required then we will book a tatkal ticket for you) or by Volvo bus. Package is valid for 1 year... we showed a little interest but still no.... ok...then 2 year validity... we cited the reason that it is still too costly..... they gave us 10% discount.. we said its still higher... they mentioned that take it in your wife's name and we can extend discount to 16%. We finally said yes....
and YES THAT WAS THE BIGGEST MISTAKE

During our discussion we also mentioned that we are planning to go to Dalhousie and most probably will use this coupon against that and they said that its fine. We paid the amount and finally left their office hoping for the best....
Hoping that now we don't have to worry about our trip..... well we couldn't be any more wrong...


We left their office with some hopes that were supposed to be crushed later....

10th Feb 2013
I send a mail to their reservation team with my tour itinerary.

No Response for 10 days..... After a few calls they finally awake and responded on 20th Feb asking for passenger details for reservations.

And then the horrible period beings, my numerous mails afterwards went unanswered. My numerous calls got same response as Sir, whats your package details, what do you need, sir this is not possible, we dont provide this, we dont provide that.... I have to keep on saying same thing again and again and pushing them to talk to the agent who sold that package to us on that fateful day....

We are suppose to leave on 16th April and by 14th April we didn't have a bloody clue where we will be staying or how we will be traveling...

When you call and raise your voice a little bit (I literally mean to raise the voice, not being abusive) the lady sitting there disconnects the call and switch offs the phone.

So finally on 15th we've finally received the details about our journey, as discussed during first meeting we were expecting nothing less than a 2nd AC Reservation ticket (unfortunately not possible at that time) or Volvo. But what we got... a 3rd Class AC bus to Pathankot (about 80kms from Dalhausie). The saving grace was the resort that they've booked. It was quite good. Even worse was our return journey. We were told catch the bus from a dhaba, 10 kms out of Phatankot and that too in late night at around 11.30. The bus was even worse, so called AC bus but it had windows open... people were smoking and well....

So ultimately the ordeal ended. During entire trip we ended up spending almost 2x amount of money to the trip that can be comfortably done if we plan entire trip on our own in about 1.5x.

Terrible experience dealing with not so AWESOME HOLIDAYS

Trip to adlabs imagica - II

In my previous blog I gave out details about indoor rides at Adlabs Imagica and here comes the second part of the our trip to Imagica after the first part here. And here I'm giving out details about outdoor rides and other things.

Nitro Ride - In two words "JUST AWESOME". It is the fastest roller coaster ride in India and there are a couple of twists and turns that just make your heart skip a beat or two

Screamer Machine - Try not to scream in it... especially when you are coming down and facing the ground.... and if you do so.... well hats off to you....

Dare 2 Drop - A short ride but then it also has a moment or two, the moments comes not when the ride is descending but when it is ascending up and that's because of the sudden acceleration. a unique feeling... I must say.

Gold Rush Express - Another roller coaster ride, not as full of thrills as the Nitro Ride was but not too less. Just make sure that you keep smiling as there is a camera on the track which is gonna click your pic.

Other rides being Crazy Cups or Bump It Boats or Rajasuras that are good as well

Besides rides there are a few restaurants where you can have your lunch, We had our lunch at "Roberto's food coaster" and the food was ok... good thing is you will find water filters and washrooms everywhere.

By 4 PM we've finished all the rides and were out of the park, and then the return journey to mumbai started, courtesy office timings the journey back home took almost double the time but yes the trip was fun......

Important tip: Make sure you choose your day to visit intelligently as weekends gonna crowded and you have to wait for your turn at rides, however weekdays are not so crowded. 

Trip to adlabs imagica - I

13th Feb 2014

Ever since the place was opened it was on our radar for our next trip to Mumbai, so from day one of our planning the first day of the trip was booked for this. We were looking for fun filled day and we got that there as well.

Though there was a minor accident here in one of the rides a week ago but then our spirits are high so we decided to keep the plan entact. So as planned earlier we chose a weekday (Thursday) to visit, entered there by 11. The park was not crowded and accompanying us in park were students from a few schools for their fun trip.

