Instead of going to Iceland in September like what I had plans many months earlier, I decided to visit Ladakh. Delhi and Agra. Iceland trip was just too expensive for me for the time being. Maybe one day in the future. Anyhow, the trip to India was awesome as hell! It was amazing especially Ladakh. The adventure and experience there was worth all the money spend. I will elaborate more on the trip in next post. For this post, I am going to share the itinerary and total damage for this trip. If you go with 3 to 4 people, the cost will be lower definitely but choose travel partner wisely.
| DATE | INFO | THINGS TO DO | COST |
| 14/9/2017 | Departure at KLIA Airport @ 6.05PM
Arrived at New Delhi @ 9.05PM (we arrived late at 10.30PM due to delay) Hotel : Hotel Stay Well DX (located very close to the New Delhi metro station about 300m) |
take train to NEW DELHI METRO STATION from airport
For first timer, if you arrive late at night, not advisable to take train to the metro station. Don’t take auto or any taxi near metro station. To be safe, take airport taxi or book online for taxi to pick you up. |
Flight
Malindo Air: RM 871.38 RM 220 per night |
| 15/9/2017 | New Delhi Trip by metro and walk. (If you only have a day in New Delhi, you may only possible to visit 3 to 4 attractions. Summer time will be very hot. Bring enough water and umbrella)
Places to visit: Akshardham Temple – 100 m from Akshardham metro station (you can’t bring any camera or phone inside. Defeats the purpose of visiting) Red fort – 100 m from Chandni Chowk metro station. Jama Masjid – 500 m from Chandni Chowk metro station India Gate– 300 m from Pragati Maidan metro station (Indian Gate is very far from any metro station)
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– Buy sim card: Prepaid can be used anywhere except Jammu and Kashmir (only postpaid is allowed). It will take 12 hours for the sim card to be activated. Please ensure to have passport size photo and copy of passport to apply for the sim card.
– Buy train ticket: Tourist card is Rs200 and re-loadable. Exact refund can be done on the same day. After that you can only refund Rs30. Use the card wisely. – Google map can be very useful. That is why sim card may be important. – Ask people: Locals are friendly but be careful who you choose to talk to. To be safe, ask the police. There are many police especially at metro station. |
Metro card: Rs 200 (RM 13) is enough to use for a day
Entrance fees for foreign tourists: Red Fort – Rs 500 (RM 33)
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| 16/9/2017 | Flight to Ladakh at @ 7AM | – Book taxi with hotel.
– Airport arrival at @5AM at IGI T3 |
Flight
RM 614.22 Taxi Rs 600 (RM 40) |
| 16/9/2017 – 20/9/2017 | Magical Ladakh Tour with To Ladakh Leh : 4 Nights Nubra : 1 Night 5 Nights / 6 Days Day 1 Leh Arrive in Leh Airport. Transfer to the Hotel (Green Villa). A relaxed day exploring Leh town (in the afternoon), will include visits to Shanti Stupa, Leh Palace & Leh Market. Day 2 Leh-Sham Valley Sham Valley (75 km / 2 hrs) using Leh – Srinagar Highway (awesome view). Visit: Hall of Fame (military and war museum), Kali Mata Temple & Gurudwara Patthar Sahib (Sikh Temple), Magnetic Hill. Return to Leh (Green Villa) Day 3 Nubra Valley Leh to Nubra (135 Km / 5 hrs): drive to Nubra Valley via Khardong Pass (highest motorable point in the world at 5400m), explore Deskit (Diskit Gompa Monastery), Hunder Villages (cultural show) and Camel ride at Hunder Sand Dunes Stay at Edel Weiss Camp (this is a tent camp) Day 4 Nubra Valley-Pangong Lake-Leh Drive from Hunder to Pangong Lake via Diskit-Turtok Highway (170km / 5 hrs). Return to Leh using Pangong Lake Road and pass through third highest motorable point in the world Chang La. Be prepared for a long and bumpy day in the car and amazing view. Stay at Green Villa. Day 5 Leh Free day at Leh. Spend time with the locals and visit the market for more shopping! Pashmina is very popular here. If you come in September, you may get chance to attend Ladakh Festival. Stay at Green Villa. Day 6 Depart from Leh to Delhi. Flights only available in the morning. |
Weather
It is usually dry with less chance of rain but clouds are unexpected. Flight delays are possible. September is a nice month to visit Ladakh. Temperature starts to get cooler. Hotels and camps begin to close in October. The sun glare is intense due to high elevation. Use sunscreen and drink a lot of water. Passport Bring passport wherever you go. It is important because you will pass few check points that requires your passports. Food Ladakh is dominantly Buddhist. Most of them are vegetarian but the food is nice. Journey The road is long and windy and most of the time at the cliff. At the snow level, the road is not paved. It will be a long bumpy ride. Be mentally strong and sometimes not for faint hearted. Due to high elevation, everyone is required to spend a day in hotel and just relax to acclimatise. You will get slight headache at the beginning. Avoid running and jumping on first day. People The locals are very nice and friendly. They treat guest very well. Please be respectful of their religion and culture. They speak Ladakhi, Hindi and English. |
Package for 2 person Rs 22000 (RM 1450)
The package inclusive of accommodations, breakfasts and dinners, car, fuel and driver only Additional Rs 1000 (RM 65) per person for environmental permit and red cross fees Monument fees: Rs 30-60 (RM 1-RM 4) depending on the monument Camel ride at Nubra Valley (Hunder Sand Dunes): 15 minutes Rs 150 (RM 10) 30 minutes Rs 300 (RM 20) |
| 21/9/2017 | Arrived back in New Delhi at @ 11AM
Connaught Place – 0 km from Rajiv Chowk metro station (we went to Nallis to buy sarees located 200m from metro station entrance) We stayed at Treebo Natraj Yes Please Hotel. The hotel is very close to Ramakrishana Ashram Marg Metro Station. We should have stayed at this area all the time because it is very convenient and accessible. |
We went to Connaught Place only to buy sarees and stuff. Everyone mentioned to us that the best place to buy saree in Delhi is at Nallis. Only locals can be seen here. I guess that’s the place to get best quality sarees at reasonable price.
