India - epilogue

We had always planned on visiting India at some point, so the need to be out of Spain for some time this year brought it to the top of the pile. Timing wasn't ideal as it was a bit late into the spring and summer heat, but figured we could make it work as long as we kept things flexible. We landed into Mumbai as one of the 3 airports that Turkish airlines flew into so we could make an easy connection from Valencia. Once there we decided that the heat and humidity were tolerable and the forecast for further south down the coast were similar so we opted to get down to Goa and then, having checked forecasts again, on to Kerala. We flew both legs for speed and convenience to get there before the monsoon was expected to hit, and both had been on our vague to do/wishlist.

Goa was nicely chilled out as expected, and the food was unique and very good from the Portuguese influence - only place we found pork curry. The waterways of Kerala were also scenic although the houseboat was very disappointing and i would not recommend anyone to do it as a single night. Maybe longer trips would get you to more secluded overnight moorings where you could see more of the sunset, night sky and sunrise over the landscape - all i remember of the evening is 6 beefy bearded Indian guys dancing to bhangra in their underpants on the boat moored alongside us.

Having got those two ticked off we worked our way back up the country by road and rail trying to stay ahead of the monsoon. Someone in Goa recommended we see Ooty and Mysore so we managed to find transport to link those up, and an old copy of lonely planet suggested Hampi, so we factored that in.

This was our first real backpacking trip - we had our own vehicle for most of central and south america and only did a couple of bus journeys in Brazil. We didnt want to fly much or travel overnight so we could actually see the landscape, so trains and buses and it proved slow and tricky with some journeys taking 3 or 4 days with overnight hotel stops - every mode of transport in india is slow, and same day connections were really at your peril so after the first couple of late arrivals we tried to avoid them. Also, just because a train exists does not mean that you can book a place on it as a foreigner - we never worked out the rules but often we had to get very early or very late trains as the better timed ones could only be booked with payment through the indian banking system and not international cards. Random. Buses were a bit easier to book but many were sleeper services so uncomfortable to try and sit during the day, and often picking up and dropping off in locations that were not clearly defined or miles out of the  towns we wanted to actually visit. Again, a bit random.  And to anyone planning a short visit to India, don't underestimate the distances, and how slow and disconnected everything is.

And every stereotype of indian traffic you have seen on TV, film and comedy? Not even close to how chaotic, busy, constant and noisy it is. And cows.  Buses going the wrong way up dual carriageway ramps for a mile to get their preferred services? No one bats an eyelid. We saw at least 2 mopeds under vehicles but then they are worse than pigeons. All a bit random

Ditto the bureaucracy - despite having an e-visa filled out and approved before arriving, immigration still took so long that our luggage was taken off the belt and delivered to the lost passenger office. Every hotel check in was its own variation on the theme how much useless, duplicated information do we need to send our government? State run attractions - we will pay security guards to check tickets and for someone to sit in the office telling you that you have to buy your ticket on line, but not to sell you one.

And there is always someone willing to help for a fee. Started referring to them as shitflies as they were as plentiful and hard to get rid of. You want taxi/tuktuk? After the 15th one in the row that you have said no to the 16th will still bother asking. And the lies - its not open today/ until this afternoon/too far to walk when you can see it just over their shoulder and people are going through the open gate......lost it a few times screaming at them to f off - didnt stop them but made me feel better.

After a month where we had some quite heavy showers - people died in flooding in Bangalore  while we were there - we worked out that india is not a good place to be in the rain. Life is lived on the streets and there are very very few cafes, bars, restaurants or other places to sit out of the rain other than your hotel. In many places the only sit in restaurants were the hotels and even they were shut during the daytime.  And the monsoon forecasts were getting closer and predicting that it was going to arrive earlier than average and be heavier. So we made the call to bring forward our flight back to Turkey by a couple of weeks to coincide with when the monsoon was predicted to hit Delhi at the end of June, and then plan the rest of the trip accordingly. We filled in a few other bits we had heard about from people as we went around, and then managed to get all the famous last bits in.

