Category: India March 2016

Yesterday was a very long and rushed day. I got to bed late 12:45am and being sick, the blog was low on the priority list.

Currently sitting in compartment F on a top bunk of the First Class A/C 4 berth compartment I share with an Indian family… more about that later.

We had an al la carte breakfast in the courtyard as there were not many guests in the hotel that night. Everyone is sick and not looking forward to the long drive to Agra.

The roadside scenes were as always highly entertaining and the cameras could not record the moments with sufficient speed – frequently ‘aaah missed it!’ is heard. Successful shots are shared and admired.

As we were not sure what time I had to be in Delhi for the train we moved the Agra fort visit to today. The schedule was jam-packed.

Our first visit was Keoladeo National Park – a birders paradise if you plan your visit to coincide with the bird migrations. Before we headed off into the “great outdoors” we had to conquer the ladies facilities – catering to locals, not international tourists. It was bound to have happened at some point in the tour… luckily it was clean and well maintained.

The guide gave me creeps. He was shifty with a high reedy voice. There was some mixup with our booking and the entry payments and he kept mentioning how lucky we are to have gotten the electric golf cart for the 1 hour whistle-stop birdwatching trip (so called – VIP transport) and the 500 Rupees just kept popping up in the conversation. At some point I wondered if he would shut the heck up if I just give him the money. We saw a few birds, looked at some through the telescope (especially for you… see VIP). We walked past the temple after which the park was named. At some point he actually said – Now you pay me R2000 and the driver you can tip as you please… Adam payed him. Once he had his money (halfway back) he lost interest, no more stops and explanations, it was as if he could not deposit us back at the entrance  fast enough. Which as all good with me anyhow. By the time we returned Mann Singh had sorted out the issue with the tour company and refunded Adam.

Our guide for Agra (hence forward known as road runner -RR) joined us on the way to Fatephur Sikri. He is a very knowledgeable guide, but he moves at the speed of light. We had to run to keep up with him. The complex is beautiful and we also took a look inside the adjoining mosque.We could only go as far as the courtyard, has it was Friday prayer. We took a look from the shady collonaded side pavilion. That red sandstone is HOT midday – no shoes in complex, remember?

We then went to lunch before going to Agra to visit the Agra Fort. We got there just in time to do the tour before sunset – the light was actually beautiful. At first the smell along the entry route is quite overpowering, but once you get into the perfectly manicured complex, it is a clean flower-filled oasis of calm (save the throngs of tourists, of course).

It is difficult to explain… the white marble work is exquisite, pity the fountains are empty. My camera worked overtime.

We then visited a workshop that specializes in the inlay of precious and semi-precious stones in marble. This is used through-out the white Marble palaces in Agra fort and what gives the Taj Mahal its jewelbox features. It looks like it is painted on the marble. Here Sara got some ‘retail therapy’ and was rewarded by with a little marble elephant gift from the store. Adam also took some marble home.

With all this shopping additional luggage was called for. On the way to the hotel we stopped for luggage re-enforcements. Adam and Sara bought the small and medium trolley carry-ons of a sand coloured set. I indulged in a red small trolley carry-on to store non-essential items at the Delhi hotel while out in Varanasi and Rathambore legs of the trip.

We got to the hotel, refreshed and at 08:00 pm set out for our postponed “welcome dinner” compliments of the tour company. Actually it turned out to be farewell dinner as I will be moving on solo to Varanasi the next day. The food was excellent and the restaurant is across the road from the first McDonalds store we have come across in India – photo time!

Back in the hotel I sms’ed the company to confirm the required schedule for the next day, as my departure time will determine the pace of the day. Luckily I am only due by 17:00 at the station.

I went through the luggage to determine what can go into the red case. After the first sort, the case was still more than 15kg. I ended up with 14kg. This will have to do.

Then it was bed time as we had to be at the Taj Mahal at 06:15 for sunrise.

hhThis morning we had a later start – 09:00 am.

