INDIA

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13.5.2012 India

Walked out of Delhi airport to find our driver holding my name up on a board. His name was Dave and he would be our driver guide taking us round the Golden Triangle. From Delhi to Jaipur, to Agra and back to Delhi. We went to the office to pay and go through our plans for the next 4 days.

Dave took us to our hotel; we checked in and went on a city tour of Delhi. First we visited the Presidents House. It has 544 rooms in it and the president sleeps in a different bedroom each night of the year. Close to that was India Gate where we stopped briefly and took a quick photo. We then visited Humayun’s tomb, he was the first Mughal Emperor and is one of the oldest tomb’s in India. Afterwards we stopped for lunch having our first Indian meal. We went for the ‘no spicy’ option to start off with as advised, having a paneer and a butter masala – it was nice but next time we would choose something a little spicier (probably regret that decision). The restaurant was jam packed and we were shoved into a little table in the corner, it was an ‘eat as fast as you can and pay restaurant’. Oh and everyone was staring at us because we were the only tourists in there, I think we are going to have to get used to that.

After lunch we visited the Lotus Temple – it was of some faith that mixes all the religions together. It was very nice from the outside but we didn’t go in as the queue was too big and it was too hot. 40 degrees plus easily! We then got taken to Delhi Haat, a textiles and wood carving shop/factory. The drivers get commission for taking tourists there by the look of things. Delhi is so busy and congested; the streets are full of people, scooters, goats, cows, monkeys, cars, dogs, tuk tuks – its absolute mayhem! Again no driving standards, no right of way, no one sticks to the lanes, beeping and keeping the car horn down till someone gets out of the way is standard. There’s also rubbish everywhere and dust blowing all over. No greenery anywhere. A bit different from the lush green chilled out islands on Thailand!

In the evening we found somewhere close to our hotel to eat and walked down one of the main baazar’s (Indian market). We bought an India lonely planet and the final book in the series of the Hunger games. To finish the day off we went for a Kingfisher beer in one of the very few bars (which only allowed tourist in, wth a guard with a gun at the door!) then went back the hotel and collapsed into bed.

14.5.2012

Left at 9 am to go to Jaipur. 250km away so took us 5 hours to get there. We drove past the Amber Fort on the way into Jaipur but didn’t stop as visiting it tomorrow. We checked into our hotel and went to a few temples. We went to see Birla Lakshmi Narayan temple. It was made out of marble and very nice. Everyone was staring at us and asking us for photos. We then visited the ganesh temple and drove past the water temple, it’s on an island in the middle of a manmade lake – no road to it, get there only by boat but its shut now.

We asked to get dropped off at one of the entrances to the old city which we then went inside the walls and explored the ‘pink city’. All the buildings are painted the same colour, associated with hospitality to welcome the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) and the tradition had been maintained. It was chaos, we walked through the main bazaar, being pestered by every shop owner. There’s cows in the middle of the roads and a ridiculous amount of traffic and people. The sun then set casting a really nice glow on the pink city walls. We then went for a curry. We ordered a tikka masala and underneath it on the menu it said the English robbed the recipe and claimed it as their own! It was the freshest and nicest tikka masala we have had. It was delish.

For some reason we have also been getting very sweaty feet! As soon as we stepped of the plane the soles of our feet have been slipping round in our flip flops causing minor injuries!

15.5.2012

PEAKOCKS! That’s all we heard this morning whilst trying to sleep. They are so loud when they want to be. They were calling out for ours. They are everywhere here in Jaipur. While having our breakfast we saw 3, flying around or on top of the roof of the guest house. We later learned that they are the national bird of India.

45 degrees today, extremely hot! Our driver took us to Amber Fort where we got an elephant ride upto the entrance. Amber Fort used to be the ancient capital of Jaipur state. It took us hours exploring the narrow staircases and tiny hidden rooms. It’s like a maze inside, designed to confuse any attackers with many escape routes. On our way out of the fort we saw some snake charmers. I made Sophie sit next to the 2 guys, put a turban on and pretend to play the flute while the other 2 charmed the cobra. Very funny as the snake was staring at Sophie!

