Punjab, Shimla and back to elhi

Just when I was getting used to moving along on Indian city roads and highways, my heart jumping ever so often even though we had an experienced Indian driver .... we entered the state of Punjab. As my pal in Perth, Jeff, would say "Fuck a duck" .... the Punjabis are absokutely crazy. They even rattled our Indian driver mahavir which did not do much for my blood pressure.
We got into Amritsar late and looked up the Lonely Planet guide to India for a place to eat. I have to say .... except for the Rajasthani Thali that we had, Rajasthan is really boring for food. Every restaurant had the same menu.
So we chose this restaurant in Lawrence Road. ll the restaurants they reccomment are in Lawrence Road. This place Surjit is famour for their Tandoorie Chicken and we had some with some deep fried fish.... delicious after Rajasthan.
Next morning we visited the Golden Temple. Really nice ! and peaceful. The Sikhs community spirit is amazing. We had this free meal consisting od yellow rice, dhal, chappatis and kheer. You could have seconds as well. Then we saw this tremendous organisation with people collecting soild dishes and cutlery, washing , drying and then storing them away. Groups of men , women and children and whole families cutting and preparing vegetables. Huge massive cooking utensils ... some being washed, some washed and some full of food ready for the next batch. Apparently they feed 40, 000 people a day.
Next stop was the Laxmi Temple. We got into the inner sanctum and joined in the "worship" . I thought it was great the number of ways this ONE "Godthing" is worshipped and if only we all realised that there are numerous unique ways to worship It .... Oooops ! I mean HER .... Ooops .... Damn it ! Who cares ? I dont ! HE dosent either ... IT is far too great to care. Well I mean ... If we just marvelled at the way others worshipped , the world would not be in the state it is in...
Ten we visited the Jain Temple and Val had a long discourse with the Jain priest.
Back to the Hotel and then out to dinner at the Crystal restaurant. ... which was very nice again.
Into bed early and watched TV. The Mumbai errorist attacks had started.
Off to Shimla by 8am ... Along harrowing drive up the mountains and arrived after dark in Shimla. Settled into the Landmark Hotel. I awoke and opened the curtains to our huge window. Morning had broken ... like the fist morning . Black crows had croaken ...... But it was a beautiful sight. The first sunlight had hit the snow capped Himalayas in the distance.. I called out to Val and she jumped out of bed. had our tea gazing at the HIMALAYAS .... pronounced .... Him .. aah .lya ... say it ! Visited the high peak of Kufri and in the evening walked the famous Shimla Mall. Val is not well and i am getting that way too.
Early Night ...
Long , Long , Long trip back to Delhi. Arrived after 8pm. had a cuppa ... some dinner and settled to bed.
This morning ... took Val into Delhi to the Moyra Sheraton Hotel and had lunch at Bokhara. Voted the best tandoorie in the world.
Had Lassi, Black dhal, a whole chicken, naan, ... they had a few accompiaments as well. It is the best meal we have had on this trip so far.
The Mumbai seige is over and the TV is showing all the Hero Fuberals.
Here at the internet cafe and they are NOT allowing me to upload my photos.
On the 1st Dec train overnight to Ujjain. Then on the 4th train to Baroda. Will probably be able to update this blog there.
So until then my friends ....
NAMASTE !!!

Bikaner

It was a long drive into Bikaner. Finally got in about 5 pm. Checked into the Hasara Havelli Hotel ... a charming place. You can see Val sitting in one of the two little bay window enclosures. We then took an auto rickshaw to Chotu Motu Joshi Sweet shop as reccomended by Lonely Planet and bought some Ras Mallai and numkeen. Bikaner is supposed to be famous for this. One or three of my Indian pals in Perth will be amused by the name of this sweet shop.



























Today saw the Bikaner Palace and fort ... as usual the buildings are glorious with fantastic artwork and history. But like all things , we are now getting tired of seeing forts and palaces. The trip to the camel research farm was a pleasant change.

What you see above is patchwork quilts made from old royalty garments. The embroidery and work is exquisite. These can be bought at handicraft shops. One good thing ... They do not seem to hassle you so much at Bikaner. In fact, Rarely.

Well ! It's onto Amritsar tomorrow .... a hell of a long drive. Will get there by sunset.

So until then ....... Namaste !!!!

Visual Overload & Mind Fucked

Drove into Jaipur and it started as a visual feast. Here is a pic of me taken by Val with a famous Jaipur landmark in the background ... The Lake Palace.
I am facing a multitude of rides ... camel, bullock cart and elephant. Well ! We chose the elephant ride




















We got onto Poonam and off we RRrrockked for the sum of Rs.200 + tips.
