Other planned achievements - i did have 3 curries in a day a couple of times, but more often just ate breakfast and supper. And did see tigers before a curry breakfast. Failures - due to cloud cover we couldnt see the himalayas from Shimla, and couldnt book in advance to go on a narrow gauge hill railway.  Didn't really miss anything out - if we still had another 2 weeks there we may have gone to Jodhpur and Mussorie, but it would have been for the sake of it rather than to see anything specific.

Will we be back? Probably but not for a few years. I think it is inherent with this kind of travel that you put up with wading through a lot of shit for a few nuggets, and at the moment, that is clouding the memory. When we were in south america we had similar issues with car problems, border crossings and crap accommodation and food, and were both pretty stressed out long before the trip ended. Now we think back and that stuff fades a bit and you remember why you went there a bit more clearly. Should we have done anything differently? Probably not - if we had planned and prebooked stuff it may have gone smoother, but more likely it would have been marred by bad decisions on where to go and what order to do things and we would have missed things like Hampi as we had just not seen in the tourist lists.

India - its all a bit random.

 

 

India - week 10

After the 10 hour bus journey from Shimla, we finally arrived in a very humid Delhi. After check in, we dumped our bags and headed straight to the pool to unwind.

Our hotel near Connaught Place was just steps away from Jantar Mantar

It is one of five Jantar Mantar observatories in India (the most famous one we saw in Jaipur) and translates to "instruments for measuring the harmony of the heavens". It consists of 13 architectural astronomy instruments.

Constructed around 1724, the height of the huge sundial is 220 m.

The main purpose of the observatory was to compile astronomical tables, and to predict the times and movements of the Sun, Moon and planets using the very complex structures.

The Jai Prakash Yantra, has concave and convex hemispherical bowls which were used for precise measurements of celestial bodies.

From there we walked to India Gate, a war memorial dedicated to soldiers of the Indian Army who died between 1914 and 1921 in the First World War and the Third Anglo-Afghan War.

The next day we took the air-conditioned metro to the Red Fort. We had read that this fort and the one in Agra were almost the same, albeit larger, as they were both built in Indo- Islamic Mughal Architecture & Structure. Agra Fort pre dates Delhi Fort by almost 80 years and was built when the Emperor moved his capital to Delhi from Agra.

We had visited many forts and palaces during the last ten weeks and were feeling somewhat jaded especially with the humidity, so we decided not to explore the inside of the fort.

Instead we took the metro to the Lotus Temple. Completed in 1986, its design is based on ancient lotus flowers which symbolise purity and beauty in many cultures. It is constructed of white marble and features nine pools of water surrounding it to give the impression that its floating on water. As with all temples in India, shoes must be removed before entering. Given that there were a number of marble steps up to the entrance, I decided not to look inside, mainly because the soles of my feet aren't made of asbestos! 

The next day we took the metro again to see the Swaminarayan Akshardam temple. It's fairly new (2005) and took 11,000 artisans to sculpt and carve out all the surrounds. Unfortunately, this is the only photo I could get as no phones, electronic devices or bags are allowed inside the gate. Inside the complex was beautiful with many sculptures of elephants carved around the base of the temple.

From there we had a tuk tuk take us to Humayun's tomb, another UNESCO site. Built in 1560 pre dating the Taj Mahal by 80 years, Humayun’s Tomb stands within a large garden complex which includes a number of other 16th century Mughal garden-tombs.

The tomb stands in a very significant archaeological setting near the Shrine of the 14th century Sufi Saint, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. It is considered lucky to be buried near a saint’s grave therefore seven hundred years of tomb building has led to the area becoming the densest collection of medieval Islamic buildings in India.

The tomb, its gardens and other attached structures has been the focus of a conservation project in partnership with the Aga Khan Trust for Culture since 1997.

We didn't spend any time walking around the gardens as I was struggling with the heat, humidity and air quality.

The tomb of the noble Isa Khan Niazi is also located within the complex and pre-dates Humayun's tomb by about 20 years. The mosque of Isa Khan is also nearby.

The next couple of days we hit the shops around Connaught Place and Janpath market.

