ESCORTED TOURS INDIA DESTINATIONS odysseyIndian


Laura French explores India’s Golden Triangle on a Newmarket Holidays fam trip


@laurafrench121


guide. I brace myself and charge, dodging several wobbling tuk- tuks to reach a brightly coloured bazaar, where a huge labyrinth of streets opens out before me. Whiffs of street food hit me


“I


first, then row upon row of sequined shoes, bags, pashminas and saris. Sounds of drumming, beeping and shouting blend into a thick blanket of noise so it’s all one big assault on the senses, and I’m half-exhausted,


f you look, you’ll never make it – just walk,” says our


half-enthralled by the sheer vibrancy of it all. After we’ve bartered our


way round, we jump into a tuk-tuk and begin chugging our way down the road, stomachs lurching, engines revving, seats jerking, cars beeping. It’s a little hectic, to say the least. I can’t get enough of it. We’re in Jaipur, the iconic capital of Rajasthan, India, on a Newmarket Holidays fam trip around the Golden Triangle. It hasn’t all been quite this crazy.


At times it’s been so serene it’s hard to believe it’s all part of the same country, with desert roads, mountain landscapes and tiny villages offering unexpected swathes of peace and tranquillity. That sheer diversity, I soon


realise, is what gives this region such widespread appeal. Combine it with culture, history, welcoming people and an overriding sense of energy, and it’s little surprise demand for the region is so high. Newmarket says its trips here have grown


31 August 2017 travelweekly.co.uk 53


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