The rest of South India!

Ok I take it all back – I got it a bit wrong about the temple we weren’t allowed into – I think I was having a very negative few days!

Basically we weren’t allowed into the inner sanctum but there are 7 outer areas to visit.  It was actually pretty cool and very very colourful and much more interesting than a lot of the other temples as this was actually in use with lots of people going about their business.  IF I can upload some photos with this blog you;ll see some pics below!  As its been a while since I saw it I may be getting confused with names but I think it was in Trichy and called Meenakshi Temple.  It was pretty darn amaaaaaazing!

After the temple we arrived in Maduri and went on a cycle rickshaw around – a great way to see the city – i.e. less effort!  I’m having real trouble remembering everything now which is a shame, I think this was the day we went to the Ghandi Musuem which was very interesting – a very one sided view of the English in India but interesting nonetheless.

Next it was on our way to Perriyar Tiger Reserve.  I was expecting to be high up in the mountains again and a really cool climate – but we didn’t go up as far as before.  We visited a spice plantation that evening which wasn’t what I was expecting (much smaller) and if I can I am posting a picture below of the tiniest chilli possible – I was half tempted to get one and send it to Richard!

Next up was my trek through the jungle in search of tigers and wildlife.  We had to be fully covered up AND they gave us these gator sock things to wear on top of our trousers so leeches and ants didn’t get in!!  Well it was pretty rubbish.  I saw a poisonous spider – yuk, a killer wasps nest – eek! And a very large squirrel.  It was hot, humid and not fun.  The only thing it has shown me is that I might not enjoy doing a full day or twos trek in Thailand – this was only 3 hours and it was enough for me!!!  I’m pleased I found that out now!!

Thankfully the trek was early in the morning so we finished at 10.30am and had the rest of the day free….we all spent a few hours milling about the local shops and then went for a ayurvedic massage – traditional Indian style.  Well it was an experience to say the very least!!!  3 of the girls went an hour before us and the place comes and picks you up from the hotel and then drops you back.  They came back looking very relaxed as we were being picked up but had odd smiles on their faces….we couldn’t work it out but knew something was going on…………….so it wasn’t a total surprise when we are shown into our little massage rooms with our therapists and have to strip off naked.  And I do mean strip off, there in front of the therapist down to absolutely zero apart from a paper thong that THEY put on you and tie up!  Once we all got over that – the massage was amaaaazing but REALLY oily as they cover you in it and you feel like you are basted and ready to cook at the end of it.  Then if the embarrassment at the beginning of stripping off isn’t enough, they then rub you down completely at the end to take off the excess oil. 

A few days before in Pondicherry we found a good cheap English Wine Shop – that is what they are called by the way.  If they sell booze its just a wine shop, if they sell international booze and wine, its called an ENGLISH wine shop!  We all decided to buy a bottle of wine (well to share) to have the night after the trek as wine is insanely expensive in most hotels if they sell it, or they don’t sell it at all.  We had a good dinner, shared the wine and had a relatively late night for us – I think it was about 11.30!

The next day we went off to Kerala again to our Homestay.  It wasn’t what I expected as the trip notes make out you are staying in tiny little homes and split up and perhaps sleeping on the floor in a sleeping bag. 

These homestays are actually large houses and you are all in bedrooms (twins) with proper beds, but they aren’t hotels and the family cooks for you and you chat to them etc. 

 This was a really really nice one, its based on an Island in Kerala which we had to take a canoe to get to.  It was so peaceful and our hosts were lovely.  In the evening we had a walk around the Island which was beautiful followed by a pitch dark canoe ride back down the backwaters to the home, accompanied by beautiful singing from the locals “driving” us with local songs.  It was really really special and a wonderful experience.  We stopped on the way to try the local coconut toddy.  There was one that was fresh and sweet and one matured and alcoholic – both were aweful and tasted like feet!

See below - me - smoking a fag outside the local pub - it had to be done!

Being back in Kerala was a lovely way to end our tour, we took a cruise down the rivers the next day to reach Alleppey and then bussed it back to Kochi where I spent a few hours with some of the girls doing some last bits of shopping then headed over to my 4* hotel……where I learnt my lesson spending all that money and still no bloody hot water and the internet stopped working after 30 minutes!!!!

