Once again, I quote from our itinerary: "Agra - Ranthambhore: by road, 24okm / 5hr". After our experience of the Delhi-Agra highway we decided to ask our driver his opinion of how long it was going to take us. After a moments thinking he said: "9 hours". 9 hours!!! I'll leave you with that thought for now...
Once again, I was excited to be on our way and looking forward to our next destination - Ranthambhore National Park. Apparently it is where "you are most likely to spot a tiger on safari in India" (Lonely Planet) !
On the way we stopped off at Fatehpur Sikri, about 40km west of Agra. This nicely finished off our visits to the Mughal Emperor's monuments forts and palaces. Built by Emperor Akbar, this red sandstone complex is often referred to as a city, as it was for a short time during Akbar's reign the capital of the Empire. It was abandoned after his death as there was no natural water resources in the area and became known as a ghost city. There are two distinct complexes, one made of many halls and buildings and the other a large mosque. Our guide told us of how Akbar had 3 wives, one Islamic, one Christian and one Hindu and so he built their palaces according to their cultural style and so it's really interesting to see the different influences in the building work, by the shape of the arches and the decoration.
One other thing to mention is a footnote about the religion that Akbar created (mentioned in Day 3). In the Diwan-i-Khas - Hall of Private Audience - there is a fantastic pillar that has images of the five faiths of Din-i-Ilahi illustrated - Islam, Hinduism, Jainism, Christianity and a religion called Zoroastrian. I don't know how many followers he had but not surprisingly the religion didn't survive after Akbar's death!
Back on the road we left Uttar Pradesh behind and entered into Rajasthan. Once we got onto the highway we thought the going would be plan sailing and couldn't work out why our driver thought it would take so long to get there. However there are two factors (well three really) that contribute to driving in India being so interesting:
1) the speed limits - the reason we could go fast in Uttar Pradesh is that there is no speed limit! Unfortunately in Rajasthan it is 80kmph which works out at just about 50mph. Still, to do 240 miles from Agra to Ranthambhore you would think that around 5hrs would be a fairly accurate estimation, plus an hour for lunch and an hour to look round Fatehpur Sikri, but that isn't taking into consideration factor 2;
2) with all the development going on in India at the moment, the roads are one big construction site. Unfortunately, instead of working on one part of the road at a time, they seem to be doing all the road at the same time - in 2km stretches (or that was what it seemed)! So our progress for most of the journey consisted of us driving as fast as was permitted on the regular stretch of highway and then 10-20kph on the bit that was being worked on. So you can imagine us relaxing, enjoying the scenery, maybe drifting off into a pleasant dream when suddenly the car flies off-road and we are jolted into a back-jarring ride over rubble and sand, avoiding the potholes and trying not to slip down the banks plus trying to look out for factor 3;
3) Trucks. The highways - mostly two lane affairs (one each way) - are the main means of transportation across the country and as a consequence are full of big, noisy, overloaded trucks which drive at less than 40kph. This means that if you want to get anywhere you have to overtake the trucks and so the whole journey is taken up with getting in front of the truck in front of you. The regular mode of driving on the highway is to tailgate the vehicle in front of you. This is because if you leave any kind of distance another vehicle will push in. The method of overtaking is to suddenly swerve out into the centre of the road - remember that a big truck is in front so you can see anything - and if nothing is coming then you race alongside the trucks for as long as possible and then pull in either when there is a space or when a truck coming in the opposite direction threatens to squash you. If, when you swerve out something is coming towards you, then you swerve back into your space and repeat for as long as it takes to overtake. And then you start all over again with the next truck ... and then the next ... which makes for a very long journey. Getting to Ranthambhore in 9 hours was going to actually be a feat of skill on the part of our driver!
We stopped for lunch at one of the little 'tourist' restaurants that just appeared on the side of the highway and relaxed for half an hour before getting back into the car for the next leg of the journey.
Monday, 30 April 2007
Day 4: Agra
Our hotel, while having a great view of the Taj Mahal was also facing the road where cars, rickshaws, motorbikes etc spent most of the night honking their horns (did I mention the horn honking?), and started again in early morning shortly after the call to prayer at the local mosque ... Therefore we were ready in plenty of time in the morning to meet our guide. The reason I was so excited to see the Taj Mahal was because when we were in India before we didn't get a chance to visit and it's something I've wanted to see for years. Sometimes when you feel like that about something, when you actually do or see it, it's a disappointment, but the experience lived up to my expectations!
Built entirely from white marble, this building was the most magnificent of all Shah Jahan's creations and took 22 years to construct. Built as a monument to his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, the name Taj Mahal - "Crown Palace" - perfectly describes it. As you walk through the first gate you glimpse the whole building in miniature through the arch of the main 30m sandstone gateway. Passing through the gateway, the ornamental gardens are laid out leading to the Taj Mahal which sits on a raised platform at the top. It is impossible to describe the inlay work and decoration of the marble, suffice to say it is the best craftsmanship I have ever seen. Again, everything is perfectly symmetrical and walking around the site - with our shoe protectors on - there is a sense of stillness and majesty that is timeless.