Breakfast was in the courtyard, but I stuck to toast and fresh fruit – papaya and banana as I had a tummy-scare earlier the morning. Luckily I took some medicine and the rest of the day was fine. *touch wood*

We went to visit the observatory – built a few centuries ago. This place is amazing and that king was brilliant in his way of solving issues, building models before tackling the ‘real deal’ and cross-checking the accuracy between the different items. The biggest sundial in the world is measures up to 2 seconds and doubles up as a star-tracking system by night. Water was placed in the pool around the sundial and the reflections were used to track the stars – that way the astronomers could look down at the stars, instead of looking up – very ergonomic. I’d hate to think what that man doodled when he was bored in state sessions 🙂

After the observatory we visited the city palace – home of the various generations of royalty in Jaipur. It is really beautiful, but pictures are only allowed in the courtyards/open spaces. Jenny Moss – this palace was used to film around 80% of Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 2, that is due for release later this year – we have a date, ne! It is a popular setting for both Holly- and Bollywood films.

We looked at some of the clothing (gold and silver stitching) worn by the royalty – hand wash only – do NOT tumble-dry 😉 before looking at some local handicrafts that have the royal approval to sell their works in the palace. Jewelry, detailed paintings and notebooks were purchased. I purchased a marble statuette of Ganesha – it’s very kitsch, but the little guy just had so much cheek and character.

Then we moved to another courtyard where two gigantic silver jars on display. They were each made out of a single piece of silver – no welding marks and was used to transport the king’s “holy Ganges water” with him when he visited Britain. Apparently storing water in silver helps to purify the water.

We also saw the smaller courtyard with the four gates – one for each season. The most beautiful and popular is the famous peacock gate (winter gate). I liked the green gate posted with the blog. Not sure if it is spring or summer.

We then went on to see paintings of the various kings and the room where meetings were held, in the middle a carpet from the 16th century – older than the city itself.

From here we saw carriages – both horse and older ox-drawn. Very very ornate – I know it is to show wealth and power, but I cannot help thinking that it is a moving bulls-eye for the enemy.

This completed our tour of City Palace and we went by the textile place to collect Adam’s suite.

Then on to lunch at a restaurant with the most uncomfortable tables (steel-tubing, like 70’s garden furniture), but the most positive and attending bathroom attendant we’ve come across. The food was good, but the kiddies shouting tantrums and the sitar player’s multiple renderings of Frere Jacque was unfortunate.

Next we stopped at a store that specializes in spices, teas and incense. After our chai masala we were invited to the family shop (next door) to look at bangles, paintings and woodcarvings. Two shops down Adam found the perfect pair of shoes to compliment his Indian suite.

After this no-one had any inclination for further shopping and we head back to the hotel, wished our guide goodbye and relaxed a little. Sara and Adam went for a swim, Csilla relaxed in the room and I caught up with yesterdays back’blog’ in the courtyard, while trying out the local “taj mahal’ black tea complementary in the the room. It is quite good, actually. Might take some home.

At 19:15 Man Singh picked us up to go for supper at ‘the peacock’. Csilla was feeling under the weather due to a cold and elected to stay in.

As we forgot to get her a notebook today, I asked the front-desk for some white A4 paper for her to make notes on. When we returned from supper they were eagerly awaiting our return and ceremoniously handed me a pack of Ethiad airline crayons. I took me a few seconds to realize that this was to ‘draw’ on the blank papers I got from them earlier – nice one guys! They thought it was hilarious… Got to give them 10/10 on that one… humor is universal – and crosses the language barrier at the most unexpected times. It is shared moments like these that I will remember, much more that the dirt in the roads.

Supper was excellent and the venue was a surprise – a rooftop terrace above a clothing shop. Decked out with fountains and low tables with cement benches around the edges – thatched ‘roofs’ above the tables. Benches were covered with long cushions. It reminded me of turkish establishments. We would definitely eat there again (if we could) and recommend it highly. I had the vegetarian selection of a few small servings – there is a name for it, but I forget – the concept is almost like meze platters. Includes different small bowls with dishes, rice, two small flatbreads, a ‘salad’ and a sweet (pudding).

