Alwar 28/2/09 - 3/3/09

After cancelling our trip to Varanasi, we had to try and decide where we could go instead which would still fit in with the rest of our plans. We had heard about the Sariska Nature Reserve, near Alwar, from the travel agent before we left and thought that we could pay this a visit since it is situated roughly an equal distance between Delhi and Agra.

When I told Mr Rashid - the hotel travel information officer who puts on a good display of sympathy ("Is your friend feeling better?") whilst the pound signs flash in his eyes ("Can I book you a new taxi or tour?") - that we wanted to see some wildlife in Sariska, he positively guffawed in my face. "There is NO wildlife in Sariska!" he exclaimed. "For wildlife you need to go to Ranthambore! I can book a car to take you there and a hotel! It will only cost around 100pounds each!" "Um. I need to go and speak to Jane about this."

In the end we decided that we would go to Sariska despite Mr Rashid's protestations because the guidebook said that, although the sanctuary had "acquired the dubious honour of being the first Project Tiger reserve to be declared free of tigers", there was still plenty of wildlife to see there. Plus it would only be a 3.5 hour drive rather than an 8 hour one.

The car journey to Alwar was really interesting because we got to see the more rural side of India, passing through small villages with huts and shacks in the fields. We passed women in saris farming the fields - piles of aubergines by the road. The roads are just as hair-raising outside of the cities, but we got used to swerving to avoid head-on collisions with oncoming lorries. I still haven't worked out the traffic etiquette - who swerves first? Take two vehicles going in opposite directions, both travelling on the same side of the road (one is presumably overtaking or avoiding pit holes on their side of the road) - both vehicles hold down the horn (the lorries have very loud horns which play different notes) - you're speeding towards each other, horns blaring. As you get even closer, the lorry may start flashing its lights and start repeating the horn blasts. Other cars might also start beeping as they weave through this potential pile up. Just when you shut your eyes and think "So this is how it ends.." you find that you have calmly swerved back onto the correct side of the road and everyone is fine. This happens every few minutes during the 3.5 hour journey.

Anyway, somehow we reached our hotel in Alwar still alive, though probably with slightly elevated blood pressure. When we got there (Hotel Yufraj), they clearly weren't expecting us. The lady said it was lucky because they had been fully booked that night with a wedding party, but they had all left this morning so we had the whole hotel to ourselves. This was amazing, because as their only guests, we were the only people they had to focus their hospitality on. It was one of the most welcoming places I have ever been! They were calling us "sisters" from about 5 minutes into our stay. We had a grandmother, who painted henna on our hands on the second day, a mother who cooked our food, 2 little brothers, a dad who really was more like a brother because he was the one we spent most of our time with, and a grandfather who served as a major in the Indian army.

On the first night, Lavkush (the man) drove us up to Alwar fort. It was dark and we were driving up winding roads on the side of a steep hill. Suddenly, right by the side of the road there was the biggest stag I have ever seen! It just stared into our headlights, not moving, with gigantic antlers, looking majestic. It was one of the most amazing sights! I tried to get a photo but none of them captured how amazing it was - you really did have to be there. On the way back a porcupine crossed the road! It was huge, like a dog, with massive spines - all this before we had even reached the wildlife reserve! From the fort, the view of Alwar was spectacular - thousands of twinkling orange and white lights in the midst of the darkness, accompanied by the sound of crickets and birds. Amazing.

When we got back to the hostel, 'mum' had cooked us an egg curry. She said she had made it less spicy that the curry she made for her kids (the adults ate curries 'ten times hotter' apparently). Anyway, I have never eaten anything that was that hot!! My mouth was burning, nose running, eyes watering - "It is slightly hot", I managed to whisper. Having said that, it was quite tasty. It was nice to have an egg. Before then, we hadn't eaten any meat and had become so distrustful of Indian food that we had lived almost solely off ready salted crisps (followed by an 'Imodium breakfast', just to be on the safe side!) I had also had a few pizzas and Jane, a few soups, but I don't think the western food is any better than the Indian in terms of digestion.

The second day we got up at 6am so Lavkush could to drive us to Sariska. When we got there we all got in a jeep and started the bumpiest drive around the park! We saw sambar deer, spotted deer, wild boar, a jackal, nilgai (blue bull), rhesus monkeys (including a baby!), langur monkeys, chital (stag). Half way though we stopped and got to hand feed Tiger birds, which was a great experience.

After the reserve, Lavk took us to the Sariska Palace Hotel, which was one of the Maharaja's hunting lodges. He pulled some strings and managed to get someone to let us see the Maharaja's suite! After this we went on a peddalo on Sileserh Lake - Lavk and I were peddalling and Jane was just enjoying the ride.

In the evening, we ventured out for food. The cycle rickshaw driver unfortunately did not speak any English and couldn't work out where we wanted to go. He ended up taking us to the police, who also didn't speak any English. Quite a large group of Indian men gathered around us - none of whom spoke English. Sign language ensued.

On our last full day in Alwar we got up at 9am and Lavk took us to Alwar Palace. It was quite beautiful, although perhaps not as well kept as it would have been in England. Lavk managed to pull a few strings again and we were allowed to see the Maharaja's throne - which is not normally open to the public. It was great to be shown round by someone who could get us these opportunities.

After this we went to the market and both Jane and I bought scarves (part of the Salwar Kameez outfit) which we had dyed to the colours we wanted. If Lavk hadn't been there, we would have got totally lost in the maze of stalls. The fruit and veg market was quite a sight - full of wandering cows and fruits that we didn't recognise. Lavk picked some pieces and made us try them - I was sure we'd get upset stomachs from this - most of which were not very tasty!

In the evening, Lavk took us to a club which he was a member of. We sat outside and drank orange vodka with soda. It was a really nice evening and we talked about lots of things. It was interesting to find out about India from an Indian person. He told us about the Hindu caste system (he is a Rajput, which is the second highest), about his arranged marriage with his wife (how they met on their wedding day and then fell in love after that) and how he couldn't imagine being away from his family like we are. We agreed that the cultures are very different. I wondered if our sense of humours were different too, so I told him my favourite 'That's not my dog' joke and it seemed that that humour was very much universal! I knew it was a good one.

We left Alwar the following day in a car to Agra. It cost half the price as the one from Delhi, despite being the same distance, so I expect Mr Rashid was pleased with the commission he made on that overpriced sale! Anyway, we are in Agra now and will be leaving for Udaipur later today. I'll try and upload some photos now.

Lots of love xxxx