Of course you can't go abroad and not be taken around the handicraft shops! At the 'U. P. Handicrafts Palace' we watched and learned how the craftsmen shape the precious stones and etch the patterns into marble to create the wonderful inlay work that can be seen on the Taj Mahal. Apparently these craftsmen were direct descendants of the workers who created the Taj ... well maybe they were or maybe they weren't but they were certainly very skilled and after a good look round, we emerged with our pockets lighter and our baggage heavier!
This time we remembered to speak to our guide about lunch! There seem to be little restaurants dotted around India that are especially for tourists. They sell traditional Indian food - India tourists use them as well - and because the guides are confident about them you feel that it is safe to eat there.
After a quick and tasty curry we got in the car and crossed the extremely rickety bridge over the river and made our way to the Agra Fort. As we drove across the bridge we looked down onto the river and saw people farming! The river ebbs and flows seasonally around the monsoon, so in the dry season the river gets low and exposes very fertile land suitable for growing vegetables etc. We saw little huts where people obviously live while they are farming. Just before the monsoon they gather their last harvest and move off the river before the monsoon comes and floods the river.
The Agra Fort is made of a mixture of red sandstone - built by Emperor Akbar in 1565 and - white marble - added by Emperor Shah Jahan (Akbar's grandson) during his reign. The original purpose of the fort was for military use but Shah Jahan made it into a palace and so there are many halls, rooms and ornamental gardens, all with their own character and style. However it is the romance of the place that for me gives it a special character. After the death of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, Shah Jahan's one aim in life was to complete the building of the Taj Mahal. After its completion, his son Aurangzeb, seized power and imprisoned his father in the white marble octagonal tower in the fort. It is said that Shah Jahan looked at his beloved Taj Mahal every day from his window, and when he was too weak to go to the window, he managed one last glimpse of the tomb reflected in a mirror as he took his last breath...
Crossing back over the river we paid a visit to the 'Baby Taj' - the nickname for Itimad-ud-Dualah's tomb. As most people visit Agra for the day to see the Taj and the Agra Fort, not many people make the trip to see the the Baby Taj and so we more or less had the place to ourselves. This monument again follows the symmetrical Mughal design and was the first structure to be built from marble. The decoration on this tomb is more prolific than the Taj - almost every surface is covered with colourful inlay work and you could spend ages there admiring it. It also overlooks the river so we spent some time relaxing and trying to coax the chipmunks to stay still long enough to get a photo of them!
Returning to the hotel it was too late to sit by the pool so I visited the bookshop instead. I had already read the book I bought at the airport so I tried to talk the shopkeeper into making a part exchange, but the he wasn't having any of it. I'm not surprised. The book I was offering was some pop fiction novel, however his shop was filled with serious looking cultural books and coupled with the fact that it was a shop based in a Taj hotel, the book I was trying to palm off on him obviously wasn't classy enough! In his one shelf of novels I found this fantastic book called "Taj" by Colin De Silva. It is a fictional account of the life of Shah Jahan (based on known facts and real places) and was the perfect book to take on my journey through Rajasthan.
Built entirely from white marble, this building was the most magnificent of all Shah Jahan's creations and took 22 years to construct. Built as a monument to his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, the name Taj Mahal - "Crown Palace" - perfectly describes it. As you walk through the first gate you glimpse the whole building in miniature through the arch of the main 30m sandstone gateway. Passing through the gateway, the ornamental gardens are laid out leading to the Taj Mahal which sits on a raised platform at the top. It is impossible to describe the inlay work and decoration of the marble, suffice to say it is the best craftsmanship I have ever seen. Again, everything is perfectly symmetrical and walking around the site - with our shoe protectors on - there is a sense of stillness and majesty that is timeless.
Of course you can't go abroad and not be taken around the handicraft shops! At the 'U. P. Handicrafts Palace' we watched and learned how the craftsmen shape the precious stones and etch the patterns into marble to create the wonderful inlay work that can be seen on the Taj Mahal. Apparently these craftsmen were direct descendants of the workers who created the Taj ... well maybe they were or maybe they weren't but they were certainly very skilled and after a good look round, we emerged with our pockets lighter and our baggage heavier!
This time we remembered to speak to our guide about lunch! There seem to be little restaurants dotted around India that are especially for tourists. They sell traditional Indian food - India tourists use them as well - and because the guides are confident about them you feel that it is safe to eat there.
