From Driver to Lifelong Friends. A Decision We Will Never Regret.
10 out of 5 Stars
Believe me, if I could give more than a five I would give 10 or more as our experience with driver Garmeet Singh was more than just the hiring of a great driver and tour guide.
This decision to hire Northern India Trips all started when we arrived in Delhi and needed a driver to get us to my research interviews around Delhi. Our concierge at the Hilton Doubletree in Gurgaon recommended Narendra and Northern India Trips. Narendra picked us up right on time the next morning at our hotel and guided us for our very busy day in Delhi with two interviews in different areas of Delhi along with doing some sightseeing (Qutub Minar and nearby stepwell and other sites in between the interviews). We felt at home with him right away, learned about his family and even met his dog, Tabasco, online. He even helped me to feel confident about my first interviews in India. He said, “Be confident and remember, you’re the boss!” He learned much about us as well including information about our trip and started helping us think about our plans a little differently, including hiring his company to be our guide for the first part of our trip through Northern India. He said we would get his best driver and his most comfortable car…and boy did we!
The next day we met Garmeet who arrived in the very comfortable car. I had more interviews and we wanted to do more sightseeing in the capital city. We had one interview in the morning and then had the rest of the day to explore more of Dehli. Again, we felt right at home with Garmeet. He was more than accomodating, brought us efficiently to where we needed to go and gave us good background and history about the areas we visited. We hadn’t completely decided yet about hiring them for the 22 days of our travels…Narendra was working on an itinerary that made sense and working back and forth with us to meet our needs and our budget. By the end of our 4 day stay in Delhi we were convinced this was a good choice for us. It felt like it was going to be about the same price as what we would pay for transportation, drivers and guides throughout those 22 days without the hassle of having to do all the research ourselves.
And So Our Journey Begins…
Above is a selfie that Garmeet took for us at the top of the Simsa Mata Temple during our homestay with another driver’s family in Sansai, Himachal Pradesh. The whole experience here was one we will never forget including a day long full experience of with this beautiful family. The photo to the left is of Garmeet at the Wagah Attari border ceremony on the India/Pakistan border outside of Amritsar. We had been with Garmeet for a few days at this point but were already forming a strong friendship. It was another highlight to watch him experience this ceremony for the first time with us…he was beaming with country pride, smiling from ear to ear the whole time. It wouldn’t have been the same without him.
There are many things that make this India guiding company great. One is the flexibility of the drivers to take us to places other than those frequently visited and to experience it with us. As a part of my research I wanted to visit a couple of slightly out-of-the-way museums and we went, made the best out of the ride too and from and all enjoyed our time there. Another great aspect is how we were learning so much, as in addition to visiting temples, museums and historic sites we were learning about the history, the religion, the politics and the culture of this great country. I know our experience would not have been the same without Garmeet as our driver.
The above photos show how we explored and experienced many new places with Northern India Trips and Garmeet. Starting from the left, top and at the overlook off of Mall Road in Shimla, then at a beautiful temple up in the clouds, at the waterfall in Mcleodganj, during the Dushera festival in Shimla, in Amritsar historical park, at the Wagah Attari ceremony learning about the soda Thumbs Up (better than Coke or Pepsi), at the Ganga Aarti, on the Laxmi bridge in Rishikesh.
Along with seeing so much and riding with a great guy in a comfortable car, again, we experienced religion, firsthand, shopped at the best places and had a lot of fun! Oh, and Garmeet also introduced us to the food of India, finding the best and most affordable places. I can’t recommend this company and the people who work with it….esp. Narendra and Garmeet!
When you are India, hire Northern India Trips for your tour whether it is one day or 22 days. Here is the information you need:
Northern India Trips
naren@079@gmail.com
info@northernindiatrips.com
https://www.northernindiatrips.com
