India First Blog

---

Nibby: So, our epic journey has began!!! And what better way to start it off than with a big fat reality check slap across the chops! India that is. You can never really be prepared for India no matter how many Imodiums you pack or Curries you eat before you arrive. It's not what we imagined it to be.

Our first stop- Delhi.
The first few days weren't too bad, I was able to deal with the 2 lane traffic made into 5 lane traffic and the horrendous stench from all the filth laying at the side of the road. I could even put up with the little kids pulling at my top begging for 2 rupees... my patience soon worn thin!!! There was lots to see and do in and around Delhi. Lots of temples and lots of walks, oh and lots of people trying ( and succeeding in some cases) to rip us off. I think it's safe to say we were both ready to move on from Delhi after a couple of days. Next big step... Indian rail network!!!

Varanasi
Our journey on the trains to Varanasi turned out to be a very enjoyable experience. We shared our (curtained) compartment with some other travellers Emelie (Swedish) and Anthony (Auzzie Boy). It was refreshing to hear about other peoples experiences of India. We ended up staying in the same hotel and booked an early morning (sunrise) boatride with them. It was a struggle getting up but well worth it. Interesting to see all the locals washing in the river with the rising sun hitting the ghats. Check out the photos. Other than the boat ride there wasn't a whole lot to do in Varanasi. It was quite a poor area so we were happy to be moving on... Another train journey.

Agra (Taj Mahal)
First class air con all the way to Agra! Thats the way to travel! We had our own compartment which locked and everything! AMAZING! At the other end we were met by our driver, Ashu, who was to stay with us for the next 10 days. Much less stress having your own driver, even if he does drive like a lunatic (standard driving in India though). Our sunrise visit to the great Taj Mahal was a memorable experience and that alone has made this trip to India worthwhile. We were really able to enjoy it before the blazing sun got too high. Although I would have enjoyed it slightly more if I hadn't been dosed up on Imodiums!

Ranthambore National Park
We travelled through, what we call, 'real India' to get to our next destination. Villages and farmland with people working, and children collecting water from wells. It wasn't very plesant stopping ever as people would surround the car staring in at us. They don't get many tourists round that way! Our early morning safari was great! We saw so many endangered species- peacocks, deer, monkeys. Tee Hee Hee!!! To be honest we were slightly disappointed. No tigers out to play, and the guys we were on the tour with were really annoying!

Jaipur
By the time we got to Jaipur I had decided that I was ready to leave India. We'd done it now lets go... Unfortunately we still had a week and a half left! Lots of temples and lots of forts to see in Jaipur. By this point we were feeling pretty templed out! Got ripped off by yet another Tuk-Tuk driver, (they can be so mean!) and I had just had enough of all the staring and giggles. A couple of times I had to hold back from saying ' you wanna take a picture!?!'

Pushkar
The quiet, religious town of Pushkar. The best way to get around was by bike as no hire cars (tuk-tuks, taxis) are allowed in the town centre. We had to follow strict rules while there- no touching, kissing or alcohol. Funnily enough the first thing the waiter in out hotel asked us was did we want them to get some beers in!!! They know us westerners too well! Us non-rule breakers politely declined. Did some more sight seeing in Pushkar and a little shopping too. Bought some beautiful leather photo albums for our memories of our year round the world. Just got to get them home now!

Udaipur (via Ranakpur and Kumbhalgarh)
OUr longest and most stressful day yet (for me anyway), was our journey from Pushkar to Udaipur. We were travelling most of the day and I somehow managed to strain my hand from holding on so tight the whole way! Even with my eyes closed and my mp3 player up to max I could still imagine the huge dump trucks pelting towards us as we dangerously overtake 1, 2, 3 trucks! Happy to get out of the death waggon, we stopped off for lunch and a temple visit in Ranakpur...

Matty - The two stops on car trip were Ranakpur and Kumbhalgarh the first was pretty impressive temple with 1444 pillars all slightly different and there was a great big tree growing right through the middle of it. Kumbalgarh was much more impressive after 45 mins of Mountain roads you know the proper windey ones single track with a 50ft drop the other side and no crash barrier here I had to tell the driver to chill out a bit!!!! The Fort was worth the drive according to the book the Second most important Mogul fort and since it was built 14Century it was only lost once and that was retaken a couple of days later, the view from the top of here was amazing the Sun was setting and the layers of mountains we could see was many. On the way up though a dog chased Nibby and really upset her I chased it away by throwing water on it but the damage was done.


Nibby - Of all our stop offs Udaipur has been the nicest so far, the people are much friendlier here, there isn't quite so much poverty as there has been in other places and Matty's made friends with some of the locals. As we were walking down one of the market streets he spotted a couple of guys playing his favourite sixth form common room game, Carrom. Unable to just walk past he challenged them to a game. To all their surprise he won! This got the locals interested and he soon got a small croud watching. He's unable to beat the master though. He's just a bit too good!

We're moving on to Mumbai in a couple of hours, both of us Imodiumed up to the max. Unfortunately we weren't able to dodge the dreaded Delhi-belly, it's just a shame it's hit us both when we have a 10 hour bus ride ahead of us without a toilet in it! Wish us luck!!! Not sure what to expect from Mumbai. There's a massive 55% of the people living in slums! Wow! Thats a hell of a lot! Bring on nice, shiny clean, Singapore. on 6th May!!!

Matty - On the whole I am very glad we came to India and happy we came here first I would hate this to have been the final memory of our trip!!! Yes the poverty is bad, and the place very dirty and lots of people trying to make extra money out of us white people but if I lived here i would probably be doing everything i could to make life easier/better/nicer for myslef too and if that meant getting a little extra money because the guy is a westerner then i would do it. We have met some genuily nice people and some that are very intrigued. The heat here has been a major factor (mostly 40+) and i think would be much nicer in a cooler tempature.

Bring on Mumbai !!

---