Jaipur to Mumbai

27.09.11

This morning was eventful! The price we were quoted for the taxi was again too much so we started looking at trains around Rajasthan, it looked like we couldn't get out of Jaipar for a few days. So we decided we would take Martin's friend John, up on his offer and head to Mumbai then Pune. We found a train online and thought we'd better call John to check

before we booked. 2 minutes later, we could nolonger book the train. So we headed to the train station and again booking had stopped 4 hours before the train was due to leave. We were told that we could go an hour before and try and get a

ticket an hour before.

With much dilemma this is what we did and we got on the train at 2 o'clock. we had Ac2 sleeper which was much more spacious,with only 2 bunks, 6 bunks in a carriage. We saw any unexpected sights as we travelled, from warthogs snuffling around on station platforms, people casually crossing the tracks. It was very noisy on the train, from the rumble of the train on the

the tracks, the horn sounding frquently, people snoring gently and vendors calling out their wares. In our carriage there was a really friendly the couple. They spoke to us about their lives and life in India, telling is about their daughter's 5 day wedding with 3,000 guests! They also helped explain what was going on on the train and ordered us a meal.

Unfortunately when our meal came most of it was inedible! When the couple saw us struggling they were insistent that we share their meal. They explained that they deliberately brought more food when on a journey so they could share it. It was delicious, they had made fresh roti and aloo gobhi, which was so tasty.

Soon it was time to make up our beds, stretch out and go to sleep. We were not due in to Mumbai until 8 am.

Having met this couple and a old man on the train. It made me think about the first impressions I had had of many of the Indians I have met. Typically people have not seen very open, friendly or smiley on first impressions. It's common not to be greeted automatically. People can also come across quite abrupt and stern in their manner. We have not heard one person apologise if they bump in to you or say excuse me. It is also not considered rude to stare which can be

a bit disconcerting! We have also had many people ask to have their pictures taken with us!

The PInk City

26.09.11

This morning we met our rickshaw driver Khan at 10am ready for our day tour of Jaipur. He drove us through the streets of the Pink City. Which interestingly enough, wasn't originally pink when it was first built (the colour of hospitality in Rajasthan)but only painted pink for the visit of Prince Albert in 1876. The streets of the Pink City were just as dirty as the rest

of the city, with rubbish strewn everywhere, and the buildings dirty. To be honest I was disappointed. The first place Kahn took us was the Isarlat, a tall tower on the edge of the Pink City, which gave great views of the city. We were then taken to the Jantar Mantar, which is a medieval astronomical observatory. It was a fascinating place, with

huge stone structures that looked like something out of Salivador Dali painting. We had a quick squint at the City Palace which is still home to the royal family. We then had a stop off at the Hawa Mahal, the Palace of the Winds. It is a beautiful building which is made up of many windows, arranged almost like a beehive, reminding you of insect eyes. We continued

on to Rama Niwas gardens and then it was lunch time.

After lunch we were taken to small printing workshop to see how fabrics were printed and woven traditionally in Rajasthan. The fabrics were stunning, intricately printed, and they were't too pushy about trying to sell us anything! Afterwards it was time to return to our hotel as we wanted to finalise our plans for the rest of the trip. The idea was that we would just make a few phone calls and confirm our tour by taxi of Rajhastan. we had been given costings

for 18 days and it was reasonable and we knew would be much more relaxed and we would see loads more. However when we called to confirm we were told that our driver had cancelled because he thought his English wouldn't be good enough. Anch got in touch with another driver, however he was charging more a km and we had to pay him for a minimum of 250km

a day, which would rocket the price up - so our plans were scuppered. Our hotel thought they could arrange something for us but we had to wait until the next day.

