Reviews
Below are some of my recent reviews.
Most of them are posted on my Facebook reviews page, which you can see here.
Silas Fisher (January 2018)
Not like the rest! This bloke is a diamond amongst the rough.
Just stumbled across him while looking for an auto to Sanarth.
Humble and well educated, Monoj really did look after us without being too involved, it was a great balance. His knowledge about the area and history during the tour was very good and we learnt a lot.
If you are looking for a guide for a few hours or a few days while in Varanasi or the surrounding areas, Monoj would be an excellent choice!
Thanks mate.
Yoram Biberman (October 2017)
I think that Manoj is very tuned to his clients, trying to understand what interests them, and showing them what they would found fascinating.
Manoj has great interpersonal relationship, this helps him with the clients, and also with the subjects the clients want to photograph.
This also enables him to have many ties in Varanasi.
For example: I heard that there are 'widow houses' in Varanasi, where old ladies can live. Manoj did not know about it, and could not find any useful information on the net. So he asked a few people that he knows, until he got the information about two such places. Then, when we went to the places, he knew how to talk to the people there, so they would enable us visit, and take photos.
Manoj knows Varanasi like his palm, and knows the people in town very well, and therefore can help one reach many places, and open many doors.
Manoj never rests. He always wants to develop, learn new things and broaden his knowledge and skills.
My impression is that Manoj wants to be able to help more tourists and locals than he currently does.
Already today, when Manoj was not able to go with me, he found other people, which he instructed, and could take me to places.
His motivation was to help me, and his colleagues (that are sometimes in need).
I think that Manoj is satisfied when he succeeds in helping people: both his clients and local people
(and he is upset when he feels his clients are not happy [often, not because of him, but because they are so…])
Manoj tries all the time to develop in photography too. He learns from his clients and from the internet,
so he can assist his clients professionally (in photography) , and not only guide them, or fix things for them.
Manoj has been to other countries as well, and this helps his to understand Western customers better than many local people.
Lobke Malfait (November 2017)
Manoj is the best guide/ fixer if you want to explore beyond the normal places. Takes you to places to experience the real India. He is a very good person with a hart of gold. Best experience in India we had. Highly recommend.
Wim Arys (November 2017)
Manoj is a fantastic guide for photography trips. I would highly recommended his services to anyone who needs a safe and very reliable fixer in Varanasi. And he is a very kind and wonderful person too.
5 plus plus plus plus stars
Peter Christiaens (October 2017)
Manoj is a very good guide . He speaks very well English and brings you to places other tourists will not see . Also did he explains me lots about the culture in India and about Hinduism and Buddhism . It you want a very good guide , he is the man !
Inbar Shkury (October 2017)
We enjoyed a one-day tour in varanasi with manoj and it was wonderful. I recommend for all who wants to experience this place in an interesting way. :-)
Jan Nazell (October 2017)
12 Oct. - My Varanasi driver and guide was a hero 12 Oct. 2010
-----------------------
A bomb blasted and everyone escaped, and left dead and injured people on the ground. Three heroes are mentioned in this article. My driver and guide from yesterday, Manoj, used his tuk tuk as a shuttle and drow injured people to the nearest hospital.
He was my guide in both Sarnath and in Varanasi, yesterday. I was impressed about five qualities:
1. He is very humble, which might be due to that he grow up on the countryside and maintain himself as he always was.
2. He is very different from any other Indian guide I met. He doesn't try to cheat or lie. He sticks with his word.
3. He is well educated from the University, where he for example studied history. This together with his cultural and religious knowledge made him as a good guide for me.
4. His English skills are good and as he is a very social person. Both qualities makes it easy to become friends.
5. He has a natural talent as a Bussiness person. He look and puts full attention on you and what you are interested in. He wants to give customer what they are really interested in. Very flexible i non standardized tours. He look for long term relations. Many new customers contacts him after recommendations from old.
Please contact him on WhatsApp +919935956290
Marthe Kolman (September 2017)
Manoj is by far the best guide/driver/fixer/guy we've met in India!
He took us to several non- touristic places in and around Varanasi and told us many interesting facts about Indian culture, religion and his own life, which I found truly inspiring. He understood our (somehow strange) requests very well.
Thanks to him, we finally managed to visit a car/ truck graveyard and we ended up in a maternity party in a small village.
So if you are in Varanasi, don't doubt and contact Manoj, he will be happy to meet you!
Chris Kutler (September 2017)
Manoj is a really trustworthy and friendly guy. He really helped us find our way around. He knows when to help and when to give you a bit of space.
He also helped us learn a little Hindi, which went a long way!
Sira Perez (September 2017)
We were in Varanasi for some days, and thanks to life that we met Manoj. He was not only our way of transportation but also a friend.
He guided us to places that otherwise we would have not discovered, and whatever we wanted to find (a shop of something in particular, a pharmacy, etc) he knew exactly where to find it and accompanied us all the way through.
So if you want to be taken good care of and feel like you're visiting Varanasi with a friend, do not doubt and contact Manoj, he's your man!
Angele Esposito (September 2017)
L'Inde, un pays aux multiples facettes ! Vous en reviendrez avec une valise d'émotions...
En faisant une halte à Varanasi ,vous découvrirez une ville surprenante. Laissez vous guider par Manoj et partez en toute tranquillité explorer cette ville effervescente ! Et riche en histoire et traditions.
Manoj et un guide fort sympathique qui saura vous faire aimer sa ville et vous conduira aussi bien vers des sites touristiques que des marchés en immersion totale avec ce peuple si attirant.Soyez curieux et Manoj vous transmettra d'autant plus sa philosophie de vie ses croyances et vous transportera dans un monde si différent!
Partez à la rencontre de Varanasi et de Manoj et vous serez enthousiasmés !