3 appointments later and I have a blissfully pain free tooth. Root canal treatment isn't much fun. But it's certainly good to be able to turn up at a dentist and have it started on the spot, not have to bother with appointments and only pay 20 pounds at the end of it all! It has meant being in Delhi a little longer than planned, but we took a couple of days in between appointments to visit Amritsar, a mere 12 hours each way on the train.
Amritsar is the home of the magnificent Sikh Golden Temple (photos of which will appear eventually. I'm catching up!), an impressive building where no one tried to take any money from us.. which made a refreshing change! Once we had the right head gear on (Kev initially got in trouble for having a hat instead of material on his) it was an amazingly friendly place. Unbelievably, the temple feeds over 35000 pilgrims, regardless of religion, every day without charge, relying solely on donations.
After the Golden Temple, we visited Jallianwala Bagh, which I'm ashamed to say I had never heard of. Look it up if you've not either:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jallianwala_Bagh_massacre
I found this a profoundly moving experience as we wandered around the gardens, where the walls still bear bullet holes and a flame burns 24 hours a day to commemorate those who lost their lives. I don't think I've felt quite so conscious of my nationality since we started this trip.
That evening, we went to the Indian Pakistan border for what turned out to be, well, really really funny. Once we had piled into our shared vehicle (designed for 10 people at most, filled with 16) we drove 28 km to the border. Every single night they hold this border closing ceremony. Kev was whisked off the the male section of the grandstands set up for viewing the show. I made my way to the female stands and was firmly redirected to the VIP area. Clearly I am far more important than him.. (he finally joined me there about an hour later once he realised it existed). The show itself (and it really is a show. They even sell popcorn.) kicked off with a long line of women and children running to and from the border gate waving India flags whilst the crowds roared their support. This was followed by singing and dancing and chanting - all encouraged by an energetic compere. The Pakistan side of the border was noticeably quieter.
Eventually, the Indian guards came out and performed a bizarre marching routine, which was very similar to Monty Python's Ministry of Silly Walks. Finally there was a brief handshake between the Pakistani and Indian guards, the flag were lowered and the gate closed for the night.
They do this EVERY night.
Saturday, 24 April 2010
Mumbai slum
These have a separate file as they are not by us but official pictures from the company we went with - photography was not allowed as it would have been intrusive.
Monday, 19 April 2010
Heatwave. Indian style.
What idiot would come to the hottest part of India, at the hottest time of year during a heatwave? Apparently temperatures are around 7 degrees above normal for the time of year. So where do we head? To the desert of course!
We made our way to Jaisalmer from Pushkar, arriving after another overnight bus trip tired and very, very hot. The less said about the next couple of days the better - let's just say that Kev went on a overnight camel safari in the desert... and I stayed within a few metres of a toliet in our hotel. Sadly this, combined with the unbelievably hot temperatures (45 degrees in the shade!) meant that my impressions of Jaisalmer are a little vague! It has a lovely fort. And it really hot.
The next stage of our journey took us to Jaipur, where we took a bus tour of the sights including forts, palaces and (surprise surprise) a handicrafts shop, where there was, of course, no pressure to buy. Ha ha. The old city itself is quite surreal, as all the buildings along the main streets have to be painted pink (orginally apparently to welcome the Prince of Wales in 1853). Some of the 'pink' is admittedly more of a brown.
It was in Jaipur that I suddenly realised I was fed up of staying in depressing room after depressing room and that we should treat ourselves to something a little nicer in Delhi for a couple of nights. So we trawled the internet, thinking for once we would book somewhere and found a great last minute deal on a lovely looking room. It took the rickshaw driver at least an hour to find the place, with at least 10 offers of hotels that he thought were much better, but we finally made it. At first they could find no record of our booking and they were full. Then, miraculously, a room was found. A tiny, smelly room with bugs across the floor. I could have cried. Miraculously another room was available. Much nicer. Until the rat ran across the floor.
We left.
Delhi has been unexpected in some ways - parts of it are very green and beautiful. Others of course less so and where we're staying has it's fair share of beggars and people trying to sell everything under the sun. It's practically impossible to go where you want to go or buy what you want to buy as just about everyone has a better idea.
Today we took a day trip to Agra. We saw the Taj Mahal. It was, of course, spectacular. They don't allow anyone in with food or cigarettes. Fair enough. Onec the security lady had ascertained that I has neither, she took my book out of my bag and said 'no reading allowed in the Taj Mahal'. How odd.
Almost as spectacular as the building itself, is the sheer number of people wanting to sell something, take you somewhere or generally part you of your cash in some way or another. Which is why were now hiding in an internet cafe until our train back to Delhi.
Tomorrow I go to the dentist. I hope they understand English, otherwise I may be coming home with no teeth...
