Holi- Holi- Holiday?

Well, having provisionally arranged to start at Norton Rose on 07 February, I met Sue Hobson today and fixed my leaving date for Friday 21 January….. so this evening I have been checking out holiday options, and in the wee small hours (well past 1am on 06 Jan), I found this Delhi to Kathmandu trip with Exodus (http://www.exodus.co.uk/holidays/ain.html)*:

Delhi, the booming capital of modern India, has had many rulers and contains a wealth of buildings and culture that bring to life its rich and turbulent history. Safe in its natural mountain fortress, the fabled city of Kathmandu was virtually cut off from the rest of the world until the last half century. Smaller, but no less fascinating, this city has been described as having more temples than houses and more gods than people. To travel between these two very different cities is one of the most beautiful and fascinating journeys in Asia. For culture vultures the Taj Mahal, the ‘Pink City’ of Jaipur, the holy city of Varanasi or the Buddhist Stupas of Kathmandu may be the highlight; for those more interested in nature’s treasures, spotting rhino on an early morning elephant ride through Chitwan National Park may feature as high on the list as their first view of the mighty Himalaya, towering 8000m. (26,000 ft.) above the plains on the India/Nepal border. On any journey however it is often the friendliness of the people you meet on your way that lasts longest in the memory.

Travel: Private bus, train, boat and elephant.
Group & staff: Min. 8, max. 16, plus leader, driver, local guides for sightseeing.
Accommodation: 11 nights hotels, 2 nights jungle lodge, 1 overnight train.
Food: All breakfasts and 1 lunch included; full board at Chitwan.
Travel dates: Fri 21 Jan 05 Sun 06 Feb 05
Cost: TBC

* 28 March 2014 Update: Well, that’s a first – Exodus have asked me to remove my links back to their website as they’re having trouble with their Google rankings due to “unnatural links” pointing to their website. Hence the unlinked URL to the trip page.