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Published: December 5th 2009
Sunday 29th November Another nail-biting trip to the airport in a somewhat dubious taxi. As we were going along the driver kept opening his door and looking backwards. At one time he stopped the car and checked that all four wheels were still in place before finally rattling to a stop at Cairo airport. Our route to India was through Jordan so we had to fly to Amman, wait four hours, and then fly on to Delhi arriving in the early hours of Monday morning. Everything went pretty smoothly (except for Terry having his leg scalded by hot tea on the plane!) so we landed about 4:30am. Our taxi, in a very similar state to the one in Cairo, eventually got us to the hotel and we managed to persuade them to let us have a room early as we weren't actually booked in until later in the day. Having travelled all through the night we just wanted to get our heads down and sleep.
Monday 30th November We woke about 11:00am to the sound of loads of children singing 'This Old Man' in English outside our window. On looking out we saw that we were opposite a primary school
and they seem to use the playground as the school hall. They had an electric keyboard and there was lots of singing and dancing, with groups of children going up on a kind of stage and performing for the others. It felt just like home from home and slightly surreal at the same time because all the songs were English sing-a-long songs but the voices were Indian. We ventured out of the hotel to explore a bit and found ourselves in a huge street market. People, stalls, bicycles, tuk-tuks everywhere. After having had a bit of a look round (we felt a bit too overwhelmed to do more yet) we went back to the hotel for our group meeting with our new tour leader, Animesh, and the other members of the group. There are nine of us again (three Germans, two Australians, and four English) and a variety of ages although all seem to be seasoned travellers and should be an interesting mix. Ben (Australia), Vanessa (Australia), Rosie and Jo (England), Manuel (Germany), Petra (Germany) and Ina (Germany but living in New Zealand). It is clearly going to be a much more challenging trip than the previous one, mainly because
we will be using local transport rather than out own mini bus and we have to fend for ourselves much more than before. Still. An 'opportunity to grow' as we in education call it!! Animesh took us to a very good restaurant tonight - curry of course.
Tuesday 1st December Well today we've been into the centre of Delhi and are still reeling from the shock. We thought we were prepared for it but we weren't really. Animesh took us on the metro and warned us that you have to be prepared to push your way on and off if you're going to get anywhere. He wasn't joking. We were absolutely jam packed in like sardines and still more and more people squeezed themselves in. When we eventually managed to force our way out the other end Terry realised his pocket had been picked and his wallet, containing cash we had just drawn and a credit card, had gone. A bit of a blow to say the least. Still, nothing we could do about it except cancel the credit card, use the small amount of money I had an me to get us through the day and look at
the experience as another 'opportunity to grow!! The hustle and bustle of Delhi is indescribable. Everywhere there are people, some clearly quite well off, but mainly very poor and trying to scrape a living any way they can. The roads heave with every kind of vehicle hooting and screeching, weaving in and out of people, dogs, street vendors, children, hand carts, all heading in different directions. The obvious poverty is very hard to take, especially the children, some hardly old enough to walk, who beg on every street corner. We went first to Jama Masjid, Delhi's oldest mosque where we had to remove our shoes. I also had to wear a long flowery robe over my clothes (just so not my style). It was quite interesting and nicely decorated in red sandstone and white marble but we've been to quite a few mosques in our time and this, although quite large, was not particularly special. After that we visited Sheeshgani Gurudwara, a Sikh temple, which was a new experience for us. Again we had to remove our shoes and also tie a yellow cloth to cover our heads. The temple was entered via a kind of water bath to clean
your feet . Inside was carpeted and richly decorated. There were quite a few people praying and some women singing while a man seemed to be carrying out some kind of ceremony but there is no priest as such and I think this kind of activity goes on all day. One of the things all Sikh temples do it provide food for anyone who wants it, however rich or poor they are. They feed about 3000 people a day at this particular one. We went to the food kitchens and watched how they made the chapatis. Everyone is encouraged to help so I sat down with some Indian ladies and rolled out some dough. They then showed me how to cook them on a giant hot plate and we watched them puff up like balloons before transferring them to flame to brown them. We had the afternoon free to explore on our own by as we were still a bit shell shocked from losing the wallet we just found ourselves a nice colonial style cafe and had a nice cup of tea - very British!