After a quick and tasty curry we got in the car and crossed the extremely rickety bridge over the river and made our way to the Agra Fort. As we drove across the bridge we looked down onto the river and saw people farming! The river ebbs and flows seasonally around the monsoon, so in the dry season the river gets low and exposes very fertile land suitable for growing vegetables etc. We saw little huts where people obviously live while they are farming. Just before the monsoon they gather their last harvest and move off the river before the monsoon comes and floods the river.
The Agra Fort is made of a mixture of red sandstone - built by Emperor Akbar in 1565 and - white marble - added by Emperor Shah Jahan (Akbar's grandson) during his reign. The original purpose of the fort was for military use but Shah Jahan made it into a palace and so there are many halls, rooms and ornamental gardens, all with their own character and style. However it is the romance of the place that for me gives it a special character. After the death of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, Shah Jahan's one aim in life was to complete the building of the Taj Mahal. After its completion, his son Aurangzeb, seized power and imprisoned his father in the white marble octagonal tower in the fort. It is said that Shah Jahan looked at his beloved Taj Mahal every day from his window, and when he was too weak to go to the window, he managed one last glimpse of the tomb reflected in a mirror as he took his last breath...
Crossing back over the river we paid a visit to the 'Baby Taj' - the nickname for Itimad-ud-Dualah's tomb. As most people visit Agra for the day to see the Taj and the Agra Fort, not many people make the trip to see the the Baby Taj and so we more or less had the place to ourselves. This monument again follows the symmetrical Mughal design and was the first structure to be built from marble. The decoration on this tomb is more prolific than the Taj - almost every surface is covered with colourful inlay work and you could spend ages there admiring it. It also overlooks the river so we spent some time relaxing and trying to coax the chipmunks to stay still long enough to get a photo of them!
Returning to the hotel it was too late to sit by the pool so I visited the bookshop instead. I had already read the book I bought at the airport so I tried to talk the shopkeeper into making a part exchange, but the he wasn't having any of it. I'm not surprised. The book I was offering was some pop fiction novel, however his shop was filled with serious looking cultural books and coupled with the fact that it was a shop based in a Taj hotel, the book I was trying to palm off on him obviously wasn't classy enough! In his one shelf of novels I found this fantastic book called "Taj" by Colin De Silva. It is a fictional account of the life of Shah Jahan (based on known facts and real places) and was the perfect book to take on my journey through Rajasthan.
Day 3: Delhi --> Agra (our first road trip)
Quote from our itinerary: "After Breakfast start for Agra early in the morning. Reach and check in at hotel. Proceed for sight seeing." It sounded so simple, we were to travel on the Delhi - Agra highway, 221km in approximately 4 hours.
Our driver was to be with us for over a week and we soon learned to completely trust his judgement and observations. When we optimistically said that we looked forward to be in Agra in time for lunch, he gave us a knowing smile and set off down the road at breakneck speed, horn blaring, dodging in and out of the traffic. Apparently this is the normal way of driving and it takes years to perfect the skill!
We were on the road quite early, and even though it was a Monday morning, it didn't take long to reach the outskirts of Delhi and head for the highway. As we got out of the city the traffic didn't really get any quieter - in fact when we passed through towns it got a bit mad! Basically, the roads are usually two-wide, i.e. single lanes in each direction. However a whole number of vehicles travel along the roads so more often or not there are two or three vehicles to each single carriageway - or if there are motorbikes and bicycles it is however many will feasibly fit!!
Passing through the towns there are usually a couple of sets of cross roads with traffic lights, so when the traffic is stopped everyone tries to get to the front of the queue so it's a bit like the start of a grand prix when the lights change to green. The going is very noisy and stop-start, and you have to know where everyone is all of the time so as not to have accidents. We deduced that as many vehicles don't have wing mirrors on them (on account of them all driving with 1 inch separating them to the side and the front - no lie - I have the pictures (and sorry, they are still not ready)), this is the reason for all the horn blowing. They seem to honk the horn when they are going to overtake and while they overtake, but you can imagine when there are literally tens of vehicles all around you all honking it is difficult to decipher who and what is where and who is overtaking who ...
... Well I think you can guess what is coming ... we were driving up to a set of traffic lights, all around us were motorbikes, motorcycles, rickshaws, bull carts, trucks and a few other cars, when suddenly the lights changed and everyone screeched to a halt. Our driver put his foot on the brakes, however one of the motorcyclists either wasn't watching where he was going or his brakes weren't as good as ours and we heard this bang and almighty clatter! The lights changed and everyone started maneuvering around the fallen bike and the guy laying on the road who had crashed into us. A traffic policeman who just happened to be there waved us over to the side of the road and our driver got out.