Our day with Anch

25.09.11

We slept until 11am, waking up in time to have breakfast and meet our rickshaw driver who was coming to pick us up at 1pm, however after calling a friend of a friend we had be very kindly hooked up with through a friend of Martin, to help us sort out a taxi tour of rhajistan, we had to cancel our rickshaw trip, as he was free to come meet us at 2pm. So 'Anch' (this is his nickname and we have no idea how to spell it) turned up and took us off in his car. We weren't expecting him to go so far out of his way, but were pleasantly surprised when he drove us around to see some sights, including the Amber Fort, nahargarh 'Tiger' Fort. Both forts were up in the mountains and had amazing views of the city, however were also both run down and 'tatty'. Its a shame they havent been looked after, but the views from them, the ridiculous amount of monkeys 'pottering' around them and the picturesque surroundings made them well worth the visit. We also stopped and Martin had an ice cream and I had a coconut with a straw, by a beautiful fort in the middle of a lake. Anch told us it had been bought by a local Millionaire who was turning it into a resort to woo prospective clients!

We had a turn around back at the Guest House while Anch went to handle something at his work, he then picked us back up and took us for dinner at one of his friend's restaurant where we had our first meat in India! We took the risk as we were assured it was good meat and it was delicious! We had Chicken tikka and chicken Mallai Tikka as well as some Dahl dish and

a garlic naan. We insisted on paying as Anch had driven us all day and bought us a beer earlier, but he assured us not to worry about it, he then went and shook his friends hand, said goodbye and we realised none of us were paying. We then went to see if there were any 'partys' going on but had no joy as it was a Sunday so we bought one more beer from a guy who stands on a corner like and sells beers after the allowed time of 8pm like a dodgy drug dealer, had that and

called it a night.

Amritsar to Jaipur

24.09.11

On Saturday we had the long journey from Amritsar to Jaipur. We left the hotel and 4am to get the train at 5am. We found the train and our seats easy enough. We were sat in an ac carriage that was pretty similar to what you would have at home.Except included in your ticket price is tea when you get on and then breakfast. This is served to you on little trains

like on a plane and you each get a little hot water jug. The food was not quite as good as on a plane. The journey was not as comfortable as on the bus, because we were sat at a table and there was not as much leg room, but it was okay. We got chatting to the guy sat next to us, who worked for a top university in India, in the Media department. It turns out he had previously

been a sports reporter. He spoke great English and we spoke for quite a while. We discussed how different India is to most of the world and he had an interesting point to make about the Indian people. He spoke of how flexible the people are, how they live to their means and will adjust to do so without a seconds thought or complaint. It got us thinking about how different this is to our nature in England, where people spend money they don't have, and find it very hard to adjust

there standard of living to what they can actually afford. It took us 6 hours to get to Delhi.

When we got to Delhi we had wait until 5pm for the second half of our journey to Jaipur. So we headed to cafe, had a long lunch and then hung around at an internet cafe, because we had our packs to lug around so didn't want to go too far. We then got a rickshaw across town to the smaller Rohilla Railway Station, where we were departing from.

On this train we had a sleeper carriage AC3. So we were sharing a carriage with 6 other people.

When we got on the bed had not been made up so we were sat on a bed either side with the top bunk down and the middle bunk folded up. A family of 4 got on our carriage, a husband and wife, their toddler and a grandmother. For the first 2 hours the child did not speak a word, but engaged us in peak-a-boo and mimicing games. The rest of the family were all very

smiley and spoke to us in Hindi.

As we left Delhi, we passed mile after mile of 'Slums'. The homes made by the side of the railway were mainly made from breeze blocks and some makshift corregated iron, there were not always fronts to the buildings, so it was all very open. There was garbage everywhere which was being sifted through, mainly by women and children. The conditions were quite

comparable to those dipicted in films such as 'Slum Dog Millionaire'. However as we pass these places and find it hard to come to terms with how some people are forced to live, we noticed something. The people living here were talking to each other, working together, preparing food, playing with there children. There were groups of children playing 'jump rope'

couples sat together listening to each other. All these things that one would hope would be everyday occurences in all our lives, but which when I think about, happen all to rarely back home. Here in what must be some of the poorest, toughest conditions to live in, there was undoubtedly lots of things to learn from the people calling this home.

Another thing which was very noticable was that despite the area being basically a massively dirty dump site where people are forced to try to make home, the community there were, in particularly the women and children,very well presented, with beautiful Saris, so colourful and bright, and some men in bright, smart shirts and trousers.

This time there was no food served on our train, but people were continuosly moving along the

carriage selling chai and other drinks. About 8 o'clock there was some discussion between the family, guards and the other two people in the carriage and we gathered they wanted to put the beds down to sleep. It would have been quite comfortable if we had somewhere to store our bags but we had to keep them at the heads of our bed. So as you can imagine for Martin this was not the most comfortable situation.