We made our way to Jaisalmer from Pushkar, arriving after another overnight bus trip tired and very, very hot. The less said about the next couple of days the better - let's just say that Kev went on a overnight camel safari in the desert... and I stayed within a few metres of a toliet in our hotel. Sadly this, combined with the unbelievably hot temperatures (45 degrees in the shade!) meant that my impressions of Jaisalmer are a little vague! It has a lovely fort. And it really hot.
The next stage of our journey took us to Jaipur, where we took a bus tour of the sights including forts, palaces and (surprise surprise) a handicrafts shop, where there was, of course, no pressure to buy. Ha ha. The old city itself is quite surreal, as all the buildings along the main streets have to be painted pink (orginally apparently to welcome the Prince of Wales in 1853). Some of the 'pink' is admittedly more of a brown.
It was in Jaipur that I suddenly realised I was fed up of staying in depressing room after depressing room and that we should treat ourselves to something a little nicer in Delhi for a couple of nights. So we trawled the internet, thinking for once we would book somewhere and found a great last minute deal on a lovely looking room. It took the rickshaw driver at least an hour to find the place, with at least 10 offers of hotels that he thought were much better, but we finally made it. At first they could find no record of our booking and they were full. Then, miraculously, a room was found. A tiny, smelly room with bugs across the floor. I could have cried. Miraculously another room was available. Much nicer. Until the rat ran across the floor.
We left.
Delhi has been unexpected in some ways - parts of it are very green and beautiful. Others of course less so and where we're staying has it's fair share of beggars and people trying to sell everything under the sun. It's practically impossible to go where you want to go or buy what you want to buy as just about everyone has a better idea.
Today we took a day trip to Agra. We saw the Taj Mahal. It was, of course, spectacular. They don't allow anyone in with food or cigarettes. Fair enough. Onec the security lady had ascertained that I has neither, she took my book out of my bag and said 'no reading allowed in the Taj Mahal'. How odd.
Almost as spectacular as the building itself, is the sheer number of people wanting to sell something, take you somewhere or generally part you of your cash in some way or another. Which is why were now hiding in an internet cafe until our train back to Delhi.
Tomorrow I go to the dentist. I hope they understand English, otherwise I may be coming home with no teeth...
Wednesday, 7 April 2010
Luck and happiness
I would like to say that I truly hope my friends and family have happiness and luck. Apparently the money I 'donated' (was cunningly scammed out of) at a Hindu temple to keep you all happy and lucky was a surprisingly small amount, and I sincerely apologise if it misses of you out. On the positive side, Kev 'donated' more, so his might cover you.
We're in Rajasthan, first Udaipur and now Pushkar. Udaipur was a stunning place, with beautiful palaces including two on the lake - one of which was the Maharaja's summer retreat, the other being his 'pleasure' palace... Both are now restaurants and hotels - sadly a little beyond our price range! They are also the setting for part of Octopussy - and clearly the town is very proud of this, as every restaurant and cafe advertises nightly showings. The main palace is impressive, full of beautiful marble fittings and artwork.
Pushkar is a temple town where many people visit on pilgrimages. After an overnight bus trip inhaling petrol fumes, we arrived in Ajmer, a nearby town where we were told by local rickshaw drivers that there was no bus to Pushkar for another 2 hours, and that the buses went from the bus station 2 km away. Of course, they could take us to Pushkar for only 250 rupees... We persevered with the bus plan and went up to a bus nearby, where a man started to tell us that, yes, it went to Pushkar. After a few angry words from the rickshaw drivers he changed his mind. It didn't. So we kept going and were approached by another man who showed another bus to Pushkar. More words from the rickshaw drivers, but this man took us to the bus anyway and we began to get on. So the rickshaw drivers punched the man. We decided we were best off hiding at the back of the bus and thanking the man once the fighting had stopped.
We arrived at a temple this morning, and found ourselves swept along through the temple and down to a bathing ghat, handed flowers and sweets to donate, given bands and red dots on our heads, and left with lighter wallets...
We're in Rajasthan, first Udaipur and now Pushkar. Udaipur was a stunning place, with beautiful palaces including two on the lake - one of which was the Maharaja's summer retreat, the other being his 'pleasure' palace... Both are now restaurants and hotels - sadly a little beyond our price range! They are also the setting for part of Octopussy - and clearly the town is very proud of this, as every restaurant and cafe advertises nightly showings. The main palace is impressive, full of beautiful marble fittings and artwork.