Wednesday 2nd December Animesh warned us yesterday that we had an 8 hour bus
journey ahead of us today with only one 10 minute stop for the loo so we weren't looking forward to the day at all. We had to set off very early to get to the bus station to be first in the queue to ensure that all of us and our luggage would get on. The journey was pretty dreadful and the bus just like those you've seen in films with people crammed on and hanging out the windows. This was a Government bus so no one was allowed on the roof but as the day wore on it got more and more packed. In Delhi, where the traffic was solid and the doors of the bus open, street vendors would clamber aboard and try to sell you crisps sweets or watches until the conductor shoved them off. The whole thing was a nightmare but funny at the same time. The loo stop was terrible as wild horses wouldn't have dragged me in to that particular facility. We had some snacks and water with us but didn't dare consume any of it. I can tell you 8 hours and no loo is no mean feat! We arrived in Mandawa in
the middle of the afternoon and transferred to Tuk-tuks which took as to our accommodation for the next two nights. When we arrived and saw where we were staying the horrors of the day faded away completely. Mandawa was on the old trade route to China and Persia and was the home of rich merchants. Although none of merchant remain (they all moved to the big cities when the type of trade changed) their mansions called haveli are still here. Many are crumbling ruins but others have been restored and have become hotels. They all have two courtyards, the outer one was for men and business and the inner one was the domain of the women. From this inner courtyard numerous rooms open on two floors with a continuous balcony running round the upper floor and then there is a roof terrace. All the walls are beautifully decorated with frescoes of Hindu gods and everyday life and everything is cool and calm with lots of low seating. Our room was charming and we even had a shower with hot water - bliss! We went up on the roof to watch the sun set. There were about 15 or 20 little
kites in the sky (remember 'The Kite Runner'?) and a peacock sitting on a nearby roof. After the sun set we had a wonderful meal on the canopied part of the roof followed by some Rajasthani dancing and a puppet show. Later we heard lots of music and hooting in the street and looked down to see a wedding procession with the bridegroom in magnificent clothes riding on a horse. There were fireworks and lots of merriment. These people certainly know how to party! We finished the evening sitting round an open fire in the courtyard drinking Masala chi (tea boiled with goats milk, ginger and cardamon). What a fantastic experience this evening had been - now I know why we made this trip.
Thursday 3rd December After a good night's sleep we went on a walking tour of Mandawa this morning. Mandawa is a small market town and quite different to Delhi. It is much more rural and there are donkey carts, camel carts as well as some vehicles. Goats and cows wander the streets, everything is much calmer and more relaxed and it is much cleaner. We visited a Hindu temple and some other haveli and took
in the local atmospheric. We were going to go for a bike ride this afternoon but when we saw the bikes we chickened out and decided to catch up on the blogging, emailing etc instead as there are so few opportunities to do so and you guys back home might think we've forgotten you.
Friday 4th December Another long bus journey today to reach Bikaner. We were staying in another haveli, not as picturesque as in Mandawa but still pretty good. After sorting ourselves out we set off for the Junagarh Fort which dominates the town.. It is made of red sandstone and is absolutely huge. It was built at the end of the sixteenth century by the ruler of Bikaner, has never been conquered ,and is still owned by Maharaja of Bikaner to this day. It contains many beautiful palaces and temples and the stone carving is incredible. Inside the palaces are beautifully painted rooms and the detail in the pictures has to be seen to be believed. In the evening we went by jeep out into the countryside to a farm owned by the same family that own the hotel. We sat outside and warmed ourselves by
a big fire while drinks were brought for us. Joy of joys there was gin, no tonic unfortunately but some rather suspect lemonade, and so we were were able to enjoy our favourite Friday night tipple even in a field in the middle of nowhere. Hurray! (Actually it is really difficult to know what day it is as we seem to be within our own little India bubble and haven't a clue what it happening outside it.) After drinks we were taken off in pairs to get dressed up in Indian outfits. Mine was red and gold and very sparkly. It came in four parts, a kind of bra top with sleeves, a long skirt, a tunic that went over the top of this and then a large piece of fabric which was pleated and tucked in around my waist and then taken up over my head to form a veil. There was lots of tinsel and glitter and rather than looking beautiful and elegant as the Indian women do, I looked more like an animated Christmas tree. Terry wore a long striped shirt over a dhoti which is a garment that looks similar to a giant nappy. This outfit
was all topped off with a multi-coloured turban and a rather smart cane. Various dishes of typical Rajastani food was brought to us and there was music and dancing. A good night all round.
