Hello all,
Hope you all had a great christmas and caught up with your nearest and dearest. We have just looked at our stats on our blogg (we cant help ourselves,we are so competetive) and saw that 40 people looked at our blogg on Christmas day. It is lovely that so many people logged on to see what we are up to,which means you were either thinking of us or wanted an excuse to get away from your family celebrations.
also a special hello to the gorgeous Amber who sent us a photo on Christmas day with all her presents around her !
We had a pretty quiet Christmas in Bangkok,we managed to find some beer despite the alcohol restrictions in a rather dubious part of town called Patpong.Fascinating place and spent 23rd sat outside a bar listening to a woman who sang everything from Amy Winehouse to Beyonce.There was an openair market selling rip offs and lot of fellas trying to get people in for dodgy shows.
After a few beers in the crazy night heat Chris decided he could not take anymore of the scalp sweats so we went in to the late night hairdressers.It was so humid that we had faces like beetroots,booze not helping and chris asked the hairdressor to “shave the lot off.”The chap battled away with scissors,shaver and talc,Chris”s hair is so thick that he kind of gave up and just gave him a short all over,action man type cut.Very nice! While we were in the hairdressers we soon realised we had stumbled in to the place that the working ladies come in to to have their hair tidied.We saw a couple of woman massively glamous re applying piles of dramatic make up,having hair straightened,curled or washed and blowdried.At one point a stunning lady boy came in wearing huge silver heels and a tiny blue satin dress.He was beautiful and flounced around,pouting and moaning about his hair.After a quick re style he strutted out,then stopped and flashing his bum in a tiny satin thong.Very entertaining and much better than any show ,wish i had had my camera to take pictures (if they had let me) as it was a completely different side to the seedy area and they all looked so beautiful.
We had a great night and returned to our massively luxurious hotel to recover.The next day was spent laying by the brilliant roof pool that over looks a 360 view of Bangkok skyscrapers.I went for a swim at sunset with all the lights of the town flashing around and a pool all to myself lit up by roman statues,really fantastic and felt very lucky to be travelling and seeing these amazing things.It was a bit like puff daddies crib, i thought to myself. When we pepared ourselves for our christmas eve celebrations we realised the hotel was really quiet and unfortunately no brits and still no sign of much Christmas cheer. We found this out by going to dinner in flashing santa hats to discover that Christmas was not coming to this restaurant!.We decided to do what any self respecting hardcore traveller would do,we found out where the nearest english theme pub was!
Luckily people were all ready really drunk at The Black swan so we were soon best friends with everyone (thank god for brits and booze)and talked drunkenly through the night about everyones personal issue.Quite a few people worked at the british embassy and drunkenly told us about their divorces and childrens skin problems????!!!(i kid you not.) It was a great way to see in the day and we sang loudly to The Pogues before returning to our hotel for running up and down corridors,locking each other out and other suitably drunken activities.
Christmas day was quiet and hungover with a big lack of christmas food,pressies and all the people we loved.I think it was the only day so far that we have missed home and we talked about what everyone was up to and what we would be doing if we were at home.
Our lovely mates Charlie and Mike (newly wedds!)had my mum staying with them over christmas so we were able to use web cam.Phoned home to speak to our sisters,neices and nephews.Great to see and speak to everyone especially mum(hope that she has stopped crying by now) and seeing all 343 photos of Charlie and Mikes wedding made us smile all day.
We were back travelling at 4am on boxing day and felt very sorry for ourselves as we dragged ourselves up after 2 hours sleep.Our self pity was short lived as we left the hotel we became aware that hundreds of people were awake and working opening shops and putting out market stock already in Thailand.
One quick flight later we were in Koh Samui a beautiful island of beaches and palm trees.We were a little anxious going to a resort as we booked last minute on line.As we pulled up by a pool that led your eyes out onto the beach with clear blue water we realised we were somewhere really special and after a couple of hours snooze we were bathing in warm clear water and looking at a beach a couple of miles long and pretty quiet.Stunning place and really laid back. We have been tucking into the cocktails,chang beers and Thai food ever since.
We bit the bullet and booked a Thai boxing match 3 days into the trip.We were both really looking forward to it and as we sat by the ring and thumping loud rave music and flashing lights took over i could feel my heart racing.The fighters came in really calmly,several blessings followed and we all stood for the King and National Anthem.The stadium was a barn size open air construction(we thought maybe Dan Venables could start it up in one of his dads barns?)and mostly filled with tourists.Everyone is sat really close to the ring and lots of Thai Chaps begin shouting and betting at both fighters corners.
