India
Trip Start
Jan 10, 2008
1
7
22
Trip End
Jan 20, 2009
Udaipur,
Rajasthan,
India
Thursday, May 1, 2008
After an inital 13 hour flight, a 15 hour stop over in Hong Kong which we used up sampling noodles, indulging in Swedish/Chinese massages, reflexology, a stroll through the vast airport which was akin to a stroll along New Bond Street, having to catch a train to our gate and lastly trying and failing miserable to blag our way into the Business class lounge we felt ready to embrace Delhi, India-or so we thought!
Landing at 2am in a very turbulent thunder and lightening storm was interesting. Michael looked like he needed a sick bag whilst I starred out at the almost continuous lightening, thanking God for the Faraday cage. The only noise to break the complete silence was the playing of the 'Pan Pipes'.
Delhi is big, daunting, full on and relentless. The sheer scale of the place. A seething mass of honking horns, cars, auto rickshaws-open sided 3 wheelers powered by deafeningly loud two-stroke engines, cycles, motorbikes with a minimum of 3 people perched on them, carts, people, people, people, dogs, goats and cows. Cows that amble along eating rubbish and lying down for some R&R in the middle of the streets whilst the constant traffic flow careers around them, looking blissfully unaware of the chaos they've caused.
Population 1.2 Billion.
India is hazardous, filthy dirty-rubbish everywhere, dropped with not a second thought, in fact we were starred upon as strange when we refused to discard our empty water bottles on the streets after numerous prompts to by the security guard at a local temple, noisy, polluted-day 1 we nudged each other at the sight of the Japanese wearing dust masks by day 3 we wanted to know where to buy them, frenetic, congested, hot, hot, hot, over-populated and poverty is easily evident all around, I can see why Sparkhill in Birmingham is so very appealing now.
Another quiet train journey!
New Delhi Railway station was a completely unforgettable experience. Firstly we learned to assume that anyone and everyone who approaches you, even if in a smart uniform, offering kind offers of help, direction or assistance-is up too no good, then once we'd stepped over the bodies and dogs looking diseased, malnourished and vaguely alive we got swept into a human tide of people. I could not see my own feet. I felt suffocated by people unable to take a deep breath, fighting for my own share of oxygen - I must suffer from claustrophobia.
We've traveled to most places by train with 2 flights thrown in, when we can't be bothered to fight the crowds, the daily 44 degrees plus, or wind miles of steel cable through our luggage so no one pinches it. First stop Amritsar. Home of Sikhism and a very welcoming sanitary from the chaos of Delhi. Golden temple fantastic. Sikh people friendly, proud of there religion and humorous, which is a rarity in India. Whilst Michael nursed a grumbling tummy I went at around 10.30 pm to the Golden Temple, where I was quickly invited to share 'Langar' with them.This is a giant dining room proudly feeding around 40,000 pilgrims a day, free of charge and very tasty. Everybody is welcome regardless of religion, colour or caste. A great experience.
Varanasi, banks of the River Ganges. Hindu's holiest city on Earth. Hindu religion teaches, if you die in Varanasi it's a direct passage to heaven and thus no re-incarnation. Millions flock here to die. Most are burnt in the Ghats.
Big Tash Man, Jaipur
Bought from their homes wrapped in linen, laid on bamboo ladders, adorned with bright yellow marigolds and paraded through the narrow winding streets to the Ghats where the wood is chosen and weighed. No women are allowed to attend for fear of them bursting into tears. They are then burnt in public view, around 5 hours for the average body. And around 200 bodies a day! But Holy men, children under 10, pregnant women and lepers are wrapped in linen and tossed into the Ganges along with the odd dog and the raw sewage of the 400 million people that live along the Ganges. We saw our first floating, puffed up, decaying dead Holy man within an hour of arriving - great! But what a tribute to the human body the people of Varanasi are. They bath, wash, swim with frivolity and drink the stuff seemingly unaffected. Scientifically it's classed as Septic. Safe bathing water is 500 bacteria coliform per 100mls the Ganges boasts 1.5 million per 100mls! Needless to say we pointed with open shock as 2 American girls went for a dip, along with a few locals. Which brings me nicely round to Cholera. Yep I've had it, obviously not satisfied with the average Delhi-belly. I did expect Delhi-belly at some stage but not cholera and not from the Imperial, Delhi's 5 star hotel. I'm fit and well now. Michael is proving to be as resilient as ever, Carole he asked me not to mention it for fear that you may think he 'faked' a few days off school!Highs, Lows and Eye-Openers To India
Taj Mahal-Even with great expectations it was still fantastic.