Saturday 5th December Today was a day we had all been dreading - The Rat Temple! It is actually called Karni Mata and was built 600 years ago. The story goes that Karni Mata was the goddess who built the temple after making a deal with Yamraj, the god of death, in order to save her nephew. The hundreds of rats that live there are believed to be incarnations of the goddess and are considered sacred. As with all temples, you have to enter bare footed, which is a bit of a challenge with the thought of rats running everywhere. Still, when in Rome... as the saying goes and with some trepidation we removed our shoes and went in. Initially it didn't seem too bad as you could just see a few rats running across the courtyard but as you got further in you could see them in every corner, every ledge and crevice, everywhere you looked. They put down huge bowls of milk for
them and you could see them all sitting round the edge of the bowls, hanging on with their front paws and drinking as it they were at some kind of giant rat tea party. It is considered very lucky if one runs over your foot but we decided this was luck we could do without and just kept hopping from foot to foot to keep out of their way. We left knowing we had SURVIVED THE RAT EXPERIENCE! After the rat temple we went to a Jain temple and another challenging experience. It is believed that 40,000kg of butter was used in place of water to knead the mortar used to construct the temple so all the surfaces were quite slippery. It was also full of pigeons flying everywhere and feathers and bird droppings. An unusual way to spend the morning really, wading through rat shit and then pigeon shit but yet “another opportunity to grow”!
Sunday 6th December Today was another very early start to catch the bus to Jaisalmer. This time it was a private bus but don't be misled by thinking this means luxury. The seats were reasonably comfortable but up above our heads were sleeping
bunks and people were climbing in and out of them throughout the journey and there was much passing of bundles, bags, children and milk churns. The good news was that the roads were better than anticipated and so we arrived by lunchtime. Another haveli to stay in, rather a nice one with several inner courtyards and wonderful rooftop views of Jaisalmer. Fort. Jaisalmer is often called 'The Golden City' as the mighty fort which dominates the city and all the buildings surrounding it are made of golden sandstone. We weren't however going to sleep here tonight as tonight was the night of the great camel safari and desert sleepover. We went by jeep for about an hour out into the desert to meet our camels. Mine was called Peacock, Terry's was Bobo. With much laughing and joking and not a little trepidation we mounted our camels and were off. I have to say that the ride was slightly more comfortable than the one in Egypt which was just as well as it was nearly two hours long - a considerable time to be as one with a hump! It was however quite beautiful with lengthening shadows and the setting sun.
The wind had made amazing patterns on the dunes and it was very peaceful. We rode over many dunes until we came to some flags stuck in the sand and a little man greeted us gleefully with “Welcome to the Desert Moon Resort Camp”. This sounded quite promising until he led us to …. yes, just more sand dunes. We dismounted, bid our camels a fond farewell, and explored the dunes. There were some platforms in a row which we discovered were to be our beds and a stripy wind break affair at a distance which was the loo - this was as close to a room with en-suite as we were going to get. We watched the sun go down which was quite picturesque and then sat round the camp fire while a meal was being prepared. A small group of desert tribes people appeared and did some singing and dancing and we ate our supper and enjoyed a few drinks. We dare not drink too much as we knew it was going to be a long night and the stripy loo affair was a long way away in the dark. The moon was very bright and the stars
were just amazing, a huge sparkly net of them filling the sky - just breath taking. By now it was getting really cold so we piled on as many clothes as we could, got under some quilts and tried to sleep. It was freezing. Actually under the quilt wasn't too bad but it any little bit of you poked out it was so cold it was quite painful There was a strong wind blowing which stung your face so the only way to sleep was to dive right under the covers. Poor Terry's little bald head did not fair well and he got no sleep at all. I managed a kind of intermittent doze. The night seemed interminable but eventually it came to an end and the sun rose about 8am. We can now officially confirm that a night in the desert it not as romantic as it sounds and should only be attempted with six blankets, four quilts, three pairs of socks, a strong bladder and a bobble hat!