After supper we returned to the hotel – although the trip was an experience… if you thought driving in India in the day is risky – the night is something else. I ducked behind the seat a few times – definitely aged a bit the last two nights. Our driver is excellent, but the traffic is just so unpredictable – anything can happen as it seems it does. Would not be surprised if it rained frogs next time we’re on the road.

After returning to the hotel we confirmed the departure time again and said our goodnights. I tried to re-arrange “the purple luggage” in preparation for possible re-packing tomorrow night.

The plan is to get a small suitcase-carry-on tomorrow that I can pack some items in, that does not need to accompany me to Varanasi. This can then stay at the Delhi hotel and will enable me to make the internal flight limit of 15 kg’s. I can take wit to South Africa as 2nd piece of luggage as I am allowed 30 kg’s on the Emirates flight.

This separation of luggage will have to take place tomorrow night in Agra as Man Singh will have to drop me at the station before he drops the USA guys at the hotel. In order to do this we will try to do Agra Fort tomorrow afternoon so we can do Taj Mahal early Saturday morning and then hit the road to Delhi. I dunno, I just trust them to get me to the train on time – that is why I paid a premium for an arranged tour.

Hold thumbs we get the suitcase tomorrow 🙂

Also on the program for tomorrow is a bird sanctuary and temple complex, that and the approximately 5 hour drive… fun times ahead…

Good night all
Linda

This morning after breakfast we met our local guide Ahjay (?) and headed off to the Amber Fort as the elephants only take up 1000 persons each day and you have to be early to secure a first-come, first serve basis.

En route we took a detour through the Old City to see the Palace of Winds, built for the royal ladies to be able to enjoy the parades without being ‘seen’. It is situated on the main road and is hecticly busy, as luck would have it we had to cross the road (in early morning rush hour) to get a good pic. It was worth the pic though and the sites we saw on the street.

Then we stood in-line for the elephant-ride, captive audience for the very persistent hawkers of elephants, umbrellas, hats, jewelry, pens and books. They only use female elephants for this task as it is a narrow ramp and bringing male elephants together in such close proximity is just ‘asking for trouble’ 😉 The “grande dame” of this little troop is approximately 70 years old.

The ride was bumpy, but more comfortable than expected. Although trying to take pics with one hand and steadying with the other probably does not enhance the experience. Our lady kept on spitting – she had quite the attitude. Sara’s first had to take a bathroom-break before they could head off.. real lady.

The palace was incredible, especially the mirror palace and domes in the kings’ quarters. The ‘favourite wife’ even had her own hot water jaccuzi. The other eleven had to make do without it… it’s a hard life ;P

Then we stopped at the water palace (actually a garden in the middle of a man-made lake) and took pictures. We looked at some very ornate slippers… where there’s tourists, there are hawkers – its like they are attracted by the click of the camera’s like moths to a flame.

Eventually lunch at a very nice restaurant with a turban museum exhibit, henna tattoo artist, musician and palm-reader/astrologer thrown in the mix. They had the most beautiful Ganesha statue at the back of the restaurant behind a curtain of shiny discs. I think he’s my favorite of the Hindu Gods.

The girls had their palms read and later the evening our indian horoscopes were delivered in a folio at the hotel – should make for some interesting late-night reading.

After lunch we visited a place that extracts, cuts, polishes and sets gemstones into jewelry pieces – all made by hand. Poor, poor Adam. Sara had a pendant made and chose two pre-set garnet pendants for her family. Csilla got a silver bracelet and I got a star ruby pendant set in gold with a gold chain. We chose the stones for our pendants, then chose the setting and lastly the material – silver, gold (white/yellow). Sara went with white, I went with yellow as my star in my stone has a golden sheen. I know that white sheen in star ruby is ‘higher quality’, but I like mine – it’s different.

Then it was Adam’s revenge on the girls – we went to a textile place, saw how block printing is done and then looked at textiles, pashminas etc. Adam had a custom made Indian suit (Long coat-like jacket and traditional pajama pants) measured up and made for an upcoming Indian wedding he is attending back home. He went with a deep green to compliment his green eyes. This took a while to select the fabrics and do the measurements and by then we’d turned the shop over “looking” at everything.

