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Hello everyone! Sorry we havent updated in a while - a long while - but we've been busy (as you might have guessed lol!!). dan is trying to do some more photos now but it didnt work last time we were in this internet cafe so we shall see.... now where did we leave you.... think it was a friday and we were in manali about to catch a night bus..
night bus was pretty damn cool - normal seating on ground floor then ladders into little booths with "beds" (really skanky but never mind!) - single's and doubles! quite comfy and cosy but i couldnt sleep as i was rolling around when we went round corners! never mind...
Arrived in chandigargh at about 6.30am and went to the bus station (which is MASSIVE!!) and bought tickets for a public bus to haridwar. 6 hours in a packed bus with no air con,hot outside and our bags were all on our laps & between our legs!!!! was AWFUL!!!!! we are NEVER getting a public bus again! lol. still, we arrived in one piece in haridwar - which we didnt really like! really dirty and too busy for our liking.after checking in to a skanky (but cheap!) hotel (it had cockroaches, ants, lizards & some sort of pond life living in the bathroom - think they were mini leeches!), we went straight out to try and book our tickets out of here!!! went to the train station first but was really scary - hundreds of people camped inside and out, beggars grabbing us & the enquiry desk was just a mob of indians shouting at the guy behind the counter! so we made a swift exit and found a travel agents! thought we dont mind paying the extra for the lack of hassle! the guy was a right sleazeball - reminded us of watto from star wars! hehehe. he booked us some train tickets to a place called kathgodam where we could catch a taxi to ramnagar (where the corbett tiger reserve is near!). after a couple of hours of waiting (and some really tasty indian style burgers - sort of a potato cake with onions, cheese, tom ketchup & corriander sauce in a sort of deep fried bread roll - which tasted a bit like a donut!!! was really gorgeous!) the tickets arrived and the guy said we should meet him outside his office at 11.30pm and he would take us to the train station! so we went back to our hotel had showers & then went out to get some snacks for the journey! while we were out, some creepy guys kept pinching my ass! after 2 people did this i got really pissed off and so whent he 3rd person did it - i turned round and smacked him!!!! was sooo funny, dan just cracked up! got some rest before the train, i set my alarm clock so we wouldnt miss it! i woke up a bit later, looked around adn...... AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!! it was 12.30am!!!! we slept through the alarm we were so tired and the fan was so noisy!!!! so no train for us! so we went back to sleep and decided to sort it out tomorrow!
sunday morning we walked all the way to the bus stand (thought it was closer than it actually was!!) in the pouring rain!!! awful weather! we were told there we needed the other bus station - so walked a bit further! i sat with the bags while dan went to sort it out! was stared at by everyone (including this indian family who stared at me for the full 45mins i was waiting!!! creepin me out!) until dan returned! he had been sent from one place to another by 'helpful' people and had given up in the end and gone back to the travel agents! lied to him and said we were ill last night so we couldnt catch the train! walked back up and sat in the office for an hour or so while he got us new tickets! checked into a different guest house (an even cheaper one but quite clean!!) for the afternoon and evening! used the internet etc in the afternoon before chilling back at the room. dan popped out to get some samosas and took a whole hour!!! during this time we had about 10 blackouts in the room - creepy cos it goes pitch black!! i looked into my day bag when we had lights and out jumped a mouse!!! really made me jump - god knows where it came from!! we actually managed to not miss the train that evening luckily! didnt sleep until we were on it! after chatting to an indian family for a while we got into our bunks - there are lots of columns with 3 'bunk beds' - we actually slept quite well! we were soooo tired though its not surprising!
arrived monday morning and got a taxi to ramnagar where we checked into a nice (if relatively expensive!) hotel. after an indian guy named imran helped us to book our train tickets out of ramnagar, we went on the highlight of the trip for me.... rode a gorgeous elephant called Kalina!!!! was AMAZING!!! rode through the forest, searching for tigers! unfortunately we didnt see any - just the pug marks & a monitor lizard! never mind - the ride was pretty fantastic!!
early start tuesday morning as we went on a jeep safari in the park and had to get our permits at like 5am!!! started the safari at about 7am and drove till 11. saw plenty of spotted deer, peacocks, chickens, barking deer, monitor lizards, black faced monkeys - but no tigers!!! never mind! then we went back to our hotel for 5 hours as the park is shut between 11am and 4pm as it is off-season and the animals usually sleep during this time! back in the park and we had no luck in the afternoon search either - did see 1 wild elephant right at the end of the trek though! bad weather for spotting tigers as it was raining! still, there's always next time!!
wednesday we went to another (cheaper - but again nicer! it is out of the busy town and in a mango orchard! really peaceful!) 'hotel' as our train was not till about 9.30pm. imran brought us here and offered to take us out for an afternoon safari in a different gate if we pay for our entry fees etc and give him tip! so we chillaxed in our room for a few hours then went out at about 4pm! searched and searched but again - no tigers!!! again, never mind! we did see a herd (well, a very small herd! 5 methinks) of elephants though! which was pretty amazing! boarded the train that evening and was in a higher class than last time - this one has air con and provides blankets! But we didnt sleep as well as last time surprisingly!
arrived on thursday morning at delhi rohilla station where we waited for 4 hours until our next train to jaipur. after sleeping most of the way (well, half sleeping!) we chatted to an indian guy & lady for a few hours before the train came into the station! really lovely people! the hotel we checked into is gorgeous - but we have the rubbish room! only room left is just big enough for a double bed, has no air-con and the bathroom is downstairs! but it is really cheap - lik 4pounds between us! moving into a nicer room tomorrow if they have one available!
friday i was qutie ill so i stayed behind while dan went on an autorickshaw tour of jaipur with our driver who took us to our hotel. dont know exactly what dan did (he shall have to inform you all later!) but i know he saw some temples etc and rode a camel down the road! he made really good friends with the driver/guide so has planned to go sightseeing again tomorrow with him and me! we did move rooms and had the best room so far in india - for a really good price! about 3pounds each! is clean, big, has a water cooler fan, tv & nice bathroom - and a small balcony!