The park primarily has lots of indoor rides but then there are a few outdoor rides but they are just awesome. Among indoor rides there were a few simulation based rides as well.

Hereby I'm gonna highlight some of the rides that I felt were among the best ones.

I For India - about 10 min ride where you soar like a bird through the main places within India.

Imp Tip: take the seat in front row and try getting center seats

Wrath of Gods - Another wonderful trip with a social message. However, just take care as you might get a little wet.

The curse of Salimgarh - My favorite indoor ride, it is something you must visit in there. Unlike other horror rides in malls where you have to walk through. Here a carriage will take you through so that you can focus on things around you. And its been full of surprise.

Mr India - the ride - well another simulation based ride where just to say that you act in Mr. India - Part 2.. :)

Other indoor rides include a virtual trip through roller coaster.... to some extent it really felt that way, then a 360 degree cinema that will remind you of "The Little Mermaid" cartoon show which we use to enjoy when we were kids... Alibaba and 40 Chor... where you have to shoot the Chors and collect as many points as you can... etc..

Not sure about how good or bad "The Deep Space" ride would have been as it was off on that day so didn't get a chance on that ride.

Thats all about indoor rides, details about the outdoor rides are here in my next blog.

Kerala Trip..... Day 5 in Kochi

Final Day, 26th Dec 2009, Alleppey --> Kochi

Earlier Posts...
Day 1 in Munnar
Day 2 in Munnar
The Thekkady and Periyar Day
The Houseboat day.....

We haven’t realized and Christmas day was gone and a new day was here. Got up on time in the morning, and before we realized it our boat was sailing through waters. Our return journey had started. In the meantime we got ready and by the time we have had our breakfast our boat was parked at Alleppey city. There our driver was ready with the car for our onwards journey. Our first halt was at Alleppey beach. We roamed around on beach for about half an hour and then we returned back to continue our journey.

After about an hour drive we reached Cochin/Kochi. After roaming for a while in town we went to Jew Street, there we decided first to visit synagogue. But we found out that Synagogues are generally closed on Fridays and Saturdays. Next we went to visit Dutch Palace Museum. It was exactly not a palace, rather it was a single story building with few rooms on first floor with some historical stuff of kings who ruled the state in past. After this we went to the beach to see Chinese Fishing Nets. By now it was almost 3 and we were hungry so we decided to look for a good restaurant so that we can have our lunch.

While we were searching a good place to eat we found St. Francis Church. Two of us went inside and third one chose to stay out. Inside both of us talked a while about his (third one’s) behavior as since last day he was acting somewhat weird and we were not aware of it, and somehow got frustrated as what’s going on. Later I found out through some reliable source that he had some tiff with someone, and also due to some incidences in recent past he perhaps had became atheist, and that’s why he chose to stay out at church.

After about 30-40 mins we came back to beach and then have had our lunch there only. From there we went Kochi Chowpaty. There in order to kill some time we entered the nearby mall, from there one of my friends brought a shirt for him. After that we decided to go for a boat ferry in the sea. After boat ferry we walked around for a while on Kochi Chowpaty and met our trip organizer.

During our trips we generally have had Pizza as our one of the meals, and this was missing on this trip. In the morning when we were roaming around in Cochin, through one of the billboards we found address on Pizza Hut and we immediately decided to have our trip’s final dinner over there. Incidentally it was near to Ernakulam bus stand from where we had our bus for Bengaluru. After dinner our driver left us at bus stand at around 8:30 PM. Our bus was coming from Thiruvananthapuram and it was suppose to leave for Bengaluru from Ernakulam Bus Stand at 9 PM but it was late. In the meantime we heard some of the rumors that all buses are canceled as KSRTC bus staff was at strike or as of huge traffic jam on Thiruvananthapuram road, buses are getting too delayed etc. Our bus finally arrived only after 9:45 PM and with that we were relieved that hopefully we’ll reach Bengaluru on time so that we won’t miss our return flight.

