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If there was a sound track to India, it would have the stereotypical sitar music, calls to prayer and chiming bells you might imagine. Unfortunately, it would also have the unsightly noise of people coughing up and spitting out phlegm, all manner of traffic beeping their horns coming at you from every direction, and people begging on every corner. And I won't even get started on the smells! Despite some of its flaws, it still holds certain must-see attractions which Chris and I are currently doing a whistlestop tour of. If it wasn't for curry and Kingfisher beer, he would've given up a long time ago - and it's only been one week so far!
We're very glad we've made things a lot easier on ourselves and hired a 'chauffer', Sanjay for our time here, which is pretty cheap (cheaper than hiring a car and you would not want to drive here!), and we get to see lots more in a short space of time with less hassle than we'd get on public transport.
We arrived in Delhi in the early hours of the morning and caught up on some sleep before heading out into the throng of the streets. We were staying the busy market area of Karol Bagh and opposite our hotel was a tailors. I popped in just to see on the off chance if they could take up some trousers I'd bought. Five minutes and 30 rupees (about 35 pence later) a good job was well done! Walked around the block to take in the local atmoshphere, with street food sellers cooking up a storm (soon to be a thing of the past if the government has its way in trying to enforce much needed efforts to clean up the city - will damage a lot of locals though.), and market sellers offering just about anything at knock down prices.
Found a travel agent and secured Sanjay's services for the next 17 days, deciding on the extended golden triangle as our route to take in the major attractions, then began with a look around Delhi itself. We soon realised there was going to be a definite religious theme to the sight seeing, having had to remove our shoes to visit two temples before the day was out! Had a nice spicy curry for about 20 pence, and then we went to Connaught Place, the main business and shopping district. Had a walk around the underground market and went to one of the upmarket bars in the square for a quick drink before feeling worn out from the heat - 35 degrees. Went to the restaurant Sanjay recommended for dinner which was a bit of a fast food joint, but served an amazing thali (a combination platter) for next to nothing.
The next day it was straight off to India's crowning glory, the Taj Mahal. My trip was never going to be quite as memorable as my sister's (who got engaged there), but I did expect to be able to see the memorial of love for myself. We were slightly disappointed to find that the morning fog didn't really lift, and it was only after getting to the end of the path that we could see the spectacle properly. It was impressively detailed, but smaller than I imagined it. The gardens were beautiful, but again marred slightly by the short distance we could see. An experience all too reminiscent of Kilimanjaro, though it was far easier getting here!
We stayed in a cheap hotel in Agra but went to an expensive one to play tennis and have a drink which made the pain of losing go away! We then headed to Ranthambore, home to the national park made famous by the presence of tigers. Although only 26 of them remain after extensive poaching over the years, they are finally being protected by the government not only for their sakes, but for the livelihoods of those who depend on tourism to make a living. Given their small number in a large park over 300 sq km, the tigers aren't guaranteed to be seen, and indeed one family were on their fourth safari desperate for a glimpse. We thought we were out of luck too but just as we were heading away from their favourite haunt the watering hole, and drivnig back toward the gate, our driver spotted a big beast who'd come to bask on the rocks at the top of the valley. It looked striking and very strong, so I was quite glad it didn't come too close!
We then made our way to Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan (the Western state), and admired the views of the pink city from the hilltop forts. Inside one was the world's largest cannon, and another karma sutra paintings, and seperate living quarters used by the late King and his nine wives! The rest of Jaipur was pretty dirty and smelly, so we turned to the 'top end' section of the guide book, and found ourselves pulling up outside the Rambagh Palace, former home of the Maharaja who plays polo at the club next door with Prince Charles apparently! We had a fantastic meal and even some decent Indian wine which was a real treat.
We've now arrived in the holy city of Pushkar (aptly named as you can't get cars through the old town! That doesn't stop the motorbikes trying to run you down though!), where Chris is in his element - no alcohol, no real coffee, meat or even eggs, and another famous temple or ten! Still - we do have a lovely hotel room and a swimming pool, and it's pretty cheap so we can't complain - just had a tasty dinner (not curry for a change) for about 3 pounds.
Onwards to Udaipur tomorrow; allegedly the most romantic place in India, so I'll keep you posted....