At 10pm we arrived in Jaipur where it was absolutely packed, it was difficult to move through the hoards of people sat picknicking or sleeping on the platform. We were guided through the crowds of people by an eager, very young looking rickshaw driver. He took us past the bridge over the tracks, which was jammed full of people trying to get out of the

station and was all but static, to the next bridge which thankfully was alot quieter! He informed us he would take us to whatever guest house we wanted for 20Rs (just over 25p) we had planned on trying to find the guest house we had already

booked online by foot but gave in as we were shattered and had all our bags etc! The nipper (we later found out he was 23,but didn't look a day over 19) then sold us his services for the next day, offering to take us around the city for 300Rs.

When we arrived at 'Vinayak Guest House' we were happy to find our room was colourful, comfortable and clean! We hit the hay as soon as possible after one of many long days of travelling to be expected on our trip!

The Golden Temple

23/09/11

We had a late start this morning, beginning our day with a wander around the well kept gardens that surround the Golden Temple. Untill we had walked around 3 sides of the temple complex and found the busy main entrance and a bazaar. We found a place to eat that was recommended in our

guide book. The lunch was good but the highlight was meeting an English/Punjabi couple who introduced themselves and then came to eat with us. Balbir and Gurdial were both born in Punjab but grew up from quite a young age and now lived in Bristol. They are baptised Sikhs and invited us to join them around the Golden Temple.

It was such a brilliant afternoon, not only is the Golden Temple breathtaking to look at and the atmosphere around the temple incredible but we had our own guides. They guided us through the basic premises of Sikhism and as we went round explained the significance of each part of the temple complex. The couple also acted as translators for all the temple goers that wanted to engage us in conversation, which were quite a few. After walking around the sacred lake that the Golden temple is sat within we queued up to actually go into the temple. There was quite a lot of amiable pushing and shoving to get in! The temple itself is made of gold and Gurdial told us that every 250 years the gold is completely replaced, through donations. Within the whole complex you can hear hymms being chanted throughout the day without break until the holy book is put to bed at night. Another spiritual experience.

We can not thank Balbir and Gurdial enough for such a lovely and insightful day.

On our way to Amritsar

22.09.11

Today has been an interesting day. We left Mcleod Ganj, the lovely TIbetran oasis of calm. in a shared tax with Julia, a primary school teacher from London. We had been told the journey would take anything from 5 hours to 9 hours so we weren't really sure what to expect. It took us about 2 and a half hours to get to Pathenkot and out of the mountains. The scenary

was beautiful as we wound down through the hills and over large shallow river beds through Himachal Pradesh. AS we left the hills aand entered the province of Punjab the scenary changed. The land was extremely flat with green, lush fields as far as you could see. The people also looked different. We began to see more Sikh men with orange, white or purple turbans on

and long beards. A majority of the woman were wearing baggy trousers and long tunic tops. The auto rickshaws also looked different -they were larger than the autorickshaws we had seen before, a cross between a tractor/rickshaw/classic car! All the villages we have been through the house/shops have looked like rows of garages, just one room with a shutter.As we came closer to Amritsar the towns and villages we passed seemed more industrial with small foundries, brick works or mechanical workshops.

In total it took us about 6 hours to reach Amritsar. When we arrived we made our way to near the train station, we thought we'd find a hotel room near the station and then buy a ticket for tomorrow or the next day. however after trying 3 different hotels we couldn't find a clean room or a cheap enough room so we decided to go to the station and then find a hotel near the

Golden Temple. Buying a ticket was much more complicated than we antipated! We found the ticket office and waited in line. When we explained to them what we wanted they ushered us around to the side door and asked to go inside the ticket booth. Inside they sat us down and tried to decipher exactly what we wanted and then gave us directions to a reservation office.

So we hauled up our packs and walked to where we thought the reservation office was. Only to find this was the 'wrong' office, they then directed us to another office on the other side of the tracks. When we got there we had to fill in a form that could only be found, it seemed, in piles on the floor and had large blobs of ink on so you couldn't read what we had to fill in. However we did our best and joined the queue. Which for the first 20 minutes didn't seem to move anywhere and various people kept going up and contribute to whatever the person at the counter was asking for.