The fighters physiques were amazing,no fat at all,really tough muscley legs,six pack and incredibly light on their feet.All oiled up they began fighting,gloves up and bouncing heads along to this eerie live hypnotic music.It wasn’t a slogging match but lots of high kicks,dodging,huddling up,kidney kicking and sweat.We saw a couple of fights and left feeling emergised and in awe of these very talented chaps.They also looked really gentle and had beautiful faces which seemed strange as they were so tough.A real adventure and i was glad that nobody was knocked out or seriously injured.
We were up early the next day for our first organised trip since our travelling started.Off to the harbour where we cruised for 2 hours by boat to a tiny tropical island called Angthong.There were lots of islands close together and apparently it inspired thye film ‘the beach’!We began a bit of Kayacking,disagreeing continuously about pace,direction and steering.However we were universal in the fact that we were the best Kayakers in the whole group and to prove a point we began a mini race(i dont think anyone else knew about this though)and overtook people on the return journey.Great fun and at one point we went through a small hole in the rock (deftly manovered)and arrived at a small inclosed green water area that was once a volcano. After our successful kayacking we agreed not only where we incredibly gifted at it,but indeed we must buy a kayack as soon as possible.Basking in glory (again i dont think anyone was aware of this)we did a bit of snorkeling and lunched bobbing up and down in the bay.
After lunch to a tiny beach with a sweaty ascent to another enclosed lake area, no swimming allowed due to sharks, but photos enclosed. So hot but great to see. And finally to the elephant rides(party hats have been bought and they WILL be worn.)
Felt a bit out of place at elephant ride as very commercial and poor knackered elephants basically walk around a boring track.Felt guilty as they looked depressed and were happy to have not joined to many touristy things in the past.Wont be doing it again and thought it was unethical.Sorry elephants!
Returned to cocktails on the beach shack with a pool table so old and massive that it was more a game of chance.There were ants carrying a fly accross the table that briefly stopped play.We are now on our final day here and sorry to leave as it has been a fabulous holiday.It hasnt been proper travelling and we have really relaxed and had lots of treats here.Our hut here costs20 quid a night but is all that we need,the air com and tv are a bonus! Thailand really is so beautiful ,i can see why people come here for their honeymoons.We would definitely be back some day ,especially if we have a child and hopefully with some of you lot! But onwards now to Kuala Lumpar for New Year.We go early tomorrow and now are tans are topped up we can celebrate in style.HAPPY NEW YEAR to all ,whatever you are doing!We will raise a glass to all we love and wish for health and happiness for the coming years.Speaking of people we love,we have left the best to last.Our friend Rosy and Chris had a baby girl on boxing day called Charlie Hope. Congratulations you lovely people and cant wait to have a good look at Little Charlie on web cam as we now have one! Bye for now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thailand Mykindaland!Soph(30thdec07) December 30, 2007
Christmas in Thailand December 24, 2007
just a very quick note to wish you all a very merry christmas and a happy new year. Peace on earth and and pina coladas to all mankind.
