INDIA (20th October to 14th November)

Apologies for the delay in getting a post on the Blog. With our GAP Adventures tour in India we were constantly on the move and never found the time to make any blog entry (even if we could find a working internet). Highly recommend doing such a tour as you get to see so much in the time, without having to waste time organising accommodation & onward travel. No where disappointed.

We started our India journey in Delhi, arriving at the airport after a 15 hour journey through the night, with no sleep, and with no money (as the Rupee is a closed currency). We had to exit the airport to find an ATM & then couldn't re-enter to get back the the official taxi office which you are advised to use, so had to rely on an unofficial taxi office we found outside. Aware that every taxi driver operates a scam (from our Guide book) and takes you to the hotel of their choice, we were at the mercy of the taxi pack. Our driver hadn't got a clue where our hotel was, nor had anyone else! We hit the Delhi traffic (sheer madness is the only way to describe it - a shere melee of assorted vehicles, from bicycles, rickshaws, tuk-tuks, motor bikes, cars & lorries, & assorted animals such as cows, camels & monkeys competing for space in the road! All credit to our driver he found our hotel after repeatedly jumping out & disappearing for minutes on end. We were in the heart of the Karol Bagh market area with many tourist hotels & our the Pooja Palace was anything but a palace. Thought Gill would die when she saw the state of the bathroom, but with no sleep she really didn't care. We arrived just a the GAP meeting was starting so no time to stop & rest. Our tour was 15 people in total.

Day One Delhi in the morning only (you are supposed to have done Delhi before the tour starts!). Took the new metro & visited the Jama Masid Mosque (biggest Mosque in Delhi) & then a bicycle rickshaw back to the metro via the Red Fort for quick photo shoot only. Then off on a train to Agra. Gill buys up all the combination locks in Delhi after being told about the threat of picketpockets on the metro!

Day Two, Agra. Up at 5.30am (when do we get some sleep?) to hit the Taj Mahal at dawn for the light & to miss the large crowds of the day. Stopped going in by security as they didn't like the fact I had keys on me! Eventually got in a proceeded to take about 50 photos as it really is a spectacular buiding (there were plans to build a 2nd one across the river all in black, but it never happened). Gill did the 'Diana' pose on the 'Diana bench'. Then onward to Agra Palace/Fort - sometimes difficult to distinguish waht they are & after 3 weeks forts/palaces & 100s of temples began to blur into one. Then visit a Marble factory were we get seduced into spending our redundancies in buying a piece of marble, & get seriuosly ripped off with their dodgy exchange rate. Takes about 2 weeks to learn the art of trading with the locals as, as a tourist you are a walking £ or $ sign and there to be justifiably fleeced. By the end of our trip we were both ruthless negotiators. Late afternoon we both get mehndi tattoos in prepration for Diwali tomorrow. Complete the Taj Mahal photo shoot with sunset shots from across the river.

Day Three, Orchha. Off to Orchha with Diwali flower garlands. Long drive with numerous pee stops behind the 'big tree' (Gill will have lost any toilet inhibitions by the end of this holiday!) but stop halfway at Gwalior for the impressive & colourful fort there. Also see the many varied statues carved out off the rock on the way up to the fort (which is huge in circumference & just seems to go on for ever). Gill is charmed by a persistent little postcard sales boy (who clearly reminds her of Johnny Depp) & she buys his entire postcard stock much to his delight. Offers the cow in the picture as a reward bonus. Orchha is a great little town with loads of temples, tombs & palaces all around it. Locals far more friendly than those in Delhi. Diwali fireworks & dancing in the evening on the roof restaurant terrace.

Day Four, Orchha. Explore Orchha palaces (x2), many temples, tombs etc & ancient gateays into the walled town. Lunched in the main square and had a 'secret' beer served in a teapot to disquise it, as not allowed apparently. Attended a Hindi Diwali festival in the mosque (an old palace in the centre of town in the evening. Stay in great littel lodges in the grouns of the hotel.

Day Five, Orchha to Bhopal, & visit to Sanchi. Long drive through the day to get to Bhopal (the town made famous by the Union Carbide disaster some years ago). Advised to definetely not drink the local water as rumoured to still be poisoned. Evening ride out to Sanchi, a BC Buddist site with various temples & Stupas seen at sunset. Return Bhopal just for the hotel & try extra Strong Kingfisher and have the best nights sleep so far!

