Lucknow

We left Varanasi behind and have both vowed never to return. The road to Lucknow was reasonable and quite a bit of it was backtracking where we’d come from on Friday. The road did narrow considerably after we took the Lucknow turnoff though. It seemed like we were never going to get there and it still baffles me how it can take a full days driving to only cover 300 kilometres.

The last ten or twelve kilometres took us an hour as traffic became heavy from the outskirts of Lucknow. We were led to believe we would be walking the last few hundred metres to the hotel because of the difficulty gaining access with the bus on the narrow suburban streets where it is located. Mr Singh and the driver of bus 1 had other ideas though. Bus 1 ploughed and pruned his way through the low hanging tree branches and Mr Singh followed in the wake! Mr Singh used his extra loud horn every time Bus 1 became entangled in the overhead wires. Chorty, our assistant driver would fly out of our bus and scale the back of bus 1 like a monkey with his trusty cricket bat in hand to deal with the offending cables. I’m not sure what surprised me the most; the fact that we weren’t all fried in the bus or that power and internet was still available when we did reach the hotel!

For the first time in over two weeks, we had a choice of meals other than Indian food. We flocked to that Italian restaurant at the hotel like bees to a honey pot!

Monday morning we didn’t need to be on the bus until 9:00am so we all took plenty of time over our breakfasts. Once we did hit the road, it was to do a Mosque run. There are a couple of pretty impressive ones here with one built in the mid-19^th century as a miniature replica of the Taj Mahal.

Bus number 2, complete with driver, assistant and guide at the Imam Bargah.

Our guide Vivek with Mr Singh and Chorty.

A Mosque in the form of a mini Taj Mahal.

Muslim Turner

Lucknow, is the capital of Uttar Pradesh State and appears to be a bit more organised than most of the big cities that we’ve been to in the last fortnight. There are some traffic lights and cows are kept out of the city centre. They must still sneak in from time to time though as there is still plenty of cow dung about. There are also lots of horse drawn carts ready to take locals where they need to be or tourists to the sights around town.

Peanuts. Just like the guy at the footy years ago. (Not)

Tomorrow we have a lazy day. The pool is bound to get a work out as we enjoy our first RDO of the trip. We don’t board the train back to Delhi until mid-afternoon and that should deliver us there by midnight. Wednesday morning we fly down to Goa for a bit of sun, golf and seafood.

The next blog posting won’t be until we’ve experienced a bit of what Goa has to offer.

Cheers again.

What we can expect tomorrow heading back to Delhi.

And we thought we were ready for this!

It was absolute bliss to drive from Allahabad to Varanasi on a nice flat piece of road compared to the bumpy old tracks we’ve been on for the last couple of days. It still took a long time (like over 4 hours) to do the 130 kilometres though, as they are widening the road so there were plenty of diversions along the way but at least they were flat and smooth. Once again, there was plenty to see out the window.

 I was glad to see these kids make it safely across the road.

Could this become part of the KFC franchise in India?

We had some free time on arrival to have a feed and a bit of a rest as we weren’t heading out on the river until about 5:30 to catch the sunset.

As soon as we got to the bank of the Ganges, it was fairly evident why this place is referred to as the Holy City and India’s holiest meccas. It is a sacred Hindu pilgrimage site and one of the oldest. We could hear chanting from the other side of the river as one of the early ceremonies kicked off.

The river bank is sand and there are sand bars visible from the shore. Along the bank where we boarded the open boat, fishermen were cleaning and selling their catches. I couldn’t believe that they could catch such good fish in this extremely polluted holy water. The river is wide too; probably about as wide as the Murray at Midura and fairly fast running.

Catch of the day.

Within a few short minutes, we were on board the 30 odd foot boat and the captain (for the want of a better name) had the crank handle out and with a few quick turns had the smoky diesel engine firing away with a low pithed but loud chug. As he steered from the stern and operated a crude throttle with his foot via a long piece of rope, we joined in what seemed to be a procession of similar boats making their way downstream to Daswamedha Ghat.

As we sailed, our attention focused on the far bank where three large fires were burning. These were the funeral pyres of three individuals who were soon to make a grand entrance into a new world somewhere downstream in the Ganges.