Next instalment…..Hong Kong!

Here’s a couple of photos of the kerala backwaters until I upload them to facebook J

Bit of a boring day

So we had to get up at the crack of dawn today to leave the hotel at 7.30am :-( we drove for a couple of hours and arrived in Pondicherry - quite a nice seaside town that is very french - all the roadnames are in french.  To be honest, today was a bit of a non day.  We went to see an Ashram which consisted of a barefoot walk around a grave to the mother and father of the ashram in silence and then a 10 or 15 minute walk in 35 degree humidity with no breeze down the seafront.  Sweat was literally dripping off us again.  Then we went to pick up a takeway lunch from a restuarant our guide wanted to take us too but it was a bit of a waste of time.  It was about 10.30 when we got there and we all had to order stuff to take on the bus to eat later - it didn't arrive till 11.45 so was a waste of time and expensive. Never mind.  After that we drove for another 4 hours till we reached ANOTHER temple.  Some of the temples you don't have to cover up completely and our guide forgot to warn us that we needed to for this one so me and Laura weren't properly dressed.  We ended up waiting outside for an hour and a half for the others to come out (not so bad as I wasn't particularly bothered about going inside another temple again).  After that, headed to the hotel, had a mediocare dinner and about to hit the sack.

Tomorrow is going to be another boring day - a 7.30 start again and then a 2 hour drive to a temple that is so strict we can't go in, just look at from the outside, lunch and then another 4 hour drive to Maduri.

After that i'm actually looking forward to the rest of the trip as we spend 2 nights in another wildlife sanctuary in the mountains so a cooler climate and then back to Kerela for our homestay.

The only great thing about today was I spent a very constructive journey planning everything i'm going to be doing in Hong Kong!

South India - week 1

So I finally managed to update my blog yesterday with the first week of the trip.  Now to start on the rest but I think I will keep this briefer you will be pleased to know!!

We arrived in Kerela state and wow – what a difference! Its like a beach resort I guess but in India of course! We arrived on a Sunday so it was quiet everywhere but was well needed after the loudness of the north.  Our Hotel was cute, but the beds were like sleeping on the floor! Soooo uncomfortable and we had to stay there for 2 nights!!

All the hotels have hot water problems and out of the 14 days I have been here and probably 2 showers a day most of the time, I think I have had about 3 or 4 hot showers L

Kochi is a lovely seaside town.  You walk around without being hassled and people are just going about their day.  Its beautiful as well with the famous Chinese fishing nets that we saw at sunset.

The next day we walked around and saw all the local sights but the synagogue was closed :-( 

We had the afternoon free to do some wandering around and I picked up a couple of nice tops, a bag that has already broken and a “coral” necklace whose dye came off on my neck!!!  I only spent about £10 on all of it though J

That evening we went to watch the traditional Kathakali dancing – it was an interesting experience!!

I've tried to upload some photos of it - but its not working so i'll move on and hopefully get them on to facebook or something.

The introduction to what it all meant was quite interesting however before that we spent an hour watching them put on their traditional make up – it was cool to see it but me and some of the other girls got the giggles as we were a bit bored after a while and then got told off as its part of the performance!  So the explanation of the difference movements was really cool as its done a lot on freaky eye face and mouth movements, but then once they were in full costume we watched an hour and a half and it was a tad long for something you didn’t really understand what was going on.  Yes I know I sound so uncultured!!

After that we drove up to the Mountains – the Nilgiri Hills or Blue Mountains – it was beautiful and scenic – but again a long drive!  We got there quite late so all we did was have dinner and a campfire that they did for us (very strange!) however it was amazing how much cooler it was in the mountains – I actually needed my fleece in the evening.  The hotel was amazing though as we had a huge antique double bed (thank god I knew Kelly for a week and a half by then lol!) that was about 4 feet off the ground

again - tried to upload a photo and its not working.  very annoying.  i'll carry on!

The next day we visited the tea plantations and got to see the process and taste some different teas.  After that we took the scenic blue mountain railway up to Ooty – it was only 2 hours late arriving at the station J  Unfrotuatnely because it was late I think it went a little faster than normal so we got some good sights but it wasn’t good for photos.

