Verified Yogi my brother, you are the BEST!
I recently spent two weeks on an incredible journey in Rajasthan, India. Yogi and his team of drivers and guides far surpassed my expectations. I joined a small tour of six people that was organized by a friend, Karen Score, of Grace in Nature Unlimited. Karen has extensive travel experience in India and across the globe. She has hired “India By Yogi Private Tours” for years and now only works with them. Now that I’ve had the experience, I understand why she will only work with Yogi and his team. From the moment we arrived at the airport in Delhi to the moment we departed, Yogi ushered us in first class style though our entire adventure. Our group traveled from Delhi to Udaipur, Jodphur to Jaipur, then Agra and back to Delhi. They worked very hard to make sure we did not. Yogi executed Karen’s ambitious and well balanced itinerary beautifully. Yogi was comfortable in all settings: palaces and museums, mosques and temples, elegant hotels, on bicycle rickshaws, desert sunset camel rides, and in the shops of highly skilled artisans. He handled and organized access to all sites, guides, tips, and restaurant choices. On longer drives he had well timed stops for chai, snack breaks and clean bathrooms. There were always various drinks and snacks in the transport vans and cars. Our luggage was managed with care at all hotels. He helped us with local etiquette and always made sure we were safe. It all went flawlessly, and, when obstacles popped up, they were resolved with both class and expediency. Yogi and his team also took time to get to know each of us in the group. He made sure that our itinerary either dropped or added destinations or cultural events based on our interests and tastes. Just one personal example of this is that I am a lover of motorcycles. I started to ask Yogi about the motorcycles of India, especially the Royal Enfield. Yogi smiled and handed me his phone with a picture of his Royal Enfield motorcycle. I then shared with him a picture of my 1968 BSA Thunderbolt. After this I started calling Yogi my “bro” and explained the affectionate term. On our journey from Udaipur to Jodhpur, we unexpectedly pulled over at an unscheduled surprise stop. It was sunset. Yogi pulled out a bottle of rum and said he had been saving it for a long time, but no one on his tours had been a motorcycle enthusiast before. As our group crossed the road toward what appeared to be an unknown celebration of some kind, Yogi explained that the rum is an offering for the Om Singh Rathore/Bullet Baba Temple. The shrine is dedicated to the beloved prince Om Singh Rathore, who died at the site in 1988 on his Royal Enfield motorcycle. Yogi timed it perfectly, and I was able to do an offering with him. We stayed to watch the daily sunset ritual. It was beautiful and, for me, moving on many levels. This is one example of how Yogi went out of his way to enrich the trip and to establish caring and personal connections. Yogi my brother, you are the BEST. If you are planning a trip. I can’t recommend Yogi and his team highly enough. Namaste.
