Finally, thank goodness we arrived! No more banging bus. All there was left was a short taxi ride to our hotel, which unforutnatey our hotel forgot to send for us. So we got a local taxi and made the hotel pay. It's great being in Nepal in the low season, we're pretty sure we've been the only people staying in this rather large hotel, so we managed to barter down the room price from 700 to 500 rupees a night. So, a double room, with ensuite, tv, balcony, and views of the himalayas, we're paying about two pounds twenty five each a night. Cracking.
We woke up the next morning with a hot shower and breakfast in the hotel before setting out to explore. Within 5 minutes of venturing out, we were both in heaven. The large main street in lakeside (part of Pokhara) is full of bustling shops selling the most wonderful array of clothing, traditional buddhist items such as singing bowls and prayer wheels, book shops, music shops, as well as the huge variety of restaurants. The most incredible part of Pokhara is the laid back and relaxed atmosphere, no touts, no horns, no tuktuks nothing but tranquility and the occasional sound of the Chillies coming from a nearby restaurant. We spent the day shopping, buying jumpers made from 100% yaks wool and traditional nepali hats, which felt like we were breaking the bank but I guess for a jumper and 3 hats for 1800 rupee isnt too bad, seeing as that comes to around 16 quid! In the evening we ventured out to find some food, by venturing out i mean going next door from our hotel to the better one which has a very chilled restaurant with guitars and drums you can play freely and great food. We did feel slightly cheeky walking outside and literally across the road but whatever, we now do it every single breakfast and as I write this we are relaxing across the road too. The hotel is called Peace Eye, which is recommended by the LP as the best budget hotel in town.
The following day we spent finding out what to do in Pokhara and a bit more window shopping. We then took out a boat on the Phewa Tal lake for 3 hours, soaking up the rays and reading up on the famous Ghurka soldiers. That evening we went to the LemonTree restaurant and had our first carnivorous meal in over 2 weeks, relief! James had a locally caught fish from the Phewa Tal lake, whereas Tim had the Chicken sizzler, which literally sizzled as it was brought to the table.
The next few days should be good fun doing some hill treks to specific points around Pokhara, bit more shopping - Tim's going buy a few Khukuri knives - also going on an hours paragliding flight over the Himalayas!!!
Friday 25 February 2011
Crash... Bang... Wallop!!
The following morning was another early wakeup, having to be out by 5.30 to catch a 3 hour bus to the border at Sunauli. Finding the bus was relatively straight forward, getting on at around 6 to the welcome of an appalling bollywood film that was being played at full volume through the tiny television at the front of the bus. Sooo the time passed by as we drifted off to sleep again, up until a mile away from reaching the border, where things took an exciting turn for the worse. Pcture the scene... a lorry in the lane to the left, an oil tanker in the lane to the right. Now our evidentally inept bus driver decided to cruise down the road at a solid 50mph, however the also retarded oil tanker who hadnt quite worked out how to use his mirrors decided to pull out just at the wrong moment, cutting into our lane just as we reached him. Our bus driver admittedly did a good job at avoiding a head on collision swerving left to try and squeeze inbetween the lorry and the oil tanker; due to the speed he was going and the poor braking distances the bus could manage, we ploud straight into the sides of the two other vehicles, wedging us between the lorry and oil tanker. We'd crashed! Luckily for all of us, everyone walked out without a scratch, say walk out, I mean clambering out of the drivers window... Looking back on it now, we were extremely lucky! After retrieving our bags from the back of the bus we headed to the front to assess the damage, at which point, we suddenly heard shouting from behind us, looking round finding all three drivers in a punch up walloping each other in sheer anger and to be honest each completely oblivious whose fault it actually was. We realised that getting back in the bus and driving the last part of the journey probably wasnt going to happen, so we walked the last mile to the border. Our trekking had started a ittle while before we had anticipated.
Upon arrival at the border we got stamped out of India and walked right through into “no-mans-land” where neither country own the small strip between border posts. We then had to go to the Nepalise border police to be stamped into Nepal, a process we thought would take ages, but we were through in about 10 minutes! We then visited a tourist information office to find the bus to Pokhara, and to change our money. Immediately we were struck by the friendliness of the Nepailse people who showed us to the tourist info/bus stop etc with no air of wanting a tip or a fee. So after buying bus tickets from the tourist info guy we hopped onto a jeep to be driven to the bus stop. Now this jeep was made for about 6 people max. We had about 15. 10 inside and 5 clinging to the back. Thankfully it was a short journey and we got off to be shown to our next bus, the bus to Pokhara which would take 8 hours. It looked okay at first, relatively comfy seats and a quick bus driver. However as the hours passed, and as we drove over some pretty awful potholes, we took a fair beating. Sleeping was out of the question - try sleeping in what felt like an eathquake at point 6 on the richter scale – so we instead tried to appreciate the scenery around us, which again was a bit of a mission seeing as the bus was hurtling around tight mountain bends with huge drops to one side scaring the bejesus out of us.