Getting really annoyed now as none of my photos will upload :-(  What i'll do instead is leave in a note that i put when I typed this about what is SUPPOSED to be there as a photo and you will have to imagine an amazing thing or wait till i can post an album!!

Unfortuantely because the train was so late we arrived at the Mudumalai wildlife sanctuary late in the day – we were supposed to get there to do an afternoon safari at 4 or 5 but instead it was 6 pm – not too bad but the sun sets really quickly.  We got to see plenty of deer and then some slightly tame elephants being bathed in the river in the daylight and then we spent ages searching after the sun had gone down for the other animals…..we were lucky!!!  We saw wild elephants and baby elephants right by the road eating – it was such an amazing sight.  I didn’t take any photos as I didn’t want to use the flash and scare them and didn’t think they would come out without it – but I have my amazing memories!!  We also managed to sort of see Sloth Bears and some more deer.  It was a great experience.

So our accommodation at the sanctuary was basic – we did have a western bathroom – however it didn’t look like it had been cleaned in months – trust this place to be one of the only places with hot water but it was soooo gross I couldn’t bring myself to use it – a baby wipe wash it was too be!  Then before going to bed I found a cricket on the curtains – I had to try and capture that in a jug and put it outside.  I got into bed – another hard one and found an ant on my manky pillow and the sheets look so gross I decided to get the sleep sheet out and use my fleece for a pillow……..the next morning we were greeted with an enourmous cockroach!!!  I was quite pleased to get out of there – you never know – my trip might be shorter than we all think if I find I have to pay more for my accommodation!!!

Photo of wildlife sanctuary

The next day we travelled to Mysore and visited the palace which was amazingly beautiful and definitely one of the best sights we have seen.  Over a couple of days we saw some good sights and a fantastic local market.  One of the evenings our guide Bani wanted to take us to an Indian discotecque – we were expecting an interesting experience but didn’t bargain for a completely empty club where we were the only customers! 

Photo of disco

Next we had our sleeper train – the thing I really wasn’t looking forward to.  I have to say that it works to expect the worst and then you can’t be disappointed – it was actually fine!!!

The train was really quite clean (well apart from my sheets when I got them out so out came my sleep sheet again!)  We had the open berth carriages where you have 2 rows opposite each other with 3 bunks and then another bunk at the other side with 2 bunks.  Its like in a U shape.  You don’t have privacy really but it was ok!!  We stayed up till quite late and then the beds were actually a lot more comfy than some of the hotels we had stayed in!  I got a reasonably good nights sleep so was pleasantly surprised.  We were told  you can’t smoke on the train so didn’t at first then our guide said that as white people we can open the door of the train and stand by it and smoke out of it (whilst the train is in motion!) me and laura considered it and then the guard saw us, told us we can’t smoke there or in the carriage, but we can smoke in the toilet!!!!!!  We decided not too, but then 30 minutes later decided to give it a go – the smoke actually made the toilet smell a hell of a lot less so apart from suffocating have only smoking a bit of the cig it was ok!!!

Photos of train

Now we are up to date, yesterday we traveled down from Chennai to Mamallapuram, another seaside town which is relatively quiet.  It was Diwali so a great day to come!  Our guide organized us to visit a local village to have lunch with a family – it was great as not part of the internary but when we mentioned it and we were up for it – he sorted it out.  It was actually friends of his as he is from Chennai and they were affected by the Tsumani as they are really near the ocean.  In Mysore we decided to all go out (well most of us) to get saris to wear on Diwali. It was great, we all sat on their floor and had banana leaves with a thali style meal – the only problem was it was soooo spicy and they made a chicken dish  and the bit they served me was pink so I coujldn’t eat it!!!

Photos of village

After that we had our afternoon free so spent it in the hotel pool!  Fantastic!!!  The beds here are amazingly comfortable too however still no hot water!!!  The cold shower in the day is fine, but in the morning – not so good!!!

Tody we had a 2 hour cycle ride to visit some more…..wait for it…….temples!!!!  I actually preferred the cycling to the sighseeing but it was still good.  We got back pretty early so now I’m bathing myself in 35 degree heat by the pool.  Now I’ve finished typing this I’m going for a dip and then following by uploading this and some pics to the blog.  Tomorrow we have a 7.30am departure from here for a very long bus ride………………..

so its time for an update....only north india so far, will write about south india tomorrow probably!