Staying with a local family in Agra and sharing home-cooked food with them.
Doing a mornings cookery course, we can now serve up makhani dahl, chicken curry, paneer rolls and chapatis with a twist of garlic and coriander.
A packet of crisps Costs 6p.
Michael has perfected the 'Indian head wobble'.
The fantastic temples, forts and palaces we have visited.
Blue City, Jodhpur
Especially the Jain temple, Ranakpur. 50 years to carve, 1444 milky white marble pillars, no 2 alike.Getting my letters posted. Whilst walking into the main Government post office I met 2 bemused tourists walking out telling me no post today-'special holiday'. It was a Tuesday morning-nothing special. Armed with this information, when told 'only VIP letters today' I told them it was for my Mum-a VIP! Laughter and an extra 2 rupees I was allowed to frank my own mail and send it on it's way.
Air conditioning.
Being lucky enough to see Tigers in the wild-wow. A big male about 3 meters away from our jeep, followed by 2 sisters the next day.
Lows
The tigers, and the very real fear for their survival.
The constant 'Baksheesh'-donation or bribe.
Spitting. The deep throated, dragging the phlegm up from the very bases of their lungs and then proudly spitting it half way across the street-nice!
The brazen urinating in public, streets, private property, train stations, national monuments.....
The outrageously loud-not a hint of shyness, farting, belching and again the daily ritual of phlegm spitting that happens every morning on the over-night trains. Women are not excluded.
Rubbish.
The callous, neglectful and uncaring way in which the "sacred" cow is treated.
Pollution. I have never seen smog hang so heavily from an aircraft window or the sun's rays so obstructed.
Hot, hot, hot pushing up 45 degrees.
Abandoning all personal space, privacy and shyness.
Eye Opener's
Men squat feet away from the railway tracks, taking there morning ablutions seemingly blind to the 21 coaches that rattle by.
Women scrap up cow dung and neatly pat them into perfectly round cow pat cakes.
Can't remember this place?
Dry them in the sun and set fire them.Men who dye there greying hair with henna and subsequently walk round with a Barnett of bright orange hair!
Men are short-6 footers a rarity.
Holding hands in public is classed as a sex act and taken very seriously.
Fruit bats are the size of Eagles and look like oil slick's in the skies.
Highway code - none what so ever, only give way if it's bigger than you and people have no worth!
They seem blind whilst driving, driving only by sound-horns, beeps, long blasts, short blasts, shouting.....
Having my photo taken and children being thrust into frame-I've learned to ask for Baksheesh-rupee,rupee!
The huge bearing religion has on every day life. The need to believe in something.
And with all that said, it has to be said that we have both had a rather good time in India but are very much looking forward to the 'easy' life in Thailand. We jet off there very early Monday morning. After spending 2 days in Mumbia having haircuts and catching a Bollywood film.
Love to you all.
update us with news from home, we look forward to it.
Suzy and Michael xxxxx
Suzy - Author
Michael - Editor in Chief
Both - full time tourirst
xxxxx
Comments
Hello!!!!
Well Hello!!! - India I have to say does not sound as good as Africa. Suzy, I am sure that you love the fact that crisps cost 6p - how we would have loved that in the past!!!
All going well in Manchester - Isabelle got her pressie from you, thanks.. She is having a party on 11th - I have 30 children coming, so will be nice and manic.
Love to you both, often think of you.
Love Dave, Belinda and Isabelle
xxxxxx