Wildlife Travel » Commendations

Commendations

-----Original Message-----

Name: Corinne Vail
Year: April 2005
Email: corinne_vail@hotmail.com;

Dear Shweta,
Compass Tours made our trip to India the best that it could be. Out of the six of us that were traveling, none of us had previously visited your country and Compass took care of us from the moment we arrived until we left. It gave us a special look into the caring personality of the Indian people. Before we even left on the trip, we felt great. Shweta, you worked with us everyday until we narrowed down a perfect itinerary. We loved being able to have a say on what type of accommodations we would be in as well as what type of vehicle we'd be transported in. It worked very well. The guides that you contracted with in Bikaner, Jaisalmer, and Jodhpur were some of the best I've ever met. Not only were they hospitable and knowledgeable about their areas, but they took it one step further and invited us to view some of the culture first hand. In Bikaner, Bihwanas invited us to his house for dinner and we met his family. In Jaisalmer, we were also invited to Jintendra's mother's house for tea, and in Jodhpur, the guide took us to a friend's wedding. On top of that, each guide was so open about their lives, which are completely different than our American lives. They talked to us about their religion, their caste, their marriages, and much, much more. I recommend that anyone who visits India should use Compass to arrange their trip. The best thing about it is, that I as the customer, made all the decisions, and Compass did all the hard work! Thank you so much for such a rich and rewarding experience! I cannot wait until I have the opportunity to go to India again!
Corinne Vail
United States of America

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-----Original Message-----

Name: Cathy De Lara
Year: 2004
Email: cathy.delara@jenner.ac.uk

Dear Durjay,
Just a note to say a big thank you to you and the rest of the team for organising such a fantastic holiday. There was always someone to meet us, the guides were all excellent and very knowledgeable, the drivers were great (their standard of driving was very high) and all the hotels were very comfortable. I would not hesitate to recommend you to our friends.

We had a wonderful holiday and managed to see a total of 9 tigers as well as lots of other animals so were very pleased! When we get our tiger photos back John is thinking about setting up a web site with the pictures on it, so if he does I will let you know the address. Once again thank you for such a wonderful holiday.
Cathy

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-----Original Message-----

Guest Name(s): MS Dawn Kingsbury Attean
Country: Virginia, USA
Email: DAttean@netscape.net
Tour Taken: India Nepal Highlights
Year :2003, September
( Referral Letter)

Hi Candice!
I'm glad you wrote. I had such a phenomenal experience in India that I love every opportunity I can get to talk about it! (And let me say, I'm a bit jealous that you are just starting out on your journey. Mine is now over and I will have to wait a year or so before I can return.)

I, too, traveled to India alone and placed my care and safety into the hands of complete strangers. It is a decision I will never regret. Durjay and his people made me feel completely at ease at all times, and I can honestly say I met some great friends I plan to keep for a lifetime. The guides are knowledgeable and friendly and, most importantly, attentive to your every need. After the first few days, I felt like I was traveling with friends I had known for much, much longer. They truly took whatever steps were necessary to assure my comfort and happiness. I felt safe and protected one hundred percent of the time. I never felt harassed and if the beggars and hawkers threatened to get overly aggressive, my guides stepped in before I even had to say a word. One question: do you happen to know the names of any of the guides with whom you will be traveling? If I had the same escorts, I could give you even more personalized information about them.

In my experience, Durjay and Compass delivered even more than what was promised. I had many fascinating and memorable experiences that went way beyond the confines of my itinerary. I asked for some last-minute itinerary changes that Durjay handled without a glitch. My advice is, if there is something extra that you learn about that you want to see, ask about it. I am confident that Durjay and his team will do everything within their power to accommodate any request you make.

The train - now that was an experience! If you are traveling solo to India, you must already have a sense of adventure. My advice (and this goes for the whole trip): stay as open-minded as possible about anything and everything. This is not as hard as it might sound because you are in a foreign country completely outside your comfort zone and removed from your family and friends. I went into it with an "anything goes" type of attitude. It helped me to laugh at many things that might have annoyed me or grossed me out if I encountered them in the U.S. I saw some weird stuff, and loved it. Back to the train: are you taking only day trains, or will there be an overnight trip, too? The day trains are nothing. I took two day trips - one was about 2 hours and the other 6 hours. Very easy, very comfortable. Don't freak out about the bathrooms, just use the handles to hold on. The food was decent, and though the on-board employees spoke no English, everyone else on the train (i.e., businessmen) did. The night train was a bit different. Tell me if you are taking a night train and I will elaborate in my next e-mail.

Sorry this mail is getting a little long. But there's one more piece of advice I need to pass along. Actually two - The first is, no matter what anyone else tells you, opt to dress on the conservative side. I left my shorts and tank tops at home and was glad I did. You will get stared at no matter what, but there is no sense attracting even MORE unwanted attention. I saw a group of European girls in skimpy clothes at the Taj Mahal who looked very uncomfortable with leers they were getting. (Ogling is a fact of life for westerners in India. Just ignore it. With your guides you will be completely safe and protected at all times.) The second piece of advice is about food: you already know only to drink bottled water. But don't forget about raw vegetables and fruits, which are washed in the local water. I made this mistake and ate a raw cucumber sandwich. This mistake I will not repeat!

