Nov 21 - Dec 21, 2001
Short Version
- Rajasthan is the most traveled state in India & we enjoyed ourselves immensely (very colourful!)
- Delhi isn't nearly as bad as everyone says (nice shopping)
- Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE (a gulf state) is quite nice but apparently Dubai is the place to visit.
Long Version
Day 65: The easy traveling continues and in just my 2nd attempt I get a decent price for an autorickshaw to the baby Taj Mahal while Louise relaxes in the room (which for her means sewing the rips in our clothes). Turns out this mausoleum was built for the grandmother of the lady in the real Taj (it's a small world!). It's quite excellent but nothing really compares to the Taj (this one has paint in places where the Taj would have precious gems cut into marble).
As we head away from Agra we total our admission costs over the last 36 hours; $94, Locals would have paid about $1! Nice sites but that sort of gouging leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Now we're off to Fatepur Sikri (turns out our autorickshaw guy has deals on taxi's as well). This elaborate city was built solely as a tribute to a sage who accurately predicted that a ruler with 26 wives but no sons would eventually sire 3 sons. It's lovely to wander among the beautifully carved temples living quarters. Once you get rid of the last pesky 'guide' that is.
Next we cross into India's most touristed province; Rajasthan. Our 1st destination is Keoladeo; one of India's best bird parks. Its $7 per person per entry so for our late afternoon tour we opt to stay outside the park. We see several new species but the highlight is a tree full of Grey Hornbills!
Day 66: Up at 6am for our morning bird tour. For $1.50/hour we get a rickshaw driver who's quite the birder. We see sleeping owls, tons of wading birds and our highlight; a Sarus Crane as tall as Louise. The three hours passes too quickly however and soon we're rushing off to the train station (there's only one train per day). For those who don't know, trains in India are quite an experience. People sit everywhere blocking all the aisles. We eventually find space beside a nice Indian family only to have an inspector say we're in the wrong section will have to pay $3.50 to stay here. We ask him where we should be he just walks away. The next inspector does the same thing!
We arrive at Ranthambore just in time for the 2:30 game drive. This is one of the best parks in India for seeing tigers (our fingers are crossed). The park (a former hunting retreat) is a beautiful mix of semi-arid desert jungle. We watch from 20' away as Sambar Spotted deer bucks with giant antlers munch on nearby trees. We admire the fort hunting lodges built within the park we see lots of wild peacocks and other birds . . . but no tiger. That is until the last 2 minutes of the tour when we're thrilled to happen upon one lounging in the water about 100' away. It's excellent (ps: we highly recommend the wildcat rehab centre in Tampa Florida called 'Wildlife on Easy Street') but we have to leave too soon . . . a fleeting moment.
LOUISE: Actually the most amazing thing I saw all day was watching Brett buy a hat in just 60 seconds, from a roadside vendor as our bus made a brief stop. No comparison shopping, no spending the day mulling it over, he's a changed man. And he didn't even need a hat!!
Tonite's sleep is suspended first by a rat who flees to the lobby after a 10 minute chase by a 'room boy', then by undetermined noisy little bugs who seem to be hidden within the frame of our bed, and lastly by a mouse who pays us a visit around 5am. What a downer after the high of seeing a tiger.
Day 67: Lou's a little grumpy this morning (see last paragraph). Our game drive however eventually cheers her up. We don't see a tiger but we see several new birds we just revel in the beauty of the park. We do a leisurely walk into town then a horse drawn buggy ride back to our hotel (35 cents!). Our train to Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, should take 2.5 hours. While I'm waiting (in the wrong line, with the locals pushing shoving around me) I see the quintessential Indian scene:
There's two ticket counters two staff but only one counter is open. The sole worker has just finished the paperwork for the last customer. Now he stops, piles his papers, straightens them, then searches his desk drawer. Eventually he finds a pointy object proceeds to press it against the papers. After an awkward 60 seconds he succeeds in poking a hole in the papers. Then he pokes another. Looking relieved, he searches the drawer again. This time he pulls out some string. After finding a thin object to assist him, he draws the string thru the hole in the papers. Then thru the other hole. Now he grabs a lighter, which to the amazement of all assembled he uses to sever the string (knives are too dangerous?). Finally, with a satisfied grin, he ties the two ends together. The 5 minutes work yields a tied pile of papers that's quickly discarded to a corner. The local beside me rolls his eyes in embarrassment. Then it dawns on me. I've just seen the Indian equivalent of a stapler!
The train itself is blissfully empty and we have 6 seats to ourselves. The scenery is spectacular; desert plains, clifftop forts tiny villages populated by colourful villagers. Again however we're told we're sitting in the wrong section. This time though we think it's just a scam and we tell the guy to (politely) get lost, which he promptly does. We arrive less than one hour late, find a great hotel, a laundry, a bookstore, an internet cafe but no ATM. The highlight again though is the Pizza Hut (it's all Lou's been thinking about since realizing Jaipur had one).