Day Six, Bhopal to Mandu. Another long bus ride during the day with various 'big tree' stops. There are still some on the bus who manage to hold out all day & keep their dignity. Locals love to stop in the cars & watch the show (should really start to charge & get our revenge for all the constant tipping the locals expect). Arrive Mandu just as it gets dark, & advised by our tour leader not go out after dark as locals get very drunk & can turn nasty. Robin disobeys & goes off with a local family for breakfast & diner. Concern amongst the party that he will suddenly find himself married in the morning to one of the daughters. Geoff & Russell also disobey and escape over the wire to go to his rescue!

Day Seven, Mandu. Mandu like Orchha is another small town awash with palaces, temples & various assorted ruins. Visit Hindola Mahal Gada Shah's Palace, then Hoshang Shah's tomb (designed just before the Taj Mahal so a pilot version), then Baz Bahadur Palce high up the hills with excellnt views over the whole valley. Hired bikes (one gear only) in the afternoon to cycle around the village & stopped to buy up the village chocolate supplies, surprisingly not for Gill but for all the little children who chased us around everywhere. Visit the English wine shop that has no wine - but OK as stocks the strong Kingfisher & Haywards beers.

Day Eight, start in Mandu & then overnight train from Indore to Katni. Further sweet runs in the morning for the village children when visit & have a look in a local's house. Male occupant very proud of his massive stereo system! Overnight train ride not a pleasant experience with constant interruptions at every station during the night with new arrivals waking you & claiming you had their bed. There semed to be various duplicated tickets for the same beds. After this expereince, 8 of decide to book flights for the long overnight from Varanasi back to Delhi on the last day!

Day Nine, arrive Katni around 9am for bus ride to the Bandhavgarh National Park, hoping to see Tigers. Arrive lunchtime & have 3 jeeps take up through the park in the afternoon. No sign of Tigers, just monkeys, deer & birds. Denise, one the American ladies decides to try the Kingfisher strong beer to see why some of us are having such a good time. Clearly effected her for some days as when interviewed by Indian TV in Varanasi for her thoughts on the outcome of the American election , she said it was good change for America having a Republican in the President's office at last!

Day Ten, travel to Khajuraho (Kama Sutra temples). Another long bus ride with frequent 'Big Tree' stops. Gill is now the first one of the coach so she will be the first to collect the rupee tips from the stopping passing motorists who enjoy the show. Passing through one village the coach almost brings down the electricity wires across the street. Arrive late afternoon & despite Brij's warning we all head off to town. Boy, do we have a lot of friends in this town - get swamped by hawkers who follow us everywhere & just won't leave us alone. Back at the hotel the bed mattress is like concrete, so no kama sutra activities tonight!

Day Eleven, Khajuraho & then on to Varanasi. Early start to visit the Wetern group of temples. There are 22 temples in Khajuraho, but the Western group are considered to be the best. They really are amazing and they are all just covered in the intricate & detailed famous kama sutra carvings. Particularly like the one of the legless man (not broken but deliberate to illustrate the dangers of excessive drinking - must have tried the Kingfisher extra strong!) Gill masters the negotiating skills & knocks a street sellar selling a kama sutra book down from 600 rupees to 100. She's now an expert on kama sutra positions!

Group mutiny about the proposed 12 hour bus ride & Brij as our tour leader agrees we can fly (suspect this was always the case & he was joking about the bus ride). Arrive Varanasi late afternoon. Varanasi is the equivalent of Mecca for the Hindi faith with the Ganges River being key in preparing for the after life. At sunset head for the Hindi religious ceremony on the Ganges, with all the boats oberving the ceremony from the river. We all light our floating candles & make a wish. See the ceremonial burial fires (guide advised us their are 500 funeral fires every day).

Day Twelve, Varanasi. Up 4.50am for sunrise boat ride on the Ganges to witness the spiritual washing ceremony. Witness the Ganges laundry service & Jennifer spots her underwear that went to the hotel laundty service drying on the steps! Have the rest of the day to ourselves & spend the day shopping buying shirts, t-shirts, bangles, scarves, bindi & cushion covers. Hard day bargaining.

