Eyewitness Travel Guide: Delhi, Agra & Jaipur - Kate Poole

Author's product rating:   

How useful was it?	Indispensable
Would you read it again?	Yes

Advantages:	Detail, Pictures & Diagrams
Disadvantages:	Friends kept stealing it

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

""Please note - this is a review of the 2003 version of the book and it has been updated and reprinted in 2007.""

When it was finally confirmed that I would be spending a few weeks working in India towards the end of 2006, as well as organising injections, anti malarials etc I wanted to get a guide book to plan to get the most out of my weekends. Off I went to my local bookshop and started looking at India guides and I soon realised that there were some that covered the triangle of Cities in Northern India that I would hopefully be able to visit from our base in Noida (in the National Capital Region of Delhi) - Delhi, Agra & Jaipur.

I think people have a favourite type of guide book be it Rough Guide, Lonely Planet or others but my favourite is the Eyewitness range which I had used for many years and had been invaluable not just for holidays but also to my husband when putting together guided coach tours. Therefore, when I saw the Eyewitness Guide I was almost sure I would buy this one which is softback with tough glossy outer covers. I did have a look at a few others but the Eyewitness was definitely the one for me.

The guide itself is split into colour-coded sections which are listed on the flap inside the front cover and I will look briefly at each of these

""**Introduction**""

This is very comprehensive and includes a map showing where the cities fit in India and, in fact, where India fits on a map of Asia together with good information on landscape, religions, gods and goddesses, architecture, festivals, seasons and temperatures. There is also quite detailed information about the history of the area and the timeline of the various rulers up to Independence and today.

This section was invaluable to me as I realised that I knew very little about the country except the little I had read and what I had seen on television.

""**Delhi area by area**""

This section includes main street maps of the areas, things to see with opening times and telephone numbers, some overhead shots and guides to some of the main tourist sites. This is the longest section of the book and also includes information on shopping and entertainment and a map over 3 double pages with a street index.

I found this section to be most beneficial to me as this is the area in which I spent the most time and one of the things I like to do is to read about somewhere I'm going to visit. The cut-away map of Humayun's Tomb, the layout maps of The Red Fort and Qutab Minar were particulary useful and I also enjoyed reading about places I didn't get to see.

""**North of Delhi**""

This section is only a few pages long and includes information on various towns and cities to the North and a River Tour along the Ganges.

Whilst I read this brief section and found it interesting, I didn't need it for any practical purpose as I didn't travel to this area.

""**Agra and area**""

Whilst the most famous tourist attraction in the area is the Taj Mahal and this is covered in a six-page spread including a cut-away diagram and information about the decorative elements used such as the inlaid marble, the guide also has good information about other sites such as Agra Fort, Jami Masjid and outer sights including a couple of tours - I'm sure the driving one would be an experience and a half!

Due to a lack of hotel rooms and various security constraints, it was necessary for a group of four of us to get to Agra and back in a day and the book was very useful in planning what we wanted to see and advising our guide so we could fit everything in.

""**Jaipur and environs**""

This section includes a street by street map, good information including a cut-away map on the City Palace Museum and Jantar Mantar and comprehensive information on the famous Amber Fort. Also included in this section are double-pages on both the Sarska and Ranthambore National Parks which are reported as the best places to see Indian Tigers in the wild, although from what I heard and read whilst in India, seeing tigers appears to be more difficult than ever.

I never made it to Jaipur myself so I can't personally comment on how helpful this section was although my friends advised that it was really useful to them when they went to Jaipur for a weekend after I came home!!

""**Travellers Needs**""

This section covers Where to Stay, Where to Eat, Shops and Markets, Entertainment, Special Interests and Outdoor Activites.

I didn't need to use the where to stay section as this was a work trip and all our hotels were booked for us, although there seems to be a good cross-section of hotels included. Where to Eat also includes a What to Eat section (with helpful pictures and this was extremely useful for me as I'm not a great lover of Indian food . A Shopping section is always useful although I was quite surprised that no mention was made of Central Cottage Industries which is the Government run emporium in Delhi although it is mentioned in the Delhi specific pages and is definitely worth a visit for a no-hassle shopping experience as the prices are fixed and fair.

""**Survival Guide**""

This section is split into Practical and Travel Information and I have to say, it is the place I always turn to first when I buy a guide of this type.

Practical is as you would expect but is particularly good for Tourist Office and Embassy information, Etiquette, Personal Security and Health and has pictures of all banknotes and coins in circulation

Travel gives telephone numbers for the major airlines, travelling by train, coach and road.

At the very back of the book there is some recommended further reading a glossary and some useful Hindi phrases

I regularly used this book before I went and whilst in India for reference purposes and even now, I go back and read a bit every now and again and have therefore given it 5/5 and would definitely recommend it as an ideal book for your trip to this fascinating region. Then again, I am a fan of Eyewitness guides in general but I know some people absolutely hate the format!

The best endorsement I can give it is that this book was regularly passed around all the other people who came to stay for a few weeks and I actually left it in India with my friend who was going to be there for a few months as the preferred it to the guide he had bought. In addition, when I returned for a few weeks in 2007, it was the first thing in my suitcase - well, after my torch!!

The RRP for the book is £14.99 although I got mine for £10.99. I have seen it on Amazon Marketplace for around the £6 mark (used) and on Ebay for £5.99. It may also be worth checking out the publishers website www.dk.com as they regularly have offers such as 3 for 2.