Day 68: A lovely day tour of Jaipur's sites. Again we're the only white people on the bus. Some spectacular forts, a quick tour of the 'pink city' but our favourite part is the Science Museum. Truly hands on, each exhibit teaches you some science principle in a way you can easily understand. India is ramping up to become a world leader in computer programming museum's like this will just speed them along.
Day 69: A leisurely walk back to the pink city to see the famous Hawa Mahal. It's a 5 storey pink facade that's the signature of Jaipur. It was used back in the days when court ladies couldn't be seen in public. They could stand here, behind the marble screens tiny windows and watch the proceedings below. Next we shop for shoes and table clothes (some really nice stuff) then crash back in our room (but not before having Pizza Hut for the 3rd time in 3 days).
Day 70-72 (Nov 26-28): The Pushkar Camel Fair, 3 hours from Jaipur, is one of the world's great festivals. When we realized we'd be in the area we timed our entire India trip around it. Normally it's impossible to find a room most package tourists end up paying $100/nite to stay in a tent! Due to Sep 11 however we're able to get a room with pool, hot water and satellite tv for just $17.
The fair is spread over 8 days ending on the full moon in November. This year that falls on the 30th. The camel trading occurs at the begining and by the time we arrive some traders have already left. Nonetheless there's still thousands of the beasts scattered everywhere. It's quite an amazing site we feel quite relieved that it was worth the effort to get here. We wander amongst the camels out into the desert and mingle with the herders, some of whom probably only see white people 8 days a year. Camels are amazing beasts. They're huge, with giant flat feet, their famous water filled hump, and a proud grin like an upper class Englishman!
We take a short camel ride, ride the superfast ferris wheel, skip the circus, shop for hours and relax poolside at our hotel. There's none of the filth we were warned about and the weather is perfect. Pushkar is strictly vegetarian; no meat, no eggs. So we're relived to find a great buffet restaurant where we can piece a decent meal together (french fries, spaghetti little donuts!). Over dinner Louise another white girl chat about how the locals can sometimes pass by a little too closely!
On the 27th the pilgrims start arriving to bathe in the holy lake. The streets fill to overflowing with colourful saris and holy men in orange robes. Gypsy girls tempt us with colourful outfits and priests offer us flowers 'for the lake'. The nitely dancing includes wonderfully weird stringed instruments and ladies dancing gracefully while balancing flaming water containers on their heads. The Rajasthani's truly are a wonderfully musical people!
Being a 'real' festival the activities are primarily geared to the locals. The 2pm camel competition turns out to be judges walking around scoring camels on their appearance. We'd have to wait for the 30th for the camel races. We decide we've seen what we needed and spend the evening deciding where to go next.
Day 73: While researching travel in India Brett saw this quote on the web; "Don't believe whatever anyone tells you about a luxury bus, it's always an overcrowded wreck driven by a lunatic". This unfortunately proves to be correct. All 14 white people on the bus were promised a luxury bus with 2x2 seating. Instead we're all crammed into a 2x3 bus that stops to pick up batches of sugar cane and pushy kids every 10 minutes. At least we didn't overpay by as much as the other foreigners did. Still the 5 hours to Jodhpur passes in relative comfort. We've chosen a nice hotel in the old part of town but, as they don't pay commission, we aren't sure how we'll get an autorickshaw to take us there. So we're flabberghasted when the first driver to approach us suggests that place. He goes straight there accepts a reasonable fare. It's a miracle! Jodhpur is famous for two things. Blue houses the spectacular fort that towers over the city. From our room we have an incredible view of both.
Day 74: Now that the rush to get to the Pushkar fair is over we take things pretty leisurely. Today we wander up to the fort take a delightul two hour tour. The fort is privately owned by the current maharaja he takes great pride in providing excellent guides and a historical atmosphere. There was even a turban tying demonstration. After a slow walk around the ramparts watching the vultures soar above the blue city, we catch an autorickshaw back to the hotel. Our only other adventure today is an hour long fruitless search, through the narrow streets of the old town, for an internet cafe. If it had been a search for annoying kids following us everywhere it would have been a grand success!
Day 75: We had a lovely dinner last nite but Brett's chicken may not have been quite done enough. So we spend the day in the room giving him easy access to the toilet. Luckily we have tons to read an excellent view!
Day 76: Aside from the fort, Jodhpur's not much to look at, so we daytrip to Mandore the old capital. It's a tranquil spot dotted with ancient temples calm waterways. Then we opt for a repeat of yesterday (Lou appreciates the downtime that comes with Brett being sick).