Part II
We spent longer than planned in Udaipur - it was definitely our favourite place in the Northern states of India. Checked into a lovely hotel (Udai Kothi), being presented with a flower garland and drink on arrival, which obviously helped! The roof top pool was our first stop, the sun was shining, and the view over the lake was beautiful. Went for a walk around and the streets were still filthy, but somehow the presence of the lake made things more pleasant. We walked through the grounds of the vast City Palace, and had a drink at the Sunset Palace terrace bar, again with a stunning view of the lake and the infamous Taj Lake Palace where we'd booked dinner the following night. We were going to have Valentines evening itself at our hotel, being hailed as one of the top 5 romantic eats here, but we'd succumbed to the temptation the night before, so wanted to try somewhere else - sadly it didn't go quite according to plan. We found a German cafe recommended in the book serving brown bread and good coffee so had breakfast there, then escaped the bustle of the city and went horse riding in the morning, which was good fun. Chris' horse was pretty skittish showing up mine which was called Naughty, but luckily was very well behaved! Having enjoyed breakfast, we checked out their recommendation of a newly opened luxury guesthouse where we would receive a discount for dinner. It was beautifully decorated in the namesake Tiger theme, very modern and again utilising the main feature of the lake from the roof terrace. We decided to give it a go, but sadly regretted the decision, eating half of the worst curry we've probably ever had - and it was cooked by Indians which was even more surprising and disappointing! Went back to our hotel for delicious pancakes and ice-cream on the petal-strewn roof watching the stars overhead, and fireworks over the lake - a fitting close to the day, and we were fairly easily persuaded to stay on.
The next morning we were up early to embark on a cookery course, feeling confident we could at least better the performance of our chefs last night! Our teacher, Shashi, mixed cooking vegetable curry and masala dosa's with a few culture lessons in the ways of her religion and society. Midway through telling us to press down and twist the chapati on the pan, she suddenly announced that her husband had been murdered by his best friend. Not really knowing how to respond, we burnt the bread as we listened and she continued and her friend chopped green chillies for Chris, and vegetables on the floor (why they don't try to be cleaner and use the table top I still don't understand!). Shashi 'belongs' to the highest caste (Brahmen) in the religous hierarchy, and when her husband was cruelly taken from her, leaving her two sons and her outcast from his family, she moved into their two room apartment (bedroom and kitchen), and had to sit huddled in the corner, covered up and silent for 45 days. Her friends would come to visit and cry by her side every day but she could not communicate with them. She was not allowed to go outside for a whole year and is forbidden from marrying again. Chris and I were completely flabagasted at this distressing story, but Shashi has obviously got used to bearing this cross despite being unhappy about her situation. She has atleast been able to make some money in a very poor country, and although bitter is a very kind and caring person. We ate the very tasty produce of our mornings work - it's amazing what you can do with a two ring burner! Chris reckons he's going to be an expert chef when we get home, so anyone who wants to be a guinea pig is very welcome!
Chris went horse riding again in the afternoon, determined to take the reigns and control his horses temper! I meanwhile went to a tailors and had two beautiful silk dresses made, then went to have the strangest massage I've ever had. It was an ayurvedic full body massage - normally the masseur is still fairly discreet, but she stood there watching me and told me to take everything off, then was rather heavy handed throughout - not quite as relaxing as I'd hoped!
Got ready to go out for the evening, and went back to the Sunset Palace for a drink, then got the Lake Palace water taxi over to the hotel. The beautiful white building seemingly floats on the surface, and it was very pretty inside. We sat in our own booth to have a cocktail, then sat down in one of the restaurants for dinner. We got irritated by the cheek of the place only then. We knew it would be one of the more expensive meals we ate in India, but didn't want to feel ripped off. They had a cover charge for the tables, and gave you a menu which you could then eat anything you liked from up to the value of the cover charge. Unfortunately, even if you ordered four courses according to the prices on the menu, you couldn't spend that amount, and drinks of course were seperate, so they didn't help themselves there. We obviously tried our best to stuff ourselves silly - Chris ordering two main courses, but we couldn't finish them all so went back to the hotel feeling a little hard done by (despite having some delicious food, and getting away without paying for the cocktails at the start!).
The next morning we had a wander to go and get Chris some real coffee again at Cafe edelweiss, and weren't relishing the thought of getting back in the car, having a long, hot and bumpy drive to the next destination to see more temples! I was still quite keen to see the desert and ride a camel, but Chris has allowed me to admit that he broke first! I, however will confess that I wasn't that far behind him! We started looking for alternatives in the guidebook over breakfast, and by lunchtime we had booked a flight to Goa, in Southern India for that evening! Our driver was pretty surprised but laughed it off, ultimately realising that he would get paid and be able to go home earlier than expected.
He took us to the airport in Armedhabad, Gujarat, still a few hours drive away in the afternoon, then we boarded our plane early evening for the two hour flight. We didn't really know where to go, but any place by the sea was going to be good for Chris, so we settled on Candolim Beach and found a small guesthouse for about 10 pounds a night. It was dark, but the streets looked much cleaner and the old Portugese buildings gave it a European feel - altogether a world away from Rajasthan.
We woke up to sun, sea and a long sandy beach, feeling instantly more relaxed, if a little like we'd cheated! Had a lovely few days whizzing about on an old Enfield motorbike exploring quiet beaches, eating delicious fresh seafood and even a Sunday roast! Candolim was unfortunately a bit too English with some pubs seemingly having transfered whole towns from the North of England for their holiday! There are plenty of places to go to escape them though, so we made the most of our own transport, and the sea to go sailing, wakeboarding and swimming. We would definitely like to return to Goa.
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