We then visited the city palace within the old ‘pink city’ walls. We also visited the Jantar Mahar – the kings observatory with a 27m high sundial, which the shadow moves 4m an hour. We were nearly collapsing at this point as it was so hot, but there was one more thing to visit, the Hawa Mahal (wind temple). It is a 5 storey sandstone sculpture built on one of the main bazaar’s so that the women of the royal family could watch what was going on in the busy streets below. On the way back the car Sophie bought some camel leather shoes.

We went back the hotel for a shower and a lie down for a couple of hours and arranged to meet Dave at 6. We drove to the Nahargath Fort which is on top of the biggest mountain overlooking Jaipur. We didn’t go in we just went up for the view. And what a view it was! We couldn’t believe how big Jaipur was, there was houses as far as you could see in every direction. It was very quiet up there and you could hear the buzz of the city below. The sun was setting as well and it was a very special moment.

To top the night off we went to the 5 star hotel The Rambagh Palace for dinner. Dave and Zoe made us promise to go there with the money they gave us. It was crazy, we got waited on hand and feet. It was so posh, definitely the nicest place we have every been to eat. We didn’t really fit in and wondered what we were doing here but the staff were so friendly and nice. The food was incredible, they kept bringing more food over. The waiters wouldn’t let us fill up our own glasses and they served us the food on our plates out of the bowls they came out in. Not every backpacker gets to do this! We were laughing to each other all night. It cost a total of 2180 Rupees approx. 25 quid for 2 curries, a rice, a garlic naan, 2 bottles of water, they gave us poppadoms to start and a sorbet at the end ‘to cleanse the pallet’. In a 5 star hotel an absolute bargain! Oh and after they took our plates away, they brushed the crumbs off our laps and the table with a silver brush and pan. It was brilliant day and night!

16.5.2012

Left Jaipur early morning and onto Agra, stopping at the Abhaneri Stepwell on the way. It has 11 levels of zig zagging steps and is 20 meters deep. It was built by the king of Abhaneri 1200 years ago. Then we visited Fatehpur Sikri – an ancient town. Indian guys asking for your photo every second and filming you I the process when your dripping with sweat and trying to keep out of the sun is getting annoying. It is hard not to be rude, so we ended up rushing round it still seeing everything but not hanging around. We then drove to our hotel, checked in, had some lunch – another Thali then went to visit Agra Fort or red fort as built in red sandstone. It was primarily built as a military structure but later turned into a palace. It was here were we got our first glances of the Taj Mahal. We walked around the fort which was very nice, lots of marble temples inside.

We then headed back the hotel were we got a rickshaw to the Taj Mahal. We had to queue up in separate lines, one for men and one for women and go through some security checks. We then had a small walk to see the Taj. It was beautiful, so much nicer in real life. We took loads of photos and explored the grounds seeing it from all different angles. As the sun was setting the sun was making it glow red on one side. Even though we were in the presence of one of the wonders of the world, we were still being asked for photos by Indians. They were more interested in us than the Taj!

We sat admiring the most beautiful wonder of the world as the sun set. A lot of people started emptying out and it was getting a lot quieter. We were able to get some really good photos with hardly anyone in. As we left we couldn’t stop turning round just getting one last look at it. I guess it’s because it signifies the end of our journey – the last major thing before home. It was sad to think only 14 more days to go.

17.5.2012 Kerala

Up very early today as had to get to Delhi airport for 10am. As Agra is 200km away we left at 5am. On the way we stopped at a basic Indian restaurant for breakfast. We had potato pakora and a type of bread which had onions cooked inside. We got the airport with plenty of time and said goodbye to Dave, who had been great.

We landed in Kochi about 6 and got a public bus to Fort Cochin were we had a hotel in mind. We turned up but the hotel we wanted was full. A guy saw us looking for a room and ha had one which he showed to us. He showed us a great big apartment with 3 bedrooms kitchen and was fully air conditioned. He said it cost 4500R a night in high season but I got him down to 1200R. It was very nice so we got a bargain. We went next door for dinner and got a Kerela Fish Curry which was very nice; it was quite spicy as well.

18.5.2012

We went to see the famous Kerala (chinese) fishing nets which took 4 people to operate. We then walked around the coastal road and wandered around Fort Cochin. It was very nice with narrow streets where you could see the Europeans influence. It used to be a very big dock here and it was here where the English, Dutch and Portuguese first entered India. We had lunch in a small restaurant on the road. We tried the tandoori chicken and was very tasty. We then went for a shower in the air conditioned room. Which felt like heaven as it is so humid here. You sweat so much and once you’ve started you can’t stop!

