Jun 09, 2017 01:32 PM
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My father, 62 booked the Thomas Cook tour for Leh starting on the 30th of May to 6th of June. My mother, myself and my father were really looking forward to escape the Mumbai heat and have a cool vacation in the land of Dalai Lama. Little did we know, it wasn’t going to be a vacation, it was going to be a punishment. Courtesy – Thomas Cook. Here’s a detailed review of how all things that could go wrong did go wrong because of the great organizational skills of ‘India’s best tour operator’.
Day 1:
On the morning of our arrival, we were greeted by a local person who had the list of our group. Within an hour of landing, a group of 7(another family of 4) were huddled into a Scorpio and were sent off on our way to the hotel – Hotel Ladakh Himalayan Retreat. The itinerary said that the hotel was about 10 minutes away from the airport, yet we were being driven for about 20 minutes and there was no sign of the hotel. It was only after we asked the driver if he knew where he was going did he tell us that actually he wasn’t from there, and he didn’t know the way to the hotel.
Obviously, we were frustrated by then, because we had been travelling since 3 AM the previous night and we really did want to get to our hotel ASAP. So, we tried asking around and eventually when he did find out the way, we were stuck in a traffic jam for another 20 minutes. It was then that another driver(who apparently knew the way) came to our rescue. The moment he stepped in, the other driver just got off and walked away.
Eventually we reached out hotel almost an hour and a half later where we met Mr. Sunil who was the Thomas Cook representative. He apologized for having arranged a driver that didn’t know the way and our rooms were quickly readied for us.
The rest of the day was just about relaxing, catching up on our sleep and getting to know our itinerary for the next day by Mr. Sunil.
Sunil informed us that it was advisable to take the medicine Diamox since it helps us get acclimatized to the weather however, it isn’t necessary. As per his advice we did take the medicine. He also informed us that we must shop for a carton on water say about(15L) for the trip to Nubra Valley. He said that we could shop for that the next day.
The rest of the day we slept and got ourselves well relaxed. On hindsight, that was the only day we were well relaxed, as if we were on vacation, taking in the sights and the beautiful Leh weather.
Day 2:
We were asked to be ready by 9:30 AM so we could leave for local sightseeing. Again, 7 of us(my family of 3 and the other family of 4), all of whom were full grown people, were huddled into a Scorpio. My father, 62 years of age and 5 feet 11 inches in height, along with myself were made to sit behind, while one member of the other family agreed to sit in another car because of lack of space in our car. Sunil told us that since it’s only an hour’s drive away, it won’t be very hectic for us.
We reached Thicksey Monastery and then Shey Palace. By lunch time, we covered both the monastery and the palace. The monastery is located on a hill and there are several steps that one needs to climb in order to get there. The sight was beautiful but having to sit in a cramped-up car after all that climb was absolutely uncomfortable, to say the least.
After he visit to Sindhu Ghat(which was stunning), we were taken to a market area to have lunch at a local restaurant. The lunch was on our expense and again, it was a good lunch, because we got to order what we wanted(nothing to thank Thomas Cook for in this case). After lunch we were taken to Shanti Stupa. Our local guide Punsuk, was well informed and was a pleasant person to talk to. He gave us a good historic background of all the places we went and he also made sure we were comfortable at every step. He did much running around to get the group on time every place.
We were promised to view the sunset from the Shanti Stupa, but Punsuk told us that there wouldn’t be a sunset!(still don’t know what happened there!) and we left thereafter for the hotel. At hotel, we were served dinner and the day ended on a good note.
Sunil briefed us for the next day. The next day was going to be a big day since we were travelling to Nubra valley via Khardungla, the highest motorable road of the world. It was to be a 7-8-hour journey which would culminate with us spending the night at a camp site in Nubra Valley. Obviously, this was one of the highlights of the tour so we were all very excited about the trip and we were well prepared… or so we thought.
Day 3:
Mr. Sunil told us to be ready by 7:30 AM since the earlier we leave, the faster we reach Nubra. As per schedule, our group was ready by 7:30 all done with breakfast, packed for the night etc. We were also told to pack our other belongings and leave it in the hotel’s cloak room since they would vacate our rooms for the night.