Another day another country – on to Thailand (Chris 23/12) December 23, 2007
Well we got away from Puri and up to the old English Capital of India, Kolkata. Overnight train journey, pretty uneventful apart from being the only train that has been bang on time, this time no cockroachs just a few mice. Woke up to a golden light shining onto the agricultural outskirts of Kolkata, the tawny plain punctuated by palms and pylons, very nice. Kolkata instantly felt a bit cleaner and was the nicest big city we’ve been to, we were very tough with the taxi drivers and just walked away from their requests for ‘parking money’, we’re definitely feeling more travelly by the day and don’t broker any argument! Hotel Lytton was on the grubby Sudder street but was a nice place with clean rooms and a good feel. we dumped the bags and went for a stroll looking for a web-cam so that Soph could get connectivity (for all you Americans reading this!) with her wino club buddies. searched for a while along busy loud streets, not many beggars but a lot of wheelers and dealers all shouting the odds, quite exciting. No luck with web-cam, but my spidy sense detected a cake shop and we spent a very pleasurable hour eating buns in Flury’s confectioners (fists of flury’s as I am now known in these parts, the chocolate-pistachio bun was awesome, eaten in record time). Still no luck with web-cam so Soph decided to counter my treat with one of her own – a hair salon visit to get rid of roots etc (i don’t really understand) anyway she spent 3 hours there and looked b-e-a-utiful on completion smiling like it was christmas already! The web link situation was getting a bit desperate but finally we established comms with Paula’s Rich (he was at home loafing which was lucky for us, there’s a lesson there somewhere) exciting for us, our first web link and it was a little bit sad seeing all christmas deccies up and the fire roaring but cheers for that Rich. Came to the conclusion that because of time differences and the fact that no internet cafes opened late, soph would ring the girls which she did lying in bed after a few Kingfisher beers! Next day Soph suffering from cold so I walked around the Maidan (large park in centre of town) and visited the old Fort William, which you can’t get close to because it’s for the rich and famous only (don’t they know who I am?) and surrounded by the golf course. The Maidan is about 1×3 km and is a grassy space (cleared by the english to offer clear lines of fire for the Fort cannons, ironically never used in anger – what a waste of time) kept close cropped by herds of goats and cows and the occasional horse. The area is packed with sports clubs and every bloke there seems to be playing cricket or weatching cricket or talking about cricket, I was in my element smiling and shouting Dhoni (Indian wicket-keeper) to the yells of my fellow sports lovers! At the southern end is the magnificent Victoria Monumnet built for Vicky in early 20th century. Fantastic setting and building, next to the st pauls Church which again is immac and still a working church. Inside I saw the biggest fans in the world hanging a full 40ft from the vaulted ceiling on long thin, dodgy looking metal poles. Loads of memorials to the great and good who made the Empire in India, plaques with phrases like ‘ a true Englishmen cut down in the prime of his life in devilish ambush, barbariously murdered by rampaging hordes’ etc, all very unfair, describing people defending their own right to independence. Returned to hotel and by then we had both pretty much had it with India (as Kipling said East is East and West is West) so stayed there with room service waiting for the last taxi to the airport. Travelling along, witnessing our last shouts, smell, bustle and car horn beeping before arrival at the spectacularly unluxurious Kolkata airport, soph’s plans for a Clinique buying session dashed against the rocks of an empty waiting room and overpriced snickers bars. And then onto the plane for Thailand and Bangkok. Arrived 3 hours later to a spanking new airport with a spankingly huge immigration queue! Still, felt instantly at home really hot and humid but OH SO CLEAN!! Got a taxi to hotel and fell in love here as well. We booked on-line and everything else through expedia has been a bit of a let down, but the Prince Palace Hotel is huge, 3 massive towers of 500 rooms and several restaurants, poolside bars and fantastic rooms with NO bugs and working flush/AC. It also had a huge Christmas tree in the foyer with fake presents and lots of lights and piped Christmas carols in Thai, so we felt for the first time really festive. We arrived just in time for sundowners by the poolside bar, a pina colada and a few Singha beers. Then had hotel food which wasn’t curried, marvellous! Woke next day and stayed by pool so not much to report, just topping up tan and behaving like real tourists!! Yesterday back out in the midday sun like true mad-dogs to walk along the bangkok waterway, a canal running through the city with the fastest water taxis I’ve ever seen. At the Golden Mount we took a tuk-tuk to visit the Grand Palace in the centre of Bangkok, this has been progressively built from about early 1700s through to latest building in 1950 and is magnificent. The emerald budha, gold leaf covered temples, beautifully ornate pillars and colour and vibrancy it was pretty cool. The only trouble was it wasn’t pretty cool, in fact it was v hot and sweaty we had to stop regularly in the shade with all the other pasty westerners, swabbing themselves down and trying to hide their damp clothing. In addition, we were both dressed as buffoons, with the borrowed clothing to hide our legs making us look like cast rejects from the programme Tenko! We scuttled back in a fast tuk-tuk (much more stylish than their Indian counter parts, more Chrome, coloured glass and extra wide wheels!) to seek comfort in the hotel AC! Spent more time by the pool, before deciding it was Saturday night and it was time to PARTY in the notorious Patpong district. So we had a Leo beer, donned glad rags, put on the MP3 player and got down brothers, let me hear you say YEAH………ok let me hear you say ‘the whole of Bangkok is having an election tonight and Sunday night, so therefore the sale of alchohol is restricted apart from in a very few designated restaurants!’ – unbelievable, we felt very deflated I’ve got to say but there it was no beers in Bangkok this weekend, quick change of plan and back to hotel, we’ll do the ‘wild-thang’ some other night I guess. Please look out for phot of my hair, this is last time you’ll see it this long for a while! We very happy in Bangkok, but sad to be missing the wedding celebrations of Mike and Charlie and we wish them the very best. That’s about it for now, we’re going to put up a Christmas Day blog so look out for that, Happy Christmas!