This is very frustrating for me because my husband will confirm that I look with my hands, I feel stuff and if possible smell perfumes, soaps, shampoos. And I scratch, the best things are at the bottom of the pile 🙂 In India if you so much as reach out a hand in a general direction multiple “sales personnel” jump to open up packets and hold it in-front of you. They are really persistent.

Then we stopped at a small optometrist to have my sunglasses fixed – the lens fell out at the fort – OK, Ok it dropped to the floor while we were laying on the flat of our backs to photograph the dome of a room. It was in a remote corner of the kings’ quarters and quite a hidden gem. Then we had a leather strap fitted to my watch as the original one was on its last legs.

After a long day we headed home for some rest before supper in the courtyard. We had the vegetarian house special and was honoured to meet the chef. Still the best in India so far!

A lady slipped on some stairs on one of the higher floors and the doctor was called. She got carried down the stairs on a plastic chair and taken to the hospital. Bet she’ll not forget Jaipur in a hurry.

Adam retired to his room while we went to the roof terrace to watch the puppet show. A puppeteer, accompanied by a man with small drum enacted some scenes such as a dancing lady with hip-movements that will put Shakira to shame. There was a fighting soldier, who looked like he was on some illegal drug, a snake-charmer and his snake, a man riding a camel (he was more under the camel, than on it) and a magician who seemed to loose his head constantly.

He had to compete with a wedding ceremony close-by the hotel and the accompanying fireworks display – free show.

Just as we headed down our jewelry arrived and then it was time for bed.

I had to admit it was a long day and although the intentions were good, I was too tired to do the blog or even read the horoscope document.

I started the blog at breakfast this morning and it is now 5:17 pm – power-nap time.

Before I sign off I want to tell you more about Ganesha. He is the elephant-headed god and the ruler of Wednesday – he is the god of Good Luck. If hindus make a big-ticket purchase they will do the deal beforehand, but only take it into possession on a wednesday. If it is a car/motorbike etc, then will drive by the temple to obtain Ganesha’s blessing on the object (also draw a swastika on it for protection – at the temple). Every Hindu home also has a statue of him near the entrance to bless the occupants and guests. He also receives the first wedding invite from the couple – for him to ‘attend’ the ceremony and bless the union.

Today was an hour drive to our hotel in Jaipur.

We had a leisurely breakfast (trying out masala omlettes) before hitting the road. En-route into Jaipur past the amber fort we met up with the returning elephants from the morning trek to the fort. The road was filled with people, dogs, pigs, chickens, cows, elephants and the odd camel – just for variety.

Tomorrow morning it is our turn to go to the fort on elephants – watch this space.

After check-in at the hotel we had the balance of the day – free time.

When the hotel heard it was birthday-time they made Adam a personalized cream/vanilla cake with candles and everything. It was really sweet and unexpected.

We opted for an Ayurveda massage at Charak Ayurveda Clinic and research centre. I had a Shirodhara therapy treatment. It is a full body massage with aromatic Ayurveda oils, indian head massage followed by the dripping of warm oil onto the forehead in pre-determined movements to enhance relaxation. I had a bruise on my shin which made me nervous whenever the therapist turned her attention to that region, although she was very careful around the area, but still needed to work there to stimulate the lymph nodes for the detox process. The dry head massage was really weird – admittedly my first indian head massage.

Then she put rosewater soaked cotton swabs on my eyes and started working her magic with the suspended warm oil dispenser. She swirled it above your head to make intricate patterns of warm oil across the forehead and hairline. There is no way to describe the sensation… it is mesmerizing. To be honest *hide face in hands* I fell asleep. I have never felt asleep during a massage before. I only woke up when she asked me to move so that she can start washing the oil out of my hair. She thought it was hilarious. I’m just very worried that i possibly snored and ruined the other clients experiences… treatment cubicles are not exactly sound-proof. We left happy and relaxed and was told to up the water intake for the next few days to flush out the toxins released by the treatments.