Upon arrival at the border we got stamped out of India and walked right through into “no-mans-land” where neither country own the small strip between border posts. We then had to go to the Nepalise border police to be stamped into Nepal, a process we thought would take ages, but we were through in about 10 minutes! We then visited a tourist information office to find the bus to Pokhara, and to change our money. Immediately we were struck by the friendliness of the Nepailse people who showed us to the tourist info/bus stop etc with no air of wanting a tip or a fee. So after buying bus tickets from the tourist info guy we hopped onto a jeep to be driven to the bus stop. Now this jeep was made for about 6 people max. We had about 15. 10 inside and 5 clinging to the back. Thankfully it was a short journey and we got off to be shown to our next bus, the bus to Pokhara which would take 8 hours. It looked okay at first, relatively comfy seats and a quick bus driver. However as the hours passed, and as we drove over some pretty awful potholes, we took a fair beating. Sleeping was out of the question - try sleeping in what felt like an eathquake at point 6 on the richter scale – so we instead tried to appreciate the scenery around us, which again was a bit of a mission seeing as the bus was hurtling around tight mountain bends with huge drops to one side scaring the bejesus out of us.
Agra to Gorakhpur
Sooo, the next few days were pretty knackering! In order to get up to Nepal, we had to spend a few days travelling. We woke up at 5 in Agra to catch a 6 hour train up to Lucknow. We hadn't travelled Second Seater class up until this moment. Hmmm to describe SS... think of British trains, diminish their standards by about 50x and you are still nowhere near. It is the pits, but yno, for around 2 quid what can you expect. After sleeping the majority of the way, we arrived in Lucknow, at around 12 and with 3 hours to kill before out next train we decided to walk about, find some food and catch up on some reading. Upon looking at the selection of food at one of the train stalls, we were approached by two 7 year old beggars, who instead of asking for few coppers demanded that we bought them a pepsi. Obviously after being pestered for the previous 2 weeks by beggars, we knew how to deal with them, giving them a firm 'no' and ignoring them. These girls were persistent little buggers however, pestering us for about 5 minutes. After a few minutes a tourist police officer walked over to ask if we needed any help or information and upon seeing the two street kids irritating us, took more severe actions than just a firm 'NO'.. Instead this policeman decided to wallop the older girl around the face! That got them running and although it did seem somewhat excessive to us both, we did find it also mildly amusing, to be honest after being annoyed on numerous occasions by beggars, some form of extreme action was a little relieving!
After grabbing some food and reading for a few hours we finally hopped on the train, in luxurious 3AC! By luxurious we mean that they had glass windows, comfier beds, curtains, air con, and most of all peace and quiet! A drammatic contrast to sleeper class! The train journey seemed to rush by, reaching Gorakhpur at around 9pm. Gorakhpur is nothing more than a small town that many people use as a night stop on their journey up to Sunauli. We found our hotel, grabbed some room service and collapsed, worn out from an entire day on trains.
After grabbing some food and reading for a few hours we finally hopped on the train, in luxurious 3AC! By luxurious we mean that they had glass windows, comfier beds, curtains, air con, and most of all peace and quiet! A drammatic contrast to sleeper class! The train journey seemed to rush by, reaching Gorakhpur at around 9pm. Gorakhpur is nothing more than a small town that many people use as a night stop on their journey up to Sunauli. We found our hotel, grabbed some room service and collapsed, worn out from an entire day on trains.
Thursday 24 February 2011
Agra!
After saying farewell to all the staff in the hotel who had treated us like family during our stay the following morning, we jumped in a taxi which took us to Ajmer station around 11, to catch a train to Agra!! Trains in India are somewhat an experience to say the least, especially when you are slumming it like us and taking sleeper class everywhere you go. Never again will we complain about National Rail trains back at home! The beds are no better than an elaborate bench, where we had 4 people squished on each row... After 7 hours we reached Agra, getting a lift with the hotel pickup service with another backpacker. Our driver stopped at the side of the road about 10 minutes into the journey, got out and ran over to a wall next to where we parked up.. we naturally followed, to find our first sitings of the Taj! Despite being dark, just seeing the outline immediately clarified how sensational it is. What makes the Taj Mahal even more breathtaking is that Agra itself is a massive dive; to find this beautiful masterpiece plonked right inbetween slums, shanty's and delapodated housing truly emphasised its beauty. After arriving at the hotel, we caught a quick bite to eat at the rooftop restaurant, which had some of the best views of the Taj in Agra, which we definitely agreed with. Tucking into a cheese and mushroom omelette with those views was surreal.
The following morning we wanted to wake early to catch the sun rise over the Taj while also attempting to avoid the flocking numbers of tourists the it brought in. By 5.45 we were queueing outside, with luckily only around 20-30 people in front of us. We were told by our hotel that we could get in at 6 however upon arriving at the ticket booths, that turned out to actually be 6.30 and so, after 45 minutes of waiting, the queue rose from numbers of 30-40's to several hundreds! Due to the Taj being a World Heritage Site and arguably one of the most beautiful sites in the world, security was tight, taking us about 5-10 minutes to get through the metal detectors, body searches and bag search... The guards initiating the laborious process were suprisingly friendly, however the bag search turned out to be somewhat ridiculous. Obviously waking at 5 to get there, we had a few snacks in our bag to keep us going before we had breakfast, but understandably wanting to keep the site clean from litter no food could be eaten in the grounds. The guards spent time lecturing us about how we shouldnt eat inside resulting in them wanting a 'promise' from us that we would not have a munch walking around... Despite that really being the only notice about forbdden items, what happened next was hilarious, in fact so ridiculous that we thought the two guards were taking the piss and leading us on. They found... our playing cards! So we opened the box to show them that they were simply cards; after examining them for several minutes (we both thought they were going to start a game of whist) they instructed us to either put them in a locker or a bin outside, both of which would mean having to join the massive queue of people once again. Both shocked at the absolute absurdity of the rules and restrictions, Tim had to venture outside once again and bin them... WE WERE DEVASTATED.