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Hotel : RM 129 per night |
| 22/9/2017 | Booked Private Car for 2 days using Hippo Cabs. Sedan Car
DEPART = 8.30AM from NEW DELHI ARRIVED = 12.30 PM at AGRA We stayed at Sheela Hotel. Please be aware that the hotel is located just next to Taj Mahal East Gate. No car is allowed to enter the area. You may need to walk for about 500 m. It will be difficult if it is raining (we did call the hotel to pick us up though) Visit:
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Agra is very different than Delhi. We glad we booked a private taxi to drive us around. There are touts everywhere and sometimes, it involves the people who collect the fees at the entrance. If you arrive by train, please stop at Agra Cantonment Station and book private taxi beforehand. There are many services online and we gambled our way and book with Hippo Cabs. I was able to chat with them through live chat and they were very responsive to emails. It turned out well for us.
Hippo Cabs info: The rental is inclusive of driver, night charges, fuel charges and GST only up to 500 Km. If exceeds, the charge will be Rs 9.5/km. The km will be counted from garage to garage. You have to pay toll and parking charges yourself. |
Hotel : RM85Private Car : Rs 5615 (RM 366) Toll : Rs800 for return trip State Tax : Rs200 Mehtab Bagh : Rs 200 (RM 13) Itmat-Ul-Daulah : Rs 200 (RM 13) |
| 23/9/2017 | Wake up at 5.30am – Taj Mahal opens at 6AM
Visit Taj Mahal early Before we left Agra to Delhi, we visited Agra Fort. Flight to Kuala Lumpur at 10PM |
Taj Mahal is close every Friday. Book the tickets online to avoid hassles. If you buy on the spot, you will need to buy the ticket away from the gate. The lines between locals and foreigners will be separated. Men and women are also separated. | Taj Mahal : Rs 1000 (RM 65) for online booking for foreigner
Agra Fort : Rs 500 (RM 30) |
Other Useful Info
Other attractions in New Delhi:
These places are quite far from the city so we didn’t go:
Qutub Minar – 100 m from Qutub Minar metro station
Humayun’s Tomb – 3 km from Pragati Maidan Metro station
Lotus (Bahai) Temple – 50 m from Kalkaji metro station
Safdarjung Tomb – 50 m from Jor Bagh metro station
Lodhi Gardens – 100m from Lodhi Colony metro station
Click for tips for metro users
For shopping experience in New Delhi:
Janpath/Cottage Industries Emporium – 100 m from pallika Bazaar exit of Rajiv Chowk station.
INA /Dilli Haat – 0 km from INA metro station
Khan Market – 0 km from Khan Market metro station
Chandni Chowk – Chandni Chowk metro station
Sarojini Nagar Market – 2 km from INA metro station
Lajpat Nagar Market – 500 m from Lajpat Nagar Metro station
Defence Colony Market – 200m from Lajpat nagar market
Nehru Place – 0 km from Nehru Place station.
Greater Kailash N- Block market – 500 m from Moolchand Metro station.
South Extension Market – 200 m from AIIMS /INA metro station
Hauz Khas Village – 200 m from Hauz Khas station
10 Days Expenses
Kashmir: Rs 22000
Car Booking: Rs 5615
Total: Rs 27615 = RM1800
Malindo: RM 871.38/person
Vistara: RM 614.22/person
Toll-Parking: Rs 1000 = RM 65
All Monument Entrance Fees = RM 200
Hotel Stay Well DX = RM 220 per night (RM 110/person)
Hotel Treebo Natraj Yes Please = RM 129 per night (RM 64.50/person)
Hotel Sheela = RM 85 (RM 42/person)
TOTAL TRAVEL COST PER PERSON (Green Font) = RM 3767.10