Day 77: Surprisingly our 6am 2x2 4.5 hour direct bus to Jaisalmer leaves at 6am, is 2x2, takes 4.5 hours, and doesn't stop much. The seats even recline! The miracles continue when we arrive and instead of dozens of pushy touts, we get 20 guys quitely holding banners with their hotel name (to which they'll take you for free). That's a surprisingly surreal site for India. Our choice is inside Jaisalmer fort and yields a lovely view of the Thar desert that separates India from Pakistan. There's quite an army presence here. Later we realize their 'mobile tourist protection unit' explains the easy time we had with the hotel touts!
Day 78-79 (Dec 4-5): The main reason people come to Jaisalmer is to go on a camel safari (even though they know they're going to get a really sore arse walk funny for days). The business here is cut-throat and some hotels will even kick you out if you don't take their safari. We find a guy (recommended by Lonely Planet) who as it turns out provided exactly what he said. Two 1/2 days in the desert, riding a camel, with local desert men (the camel's owners) guiding us, cooking traditional rajisthani food singing around the campfire at nite. Our route went thru a national park and we saw several gazelles and a wide variety of birds we'll never know the name of. The two English lawyers dropped out after one day with recurrent stomach problems, the Scottish blokes opted not to extend to the 3rd day, but the two French-Canadian girls were with us all the way. The nites were the best part, laying amongst the sand dunes, watching the stars . . . ah!
Day 80: Our safari was supposed to end at 5pm but we opt for an 11am exit as the searing desert heat (even in December) isn't the highlight of the trip. We find a nice hotel where our room is actually part of the fort wall and relax staring out over the city the desert beyond. That nite we head to one of Jaislamer's many excellent restaurants.
Day 81: There's some beautiful Jain (a branch of Hindu) temples inside the fort. Our 'guide' takes us around for about 20 minutes and we learn some fascinating tidbits about the Jain religion. They don't eat after dark for fear of eating ( thereby killing) mosqitos and their 'wandering monks' (akin to Hindu Sadhu's) aren't allowed to use any form of transportation. Can you imagine walking from India to Nepal by foot! Next is a quick paddle around an old palace lake, then back to our room to make dinner plans.
Being that they're sacred, everywhere in India you're surrounded by cows. Some are as wide as the old alleyways of the Jaislamer fort and you literally brush both the cow the alley wall as you squeeze by. Three times a cow's butted Brett with it's horns but it's never been serious. Tonite we're almost run over by a motorbike with no light thats silently gliding downhill (lights are frequently left off to save gas, but coasting downhill to save gas was new for us).
Day 82 (Dec 8): Jaislamer is on the way to nowhere from nowhere the only way to proceed is to bus 5 hrs back to Jodhpur. Once there we promptly jump on another 5 hour bus to Ranakpur, where we're able to find the govt hotel despite the darkness. Surprisingly both buses were fine the hotel is excellent!
Day 83: Ranakpur is famous for it's Jain temples (which were quite lovely) but the highlight for us is all the birdlife in the surrounding nature area. We love golden backed woodpeckers! Unfortunately however dining options are very limited (how can you be out of bread!) so we opt to push on tomorrow.
Day 84: Being mid route between Jodhpur Udaipur we expect any passing bus to be packed are preparing ourselves to stand for 3 hours while our knapsacks bounce around god knows where. So it's nothing short of a miracle when after a one minute wait an empty luxury tourist mini-bus pulls up offers us a ride for just $3.50 (twice the normal price). We jump at the chance (see I'm not cheap), spread out all over the seats enjoy the slow but scenic 100km ride to Udaipur.
Day 85-87 (Dec 11-13): Basically a second (third/fourth?) honeymoon. There's nothing on our agenda before Delhi, and Udaipur is lovely, so we just relax in our palatial hotel room ($21). There's an astounding array of great restaurants the views of the Lake Palace and the city are spectacular. There's a few sites to see but mostly we just revel in the luxury enjoy the awesome sunsets.
Since we're nearing the end of our trip we start our shopping in earnest. Udaipur is famous for it's miniature paintings we buy several (along with several pieces of modern art).
Day 88: We've negotiated a 4pm checkout from our hotel spend the morning watching Seven Years in Tibet. To get to Delhi we opt for the new 'sleeper bus'. Fourteen hours (versus 20 for the train) in a comfortable double sleeper with a curtain, nite light decent views out the window! It was actually romantic! And we slept ok too (although buses do tend to throw you around a bit).
Day 89: We've been well warned about how bad Delhi is and like always are pleasantly surprised when we get a decent hotel room, find a decent restaurant find plenty of excellent shopping.
Day 90: Daytour of Delhi. There's lots to see so we're glad it starts at 9am. Unfortunately this is India so we actually get underway around 10:40. As always we're the only white people on the bus but this time the tour seems mostly designed for locals. Most of the explanations are in Hindi and several of the sites wouldn't be high on a westener's siteseeing list. We do however see the Red Fort (not as nice as Agra's), the Bahai Lotus temple (quite neat) and the over-priced Qutb Minar (a huge tower marking Islam's conquest of the Indian subcontinent). Constant latecomers a surprise shopping stop mean we just barely make it back to the hotel in time for Survivor Africa (they should have voted off Lex!).