On the way, small paper mache bio-degradable bowls were being prepared by being lined with flower petals and a small candle lit in each. These were distributed amongst us and the boat stopped briefly so we could all lower them overboard to watch them drift off into the now darkened distance.

Little floating candles to be set free in the Ganges.

On arrival at the Ghat, we were initially amused by the monkeys running around the tops of the two story buildings having a ball playing chasey. It was evident though that this was a serious event. Every night after sunset, regardless of the weather, this ceremony takes place. Dozens of these large, robust boats played humpo- bumpo to all eventually form a mat of boats and people connecting to the river bank. Loud music, clashing of cymbals, beating of drums and a fire ceremony was taking place while hundreds more of these candles were free to drift around between the boats while a much larger flame was passed from boat to boat where Hindu’s scooped smoke from the flame and blessed themselves with it.

 The Hindu Aarti ceremony

At the end of proceedings, all of the boats pushed off each other and we were on our way back to the hotel for the night. As we passed the funeral pyres, we were surprised to see there were six now burning. This is a 24 hour operation at Varanasi and they cremate up to 200 bodies every day here.  

      

Saturday 27^th October.

We thought we were ready for this but today was still a real culture shock and extremely confronting. As a bit of a warning, don’t look at the photos at the end of this blog if you don’t think you’re up for it.

We had an early morning call at 4:45am this morning to get us back to the river before dawn. When we did arrive, in the dim light we saw familiar scenes that we’d noted last night. Cattle and dogs were still sleeping in depressions on the river bank and the chickens in a cage were waking and wondering if they’d survive another day. Looking down at the chopping block with the cleaver still there from yesterday, I have my doubts. The geese that were asleep on the bank last night were happily having their first swim of the day.

Sunrise on the Ganges

As we boarded the boat, we hardly disturbed the group of men and women who were modestly bathing in front of our boat. They had incense sticks in the sand and they were praying whilst showering themselves with water from the Ganges. We crossed the river and sailed downstream observing the activities taking place at every set of Ghats (steps) as we went. Men and women alike were bathing in this holy water just like they did yesterday and every day before that. The funeral pyres had burnt out and the site had been cleared and ready for the next arrivals. We ventured way past where we stopped last night at the site of a much larger outdoor, do it yourself crematorium.

We were dumbfounded to see the amount of timber that was stacked. More was being unloaded and family members were carting it down to fuel the pyres that would see their relatives progress to another life. Out of respect, we took photos of the timber supplies but deliberately didn’t take any shots of the funeral pyres burning. We went ashore near this spot and spent ten minutes or so capturing images both with the camera, and directly to our brains that we will never forget.

Firewood for the 24 hour a day funeral pyres.

Once we all met up again, we proceeded to climb the stairs that would take us up to the market area. The stairs were lined with beggars all holding cups out in the hope that we would contribute. Some followed us and persistently begged while grabbing our arms. As we dodged the cows, dogs, beggars and cow dung that was everywhere along the road, we were confronted with some truly horrific sights. One beggar lay on his back with no legs, ringing a small bell. We simply couldn’t walk past him without giving him money.

While this was all going on, a family of monkeys were using a shade cloth roof as a trampoline and having a wow of a time. A large soup kitchen was preparing dahl in a monster of a pot while beggars were beginning to line up, desperate for their share of it.

Just another Saturday for this young bloke.

One of the final images we saw was a dog eating cow dung while her hungry pups fed from her. Again, don’t look at the shots below if you’re not up for it.

Heading back upstream was slow going against the current. We stayed close to the bank and watched the bathers as we motored past. There was a large group banging washing against rocks in the muddy water and I just hoped it wasn’t my tee shirts that I’d dropped in at the hotel reception this morning to be washed!

The only way to hop in the bath!

We had been warned that we may witness a body strapped to bamboo sticks or a dead cow floating downstream this morning. For various reasons, some people are not cremated. Pregnant women, holy men or people who had been snake bitten for example. Fortunately, we didn’t get to see a body but we did see a dead cow floating in the same water that locals were bathing in and cleaning their teeth using small sticks designed for this purpose. It was a pretty solemn trip back to the hotel I can assure you.

What you can expect to see if you look up from the Ganges River.

Mid-morning we set off from the hotel, some in mini buses and us in a taxi to visit the site where Lord Buddha preached his first sermon in religious language, thus kick starting the Buddhist religion. Ruins of the monasteries that were raised between the 3^rd century BC and the 11^th century present the most expansive ruins amongst places on the Buddhist trail.