In the evening we went to a traditional Kerala art form called Kathakali. We went at 5pm and went to watch the men put on the makeup. This took about an hour. It’s very detailed and the makeup is all from natural plants or rocks. The main character always has a red and green face, which means they are hypocrites and untrustworthy. While the yellow faces are usually royalty. They also die their eyeballs red by putting a seed from a plant under the eye lid for 10 minutes. They then explained how they train to become good at the art form showing demonstrations and breaking it down for us. Like the eye exercises to music and the different movements they do with their hands each meaning a different word. Then the context the word is used in, e.g ‘come here’ was done 3 different ways nicely, normally and angrily. They never used words just facial expressions and body movement. It was very interesting and you could tell a lot of training goes into it. A usual dance lasts for 7-8 hours but this one only lasted and hour. Afterwards we went for an amazing curry at Dal Roti. We even tried an Indian dessert (milk balls deep fried and covered in sugar)

19.5.2012

We had fruit for breakfast for a change and haven’t had any in a while as just been eating curries! We then got a tuk tuk to Jew town. We visited a few spice markets on the way. They had all the spices you could think of and the tuk tuk driver was talking us through them all letting us taste and smell them. We then visited the Dutch Palace which was very old and interesting.

In the evening we went to a cooking class at cook n eat. We were with 4 other people. It wasn’t as good as the one in Vietnam as we didn’t get to do much, but the recipe’s and the food afterwards was really good.

We got taught how to make

*Kerala Chicken Curry

*Pumpkin Curry

*Aubergine Curry

*Thoram (dry dish)

*Chipathi Bread

20.5.2012

Moving onto Alleppey today. We got the ferry to Ernakulam which cost 2.5R which is about 3p for a 15 minute boat ride! Then we made our way to the bus station, where we got a public bus to Alleppey. The bus was like a tin can on wheels. There were no windows, and the door was a thin piece of metal that you had to open and close yourself using a piece of string. We luckily got seats but they weren’t together. I was sandwiched between 2 fat Indian guys and Sophie was sat by 2 women a few rows ahead. She was on the aisle seat and as the bus got more full with people standing crammed on the bus, someone was practically sitting on Sophie’s shoulder for the entire journey.

We arrived at Alleppey and made our way to the guest house that we had been recommended by some guys we met at the cooking class. It was only 400R a night, about a fiver. Here we met Romeo a 5 month old cocker spaniel, who liked to hump Sophie’s leg. We had a wander around town. It wasn’t very big and all the shops were shut as it was Sunday. We walked to a restaurant which was in the Lonely Planet guide book and it was the cheapest we had found yet! We had a curry, rice, chapatti, and the nicest strawberry milkshake ever for less than 2 quid! It is really cheap in South India! On the way back we booked ourselves in for a canoe trip on the back waters of Kerala for the next day.



21.5.2012

Romeo! Banged on the door 3 separate times in the middle of the night waking us up. He always needs company I think. He is very cute but you don’t want him in the room with you while sleeping.

We had our very own wooden canoe with a roof, comfy cushions and our very own captain. He paddled us through the backwaters (canals and rivers). We stopped for breakfast on the river where we had a traditional Keralan breakfast of some weird bread thing and curry soup.

The main rivers are full of houseboats. There are hundreds of them ferrying tourists around. They are quite expensive though so we decided against it. However as we were on a canoe we were able to go down the small narrow canals and see the real village life on the backwaters. We visited the small villages and seeing people wash in the river, kids playing, women doing the washing up and washing their clothes, people fishing on the banks, cows, ducks, kingfishers, people building new houseboats, small rowing boats transporting materials, people selling things off their boats. There was lots to see and it was very relaxing sitting there watching people go about their day to day life. We got off in one of the villages and lots of kids came running upto us asking our names. They were all very cute and good at English. We gave them some crayons and paper and in return they gave Sophie some flowers.