There we were sitting ready by 7:30, only problem being our car hadn’t arrived. We asked for a Xylo since the Scorpio was in a horrible condition and the other family wanted to be together too on this long journey. Why would they have their son travel separately in another car?
Please note that the tour has specified that they wouldn’t fit more than 6 people in a car. But 7 of us were being made to sit in the car including the driver. And on telling Sunil that, he said that just for one person they can’t arrange a car. Ideally they should have done the math while they booked so many people for the tour. After a brief fight, Sunil told us that he is arranging a Tavera for us, as there is more space in the Tavera and we would be comfortable in that. Also, the two other cars had 6 people each, only we were being forced to take 7 people in one car.
After waiting for 3 more hours, Sunil came up to us and told us that the Tavera broke down and he is unable to arrange for another car and another Scorpio is being arranged.
Obviously at this point we lost our cool, because we had been up since 5 and it was 10:30 now and we were still at the hotel. One car had left and we were still stranded here. Finally, the Scorpio came in and the other family was requested to sit in the Scorpio. We managed to sit in the Xylo – 3 people behind, 3 in the middle and one in the front. We were tightly crammed.
At 11 AM we finally left for Nubra. We reached the first check post at the start of the Khardungla mountain and again we had to wait for the other car because they had jumbled up the entry passes and they didn’t create passes as per family. So now we had to wait for the other car, only they could we only get entry. After waiting another 30 minutes, the other car caught up and we started us ascend.
The weather started to worsen and a snow storm began due to which the Khardungla road was shut and there was a massive traffic jam. We ended up being stuck in Khardungla for about 5 hours. Eventually we reached Nubra at 8 PM, sitting in the car for almost 9-10 hours.
Warning: The Khardungla road is practically no road at all, there are huge rocks on the road that we have to go over. So, the guys sitting in the back seat of the car were tossed around like luggage and had taken a heavy beating. We were literally being transported like cattle, or maybe even worse. Battered and bruised, we did manage to reach Nubra at 8 PM.
There is no sign of civilization and we were driving in absolute darkness. We asked our driver(different guy from the first day) where we were headed and how far we were, he got angry at us. He said he didn’t know the campsite or the name of the camp and the other guy was not answering the call. On pressurizing him more, he snapped. He stopped the car on the side of the road and got out of the car to try calling the local guide, Tashi. He literally left us stranded there as he hid behind the car. Eventually we took out our tour papers and the itinerary and found out that the camps name was Lahrimo Camp. We then told him that but he still didn’t know the way. Luckily for us, we found a woman on the road and we asked her the way, she then directed us and we reached the camp by around 9 PM.
On asking Tashi why he hasn’t been answering our drivers calls or why he hasn’t bothered to brief the driver in advance about where to go, he only tells us that there was no network.
We straightaway headed for dinner, exhausted of sitting in the car for 11 hours. Let me mention here that we didn’t even have the lunch that was part of the plan because we only reached Nubra by 8. So, all we had since breakfast was two cups of tea and maggi that we had at one stop.
During dinner, we spoke to the other group that had the local guide Tashi in their car. They told us that even Tashi didn’t know the camp’s name and they had to guide him towards the camp. I wonder what’s the point of a ‘local guides’ when they are not even briefed in advance. Exhausted and frustrated we called it a night.
Day 4:
The day had us up and ready by 8 because we didn’t want to be stuck in the car for another 11 hours. We also had to visit the White Sand Dunes at Hunder and Diskit Monastery. We were so much in a rush to reach Leh on time that we decided to skip the Monastery and head for the ATV ride and the sand dunes. Both were enjoyable experiences and we stopped for lunch at a local restaurant. We left by 1 and the treacherous journey began again. We reached Leh by 7 and were checked into our rooms at the same hotel. Mr. Sunil had no explanation to give us about the vehicle and the incompetence of the local guides and the total lack of planning on Thomas Cook’s part. All he did was brief us for the next day – which was when we leave for Pangong Lake. This journey was also supposed to be a 6-hour journey. We were already so exhausted and my father was developing back aches because of the horrible car. When we told Sunil about it, he said that he would try and arrange for a better car tomorrow. But we had no hopes by now. At this point, my father was already reconsidering going to Pangong because it was going to be extremely strenuous. Dreading the worst, we again called it a night.
