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

Udaipur and Jaipur

Saturday (Caulfield cup day)

We're in for a big day on the road today. We have 400 kilometres to get to Jaipur late this afternoon and with about 70 km/hour being the best you can achieve on this pseudo highway, I may as well be writing this and sorting out photos on the notebook.

We've been on the road for almost four hours and have just had our first break. It's been a pretty uneventful drive so far with a pair of pigeons having a shag on a shop awning being about the only highlight. All of the normal Indian things are still going on but you wouldn't expect any less. That said though, there have been dozens of kilometres of marble and granite quarries and plenty of trucks carrying individual rocks that must weigh 20 or 30 tonne each. The days are still scorchers in the high 30's and it's rare to see a cloud.

We heard this morning of the train cleaning up revellers celebrating last night. We were mixed up in those celebrations here as well. Throughout India we have seen those huge effigies built and ready to be exploded in fireworks last night. Parades through the narrow streets of Udaipur were loud and ongoing. 

We spent two nights in Udaipur, the city of lakes. Having spent yesterday touring, our whole group took the sunset cruise out on one of the lakes and then had dinner at a restaurant overlooking the water. From the boat, we were treated to some great views looking back at the City Palace to the east and the sun setting behind the hills to the west.

Sunset on the lake in Udaipur

Our day yesterday was a full card and the busiest day we've had to date. Vivek, our guide hails from Udaipur and he's extremely proud of it and with good reason too. It is the only city we've encountered to date that takes a bit of pride and is making a conscious effort to clean the place up. There was nowhere near the amount of general rubbish lying around and definitely a reduction in the piles of rubble that we've seen everywhere else.

We did an early morning drive around a lake and stopped for a walk through some beautiful gardens. Then it was back on the bus for a temple run starting about 20 kilometres out of town. We visited the Nagda & Eklinji temples dating back to the 11th century. The Sas-Bahu temples display the most intricate marble carvings and architecture. The next on on the run was the huge Shiva temple at Eklinji. The walled complex contains 108 temples and it was a regimented line up and walk through with shoes off and definitely no cameras allowed. It was certainly an experience. 

Gardens in Udaipur

Nagda & Eklinji temples dating back to the 11th century.

When we eventually got back to town, we were a bit disappointed with the tour of the City Palace, the residence of the current King. Because of all the local celebrations, it was extremely busy and fighting our way through the narrow corridors in the heat detracted from the occasion. As far as palaces go, it doesn't rate with others we've visited but interesting never the less.

We were all ready for a sit down at the late lunch and it was very traditional fare dished up on large silver plates with small compartments for each dish. 

The afternoon concluded with a couple of market walk throughs and a tour of a working art gallery where the techniques and processes involved in paintings unique to this part of Rajasthan were explained. 

Scenes from Udaipur

We're getting closer to Jaipur and it’s getting dark. We’ll get out and about tomorrow and then post this blog.

Sunday

Jaipur is big. It has a population of 6 million but appears to be a lot better organised than many places in India. It is one of India's newest cities only established in the 18th century. Our drive through town this morning had us having a brief photo stop only at the Palace of Winds. It was good to be standing in front of a building that we've seen so many photos of in books and brochures. Webjet even use it on their itinerary. Large monkeys casually climbed around on the parapets of the adjacent shops above where we were taking photos.

Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds)

Our next stop was a long one as we had the Amber Fort to explore. The bus dropped us off at the bottom of a mountain below the fort and we were transferred into Jeeps to be transported up to the fort. There were five of us per Jeep (one in the front and four in the back) for the ride from hell up the mountain. The Jeep ran well for a diesel only operating on three cylinders! The fumes coming from it were atrocious. The driver thought he was Steve McQueen and only knew two speeds; flat out and stop. 
Other tourists made their way up by elephant.

 Amber Fort

The tour of the fort was good and the views from the top were spectacular to say the least. It was extremely hazy but you often looked down at the wall meandering around the mountains and were reminded of China's Great Wall. The fort is built on the Aravalli hills which is the same mountain range we were on about 400 kilometres back. It was busy too as it is a long weekend here and we are only about five hours drive from Delhi.
We were kept busy all day with a stop to get photos of the water Palace out on a big lake.

The Water Palace

We made our way to see carpets being made from wool, camel and silk. Everyone found it interesting and they did get a couple of sales off the bus.
After lunch we visited the City Palace museum for a tour of it. It was impressive and one courtyard was getting set up for a wedding tonight and catering for 1,000 guests. 

