Running wild in Agra

Asia ~ India ~ Agra & Varanasi

Hey guys, how is everyone? We’re starting to get ready for Beijing (gunna be cold there, brrr). But before we go, wanted to do a quick update… In the last couple of days we have been to some of the most well known spots in India… First stop was Fatepur Sikri, which is a castle built in the middle of nowhere. The maharaja of the area built it for his 3 wives. It was pretty awesome looking around, we were shown his bedroom, which was all made from stone. In the middle of the room was a very tall (about 3 metres off the ground) very big (he did have 3 wives!) bed. Apparently, it was so far off the ground because in the summer they would flood the castle, and so the water would come up to just below his bed, thus making it cool enough to sleep. The bedroom was next to the kitchen, so that in the winter he was set as well. Other interesting things abot the castle included the games room (which was set up play hide and seek) and the wives’ quarters. Each had their own areas, the biggest one was allocated to the wife that gave him a son…

On the 26th we visited the Taj Mahal in Agra. Truly impressive. The Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It is basically a tomb. When she died giving birth to their fourteenth child, he was so distraught that he ordered it to be built (with the tax-payers money!). It took 20,000 workers 22 years to finish. The main building was built by digging huge wells and putting wooden supports into them. The building then sits on all these supports, not on the ground. This way, in case of an earthquake, the building wont fall. The whole area is perfectly symetrical, one the left side there is a mosque – on the right side there is an identicle one that cant be used as it is facing the wrong direction, it was built purely to keep everything else in line. All the decorations on the buildings aren’t painted on, they are semi precious and precious stones that have been carved into the marble.

Taj Mahal

While we were taking photos we were approached time and time again by people who wanted to take my photo, its beginning to become a standard thing because of my hair. Finally we had to leave because people were starting to form queues to take photos of my hair. Oops!

The day we visited the Taj Mahal was Holi, the festival that I talked about earlier (where everyone celebrates ‘colour’). Everywhere we looked there were people running about in shirts stained with pink, blue and green! Krish kept us under careful guard so that we didnt get caught up in the festivities! For days afterwards we kept seeing straight faced guys going to work in their business suits, with pink and blue ears and necks!

Saying bye to Krish

After Agra we caught a 12 hour train to Varansi. Train wasnt too bad, we had our packs on our beds with us though, so there was absolutley no room. Even still, we managed a bit of sleep. In Varansi we saw all of the usual sights, all of the temples and forts. We also went on a river boat, on the river Ganges, totally amazing. We passed all the famous ghats (stairs next to the river). One of the more interesting ones was the cremation ghat, where we saw a couple of cremations taking place. Right in front of everyone they had the fires going, you could see everything. Its just a way of life over here I guess. Anyway, we’re back in Delhi now, roughed the train again, this time we went without air conditioning, we decided we could handle it. Got on the train to find out that our entire area berth was full of foreigners, we had a European couple with us and a couple from New Zealand. Very interesting… That was yesterday, got into our hotel and crashed, didnt wake up tilll 2pm this afternoon, very exhausted!!!

Train to Varanasi

Signing off for now… xo

Touring Rajasthan

Asia ~ India ~ Rajasthan

Well well well, it’s been a hectic couple of weeks. Have been to a million and one temples, forts, castles and mosques. We’ve been touring around the Indian state of Rajasthan, one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. We’ve seen many many beautiful Jain temples, made from marble, very cool on a hot summers day. Of course all the temples have there share of monkeys hanging around. We visited the Amber fort in Jaipur, which was quite impressive. To get to the entrance many people ride elephants (we opted not to, as we had already done the elephant thing in Thailand). Anyway, just getting to the entrance was a feat in itself, walking in between the massive elephants wandering along.

Whilst we were in Udaipur we didnt just go to the standard temples and forts, we also went to Shilpgram, a small crafts village. While there the local girls taught us to dance in traditional Indian style, and we taught them a few western moves!!! They were most impressed with my hair, just as we were impressed with their outfits!

Learning to dance

We’ve still got Krish driving us around everywhere, thank god we didnt attempt to drive ourselves!!! In a standard day we do about 250 kilometres, which takes about 5 hours, if we’re lucky. Some of the things Krish has to deal with include camels loaded with huge amounts of hay, tractors plugging along with mountains of people in the back, children running across the roads without looking twice, goats, busses with people hanging off the sides, motorbikes with entire families (we’re talking 5 or 6 people) and of course the cows. The other day we were stopped by a herd of sheep, the women (all dressed in their sarees) were pushing them along. At the back of the pack was a small group of donkeys, perhaps 10 or 12 of them. The donkeys all had saddle bags on, with 3 or 4 lambs poking their heads out of the top of each one!