All the pics for the trip are now available at
Eravikulam National Park
Matuputty Dam + Kundala Lake + Tea Plantation
Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary
House Boat Journey & Boating At Cochin
Kerala's Natural Beauty & Pics from plane
Misc Pics from the trip

Kerala Trip..... Day 4 in Houseboat

Day 4, Christmas day, Thekkady--> Alleppey

A day on house boat in back waters of Alleppey….

After walking for almost 20kms in a day including a 3 hr (9km) night walk (1 AM – 4 AM) in the woods, we were very much in need of a relaxing day. And this was our’s day, after spending the night walking in the jungle it was hard to got up but still we got up on time. Packed up, got ready, and left the hotel for our next destination, the houseboat in Alleppey. So we reached Alleppey around 11.30 AM, checked in the houseboat "Water Sprite". There in the houseboat we had Coconut Water as welcome drink. The houseboat was 1 bedroom houseboat, booked exclusively for us with a captain and a cook in our duty for the day.

After that the cruise started we sailed slowly thorough scenic backwaters of Alleppey. At around 2:30-3:00 our captain stopped house boat at some point so that we can have had our lunch. In the lunch we have had Cabbage, Paneer Masala, Beans, Sambhar, Rice and Fried Fish (for our Non Veg friend). Surprisingly the food was really very good, we enjoyed our lunch, except the Paneer which was rather a Rubber but its not their fault, we've got similar rubber paneer in B'lore also (Looks like its difficult to find soft spongy paneer in South India). After lunch captain and cook rested for a while and then at around 3:30 or 4:00, we started on our onwards journey. During the cruise we talked about lots of stuff, clicked some pictures, played carom and cards. After cruising for another hour or two we’ve stopped by some point around 5:30-6:00 as houseboats are not permitted to sail in dark.

After our houseboat stopped we went out to a visit to local market so as to get beer for my friends. In order to go to market we crossed the river by boat that cost us 1 Re per person to cross the river. Afterward we walked for almost a couple of kms to go and buy beer. After returning back to houseboat we sit and watched Jab We Met for about an hour and then went inside our bedroom as too many insects made it impossible for us to sit outside so we went inside. They started having beer while we played cards. In parallel we also got some finger chips fried by the cook so as to enjoy them with beer.

After some time we asked for dinner, unlike lunch, food this time was really pathetic. The surprise here was Maida roti, gobhi with water and the dal with lots of chilly in it. It wasn’t over yet, after dinner we played cards for a while. When we tried to sleep we realized that we were short of quilt. We had only one sheet and a single bed quilt for three of us, when we asked from them they said that they don’t have any extra. Somehow we managed with whatever available to us.

In all after 3 hectic days it was completely relaxing day, sailing through backwaters in the houseboat was really awesome experience. Although in the evening we realized that once they park boat at night, staying in houseboat is really boring it would have been even better if we booked accommodation in city so that atleast we could have roamed around in the market. In all the houseboat experience was really wonderful.

Coming Soon... Updates from our last day

Kerala Trip..... Day 3 in Thekkady

24th Dec 2009, Munnar --> Thekkady

Another morning we all got up early as we were supposed to go Thekkady today. Left hotel at 8:30 AM and with help from a few people we managed to reach Thekkady by 12 PM and, checked in at the hotel Lakeshore Inn. The hotel was ok.... although it was not as good as it was in Munnar but still it was ok...
We reached our room, got freshened and then we went out for lunch. After roaming around for about half an hour in search of some good South Indian Restaurant someone recommended us a restaurant saying that they serve pretty good North Indian food. So we decided to go there, but later it turned out to be a wrong decision. We somehow finished our food!

Then went visit Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary, supposedly the home of tigers!!!
Due to some recent accidents in the sanctuary, many of the activities were closed with a committee investigating the cause of accidents [:(]. So, we decided to have a bit of adventure by ourselves by walking to the Periyar Lake. It was a bit scary walking alone on the road with the jungle on either side of us. Fortunately/unfortunately we didn't come across any wild animals except some monkeys!

Tired after day walk in the Periyar, we called our driver and proceeded to the nearby spice plantation area where we saw plants of various spices that are being grown in the area that includes Cardamom, Coffee, Cloves, Black Pepper etc. Without a guide, it was fun identifying the plants!

