ozray

Left hotel just after 5.30am. The hotel had given us packed breakfasts which we ate on the way to the airport. They had to put my big bag and Peter's big bag on the roof rack. Initially they put one of the small bags in between and they only used one rope across so that it was easy to imagine the small bag flying off as we sped along. We told them to bring it down and put it inside. We made it to the airport with all our luggage intact fortunately. Because of earlier experience flying to Varanasi, we knew that we would have to remove all electronics or anything hard from our bags, so we got through security with minimal fuss this time. We had 800INR left and ended up buying some more ... read more

Up at 4.30am, ready for the 5am pick up. We went to the same spot where the Aarti ceremony was last night, but a lot less people. As we got rowed out I realised this the location you usually see in photos. The sun even poked out from the clouds a couple of times. It was a lovely peaceful time as we witnessed devotees washing, swimming and praying in the Ganges. We then alighted from the boat, tipping the young rower and walked through a new complex built recently by the government containing a temple and some fast food outlets. Fortunately, the buildings are built to the traditional style. We then visited a store which had clothing made by Cotton Flower, a co-op of women making clothing to support their families. We then had a 1.5 ... read more

Very early start today at 6am for our visit to Taj Mahal. Supposedly for sunrise but it wasn't really. Sunrise was earlier than that and it was very overcast today so it wouldn't have been worth it to go any earlier. The complex is quite large and the building is in a large courtyard with 4 gates. Our first glimpse of the Taj Mahal was quite surreal as it almost blended in to the surrounding early morning mist. Arjun sold us on using one of the accredited photographers who followed us in and posed us for photos in the best spots. It was quite amusing as we felt like we were posing for wedding photos. It really is a stunning building to see, being completely made of white marble. Inside, it is decorated in a simpler ... read more

Usual start at 8.30am after breakfast. Seemed like we were the only 6 guests but a few more turned up as we were leaving. First stop was Amber Fort, but instead of our mini-bus, we all hopped into a covered Jeep for the drive up to the Fort entrance. The old traditional method was riding up on an elephant, but tour companies no longer use this method because the elephants are badly treated. The Indian government does not allow any new elephants to be trained in this way. Amber Fort was fantastic. Located 11km from Jaipur, it was the old fort of the Kachwaha clan of Amber. The fort is built with white marble and red sandstone and many interesting parts to it, plus great views of the surrounding area. After that we had a stopped ... read more

Buffet breakfast was interesting. A lot of Indian style items we'd never heard of before. We went around and tried small portions of everything. Daisy had a dosa made which she really liked. Tour started at 8.30am and we met our guide Arjun and driver, Arjay. Surprisingly, there was still just the six of us for this entire tour. Certainly wasn't expecting a small group tour. Robyn and Anne however didn't opt for the Varanasi extension. First stop was a visit to Old Delhi. We were taken to the Jama Masjid Mosque (the largest mosque in India), which has three great gateways, four angle towers and two minarets constructed ofalternating vertical strips of red sandstone and white marble. First we had a rickshaw tour through Chandni Chowk, a colourful shopping bazaar in OldDelhi. Then a tour ... read more