Pushkar is a temple town where many people visit on pilgrimages. After an overnight bus trip inhaling petrol fumes, we arrived in Ajmer, a nearby town where we were told by local rickshaw drivers that there was no bus to Pushkar for another 2 hours, and that the buses went from the bus station 2 km away. Of course, they could take us to Pushkar for only 250 rupees... We persevered with the bus plan and went up to a bus nearby, where a man started to tell us that, yes, it went to Pushkar. After a few angry words from the rickshaw drivers he changed his mind. It didn't. So we kept going and were approached by another man who showed another bus to Pushkar. More words from the rickshaw drivers, but this man took us to the bus anyway and we began to get on. So the rickshaw drivers punched the man. We decided we were best off hiding at the back of the bus and thanking the man once the fighting had stopped.
We arrived at a temple this morning, and found ourselves swept along through the temple and down to a bathing ghat, handed flowers and sweets to donate, given bands and red dots on our heads, and left with lighter wallets...
Thursday, 1 April 2010
Bollywood stars of the future?
Just back from the doctors. We could start our own pharmacy... Between my eye infection and Kev's entire body of bites,we have 5 sets of tablets and 3 sets of cream. Easy to see the doctor gets a cut of what we buy! It was certainly an experience though, and well worth the 7 quid we paid for the consultation and all the ridiculous amounts of medicine for pure amusement value! One more visit tomorrow to check Kev's blood pressure has gone normal and we'll be done!
After leaving Goa,we took an overnight train (1st class no less, a great experience!) to Mumbai. We arrived at crack of dawn and,after being scandalously ripped off by a taxi driver,made our way to the Salvation Army dormitories for possibly the only cheap place to stay in the city. You could see why. The girl's dormitory was fine - everyone was sleeping soundly when I got in, the bathroom was clean and the room smelt fine. Kev, however, entered the boys dormitory to see the floor full of sleeping bodies,people so fed up of bed bugs that they had abandoned the beds. Apparently the bathroom and the smell were not much better... By abandoning his mattress and sleeping on bare boards he avoided the bedbugs until our very last night, hence our trip to the doctor today.
Mumbai is an amazing city - full of contrasts,colours, smells and sounds. In Colaba, where we were staying the elegant and luxurious Taj Mahal hotel towers above streets where whole families sleep on the pavements. We spent so much time jsut walking around and taking in the feel of the city. We visited different areas, including Crawford market,where we were immediatly hijacked by a man who,every time we tried to escape, insisted on showing us his 'Porter' badge and telling us it was his job to show us around. If it wasn't for him I doubt we'd have persevered with the fish market (and walking through fish guts in our flip-flops) and certainly not the meat market, where huge carcasses sat covered in crows and the smell was like nothing I've smelt before.
We walked one day with a guy we met in our hostel, Chris, and just kept walking until we decided we'd gone far enough and should catch a bus back. Having identified the correct bus,we got on confidently and waited for somewhere we recognised. Chris saw our road and jumped off as the bus stopped. Kev jumped off behind him, misjudging the speed of the bus which was no longer stopped, and fell flat on his face ion the road. Three men,clearly convinced I was about to jump off after them (the bus was at full speed by now) held my arms in vice-like grips as I tried to explain that I didn't have a death wish and wasn't about to throw myself off.
One of my favourite places in Mumbai was Chowpatty beach. Not because it's a nice beach. Almost the opposite - the water is filthy and the beach is crowded with people. But everyone washaving the time of their lives there - families happy and smiling, going on rides which were all hand run, children excitedly paddling in the filthy water.Not a frown amongst them, and we couldn't help picturing a similar scene at home.
On out final day in Mumbai we took a tour of the largest slum in the city, and it was the very best thing we've done on our trip so far. It's hard to describe exactly why,but it was a very special experience which blew away any preconceptions we had about life in a slum. We were picked up by a guy n jeans and a t-shirt who was chatting away on his mobile. We never would have guessed that he himselfhad lived his whole life in the slums. He took us first to the 'industrial' area of the slum,which was so perfectly organised it was amazing. There was a building where people were shredding the plastic for recycling, a building for melting the plastic, and right next door, a building for making the machines for recycling the plastic. There was a building for melting down aluminium,a building for making leather goods, an area for making clay pots, an area where women sat making poppadum after poppadum and leaving them to dry in the hot sun. There was everything, and I can't help thinking it must be one of the only areas in Mumbai with little or no unemployment. We didn't see a single person begging for anything, or a single person who didn't look entirely happy. The streets of the slum were cleaner than many in the city. Sure, there was not a lot of money around, and a large percentage of what was made from any of the industries went back to a nameless owner,but the place had such a positive feeling that I wasn't surprised by the obvious disdain our guide felt for the depiction of slum life in Slumdog Millionaire and endless recent documentaries. There are government schools, schools run by NGOs, and even private schools within the slum. It was easy to see why our guide was so proud of his life and his home.