Monday 7th December After a very basic breakfast in the desert we returned to Jaisalmer. It is the oldest of the Rajasthan fortified towns and is a wonderful sight
with the huge fort rising out of the desert like a palace from “A Thousand and One Nights”. The city itself is quite small and our hotel was on one of the squares so we could just step out of the hotel and be in the thick of things. After something to eat and sorting ourselves out we went out to explore the city. It is buzzing with a mixture of market stalls, little shops, cows, goats, dogs, tuck-tucks and motor bikes. I've never seen so many motor bikes in my entire life, they were everywhere. Usually the men drive and the women sit, side saddle, on the back with their sari's streaming out behind them. How they don't fall off or get the sari caught in the back wheel is a miracle. We walked up to the fort which is a quite formidable construction. They had many clever tricks to make forts difficult to conquer. For instance there was always a bend in the road before a gateway so that the enemy couldn't charge the gates with elephants and all the stairways were very narrow and twisty so that soldiers would find it difficult to run up them. At
the top of the stairs the doorways were low so that the enemy had to bend forward to get through them, a perfect position for the defenders to stand in wait and chop their heads off. The carving of the sandstone was very intricate and there were several beautifully painted rooms which gave a real flavour of what it must have once been like. After the fort we had a walking tour of the city. One of this things Jaisalmer is well known for is the snack food that they sell. It is made of a chickpea flour mixture, which is then deep fried, and is rather like Bombay Mix without the nuts and lentils. We came across a small factory where a boy was making it. First he made a kind of batter and then pressed it through a large sieve into boiling oil so that it came out in long strings a bit like noodles. Once it was fried golden brown he scooped it out out and broke it into smaller pieces. There were all sorts of different kinds of sieves to make different shapes and thicknesses. The boy's hands were almost in the oil most of the
time, I just don't know how he didn't get badly burned. The shops and stalls were interesting to look at; so brightly coloured and sometimes with such incongruous things being sold together. In the evening we had a very good meal on a rooftop over looking the city and went to bed pretty early as we were still shattered from the night before.
Tuesday 8th December Today was a free day with nothing particular arranged so we took the opportunity to not do very much and relax. In the morning we went to look at some particularly fine havelis which had been the homes of prime ministers and wealthy merchants. Jaisalmer was on 'The Silk Route' and therefore the home of many rich and influential families and it certainly showed in the houses they had built. The carving of the stone was very fine and the views from the roof tops stunning. We did a bit of shopping as I wanted to get a couple of cool cotton tops to wear and that in itself was an experience. It is almost impossible to 'just look' at anything as you are immediately pounced upon and invited in. Each tiny entrance,
which looks little more than a stall, leads to to several rooms lined with shelves stacked with goods. If you say you want a top, for instance, top after top is pulled out and shown to you in a rainbow of colours. It is quite usual for you to sit on the floor and all the items to be spread out in front of you in an ever growing heap. It is at this point that you realise you have to buy something, out of sheer embarrassment, as the poor shopkeeper will have to spend about two hours putting it all away again. I chose three tops and we managed to bargain the price down but everything is pretty cheap anyway. Another good meal tonight on yet another rooftop. The food had all been very good so far. I think we are very fortunate that our guide, Animesh, really likes eating and so he takes us to some super restaurants. The food is always cooked to order so it takes a long time to be served, usually at least an hour, but it is worth waiting for. Terry is coping pretty well considering he isn't all that keen on curry.
Most of the dishes are spiced rather than hot and mainly vegetarian. We're not always sure what we are ordering but so far we've been very lucky in our choices.
Wednesday 9th December A full morning's bus journey took us across the desert to Jodhpur. It was freezing on the bus for the first couple of hours and the usual jumble of people, baggage and horn blasting. Rajasthan is in the Thar desert and so much of the landscape is pretty barren with just scrubby trees and isolated plots of cultivated land. Jodhpur is the home of the colossal Meherangarh Fort which dominates the city skyline. Our hotel was on the edge of the city which meant some fairly hair-raising rides in tuck-tucks to get to the centre which is almost as busy as Delhi. We did a walking tour of the old city, below the fort, through the Sadar Bazaar which is one of the oldest in India. Here there were stalls piled high with many, many different spices, others with bangles and jewellery, pots and pans and clouds of beautiful, richly decorated saris and textiles. I love looking at the way the women dress, so colourful and
elegant. Even everyday dress seems to involve sparkles and rich colour combinations and groups of ladies glide down the street, like flocks of exotic birds, in a myriad of colours and glittering gold or silver bangles. This evening we had our most elegant meal yet on the roof of a very beautiful old haveli in the centre of the city with stunning views of the floodlit fort and the palace. The waiters looked very splendid in khaki uniforms and large orange turbans. The meal, our most expensive yet, was still less an £15 for the two of us.
Thursday 10th December We visited Meherangarh Fort this morning, a huge pink sandstone construction, perched high on an outcrop of stone, so quite a steep climb up. It is an imposing sight and certainly must have struck fear in the hearts of the enemy. Behind the ramparts and the gates lies a very handsome residential palace. The balconies of the Royal Harem (zenana) have screens (jalis) of delicate, pierced stone latticework through which the ladies of the harem could peep out to watch the world below. There were also luxuriously embroidered elephant howdahs and ladies palanquins as well as very ornate
babies cradles. On the gateway were the hand prints of the wives of the Maharaja. These they left when they went to commit sati and die on their husband's funeral pyre. I guess the trick was to make sure you married a young, fit maharaja or it could be a pretty short life as a wife! From the Fort you get a spectacular view of the city below and can see why Jodhpur is known as 'The Blue City'. Many of the houses are painted bright blue with indigo to preserve them and ward off insects. Tonight we ate at a completely different kind of restaurant, 'On the Rocks'. It was in a garden with the tables lit up from underneath and fire baskets scattered around to keep us warm.