In the short space of time of the accident and us pulling over, a crowd of about 50 strong had gathered and our driver disappeared into the middle of them. We sat in the car hoping that he wasn't going to get a) beaten up or b) arrested and wondered what might happen to us if the crowd got angry ... thankfully, about 10 mins later he emerged from the crowd, followed by a man held up by a couple of others limping down the road, jumped in the car and we were on our way! We never did find out what happened but we hope that the man is ok and by now our driver has had the dent in the car seen to. It was amazing really that we didn't witness any other serious accidents, although once we got on the highway we occasionally came across trucks lying on the side of the road having slipped down the bank or with a wheel off!
We stopped at a cute place at the side of the highway for lunch. It was the only building in view for miles and was obviously a popular place for tourists and travellers, being midway between Delhi and Agra. It was the first meal that we had eaten outside of the hotel so we were slightly wary, but it was delicious and sitting in the sunshine in the lovely gardens, listening to the birds singing all the traffic traumas were forgotten.
It was obvious that we weren't going to reach Agra until late afternoon so we tried to sit back and enjoy the rest of the drive. I was itching to see the Taj Mahal however we made an impromptu stop about 1okm outside of Agra. We were at Akbar's Mausoleum. Akbar was Shah Jahan's grandfather and ascended to the throne at the early age of 13 after the death of his father, Humayan. Akbar extended the Mughal Empire across India but he is also known for his contributions to the arts and his tolerance to other faiths. He founded his own religion called the Din-i-Ilahi, which means "Divine Faith" we learned more about this on our visit to Fatehpur Sikri on Day 5.
As the Mausoleum wasn't on our itinerary and we didn't have a guide we got out our trusty lonely planet and navigated ourselves around it as best as we could. The mausoleum is built of red sandstone decorated with white marble patterns inlaid into the stone. Walking through the huge gate with its three-storey minarets on each corner leads you to the gardens, and the mausoleum sits at the end of the walkway. It was a very pleasant stroll around the grounds, watching the monkeys and chipmunks playing in the afternoon sun.
Arriving at the Taj View Hotel, I managed to grab an hour by the pool to write some postcards and then looked out of the window at the Taj Mahal as the sun went down, excited that the next day I was finally going to see it!
Our driver was to be with us for over a week and we soon learned to completely trust his judgement and observations. When we optimistically said that we looked forward to be in Agra in time for lunch, he gave us a knowing smile and set off down the road at breakneck speed, horn blaring, dodging in and out of the traffic. Apparently this is the normal way of driving and it takes years to perfect the skill!
We were on the road quite early, and even though it was a Monday morning, it didn't take long to reach the outskirts of Delhi and head for the highway. As we got out of the city the traffic didn't really get any quieter - in fact when we passed through towns it got a bit mad! Basically, the roads are usually two-wide, i.e. single lanes in each direction. However a whole number of vehicles travel along the roads so more often or not there are two or three vehicles to each single carriageway - or if there are motorbikes and bicycles it is however many will feasibly fit!!
Passing through the towns there are usually a couple of sets of cross roads with traffic lights, so when the traffic is stopped everyone tries to get to the front of the queue so it's a bit like the start of a grand prix when the lights change to green. The going is very noisy and stop-start, and you have to know where everyone is all of the time so as not to have accidents. We deduced that as many vehicles don't have wing mirrors on them (on account of them all driving with 1 inch separating them to the side and the front - no lie - I have the pictures (and sorry, they are still not ready)), this is the reason for all the horn blowing. They seem to honk the horn when they are going to overtake and while they overtake, but you can imagine when there are literally tens of vehicles all around you all honking it is difficult to decipher who and what is where and who is overtaking who ...
... Well I think you can guess what is coming ... we were driving up to a set of traffic lights, all around us were motorbikes, motorcycles, rickshaws, bull carts, trucks and a few other cars, when suddenly the lights changed and everyone screeched to a halt. Our driver put his foot on the brakes, however one of the motorcyclists either wasn't watching where he was going or his brakes weren't as good as ours and we heard this bang and almighty clatter! The lights changed and everyone started maneuvering around the fallen bike and the guy laying on the road who had crashed into us. A traffic policeman who just happened to be there waved us over to the side of the road and our driver got out.
In the short space of time of the accident and us pulling over, a crowd of about 50 strong had gathered and our driver disappeared into the middle of them. We sat in the car hoping that he wasn't going to get a) beaten up or b) arrested and wondered what might happen to us if the crowd got angry ... thankfully, about 10 mins later he emerged from the crowd, followed by a man held up by a couple of others limping down the road, jumped in the car and we were on our way! We never did find out what happened but we hope that the man is ok and by now our driver has had the dent in the car seen to. It was amazing really that we didn't witness any other serious accidents, although once we got on the highway we occasionally came across trucks lying on the side of the road having slipped down the bank or with a wheel off!