Jaipur City Palace

Adjacent to the Palace museum was the awe inspiring Jantar Mantar Observatory, a stone astrological and astronomical observatory built in the 18th century. It is a UNESCO world heritage listed sight and we toured it with a specialist guide who was able to explain the workings of the observatory.

At the Jantar Mantar Observatory

Tomorrow we head off to Agra.
Cheers and enjoy the photos.

We're off to Jodhpur.

We've checked out of Jaisalmer and are now heading south to Jodhpur. We've been on the road for a couple of hours and still have another 170 kilometres to go. It doesn't sound far but it is particularly slow going today. There is a lot of pedestrian traffic walking in both directions on the road and there seems to be more than the normal amount of roaming livestock. 

We ventured out late yesterday afternoon to do the camel ride. It was about a 30 minute drive out to where it seems every tourist in the region was flocking. It was a tent city with several tourist camps out at this spot in the desert. Within minutes of arriving, we were directed to our camels that were all lined up like soldiers sitting on their haunches ready for us to mount. In an instant, we were unceremoniously elevated a couple of metres vertically. While most of us rode these ships of the desert, a few were content with riding in a camel drawn cart.

The camels travel at a reasonable pace, initially on the flat but then up and down the sand dunes. No matter which direction you looked across the dunes, all you could see were tourists riding camels. There must have been a hundred or more. One thing I have learnt is that it is some mean feat to be able to successfully take a decent photo while being bounced around by a camel. I don't think anyone was disappointed with the activity despite the desert heat. We then all stood around on the sand dunes for about an hour to catch the sunset before driving back to the hotel in the dark. 

The last rays of sun

It's now Thursday and we have spent our one night at the glorious Hotel Indiana Palace. Wow, what a joint! It had a massive amount of rooms and excellent gardens and facilities and an abundance of staff bending over backwards to please you. 
We spent most of yesterday afternoon touring the Mehrangarh Fort in the blue city of Jodhpur. This huge fort that dates back to 1459 sits proudly on the hill with its huge walls meandering down and around the contours of the land for five kilometres. It is an awesome sight from a distance and equally impressive on the inside where you walk yourself through 33 points of interest within the museum receiving brilliant commentary via the audio guide system.

The fort contains a number of palaces that are exceptionally well maintained.

Old mate!

As we boarded the bus at the end of the tour, we were treated to the eerie sight of hundreds of black kites flying around the fort just as they do late every afternoon.
Our afternoon concluded with a stop at a textile merchandiser where, following a presentation, many purchased textiles spun from pashmina, kashmir, yak or silk.

This morning we are making good progress driving to Ranakpur in a southerly direction and then on to Udaipur a relatively small city with a population of around 600,000 for the night. We have had one scheduled stop at a temple in honour of a guy killed on a motor bike back in 1992. The story goes that his motorbike twice managed to get to the site of the temple from the police station where it was garaged and witnesses claim to have seen the dead guy riding it there. After the second event, the Temple was built and worshippers and tourists alike have been visiting to burn incense in his honour ever since. The motor bike is there on display in a glass case.

About the last hour before lunch was spent driving through a city on narrow roads and built up area of roadside shops and markets. Kilometre after kilometre of them. The road was in poor condition and the bus often took up so much of it that it was close to touching the shops on both sides. Despite this, all of the cars, motor bikes and pedestrians all got where they needed to go. One old gent sitting up on his elephant was even able to negotiate a route.

After lunch the scenery changed completely. We appeared to have left the desert behind and we were starting to encounter thick bush. Eventually, deep in a forest we arrived at Ranakpur Temple. 
Built in the 14th century, Ranakpur Temple is an example of exquisite harmony of religion and art. The architecture of the temple represent the Jain religion of which there are around twelve million followers in India.

This 14th century temple is 100% intact and the marble work and carving is breathtaking. 1,444 huge carved exquisitely designed columns (every one different) support the central dome and the four Symmetrical steps and entrances over the one acre temple.
Our last view of the temple was from the bus about ten minutes after we left it. As the bus struggled to climb the steep mountains of the Aravalli range, we managed a quick glimpse of it tucked away in a remote valley.