OK, I hope I was able to help even a little. If you have more questions or concerns, I would love to write more so let me know.
Have a GREAT trip!
-Dawn

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----- Original Message -----

Guest Name(s): Mandy Lee And Bob Venezia
Country: Seattle, USA
Email: lee@schroeter-goldmark.com
Tour Taken: North And South India Combined
Year: 2001, November

Dear Durjay,
I just wanted to drop you a quick note to let you know that Bob and I got home yesterday on schedule. Your friend Mr. Mukerjee at KLM was able to get us upgraded to business class on the Air France flight, and for that we are eternally grateful. The trip home is a very long one, between the flight times and the layovers, so it was wonderful to at least be in comfortable seats where we could sleep after our dinner with you.

We had a wonderful time in India. When we come again, we will want to do some very different things, I think, like a camel safari in Rajasthan, as well as see some different places. I don't know when that will be -- it will be quite some time before I can take a full month off from work again.

(I spent all of today reading through over 600 e-mail messages that were waiting for me!) I hope we didn't cause you too much trouble as clients -- we found your service to be absolutely lovely.
Take care
Mandy

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-----Original Message-----

Guest Name(s): Haywood Family
Country: Richmond/ Canada
Email: haywoods@shaw.ca
Tour Taken: Colorful Rajasthan
Year: 2002, October

Dear Durjay
We have been home from fascinating Rajasthan, India for two weeks and I wanted to thank you so much for the wonderful tour you organized for myself, husband and daughter. We were very impressed with how professional you and your tour company are. All e-mails sent to you were quickly answered. When we told you we would be in India ten days and the dates we would be arriving you quickly e-mailed back a wonderful tour. The places we were to visit sounded fascinating, the hotels sounded very interesting and the price was very good value for us.

We really only arranged airfare to India ourselves and then everything else was looked after. We would highly recommend your company to anyone going to India! You and Monti (our driver for our whole tour) were right there to meet us upon arrival even though it was very early in the morning. From that point on we had an incredible tour with Monti doing an excellent job navigating through India's amazing traffic and Naveen our very knowledgeable, accommodating, friendly tour escort joining us later. Everywhere we went we had very knowledgeable tour guides (who spoke good English) to give us the background and history of all the incredible sights. Our accommodation ranged from beautiful palaces (awesome to say the least) to very interesting heritage hotels to a mud hut. All accommodation had showers, flush toilets, wonderful decorations throughout and were truly unique and different (even the mud hut). It was always fun wondering where we were staying next. The food in India was great and we weren't sick at all which was a worry before hand. The Indian people were very friendly and extremely accommodating to our every need. The excellent service was beyond anything we have experienced in all our travels.

We were not worried about safety at all and in fact when my husband left a carry all bag at one of the hotels and didn't realize it until we had been travelling by road for five hours our tour escort said it was no problem. He quickly got on his cell phone, contacted the hotel and the next morning my husband's bag was at our new hotel room with all contents intact even though it had been unlocked. Compared to the rest of the world India is truly a bargain and we received excellent value for our dollar and plan on going back through Compass Tours to another area of India. For anyone who wants to see something totally different from home, and can overlook the poverty and unclean areas that are part of the Indian landscape, you will definitely not be disappointed. I have seen the Great Wall of China, the pyramids of Egypt, the savannas of Africa but India is truly unique and a place like no other!

The Taj-Mahal was spectacular! You really do have to experience it to know what I am talking about. Before hand someone had told me how all forms of animal and vehicle share the road. Visualizing that before hand can't possibly tell you what it is like when you are experiencing it first hand. Camels pulling carts laden with dirt, hay, wood, next to donkeys pulling carts full of school children next to cars, trucks, cows, bicycles, motorcycles, pigs, rickshaws prove to be an unbelievable sight never to be forgotten. Pictures and talking about what we saw could never show you the true India that we experienced while we were there and Durjay and Compass Tours certainly made it all possible. They are a group that love what they do, are honest, knowledgeable, accommodating, and came through on everything they said they were going to do. Thank you for a wonderful experience!
T. Haywood Richmond,
B.C. Canada haywoods@shaw.ca

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-----Original Message-----

Guest Name(s): Ms. Parminder / Mr Green
Country: London, Uk
Email: parminder.johal@bt.com
Tour Taken: Customized Tour
Year: 2002

Dear Durjay,
sorry for the delay in getting in touch.
We had a fantastic time on our trip to India. Much of this was attributable to the organisation and planning arranged by Compass India. We really appreciate the time and effort put in by yourself to accomodate our varying requirements and ensure that our stay was comfortable and free from worry. We could not have asked for more in terms of quality of service. At all times, we found you helpful, friendly, and efficient.

Once again, thank you for making our trip the best holiday we have ever had. We would certainly recommend Compass India and use you again.
Regards
Parminder.