We returned to the hotel for a late lunch and experimented with lime water – either sweet or salty. I like the salty variation and the other guys prefer the sweet one. Sara and I had the vegetarian house speciality which turned out to be the best meal we’ve had so far. We cajoled the recipe out of the staff and they even showed us which spices to buy to make it at home. It is a mixture of cottage cheese and pomegranate seeds encased in chopped spinach (ball the size of a tennis ball). It is then deep fried and put in a warm spicy tomato gravy. for serving it is cut in half and swirled with plain yogurt. We are definitely having lunch here again and will all be having that. Apparently it is the creation of the house chef… Compliments to the chef on that one!!!!

After lunch the others went for a swim in the rooftop pool while I had an Skype IM conversation with my husband. I joined them for a few minutes where we chatted with a couple from england also staying in the hotel. Then it was time to shower off the massage oil and get dressed for Adam'[s birthday dinner. The tour company reserved a table at the Spice Court Restaurant.

Dinner was good – our eyes were bigger than our tummies. Could not eat another bite.

Still lazy from the massages and with no ‘power nap’ we decided to call it a night and meet up at 7:30 ish for breakfast to leave at 8:30. Apparently the line is long to get your elephant. We promised Csilla that if we are late and miss the elephants we’ll bring one back to the hotel on the roof 😛

I’m going to turn in now, it has been a long, but exciting day.

Regards
Linda

This morning saw an early beginning as with luggage strapped to the roof we took off to Shahpura. Everywhere there were groups of people carrying flags on their way to the hindu temples.

Eventually we took an obscure road to even smaller alleyways – streets filled with vendors selling coloured powders, kids, livestock, buildings a riot of neon coloured dust. We arrived at this beautiful hilltop Hotel, overlooked by a ruined fortress and a blue Hindu temple as ‘neighbours’.

There was initial confusion with our bookings as they did not recognize the tour company’s name. Light dawned when they heard Adam’s name – we were booked in under his name… LOL.

We then were shown to our rooms, more suites than rooms. It is out of this world luxury. I felt really bad having to shower off the holi paint in that stunning bathroom. yeah… they can definitely burn that white towel after today. After the mess of this morning, it was immaculately cleaned up by 5pm. Well done guys!

We received white gowns and pants and all the party-goers were sitting in the lounge, looking like we all joined some kind of cult. All white and pristine and not sure what we’re getting ourselves into.

We moved out to the lawns where tables were set out with plates of different powdered paints and there were water containers “sprouting” some serious water pistols.

We had a blast… no pun intended! The one guy ran around drenching people with buckets full of water. Poor Sarah got hit twice in 10 minutes. There were kids from the village that sat on the wall and watched us playing – at times pelting us with water balloons which we tried (in vain) to catch. At one point I decided that enough was enough and I’ll quit while I’m still ahead. If you get too much paint and water it becomes a brown mess and I want to take the gown home as a souvenir – colour splotches intact.

We retired to our rooms to try and scrub ourselves clean. The green and purple stains. I look like shrek. I have green patches all over my body and is not sure if my finger and toenails will ever come clean or if I’ll have to wait until they grow out. I feel for the one young lady whose entire face was covered in purple – I hope she gets it out. My ears were caked in green, but it was so much fun.

Then we got something to drink and watched the die-hard crazies play. Adam got his face covered in green (again) and us girls got some splashes of pink, but nothing serious.

Lunch was very good and we almost did not recognize our (now cleaned up) Holi friends. After lunch we took a power nap – kinda hard with the cleanup operation and kids playing outside. Our host looked horrified when we said we want to stroll through the village. Even after our driver said he’d accompany us, he still was as white as a sheet.

We looked at the school next to the hotel (part of the hotel building, still to be renovated) and then walked down the alleyways taking pictures of the monkeys doing trapeze acts on the crisscross of electrical wires. We stopped to look at some local women making bracelets (I bought a purple set) and also visited a small mosque. We then stopped at a shoe-shine “stall” opposite some cows to have Sarah’s shoe fixed. On the way back we visited the powder blue Hindu temple just outside our hotel entrance. This was a small glance into the India I expected.

