Jos, Janine and Jourean with Raj, August 2012

We have had a great time with Raj. He is a delightful fellow! Although he consistently presents himself as ‘driver’, he is also a great guide. With his years of experience he knows a lot about Rajasthan. Buildings, places, habits, villages – he has something to tell about all of them. Enough for us, in any case, because we don’t want to be showered with the usual stuff told by every organised tour guide (we have seen and heard it, and try to avoid such guides like the plague when we travel).

Nothing was too much for Raj. He would look for a hotel as long as was necessary to find one agreeing to our tastes and budget. He would make a detour kilometres long to look at interesting spots near our route. When we didn’t want to stay in one spot anymore, Raj would come up with alternatives. He would find the best restaurants. He was also concerned with our personal welfare and advised us about where to eat. We barely had any stomach problems and was safe (enough) in traffic. And so on.

Before we realised it our trip through Rajasthan was over, after which we whent to Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh. An interesting diversion from what we saw in Rajasthan. This was also very pleasing to Raj, because he could visit his family there – of course he had hoped to be able to do so, but we all believed he deserved it. We know Raj did his best to make us feel comfortable, hoping for a bonus, and we rewarded him with a big tip.

In short: we will definitely recommend Raj as a guide to friends. We could not have wished for anything more. And they’ll be able to laugh about his excellent English and his sense of humor.