The Indian love affair is finally over – Soph 17 Dec 07 December 17, 2007
Hello all,
We have just checked our blogg stats and have noticed a lot of people have looked at our blogg in the last two weeks.We initially thought that it must be really interesting and you were concerned about our welfare,away from home at Christmas and all that business.Then over dinner it came to us that it was more likely to be due to people loafing around a lot more at work as it was nearly Christmas.I will leave it up to you to decide what the increase in blogg stats is due to. Anyway we are definitely not complaining as it makes us feel closer to home hearing from you. We have now had 2639 hits on our blogg,fantastic!
We have had a quiet couple of days since we last blogged.We left Varanasi whipped into a frenzy of excitement over our visit to Puri,one of the top holiday destinations for indians. We were optimistic about our 24 hour train journey and in high spirits as we embarked on our train,triumphant that it was not too late,we were on the right platform and we had the right tickets.
We were stood on the platform waiting for our train when we saw a cow. We took a quick snap and pondered at how the cow had got on the platform as there is no lift and only steep steps.I apologise for what happens next,but this is how we have learnt to enjoy our waiting time together. We dedicate this to Richie Ryan.
We thought the cow was waiting for cattle class.She seemed a bit upset ,so we asked her what her beef was?Apparently she was in pain as she had just pulled her calf muscle and said she was freesian(it gets worse) We asked if it was the right platform for Puri and she said she had never herd of the place,but she thought it was on the udder platform(wey hey).The cow told us that she was starving as she had steaked all her money on red at the casino ,but it had come in black.The last thing she had eaten was a cheese sandwich on the hoof. We tried to milk her for more information but she got a bit bullish and moooooooooooooooved off. As she left we shouted “do you want to come for a beer?” but she said that she was worried she would get slaughtered.( Chris made me put this on ,i think it’s to lower my blogg stats)
Anyway back to the real world,our train pulled up and we found our bunks next to a pleasant looking older couple and settled down for a quick game of scrabble.The trouble began when Chris stamped on something and would not tell me what it was. Happy to be oblivious ,we played on,another stamp came and went.We settled early and Chris dropped off while i read on the lower bunk,being soothed by the simultanious snoring and hacking coughing,phlegm releasing noises of our train carriage buddies.That’s when i saw the next cockroach,then another one,i sat up and moved my pillow to see another one scuttle out from under it. I was a little emotional and jumpy and spent the next 5 hours killing cockroaches while everyone slept around me.Thats when the mice turned up and it all became a frenzy of twitching,jumping and shuddering for me. When Chris woke up he took over “roach duty” and kindly kept an eye on me while i slept to make sure nothing crawled into my mouth.Probably the lowest point of the trip came at the 20th hour a cockroach fell(or jumped) from the bunk above me on to my chest. Awful.
It was not all bad though as we got to wear our glow in the dark ear plugs!
When we arrived at Puri we were pleased to see it was clean and laid back,it looked a bit like Western Super Mare with a long stretch of beach and a promenade with old fashioned lamposts dotted down the coast. After a massive coackroach free sleep we explored the beach, an evening market and soaked up the sight of lots of holiday makers dressed in their finest. We marvelled at the jaunty angle of the big wheel and the unnatural pinkness of the candy floss. Great to stroll around and see how people who live in India enjoy their holidays, the beach is packed and everyone seemed in quite high spirits.
A long walk up the beach the next day was a breath of fresh sea air with fisherman bringing in their morning catch and women taking a dip in their sari’s .The weather was pretty overcast and muggy and seeing a sea snake put me off any furthur relaxing while i paddled.Chris had a dip in the massive waves ,as he is truely brave and my hero!
After a bit of a ding dong with hotel manager we are moved to a hotel room that doesn’t have workmen sitting on our balcony shouting. We are truly exhausted with India by then and decide to retreat to our new room with almond buscuits,chocolate cake and chocolate. We booked up a trip for the next day and spend a good 8 hours watching television,snuggled up on our sleeping bags(the bed bugs are still biting)and promising each other we will never come back to India.
