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Published: February 8th 2009
Mumbai madness
We hurtle through the city via taxi, towards our hotelAfter a mammoth 12 hour flight we touched down in Mumbai, a little worse for wear and with no idea of what time of day it should have been. I wasted no time at all in using my broken 'punjab-lish' to organise us a taxi to our hotel on the outskirts of Mumbai.
The city (or what we saw of it at least) was as we'd expected; noisy, smog-filled, crowded and filthy. Immense shanty towns of make-shift shacks sat shoulder to shoulder with crumbling (but striking) colonial buildings and everywhere you looked there were people (amidst livestock, cars, auto-rickshaws, buses, scooters and bicycles-all struggling to get somewhere fast). It was all a bit of a culture shock after months of the 'Western' living we'd enjoyed in Oz and NZ but with no time to adjust, we tried to get some sleep before boarding a flight the very next morning for Chandigargh, up in the Punjab.
This was meant to be a 'modern' city built by a French-Swiss chap named Courboussier, who'd planned it all out on a grid system- with each sector built to represent something and for a particular purpose. It certainly wasn't as congested as Mumbai but
English rose
In chandigargh's Rose Garden it was still filthy as- with garbage aplenty and people urinating and sometimes even defecating wherever they pleased (a sight we'd soon have to get used to seeing). The only saving graces (if you can call them that) were the Rose Garden (apparently Asia's largest- with a decent spread of colours and varieties) and the Rock Garden. The latter being a strange dreamland of sculptures made up of a hotch-potch of old jewellery, pottery, ceramics, rocks and stones. Billed as India's 'second most popular attraction' after the Taj Mahal (a healthy handful of salt required to believe that one!) we took a walk from our hotel in Sector 17, and joined the droves on a sunny afternoon.
What struck us immediately about India as a whole was the fact that we both really stood out no matter where we went. Now Kelly was used to stares after spending 6 months in Asian countries, but nothing could quite prepare her for the first couple of weeks in India, where literally every other man, woman and child looked offended at the very sight of her. You'd never have guessed that the country was recently ruled by the white man from the
Movie theatre
In sector 22 of Chandigargh reception she received time and again. Even in so called 'modern Indian cities' like Chandigargh, they'd whisper, comment, laugh and even try and take her photo (without any discretion, I might add). It was all very tiresome. And then throw in the fact that she's with an Indian looking man who often begins to barter, argue or pleasantly make small talk in his broken Punjabi- we were certainly a puzzling couple and unwittingly drew attention to ourselves wherever we went. I however, took full advantage of this fact to try catch them off guard (and continue to do so) by securing us better seats, cheaper rooms or 'Indian' prices for myself when visiting tourist sights (every cloud and all...) We therefore had to learn very early on to try and make light of our predicament and accept the fact that we were a curiosity, while not forgetting to use it to our advantage wherever possible.
After a few nights in Chandigargh we took the local bus to Kalka, where we then got a seat on the 'Viceroy's Toy Train' which, 5 hours later, would deposit us 2159 metres higher then sea level in Shimla, India's most famous hill station
Small fee for the Rock Garden
I manage to find the service hatch for hobbits in the state of Himachel Pradesh. The journey was nice enough- we met some friendly Indian students that wanted to know everything about us, and once we arrived at our hotel 'Dreamland,' we were able to fully appreciate the inspiring views of the Himalayan mountain ranges a mere 70-100kms away from our balcony. And all for 'special Punjabi discount' price (around 8 pound per night). Shimla was very pleasant- there was a concerted effort to keep the main square, which was pedestrianised, clean and tidy. The only major downside was the drop in temperature during the night which we weren't fully prepared for (down to freezing sometimes!)
Our friendly guide Mushtaq took us for a day trek around nearby Summer Hill and Glen, finishing off at the Viceregal Lodge where the British used to rule the country from during the summer months. This place was 122 years old and although a lot of it was off bounds, we were able to see the rooms that were used for pivotal meetings between all the political leaders including Nehru and Gandhi and also the very table where the papers for 'partition' were prepared.