 

So its time for an update....i wrote this on the plane from  Delhi to Cochin for the south part of my India experience but only just had the ability to upload it to the internet.  Its been a busy week and although we’ve had some down time I’ve really not felt energetic enough to write on here.  I was up at 6am again this morning though so I’m feeling pretty tired now but I really want to update you all on my trip so far.  I can’t remember my last entry exactly so I might repeat a little bit!!

Delhi on arrival felt like such an assault to the senses with all the noise and hustle and bustle.  As our first proper day exploring was a Sunday it was even worse than normal as everyone has the day off and the streets are jam packed. 

I thought it was going to be like that every day but thankfully not so in Delhi. 

I think I told you about visiting the wholesale spice market.  We took the local metro train to get there which was very much like taking the tube in rush hour – but a bit smellier!!  Thankfully I didn’t get groped but I know a couple of the other girls did.  Once we got to the area we took a bus just a short distance to give us the experience – however it was definitely enough spending only 5 minutes on there as they really are tiny and not very comfy – I don’t know how they do it but I guess its all what you are used to.

After that we visited some different temples and saw a sikh one which feeds 5000 people a day for free based on donations from local people who just come down and help for a couple of hours each day.  Anyone who wants to eat there can eat for free, it doesn’t matter what religion you are or if you have money or not. 

We went for a delicious lunch in the business district of Connaught Square and then on to the India Gate.  After that we were all pretty shattered so headed back to the hotel.  A few of us went out for dinner I think that night to a rooftop restaurant of a very nice hotel for another delicious curry meal.

The next day it was on to Jaipur – a very long drive!  I was expecting a very squished bus to turn up at the hotel but we actually got quite a good mini coach with air con so the ride was fairly comfortable however 6/7 hours on anything is never that good!!!

We hit a traffic jam on the highway so ended up having to take a detour down local roads – not very comfy but we got to see some amazing villages and local activities that we wouldn’t have seen otherwise. 

Never again will I say negative things about Indian driving – after being in India – I can understand it and the method behind it. To drive here you need so much more concentration and reflexes – you think you are about to hit something (as a passenger that is!) but the driver has it all under control and just breaks and moves past etc.  Although they have the highways in lanes here, no one really uses them they just overtake and drive how they want, but as they are all doing it – it works! 

We were told that in India – to drive without a horn is the same as driving without brakes.  

Forget using your indicators here – they seem to mostly be used just for decoration J If you are overtaking you blow your horn! Simple – and everyone gets it so it works quite well – on the highways that is – but once in the city its just noise and everyone goes for it!

As Westerners everywhere we go we get stared at.  Sometimes that’s all they do, sometimes its accompanied with smiles and waves, sometimes its also taking our pictures – either surreptitiously or they just come right up and stand next to us to have their picture taken with us!!  I asked Kuush why they do it so much and he said that when they are on holiday in a different region they go home and show their holiday photos and say that us Westerners are Hollywood stars that they saw on their travels and as most people don’t watch many US movies – people believe them!! 

So after a very long drive we reach Jaipur.  Our hotel is a little outside the city centre which is annoying only because to reach anywhere you have to take a tuk tuk and pay rather than walking, however the big advantages are its quiet(ish!), the rooms are LOVELY!   and there is a nice garden.    We were greeted with traditional marigold garlands and a rose water drink.  This hotel was a BIG improvement on the lovely Pooja Palace in Delhi.

I think we got to Jaipur in the afternoon quite late as our detour delayed us so Kuush took us to Amar Road to get a Lassi – very nice!  It was a lovely place – really “local”

  

After our Lassi with trotted up the road to go watch a Bollywood movie – a great experience!  The theature in particular was really nice and well decorated – I managed to get a quick shot of the inside – but photos are banned in case someone copies the design of it!!    

it was a shame the cinema wasn’t full as I think the atmosphere would have been even better but it was great to hear all the whooping and cheering.  It was surprisingly easy to follow the film as well and as there was an intermission we all quizzed Kuush on the bits of the storyline we weren’t sure about.  Most of the film is in Hindi but you have these little bits of English which helps and they are so expressive you get what is going on. 