Luckily having a laugh with the guards meant that Tim was let straight back in, bypassing the line that by now had grown to what seemed like a kilometre in length! Walking through the south gate alone was stunning, surrounding us with red stone walls with impressive detailing, reaching the main gate and firstt seeing the views of the main attraction was out of this world. Many people say that seeing a photo of a panoramic mountain view or a historic, famous site like the Taj is enough, we both entirely agree. It's one thing seeing a photo, and its something completely different in the flesh.
It was built by Moghul Emporor, Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, standing now as a symbol of eternal love, not a bad memorial if you ask me! The solid marble structure is the finest example of Mughal architecture, combining elements of Persian, Islamic and Indian styles, it truly is the most beautiful building either of us have ever seen. We walked down towards it, passing the fountains and taking snaps as we went. Walking on the marble plinth that it sits on was incredible and we took full advantage perching on the wall and just staring for at least an hour! The image inside of the two tombs, King and Queen together centralised was incredibly powerful. Taking a moment to appreciate the incredible opportunity that we had been lucky enough to experience, we walked back slowly, peering over our shoulders every 30 seconds in sheer astonishment of the view before leaving the site to head back for breakfast!
That afternoon we booked our train tickets up to Sunauli, stoppig off in Lucknow, managing to get a second seat train to Lucknow and have the luxury of 3AC from Lucknow to Sunauli!!
The following morning we wanted to wake early to catch the sun rise over the Taj while also attempting to avoid the flocking numbers of tourists the it brought in. By 5.45 we were queueing outside, with luckily only around 20-30 people in front of us. We were told by our hotel that we could get in at 6 however upon arriving at the ticket booths, that turned out to actually be 6.30 and so, after 45 minutes of waiting, the queue rose from numbers of 30-40's to several hundreds! Due to the Taj being a World Heritage Site and arguably one of the most beautiful sites in the world, security was tight, taking us about 5-10 minutes to get through the metal detectors, body searches and bag search... The guards initiating the laborious process were suprisingly friendly, however the bag search turned out to be somewhat ridiculous. Obviously waking at 5 to get there, we had a few snacks in our bag to keep us going before we had breakfast, but understandably wanting to keep the site clean from litter no food could be eaten in the grounds. The guards spent time lecturing us about how we shouldnt eat inside resulting in them wanting a 'promise' from us that we would not have a munch walking around... Despite that really being the only notice about forbdden items, what happened next was hilarious, in fact so ridiculous that we thought the two guards were taking the piss and leading us on. They found... our playing cards! So we opened the box to show them that they were simply cards; after examining them for several minutes (we both thought they were going to start a game of whist) they instructed us to either put them in a locker or a bin outside, both of which would mean having to join the massive queue of people once again. Both shocked at the absolute absurdity of the rules and restrictions, Tim had to venture outside once again and bin them... WE WERE DEVASTATED.
Luckily having a laugh with the guards meant that Tim was let straight back in, bypassing the line that by now had grown to what seemed like a kilometre in length! Walking through the south gate alone was stunning, surrounding us with red stone walls with impressive detailing, reaching the main gate and firstt seeing the views of the main attraction was out of this world. Many people say that seeing a photo of a panoramic mountain view or a historic, famous site like the Taj is enough, we both entirely agree. It's one thing seeing a photo, and its something completely different in the flesh.
It was built by Moghul Emporor, Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, standing now as a symbol of eternal love, not a bad memorial if you ask me! The solid marble structure is the finest example of Mughal architecture, combining elements of Persian, Islamic and Indian styles, it truly is the most beautiful building either of us have ever seen. We walked down towards it, passing the fountains and taking snaps as we went. Walking on the marble plinth that it sits on was incredible and we took full advantage perching on the wall and just staring for at least an hour! The image inside of the two tombs, King and Queen together centralised was incredibly powerful. Taking a moment to appreciate the incredible opportunity that we had been lucky enough to experience, we walked back slowly, peering over our shoulders every 30 seconds in sheer astonishment of the view before leaving the site to head back for breakfast!
That afternoon we booked our train tickets up to Sunauli, stoppig off in Lucknow, managing to get a second seat train to Lucknow and have the luxury of 3AC from Lucknow to Sunauli!!
Monday 21 February 2011
Pushkar (and Ajmer..)
We boarded a train to Ajmer the day after. As ever the train ride was a bit funky. Sellers of all kinds of goods roamed up and down, asking you countless times if you wanted to buy their stuff. There was even a band playing in our carriage. At first we didn't have the heart to tell them they couldn't play very well, this was up until they had played right next to us for about 30 minutes and it got tiresome! Another normal thing now is just being approached for money. About 2hrs into the journey this man walked down, and thrust a tin box in our faces without saying a word, just expecting us to hand over some cash. After we ignored him he just stood there, shaking it, but we held fast and carried on ignoring him until he left. It seems harsh but at the end of the day, you can't save the world, and most of the beggars now work for larger organiisations that thrive off the generosity of tourists.