Buddhist monastery remains 

One thing is for certain, we’ll never come back here but we’re certainly glad we’ve experienced it. It’s one of those places that really impacts and influences your worldly views.

Catch you after Lucknow.    

 Don’t look below here unless you’re up for it.

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We couldn’t walk past this guy without giving him some money.

A dog eating cow dung while feeding her pups.

The roads in hell!

We're gradually working our way through this golden triangle of northern India. Today we are heading further east to Allahabad but with very slow progress due to the road conditions. We have 340 kilometres to travel but we'll only achieve about 40 km/hour.

We ventured down through a dozen hairpin bends on a section of mountain road this morning that was obstructed by a couple of broken down trucks carrying way in excess of their legal limits. Mr Singh got out and carefully assessed the situation before tentatively proceeding to overtake and negotiate the next hairpin bend that was partly obstructed by one of the trucks. Achieving success involved several manoeuvres of the 45 foot bus and the filling in of a couple of giant pot holes with rocks to avoid the bus chassis from grounding out. Mr Singh was the recipient of hearty applause for his skilful effort conquering the challenge. 

Narrow crappy roads to be bounced around on for 10 hours.

Yesterday was wonderful. After breakfast and checking out of the hotel in Orchha we walked only a couple of hundred meters to two Cenotaphs that had vultures nesting and perched up on the parapets and spires. These large ugly birds are attracted to this place. India has two types of vultures and these were the wooly neck species. We then walked a bit further on and through a market area to a palace. We had a specialist local guide take us through Jahangir Palace. 

Vultures

The zoom lens on at the right time.

Jahangir Palace was built in the 16th century and could best be described as a "renovators delight" as it is in original condition. In a strange way, it was a delight to see it in it's original but somewhat dilapidated condition and made us appreciate the time, effort and rupees that must have been invested in all of the forts, castles and palaces that we've visited that have been renovated and constantly maintained. From the main entrance, we were blessed with some impressive elevated views looking down at the Betwa river in the distance. 

Jahangir Palace

The front entrance to Jahangir Palace

Once back on the bus, we proceeded to Khajuraho for a late buffet lunch. Across from the restaurant stood eleven Hindu temples that make up the western group of temples that tourists like us flock to each year. These sandstone temples display the most ornate and descriptive carvings and statues that you will ever see. Most surprisingly, many are erotic while others reflect the sense of humour of the artists who sculptured them from the 9th to 11th centuries. Thankfully, about 90% of the thousands of carvings here have survived. 

 Khajuraho Temples

Amazing sandstone carvings.

All of the temples in this group sit proudly on acres of beautifully maintained gardens to walk around at your own pace to photograph and take in the serenity of the place.
According to local belief, there once stood 85 temples in Khajuraho of which 25 are still standing today. 

Erotica

Humour. All of the other elephants were looking straight ahead.

Kinky 9^th century Indians!

As we hopped back on the bus to head to our hotel, we stopped and watched in amazement as a cow devoured a cardboard box by actually taking large bites out of it.

It's been a big journey today and we've travelled through some villages and towns that appear to be even more third world than what we've encountered to date, if that's at all possible. We racked up eleven and a half hours with two 20 minute breaks and an hour for lunch. There were plenty of times we would only be doing 5 kilometres an hour on the dusty, broken down road.

Tomorrow we hit Varanasi and a two night stop that we're all looking forward to.
Cheers

We've made it to the Taj Mahal

Monday October 22nd.
We checked out of Fawlty Towers this morning having spent two nights there. We have enjoyed excellent accommodation on this trip but I'm afraid this one didn't quite hit the spot. Although they appeared to be trying hard, they really didn't have a clue. Initially we had WiFi connection problems as most did but ours was quickly resolved. Others had ongoing connection issues which make it frustrating as hotel time is the only opportunity you get to log in. None of the midway stops or restaurants during the day provide access.

Basic services like towels in our room were missing until we asked for them and the room cleaning left a fair bit to be desired. At least we could get a laugh out of it. The restaurant had a guy cooking omelettes while standing next to the 50kg LPG cylinder. I told him " one flash and you're ash" but he just wobbled his head in recognition that he didn't have a clue what I was on about. If you're ever passing through Jaipur you could probably do yourself a favour and give the Fern Hotel a miss!