The next day India does what it does best and pulls a corker of a day out of nowhere. Just when we are happy to write it off we end up an hours drive away at Chilka Lake in a tropical paradise.There were palm trees,a huge crystal clear lake,sand dunes ,wild birds,lagoons and dolphins.Unbelievable,this place drives us nuts.!!!!!!!!!!!!
We took a boat trip with Helen and Maureen ,our new mates, and did a bit of bird watching. For the twitchers out there ,we saw,Kingfisher,storks,eagles,sea hawks,cormorant,flamingo,sandpipers and lots more. If you are wondering at our great knowledge of birds then we cannot take credit.We only know this because Helen told us!
We were on our boat drifting along for a few hours,perfect weather,gentle breeze,great company and dolphins popping their little black stumpy noses out now and then. All is forgiven India!
We stopped at a lagoon and a chap approached us with oysters in a bowl.He then proceeded to smash one open and tease a pearl out of it.Incredible!We were hooked and stood around watching him open more with most having pearls in them.I was looking for a slight of hand trick or signs of the shell being opened before.What a cynic. But it was clear that this chap knew where the pearls were and like ducks to water we were soon haggling for one for ourselves.It was an amazing experience,such a beautiful tropical location ,that we were completely blown away! I am still hoping that our pearl doesn’t turn out to be a lump of old,hard chewing gum.
The trip finished with a stop on a sand ridge where we saw the famous red crabs.Well we only saw them because people dug them up and prodded them (yes that does include Chris.)
Puri is our last stop before we catch the airplane from Kalcutta so only two days and one 10 hour train journey left in India.
Puri has introduced us to some very fast tuk tuk and rickshaw drivers and we have had some memorable trips up and down the sea front, screaming and clinging to each other. We have rowed with our terrible hotel, twice and defeated and pale we are spending our last day in the most expensive hotel in Puri,we may not have had the budget to stay the night in the lusciously situated hotel, but by god we will have lunch there(and leave our rucksacks there while we write to you.)
We have decided that India is like a bad relationship,you know you are not happy,but you just don’t seem to be able to leave!!!!!
Onwards to Thailand,clean sheets,hot water,milk,fruit,cheese,fluffy towels,toilets and hopefully no-one going to the toilet in the streets!Will we miss India?maybe just a little bit, the damn place gets under your skin!
Varanasi continued C 11/12 December 11, 2007
The funeral pyres are lit just before sunset and the bodies put on as the sun goes down. If you’re wealthy you get a big fire with sandlewood, if you’re poor your in the municipal burner just behind the main Ghats (temples). Rich or poor, you get your ashes thrown in the river on completion and this is about 200 dead a day. There are 5 reasons why you don’t get access to a burning 1. Holy Man (rock tied round feet and straight in river) 2. Baby/Child same treatment 3. Pregnant lady same treatment 4. if you are a cow same treatment but no rock 5. If you get killed by a cobra bite, it’s special privileges all round, you get tied to a banana tree/palm frond raft and floated down the river. As we were being rowed around in the dark being told these facts it became a bit eerie and took on a more spiritual feel. I’m not saying we’ve found religion but as we approached the fires and saw the singing and communal feel of death here it just felt quite serene. We certainly didn’t want to fall in the water though. After witnessing the fires we came back up river, it was getting quite cold now, to see the sunset religious ceremony at the main Ghat. This is a big event and there were crowds of people and lots of people in boats to witness it. Incense burning, chanting and music it was some spectacle! After this we rowed back to shore and had another cup of Chai with Shambhu and his dad, the old man who rowed earlier! This is the first chai we’ve had so far in India and was very nice, sweet and a flavour of Masala. Chill air drove us back to hotel, but felt like we’d had AN EXPERIENCE! The next day wasn’t quite so good, our tuk tuk driver insisted on driving us where he wanted to go, it felt to us and took alot of persuading to do as he was told. We eventually got to the University district which was an enclosed compound in the centre of the city, with clean and uncrowded roads lined with each faculty and loads of kids studying (on a Sunday, you wouldn’t get that at York Taylor!). It wasinteresting that the only dept having any extension work done was the Genetics dept, using three armed builders – suspicious!! After this and a walk around the new temple there and a quick discussion with the dean’s wife (a long story) we told Pramod we wanted to go for lunch. He ignored the name we gave him and ended up at his mate’s gaff, a place with the most inappropriate name this side of the black stump – the Sunshine Hotel. Well the sun was out but the hotel was absolutely gopping. To add insult to injury as we just had a Pepsi only safe thing on menu, our drives settled in for a