Our host looked visibly relieved when we returned. We drank some coffee/tea on the 1st floor balcony, where we also had dinner some time later. We took some awesome sunset pictures and made friends with the four aussies that also stayed for the night. Later one guest had some birthday cake with a massive firecracker on it – quite spectacular.

Dinner was lovely with some tomato soup with honey in it and really nice dahl with peanut and coconut flavours. There was also chicken, spinach and mushrooms, rooti and rice. We had a refreshing cold rice pudding with ginger coming through strongly.

I shared some of the Delhi pics with our waitron. He is from Nepal and has been in India for three months. He has not been any further in India than Jaipur and is eager to travel the rest of the country.

Tomorrow we have a hour drive to Jaipur and our driver will collect us at 10am. I see Adam is busy editing pictures and posting on Facebook.

Still want to share with you follow up on the ladies on scooters issue. Apparently the government made a law that all scooter passengers must wear helmets for safety. There was a huge public outcry from the ladies that the helmets mess up their make-up and hair. Then the law was recalled for ladies and helmets are no longer compulsory for them. I did not google or verify this, this is purely the answer I got to the question. Beauty first – safety second, it seems.

Holi greetings
Linda

Today I meet my group for the first time. They are from the USA and their names are Sarah, Adam and Cislla. Cislla is originally from Romania and she does photoshop-work for a living. Adam is in online-marketing and Sarah is an architect. We are all around the same age… (I’m guessing – did not ask)

They are a very interesting group and I’m lucky to be exploring India in their company.

At breakfast I saw the weirdest thing – one of the Indian music videos was shot in Cape Town.

We take on the traffic in our little white Avanza and pick up our guide along the way. Our driver will be with us for the duration of the tour and we will have a different guide at every location. This is gonna make guide tip calculations interesting.

I asked our driver if we have the Avanza-like thingie for the entire tour. He answers in the affirmative. Soooo, tomorrow – where will we put the luggage? He points to the roof – as if its the most obvious thing in the world. Alllll righty then. Okay – stupid question I guess – this is India after all.

Our first stop is Jama Masjid Mosque. You take off your shoes and put them on the pile (and my South African question is… will they be there when we get back? I hope so, I really like those shoes – the Brazilian plastic ones) and then as western women we get funny floral gowns to wear. Should make for interesting pictures. They ended up more a hinderance – specially when climbing the 120 odd steps in the minaret. But I made it up there – tiny spiral stone staircase and took some pictures from the top. The (self-appointed?) minaret guide took the camera – jumped over to the other perch and took other pictures and we are just looking at each other… I’m thinking… dude, that’s my camera, don’t drop it. The mosque is beautiful, but we did not get to see the prayer-hall, only the courtyard and the ablution fountain. And yes – our shoes were waiting for us 🙂

Next was a bicycle-rickshaw ride through the maze that is Old-Delhi. We felt kind of guilty for having such a big breakfast and now this guy has to bicycle us around. To me it was a combination of Marrakech and Stone town, narrow roads, people, goats, dangerous electrical wiring, people, bicycles, scooters all weaving and honking and shops selling everything you can think of all round – clothing, barbers, food, VERY fresh chickens. One even advertised International and local air-tickets and visas – I’ll give that a miss.

After the chaos of Old Delhi we escaped to the sanctuary gardens of Raj Ghat – Ghandi’s place of cremation. It is beautiful and quiet surrounded by lovely colored flowers.

Then onto India Gate, the parliament buildings and Humayun’s tomb. In the complex we saw the most beautiful old tomb and mosque – I’m such a sucker for Islamic Architecture…. Jenny – you would have burned your camera out. Then onto the ‘main event’… Humayun’s tomb. It is stunning – once you get up the really steep stairs. And you can see a lovely white Jain temple from the platform – thank you for our guide for giving us that tip to go and look for it. It was the first (and last) Mogul tomb with ‘mixed stone’.. from then on with the exception of the Taj Mahal, Mogul tombs were built in red stone. It is hard to describe, but it is light and airy and not depressing like the western idea of a tomb.

