Han & Helen with Rattan, February/March 2014

Since a few days we’re back from India. We have had a beautiful holiday. What an impressive country! We will certainly return sometime. All went well. The distances were well doable…talking with Rattan about all kinds of things you arrive at the next destination before you know it. Besides, he has a lot of experience in avoiding cows, tuk-tuks, cars loaded too heavily, and all other traffic that is travelling through the country in a totally unstructured way.

We found Rattan to be a very sympathetic person who is always ready to help when you need him, and who will suggest good places to visit when even the lonely planet has shortcomings. We said good-bye to Rattan in Bikaner to take the night train to Delhi on the evening of the next day. However, we decided to take the train to Delhi the next morning already, because Bikaner didn’t appeal so much to us after all other beautiful destinations in Rajasthan.

Even when it turned out that the desert camp we booked in Jaisalmer did not exist, Rattan remained patient and went looking with us for the perfect alternative; Damodra desert camp, which we can recommend wholeheartedly. Rattan even invited us for dinner in Delhi; unfortunately nothing came of it, but to us it was a sign of Rattan’s lavish hospitality and that of splendid India.