Reflections on India before we leave

 

We had an in between day as we prepared for our overnight flight to Hanoi. To finish our time in India, we took a quick trip around the local hotel  area via Tuk Tuk; our first Tuk Tuk journey this holiday. Great value, 80 Rupees (about 80 pence) for two rides, exploring the upmarket Connaught Place and the Ugrasen Baoli deep well (we love a deep well).

       

Our journey around India’s Golden Triangle has been amazing. We have have been thinking about how we would try to explain what we have seen.  Some thoughts below,

• Our travel agent referred to India as Crazy Fun. This is so true. 
• It’s an incredibly welcoming country. We loved the people and we now understand the Indian culture much more. 
• It’s a country of extremes - We have seen both sides, poverty and affluence, but with an incredible level of contentment throughout.
• India is a country of noise:vehicle horns, whistles, talking, music, singing, dancing and it all goes on 24hrs a day. 
• They love a bright colour.
• The food is wonderful, but curry for breakfast is not for everyone.
• We need to eat more vegetable curry’s.
• There is no comparison between driving in the UK and India. Driving in India is mad (good horn, good brakes, good luck) but no road rage, so strangely everyone is much calmer.  
• While Health and Safety has a long way to go, there is a refreshing sense that it’s okay to take a risk.
• Beware, the business women are tough, don’t mess with them.
• All Sikhs are Singh’s, but not all Singh’s are Sikhs.

Before heading to the airport for our flight to Hanoi, our Cocktail of the day. Le Meridian Nero - Jim Bean, Kailua, Crème De Cacao,  Coffee, Lime Juice and Maple Syrup - very strange - but cheers..  

Completing the Triangle

Jaipur to New Delhi

 

Today we completed the last leg of the Golden Triangle. A 250 km drive from Jaipur to New Delhi. Our driver Lallu was early as usual and greeted us with his normal smile. He was always keen to please, The last 2 years have been tough for him, the tourist trade dried up during Covid times and we were his first customer since their lock down ended. I’m sure there was no Furlough from his company, so you can only wonder how his family survived. 

The journey took around 5 hours and relatively uneventful. The oncoming lorries, people strolling across the road and the occasional water buffalo wandering up the highway just seemed like a normal day in India. The surprise of the journey was a car getting pulled over by the Police for jumping a red light. An instant fine via a portable credit card reader and then he was on his way again. We did chuckle, you can happily drive your lorry the wrong way down a road, but if you dare to jump a red light, the police are there to fine you, 

Our driver Lallu and a Lorry travelling the wrong way down the road. 

Reflecting on our 500km car journey we did not see a single road accident. Rarely do we drive on the M25 without seeing an accident, so there something to be said for organised Chaos. 

As we approach New Delhi the blue sky is replaced by the smog haze over this sprawling city, It seems that the story of the smog coming from the field burning seems less probable, It’s an industrial city with millions of carbon burning vehicle’s. With millions of people in poverty, the country needs the industrial base, but it shows the global challenge we face if we are going to reduce carbon emissions. 

Our journey ends at the Le Meridian New Delhi. An American hotel for the night with running hot water, a pool and a gym, just what these two soft westerners needed. We have loved every minute of our journey so far, but it has highlighted how we take our life style for granted and how lucky were are. 

After mentioning being lucky; the drink of the day, Gin and Tonic with a dash of lime. Cheers

  

Jaipur - Ragasthan

It was the day to explore Jaipur. On the plus side we had no long car journey and a later alarm call than the previous days. On the minus side, our alarm still went off at 7am. Lallu, our driver from the prevous day, was again our driver, working with our tourist guide Odu. What Odu does not know about Jaipur, we suspect is not worth knowing. His mind of information was probably wasted on us, but he was a great host. First stop Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds) a pink sandstone facade emulating a Palace, built with numerous windows and stone screens to allow cool air (Hawa) to circulate for the Women of the Royal Palace to remain concealed, but still see the city life beyond the palace. 

Hawa Mahal - Palace of Winds

Then onto the wholesale fruit and flower market of Jaipur. An amazing market that provides for the city and has every ingredient to cure your ailments or alternatively make a curry hot enough to forget about them. We arrived late morning when a lot of the trade was completed, but there was still a wonderful buzz around the whole market. 

Next stop on our whirl wind tour was the Amber Fort, which is close to the amazing Panna Meena Ka Kund Deep Well, which is 200 metres deep, built over 1000 years ago to supply the Town of Amer water.

Up the hill from the Deep Well is Amber Fort, which is both architecturally amazing and contains a number of construction innovations, including a water based cooling system  (an ancient air conditioning system) and Turkish steam baths. 

Then onto the Jaipur  observatory (Jantar Mantar) -  this has some incredible astronomical devices, including the largest Sundail in the world, created in the early 18th century.  It can measure time to the accuracy of two seconds.