Upon arrival in Ajmer we got a Tuktuk to the Regency Hotel. The driver tried to take us to all sorts of different hotels but you just have to be really stern with them and within 15 minutes we were there. We had planned to spend 2 nights in Ajmer but after seeing the lack of other tourists, things to do, and general state of the room we decided to leave the next day to Pushkar, a half hour bus journey away. That night in Ajmer was when things took a bit of a nosedive. The food was horrible but edible, or so we thought. The next morning Tim had got the dreaded Delhi Belly. So with Tim feeling pretty awful, James tired and an hours journey on buses and rickshaws ahead of us, things were a bit down. With Tim flumped in the corner James then spent 10 minutes arguing with the owner, refusing to pay the hotel for the food we had ordered, eventually working in our favour. The hotel ordered us a horse and cart to take us to the bus stop which was an interesting experience, especially as we were followed half the way there by a woman holding a child begging for money and giving us the death stare. The bus was another affair. We paid 40rps for the trip to Pushkar, and thankfully got on early, because by the time the bus left, it was jam packed full of people. Luckily we got to Pushkar with no incident and then a Tuktuk driver whom we'd asked to take us to the Everest Hotel tried to rip us off 100rps for the 4 minute journey. We paid him 30rps. Later on however we found out that two other travellers who were staying at the same place as us, were so tired after getting off the long bus journey they had done, paid one of the drivers 300rps for the 4 minute journey! Hilarious!
The next few days were a bit of a blur. Tim spent the time either sleeping or dashing to the bathroom, whilst James took the time to catch up on some reading, playing cards and sorting anything out that needed sorting. We had to get the Doctor in on day 2 of the illness after Tim did a miraculous chunder, fountaining all over a wall, the (locked!?) bathroom door, and narrowly missing James. James went downstairs to ask for a doctor. Being James, I knew I was going to be in good hands, as he went and requested/demanded the best doctor in town so we could get this illness sorted. Indeed 5 minutes later, the leading doctor of the hospital in Pushkar came over to treat Tim. It was a huge relief when Tim woke up a couple of days later feeling much better and finally we could continue our adventure!!
It is said that (enter name here) dropped a lotus flower in the sand and Pushkar was created, it is truly beautiful. After an epic breakfast of honey and banana porridge, we ventured out into town in the morning of the 14th to discover the wonderful narrow streets, rows of colourful shops and stalls, relaxed locals and of course the breathtaking lake. We felt being the main attraction the lake should be our first port of call. Once past the bustle of touts located at all the entrances trying to sell flowers, blessings and tours, we found ourselves gazing out to the most wonderful views of the lake scattered with over 30 ghats or bathing pools which were each blessed by a religious figure (the most obvious example being the Ghandi Ghat, blessed as it is said that some of Ghandi's ashes were sprinkled into this pool). The sights of hundreds taking prayer, washing and swimming in these sacred waters truly was sensational and we both felt immediately calmed when we later took a perch next to one of the less popular and thus tranqual ghats on the other side of the lake. Before this, we were approached by two 'priests' who immediately told us of their love for the place and the need for us to drop a flower into the water, take a prayer and release our bad karma. We were obviously scheptical at first after reading up on 'pushy priests' in the lonely planet guide, however we eventually decided to just go for it and see what happened; after all its not every day that you are sitting by one of the most sacreed lakes in the world and being blessed by a Hindi priest. We both took a seat next to a ghat as the priests performed their blessings on us, asking us to repeat a prayer after them to keep everyone safe back home and for a smooth journey ahead. When reaching the end, we were given a wrist band to prevent us from being hassled again at the lake, and despite being told before hand that no money was required as you 'simply pay with the heart', they bugged us for a charitable donation. After starting at 500rps both of us spent time haggling down a price to pay, luckily James paid 80rps and Tim only 50rps as it was the only money we had on us! We did feel it was somewhat cheeky but at the same time just over a pound to be blessed and release all our bad karma wasnt too dreadful. After chilling for 3 hours at the lake we headed back for some lunch. That evening we decided to go and watch the sunset from the top of a nearby mountain. After getting lost on the way we met Ellie wandering around aimlessly like us, and after a pointer from a 4yr old kid, the three of us started the ascent. The views from the top were stunning, a panoramic shot of mountains as far as the eye could see, combined with a vegetated desert. We stayed and got to know Ellie while watching the sun set, before heading back to our hotel for a meal. Ellie joined us which was nice, and we got chatting to some other travellers; the Germans whom had been ripped off 300rps for the Tuktuk ride to the hotel, After much laughing, sharing stories, and drinking Chai we hit the hay.
The following day we had a leisurely morning, being up and out by 10am. Unfortunately we had to spend most of the day doing admin, desperately trying to find/book a train to Agra, along with accommodation. After numerous powercuts we finally found a train for friday! Due to lack of availability we had to pay extra the following morning to confirm seats. Word of advice, if travelling around India by train, get you hotel to book it all, saves a lot of hassle! For luncheon we found a new retaurant in another hotel that we had been recommended. Amazingly we found pasta on the menu. Immediately we both ordered a white mushroom sauce penne. It was such a nice change from chapatis and Alu Matar! After lumch we spent some tme checking out the market stalls. In doing so we found two amazing leather shops, that sold items from small purses to large weekend bags, all for ridiculously cheap prices. The most expensive being 1000rps (under fifteen pounds). Luckily we had no money on us otherwise we probably would have spent several thousand rupees each in that shop, all of which we would have had to carry around Nepal for 2 weeks.
