Advertisement
Published: July 26th 2008
Due to our bargaining and pure tightness over the last three months we are left with a few spare rupee's in our pocket to blow lavishly in our final few weeks so Chandigarh was left in the dust of our taxi ride to Dehra Dun. It wasn't really meant to be a one night stopover but the town didn't really hold much appeal so we checked into a posh place, didn't really do a lot just planned our escape to Mussoorie which was one hour by a local grueller.
Our arrival to Mussoorie was met with a monsoon battering. Mussoorie is a hill station and as such there are quite a few hills around the area so when the bus parked at the stop there was a slight problem. The deluge had created a road river right next to where we were supposed to alight the bus. With a big bag on your back wading through fast flowing shin level water is a little difficult. We all made it across to the bus shelter however this too was beginning to fill up so we had to stand in ankle deep water hoping that it wasn't going to rise anymore. And
then, as if someone out there had turned off the tap the rain suddenly stopped and the water receded.
Mussoorie looks very similar to Shimla, it was built by the British hundreds of years ago and has a definate seaside feel about it. The main drag was always busy with people so wanting to get away from them for awhile we took a walk around camel's rocks and were absolutely astounded by the views of the distant Himalayas.
Two buses later and we made it to Rishikesh a bit sweaty, we somehow had overlooked the small fact that tuk-tuks can't drive over the bridge to Lakshman Jhula so we endured a ten minute walk through the hot, crowded bazaar and over the bridge to get to Jaipur Inn. The place was heavy with gurus and piligrims and all that samey Indian philosophy and spiritualism but unlike the majority we enjoyed the place for its cafes and spent hours watching the monkeys and cows use the bridge as a crossing.
The Ganges is supposed to be a holy place where Hindu pilgrims come and bathe in the fast flowing water however we were left a little disappointed when
we caught sight of mountains of rubbish beside the river. Seems such a shame that a place which holds so much importance can be left uncared for. I think the only creatures that like the rubbish are the cows. In India they are more scavagers than farm animals but I suppose at least they provide some form of recycling, even if they do end up eating plastic bags and getting ill.
We spent a few hours marching over to the Swarm Ashram, the area famed for housing the Beatles in the late 60s while they too looked for spritual enlightenment amongst the piles of cow shite! One would suspect that it was quite a sight back then however time hasn't really done it any favours. It doesn't help that the place has been taken over by the forest control department or rather department of couldn't care less. Instead of flogging it as the place to stay it looks more inkeeping with King Solomans mines.
The slightly sour tasting cauliflower, the only suspect, from the night before made No rather ill however we pressed on to Haridwar like brave soldiers to pursue the Ganges further downhill. Har-ki-pairi ghat is
the popular bathing area which attracts thousands of people offering candles and flowers. The river current seems even more vicious in Haridwar and I couldn't believe some people were attempting to swim from one side to the other. The evening offering ceremonies were stopped by the torrential monsoon rain which came down for an hour leaving us drinking fizzy drinks in a fast food hole in the wall.
9am sharp and much to our surprise the travel agent whom we booked our bus tickets with was at our door ready to escort us to the bus stop, such service. Unfortunately the bus, which was private non AC, turned out to be awful. Making so many stops enroute back to Delhi meant we moved at a glacial pace all day, it would have been quicker to get a state bus.
Having been sat next to an open window for eight hours we turned up at Dehli looking like we had just run the Dakar Rally and subsquently got turned away from two hotels, firstly beacause I (a woman) asked if they had any rooms and secondly that we looked like dirty pykes. With nowhere else to go we checked
into the next best thing we could, dived into the shower, got scrubbed up and went back to one of the hotels that turned us away for some fun.
Looking all posh in his polo shirt No did the talking this time and the guys behind reception couldn't have been nicer and better still offered to show us not one but three empty rooms, you beauty. After all the traveller places we have just been it seems all of a sudden appearances do count and the old fashioned ways of men dealing with men seem alive and well.
Our bus to Jaipur was meant to leave at 6am, however as with all private buses the concept of time doesn't exist so we finally left at 8am. The whole miserable journey took seven hours instead of five and we were dropped off at Amber, 11km from Jaipur. Anyway we found a nice auto rickashaw for R80 and headed off in search of somewhere to park ourselves for a few days, in the end we settled with Karni Narwas Guesthouse.
No's stupendous tightness meant he had amassed a rather large collection of the very rare and much sort after
R10 note. Jaipur being a city spread out meant this soon depleted the R10 stash with the numerous rickashaws we had to take. First stop was the City Palace, home to the Maharaja. In with our ticket price we got a handy audio guide which explained all about the different sections in the palace. There was a little section on clothing which I loved; all the old fashioned Sari's were much more decorative then the ones around today. There was also a wonderful courtyard with four doors which were painted to portray the different seasons.