We stopped at a cute place at the side of the highway for lunch. It was the only building in view for miles and was obviously a popular place for tourists and travellers, being midway between Delhi and Agra. It was the first meal that we had eaten outside of the hotel so we were slightly wary, but it was delicious and sitting in the sunshine in the lovely gardens, listening to the birds singing all the traffic traumas were forgotten.
It was obvious that we weren't going to reach Agra until late afternoon so we tried to sit back and enjoy the rest of the drive. I was itching to see the Taj Mahal however we made an impromptu stop about 1okm outside of Agra. We were at Akbar's Mausoleum. Akbar was Shah Jahan's grandfather and ascended to the throne at the early age of 13 after the death of his father, Humayan. Akbar extended the Mughal Empire across India but he is also known for his contributions to the arts and his tolerance to other faiths. He founded his own religion called the Din-i-Ilahi, which means "Divine Faith" we learned more about this on our visit to Fatehpur Sikri on Day 5.
As the Mausoleum wasn't on our itinerary and we didn't have a guide we got out our trusty lonely planet and navigated ourselves around it as best as we could. The mausoleum is built of red sandstone decorated with white marble patterns inlaid into the stone. Walking through the huge gate with its three-storey minarets on each corner leads you to the gardens, and the mausoleum sits at the end of the walkway. It was a very pleasant stroll around the grounds, watching the monkeys and chipmunks playing in the afternoon sun.
Arriving at the Taj View Hotel, I managed to grab an hour by the pool to write some postcards and then looked out of the window at the Taj Mahal as the sun went down, excited that the next day I was finally going to see it!
Wednesday, 25 April 2007
Day 2: Part 2 - New Delhi
... unfortunately lunch wasn't part of our agenda and we kind of forgot that this was our holiday and that if we wanted to stop for lunch we should have just asked! I think the guide must have been waiting for us to mention it and vice versa. Luckily I always carry 'snacks' with me so we munched away on the trip back to the New Delhi area.
On the way we drove past the Raj Ghat, the memorial site where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated. It was a kind of now-you-see-it now-you-don't kind-of visit as we were on a main road surrounded by buses, trucks, cars, motorbikes, rickshaws, bicycles and cows and there was nowhere to stop!
Humayun's Tomb was our penultimate destination. Humayun was the second Mughal Emperor - Shah Jahan's great-grandfather - and this wonderful building is very similar in its architecture to the Taj Mahal, which would come later. As you walk through the arched entrance gate, the beautiful ornamental gardens and fountains spread out before you leading up to the tomb. Made of red sandstone and white marble with a large dome on the top, the tomb is an impressive example of Mughal architecture. What I find appealing about the Mughal style is the symmetry of the buildings and chambers, and the decoration which has a perfection and attention to detail which is amazing.
Our final visit of the day was to the Qutab Minar, a five storey tower made of brick which stands almost 73m high. It was started in 1193 however the original builder only got as far as the first storey! Successive rulers added to the tower and it was finally completed in 1368. What is interesting about this tower is that you can see the different kinds of architecture as it developed over the years. The tower sits on the ruins of a previous structure, all that is left are some intricately carved red sandstone archways.
We got back to the hotel tired but went to bed happy that this experience of Delhi was much more pleasant than the last, and glad that we made the decision to go back to visit India. Not having unpacked we did not have much preparation to do for our trip the next day. We were going by road to Agra via the Delhi-Agra highway. On our itinerary it said it would take 4hrs. Not bad we thought, we'll be there by lunchtime ... O dear, we soon learned that the time estimations on our itinerary were not always very accurate!
On the way we drove past the Raj Ghat, the memorial site where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated. It was a kind of now-you-see-it now-you-don't kind-of visit as we were on a main road surrounded by buses, trucks, cars, motorbikes, rickshaws, bicycles and cows and there was nowhere to stop!
Humayun's Tomb was our penultimate destination. Humayun was the second Mughal Emperor - Shah Jahan's great-grandfather - and this wonderful building is very similar in its architecture to the Taj Mahal, which would come later. As you walk through the arched entrance gate, the beautiful ornamental gardens and fountains spread out before you leading up to the tomb. Made of red sandstone and white marble with a large dome on the top, the tomb is an impressive example of Mughal architecture. What I find appealing about the Mughal style is the symmetry of the buildings and chambers, and the decoration which has a perfection and attention to detail which is amazing.
Our final visit of the day was to the Qutab Minar, a five storey tower made of brick which stands almost 73m high. It was started in 1193 however the original builder only got as far as the first storey! Successive rulers added to the tower and it was finally completed in 1368. What is interesting about this tower is that you can see the different kinds of architecture as it developed over the years. The tower sits on the ruins of a previous structure, all that is left are some intricately carved red sandstone archways.
