Sudhanshu Arya
India has been a prominent destination for tourists from all across the world for many years. With its ethnic, socio-cultural and geographic diversity, India has a lot to offer. While there are many tour operators working across India providing different customizable tour packages to tourists, there was none that would cater to the needs of gay couples in India. That was so until the November of last year when acclaimed fashion designer Sanjay Malhotra started Indjapink. Indjapink, as their website mentions, is the first and only gay travel boutique in India. I had a conversation with Sanjay recently who was very optimistic about Indjapink and with the business opportunities in this direction.
Closet Travel: No more!
First impressions are often lasting. The name of the business, Indjapink, itself sparks curiosity and intrigue in the mind of the visitor, as Sanjay tells me was the intended purpose, and I must say, it works pretty well!
Sanjay also says that the pink dollar, that is the purchasing power of gays all over the world, is huge and the industry spawning around it is already worth $2 trillion. With such amounts of money involved, Indjapink seems a brilliant idea, especially when you consider its exclusive position in India. Infact, one tends to wonder why nobody came up with such an idea before, and then one is reminded of the intolerance towards gays in India. India is becoming more open now, and the changing attitudes are giving opportunities for such good ideas to bloom.
Indjapink offers its clients a range of different tour locations. But what really sets them apart is the gay friendly atmosphere they provide at their accommodations. The accommodations are luxurious, handpicked boutique hotels which provide the clients with the perfect mix of luxury and convenience. Still less than a year old, Indjapink has received tremendous initial response. The reviews and the accolades received from the hospitality industry and the media have also been very encouraging.
Closet Travel: No more!
Most of the clients for Indjapink come from Western Europe, US and Canada. They get around 20-30 enquiries and serve around 3-4 guests every month and even though they only cater to gay men, they do get many enquiries from the lesbian community as well. Sanjay says that currently Indjapink is dedicated to men only, but biased it is not. Their publicity is mostly through word-of-mouth or internet based. A cursory glance at some of the travel forums showed me the interest for Indjapink in the gay community. There were also people praising the website, deeming it to be informative and well-designed.
Things are definitely turning up for the gay community in India and the future looks quite promising. Sanjay has a lot of plans for the future, one of them is about having exclusive guest homes for gay men in India which he says he is going to put it into action very soon. We at Pink Pages wish him and Indjapink all the best for the future!
That's a great initiative. Hope the fight for well deserved equality continues!
nice informations man, thank you a lot!
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hey dear!!it was just by a co incidence dat i read about dis unique concept of un inhibated travel concept with no holds barred or without any fear,enxiety,or humiliation!!
wish u all "'ALL D BEST AT ALL TIMES FOR EVER & EVER"""MUBI,LONAVALA.
After an eight day tour of Rajasthan with Indjapink I am, ultimately, very disappointed with the trip.
Indja’s strength is their people; prompt and pleasant email exchanges while arranging the trip, lovely airport greeting, great guides (mostly) and charming dinner companions (mostly).
Unfortunately what they promise (and what you pay for) is, in many cases, very different from what you actually receive.
I live in South Asia and am familiar with the region’s overuse of superlatives when describing things. However I would have thought that a professional travel agent, dealing with foreigners, would adhere to generally accepted terms when describing hotels and other products offered.
“Fine dining” turned out to be in a family style restaurant; “Luxury accommodations” were in fact three star characterless hotels/guest houses; a cooking class, described as “a two to three hour journey through the culinary delights of Rajasthan” was in fact a 15 minute stand up in the very basic kitchen of the guide; “dinner with a local noble family” was is a lower middle-class home in a dusty village, served outside the family toilet”; one of their “gay or gay friendly guides” (the one whose wife conducted the “cooking class”) asked embarrassing/insulting questions about my marital status; one of the massages offered was in a broken down center, with a TV blaring and kids screaming, next to an iron workshop etc etc.
Read Loverorient’s review on Trip Advisor.com and it appears he has the same issues I have – failure to deliver what was promised.
I raised the problems with Indja’s staff on my return to Delhi and they seemed surprised. After a month’s cordial email correspondence they finally offered me “in good faith” a refund of about US$175 refund. An insult really considering the tour price was over $400 per day!
Using Injapink was ultimately a waste of money and time. If you are still going to give them a go, I strongly recommend you do the following:
Get them to guarantee specific hotels and restaurants then do some on-line checking of your own to make sure they are what Inja says they are.
Ensure they give specific details on products such as cooking classes, tours, activities. DO NOT rely on subjective descriptions, ask for specifics.
Insist on Kedar Singh as your driver, but make sure you know what type of car you will be driven in – particularly if the tour is an extended driving tour.
Seriously consider if the ‘pink’ touches, such as dinner companions (who were not, thank heavens, ‘escorts’ but charming men), gay masseurs and gay friendly guides are really worth the additional charges
A friend and I just got back from a week in India and I have nothing but good things to say about my experience with Indjapink. This was my first (and possibly only) trip to India, so I was looking for an experience that combined seeing the sights, learning about the culture and socializing with gay Indians. Indjapink delivered. Sanjay, the owner, and Krishan helped me plan an itinerary which included Delhi, Varanasi (a must), Jaipur and Agra. Like some of the other posts I was concerned about wiring funds to India and I would have preferred using a credit card to make the deposit. After a little research I learned you can buy certain forms of trip insurance to protect yourself if a tour agency doesn’t deliver as contracted. But as I planned my itinerary, Indjapink’s responsiveness made me comfortable and in the end I did not purchase trip insurance. Prior to booking with Indjapink, I compared Indjapink’s price to identical itineraries with a couple of travel agencies here in the US. Indjapink’s total price was almost identical and Indjapink comes with the extras (the massages, etc.). I can’t tell you how good a massage feels after a 15 hour non-stop flight from Chicago! Upon arrival in Delhi, Indjapink was there to greet us in the arrivals hall and at every stop thereafter. I’ve spent my career in the hotel business and have stayed at hotels all over the world. The Te in Delhi is a nice boutique hotel similar to a Kimpton here in the US. The Gateway hotels in Varanasi and Agra are similar to a full service Marriott or Sheraton. The Tree of Life resort in Jaipur is quite luxurious – in fact I wish we had spent less time sightseeing in Jaipur and just hung out at the resort! The restaurants at each of the hotels offer Continental and Chinese fare as alternatives to Indian meals if you need a little comfort food from home. All of our guides were very professional and knowledgeable and we felt very comfortable with them. The escorts were smart, up to date on current events and easy to talk to. The massages were better than average. As part of my trip planning, I was aware that driving in India is a little crazier than here in the US. Our driver, Keher was outstanding. We felt completely safe with him and he was very professional. The car was always immaculately clean and comfortably air conditioned. In summary, Indjapink provides a very good value for the money. Their services are flawless. Bob, Chicago