So that was Mumbai, or the best I can do in a short space. Sadly we had to turn down the offer to star (well, be extras) in a Bollywood film as we were all set to take our train out of the city. We are now in Aurangabad,to the East of Mumbai where we have spent 2 days looking at caves at Ajanta and Ellora. Both sets of caves are spectacular - carved intricately into the mountainside over hundreds of years, full of carvings and paintings that have survived the centuries. Ellora was particularly awe insiringk, not least because the caves span 3 religions on the one sight - Buddhism, Hiduisn and Jainism.
Allin all it's been a busy few days, with more excitement to come as we head tomorrow towards Udaipur.
Photos will appear eventually. They seem to take forever to upload.
After leaving Goa,we took an overnight train (1st class no less, a great experience!) to Mumbai. We arrived at crack of dawn and,after being scandalously ripped off by a taxi driver,made our way to the Salvation Army dormitories for possibly the only cheap place to stay in the city. You could see why. The girl's dormitory was fine - everyone was sleeping soundly when I got in, the bathroom was clean and the room smelt fine. Kev, however, entered the boys dormitory to see the floor full of sleeping bodies,people so fed up of bed bugs that they had abandoned the beds. Apparently the bathroom and the smell were not much better... By abandoning his mattress and sleeping on bare boards he avoided the bedbugs until our very last night, hence our trip to the doctor today.
Mumbai is an amazing city - full of contrasts,colours, smells and sounds. In Colaba, where we were staying the elegant and luxurious Taj Mahal hotel towers above streets where whole families sleep on the pavements. We spent so much time jsut walking around and taking in the feel of the city. We visited different areas, including Crawford market,where we were immediatly hijacked by a man who,every time we tried to escape, insisted on showing us his 'Porter' badge and telling us it was his job to show us around. If it wasn't for him I doubt we'd have persevered with the fish market (and walking through fish guts in our flip-flops) and certainly not the meat market, where huge carcasses sat covered in crows and the smell was like nothing I've smelt before.
We walked one day with a guy we met in our hostel, Chris, and just kept walking until we decided we'd gone far enough and should catch a bus back. Having identified the correct bus,we got on confidently and waited for somewhere we recognised. Chris saw our road and jumped off as the bus stopped. Kev jumped off behind him, misjudging the speed of the bus which was no longer stopped, and fell flat on his face ion the road. Three men,clearly convinced I was about to jump off after them (the bus was at full speed by now) held my arms in vice-like grips as I tried to explain that I didn't have a death wish and wasn't about to throw myself off.
One of my favourite places in Mumbai was Chowpatty beach. Not because it's a nice beach. Almost the opposite - the water is filthy and the beach is crowded with people. But everyone washaving the time of their lives there - families happy and smiling, going on rides which were all hand run, children excitedly paddling in the filthy water.Not a frown amongst them, and we couldn't help picturing a similar scene at home.
On out final day in Mumbai we took a tour of the largest slum in the city, and it was the very best thing we've done on our trip so far. It's hard to describe exactly why,but it was a very special experience which blew away any preconceptions we had about life in a slum. We were picked up by a guy n jeans and a t-shirt who was chatting away on his mobile. We never would have guessed that he himselfhad lived his whole life in the slums. He took us first to the 'industrial' area of the slum,which was so perfectly organised it was amazing. There was a building where people were shredding the plastic for recycling, a building for melting the plastic, and right next door, a building for making the machines for recycling the plastic. There was a building for melting down aluminium,a building for making leather goods, an area for making clay pots, an area where women sat making poppadum after poppadum and leaving them to dry in the hot sun. There was everything, and I can't help thinking it must be one of the only areas in Mumbai with little or no unemployment. We didn't see a single person begging for anything, or a single person who didn't look entirely happy. The streets of the slum were cleaner than many in the city. Sure, there was not a lot of money around, and a large percentage of what was made from any of the industries went back to a nameless owner,but the place had such a positive feeling that I wasn't surprised by the obvious disdain our guide felt for the depiction of slum life in Slumdog Millionaire and endless recent documentaries. There are government schools, schools run by NGOs, and even private schools within the slum. It was easy to see why our guide was so proud of his life and his home.
So that was Mumbai, or the best I can do in a short space. Sadly we had to turn down the offer to star (well, be extras) in a Bollywood film as we were all set to take our train out of the city. We are now in Aurangabad,to the East of Mumbai where we have spent 2 days looking at caves at Ajanta and Ellora. Both sets of caves are spectacular - carved intricately into the mountainside over hundreds of years, full of carvings and paintings that have survived the centuries. Ellora was particularly awe insiringk, not least because the caves span 3 religions on the one sight - Buddhism, Hiduisn and Jainism.
Allin all it's been a busy few days, with more excitement to come as we head tomorrow towards Udaipur.
Photos will appear eventually. They seem to take forever to upload.
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