It was then time to say goodbye to India, just as the monsoon finally settled over Delhi. We had changed our plans from 12 weeks to 10 when the local weather authority forecast the monsoon was going to be arriving early. 

We had a very early flight to Istanbul then a connection to Dalaman and taxi to Fethiye which turned into a 24 hour travel day. Now it's time to sit by the beach and reminisce about our last 10 weeks.

India - week 9

After an overnight stop in Delhi, we boarded a train and headed up to Amritsar. We had a brief walk around when we got there, mainly just to stretch our legs having been on the train for over 6 hours.

Our hotel was quite close to the main sites, so we could walk to everything. The next day we went to the main site that I wanted to see, the Golden temple (Sri Harmandir Sahib). It was completed in 1589 and is the holiest site in Sikhism. It has been destroyed and rebuilt a number of times, the last time in marble and cooper then overlaid with gold leaf in 1830, hence the name.

I didn't go into the shrine as there were literally thousands of people queuing. According to Wikipedia, over 150,000 people visit the shrine EVERY DAY.

Instead, I walked around the complex which is a collection of buildings around the sanctum and the pool. These include a clock tower, the offices of the Gurdwara Committee, a Museum and a langar – a free Sikh community-run kitchen that offers a vegetarian meal to all visitors irrespective of their beliefs.

Later that day we visited Jallianwala Bagh a monument and museum. It was here that hundreds of innocent people were massacred during a peaceful protest on 13th April 1919 when General Dyer ordered his troops to open fire. Another bloody page in the British history of conquest 

The Partition Museum was very interesting and documents the history leading up to partition and the riots that followed the division of British India into two independent dominions: India and Pakistan.

From Amritsar we boarded a train to Chandigarh then took a bus to Shimla. It was a long 12 hour travelling day as we couldn't book the Himalayan Queen train. The city is the terminus of the narrow-gauge Kalka-Shimla Railway which was completed in 1903. At 2,200m above sea level, Shimla is in the Himalayan foothills and was once the summer capital of British India.

As you can imagine, the city is spread out and built into the very steep hills so it wasn't easy to get around. Here is the view from our hotel room.

Mall Road is one of the main areas to head for and is the centre for shops and restaurants. There is a lift that takes you to the top as no traffic is allowed. From here we walked up to Christ Church and the view from The Ridge. Unfortunately, it was all clouded in so we didn't get the views we had hoped for.

That afternoon, up in the clouds, we visited the  Rashtrapati Niwas (the President's Residence) formerly known as Viceregal Lodge. It was formerly the residence of the British Viceroy of India.

At least the weather was much cooler and we walked back to our hotel down the winding roads and in the rain

The next day we visited the Railway museum thinking there would be a lot of information on how the narrow guage railway was built. Instead it had a few heritage pieces from the various stations and nothing about the actual construction of the 98 kilometres of track or the 103 tunnels of which 102 are still in use.

Then it was back on the bus for the long 10 hour journey down to Delhi and our last week in India

India - week 8

We've certainly covered some ground this week, 1,580kms by train, plus assorted tuk tuks and safari jeeps, and packed a lot in.

From Udaipur we headed further north to the pink city of Jaipur, and the temperature continued to increase to 40C+

The following morning we visited the Hawa Mahal, also known as "palace of winds" which is part of the City Palace complex. It was built in 1799 and has over 900 small windows decorated with intricate latticework over 5 levels. It was designed so that the royal ladies could observe everyday life and festivals celebrated in the street below without being seen. The many windows also allowed cool air to pass through and so making the whole area more pleasant during the high temperatures. The familiar view is actually the back of the building.

Here is a picture downloaded from Wikipedia, 

however, the gods of scaffolding frowned on us once more and this is what we saw

Here are a few photos of the inside.

A short walk around the corner was the City Palace, our next stop. As the Jaipur royal family are in residence there, the ticket prices for foreigners were extortionate, so we chose instead to see the various buildings and museums that are part of the complex.

Here are just a few photos 

These vessels are believed to be the largest silver ones in the world. They were crafted to hold holy water from the river Ganges, hopefully without added body.