Day 91: Yesterdays tour missed two of Delhi's big sites. Today we see one of them, the Jama Masjid; the 2nd (3rd, 4th?) largest mosque in the world. It's quite nice. The claustrophobic, dark climb up to the minaret's tiny viewing platform however, is not for everyone. Yesterday we started the slow process of developing 30 rolls of film today we do lots of leg work checking different labs. Mostly though we concentrate on shopping. Yesterday we ate at Pizza Hut, so today it's TGI Fridays.
Day 92: Our last Delhi site is Humayun's tomb. A precursor to the Taj that we find costs $8 to get in (it used to be $16 until the drop in tourism). We saw many Taj clones in Agra so we opt to give it a pass (you can see it pretty well from the entrance). Likewise for the ruined Old Fort ($3) and the Modern Art Museum ($5). I guess we're pretty much just in 'wandering thru the city' mode. The modern Lakshmi temple however is huge and interesting ( free) so we give it a wander then Louise gets an early Christmas present; another meal at TGI Friday's. Delhi (unlike Bangkok or Kathmandu) isn't the greatest place to get your photo's done. Our guy spends one hour today touching up the dust spots/scratches on the 16 rolls he'd developed for us (we'll save the rest for England). It's amazing what you can do with a set of coloured pens. Our final shopping item is a giant bag to carry all our purchases in (including our 4 new photo albums!).
Day 93 (Dec 19): Our travels in India have been fun relaxing, so it's with some regret that we leave. Our airline, Gulf Air, stops in Abu Dhabi so we opted to cough up the $150 for a stopover. The UAE (United Arab Emirates) is a collection of 7 tiny states in the Gulf (between Saudi Arabia Oman). Although a strict Muslim state just like their neighbours, the UAE has opened it's doors to tourists is the easiest Gulf State to visit. Dubai is the most famous interesting of the emirates but our airline stops in the capital Abu Dhabi. It's a shiny modern city with an endless array of beautiful skyscrapers. Prices are much like Canada which is horrifically expensive after three months travelling in Nepal India. The cheapest hotel in town is $74. But what a hotel! It has satellite tv, a kitchenette, a living area and for the first time this trip; carpet!! Plus excellent service.
Day 94: Abu Dhabi has few 'sites' but there's great shopping, sandy beaches and it's an interesting look at Arabian culture. The car is king here. Roads are wide locals sprint across the city at incredible speeds. Car rental is quite reasonable so we grab a Tercel (they apologize for it being a '99 model). We head along the seafront to watch the sailing and rowing races ('UAE day' was delayed due to Ramadan and is being celebrated today!). Then it's off to the new Ikea mall to take a hot air balloon ride. The balloon is tethered to the ground by a 500' wire and your $13 gets you a 10 minute ride. The sheik who owns it explains it's modeled after one he saw in England. Excellent views of the city!
Day 95 (Dec 21): Our flight to the UK is at 1:25pm today Louise can't contain her excitement. This mornings only goal is to find a huge sandy stretch of desert and walk thru it for a bit (since our Rajasthan camel safari was thru mostly scrub brush desert). Being hard up for arable land there's many farms set up in the desert but after about 45 minutes we hit gold; miles of barren, sandy desert. We turn off the highway and run along a side road looking for the most picturesque sand dune. From past experience we realize you can't hike very easily in real desert so when Brett sees car tracks leading across the sand the temptation is too much. Despite protestations from Louise he slowly edges off on a flat stretch. After about 10' the hard ground gives way to sand and we get stuck immediately. Pushing, digging and using car mats for traction simply results in the front wheels digging in until they spin freely while the undercarriage rests on the sand.
There's no one around, our flight's in 2.5 hours and we're stuck in an Arabian desert. But Louise is not worried. She calmed by her thoughts of how much she can milk this for in the years to come. Brett heads for some camels hoping to find their owners but has no luck. The shack where we exited the highway proves better and he gets one non-english speaking man, shovel in hand, to head off for the car, while he flags down passing cars. Soon a truck stops and minutes we're free. We reward our rescuers with Canada pins then race off for the airport. In Delhi we checked in slightly late and were rewarded with Business Class seats (a truly excellent experience on Gulf Air) so Louise is quite relaxed hoping our luck will be repeated. Unfortunately, despite being last to check in, we just get normal seats. We watch three movies during the 8.5 hour flight then Brett listens patiently as Lou tells the 'stuck in the desert' story during the 2 hour drive from the airport. It's dark, rainy and 6 degrees. It's good to be home!