Friday, 11th December Today we left Jodhpur in jeeps to travel to Bhenswara, a more remote part of Rajasthan. We were quite relieved to be in private vehicles as the local buses are not the most enjoyable way to travel. Driving through the countryside in these more remote areas is like a step back in time. This is the home of the Bishnoi tribes people who are mainly animal
herders and farmers. Along the road you see many ladies and children with large pots of water on their heads which they have fetched from the local pump. The men have distinctive large red turbans and herd flocks of goats, cows or water buffalo. There is little traffic and the road is often blocked by animals that wander, at will, completely oblivious to any vehicles. We checked into our hotel, a very nice haveli, with a garden and a swimming pool (although you wouldn't want to have used it as it was very cold and filled with pigeons). We had a beautiful room, our best yet, and we were very sorry that we were only to be there one night. We went for a sunset safari in more jeeps, these ones open topped, and bounced around on dirt tracks. We stopped off at a couple of villages to see the simple lives that these people lived. Some of the adults were a bit wary of us as they see few Westerners, but the children were very excited and came running from all directions to have their photos taken. One little boy had a toy car he had made of wire
and a plastic bottle which he was very proudly steering on a long piece wire and others showed us their school books. One girl, on her way to the well, suggested I tried balancing her water pot on my head. I was a dismal failure, much to her great merriment, as it was obviously a piece of cake for every self respecting Bishnoi woman and child. We left the villages and drove into the desert to watch the sunset - spectacular!
Saturday, 12th December A leisurely start this morning as we had private jeeps again to take us to our next stop, the hillside hamlet of Ranakpur. On the way we stopped at a huge Jain temple made of white marble. The Jains believe that beauty should not be an outward show but should be within so the temple reflected this belief. The outside was quite plain but the inside was stunning. One thousand four hundred and forty four pillars, all intricately carved but different, supported vast domes also beautifully decorated. It was a very cool, tranquil place and we spent a peaceful hour or so just sitting looking. For lunch we had the temple offering, a very simple
meal served, canteen style, to anyone who paid 25 R (about 30p). You were served small amounts of several dishes and you could have as many servings as you liked but could leave nothing. Jains believe that all life is sacred, even plants.. For this reason they are very strict vegans, eating only food that is grown above the ground like beans or peas, as digging up vegetables might kill an insect or plant. The food was surprisingly good! After the temple we continued on into the hills to stay in a very pleasant hotel on a hillside where the landscape was much more mountainous and green. The hotel was a bit like a game lodge with cottages on different levels spread amongst the grounds. Our room was very spacious and cool with a very inviting veranda overlooking the valley below. Someone from the hotel took us on a nature walk which was very enjoyable. The local people are farmers and have created terraces and growing areas on the hillside where they produce a variety of crops but in quite small quantities; rather like a large, communal back garden. We saw the women working in the fields - they seem
to do most of the labouring, How they manage dressed in saris and veils I can't imagine. There is quite a complicated irrigation system to get water to the crops and a series of water wheels, driven by teams of oxen, to raise the water from the deep wells. I shouldn't think this scene has changed much in hundreds of years. We passed a pleasant evening at the hotel and had a early night as the beds and the pillows were both soft for once.
Sunday, 13th December We had a choice to travel by jeep today rather than local bus which we all jumped at. The journey to Udaipur only took a couple of hours and we were in the city of rolling hills, lakes and white marble palaces by lunch time. I guess is you were imagining what India would be like from reading the story books, this is it. Our hotel, though simple, was right by the lake with a view of all three palaces for which Udaipur is famous - the Winter Palace, the Lake Palace and, far in the distance on top of a mountain, the Monsoon Palace. In the afternoon we went to
explore the Winter Palace which is where the Royal Family still live. It is made of white marble and is an impressive sight, a bit like a fairytale palace. Inside were spacious courtyards, cool fountains and rooms beautifully decorated with coloured glass and mirrors. It was the present Maharana's birthday today and so a huge evening celebration was being prepared in the main courtyard. Thousands of flower heads were being made into patterns on the ground, tables were decorated with huge canopies and laid with beautiful glass and silver and red carpet was being laid everywhere. We did get a chance to walk on the red carpet, probably the nearest we'll ever get to that red carpet experience for the rich and famous. We were amazed that, through all these lavish preparations, the public were still allowed to tramp all day. One of our group, Ena, had a birthday today so we returned to the hotel for our own rooftop celebrations which involved large quantities of chocolate cake and marsala tea - very good but not quite as grand as the Maharana's party I fear. Another splendid rooftop meal tonight with Udaipur looking it's most spectacular with the lights of
the Lake Palace reflected in the water and the domes of the palaces illuminated all around us. We also went to an excellent dancing show where several different styles of traditional Rajasthan dances were performed. There was one dance where three girls danced with water pots filled with flames on their heads and another where a man did a very swirling, twirling kind of dance with two water pots balanced on his head. He assistant kept adding more water pots until he had ten balanced on his head and two more under his feet. Quite spectacular.