Day 5:
Knowing that nothing happens on time here, we got ready by 9. The time they gave us was 8:30. As always, we waited till 9:30 and finally we left. Again 7 of us crammed in a Tavera this time. My father developed major back pains so he and my mother sat cramped up in the front seat, 3 adults in the middle and myself and another guy behind. Stuffed again, but Sunil has no solution. Peak season is their excuse. Well then why take tours in the first place?
The journey to Pangong was again a little difficult but luckily for us, weather was on our side and we reached in a decent time. Plus, our driver was a blessing. He apologized for every bump on the road and made it that much more bearable. After the entire trip, we reached our campsite by the lake and it was beautiful. We didn’t want anything more, that sight alone filled out hearts.
Day 6:
We left for Leh and this time we were to check into a new hotel – Hotel Lumbini. After reaching and checking in we realized this was less of a hotel and more of a lodge. There was no heater in the room and getting a heater would be chargeable. The bathroom was more like a public bathroom; the tile was broken in to make a drain. The power kept going off. On complaining to Sunil, we were told that this is a standard hotel and this is what the tour promised.
Please let me inform you, when Thomas Cook says ‘standard hotel’ expect a lodge room, where there is no kettle in the room, no heater, a horrible bathroom with rarely flowing hot water and a dinner that just consists for Dal-rice-pappad and maybe if you’re lucky a sabzi which is barely edible.
The hotel was the worst I have ever been to and every time I went into the bathroom, I used to cringe because it felt like I was using a sauchalay. At this point, we couldn’t wait to get back to Mumbai. Don’t get me wrong, Leh is beautiful but Thomas Cook ruined the experience for us. Everyone, including the local driver told us that we could have got a better deal had we done the booking ourselves.
Thomas Cook couldn’t even transfer our luggage from the previous hotel to this one. After a 6-hour journey from Pangong we had to go to the hotel ourselves and pick up our own luggage to get it to this hotel. I wonder what did Thomas Cook do at all?! What did we pay them for?!
Day 7:
They again planned some local sights for the last day and we got through it without any hiccups because we had a driver who was such a pleasant personality. He himself told us that he doesn’t ever want to drive for Thomas Cook again because they have not organized anything properly.
Day 8:
Finally, on our way back, we were left with one small feedback form which wasn’t enough to fill out all our grievances.
Thomas Cook reps were ill informed.
1) We didn’t need to carry along the carton of water. We get water bottles everywhere. It was a waste to lug that around.
2) They warned us to step out at Khardungla for more than 5 minutes. We were stuck there for 5 hours in the jam. Nothing happens, if you take the medicine.
3) The journey hours are all wrong. Khardungla takes nothing less than 7 hours on a good day(as told by the local guy).
4) It’s much cheaper to get a car arranged for yourself where you are not crammed and sharing your space.
5) It is also better to book your own hotels since you can pick a hotel room as per your convenience. There are several centrally heated hotels in Leh, yet Thomas Cook will book you in the cheapest hotel possible.
6) They have cut corners everywhere possible – food, stay, vehicles everything.
Key Notes:
If you’re looking for a vacation. Do not head to Thomas Cook. They make you do all the work and they get paid to do that. They managed to do everything wrong. We have been on enough international tours(from other tour operators) and we have never had an experience like this. One odd thing always goes wrong. But Thomas Cook’s accomplishment is that everything went wrong. I don’t know one person from the group who was happy with the arrangements they made. I went through the trouble of writing this long review so that no one else gets fooled by Thomas Cook and no one takes a tour with them. Its unforgettable sure, for all the wrong reasons.
Thomas Cook – Cooking up disasters for you!