After all the sight seeing, we decided to try something a little different. We headed to the Polo bar at Rambagh Palace (thanks Divya). This hotel has Royal connections, providing a very different view of India. It felt like we had just walked into the East India Company during the Colonial occupation. As we left we noticed a vintage S class 1961 Mercedes, which we found out to be owned by the Royal Family. This car was immaculate and clearly had not been driven on the streets of Jaipur. The proud keeper soon offered to take us for a drive around the grounds in this amazing car, which proved to be a great way to end our visit. 

The drink of the day - The Jaipore Martini Rambagh Palace, made with rose syrup to give it the pink colour which Jaipur is famous for - The Pink City. Cheers to Jaipur for your hospitality. 

RecipeGin blended with home made rose syrup, Add Martini Rossi to create a martini that signifies the beauty of the pink city.

Agra to Jaipur

Another early morning to amplify the impact of jet lag. The alarm was set for 5am alarm to give us time for our sunrise visit to the Taj Mahal. A 05:00 am wake-up is 11:30 pm at home, so our body clocks are between morning and evening. The Taj Mahal was built around 1631, but even though it is nearly 400 years old its marble still glistens in the light, so sunrise is a perfect time to visit. Only a short walk from the Home Stay we arrived before the 6am opening in time to join the already forming queue, which meant we were one of the first in the race to get photos without the crowds.  

As usual a local man started a conversation in an attempt to make our visit an even better experience. He was previously an “official photographer” so he knew all the right places for our photos. He clung to us like superglue, so he soon became our official photographer moving us quickly around the wonderful building taking photos on our iPhone. To be fair, he knew all the best photo points and could drive the camera on an iPhone much better than we could, so the result was some fantastic photos. We tipped him 600 rupees, which he quickly pocketed and then chased after another unsuspecting tourist who would benefit from his skills. Some of his photos below.

Our visit finished by 7:30, returning for breakfast at the Home Stay, which included Bananas, Yogurt Toast and Peanut Butter, a Curry Rice dish and Indian Bread.. It doesn’t sound like an obvious combination, but it was superb and set us up for an adventurous five hour drive to Jaipur. 

Our driver, Lallu, was our guide for the day. His task was to navigate the roads to various sites between Agra and Jaipur. Fortunately the road was a dual carriage way, unfortunately the highway code in India is very different to the UK. But Lallu was confident and passed on his tip for a safe journey:

• Good Horn
• Good Brakes
• Good Luck

Fortunately, he used all three throughout the day, hooting, weaving, breaking and riding his luck around lorries, cars (some oncoming cars ignoring the concept of a dual carriageway), water buffalo, motorbikes and the occasional person who strolled out into the oncoming traffic to cross the road.  Our first stop was the deserted Fatehpur Sikri deserted Mughal City which was abandoned due to lack of water after construction. Created in 1571 as the capital of their empire in India, it was abandoned after 12 years , but remains in incredible condition . 
Second stop was the Chand Baoli step well. Construction started around 800 and finished 900 BC, before the Moghals modified in the 18th century. Probably the most impressive historical site we have seen since arriving in India. Its a World Heritage site and has featured in the third Batman film and more impressively the Michael Portillo BBC Great Train Journeys..     

Our journey for the day ended in Jaipur, another busy city, with a population of 3 million. The Dara Rawatsar hotel. Vegetable curry on the menu… 

Dara Ravadsar’s finest Vegetable curry

Delhi to Agra

An early start for our train journey to the home of the Taj Mahal : Agra. As we travelled to the station to leave Delhi, we once again hit organised chaos on the roads. What stood-out throughout our short time in Delhi is how relaxed everyone is given the way people move around the city. No one seemed to be upset when one Tuk Tuk cut in front of another. If a bike pulled in front of a car. In london there would be war on the roads. In Delhi it is just part of their lives. At no point did we feel threated on the crowded streets. Pick pockets are active everywhere, so it is not a place without crime, but we observed so little anger, more curiosity about these strange two visitors walking their streets. In a city with extreme poverty and inequality, there seems to be more tolerance and a live and let live attitude missing in many of the big cities in the world we have visited.

A quick Taxi from station to our accommodation for the night. 

The Coral Tree Home Stay

Tonight is a Home Stay, the Coral Tree, close the Taj Mahal, which we will get up early to see in the morning sunrise. The Coral Tree has a few rooms on multiple levels in a beautiful garden setting. If feels like a sanctuary compared to the Florence Inn New Delhi. 

Our afternoon adventure was to see the sights of Agra by car. The photos are Baby Taj Mahal built prior to the Taj Mahal, apparently the first full all Marble building, the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort. 

Enough sight seeng for the day, the sun is still out and the Coral Tree offers cold Kingfisher beer (our drink was a little disturbed when a couple of monkeys strolled past). A nice way to finish the day, a cold drink before our Vegetarian Curry.. cheers..