We then stopped at the captain’s house on the river where his wife had cooked us lunch. It was served on a banana leaf, we had 3 different curries, rice, bread and sauce. When we finished she kept bringing more out and then 2 plates of fruit. We were stuffed and couldn’t eat any more. We chatted in the garden and had a cup of tea. Before we left we had the usual photos with the captain and his wife and we said we would send them a copy. On the way back I had another go at canoeing as felt a bit guilty that the captain was doing all the work.

We got back to Alleppey about 5 and we were worn out after a great day. The backwaters are so peaceful – another world away from the hustle and bustle of north India! Oh and we also saw 2 water snakes, apparently they weren’t poisonous. That evening we found a local restaurant and had the cheapest meal we have ever had.

Pea Masala 17R

2 x Chipatti 12R

1 litre water 15R

In total 44R which is 50p!!

50p for the 2 of us for dinner. We then couldn’t resist another strawberry milkshake which actually cost more than the meal!

22.5.2012 Varkala

We finally found samosa’s in India after looking on all the menu’s since we got here. We found them on a street vendor on the way to the bus station. They were only 5R each so we bought 6 for our breakfast. We got another public bus all the way to Varkala, this time getting seats next to each other. It was meant to take about 2 hours but ended up taking 3 and a half. Luckily we had stocked up on banana chips and samosas.

At 3 o’clock the hunt began! We got a tuk tuk to the beach then searched for accommodation. Turned out to be a nightmare. As we are staying for a while we wanted to find the right room at the right price, we had a list of all the things that had to be in the room. However, it was becoming harder than we thought. Walking round in the baking heat with our bags on our backs going in loads of hotels and guesthouses made us so sweaty! A lot of the places where giving us lots of discount as it is low season. The last place we checked right at the end of the cliffs we said yes to, but we knew we could get better – so look again tomorrow. We had a bungalow overlooking the sea. At sun set we could see the sun setting from our little balcony at the front of the bungalow – very nice.

Varkala is a small strip of hotels, restaurants, cafes, shops perched on the top of cliff edges with steep staircases going down to the beach.

23.5.2012

Hooray back in the sun today! We have gone white with all the hiding in the shade and covering up so we were in need for some tanning. We went on the hunt for some accommodation and found some bargain deals finally settling for a 300R room which is really nice (in high season its 1500R a night!) We had to carry our bags round which was a pain in the arse, as it was at the other end of the strip. On the way we stopped for a fruit shake and some breakfast. Once checked in we headed for the beach, with our new books and sunbathed all afternoon. Later we went for some food at a restaurant on the cliff edge. We ordered a Jalfrezi and it was amazing! As its low season a lot of places have shut up for the monsoons coming, this means there’s not that many places to choose from to eat.

24.5.2012

We were told about a nice swimming pool nearby that some other people had found. We went to investigate and they charged 200R a day but the pool was very nice so we went there for the day. It was a in a nice resort and very quiet so we near enough had it too ourselves. We were in and out the pool all afternoon as it were so hot. Sophie was doing a few lengths to get ready for when she got home.

When we got back to our room, the owner of the hotel invited us to his son’s 2^nd Birthday party. We showered and went the room next door where they had decorated the room. They gave us cups of tea’s – which Sophie drank, think it’s the first one ever! Once all the family was there we went onto the balcony, we sang Happy Birthday to him – with a huge chocolate cake – which was yummy! There were loads of kids there running around being hyperactive wanting our attention. We were then given a cup of rice pudding with cashew nuts in – I ate them both. All the family went downstairs to eat and they brought us up a big bowl of biriyani style rice and a plate of veg curry. We have finally got our technique of eating rice and curry with our hands perfected. You don’t get given cutlery in most places so you have to get stuck in, with your right hand only though as your left hand is used for toilet duties! The food was fantastic and there was loads of it. Then the kids came back up and harassed us for a couple of hours before we called it a night.

25.5.2012

After breakfast and computer stuff we made our way to the beach. We hired out some sun beds, first time I had ever hired a sunbed on the beach. They were very comfy and it was less sandy than being on the floor. We read our books and sunbathed all afternoon. As we had created shade under our sunbeds we attracted lots of dogs. We had at least 3 dogs under our beds all the time. In the evening we went on a walk down the other side of the cliff to where we are staying and found a local restaurant to eat at. We didn’t know what we were getting but it was very nice. It was a masala dosa and a thali with parota. After that we walked back and watched TV in the room until it was time to go to bed.