Monday 14th December A nice lazy day today with nothing very much was planned. We caught up with blogging and emails and wandered through the town for most of the day. Now here is the really surprising thing to those of who know me well, I went with Jo, Rosie and Vanessa (three lovely girls in our group) to get a tattoo. Don't panic, it is only a henna one, so will be long gone before I get home. It is on my forefinger, hand and lower arm and is really very tasteful (would I have anything that wasn't?). Later in the afternoon
I had a cookery class arranged which was very good. Now I know how to cook real Indian food and my masala tea pot will never be off the boil.
Tuesday 15th December Udaipur is an easy city to walk around. Although there is the usual mix of tuck-tucks, bikes, motor bikes, cows, dogs and people it isn't hectic like Jodhpur or Delhi. Everyone is very friendly and seems to remember your face immediately. All the shops look as if they sell one thing, for instance textiles or books, but can also offer you train tickets, money exchange, camera batteries, jeeps transport or anything else your heart desires. If they can't do it they know a man who can! Udaipur is well known for beautiful miniature paintings and so we spent some time in a shop looking at those and then decided to take a painting class at the shop later in the day. Terry decided he would be very brave and try to as we were assured that we would be able to produce something however limited our ability. Two hours later we had each managed a rather eccentric camel and had a firm understanding of just how
talented those miniature artists are. At sunset we took a boat ride on the lake and sailed round the Lake Palace which is now an exclusive hotel and another island which is now a restaurant. It was very beautiful with the sun setting over the water. Later in the evening we went to the train station to catch the overnight sleeper to Jaipur. We had been dreading this as we'd heard many tales of how awful it was. Laura, one of our group in Egypt, told us she'd done three overnight trains in India and the last one she'd only managed with the addition of a whole bottle of vodka. In fact getting on the train wasn't as bad as it had been in Egypt and because of our extreme age within the group, our fellow travellers were kind enough to let us have bottom bunks (there have to some benefits with age). The carriages are made up of many little compartments. Each compartment has 8 bunks, two sets of three and one of two so it is rather like sleeping on shelves in a cupboard. We managed to get a little sleep though it was a very long night
and we were very pleased when the train got into Jaipur at about 6am the following day.
Wednesday 16th December We were able to check into the hotel in Jaipur early in the morning so that we could freshen up and have breakfast before going to visit the Amber Fort and Palace. Which is about 5 miles away from the city. We had a fairly hairy ride there, walking then cycle rickshaws and then a local bus which was absolutely packed with people. (Think of the London Underground during rush hour and double it.) Unfortunately on the way I was struck down by the Jaipur Jangles, this is very similar to Delhi Belly but in a different location so the rest of the day was a bit of a blur to me. The Amber Palace was stunningly beautiful, pink sandstone and cream marble with hundreds of steps leading up the hillside to it. You could take an elephant up if you wanted to but we opted for the steps. Within the Palace there were different areas for different times of the year according to the temperature. The winter quarters were particularly lovely with white and cream marble carving and
hundreds of silver mirrored surfaces all over the walls and ceilings. It made it look like a snow palace. The rest of the group went on to the Fort which was even higher up the hillside but Terry and I went back to the hotel as I felt pretty rough.
(Tel writing as Frances is poorly) In the evening we went to the cinema; the Raj Mandir. From the outside it was pretty spectacular, just like the picture house of the fifties (if you weren't around then, think of Grease(the movie)) Pink and glossy. The inside was much the same - very pink and very glossy. You could buy the usual stuff - popcorn, chocolate etc but also indian dishes like samosas and other things that I don't know the name of. The seats were good; they could recline! As for the film. It was in Hindi with no subtitles and was two and a half hours long. It was a bit like the old british farce - people getting confused with other people, wrong room numbers, mistaken identities, lots of slapstick falling over and being locked in bedroom cupboards. Every now and then, the loving couple would suddenly enter
a different fantasy world of pop and start singing and dancing together and then resume into the plot. It was all very confusing and noisy to the untrained Brit.