Dinner that night was in a local vegetarian restaurant and another great curry!

Wednesday was a very busy day – we visited a lot of Jaipur – the Pink City!  We started off very early with our visit to the Amber Fort and an elephant ride up the hill to it!  A bizarre experience but very good.  Whilst waiting you are just surrounded by hawkers trying to sell you stuff – its so annoying but it does work if you just totally ignore them and they move on to someone else.   

 

We had a good walk around and there is lots of history to the place but you know me – I’m not good at remembering that kind of stuff but the place is pretty impressive and very decorative. 

After the Amber Fort we took the bus down to see the Water Palace (at least I think that’s what it was called – I can’t remember now!) it’s a shame as it was only a photo stop really but it was pretty cool to see it.  I had my photo taken outside and i've tried to insert it here but its not doing what i want!  These Indian women came up wanting to be in our photo – I didn’t want them and tried to get them to go but they wouldn’t so we took the picture and then they asked us for money!!!  We walked off ignoring them – very cheeky of them!!!

Then we went down to see the Palace of the Winds which has something like 900 windows to allow breezes and keep it cool.  As its only pretty from the outside we went up this tiny little staircase three floors on the building opposite and got some great pictures!

Next was the City Palace Musuem.  This was all included in our excursions (i.e. we didn’t have to pay extra for it) so we all trotted off and got an audio guide that was included…….. we lasted about 10 minutes listening to it!!!  I did try to be cultured but…..well there is only so much information you want to know!  Luckily it seemed like everyone in the group had done the same thing and actually we lasted longer listening to it than a lot of other people.  The tour was supposed to last about an hour but we took off our guides and wandered around and was done in about 30 minutes (maybe less!!!) We were however all pretty tired and very very hot.  6 of us took a rickshaw down to Amar Road to a restaurant that was recommended to us and had lunch. 

I have now become the ordering expert for two of the girls – Laura who is Spanish and Elena who is Greek.  We shared some dishes a couple of times that I had chosen and recommended and now they want me to choose all their meals because everything has been yummy and not too spicy!! 

After lunch it was time for our rickshaw tour of the city – everything is such hard work to organise here – you talk to one driver but you have others surrounding you and when there is a group of you then one person is talking to someone, another to someone else- its exhausting!!!

The start of the tour was pretty scary to me as not long after we got on someone through something and it hit my back – I think it was  a stone or something.  It hurt a little but not too much but it freaked me out a bit, particularly was we were going into all these little back streets seeing where people were working out of, instead of seeing the people looking at us with curiosity I felt it was with an unwelcome look – I was wrong though and it was a lovely tour to see the real streets.

We finished the tour in the market area – I think the drivers were pretty tired by this point as they were supposed to take us back to the City Palace and they told the other girls that this was a good place for shopping – it wasn’t too bad, but I wanted to make them carry on and take us where they were supposed to but the other girls wanted to get off….in the end it wasn’t too bad but we might have got some better bargains elsewhere.

The shops are pretty amazing but you are hassled everywhere to go into the shops.  We were told that Jaipur is really the place to buy your pashminas and clothes as it’s the biggest producer and most other cities purchase from here.  So the first shop we go into is like pashmina heaven!

They just bring out row upon row of difference scarves in different qualities and colours.  Then once you find what you are looking for – the battering begins!!!  I wanted one of the very lightweight but warm ones as it will be great for travelling around and I found a lovely one which is two tone purple and blue.  They wanted 2500 rupees for it.  I told him I only wanted to pay 500 and couldn’t afford 2500 – so the game begins.  He starts bringing out the cheaper scarves.  I pretend to look and say they are ok but I don’t want them I want the other one.  It continues, he brings more out.  I say the same thing.  So after this goes on for a long time he eventually says he can offer a lower price – I think it was something like 1500 rupees.  I said it was too expensive and I can’t afford it.  I can only pay 500 rupees – (its about £6 – this is a silk and pashmina mix scarve so one of the better ones).  So he gives up on me for a bit and then comes back to me.  Offers me it eventually for 1000 rupees – I say no again!!  I stick to 500.  Not to bore you too much but eventually I say ok, I can go to 750 rupees – he argues a bit, I stick with it, he accepts!  In hindsight I think if I would have stuck it out for a bit longer I could have got it for 500 – and I think I overpaid – but that’s the benefit of hindsight!!