Then it was the Amber Fort ... we couldnt get the elephant ride up the steep hill as the elephants are only allowed 5 trips and they had finished that when we arrived .... so we drove up there with our driver Mahavir. Gees ! The "tourist guide" pests are never ending + the touts for small cheap souvenir objects. They cant take NO for an answer.
Just loved it here once we got inside. Val and I went exploring the multitude of passages and steep dark stair wells. We even got lost which was a little adventure in itself. From there it was to lunch and both of us had a traditional Rajisthani Thali ... what was really nice was the maize chappati and mint chappati. Then it was to the City Palace .... The touts here were bloody awful .... It was nice inside and we had mp3 audio guides to explain all to us. But we were getting tired .... On our walk back to the car the touts continued. Even a beggar woman with her infant asked me for Rs.50 so she could feed her child ..... Got into the car truly exhausted and mind fucked. Sorry for the language folk but there is no word strong enough for how I felt.
















Got back to the hotel and ordered a refreshing pot'O Chai. You can see us on one of the hotel terraces enjoying the pot. Took a rickshaw ride up the street for Val to buy some bangles (She got ripped off by about $6.00)
Wrote out this blog report on the hotel internet and now just going to have a snack for dinner. Of course the lassi and saffron, cashew and pistachio infused Gulab Jamun is mandatory for me. Then tomorrow we are off to Bikaner at 9 am ... Wonder whats in store ... The Rat Temple will be fun ! Hope I can get to an internet cafe. Until then .......... Namaste !

Bharatpur and the Pink City !

Bharatpur was a really nice rest from the hustle and bustle. It is a small country town and country folk are the same everywhere. ... Just so nice ! We awoke at 6 am had a couple of cups of chai and then took the cycle rickshaw to the bird santuary .... Gosh ! Such a multitude of different species all abound in this nice quiet wetland. We rode about 6 km and returned. Had brekky and continued our drive to Jaipur.
Oooh ! Wow ! I just love Rajasthan. On the drive I was at the edge of my seat, camera in hand. Camel carts, women in brightly coloured saris, odd vehicles, herds of camels ... it went on and on .... not to mention the green fields of mustard, that are about to explode into a sea of yellow.

Drove into the pink city and checked into Kernot Mahal. An old haveli (residences for the Maharajah's courtiers). A lovely place full of character. Val and I sat down to a snack. Val had 2 "real" samosas ... I mean NOT the crap we get in Oz. and a hot cuppa masala chai. I had half a real samosa, a lime soda and also a REAL Lassi with bits of clotted cream in it ... like it should be. AND ... Mango lassi is NOT real lassi. .... just a gimmick. A pom will tell u what clotted cream is. Also had the softest two Gulab Jamuns ... not too sweet and with real saffron and crushed cashews and pistachios in the centre....
Then went and bought some handicrafts .... now after I finish writing this report will go and have dinner ...... Hmmmm ! I wonder what culinary delights lie in store....
Until next time ... drool , drool ... my friends ... slurp slurp ..... Namaste !

Fatehpur Sikri then to Bharatpur

Fatehpur Sikri has always been my favourite after the Taj Mahal and after this visit it continues to be. Val and I spent a couple of hours here. The carvings and works of art are incredible. This is the city that was built by Akbar the Great and then had to be deserted by the entire population because it ran out of water. The tourist touts are also incredibly irritating and cannot take "NO" for an answer

Always been a lover of snakes and first opportunity i get , I will hold one. Unfortunately Val has different likes. Well ! She missed out on this cuddly creature.

Then it was on to Bharatpur ... a small country town. Stopped in a Dhaba (roadside inn) I just had a lime soda and nibbled on Vals vege Pakoras. Our driver had a stuffed potato paratha. Then another cuddly creature came and stood next to Vals feet. Poor little harmless mouse. What did she have to make such a fuss about. Booked into the Pratap Palace hotel. and had lunch on the lawns ... black dhall and Chappatis, Lassi, lime soda. Relaxed on there for quite a while then started walking toward this internet cafe. Val started ooohing because we had to walk close to a cow. HOLY COW ! She really started to panic when two donkeys started galloping toward us .... Val took off up a drive way.

OK ! Will now take a cycle rickshaw back to the hotel. Have dinner and settle in for the night. We have to wake early to get to the bird santuary. Birds from Northern Asia migrate there. ... Peacocks, owls, kingfishers, storks, cranes etc etc.

Catch you from Jaipur I hope. Till then .... Namaste !