After much patience we eventually reached the counter and they were very helpful and managed to book us a ticket-Amritsar to Delhi, 5 hours in Delhi then on to Jaipur.

After that we were exhausted and couldn't wait to get to a hotel room, so we hopped in an auto rickshaw and got to a hotel near the Golden temple. We dropped off our bags and went for a wander. It was very busy, evening prayers were obviously going on in the temple. As we walked around the outside of the temple, through the Gurdwaras where people could stay, they

were handing out daal and rice in small dishes to whoever wanted it. There were shiny streamers hanging over us, the buildings of the temple were all lit up with coloured lights and we could hear singing and chanting over the speakers. We came out the other side of the complex to find a blively market that we're going to explore tomorrow along with the streets

of the industrial quarter near us. For dinner, we went to a little local's Dhaba. There was no menu, but they invited us in and did there best to explain what was on the menu. We had a green pea, daal in gravy and then cauliflower, along with roti all washed down with chai. It was

delicious and very cheap. We were some what the celebrities though and got lots of stares!

Visiting Dal Lake and national service!

20.09.09

This morning we decided to walk to Dal Lake. A very helpful lady had drawn us a map of all the places of interest we could walk to. So we headed out of town and began walking up a very steep path past the Mountaineering Institute of Mcleod. All the way up we were entertained by scores of monkeys chasing each other up and down trees, rooting through large open collection

bins, which seem to provide food to most of the animals we have seen wandering wild, including the sacred cow and wild dogs. It's a little disconcerting to see a monkey munching on a condom or a goat chewing on tin foil plates. They are not fussy! There were lots tiny young monkeys clinging to their mother or being preened. They were not concerned at all by our presence. Anyway so after about 45 minutes walking we got to a private residence and had to turn back!

So we returned to the main square and decided to follow another road that went in roughly the same direction through the taxi rank. As we walked 300m or so up the road there must of been about 100+ taxis, just sat waiting. More taxis than I've ever seen, for such a small community! This time we had chosen the correct path. The lady who drew us a map said that the lake was about 2km away. The signs said it was 4 km, but I would say it was nearer 6! It was an interesting walk through army land up in to the mountains. I can imagine it's quite a busy route in peak season as there were small shops in little communities along the way. I have to say I was a little underwhelmed when we got there! But it was quite pleasant, not as large as I expected or as yellow in colour, but it was surrouded by Himachal cedar trees and the mountains.

We had planned to be back in town to volunteer in the English language course that LIT were running, but we were late so we had tea at a small cafe and waited to the end of the session because we had agreed to meet an Israeli girl, Diddi who thought that she may want to travel with us to Amritsar in a shared taxi, along with her friends. It turned out she didn't

but we had an interesting talk walking in to town. She told me about the system of national service in Israel. Every young person must go in to the army after high school, women for 2 years and men 3 years. She told me that she thought national service was a good idea and she had really enjoyed her time in the army. She explained that there was a large range of

jobs available in the army and that after basic training she worked for the Education section, as a counsellor for troubled youths and loved it. She thought National Service taught young people a lot of skills that you otherwise wouldn't learn, some discipline. It sounds like the Israeli army looks after it's recruits, paying recruits from poorer families more money to help their families. It also takes the emphasis away from leaving school and trying to decide on your profession and

future so young. People can perhaps make more educated choices and have a chance to learn more about themselves before they decide.

My male second cousins who are Cypriot have all had to so national service, I think for a year and at least one of them had a terrible experience and hated every minute of it. But I think the emphasis is very much on being able to protect the country and fight, so there may be a different ethos. I don't think national service would be such a bad idea in the UK, although very unpopular, or maybe you should have to do some kind of community service, on behalf of the army, in return for benefits. It may be a way of teaching people more respect for others, create more of a community spirit and pride for our countries future. Just a thought.........obviously it doesn't have all the answers but it may be a way of changing peoples attitudes and allowing people to meet others from different communities and establish more cohesion, bridge some gaps between classes?

I would like to have the opportunity to talk to more people from Israel!