We got back to the hotel tired but went to bed happy that this experience of Delhi was much more pleasant than the last, and glad that we made the decision to go back to visit India. Not having unpacked we did not have much preparation to do for our trip the next day. We were going by road to Agra via the Delhi-Agra highway. On our itinerary it said it would take 4hrs. Not bad we thought, we'll be there by lunchtime ... O dear, we soon learned that the time estimations on our itinerary were not always very accurate!
Tuesday, 24 April 2007
Day 2: Part 1 - Old Delhi
We set off in the morning, and our first stop was technically in New Delhi - the Rashtrapati Bhavan (the Presidents House) and the Secretariat buildings which now house Government Ministries. The Presidents House - more like a palace as it apparently has 340 rooms and wonderful gardens - is at the top of a long road called Rajpath, which literally means Kingsway. This road is 2.5km long and looking down the length of the road you can just about see the India Gate in the distance, a 42m-high memorial arch.
As we arrived we noticed a group of Indians wearing colourful rosettes and as we approached the (locked) gates to the Presidents House some of them came over to us. As they didn't speak English and we didn't speak their language we were confused about what they wanted. At this point I have to mention that the guides don't get involved when people approach you. I guess they figure that anyone has a good a chance as any to make a buck from a tourist, and they are very evasive when you ask them what a good price is when bartering or how much to tip someone. Our guide was somewhere down the road talking to someone - I think he knew everyone in Delhi - and then he called us over and it was time to move on. When we were in the car we asked the guide who the people were and he told us that they were Indian tourists! We felt bad as now we understood that they only wanted to take pictures with us.
It is a strange thing, but we have come across many people when abroad wanting us to be in their holiday photos - maybe to them we are the tourist attraction! I suppose because we have been to some places where tourists are scarce, we are used to looking different to others and people being interested in us. These experiences have always been quite friendly and we were sorry that in this instance we weren't able to oblige them.
After driving down the Kingsway to take pictures of the Gate, we made our way into Old Delhi to the Jama Masjid - the largest mosque in India, built by Shah Jahan (who also built the Taj Mahal). Made of red sandstone and white marble, the mosque has three gateways, four towers, two minarets which are 40m high and a massive courtyard, which I believe can hold up to 25,000 worshipers! There are also great views, especially of the Red Fort, which was our next destination.
The Red Fort was another of Shah Jahan's masterpieces and was completed in 1648, taking nine years to build. The fort takes its name from the red sandstone it is made from, and the structure is very impressive, with its walls which extend for 2km. Entering the main entrance - the Lahore Gate - you have to walk through an arcade of shops selling local arts and crafts. You can easily imagine what it would have been like during the time of the Mughal Empire. There are so many sights to see in this monument - even evidence of the British presence seen by the barrack-blocks close to the Lahore Gate - that I can't possibly describe them all. When I have a chance to work out how to add photos to this blog you will see what I mean.
"Pictures!" I hear you say - "Where are they?". We do have extensive photos of our trip, but the 'taller half' is extremely busy at the moment and hasn't had time to do the whizzy things he needs to do to make them compatible with viewing online. Please continue to watch this space ...
Following our whistle-stop tour of the Fort, our guide selected a cycle-rickshaw driver and we proceeded to have a ride around what the lonely planet describes as the "chronically congested Chandni Chowk", or Silver Street as our guide called it. Our driver had been hand picked we think as he only had one arm! As I mentioned before, our guide seemed to know everyone and the cycle-rickshaw driver he chose was friendly and gave us an enjoyable tour. This area reminded us of the Delhi we first came across, the hustle and bustle, the people selling spices and vegetables on the pavement and the tiny shops ... then, in the middle of nowhere ... a McDonald's! It was quite funny because we were marveling at the new McDonald's squeezed in between the old buildings and the driver told us it was vegetarian only. Surely the epitome of McDonald's is their hamburger, but it just goes to show what some companies have to do to make a profit!! At the end we were happy to give the driver a big tip as he certainly deserved it. I don't think I could have cycled and navigated myself round the busy narrow streets - and I've got two arms!
With all this talk about McDonald's we realised were slightly hungry and hoped it was time for lunch ...
As we arrived we noticed a group of Indians wearing colourful rosettes and as we approached the (locked) gates to the Presidents House some of them came over to us. As they didn't speak English and we didn't speak their language we were confused about what they wanted. At this point I have to mention that the guides don't get involved when people approach you. I guess they figure that anyone has a good a chance as any to make a buck from a tourist, and they are very evasive when you ask them what a good price is when bartering or how much to tip someone. Our guide was somewhere down the road talking to someone - I think he knew everyone in Delhi - and then he called us over and it was time to move on. When we were in the car we asked the guide who the people were and he told us that they were Indian tourists! We felt bad as now we understood that they only wanted to take pictures with us.