So we are going from shop to shop being beckoned from one place to another, one shop keeper finds us on the street and says he saw us earlier or something to one of the girls and we need to go to his shop.  Somehow we end up in there, then we split up into little groups as one shop doesn’t have stuff we like and we want to move on.  Me and Megan wanted to look for silver so we go to a shop just along from the clothes shop we are in as a friend of theirs is in there and says he has a silver shop just up the way!! 

We went to the shop and they had some beautiful stuff but it was just too expensive for what I was looking for.  Anyway – somehow we get found by another guy – Megan seems to know him or something  - but anyway we go to another tiny little silver shop down a side street and are in there for ages.  I find a lovely Turqoise and silver bracelet that I like and barter the guys down – it takes a while but I get there!!

Anyway we’ve been apart from the rest of the guys for probably a good hour or more by now and we figure that we won’t find them so will head back on our own….but no – somehow or other they have stumbled across the same shop and we hear their voices upstairs.  Next comes the most entertaining ride ever!

Somehow we managed to find an auto rickshaw that can fit 6 of us girls in it!!  There is the normal seat at the back and then there is a sort of ledge behind the driver you can perch on and then two of the girls can sit in the “boot”/back seat!  It was the most hilarious ride of my life and the amount of staring and tooting we got on the way back was so funny!

We are exhausted so head back to the hotel for a snack and the most expensive wine ever!!!  (note – most expensive – but not that best!!!!).

The next day we have a drive to Bharatpur.  A small town where we are staying.  We stop on the way to see a bit of stone masonary but really it’s a hop off the bus and take a photo and then hop back on – not that amazing.  We go to Abhaneri where there is an ancient step well which is a pretty amazing site.

Then we go to a small village to see the houses and people – it was ok but not that great in honesty – most of us wanted to stop in the villages we saw on our detour where there were shops and normal life mixed in with everything and people would have probably stared at us and the odd one come up but mostly leave us alone to watch and look around.  Whilst I was at this little village I enjoyed it (except for the bit where one of the women kind of patted my boob and then started trying to grab at my top to, it appeared, pull it down! I wasn’t impressed and kept trying to push her away but she was very persistent!!!)  After the visit to the village though someone pointed out how clean and tidy it was and how they were all there ready waiting for us to visit – it was a bit disappointing because it wasn’t what I really wanted to see and it was a bit over the top. Hopefully I will get another chance in the south to see some proper town/village life.

We arrive at our hotel around lunchtime and it looks great! Peaceful and quiet in the middle of nowhere so good respite after hectic Jaipur.  There’s even a lovely swimming pool! Quite a few of us decide to hang around the pool for the afternoon instead of going to the bird sanctuary.  All seems well until nighttime when the entire hotel is covered in bugs!  One area had a carpet of these tiny little black round bugs with a short of hard shell – it was horrible.  And then in bed this weird bug suddenly appeared on my pillow whilst reading (but was dead!) – got rid of that, fell asleep and then at something like 3 am- another bug fell on me but also appeared to be dead – it was really strange and I was pleased to get out of these – don’t tell me – I know I’m going to come across a lot more bugs – but it won’t stop me complaining about them!!!

The next day we have a bit of a drive to Agra and go check out the Red Fort, Baby Taj and the back of the Taj Mahal.  All in all a good but very very busy day as we are on the go from about 9.30 in the morning until about 7pm when we reach the hotel.  We have a chilled out evening havig dinner and an early night for our very very early rise at 4.30 the next day to get the sunrise over the Taj Mahal!!

So I have to say that getting up at that time in the morning is not that difficult when you know you are going to be seeing something amazing.  We were really lucky as we were the first ones to the ticket office so got in to the Taj very early.  Its definitely an amazing sight and the photos won’t do it justice at all!!  

  

After that we head back to Delhi – only a 6 and a half hour drive!!!!  It was very long and very boring!!!!!!  The ONLY highlight was getting stuck in a traffic jam because there was a propaganda parade for the local political party – it was very entertaining – there’s a photo here but I did manage to record some as the photos really don’t capture how loud and amazing it was.  I’ll try and upload it to something like You Tube if I get a decent internet connection somewhere.