Thursday 17th December As Frances was unwell, Vanessa, Rosie and I went to the City Palace this morning. This palace was split into a variety of rooms showing clothing and armoury of the past. There were also carriages and old vehicles. There was a central temple area which housed two enormous cauldrons made of silver. According to the Guinness book of records they are the largest silver objects in the world. There was also a Christmas Tree! The building itself was pretty, but when you've seen one palace............ Following this we went to an observatory, but not any old observatory..... well actually it was an old observatory, very old. The 'instruments' were made out of stone and varied in size from two metres to fifty metres. They were made a couple of hundred years ago and some are accurate to within twenty seconds. They also track various celestial objects. We finished up at the Palace of the Winds, which was not as exciting as the name suggests. The only
amusing thing was that Vanessa and shared an audio guide - one guide and two sets of headphones. Try getting up steep staircases with them on!............. In the evening we had a quiet night in - just like home.
Friday 18th December As several of us haven't been too well for the last couple of days some of us opted to hire a private vehicle to travel in today rather than catch the local bus so we split into two groups. As we were driving along I was reflecting on the driving and suggest the following rules as all you need to know about driving in India
1.Drive on the left unless you feel like driving on the right.
2.Use your horn when approaching another vehicle, overtaking another vehicle, spotting a dog, cow,goat, pedestrian, bicycle, tuck-tuck or motorbike or when you are on a completely empty road and bored. When in a city, sound your horn continuously.
3.There is no right of way so don't give way to anything.
4.Remember that cows and dogs sleeping in the road make good roundabouts and always drive round them as closely as you can without actually killing them.
5.All vehicles must be
filled to at least double their maximum capacity. Remember there is always room for extra passengers on the roof or hanging off the back.
6.Do not be misled by thinking that traffic only goes in one direction on each side of a duel carriageway. Be prepared for vehicles hurtling at you from any direction at any time.
7.Driving is a very good time to catch up on those important mobile phone calls and advantage of this should be taken at every opportunity.
8.Helmets and seat belts are for sissies.
9.All vehicles should carry a small shrine on the dashboard and prayers should be offered on departure. This is particularly important for bus drivers.
10.You are not expected to stop for anything. Red lights can be ignored. At a level crossing if the barrier is down because a train is expected this does not mean you may not proceed. So long as your vehicle can fit under the barrier you can still proceed. In some cases you will find barriers have been specially bent in an upward curve to allow taller vehicles to pass unhindered.
Our driver having followed these rules we arrived safely at our overnight stay near the Keoladeo
Bird Sanctuary. We took cycle rickshaws in the late afternoon to and around the bird sanctuary. It was peaceful and quiet and reasonably interesting and trundling along in our rickshaw was a pleasant way to spend the afternoon and watch the sun set. The boys that operate those cycle rickshaws must have legs of iron to peddle the distances they do (and extremely well toned buttocks no doubt!). We saw owls, peacocks, parakeets, cranes, ducks, kingfishers and herons to name but a few and also lots of deer and a jackal. An early night tonight as we were all pretty exhausted and we had a busy day ahead of us tomorrow.
Saturday 19th December Today was the BIG DAY, The Taj Mahal in Agra, something I've been wanting to see for many, many years. First we travelled to the deserted city of Fatehpur Sikri to spend the morning exploring this amazing palace complex. It was built in the 16th century by the ruler Akbar to be his imperial capital. It was built in only 12 years which was a colossal achievement considering its size and complexity. Unfortunately Akbar was rather an impulsive chap and didn't really think the whole thing through. After four years he decided that it was in the wrong place, abandoned it and moved the whole court to the Agra Fort. Although it is just a shell now, the guide we had was excellent at bringing the whole place to life as it must have been when newly constructed. He told us many stories of what Akbar used to get up to - he was certainly quite a boy! We left after lunch and drove to Agra, checked into our hotel and set off for The Taj Mahal. Because of fear of environmental damage there is a 50 metre exclusion zone for traffic around the site of the Taj so the approach area is relatively peaceful. As we got to the entrance we were both actually a bit nervous as we so much didn't want to be disappointed. I'm happy to say that it was every bit as magical as we had hoped and probably more so. You enter through a red sandstone archway, which is in itself quite impressive, and there, framed in front of you, is the shimmering white marble Taj Mahal. Of course there were about 10,000 other people there at the same time but even that doesn't really detract from its beauty. Although everyone has seen many pictures of it and knows what shape it is, it is still quite a surprise to see its perfect symmetry, the pearly white marble against the bright blue sky, the slender minarets and perfect domes. When you get up close to it you can see it also has amazing carving and inlay of precious stones which give it its delicate patterning. There was a very long queue to go inside (I hadn't actually realised before that you could) but the time soon passed people watching and chatting to Indian families waiting too. We were surprised how few of the visitors were Westerners and to find that we were quite an attraction in ourselves. Lots of people wanted to have their photos taken with us so photo opportunities and talking occupied the time. Inside the Taj the carving was even finer and the decoration even more exquisite. The ceremonial marble coffin of Mumtaz Mahal, the beloved wife of Shah Jahan for whom the Taj Mahal was built, looking tiny in comparison with all the magnificence around it. The coffin of Shah Jahan was added to one side after his death as he couldn't bare to be parted from her. We stayed in the grounds until the sun set and watched the changing colours of the marble against the darkening sky. The visit was a fantastic experience and lived up to all our expectations.