I was still feeling ill on saturday so dan went out on his own again - did some more sightseeing. I was feeling a bit better by the afternoon so Salim (our guide) took us to see a Bollywood movie in the evening! was a comedy and was quite funny - even though we couldn't understand all of it! But it was really long - about 2 1/2 hours! Went for a quick drink in a bar afterwards before going back to our hotel.
Sunday was pretty cool, both of us went out with Salim as i was better - yay! we drove through the pink city first - this king a while back decided to paint the whole town pink when prince albert or someone came to visit as it is the color of hospitality! craziness! also, it is not pink in the slightest! its orange but the indians all swear it is pink! lol. then we went to the astronomy place, then to a temple. after this we got our henna tattoos done!!! they look well cool - tribal patters on dans left arm & my left arm & hand! the ladies doing them does them so fast its amazing! we then went for a camel ride - was really uncomfortable actually! and scary when the camel stands up and sits down! but pretty funky! Then we drove round to his friends shop - he is a wholesaler so everything is cheaper! he exports his stuff to shops like monsoon & habitat & topshop in london! lol. on the way, salim let me drive his rickshaw!! was well cool!!! a bit like driving a motorbike! easy on indian roads as they have no traffic laws - i just zoomed wherever i wanted to! his friends in the shop were lovely - we felt no pressure to buy (for the first time in india!!) and they got us drinks, showed us around the dying factory & let us pick what we wanted to see! of course we ended up buying things as they were so cheap - i got a silk skirt & top, & 2 pillow cases, dan bought a silk duvet cover & 16 cushion covers!!!!!! lol. we then had some proper curry with the guys on the floor! no cutlery - just chapatis & hands! was really cool - had a power cut in the middle though! quite funny! then went to a jewellers where dan had his palm read yesterday and bought a 'lucky pendant' so i had my palm read! the guy was quite up himself and i didnt really like him but he was quite accurate on quite a few things! creepy but im still a sceptic! lol. went back to our hotel where Salim asked to speak to dan alone - he told him what a good friend he was then gave him a present - a baby pink and yellow scarf!!!! hehehehe! he was NOT impressed! then salim asked to talk to me - it turns out he really likes me!!! asked if he could take me to the tiger temple that evening alone!!! i said i wasnt sure, that i would ask dan because he might not want to miss out! but dan refused to come - he said it would look like he was gatecrashing by refusing to stay behind if he came! so at 8.30pm i was picked up & we drove up to the tiger temple - it really does have amazing views of the whole of jaipur! a couple of hours later we got back to the hotel where he expressed his undying love for me! he kept talking about having children as well - creepy! hes a nice guy and good-looking for an indian guy but i dont like him!!! he then started talking about meeting us in agra! after trying to dissuade him unsuccessfully, we gave him a false number & wrong hotel name so he wouldnt follow us! sounds mean but he just kept trying to kiss me all the time - and i dont like him!!!
monday we travelled by coach to agra - pretty uneventful journey - slept some of the way. arived in agra & checked straight into our hotel. went out for dinner, used the internet & watched tv that evening as agra isnt very nice! as soon as you step out of the hotel you get bombarded by people - every other step it's 'rickshaw ma'am' 'come into my shop sir' 'come up to our nice restaurant' etc! and they dont understand the word 'no'!!! drives you insane!
tuesday (today!!!) we got up ridiculously early! went to see the taj mahal at sunrise - so left the hotel at 5.10am!!! craziness! we walked to the south gate - but learnt it doesnt open til 8am! but the east and west open at 6am so we went to the west gate! unfortunatley, the sun rises before 6am - typical! so we took some pictures of the sunrise which was pretty rubbish really - the sun didnt come up properly - just looked like a white circle! The taj was amazing! really beautiful! but not as big as me & dan imagined! strange... took lots of photos - glad we came first thing though! busy enough at 6am!!! cant imagine what its like at 10am!!! went back to our hotel to relax for a bit before visiting the other monuments. while we were having breakfast at our hotel - guess who turns up and surprises me by hugging me... SALIM!!! oh no!!!! chatted for a bit then we told him we were going for a tour of the monuments and would meet him back at the hotel at 4pm! so i disappeared before then - not wanting more sexual advances (he has taken to asking for alone time in our room this morning - NOT on my to-do list for today!! lol) and came to this internet cafe! dan turned up after about an hour - it turns out he is not coming after all!!! hooray! he must have got the picture this morning lol!
so anyway, thats about it for the moment! only 11 days to got and we are really excited about seeing everyone! not long now!
see you all soon!
loads of love
bekki & dan
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