Yesterday was a pretty sweet day. We finally managed to book the train to Agra! After this success we rewarded oursevles by going to a pizzeria that was recommended to us by another pair of travellers staying in the hotel. We then headed back to the hotel to be picked up by motorbike, transporting the three of us to the camels! The three hour camel trek was just incredible. After an interesting “saddle up” - where at a point you're almost virtical, clinging on for dear life as the camel brings up its back legs, then the front – we set off into the desert for a bumpy 3hr experience. Halfway through we stopped in valley, where we were surrounded by steep dunes either side of us. Our guides told us to grab some water and a camera and go chill up at the top of one of the dunes. Gleefully relishing the prospect of running up a sand dune, we started off strong, however within a few minutes we appreciated how steep and difficult the soft sand was to run up. But we got there. And it was totally worth it. The views were stunning and it was really peaceful with a light breeze to cool us down. After half an hour chilling and taking snaps, we childishly dived and jumped back down the dunes, which was insanely good fun leaping out into space falling a fair way and then coming to a cushioned halt atop the soft sand. We ended the trek with a few short gallops that apparently was not allowed but obviously our guides liked us so made an exception. This was definitely an experience that we both agree we will not forget for a long time. Not many people can say they have spent a day chilling on top of a camel.
The last day in Pushkar we decided to splash out a bit on the main bazaar. All the little boutiques and shops were treasure troves for little goodies to bring home. We probably spent about 2000 rupees each on quite a lot of stuff that would have come to hundreds of pounds in the UK. So... we spent just over 20 quid each.. WIN.
That afternoon we went to find a pizzeria that had been recommended to us by Bernaardo, another backpacker. Upon arrival we were in heaven. They made us glorious pizza in a proper pizza oven, and they had a tv which showed some of the cricket world cup, and then the guy switched it over to an episode of Friends, could it get any better? After having a leisurely lunch we decided to venture back through the bazaar and back to the hotel to start sorting our tip of a room as we were leaving the next morning...
Upon arrival in Ajmer we got a Tuktuk to the Regency Hotel. The driver tried to take us to all sorts of different hotels but you just have to be really stern with them and within 15 minutes we were there. We had planned to spend 2 nights in Ajmer but after seeing the lack of other tourists, things to do, and general state of the room we decided to leave the next day to Pushkar, a half hour bus journey away. That night in Ajmer was when things took a bit of a nosedive. The food was horrible but edible, or so we thought. The next morning Tim had got the dreaded Delhi Belly. So with Tim feeling pretty awful, James tired and an hours journey on buses and rickshaws ahead of us, things were a bit down. With Tim flumped in the corner James then spent 10 minutes arguing with the owner, refusing to pay the hotel for the food we had ordered, eventually working in our favour. The hotel ordered us a horse and cart to take us to the bus stop which was an interesting experience, especially as we were followed half the way there by a woman holding a child begging for money and giving us the death stare. The bus was another affair. We paid 40rps for the trip to Pushkar, and thankfully got on early, because by the time the bus left, it was jam packed full of people. Luckily we got to Pushkar with no incident and then a Tuktuk driver whom we'd asked to take us to the Everest Hotel tried to rip us off 100rps for the 4 minute journey. We paid him 30rps. Later on however we found out that two other travellers who were staying at the same place as us, were so tired after getting off the long bus journey they had done, paid one of the drivers 300rps for the 4 minute journey! Hilarious!
The next few days were a bit of a blur. Tim spent the time either sleeping or dashing to the bathroom, whilst James took the time to catch up on some reading, playing cards and sorting anything out that needed sorting. We had to get the Doctor in on day 2 of the illness after Tim did a miraculous chunder, fountaining all over a wall, the (locked!?) bathroom door, and narrowly missing James. James went downstairs to ask for a doctor. Being James, I knew I was going to be in good hands, as he went and requested/demanded the best doctor in town so we could get this illness sorted. Indeed 5 minutes later, the leading doctor of the hospital in Pushkar came over to treat Tim. It was a huge relief when Tim woke up a couple of days later feeling much better and finally we could continue our adventure!!