cheese toastie. Cheeky git! Anyway after thathe also took us to a dodgy silk shop in the Muslim part of town, in some backstreets that looked like the set of Oliver (not the nice parts). Having second thoughts about driver at this stage! That said the next day he picked us up at 06 dubs for our trip back to the Ganges, this time for sunrise. Again as we approached through narrow lanes and back roads it looked very dull. Also freezing cold with not many other people around. As we came out onto the river side, we realised where all the people were, in boats being rowed around for the sunrise experience, they’d got there before us. It looked freezing though so we turned down the offer of a boat ride and just had a quick walk and then a cup of chai with the locals on the Ghat steps. Quite peaceful, even though the fog completely obscured sunrise. After that we arranged to be rowed to the Banares era Fort which was further up river by the pontoon bridge. Set off, this time with Shambhu’s younger brother Shankar. Halfway to the fort, myself and Soph decided to row, it was still fairly cool with some residual fog being burned off by the weak sun. That was great fun, singing ‘messing around on the river’ and trying to beat each other to the title of best rower (me, by the way). We rowed underneath the pontoon bridge and beached , for the short walk up to the fort and museum. Fairly surreal really, some good exhibits of guns and weaponry (Soph loved that as you can imagine) and some displays that looked like a car boot. Anyway back to the boat after a bit of culture and raced with tide back to the Ghat. We just sunbathing and snoozing in the heat of the day, very nice. After that we got swindled on the price and the ‘i am your very good friend talk’ lured us into schoolkids error of paying over the odds. We were annoyed with this constant pressure for money, so shortly after binned our tuktuk driver as well. In the evening we returned to the main Ghat to witness the sunset ceremony from the shore. In a perfect piece of timing, we arrived just as they were snuffing out the candles, genius! After that there was a bit of communal singing and hand clapping, a bit like a scout jamboree with incense. We had a full blown Chinese after that and it was nice to have none curried food! We are checking out today for a huge train journey down to the South East coast a place called Puri, the journey (according to a variety of sources) lasts between 23 hours and 30 hours depending on who you believe. We stocked up on sweets and crisps for the trip but this time we are without S. African red wine so it may be quite painful. We’ll send next blog from the coast. By the way if you were wondering about photos, if you double click the photo on the blog you will be taken to the FlickR web-site where all our phots are stowed, so hopefully everyone can see what we’ve been getting up to. Happy Christmas.
To the Holy City, Varanasi December 11, 2007
Originally uploaded by chris.warn
Well it was cheerio Khajuraho and by car and on the late overnight train to Varanasi on the banks of the Ganges. Car journey was a complete swindle, the Indian guy telling us the journey would take 4 hours and it took 2! So we found ourselves in the least attractive town so far – Satna. Basically a series of hovels built on a waste dump. The plan was to waste time playing on the internet, but after wading through ankle deep mud on the main street and taking in some of the fetid air, we reckoned the lesser of two evils was to wait on the platform. Busy and alive with life (humans and bugs) we then had to wait an extra 4 hours for the train which was late. Got talking to two female travellers Aussie and Romanian, who were going the same way. At one point a train came in and we were convinced after asking bloke next to us, that this was our train. We got on and started aranging our sleeping bags, waking a bloke who we thought was in our seats. In the nick of time the Romanian girl came and told us that we were on wrong train. So we sharply grabbed our stuff and got off as train departed, thankyou Romanian girl!! Eventually the train did arrive and we settled down for a fairly interrupted night’s sleep, lights on and off and the normal sounds and smells eminating from our fellow travellers. Arrived at Varanasi and went straight to hotel Suyra picking up a tuk tuk driver on route called Pramod. Seemed nice enough and we agreed to go with him to Ganges for sunset that night. After snooze in hotel and freshen up it was back out onto the streets. Arrival at the Ganges was fairly uninspiring, dark dank buildings and a mass of humanity washing, praying and trying to sell us stuff. Went up river with an old man (61 and still rowing strong) and I had a go at this rowing business, absolutely cream crackered, I did note the old boy made me row upstream though!! After a quick cup of chai with these boys, we got back into a boat with Shambhu our rower for the evening. As sunset and it got darker the magic of the ganges came to the fore. Lots of prayers, chanting, symbals and bells added to the atmosphere and people were lighting funeral pyres for the nightly burning of the dead ….just about to run out of time on computer so will continue story in a moment.
