India: Chapter 1

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Hey Hey! Greetings from India :D

Are you sitting comfortably....

We arrived safely in Delhi after a smooth 9 hour flight. Wasn't too bad - had "Interactive Screens". Me being the big baby I am, I spent most of the flight entertained by the Games :D

Our first view of India was a Taxi drive to our Hotel - and I can tell you it was an absolute culture shock from word go! The roads are shared by everything, ranging from buses with people on the roof, down to bikes competing to see how many people they could cram on (the most we saw was 7!!), to cows and camels. There was plenty of poverty along the roadsides. This made us kind of sad at first, but its all part of the experience.
On the first evening we checked into our hotel and just collapsed asleep - I think from a mixture of exhaustion and excitement.

The next day we were greeted by a hilarious Tour Guide (seriously, this guy was a walking stereotype; all he needed was a glass eye or maybe a fez). He kept saying 'Lovvy Jubby". Lucy told him that in Birmingham we prefer "great" or "wicked". After 5 minutes of him saying "Wicked wicked wicked", Lucy told him she preferred "Lovvy Jubby"....
He offered us some tour options and we ended up booking a Tour with him of the North Indian Sites.

On the Morning we took in a few sites; India Gate (Average), Parliament Buildings (Average), Humulayan's Tomb (Fantastic) and The Museum (Good - Apart from the exhibits that seemed to look distinctly like statues someone had tried to sell us on the road!!). We had a couple ask to have their photo taken with us!! A bit weird but we went along with it. Funny to think that there is an Indian family with us in their photo album!

On the evening we went to watch a "Sound and Light" Display. To call it a sound and light display was a bit misleading as the light consisted of a hand full of floodlights that changed colour now and then. But the whole thing was really interesting. We got an hour long narration of the key history of India.

Spent the next morning driving out to Jaipur. Took in some local sites before checking into the hotel. Oh Yeah, we saw Jude Law at one of the sites. Thought about saying hello and getting a picture, but then decided it would probably be the last thing he wanted. It was quite ironic really; nobody knew who he was and at one stage we were surrounded be people while he just breezed around. I can imagine he loves being somewhere where he's just another western guy :D

Checked into the hotel, and immediately realised that there was something not quite right about a number of the staff!!!

In the evening we went out to see a Buddhist temple. It was only when we pulled up that we realised it was up a big big hill....lined with cattle and little monkeys. Bravely we ventured to the top, photographing little monkeys on the way. Got to the top exhausted and sweating, to be greeted by the most disappointing little building haha! but the view of the city was nice.

Back at Fawlty Towers we relaxed for a bit and then went down for dinner. It was then that we confirmed our fears that some of the hotels staff seemed to be mentally ill!! Of Course I'm not a doctor, but I'd stake a fair amount on it! Throughout the meal we both had fits of giggles which sounds pretty bad, but you had to be there. The staff alternated between glaring at us and fumbling around our table. We were hoping a few other guests to join us at dinner but they never did.....

Next morning we headed out to Agra (Taj Mahal). Stopped at a beautiful mosque/palace on the way. Went to see the 'Red Fort" in the evening. Fantastic buildings and a cracking view out to the Taj Mahal. Got up at 5:30 the next morning, so we could head out and see the Taj Mahal at sunrise. For some reason, in my head it was bigger - Strange how you build up famous places in your head. That said, it was a really impressive sight and the views out to the river were amazing.

Headed back to hotel to rest and then to Agra Train Station. Then started a 30 Hour (30 Hour!!!!!!!!!) train journey down to Goa. We shared a compartment with a couple from North Yorkshire. Think we were all relieved as it made the journey very much more bearable. It was during this journey that I got my first case of the belly aches so far 😞 This would have been ok had the train toilet not been a hole in the floor. The staff on the train were really good and the guys who were wondering up and down with food/drink made us giggle a few times.

Got into Goa at 20:30 last night. Got to our cute little bungalow and collapsed in bed. Woke up this morning and ventured out. I was pretty pissed off because I thought the beach would be close by. Turns out it is about 150 yards away.....what a chore!

Our first impressions of Goa are very, very positive. So far all we've done is chill on the beach (me getting burned of course) and wrote this blog.

So look forward to an update when we've explored a bit more.

Anyway, must dash got a date with a beach towel. Sorry - photo uplaoding not working at the moment. We'll try to add them later.

Ta Ta for now
Dan and Lucy

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Comments

[dave murray]

loving it!
i am loving it your blog that is . keep up the good work. how do you create a new possession in pps ?