Sunday 20th December After yesterday we almost didn't want to do anything today as it felt as if anything would be an anticlimax. However we had a visit to Agra Fort booked for the morning so off we went. I was feeling a bit 'Forted' out by now but actually it was a very good visit. Agra Fort is enormous and a lot of it is occupied by the military but you can still visit the part which was palace. The guide we had was very good at conjuring up what it all must have been like when the Mughal kings ruled. The wealth must have been unimaginable. Interiors which are now just carved red sandstone were once covered with gold and set with diamonds and other precious stones. Shah Jahan was responsible for for building most of it and he certainly knew a thing or two about interior décor as he had just about every pleasure he could possibly desire provided for. Sadly, later in his life he was imprisoned here by his son and wanted only sit and gaze across across the river at the Taj Mahal. His eyesight was so bad that he could only see it by viewing its reflection in a strategically placed diamond - how's that for style? For the rest of the day we pottered around as we didn't want to 'guild the lily' by visiting any other monuments. In the evening we caught the train back to Delhi. We were fortunate to have seats booked so we weren't in too much of a crush getting on unlike the second class carriages which were packed like sardine cans. After we'd been travelling for about half an hour I realised that there were more than just people in our carriage, we also had mice! But hey! What's a few mice running around to people who've survived the rat temple and the desert! I made sure I kept my feet clear of the floor for the next three and a half hours. We got back to the Pooja Palace Hotel (where we started our adventure) about midnight and fell into bed.
Monday 22nd December No rushing about this morning as this was the final day of the trip and everyone had different departure arrangements and two had already gone. The remaining seven of us plus Animesh met up for a final breakfast and goodbyes. Animesh has been a fantastic tour leader and steered us seemlessly through manic bus and train journeys, camel rides, numerous forts, temples and palaces, desert encounters and heaving markets. He also loves his food so has taken us to some great places to eat from roof top grandeur to market stall and we've certainly tasted the full flavour of Northern India. We were sad to say goodbye to him and to the super group of people that we've been travelling with. We've all got on really well, had some very good times together and had lots of interesting conversations. This had all contributed to an excellent three weeks exploring Rajasthan where we've got to know just a little bit about this amazing country of so many contrasts and contradictions. Our taxi arrived and took us to The Lalait Hotel in the centre of New Delhi where we were spending one night before flying down to Southern India. Arriving at The Lalit was almost as much of a culture shock as arriving in India in the first place. It is a modern luxury hotel, very posh, spotlessly clean, cosmopolitan and about as far away from the experiences of the last three weeks as it is possible to get. Hot water comes out the taps 24/7, not just when someone has switched the boiler on or for half an hour each day, the sheets and towels are white and soft, not grey and hard, the electricity works all the time and staff bow and scrape alarmingly. Lunch cost us more than we spent on food the whole of last week and there is endless choice and comfort. Strangely we feel quite out of place and almost wish for the odd cow or cycle rickshaw accompanied by numerous giggling and grubby children to come ploughing through the immaculate atrium. Oh my goodness, have we gone native?
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jacqui
non-member comment
chaos of delhi!
i remember that overwhelming feeling of india, chaos and hecticness but soooo crazy and excititing!! and that feeling when you get hot water!! bliss like you say. i bet it is well cold there!! have ya had massalla dosa for breakie yet? has anyone offered you a bhang lassi yet?? sounds like your having a great time! keep us updated as it sounds brill :)