So far this morning we've been travelling on a reasonable highway with two lanes each way and a planted dividing strip down the middle. Some of the towns we've gone through have been interesting. The main part of the road narrows to a single lane each way through them but there is a service lane on each side of the road which certainly makes it safer for traders and shoppers. I'm not sure if it is unique to this area but it makes good sense.

Occasionally we see someone with a death wish travelling towards us on a motor bike on the wrong side of the road driving on the road shoulder. It seems to work out though despite the fact that they also have motorbikes heading towards them using the road shoulder.

Here's one final observation regarding motor bikes. For whatever reason, the women pillion passengers sit side saddle. It has me buggered how they don't slide off the seat especially considering that they're usually hanging on to goods, bags and even a child or two as they zig zag their way through the traffic.

We are visiting the ruins of the city of Abheneri on the way to Agra and will be there shortly. I'm particularly interested in seeing the 8th century step well that I've done a bit of reading up on since seeing Joanna Lumley covering it on TV a while back. 

The step well at Abheneri 

We're back on the bus and India's biggest step well didn't disappoint. Unfortunately, the camera doesn't capture the true perspective of depth at all. This is a ripper example of stone masonry and it is such a shame that so much of the temple that stands along side it was destroyed. We walked around the four sides of the well to take in every bit of this marvel.

We've now crossed the border and are no longer in Rajasthan but in  Uttar Pradesh 
(U P) State with an incredible population of 200 million!! All of the cars are displaying different number plates from those we've become familiar with over the last couple of weeks. We've already noticed how much busier it is and the tuk tuk congestion as we enter the outskirts of Agra has to be seen to be believed. 

By some strange miracle we arrived at Agra Fort in one piece. We couldn't mistake where we were as the bright red stone that this landmark is constructed from is much deeper in colour than anything else we've seen. The Red Fort was built in the 1560's and is of Mughal architecture.

 Agra Fort (Red Fort)

Agra Fort

From within the fort we got some great views of the Taj Mahal that we will visit tomorrow. Even from a couple of kilometres away it is easy to see why the Taj Mahal is considered a wonder of the modern world.

Zoom lens on for our first sight of the Taj Mahal (About 2 Km's)

 A monkey took umbrage it me taking his photo and took one giant snarling leap at me. Fortunately, a guard was quickly on hand with a big stick to frighten it away. A clean pair of jocks and I should be right again!

This is the mongrel who tried to rip my eyeballs out!

We spent a night in luxury at the Clarks Shiraz Hotel. Only a couple of kilometres from the Taj Mahal, this hotel has a couple of hundred rooms and four restaurants. Our stay was brief though as we were up at 5:00am to get to the Taj Mahal in time for some sunrise photos.

The foyer of Clarks Shiraz Hotel

 The queues were long. All three of them. There is a male foreigner, a female foreigner and a local queue. Security is strict and you can basically only get in with a camera and a water bottle. It was absolutely stunning and I can understand why people actually tear up when they enter. It is an enormous marble structure that seemed to change colour as the sun slowly but surely shines light on it as it rises above the trees. We donned shoe covers to walk through the interior on the patterned marble floor. Inside felt much smaller than you would expect from a building with such enormous external dimensions. 

The Taj Mahal just before dawn

We had over an hour of roaming and taking photos before we headed back to the hotel for breakfast. 

 Lady Di?

Bus number 2

By 10:00am we were on the move. We had one business visit to make before departing Agra and that was at a marble carving and painting facility. We were given a demonstration of traditional carving and painting techniques that were employed on the Taj Mahal. Following a lap of the shop we were on our way east to Orchha where hopefully this blog will be posted. So you can understand just how badly the road conditions have deteriorated since we crossed into U P state, the trip took us just over  eight hours with only two 20 minute breaks, to travel the 190 kilometres from Agra. (Mind you, there's always something interesting to see out the window) Anyone who thinks it is easy to travel from point to point without a plane in India needs to get over here and experience it pronto!

Day 13 has been a ripper, that's for sure. Just like Machu Picchu and the Pyramids of Giza, we've managed to cross another one off the bucket list.

Another tick on the bucket list