Day Thirteen, Varanasi back to Delhi. Wake to bad news. Chelsea 1 - Roma 3 in the Champions League. What happened to my lucky candle in the Ganges. Set off to find the Golden Temple - get no where near as more gaurds on every entry point in the labyrinth of streets than Fort Knox. So go do more shopping instead. Leave our party midday as 8 of us set off to fly back to Delhi, whilst the rest will take a night train that night. On the flight see the Himalayas & may have even seen Everest as there was definetely one mountain higher than the others peaking above the clowds. Arrive Delhi & stay in an awful hotel. They attempt the scam to sell us tap water in mineral water bottles.

Day Fourteen, Delhi. On our own for the day, so plan our own thing. Visit Connaught Square, get harrased by touts, have an Indian McDonalds, walk to India Gate but can't get near it because of preprations for the Delhi half marathon. See it from a distance in the smog. Take a tuk tuk, or planned to, to the Indira Gandi memorial & museum but end up at the Mahatma Gandi memorial & museum instead. This was great but strangely no mention of this place in our guide book, & no listing on the tourist map we got from the Tourist Office. Shows were he was assinated and a great exhibition on the whole Indian rebellion from 1857 up to independence after the war. What terrible people those Brits were. Walk to Indira Gandi museum & get there just as it closes. In the evening meet up with the GAP tour group, both those who flew & those who trained it. Final diner together at the same restaurant where we all met 2 weeks before.

Day Fifteen, Jodpur. Now on our own & fly to Jodpur (the blue city). Have to get a tuk tuk from the airport as our guest house is tucked away in the tiny narrow streets in the old town. Get there and they have our booking for the wrong day, but get offered alternative rooms, and opt for the one on the roof as has great veiws of the fort above us. Unfortunately it was directly below the restaurant & next to the kicthen where the 4 Nepalese waiters lived, so noisy until quite late. Wander around town & visit the market / bazaar. Find an amazing 2nd hand book shop that has more books than Amazon.

Day Sixteen, Jodpur. Take a tuk tuk up to the fort, which is amazing & has fantastic views over the town with its blue houses. Excellent audio tour. Back down in the town we do some more market shopping & Gill buys up a load of saris, which delight the 2 girls selling them. I just buy beer!

Day Seventeen. Jaipur (the pink city). Up at 4.30am to catch the early morning train to Jaipur. The station is packed with fellow travellers & beggars! Rescued by friendly tuk tuk driver as we attempt to walk to hotel from the station when we arrive in Jaipur. Our bags are on their last legs and I can see them falling apart in the middle of a major road junction. Final hotel is probably the best (the Pearl Palace). Go up to the restaurant for lunch and the first person we meet is Robin from our Gap tour. He's off the next day with more women for the final day of the Pushka camel fair. Afternoon our tuk tuk man takes us to the Amber Fort (there are 2 other forts next to it but decide to just do the one, as getting forted out. Also takes us to other sights in town. See loads of elephants but miss the elephant ride up to the fort.

Day Eighteen, Jaipur. Decide to take it easy & conserve our last rupees, so just wander around the town. Visit the Jantar Mantar (Royal observatory) which has a fascinating collection of astrological structures. Hired a guide to explain them all but found it difficult to follow. Also visit the Hahal Mahal, a palace facade which has no building structure behind. Was used for the women to observe street cermonies hidden behind windows. In the evning go to the art decor Raj Mandir cinema to watch a Bollywood movie in Hindi. Fortunately have a really nice guy next to us who's come with his whole family who keeps us up to speed with the plot (boy meets girl, sings alot at her, she's not interested, they both sing at each other, after 2 hours they hold hands, audience goes wild with delight, but they can't marry because her father dies, he sings alot more, in the end they marry & sing & dance a bit more). Loved it.

Day Nineteen. Journey home. Set off for what turns out to be a 30 & 1/2 hour journey home. 6 hour bus ride from Jaipur to Delhi. In Delhi have a taxi ride in something that is definetely not a taxi but thankfully does take us to the airport for twice the price of a proper taxi. Fly on the comic Etihad Delhi to Abu Dhabi run (complete contrast of service on the next leg). Hang around in Abu Dhabi airport (boring place) for 3 & 1/2 hours before the next leg of 7 & 1/2 hours back to Heathrow. Final leg is the 2 & 1/2 hour bus ride back home.

Leave again for RTW on Wednesday for flight on the 20th to the US & onwards.....