26.5.2012

Beach day. We went for our usual fruit shake next door and our brunch/breakfast then headed for the beach. There was a nice breeze today so all we did was sunbathe, read and dog sit. As there is shade under our sun beds they sneak under and snooze there. We had 5 at one time today.

We heard about a fresh spring that comes out from the cliffs. We had a walk to find them and we found 3 pipes flowing with fresh spring water that you can drink. We rinsed off and filled up our water bottles there. We then got speaking to a South African guy who recommended a few places to eat. We went for our last swim of the day and did a bit of body surfing. We then went souvenir shopping before the shops shut. We also bought a wooden drum made from jack fruit tree and camel skin. The guy selling the drums reminded us of Will Ferrel. After a shower we went for a nice cheap meal and I had a few beers. It had been so long I apologized to the beer and said it wouldn’t happen again!!

27.5.2012

It was raining this morning a little bit so it delayed us going the beach. We waited until it had passed and went for an hour before we had to meet the drum man to get a lesson and give him some money. We met him and he taught me how to play the drum we bought off him. I could do the simple rhythm’s hitting the drum at both ends, but couldn’t do the harder ones. He made them look very easy. We then went for another amazing veg curry, so cheap and so nice. We then hit the beach for the rest of the afternoon. As it was Sunday the beach was full of Indian’s. They are all perverts! They walk past us staring at us and then even look back and stare after they have walked past. They will walk out of the way to get a look at Sophie. They are horrible men of all ages. We got fed up of them all looking so we moved to the back of the beach. As I went for a swim these little shits came up to Sophie trying to take pictures. That was the final straw and we left the beach

28.5.2012

Our last day for tanning today and guess what – it’s raining and cloudy. So we decided to go to Varkala town and buy some spices. We bought the whole lot and some coconut oil as well ready to cook the curries when we get home. We ended up packing up the rest of the morning until it was time for lunch. We had been recommended some tin shed which cook’s really nice fish thalis so we went there. We eventually found it and it was a tiny hut where a family lived and sure enough she rustled up a thali for us.

The sun came out in the afternoon so we went the beach and found a nice quiet spot to sunbathe. It was at the end of the beach so that no one was walking by and staring. As it was our last day on the beach we wanted to go for our last swim in the sea. I was excited and ran into the sea falling in a little hole beneath the water and spraining my ankle! I had to go back the room and put ice on it. We couldn’t find any ice so we had to settle for a frozen bottle of water. Sophie nursed me all night and even went to get a take away curry from one of the local restaurants. We ate that and then watched a film with some snacks and chocolate to cheer me up.

29.5.2012

We got an early morning taxi to Trivandrum airport from Varkala. We flew to Mumbai where we had a hotel booked. We decided to get a hotel close to the airport. It was the worst hotel we have stayed in! No hot water, the TV didn’t work and neither did the internet and the room stank of smoke! We then had to go on a souvenir hunt. We got the train to Mumbai Central near a local bazaar that we had been recommended. The train was so busy everyone crammed in and no windows or doors, people jump on and off the train before it has even stopped. We then got a taxi to Chor Bazaar. We didn’t buy anything there, it wasn’t for tourists and sold lots of junk. We then had to get another taxi to the more touristy part. This is where we found markets selling everything we needed! For about 2 hours we went on a massive shopping spree buying present for friends and family and souvenirs for ourselves. For our last Indian meal we found a cheap local restaurant that was full of Indians – so it must be good. Sophie ordered a Punjabi Thali and I ordered Veg Kharaphuri. They were both delicious and so much food for only 2 pound! We got a taxi back to the hotel, by this time we were exhausted and went straight to bed.

30.5.2012

Can’t believe we are travelling home today! We have had such a great time travelling and we have so many good memories that will last with us forever.

We got up early and went to find some breakfast. We found a bakery selling samosas for 7 Rupees! They are so cheap and so nice. They came wrapped in newspaper with some chilli’s and a spicy sauce. We got our last tuk tuk to the airport (won’t miss them at all!) and checked into our last flight. We worked out that it will be our 20^th flight!

Sad to say Michael and Sophie’s adventure is over and back to friends and family tomorrow. I’m writing this in the airport waiting for our flight, will have to tell you the films we watch when we see you…. which won’t be long!!!

Michael xx

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