It is a strange thing, but we have come across many people when abroad wanting us to be in their holiday photos - maybe to them we are the tourist attraction! I suppose because we have been to some places where tourists are scarce, we are used to looking different to others and people being interested in us. These experiences have always been quite friendly and we were sorry that in this instance we weren't able to oblige them.
After driving down the Kingsway to take pictures of the Gate, we made our way into Old Delhi to the Jama Masjid - the largest mosque in India, built by Shah Jahan (who also built the Taj Mahal). Made of red sandstone and white marble, the mosque has three gateways, four towers, two minarets which are 40m high and a massive courtyard, which I believe can hold up to 25,000 worshipers! There are also great views, especially of the Red Fort, which was our next destination.
The Red Fort was another of Shah Jahan's masterpieces and was completed in 1648, taking nine years to build. The fort takes its name from the red sandstone it is made from, and the structure is very impressive, with its walls which extend for 2km. Entering the main entrance - the Lahore Gate - you have to walk through an arcade of shops selling local arts and crafts. You can easily imagine what it would have been like during the time of the Mughal Empire. There are so many sights to see in this monument - even evidence of the British presence seen by the barrack-blocks close to the Lahore Gate - that I can't possibly describe them all. When I have a chance to work out how to add photos to this blog you will see what I mean.
"Pictures!" I hear you say - "Where are they?". We do have extensive photos of our trip, but the 'taller half' is extremely busy at the moment and hasn't had time to do the whizzy things he needs to do to make them compatible with viewing online. Please continue to watch this space ...
Following our whistle-stop tour of the Fort, our guide selected a cycle-rickshaw driver and we proceeded to have a ride around what the lonely planet describes as the "chronically congested Chandni Chowk", or Silver Street as our guide called it. Our driver had been hand picked we think as he only had one arm! As I mentioned before, our guide seemed to know everyone and the cycle-rickshaw driver he chose was friendly and gave us an enjoyable tour. This area reminded us of the Delhi we first came across, the hustle and bustle, the people selling spices and vegetables on the pavement and the tiny shops ... then, in the middle of nowhere ... a McDonald's! It was quite funny because we were marveling at the new McDonald's squeezed in between the old buildings and the driver told us it was vegetarian only. Surely the epitome of McDonald's is their hamburger, but it just goes to show what some companies have to do to make a profit!! At the end we were happy to give the driver a big tip as he certainly deserved it. I don't think I could have cycled and navigated myself round the busy narrow streets - and I've got two arms!
With all this talk about McDonald's we realised were slightly hungry and hoped it was time for lunch ...
Sunday, 22 April 2007
Post Script - Day 1: London --> Delhi
We booked our holiday tours with a great company called Compass Tours (recommended by a friend - thanks Isabelle!), all we had to do was book our flights and they did the rest. They are based in India so we figured that they would be best placed to know where to go and stay, and also that the money we spent would stay in India. I must warn you though that they didn't offer us budget options (Deluxe or Luxury only), however I think we definitely got value for money and brilliant service.
On our arrival in Delhi, we were greeted by the rep and met our driver, who was to be with us for about 9 days. To be honest, I was a bit apprehensive about going back to Delhi, as we had previously visited there as part of our backpacking trip in 1996.
In 1996 we landed at the airport around midnight and booked a hotel from one of the booths in the arrivals hall. We had the most terrifying taxi trip from the airport to the hotel, honestly, we did think that our lives were going to end there and then, and arrived at the place just as the power went out. We were guided to our room up the rickety wooden stairs by candlelight and then proceeded to get no sleep on account of the heat and the noise from the card game down the corridor that went on all night!
The next morning, we decided to get on our way to salvation - my cousins house in Mumbai (Bombay as it was then) - and asked for directions to the train station. Luckily my erstwhile companion, my long-suffering boyfriend who from this moment on shall be known as the 'taller half', was quick witted enough to pick up a hotel card, as we were bundled into a van and drove at breakneck speed through the busy streets of Delhi. After a stop at a street stall to buy some dodgy-looking cigarettes, which they tried to make us smoke, we ended up in a sort of building site. Obviously this was not the train station. We were taken up to a portacabin where a man tried to sell us train tickets and demanded lots of $US for the privilege. By the time we convinced them that we weren't interested and we didn't have any $US we escaped from the portacabin to find that our lift had disappeared ...
Armed with our lonely planet and a small business card in the middle of Delhi we proceeded to walk ... and walk ... and finally found a train track which a few hours later eventually lead us to the train station. Not having been to India before, we didn't realise that buying a ticket is not like it is in the UK, but after queuing for what seemed a lifetime we were lucky enough to get a ticket for a seat on the train that left later that day. Hurrah! We didn't care that we would be doing the approx. 16hr journey sitting on a hard seat in a crowded carriage ... so then we had to find the hotel. Which was a mission in itself.