Next we made a pit-stop at Hawa Mahal, from the street the big pink building looked very grand however on the other side there was enough scaffolding to support the remaking of the Titanic. Don't know whether its just us but we seem to come across a lot of building in India, even the Taj was ungoing a refurb. We had a walk around the building nevertheless and consoled ourselves with the great views of the old city from the roof.
Blistfully in my own world shopping around the bazaars of the old city it was odd to think that only a few
months ago bombs had gone off near this area. It certainly didn't deter the sellers, locals or tourists. After a choccy dohnut in Coffee Day Cafe we headed to Amber Fort. The fort looms in the background as you leave the main city centre of Jaipur and gets ever bigger the closer you get. The auto-rickashaw dropped us off at the bottom and we walked to the top accompanied by several elephants taking tourists on their backs to the entrance.
Inside the fort there are several halls; Hall of Public Audience, Hall of Victory and Hall of Pleasure. Roaming around the rabbit warren of tunnels, stairwells and corridors history just passes you by and you find yourself wondering whether the tuk-tuk man that said he would wait has driven off.
Getting back to Delhi was much more pleasant than previous experiences which was quite nice as this was our last bus journey. A quick tuk-tuk ride and check-in to our hotel we got ourselves over to Paharganj and spent a grand on dinner! By indian standards the food was massively overpriced but considering it was our last proper dinner out in India and of the trip we thought
sod it and blazed away.
Easier read than done, we somehow managed to keep a record of the trip in terms of vital statistics.
TIME
9 Months
276 Days
6,624 Hours
397,440 Minutes
23,846,400 Seconds
HOTELS
110 Beds Slept In
24 Nights, Most Time Spent In One Place (Campervan)
£3.30 Cheapest Room (Vietnam)
£70 Expensive Room (Vietnam)
Best Room Brisbane Oz
Worst Room Maryville Caravan Park NT OZ
TRAVEL
18 Flights
12 Taxis
81 Buses
65 Auto Rickashaws / Cyclos
8 Ferries
4 Hired Push Bikes
3 Hired Cars / Vans
2 Hired Scooters
DAYS OUT
Best Day: Snorkelling On Great Barrier Reef, Oz
Worst Day: 13 Hour Night Train to Guilin, China
Best Sight: Taj Mahal, India
Disappointing Sight: Hollywood Blv, LA
MEMORABLE MOMENTS
Sea Kayaking Around Akaiami Island, Cook Islands
Cycling Around Lime Stone Peaks Yangzhou, China
Sailing Around Halong Bay, Vietnam
Campervaning in NZ
Indian Street Life
THE LIST OF THINGS WE TOOK AND NEVER BROUGHT BACK
2 Pair Shorts
1 Pair Jeans
3 Pair Socks
1 Chain
1 Small Suitcase
1 Belt
4 Vests
7 T-shirts
2 Polo Shirts (1 Lost)
2 Pairs Sandals
1 Bed Shorts
2 Long
Lightweight Trousers
1 Mp3 Player (Lost)
2 Zip-up Cardigans
2 Sets Snorkel Gear
1 Baseball Hat
2 Towels
2 Pairs Sun Glasses
1 China Guide
1 China Phrase Book
2 Pairs Gloves
2 Wash Bags
1 Packer Mack (lost)
1 Umbrella
2 Pens (lost)
4 Plastic Plates
1 Zippo Lighter
1 LED Palm Torch
1 Dress
1 Bra
1 Flip Flop
3 Books
1 Sarong
FINANCIAL STATEMENT
Oh I think we'll leave that one out of the published version!
Well thats it for this trip, we can't believe where the time has gone. Thanks to our viewers for reading all our blogs, both of you really stuck by us through it all. Sorry it didn't read very well but you try it! I'm glad we kept it up, it will be something to look back at one day when we've got too involved with ourselves, remind us what else is going on outside the bubble. While we're at it we'd like to put our hands together in rememberance of the the first ever travellers and writers who have paved the way for the enjoyment and enlightenment of your average punter, like us....amen.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.05s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 8; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0296s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Michelle B
non-member comment
Bravo!
Well done - I can't believe you have kept a fantastic record of hotels and transport taken!! Incredible journey and I have enjoyed reading all the blogs, you will have to down load a copy of these blogs for future reference when you are organising all your photos! - See you both very soon Michelle xx