It is said that (enter name here) dropped a lotus flower in the sand and Pushkar was created, it is truly beautiful. After an epic breakfast of honey and banana porridge, we ventured out into town in the morning of the 14th to discover the wonderful narrow streets, rows of colourful shops and stalls, relaxed locals and of course the breathtaking lake. We felt being the main attraction the lake should be our first port of call. Once past the bustle of touts located at all the entrances trying to sell flowers, blessings and tours, we found ourselves gazing out to the most wonderful views of the lake scattered with over 30 ghats or bathing pools which were each blessed by a religious figure (the most obvious example being the Ghandi Ghat, blessed as it is said that some of Ghandi's ashes were sprinkled into this pool). The sights of hundreds taking prayer, washing and swimming in these sacred waters truly was sensational and we both felt immediately calmed when we later took a perch next to one of the less popular and thus tranqual ghats on the other side of the lake. Before this, we were approached by two 'priests' who immediately told us of their love for the place and the need for us to drop a flower into the water, take a prayer and release our bad karma. We were obviously scheptical at first after reading up on 'pushy priests' in the lonely planet guide, however we eventually decided to just go for it and see what happened; after all its not every day that you are sitting by one of the most sacreed lakes in the world and being blessed by a Hindi priest. We both took a seat next to a ghat as the priests performed their blessings on us, asking us to repeat a prayer after them to keep everyone safe back home and for a smooth journey ahead. When reaching the end, we were given a wrist band to prevent us from being hassled again at the lake, and despite being told before hand that no money was required as you 'simply pay with the heart', they bugged us for a charitable donation. After starting at 500rps both of us spent time haggling down a price to pay, luckily James paid 80rps and Tim only 50rps as it was the only money we had on us! We did feel it was somewhat cheeky but at the same time just over a pound to be blessed and release all our bad karma wasnt too dreadful. After chilling for 3 hours at the lake we headed back for some lunch. That evening we decided to go and watch the sunset from the top of a nearby mountain. After getting lost on the way we met Ellie wandering around aimlessly like us, and after a pointer from a 4yr old kid, the three of us started the ascent. The views from the top were stunning, a panoramic shot of mountains as far as the eye could see, combined with a vegetated desert. We stayed and got to know Ellie while watching the sun set, before heading back to our hotel for a meal. Ellie joined us which was nice, and we got chatting to some other travellers; the Germans whom had been ripped off 300rps for the Tuktuk ride to the hotel, After much laughing, sharing stories, and drinking Chai we hit the hay.
The following day we had a leisurely morning, being up and out by 10am. Unfortunately we had to spend most of the day doing admin, desperately trying to find/book a train to Agra, along with accommodation. After numerous powercuts we finally found a train for friday! Due to lack of availability we had to pay extra the following morning to confirm seats. Word of advice, if travelling around India by train, get you hotel to book it all, saves a lot of hassle! For luncheon we found a new retaurant in another hotel that we had been recommended. Amazingly we found pasta on the menu. Immediately we both ordered a white mushroom sauce penne. It was such a nice change from chapatis and Alu Matar! After lumch we spent some tme checking out the market stalls. In doing so we found two amazing leather shops, that sold items from small purses to large weekend bags, all for ridiculously cheap prices. The most expensive being 1000rps (under fifteen pounds). Luckily we had no money on us otherwise we probably would have spent several thousand rupees each in that shop, all of which we would have had to carry around Nepal for 2 weeks.
Yesterday was a pretty sweet day. We finally managed to book the train to Agra! After this success we rewarded oursevles by going to a pizzeria that was recommended to us by another pair of travellers staying in the hotel. We then headed back to the hotel to be picked up by motorbike, transporting the three of us to the camels! The three hour camel trek was just incredible. After an interesting “saddle up” - where at a point you're almost virtical, clinging on for dear life as the camel brings up its back legs, then the front – we set off into the desert for a bumpy 3hr experience. Halfway through we stopped in valley, where we were surrounded by steep dunes either side of us. Our guides told us to grab some water and a camera and go chill up at the top of one of the dunes. Gleefully relishing the prospect of running up a sand dune, we started off strong, however within a few minutes we appreciated how steep and difficult the soft sand was to run up. But we got there. And it was totally worth it. The views were stunning and it was really peaceful with a light breeze to cool us down. After half an hour chilling and taking snaps, we childishly dived and jumped back down the dunes, which was insanely good fun leaping out into space falling a fair way and then coming to a cushioned halt atop the soft sand. We ended the trek with a few short gallops that apparently was not allowed but obviously our guides liked us so made an exception. This was definitely an experience that we both agree we will not forget for a long time. Not many people can say they have spent a day chilling on top of a camel.
The last day in Pushkar we decided to splash out a bit on the main bazaar. All the little boutiques and shops were treasure troves for little goodies to bring home. We probably spent about 2000 rupees each on quite a lot of stuff that would have come to hundreds of pounds in the UK. So... we spent just over 20 quid each.. WIN.
That afternoon we went to find a pizzeria that had been recommended to us by Bernaardo, another backpacker. Upon arrival we were in heaven. They made us glorious pizza in a proper pizza oven, and they had a tv which showed some of the cricket world cup, and then the guy switched it over to an episode of Friends, could it get any better? After having a leisurely lunch we decided to venture back through the bazaar and back to the hotel to start sorting our tip of a room as we were leaving the next morning...