By now it is 2:30 and we went for lunch – curry, rice and roti’s and naan bread.

After this break we went shopping at a shop that specializes in carpets and pashmina’s. We skipped the carpets and me – being me – fell in love with the 2nd most expensive pashmina in the shop (the most expensive being silk – don’t go there). I walked off with my soft woolen aubergine pink/purple indulgence and will probably repent in leisure. The others bought multiple items and we drove the sales-people crazy… LOL!

After that – surprise – we visited the Qutb complex – one of the oldest towers in the world. The entrance ticket is the same ticket as the Humayun’s tomb, so I guess our guide figured – why not we already paid for it and I could see he has a deep spritual connection with the site (originally a Hindu temple). It was not in our itinerary and ironically one of the places I would have liked to see – but had to accept, you cant have it all. Well, maybe you can 🙂 The site was awesome and just up my alley (old buildings and ruins). It makes one sad that so much destruction takes place in the name of religion – all over the world.

We arrived back at our hotel around 18:00, tired, hot, dusty and ready for a shower and as some-one said – a power nap. I settled my room-service account and ordered us breakfast packs for tomorrow morning as we hit the road at 6am. Supper was a bag of chips (Uncle chips – spicy treat) Some sort of masala curry flavour – apparently made by the same company as Lays – they claim. Also black tea with sweetner.

Can’t wait for tomorrow and Holi. Going to wear an old t-shirt as we were warned of random colour-bombs (balloons filled with coloured water). Celebrations already started today and some people were multi-coloured in the streets. We get white clothes for the celebrations at the hotel in Shahpura Village – but that is a five hour drive from Delhi and anything can happen.

Well – that’s me for the day. It is 21:15 and I have to get up at 4:30 to be ready (in the lobby, suitcase packed etc ) at 5:30 if we want to hit the road on time.

I heard today that my internal flight on the second leg has luggage limit of 15kg. Already my case was 16 kg for the flight here. Apparently I can leave some stuff at the hotel in Dehi (same one we are in now) as I return here before going to the tiger park. I have a luggage scale and we’ll see how that pans out closer to the time.

Check-in with you guys tomorrow after Holi…. Best not put any chocolate in my luggage if it is going on the roof – rather eat it now – if only I had chocolate.

Happy Holi from Delhi
Linda

This is my first post and its day two in Dehli.

Just had a delicious breakfast at the hotel. Sauteed vegetables, chickpea curry stew, scrambled egg and fresh watermelon and paw paw slices with sprinkling of coconut.  The waiter was horrified that I want milk in my ‘black’ tea.  Yes, we drink milk in black tea… strange, but true.

All the dishes were marked with a dot – green for vegetarian, red for meat.  Tomorrow I plan to try the fried flatbreads and spiced rice.

Brushing your teeth with bottled water makes you realise how much we take water for granted at home.

I’m not yet brave enough to venture much further than the convenience store a few blocks from the hotel on my own and will spend the day reading and maybe watching tv (now that I figured out how to make Discovery speak english, instead of the default Hindi).

Everyone is very friendly, the hotel is clean, hot running water, working aircon and fridge. I love the fact that it is not a ‘tourist’ hotel, loads of locals speaking Hindi in the restaurant this morning.

From my window I see busses, bicycles, tuk-tuks, bicycle-rickshaws, heavily decorated trucks going by – hooters blasting – lanes optional.  On the scooters the men wear helmets, most of the ladies perched daintily (side-saddle) on the back – not.

This blogging is new to me, but its one way I can share the experience with my traveller friends, in more ways than just posting photos. Plus record the memories, cause I’m already starting to forget way too easlily – this 40+ thing is killing me 😛

Posting a pic from my comfy perch – drinking coconut-lichi juice. I love anything coconut, so the battle for India to win my heart – its a good start!