They each weigh 345kg and can carry approximately 2,000 litres and were used by the Maharaja to carry water to England in 1902 to attend the coronation of King Edward VII.

That evening we headed to the Amber Fort, also called the Amer Palace, to watch the light show from a rooftop restaurant. We couldn't quite hear the narrative but it was nice to see anyway.

The next day we visited Panna Meena ka Kund, a beautiful stepwell constructed in the 16th century and one of the hundreds of ancient stepwells that still exist in India. They were often constructed just outside towns and villages to provide local people with water for drinking, bathing, washing clothes and irrigating crops.

Before it got too hot we went back to the Amber Fort, another UNESCO world heritage site, walked up to and around it. Constructed of red sandstone and marble, the palace is laid out on four levels, each with a courtyard.

This was the Sheesh Mahal, the mirror palace.

We never get a guide as we prefer to see things at our own pace and read the various descriptions. We were wandering around the king's bedroom when a security guard called us over and took us through a closed off restricted area. He showed us a Persian water wheel, clay pots on an endless rope belt driven by men which lifts water up to 20m. The palace has a chain of three or four of these to get water all the way from the lake to the top floor. He told us to look down the enclosure where we saw hundreds of sleeping bats.

He also showed us a few more closed off rooms and passages, so in the end, we had an unofficial guide for a short time.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped briefly to view the Jal Mahal also known as the Water Palace as it's located in the middle of Man Sagar Lake. The palace looks like it's floating on water as its a five-story structure, with four floors submerged underwater.

Later that afternoon we visited Birla Mandir also known as Lakshmi Narayan Temple. It's is a modern Hindu temple built in 1988 and is known for its all-white marble structure and intricate carvings.

From there we headed to Patrika Gate, an entry to Jawahar Circle Garden. It was made of pink limestone and has beautiful murals, designs, and frescoes on each pillar and arch.

The following day saw us on a train once more, this time heading down to Ranthambore National Park. The park is huge and covers a total area of 1,334 km2. It was originally established as a game sanctuary in 1955, then a Project Tiger reserve in 1974 and is known for its Bengal tigers. There are ten zones and we did a total of three safaris. We were lucky enough to see tigers on two of them and a sloth bear on the third, together with lots of other wildlife.

The first safari was in to zone 6 and we saw a tiger called Lakshmi. She was hiding in the trees and we waited to see if she would come down to the stream to drink. After a long time our driver decided to take us to look for other wildlife. When we came back a while later, she had come down to the stream to drink.

The next morning our jeep picked us up at 5.30 and off we went, this time into zone 1. The next tiger we saw was 18 years old called Noor. She was sleeping behind some rocks and her head would pop up occasionally, then go back to sleep. After a while, she'd had enough of us so she got up and walked behind a tree, then slumped down and went back to sleep. 

We left her in peace and continued our search, which paid off. Not far from the gate and near a watering hole we found Sultana, Noor's daughter, and her mate Sky. We were lucky enough to get quite close so we were able to observe them for some time.

Then it was back to the hotel for a swim, lunch and relax before our final safari in the afternoon, this time into zone 10. We drove around for some time and saw lots of birds, many species of deer and antelope, peacocks, mongoose, wild pigs and more, but no tigers. Part of the zone was still closed due to a young boy being killed by a tigress a few weeks before. There is a temple near the fort in the park that many locals visit and it is thought that the young tigress, only 22 months old, might have mistaken the boy for a young deer.

On the way back to the watering hole we saw a sloth bear coming out of the trees. He looked just like a shaggy teddy bear.

The next day it was back to Jaipur to get another train to Agra.

The Agra Fort, another UNESCO world heritage site, is also known as the Red Fort and has stood on this site for many centuries. The current structure was rebuilt during the 15th century.

 The Taj Mahal is only 2.5kms away

The next morning dawned very overcast so no sunrise over the Taj Mahal but we were at the western gate before 6am and the crowds. 

No photos were allowed inside the mausoleum but we saw most of the area before the heavens opened an hour later. Due to the rain, many of the previously drained pools were filled so I was able to get a few really good photos.

Then it was on to Delhi for a night so we could get the train 500kms north to Amritsar.