Jaipur
Although Jaipur is another bustling city we both felt it was completely different to our experiences in Delhi. We jumped in a Tuktuk at 10am which cost us 400 rupees for the entire day, roughly five and a half pounds! Lucki our driver was amazing. He too us to the Hawa Mahal (temple), Janter Mantar (observatory), Albert Hall, Nahagarah Fort and Amber Fort. The Jantar Mantar observatory was pretty incredlble. It was made up of loads of massive sundials that could tell the time to the nearest 2 seconds. The Albert Hall was quite a large museum, showing artifacts of all sorts. Swords, guns, detailed vases and ornaments, and an addition of the Qu'ran which Alex had no trouble reading as she speaks Arabic. Having Lucki was a Godsend as we were able too experience part of the Indian culture that we would never have been able to if it wasnt for him. En route to the Nahagarah Fort which was situated up in the mountains and surrouded the city with the “Great Wall of Jaipur”, we stopped a Hindi Temple. Upon entering we were met by a very domineering hindi priest – spitting image of the chief villager in India Jones and the Temple of Doom, long grey beard, painted face, earrings etc – who blessed us, thus allowing us to enter. Ths consisted of taking off our shoes, sitting in front of their God, having a holy mark put on our forheads, drinking holy water and eating some sugar crystals. After this we climbed the tower in the Temple with Lucki, giving to us the most impressive view, look out over the whole of Jaipur and the mountains. We made our way to the Amber Fort, back down the mountain in this little Tuktuk, overtaking all sorts of vehicles round bends in the potholed and broken road. The Amber Fort was vast and seemed somewhat a challenge to walk to the top, but we manned up and did it. Again this was completely worth the effort as we got more stunning views from a different watchpoint, this time looking over the lake at the bottom of the Fort. Lucki had stopped to show us the “Water Palace” a massive temple for the Maharagah that is soon to be turned into a Hotel. It is situated in the middle of the lake, only access to it is by boat. We were told there are another 3 buildings underneath the water that you only had access to via the main temple; you could clearly see this incredible site from the Amber Fort.
The day was pretty insane, enjoying every moment, taking in the stunning surroundings n the 30 degree heat, truly starting to comprehend why we decided to come to India n the first place.
The next day we spent chilling in the Krishna Palace Hotel, all this running around was getting tiresome and we had a lot of catching up to do in terms of emails, and booking hotels/trains for the next few days.
The day was pretty insane, enjoying every moment, taking in the stunning surroundings n the 30 degree heat, truly starting to comprehend why we decided to come to India n the first place.
The next day we spent chilling in the Krishna Palace Hotel, all this running around was getting tiresome and we had a lot of catching up to do in terms of emails, and booking hotels/trains for the next few days.
Tuesday 8 February 2011
Things are picking up!
So after a half decent nights sleep with dogs and vehicles making all sorts of mad noises, we had our second day in Delhi. Up at quite an early hour... (9am, but to you guys thats 3:30am) to get our tai driver whom we had hred for the day. We started off at abuddist temple which was nothing special apart from the fact some guy decided that walking with us and pointing out the names of statues (that were on the wall anyway) was worth a decent tip. We disagreed. We then were taken to the parliament houses which were pretty cool as they were symmetrical – looked the same either side of the road – with fancy fountains and armed police. The police were probaby there due to the fact that the presidents house was at the end of this road which was equally good. From here we then went to the India Gate, a vast archway which marks New India from the Old India. Ummm then onto the Lotus Temple: architecturally stunning, shaped like a massive Lotus Flower however unfortunately due to the masses of Indians wanting to get inside, we were not able to in the time that we had :( After this we were taken to a Tomb which was by far the most beautiful place we had been so far. Vast main building made from marble with additional gates to enter the tomb. Finally due to the traffic being so awful we headed to our last stop, The Red Fort, which due to the lack of time we were not able to get a lot from the numerous temples in the fort and although at parts the detailing was subime the majority was graffitied so let it down somewhat. So after the red fort we said our goodbyes to our driver at the train station where we experienced our first taster of sleeper class trains. The 5.5hr journey between Delhi and Jaipur you naturally would think to be rather boring, however we had quite an interesting time. Firstly we met two english speaking indians who were absolutely lovely. It was a relief to finally meet some people who genuinely interested in us, without the pretence that they would want money from us in due course. We taught them the game 'Snap' which to our amazement entertained the whole carriage with aroud 15 people crowding round us watching in amazement at a game that we find quite simple and juvinile back in England! Things toook a turn for the worse, however still rather exctiing. James went to get a pen from his daysack only to find that it had been stolen! A first we were all rather shocked, includng the two friends we had made who both said they had never experienced this, neither had their friends, both of whom had lived here their entire lives. After a bit of effing and bliding from us both we settled back and came to the conclusion that it was a good lesson learnt – thankfully there was nothing of huge importance in the bag. Our two friends were a godsend. They flagged down a policeman (very imposng people) walking along the carriage and within five minutes we had 4 domineering officers surrounding us taking down details using our english/indian speaking friends to translate. This once again got even more people watching the charade!
So we arrived in Jaipur at 8pm and immediately noticed a difference in air quality and beauty. Having not seen the sky in a few days, seeing the stars and having panoramic views of the mountains was stunning. Arriving at Krishna Palace, where we would be staying for three nighs was amazing, the staff were extremely friendly, huge room and a rooftop restauarant to enjoy the beautiful views while demolishing ome good hearty food. To our surprise, Alex and Paul a lovely dughter and father from Florida who we met in Delhi, happened to be sitting up on the rooftop when we went to grab a quick bite to eat. We spent the next 2 and a half hours laughing an chatting away with them, getting to know one another; they have been incredible, given us valuable advice not only about india but thailand too so we thought the least we could do was buy them both a beer the following evening...