The Aravalli range is another story. 90,000 tigers were shot and killed here up until about 1970. The area remains the habitat of leopards, monkeys and small black bears. It's been a big day and it's not over yet as we still have about three hours to drive to get to Udaipur, the city of lakes tonight. 
Hopefully, this blog will be posted from there. 
Cheers again.

Water wheel used to raise water from a well to a channel using bullocks

Another favourite photo

Jaisalmer

Monday October 15th.
We were given an easy 9:30am start for our journey from Gajner which suited everyone just fine. It was the perfect opportunity to have an early breakfast and then get out and take in some of the wonderful sights on offer on this property.
The lake has a decent turtle population who were keen to pop their heads up hoping to be thrown some bread. The occasional catfish would also make itself known. A small fountain was of particular interest to the many parrots who take refuge in the large trees that abound around the buildings. They came in small waves to have their morning bath and then disappeared as quickly as they had arrived.
Some of the true romantics had taken up the offer on Sunday evening to take a boat tour of part of the lake.

The beautiful gardens of Gajner Palace

The first hour of the drive was on recently completed highway with two lanes in each direction and a dividing strip planted out in Oleanders down the centre. On the sides of the road were big bricked up guards protecting young trees from the roaming cows. Even though the road is good, the 80km/hour speed limit is observed by everyone. There is always the cow or six leisurely strolling along or across the road. Unfortunately, the new road ran out and the next 40 minutes or so was at just better than a snails pace on the rough, poorly graded stone surface that would someday soon be sealed extending the highway. The road then continued on as a fairly reasonable track but one lane only in each direction.
Our midway toilet stop was at the Red Rock Hotel. It would be better called the Bedrock Hotel as it was pretty primitive. There is no doubt we are out in the middle of the desert as we head further west and closer to the border with Pakistan. It is exceptionally hot even before midday.
We're traveling in a convoy of two buses. Mr Singh in the red turban seems content to follow behind his counterpart driving the other bus with the blue turban.
We have fifteen comfortably catered for on our bus while I think there are only a dozen on the other bus. Our group seems to be mainly from Victoria while the other bus seems to have a mixture. Everyone appears to be getting on well together which is always a good sign early in the tour.
We've been driving through an area where underground nuclear testing was conducted in 1974 and 1998. It wasn't accepted well internationally at the time but India considered it necessary as neighbours Pakistan and China had nuclear arms. It certainly is a remote part of India with a sparsely spread population in the region.
Our tour leader Viv does a great job. His commentaries are well informed and interesting and he makes it really clear what to expect to see and do prior to leaving the bus for every visit. Baggage and passport collection each day is well managed with a reliable and efficient system in place to ensure that all is accounted for.

Our tour leader Viv, on the left

We stopped briefly to look at a large flock of migratory cranes that have started to arrive from China and Mongolia to spend winter. They originally started arriving in 1970 and their numbers have risen to many thousands each year since then. They eat about 3 tonne of grain per day which is fed to them. In what appears to me to be a major contradiction, donors can contribute to fund that even though there are beggars in the streets throughout this entire country. 

Incoming Cranes migrating from China and Mongolia

We are getting closer to the Pakistan border now and there is certainly a military presence. Through the desert there are the occasional army camps. We hear there is a good chance we will see a few fighter jets performing exercises over the next few mornings and evenings and purely by coincidence, two Mirage fighters have just been spotted out of the bus window.
We've hit Jaisalmer and had a bus drive up to the lookout to get a view of the fort that we will tour tomorrow. Talk about getting blown away! We enjoyed a jaw dropping experience just roaming around like Indian cows observing activities in the city below us and admiring the view of the magnificent 12th century fort that stood in front of us. We can't wait to tour it tomorrow.

Jaisalmer Fort. what a photo!

Tuesday. Dad would have been 97 today so he wasn't forgotten when we had a beer at lunch time.
I'm sitting in the hotel lobby putting this blog together while some have a nana nap or others reflect on this mornings excursion. We're heading out again at 4:00pm for a camel ride. There's more than a good chance I'll post this before we go and catch up on the camels on the next posting.
Our morning started with the odd soul being absent. Bombay bum has hit a few so they decided to spend some recovery time here in the hotel while we headed out to explore Jaisalmer. Unfortunately, they missed a wonderful days touring.
We kicked off by visiting the city's lake. It provided some good scenic sights of the fort and also some entertainment from the hundreds of catfish that put on a show when some bread was thrown to them.