Delhi

Oh NO !!! Not again ......
No ! Dont worry it's far too high above the Qtub Minar. But the Moghul monuments here are superb.
The traffic of course is horrendous.
Thanks to our expert driver Mahavir I avoid having heart attacks. He instills confidence in himself.






This is Humayuns tomb. Imagine one huge building to intern one mans body .. and his wife's.














Outside the Red Fort. The queue was huge. About 2000 or even 3000 people long. We gave up.














India Gate. The buildings are really stately.
















Part of the Indian Government buildings













We set out this morning at 0830 hrs. The drive through the country side was very interesting. What with tractors used as transport, camel driven carts , etc, etc
We arrived Agra and went into the Agra Fort which was the Moghul Capital of the empire. The fort was started in the year 1000 + and did not come to it's present stage until the 1400's. From the Agra Fort we could see the Taj Mahal in the distace. Through the perpetual haze it looked like a dream ... like something out of the Arabian Nights.
And the Taj itself ? It was my third time and I appreciated it's beauty more than ever.
We just had dinner in a fancy kind of restaurant ... mutton Korma, Hyderabadi Biriyani, Butter Naan, Garlic Naan and a beer and Val had a Lime Soda.
Now here at this internet Cafe. with a tremendously fast broadband speed of 120.
Tomorrow off to Bharatpur to see the bird santuary .... looks good ... and will spend a night there.

Until I find another internet cafe (in Rajisthan) Be Cool people .... We are "trying" to be

In The Soup

Well ! Here I am at last in India.
Stopped in Kuala Lumpur ovenight. Malaysian Aiways put us in some other hotel in some God forsaken place named Serambong or something. One hour from the airport and one hour from KL. Must say though the airport is fantastic with a huge variety of shops. Even managed to get a couple of Cuban cigars.
Delhi airport was a great surprise too ... did not see a Customs guy colser than 50 metres and just walked out.
Too tired first day ... just saw the shopping centres around Gurgaon. Today went into Delhi and looked at all the great awesome government buildings. Then took the metro to Old Delhi .... You take this fantastic underground train a couple of stations ... so so modern and clean. then thake this escalator up to hell ... YES ! Old delhi is MAD ... After 2 days got this WHOOOOOOOSH ! and came into the India of old. Good fun though , but Val was not impressed. Took a walk through the trhong to Karims.. Oh Dear ! Dissapointing ! Biriyani was "OK". Naaan was "nice" but the Shameer and other Kebaab was good. Styraight from there in our hired car through rush hour to this cyber cafe. Hope to have some photos next time.. Bye for now folk ...

All done ! Suitcases packed and weights within allowed limits. One night in Kuala Lumpur and then on to Delhi. Looking forward to Cochin where I will be meeting 20 of my class mates. That is 20 out of a class of 33 Not bad at all !! The Montfort OBA has planned a really good program as well ... YUM ! all that Malayali food and fried prawns to snack on with our drinks . Then there is lunch at Karims in Old Delhi. ... biriyani and other tandoorie foods prepared by decendants of Akbar The Great.
Tried to book my return flights to Cochin from Bombay. Proceeded well until they made me put my right hand on my heart and swear that I was a permanent resident of India. Being the sweet honest soul that I am, I couldnt do it so aborted the website. I suppose I'll have to pay a lot more now when I book with a travel agent in India.
We are so lucky to have friends like Loreena & Kenooh ... Lorna and Ken Rego that is ... Loreena and Kenooh will be taking us to the airport and bringing back any stuff we may have to remove before checking in ... when we weigh our cases on the scale available.
Anyway INDIA HERE WE COME !!!

Luggage Stress

OK ! So we have finished with work. As much as we hate it, it has paid for our trip. Shhh ! Dont say it out loud though.
Val and I have started packing. EEeeeessshhh ! Do we have to take so much with us ? We are flying Malaysian Airlines and allowed 20 Kg. They will allow us 25 Kg but if it is .... say ... 26 Kg. they will charge us for 6 Kg. at $38 a Kg.
Welll ! gotta go .... battle on !

DONE & READY !

Picked up tickets and Kuala Lumpur coupons for stay overnight in Royale Bintang Hotel. It was valerie's last day at work . Tomorrow is mine. Treating work collegues to Mulligatawny, rice and cabbage faggard (scuse the spelling). All there is to do now is pack the suitcases, last bits of shopping and it's up up and away. Hope the machine is beautiful ! Been raining really heavily in Perth and unusually cold. So it looks like we'll miss most of the summer. Of course we'll get the hottest months of Feb and March. Next update to this blog will probably be from Kuala Lumpur or New Delhi .... unless it is NOT. Wish us luck !!!!