So we arrived in Jaipur at 8pm and immediately noticed a difference in air quality and beauty. Having not seen the sky in a few days, seeing the stars and having panoramic views of the mountains was stunning. Arriving at Krishna Palace, where we would be staying for three nighs was amazing, the staff were extremely friendly, huge room and a rooftop restauarant to enjoy the beautiful views while demolishing ome good hearty food. To our surprise, Alex and Paul a lovely dughter and father from Florida who we met in Delhi, happened to be sitting up on the rooftop when we went to grab a quick bite to eat. We spent the next 2 and a half hours laughing an chatting away with them, getting to know one another; they have been incredible, given us valuable advice not only about india but thailand too so we thought the least we could do was buy them both a beer the following evening...
Saturday 5 February 2011
First Impressions...
Wow... so yeh. Lets start with the plane. Seeing as neither of us had been on a long haul flight in... 10 years we werent sure what to expect. However, after finding out at Heathrow the airline had overbooked our flight, we were placed in seats with heaps of legroom, an incredible entertainment system and complimentary G&T's throughout the flight. So after enjoying 8 hours of comfort, we didn't have time to appreciate that we were now in one of the most culturally different countries on the planet! After arrival at the airport we were flagged down by our pleasant taxi driver who when we asked how he knew who we were (almost too quickly) he quoted "you look like the sort of person with a double-barreled surname. First impressions of Delhi were somewhat a little unnerving, being driven at what seemed like 70 in the middle of the road, weaving in and out to overtake traffic. Arrival at the hostel down dusty streets at 3am with stray dogs and even the odd cow walking next to us made us slightly apprehensive. In addition we had to wake up the receptionist who didnt seem remotely impressed at our choice of arrival time and so put us in a standard room next to the doorway... until they realised we'd paid for a 'duluxe' room so hasitly moved us upstairs, much to our delight (bigger room, tv, and considerably cleaner).
Day one in Delhi. Despite having prepared ourselves for a dramatic culture shock, what we woke up to blew away our expectations. Having slept in until 10.30, we caught breakfast, consisting of mango juice (EPIC) an egg sandwich and Cornflakes before braving the busy and hectic streets on the Main Bazaar, situated just outside our window. After booking a train to Jaipur, and a tour of Delhi tomorrow, we stepped outside, immediately having to avoid heavily bearded motorcyclists and rickshaws driving down the narrow alleyways. Once we managed to guide our way onto the Main Bazaar we were bombarded by touts, trying to take our train tickets away in exchange for "cheaper" ones, until we met... Sunny! Sunny told us he was learning English and his teacher told him to talk to tourists. Obviously we were at first very cautious however after we got chatting it was relatively clear his intent was goodwilled and he wasnt trying to con us. He showed us to a fantastic cafe about 5 mins from our hostel and even joined us for our first indian lunch. Which James enjoyed... Tim not so much, however it'll have to be something to used to. After that first hectic adrenalin rush of only around an hour in the Bazaar we were exhausted (+jetlag) so we decided to take it easy and have a siesta. We braved it all again around 5pm for dinner and ended up going back to the same restaurant Sunny showed us to, because it was the only one that seemed relatively clean, and also well priced (less than a quid each) mainly because we were overcome by the number of people invading our personal space. We settled for naan and and a much more agreeable cheese, onion and herb stuffed naan, which went down well.
So now we're planning an early nights sleep to then go on a tour of Delhi tomorrow at 9am with a personal driver before heading off to Jaipur in the afternoon.
All in all it's been an insane first impression of delhi despite the fact that it has been initially stressful, an interesting and eye-opening day to say the least.
Bring on tomorrow!
Internet is rather intermittent but will try to update in Jaipur.
Much love as always,
James and Tim
xxxx
Day one in Delhi. Despite having prepared ourselves for a dramatic culture shock, what we woke up to blew away our expectations. Having slept in until 10.30, we caught breakfast, consisting of mango juice (EPIC) an egg sandwich and Cornflakes before braving the busy and hectic streets on the Main Bazaar, situated just outside our window. After booking a train to Jaipur, and a tour of Delhi tomorrow, we stepped outside, immediately having to avoid heavily bearded motorcyclists and rickshaws driving down the narrow alleyways. Once we managed to guide our way onto the Main Bazaar we were bombarded by touts, trying to take our train tickets away in exchange for "cheaper" ones, until we met... Sunny! Sunny told us he was learning English and his teacher told him to talk to tourists. Obviously we were at first very cautious however after we got chatting it was relatively clear his intent was goodwilled and he wasnt trying to con us. He showed us to a fantastic cafe about 5 mins from our hostel and even joined us for our first indian lunch. Which James enjoyed... Tim not so much, however it'll have to be something to used to. After that first hectic adrenalin rush of only around an hour in the Bazaar we were exhausted (+jetlag) so we decided to take it easy and have a siesta. We braved it all again around 5pm for dinner and ended up going back to the same restaurant Sunny showed us to, because it was the only one that seemed relatively clean, and also well priced (less than a quid each) mainly because we were overcome by the number of people invading our personal space. We settled for naan and and a much more agreeable cheese, onion and herb stuffed naan, which went down well.
So now we're planning an early nights sleep to then go on a tour of Delhi tomorrow at 9am with a personal driver before heading off to Jaipur in the afternoon.
All in all it's been an insane first impression of delhi despite the fact that it has been initially stressful, an interesting and eye-opening day to say the least.
Bring on tomorrow!
Internet is rather intermittent but will try to update in Jaipur.
Much love as always,
James and Tim
xxxx
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