We had a farewell dinner to half the group last night as they were only on the first week and then headed off to the airport early this morning.  I’m not feeling so great as I write this as I seem to have developed travel sickness. 

Final opinion of the north – thoroughly enjoyed it, very noisy and bustly but its been a great experience – however I can’t wait to reach the south and see what else is to come!!

As you’ll see from my photos so far, I have not yet managed to perfect my travelling hair – when I tried to curl it, it went frizzy and fuzzy, I tried to leave it dry au-natural – it goes into a puffy bouffant, I plaited it wet and left it to dry – same thing.  Last night I piled it with product and I managed to get the curls to look half decent!  Its going to be an expensive trip if that’s the only way I can do it!  I managed to stay illness free until the last couple of days where I had a slight upset tummy – but nothing at all bad really – I’d previously stayed veggie but I had chicken 2 evenings in a row so I’m wondering if its co-incided with it – we will see, I’m going back to being veggie.  I’ve even Indian for every single meal except for breakfast and thoroughly enjoyed in – Ang and Ant – its not too hot  - the trick is to ask for it VERY VERY MILD.  Sometimes there’s no spice, sometimes a little, and sometimes its still quite hot! 

So I think that’s plenty of information for now – sorry there is so much to read through – I hope you found it entertaining – but this is also a sort of diary for me to remember everything as well!

P.s.   I’ve managed not to have to use a squat toilet so far!!!!  I doubt that will last much longer though L

Before the looooong drive.....

Well its morning of Day 3 and i'm sitting in my hotel room ready and packed and about to drive to Jaipur.  Yesterday I was sooo tired that I didn't write a huge amount about the day - its amazing how much you are tired at the end of it all, I ended up falling asleep on the bed for an hour before dinner.

So a group of 6 of us headed to dinner to a resturant on a rooftop of a nearby hotel that our guide recommended to us - the hotel was very posh! I think it must have been a 4 star.  Anyway it was lovely and it was really good as we all got to try each others dishes.  I ordered some kind of Kashmiri with potato which was really really nice with some rice and naan.  I had two beers and felt quite drunk after them - I think it must be the heat and tiredness.  I can't believe i'm in India and i'm able to have curry every day - even twice a day - without feeling guilty!!!!  What a dream!!!

I don't think I've mentioned the heat yet - its HOT! but not tooooo bad.  I think it must be about 30c but its very overcast but also very humid so you are walking around with a lovely coating of sweat on you.  Its rained a little bit but very small showers and not too much so its ok so far!

I haven't managed to try an Indian breakfast yet - so far its been toast which is fine for me for first thing in the morning.

So the plan for today is a 6 hour drive by private bus (who knows what that is going to be like!) with stops along the way to Jaipur.  When there Kuush is going to take us to a place to get a really really good Lassi and then we will go to a Bollywood movie!!!  After that its dinner and then bed....:-)

Managed not to get any mozzie bites so far and no sunburn - although no tan either!!!!

Delhi

So today we ventured from New Delhi into Old Delhi - and I thought New Delhi was a culture shock! yeah right!  In brief, we went by train to Old Delhi to a Sikh Mosque.  I just tried to upload a few more photos but it didn't work so will have to try later as soo tired now!!  This mosque provides free food for whoever wants it in Delhi - they feed 5000 people a day!!!

Then we took a local bus to the wholesale spice market and then took a walk down the "narrow lanes" these tiny streets filled with shops, then we want to the largest mosque in india. After that we all went for lunch and I went to see the Gateway to India....and now i'm shattered sitting in the hotel trying not to fall asleep before we go for dinner :-)  All in all, its been a very good day, Delhi is mad, a complete culture shock, but its great!

Tomorrow we take a 6 hour drive to Jaipur!!

So far so good!

So far so good!

So the woman at the check in desk put the fear of god into me saying that you had to be at the boarding gate by 8.45 (take off at 10pm!) and the ticket says the gate closes 30 minutes before.  She said that if I wasn’t there by 8.45 they would start looking for my luggage to unload it.  What a load of crap – they don’t accounce the gate until about 8.45 although it’s a good thing I didn’t hang around as I only waited a few minutes to go down there and I got there just after 9 and they started boarding nearly straight away and we took off early!!!