Agro in Agra but nothing fancy in Jhansi December 9, 2007
Well we finally got away from the shops of Jaipur and took the train to Agra and the Taj Mahal, 5 hour journey in a more crowded carriage. Spent time showing people the card trick the Frenchman Gerrard showed us in Madagascar and in return some kids showed us a real live Indian rope trick, great fun. Arrived late at Agra and straight to Hotel Sheela Inn (not run by an Australian), it fully lived up to its’ 7 pound 50 a night price tag. Bugs in bathroom, damp peeling walls and packs of ferociuos dogs fighting in the streets. Our newly purchased silk bed covers saved the night. Up very early the next morning to catch the Taj at sunrise, along with only 300 other people who had read the Lonely Planet guide! That said it was quieter then than later so glad we did it. Taj itself was beautiful, the sun didn’t really struggle through the mist and cloud cover so the temple itslef wasn’t showed in the best pinky light. The phot shows it looking a bit flat and muted, but still good. Got the obligatory front of Taj shot (like Princess Di) and also one with me wearing Sammy Fel-squared’s rugby top, very well travelled! We wondered around the nicely kept grounds for a while, getting requests from Indian school kids to have our phots taken with them, very bizarre that they should ask the 2 most unphotogenic people in Plymouth for this, but still. Taj was built over 22 years using 22,000 skilled labourers all had their hands chopped off at the end so the building could never be replicated. It was a gift of love though so the guy who did this wasn’t all bad. We decided that return to our lovely hotel room was a no-no and that afte the Taj we wanted to get the hell out of dodge city. On return to check out we noticed that our hotel stood opposite the Indian Institute for Leprosy (where you go to learn to be a Leper presumably) this decided it for us. Quickly to the station and bought 3rd class tickets from Agra to Jhansi, no other type available so this was to be our first experience of cattle class. Long wait at the station for 2 hour late train and we were ready for the big heave ho onto the train, but in the event we just couldn’t do it, far to British and polite to join the scrum so left on the platform. As the train started to pull off, we ahd a snap decision to make another night in Agra or dive onto a moving train…we started running. I bravely threw my wife through a bunch of people saying cheerio to a passenger and pushed her onto the moving traina nd managed to squeeze up beside her. We were just starting to congratulate ourselves on our bravey when someone else calmly stepped past us and off the train, in the words of Dave Mazz ‘unbelievable’. HSort rip and on to the town of Jhansi. NOt much to say, certainly nothing fancy when we got there even the taxi drivers said, why are you staying 2 nights?? Soph was ill though and we wanted to recoup after Agra so stay we did. Off in a mini bus to Khajuraho the next day. Relative luxury with just us, 3 indians and their exceptionally loud music for company (am I getting old or what?). Trip through back roads and remote villages, small communities every couple of kilometres ust shops lining the road and all of them selling tat, who on earth buys it? Stopped off at a small post office to post some cards and as i was queuing (only guy in the place yet still queuing) a uniformed man came and stood so close to me we were touching from shoulder to knee. Visions of the film, midnight express passed through my mind, but he was just being nosy apparently. Never seen a tourist buying stamps before mate? The only other thing to note is that we saw large numbers of people defecating by the side of the road, whatever we did it seemed we couldn’t avoid there steely gaze. Khajuraho was lovely, a backwater with a laid back feel and some lovely temples. Phots don’t do them justice and the level of skill in making them was magnificent. Famous for their erotic sandstone carvings, it’s more than that the temples are well maintained in lovely gardens and you get a real sense of the history, originally 85 they now number 23 and these were only saved from Muslim destruction by the remoteness of the village. Not much else to it apart from ridiculous numbers of hawkers, but they were the politeness we’ve met. We’ve not included any of the rude photos here to save the blushes of Julie Gannon, you know she’s shy. We went to see a light show in the temples which was very professional and a local dance show which wasn’t. The dancing was hilarious and we left literally speechless. The high point was seeing an extremely camp transvestite, with a disturbing smile, painted gold and green standing one legged on a small bed of rusty nails, with 3 pots on his head, miming badly to indian tribal music – priceless! We stayed 3 nights in this place and it was the most relaxing time so far in India.