For anyone who has been to the main train station in Delhi and seen the maze of streets in the surrounding area, finding a tiny building unless you know where you are going is nearly impossible! By this time the heat was about 45 degrees, yes we were in Delhi at the completely wrong time of year, and we were sent from street to street by people who clearly had as much idea where the hotel was as we did. The story ends happily as we finally located the hotel and collected our backpacks and made our way to the station. The train trip is another story I'll leave for another post ...
Where was I? Oh yes, we had arrived in Delhi - this time in the daytime - and I must admit memories from the distant past were haunting me. Well, the driving and power cuts haven't changed, but the Delhi experience was much more pleasant and relaxing. It probably had something to do with the lovely hotel we stayed in - the Taj Palace - and the fact that we had transportation and a guide to show us around! We spent the rest of the day sleeping and eating, and looked forward to our sightseeing tour the next day.
On our arrival in Delhi, we were greeted by the rep and met our driver, who was to be with us for about 9 days. To be honest, I was a bit apprehensive about going back to Delhi, as we had previously visited there as part of our backpacking trip in 1996.
In 1996 we landed at the airport around midnight and booked a hotel from one of the booths in the arrivals hall. We had the most terrifying taxi trip from the airport to the hotel, honestly, we did think that our lives were going to end there and then, and arrived at the place just as the power went out. We were guided to our room up the rickety wooden stairs by candlelight and then proceeded to get no sleep on account of the heat and the noise from the card game down the corridor that went on all night!
The next morning, we decided to get on our way to salvation - my cousins house in Mumbai (Bombay as it was then) - and asked for directions to the train station. Luckily my erstwhile companion, my long-suffering boyfriend who from this moment on shall be known as the 'taller half', was quick witted enough to pick up a hotel card, as we were bundled into a van and drove at breakneck speed through the busy streets of Delhi. After a stop at a street stall to buy some dodgy-looking cigarettes, which they tried to make us smoke, we ended up in a sort of building site. Obviously this was not the train station. We were taken up to a portacabin where a man tried to sell us train tickets and demanded lots of $US for the privilege. By the time we convinced them that we weren't interested and we didn't have any $US we escaped from the portacabin to find that our lift had disappeared ...
Armed with our lonely planet and a small business card in the middle of Delhi we proceeded to walk ... and walk ... and finally found a train track which a few hours later eventually lead us to the train station. Not having been to India before, we didn't realise that buying a ticket is not like it is in the UK, but after queuing for what seemed a lifetime we were lucky enough to get a ticket for a seat on the train that left later that day. Hurrah! We didn't care that we would be doing the approx. 16hr journey sitting on a hard seat in a crowded carriage ... so then we had to find the hotel. Which was a mission in itself.
For anyone who has been to the main train station in Delhi and seen the maze of streets in the surrounding area, finding a tiny building unless you know where you are going is nearly impossible! By this time the heat was about 45 degrees, yes we were in Delhi at the completely wrong time of year, and we were sent from street to street by people who clearly had as much idea where the hotel was as we did. The story ends happily as we finally located the hotel and collected our backpacks and made our way to the station. The train trip is another story I'll leave for another post ...
Where was I? Oh yes, we had arrived in Delhi - this time in the daytime - and I must admit memories from the distant past were haunting me. Well, the driving and power cuts haven't changed, but the Delhi experience was much more pleasant and relaxing. It probably had something to do with the lovely hotel we stayed in - the Taj Palace - and the fact that we had transportation and a guide to show us around! We spent the rest of the day sleeping and eating, and looked forward to our sightseeing tour the next day.
Post number one ... how exciting!
Ok, it's here at last ... it's been a month since returning from my travels and I've finally found some time to gather my thoughts and start this blog. I never realised that searching for work is a full time occupation - I think I do longer days at my pc at home than I ever did at work!
Anyhow, I didn't create this blog to go on about my job seeking ... although while I'm here I have to say that my experience of employment agencies has been sadly lacking. When I was employed, my impression was that agencies had millions of jobs and once you registered they would be calling you night and day ... sadly, the most exciting interview for the most exciting job I've had to date has been of my own making. Oh well, my motto has always been "If you want something doing properly, do it yourself"!!
So. Lots of people have been asking how the holiday was and interested in the places we visited. As we were away for almost four weeks, I won't try to cram our adventures into one post so visit regularly for updates!
Anyhow, I didn't create this blog to go on about my job seeking ... although while I'm here I have to say that my experience of employment agencies has been sadly lacking. When I was employed, my impression was that agencies had millions of jobs and once you registered they would be calling you night and day ... sadly, the most exciting interview for the most exciting job I've had to date has been of my own making. Oh well, my motto has always been "If you want something doing properly, do it yourself"!!
So. Lots of people have been asking how the holiday was and interested in the places we visited. As we were away for almost four weeks, I won't try to cram our adventures into one post so visit regularly for updates!
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