Got myself a nice window seat and made myself comfy and had a nice journey chatting in parts to a lovely woman next to me who was an Indian living in America on her way to visit family.  She even gave me her phone number and address in America to look her up!  She lives in Philadelphia though so I’m not sure I will make it up there. 

Delhi Airport was not what I was expecting.  I had prepared myself to be confronted with hundreds and hundreds of people and being jostled and hassled everywhere and queing for ages.

It wasn’t like that…..it was so much BETTER!  It was really quiet on the arrivals side and then baggage collection was quite smooth and then walking through into the arrivals hall – yes there were people – but it was fine!!  Hardly anyone – plenty of space to move around – it was great!!!  I found the Delhi Traffic Police Taxi stand without much hassle but there was no one there and then all these blokes sitting in different booths were trying to call me over to get a taxi….ignoring them I walked away and found another official booth and managed to get a taxi receipt from there. 

It was only really when I went outside that India hit me!  Lots of people milling about, and very hot and humid, although better than I was expecting.  Finding where to get the taxi from was a bit confusing but one of the drivers came up to me and bundled me in.  Now for the most scary ride of my life!!!! 

So he asks where I am going and I tell him and he looks like he has no idea – I think to myself, don’t worry – I read that this was the normal taxi driver reaction – then I try to give him more information, and still he has no idea.  Then I show him the address and he says its not a proper address, he needs a block name or number or something.  But don’t worry!!!  He will take me to the district and find the tourist office and we will ask there where it is!!!! 

Ok I think…..well I have pre-paid, he can’t charge me more, I’ve heard the taxi rides are interesting……… 2 stops, one for him to put some kind of air in the car (if you can call it that!) and then the next at the side of a busy road where I thought he was asking directions but then it turns out I think he was checking in with the wife!!!.  Anyway we made it to the tourist office went in and the guy called the hotel, got the area a bit more and the driver looked like he was more confident – how wrong I was!!!

We drive on a bit further and he stopped and asked about 3 different people where the hotel is – however I should never have doubted him as he did get me here in one piece!!!  As for the driving – wow – I think even driving in London can’t prepare you for driving in India – there are NO rules, there are lanes, but no one uses them, if someone is in your way you just hoot, you have a bloke on a motorbike with a helmet on and then the wife and 2 kids balanced on with no protection on them at all. 

I get assisgned a room at the hotel and I go in on my own, thinking about going down to explore but having had only about 2 hours sleep on the plane the bed is too tempting.  About an hour later, a knock on the door and another girl arrives, Kelly who is also on the trip.  Apparently she had got here earlier and had been put in another room but then got moved as she was in the wrong room – we think that she still isn’t supposed to be in my room according to the list – but it doesn’t matter!!  But that’s India – nice and organised J

We decide to venture out on our own to explore the local area and what a shock to the senses it is.  Its just people and cars and bikes EVERWHERE!!!  There are no road names that I can see so far so its very easy to get lost.  We were probably wondering around for about 15 minutes when we thought, ok, lets head back and see if we can find the hotel again- that took probably about 45 minutes!!!   I ended up getting something to eat from a little place near the hotel – just a somosa and some paneer pakora – the paneer was great, the somosa was sooo spicy!!!

We met our North India guide Kuush in the evening and the rest of the group who seems nice.  A good mix – 1 couple from the USA, another couple from London, 2 girls travelling together, one greek and one Spanish doing a round the world trip but nearing the end of it, another girl from Denmark, and a few more from the UK I think! There were some more people arriving late last night so I’ll meet them very soon.  Kuush guides us to a local restaurant, one that Kelly and I had walked past earlier and I noticed was busy and looked good.   A very good first meal of a veggie thali – ordered very very mild – and it was really really good and not too spicy – although the sweat was pouring off me but it was yummy.   

We all headed back to the hotel and I was in bed and asleep by 9pm, ready to feel refreshed and face my first proper day in India!!!  I'll try and post some piccies but i'm not sure how long it will take as about to head down to breakfast before we go out for the day.