We came back to hotel and rested for an hour or so and then went out for dinner. The dinner was slightly better than lunch but still not so good as we have had in Munnar....Then we roamed in the market and Pushp bought a Michael Owen t-shirt (so much for being an Arsenal fan!!!).

We returned back to our hotel room and slept for about 3 hrs as we have to go for Night Safari in Jungle, one that we had booked for the 1-4AM time slot. The starting point was near our hotel so our driver was happy as we wont be bothering him at night :P.

So at night we got up and reached our starting point at 12:50 AM, and after waiting for a few minutes, we realized that it was only we three who were in that group for that slot. So with a guide and a guard and a torch to see around, we started our trip into the jungle. During our walk, we saw Sambhar Deers many times and a Baby Leopard, who was out to drink water at night.


After walking for an hour and half we stopped by at some point. Till now we were walking in plane area, but after that break the scary part of our trip started when we entered the dense woods. It was dark out there, with some tree trunks grown in different shapes and a slight rustle from the woods was enough to scare anyone. Besides this, watching the body language of our guides during their discussion, it seemed that perhaps they had forgotten the way back and they were just searching appropriate path to go out. In the darkness of woods, I sometimes felt that perhaps my torch batteries were about to be discharged as I felt a few times that my torch was dimming. Neways our guides somehow managed to get us to correct path (if they forgot it earlier) and we were out of woods at appropriate time (4 AM).

During our this trip, we also clicked some pics, a few of which turned out scary due to some lighting effect....... hehehe
We reached our hotel and found out that our hotel was locked. The hotel guard was fast asleep inside. After knocking at door for about 5-7 mins he finally woke up and opened the door. Then we reached our room and slept for a few hours to start our next day in house boat.

The Houseboat day.....

Kerala Trip..... Day 2 in Munnar

23r Dec 2009, Munnar

Another day in Munnar for sightseeing. Last night we told our driver to be ready by 8:30 in morning after the breakfast. And surprisingly it was me, who never gets up before 8 in morning, who got up first in the morning and by 8:26 AM we all were out of the hotel waiting for our driver to return from his breakfast. I guess the credit for our getting ready on time should go to my alarm tones, which are enough to even wake up Kumbkaran!!! (but unfortunately not enough to wake me up)

First, we moved towards Matuputty Dam, a small hydro power station built on Kundal lake, there we clicked some pics and then move a few kms ahead where there was some boating facility was available at lake.... We rented a pedal boat, and touched some of the distant points in the lake where no one was going.

After the enjoyable boat trip we moved towards another sightseeing point “Top Station”. This point is at the top of the hill where you can go by your car, and enjoy a nice scenic view considering it is completely a tea plantation area and you can see small tea plants on all the sides. We couldn't reach that particular point because of the dense fog (yes at 4 PM), and visibility almost dropping to 5-10 meters and it was difficult to drive further on curvy hilly roads in such dense fog. On our return trip from that point we stopped nearby some open tea gardens and roamed around in between the green plants…. After that we stopped by at a floriculture garden it was more like a nursery with a big collection of beautiful flowers. We spend about an hour there and then returned back to our hotel.

After resting for some time we went to market for some shopping and dinner. We purchased some local spices, coffee and dry fruits. Then for dinner we went to the same restaurant where we had dinner the previous day. The noticeable thing about the dinner was approx 4-5 ft long Dosa that we three shared after having a paper dosa (as our starter :P). When the dosa came to our table, we became the center of attraction of whole restaurant with everyone’s eyes on us. Even some foreigner sitting on adjacent table asked us whether we were going to eat that all on our own hehehe… Neways we managed to finish it off and then had a coffee….. I would say a strong coffee, perhaps Kerala’s specialty in Glass and Bowl. After dinner, we walked around in market for some Ice Cream but didn’t find any :(.

So after that we went back to hotel with a bottle of Thumbs Up [:)] and some packet of chips to have it while playing cards in our hotel room. After playing cards, we go back to our beds so as to get up and go towards our next destination Thekkady/Kumili.

For the pics..... Click here

Updates form Thekkady/Kumili Day