Jaipur-26th-1st. It’s all back on with India December 1, 2007
Hello all,
We survived the 17 hour trian journey to Jaipur and have spent a few days realy getting stuck into Indian life.The train journey involved us sleeping in a small moving room with hard beds and our loyal travelling companions,the bed bugs.We hurled ourself into some competitive scrabble and 2 bottles of red which made it more bearable.Chris said he slept like a top due to it being quite like a submarine room i think it was probably the fact he consumed more of the wine than me.I alternated my time between bed bug slapping(a lesser known Indian sport )and jumping around tutting on the slippery bed.
When we arrived at the station we had read the book and were prepped up for some hard core dealing with the world famous tuk tuk chancers.As it turned out the Lonely Planet was a bit harsh and we met a lovely chap called Mohamead who has shown us around the last few days.Finally after Meme (por quoi meme,pour quoi?) we have learnt to trust again.
Stayed in lovely hotel in centre of Jaipur with a great back garden and a bed that reminded us of home.We visited the Pink Cities famous Tiger Fort on our first night to watch the sunset.Very romantic,just me,Chris and Mohamead.I sat and gazed at the city while Chris and Mohamead discussed who would be in their cricket dream team if they could choose players from any country.Like i say,very romantic.
However it was a beautiful view and could see the whole city,and hear the noise from music very clearly.As the sun went down we could hear the chants of the prayers beginning which was ,dare i say,a spiritual moment and i felt a long way from home. Quick trip to the station to get our tickets to Agra, we’re old hands at this now and it went smoothly, bought tickets from the fantastically named Mister Meena.
The next day was packed with shopping trip to textiles co-operative which specialises in fabrics.I could have wept seeing all those saris,rugs,clothes,bags,bedding e.t.c and felt like i was in heaven.Chris was also a little spend crazy and half way through ,what will always be one of the best shopping days of my life,i looked around to see Chris choosing fabrics and being measured up for a dinner jacket.These sales men are good!
We returned home exhausted (and a little ashamed of what we had spent )for a dinner of lots of curries and naan breads,a perfect day for me!Right up there with our wedding day!
The next day was culture and sight seeing(boooooo)but it was great to drive around in tuk tuk ,not knowing whether this might be the last journey you ever made ,as bikes,elephants, cows,pigs,cars,rickshaws,tuk tuks,chickens and dogs all hurled themselves at us.Absolutely crazy!
We visited the Amber Fort first and to be honest were a little disapointed.We even sat down on a wall to make our visit seem longer so as not to upset our tuk tuk driving mate Mohamead.We were more enthusiastic about the Monkey Temple and arrived at sun set to worship at the sun god temple overlooking the city.Bought some nuts (monkey nuts of course)at the bottom and cooed at the sight of our first baby monkeys literally at arms reach.As more and more came around us there began a slightly uneasy feeling of being out numbered.We started to stride out a bit as there were loads of them and some made barking noises and were fighting with each other.
After a brief stop at the top where we met some very bossy children who were also good fun we began our descent to the tuk tuk and Mohamead(hopefully not too disapointed with the length of our sight seeing again).
Chris put his hand in his pocket to get the nuts out and the mere russle of paper had hundreds(maybe not hundreds) of themonkeys rushing towards us like bandits in a cow boy film.We ended up pegging it down the hill throwing the nuts over our shoulder to prevent us being attacked ,as they were clearly vicious ,evil little monkeys who didnt deserve their own temple.
The next day was a lot more low key due to Chris having a dodgy tummy but relaxing and pottering around the hotel was really relaxing.I even met a new friend,a girl from England with wild eyes and the shakes.I later found out she had been off work for a year and was suing her company for stress.You just cant get girls like my lovely mates back at home( although she was more polite to me than they are!)I knew she wasnt right and was releived to have my brilliant travel companion well the next day.It is sadly our last day in Jaipur today and our stay has been amazing,and i am not just saying that because of the shopping.We left Mumbai really disheartened with India,but the love affair with India is now definately all back on!!!!!! Tai Mahal tomorrow,brilliant!!!!!!!!!!!
