12 Mar 2023
We finished our 8-day Buddhist circuit with Varanasi Excursion on Feb. From inquiry to booking and during the tour, Aamir had been on top of any questions I had and he checked with us every day on how things go. During the trip I found that our evisa couldn't enter india via land and had to change plan to go to Kathmandu. It was purely my fault and Aamir insisted on arranging the driver and guide there for me for free. Our driver Raju was way beyond my expectation and I couldn't imagine getting anybody that is better. We wanted to go to Mahabodhi temple early in the morning when it opens and stayed there late in the evening. He was always there waiting for us with a smile.
The reason I didn't give a 5 star is because of hotel booking. The hotels we stayed were different than what were listed on booking. And in Bodhi Gaya we were sent to a hotel that I refused to stay and Aamir transferred us to the conference center immediately which is a bit far away from the Mahabodhi temple. And in Lumbini and New Delhi, we experienced similar that hotels are far away. I understand there is budget constraint on hotels and some people might not care spending time on the car but I would rather to have it upfront when we discussed the price instead of changing hotels during the tour.
Overall we had a great time and really enjoyed the tour.