Catfish

From the minute we arrived at the fort I knew we were in for a ripper of a day. There was something interesting everywhere we looked. The fort is home for about four thousand residents and most of the free space is taken up by marker traders. Rather than waffle, I'll just say it with pictures. We're talking about a fort that was built in 1280. It is truly an amazing place.

Enjoy this blog, we're off to ride camels. I have an order in for a pretty one!

Typical India

 

Is that India I can smell?

 

Delhi to Mandawa then Gajner via Bikaner

We spent Saturday on the road traveling west to Mandawa. Of course it was busy getting out of Delhi but even the rural roads were busy. It's not just the constant stream of traffic or the deteriorating condition of the roads that slow things down, but also simply just the hazards generally encountered all day long. The horn is constantly blasting to warn slow moving trucks and  Tuk Tuk taxis that we're coming through. Nomadic herders moving stock across the 4 lanes of highway is just one example of what you constantly encounter. 

Holy Cow!

A family of 5 on a motorbike or a load of gas cylinders stacked 10 high on a trailer are just treated as comical observations and almost expected now.
The pollution leaving Delhi was particularly bad. Believe it or not, they have made fair progress in Delhi to reduce it. There are hardly any diesels and most of the public bus system uses compressed natural gas (CNG). There are 90,000 Tuk Tuk taxis that are also on CNG.

It took us four hours before lunch and three after to get to Mandawa. The road deteriorated to the point where we we were often at crawling pace in one lane only. Camel carts, donkey carts and even goat herders couldn't stop us though. At one time though, two buses heading in opposite directions were almost locked together and causing a massive bank up of tooting traffic. Our driver, Mr Singh walked forward to get involved in the argument about sorting it out. There was success and would you believe the assistant driver got the chance he had been waiting for and got to drive our bus far enough to pick up the waiting Mr Singh. The drive was certainly an experience we won't forget in a hurry. But then again, we might have three more weeks of the same.

We did finally arrive in Mandawa and it wasn't what we expected. To be honest, the town is a dive. About 30,000 live here in very poor conditions. The town is known for its Frescoes Havelis that date back two or three hundred years. As we walked the narrow streets amongst the goats, cows and donkeys, we came across several of them and visited a couple to get the feel of what it must have been like here int the centuries past. Many are quickly deteriorating due to the lack of maintenance. The mansions were built by the rich traders of the Silk Road in a time when this was part of the trading route. 

Amazing Frescoes Havelis 

Out of the rubble we arrived on foot at our accommodation for the night and boy, what a revelation that was. The Castle Mandawa, built in 1755, has been magnificently restored into a 50 plus room hotel. The rooms are so well restored that I laid on my back this morning looking up at the ceiling wondering just how they were able to do it. I can't believe that they managed to get the ornate cornice here in one piece on those roads we traveled. To have the labour force to do it is one thing but to have the workforce with the skills is another. The buildings and gardens are just in complete contrast with what lies outside the castle walls.

Castle Mandawa

Sunday

It's only about 200 kilometres from Mandawa to Bikaner (camel country) so you'd wonder how it could take over four hours to get there. The reason is the road. The first hour and a half was spent on a dirt road through the desert of Rajasthan where we came across a car and a bus bogged in the sand at different times. After a midway toilet break the road improved considerably to be  an excellent two lane highway. You still need to contend with the tractors, livestock and pedestrians but we were able to travel at a consistent pace.

There were already a couple of groups at the restaurant we were to have lunch at so we went ahead and visited Junagarth Fort built in 1588 and returned to the restaurant later to eat. It was the first of many forts we will visit but this is the only one down on the flat. All the rest we will tour are located on elevated locations. It is huge and houses a couple of palaces. Made of red sandstone, the intricate stone carvings are something to behold. From the elephant proof gates to the floors and ceilings, this is. A remarkable example of preserved history. The fort is also a museum with plenty on display. This, and the surroundings remind both of us of Cairo.

Junagarth fort

Lunch was followed by a tuk tuk ride to a market. Again, we battled our way through the dogs, cows, motorbikes and people to see and smell what was on sale. 

We've just checked into our hotel in Gajner. It's a converted Palace situated on a 6,000 acre property. At one stage there was a train service out here to bring the wealthy to hunt duck on the huge lake. I'm heading for Internet in the bar to get this posted.

We'll sleep well tonight