After Shimla we took a government bus
Bangle-awe
One of the wierd sculptures in the Rock Garden back to Chandigargh (at light speed) where we'd previously organised to meet with my mum's younger brother, Uncler Mohinder. He'd come over especially from Amritsar and would take us under his wing for the next 8 days or so. We stayed with his daughter Munoo and her husband Deepy who lived in Mohali (a short distance away) and were the perfect hosts (Munoo and my uncle I'd met before- from a trip to England many years ago). The next day we took a 4 hour bus ride alongside Uncle Mohinder, across the Punjab to Amritsar.
Amritsar was like a smaller version of Mumbai in that it was polluted, congested and really filthy. My uncle's gaff however, was a 6 bedroom mini-palace and for the next week we lived like prince and princess while being fed every other hour (I kid you not) as we went and visited family member after family member (most of which I'd never met before).
We also took time out to visit the Golden Temple a couple of times (once at sunrise-which was pretty spectacular). The intricate artwork and carvings on the ceiling were amazing, as was watching the rising sun reflecting off of
Mind the crap
One of the station signs on the way up to Shimla the temple in the early morning mist. It was nice to just sit in peace away from people for a short while-something that's pretty hard to do in a place like Amritsar. We followed this with a trip to Waga to catch the flamboyant India/Pakistan border ceremony. The daily staged ceremony was a really interesting show of bravado with the Indians and Pakistanis competing in everything from absurdly high leg kicking and syncronised PA announcements, to flag waving and uber-extravagant moustaches and turbans. For two countries almost at war, it was fascinating to see a completely different (often comedic) kind of tension between them. The whole experience was bizarre to say the least! In case you're wondering, the Indians were by far the better side in all fields, including crowd/spectators- the Indians outnumbered the Pakistanis by around 20 to 1.
Another place we visited over night with my Uncle and cousin was a little town called Mc Leod Ganj, a few Kms away from the more famous Dharamasala in Himachel Pradesh, and home to the exiled Dalai Lama. It was a really quaint little hill station full of arts and crafts and with a distinctly Tibetan edge to it.
Shimla 'express'
We get talking to some friendly students while making the 5 hour train journey up to Shimla It was really nice to meet all the relatives and finally put faces to names, most of my cousins, second cousins and Aunts, I had never actually met before. They all looked after us very well (and insisted on offering us food on an hourly basis) but after 8 nights with my Uncle, we caught a noisy sleeper train into Jaipur, our first stop in Rajasthan.
Immediately, the difference was apparent- Jaipur (although clogged up with a few too many vehicles) was much nicer and a little more laid back than anywhere we'd visited in the Punjab. Plus it never really got too cold so that was a bonus. Our hotel, Pearl Palace was a little gem, with all the rooms decorated like a Maharajah's palace at great value. We took a day to visit the parts of the city's palace that were uninhabited by the still reigning royal family, and had been transformed into a museum. We also swung by the Jantir Mantir (a huge 'theme park' of astrological urban furniture used to measure space, time and other things to do with the stars) and the Hawa Mahal which was used by the ladies of old to
Himilayan pair
Looking out towards the Himilayan range from our balcony at the Hotel Dreamland, Shimla view street processions from a concealed, safe distance. Another morning was taken up by trekking up to the deserted Tiger Fort which overlooked the city below, and of course shopping. We were able to squeeze in a shopping trip or two. All in all, Jaipur was a nice introduction to Rajasthan.
A few days later we took a bus SW to Pushkar, a little town teeming with 'new-age sorts' and hippies set around a sacred lake. This place was nice enough with a very chilled out feel to it (a few too many hippies for my liking) but the best thing about it by far, was the amazing little Havelli hotel that we stayed in called 'Inn Seventh Heaven.' Our building's architecture was stunning and our room was amazing value considering some of the hovels we'd recently inhabited. A nice little place to rest for a few days and plan the next few weeks.
Next stop Udaipur...
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So good!!!!
I am glad for you guys! it's sounds that you having a good time over there ;) That's great that you are seeing your familly too! Big thanks to share your adventure by your blog, it's really well done! Keep going and all the best :) See ya ! xx