Sharing the road

Prices would be really inexpensive here, if we weren’t eating at resturants every night. Krish is convinced that we’ll die or be harrassed if we step out with the general public, so its strictly hotel resturants for us. He said the other day that we might be able to go to McDonalds later. Hmmm. But to give you an idea, a bottle of pepsi costs 7 rupees, thats under 30 cents. Water is our biggest expense, we go through about 6 or 7 bottles a day (even more if the days temples involve climbing millions of steps!) Food is fantastic though, we have discovered a dish called paneer butter masala, its basically vegetarian butter chicken, with cottage cheese instead of chicken. Visiting the food markets is really interesting, so many different colours and smells, fruit and monkeys everywhere!

Something that has really surprised me is all the women wearing traditional dress. It is very uncommon to see a woman wearing western clothing, the saree has to be one of the most beautiful costumes. The women wear many many colours, often depending on what region you’re in. Bright oranges, pinks, yellows, greens, nothing is too strong! Tash and I had punjabi suits made, so we can *attempt* to fit in, they’re great, really comfy.

Well, better run, about to go sneak out of the hotel to find some real food. Hopefully our driver hasn’t got someone watching the door (he’s done it before!)

xo Bobs

Dilly Dallying in Delhi (and Rajasthan)

Asia ~ India ~ Delhi & Rajasthan

We’ve now been in India for four days, however it seems like so much longer! Everything is very fast and full on over here. Soon after arriving at our hotel, the manager talked us into going on a tour around India, wich turned out to be a great idea. More about that later though. As part of the tour, we were given a driver and a car for a day around Delhi, so we spent our first day in the hectic capital city. First stop was the Red fort, very big, with very interesting temples and arcitecture. But the squirrels – Nobody told me that there were squirrels in India! Then we wandered through the Theives Market to the magnificant Mosque in the middle of the city. After removing our shoes (we have quickly learnt not to wear lace up boots when visiting temples or mosques) we climbed up the tallest tower to the tallest room where we found … the princess. No, not really, but it was a great view of the whole city. Not that we were all that impressed, after stumbling (clawing?) our way up umpteen flights of narrow narrow steps. Maybe the photos will turn out well… We spent the rest of the day looking at all the tourist spots, including the temple that is shaped as a lotus flower (looks remarkably similar to the Sydney Opera House) and parliament house. Last stop was a textiles shop, where Tash and I tried on sari’s. I’m still trying to decide if I should get one…

The next day we started our trip around Rajasthan, ending at Agra (Taj Mahal). We have a car and driver (Krish, very funny guy) for 13 days. On our first day we covered 280 km, which took a bit over 6 hours. The roads are full on. As Krish affectionally puts it (he’s from Delhi), “Delhi drivers are very crazy”. Of course, everyone is crazy to Krish. Cows walking down the middle of the highway (we saw our first cow wandering through the international airport carpark) are skillfully dodged, not only because they are considered a sacred animal, but also because they would make a bloody big dent in the car! Likewise, goats, chickens, sheep, dogs and children are scooted around, with a loud beeping of the horn to remind them that they probably shouldn’t be in the middle of the road. Camel drivers, buses overloaded with locals, trucks even more overloaded, motorbikes, bicycles and auto rikshaws (like tuk-tuks) also have to be negotiated. On seeing our first camel, loaded up with bags and bags of produce, I scrambled for my camera, but since seeing so many of them, I just smile…

Elephants in India

Anyway, first stop was Mandawa, which was really just a chance for us to rest. The next day we stopped at Bikaner, where we saw all the compulsary temples, mosques, castles and forts. We also wandered around the markets, which were full of colours, smells and things to see. The stalls with bags and bags of chilli’s, spices and currys was amazing, you could taste the chilli’s, just from the smell. My eyes are still watering. Other stands had bags and bags of coloured powder, used in the ‘holi festival’, a festival where colour is celebrated. Even the sacred cows get smothered in colour… On our way to Jodpu, we stoped at Deshnok, to look at the ‘Karni Mata’ Temple – also known as the rat temple. Rats crawling all over our feet is an experience I’m unlikely to forget. We even saw a white rat, supposed to bring good luck. Yesterday we arrived in Jodhpur (the blue city). It is known as the blue city as, in the olden times, people painted their houses blue to signify what caste they belonged to. Nowadays everyone paints their house blue, in keeping with the old times.

Karni Mata Temple

Today we visited the Mehrangarh Fort, set on the hill, overlooking the city. It was amazing. We were given little walkmans which gave us an audio tour of the fort, wic was founded in the 15th century. Apparently, when the fort was taken over from the original people, a curse was put on the place. They were threated with a lack of water, which is a big deal in this area (we’re surrounded by desert). The king asked his advisors what to do, and they told him that the only way to lift the curse was to give a human sacrifice. A brave man came forward (?? was pushed) and offered himself. There is a plaque where the man was buried alive in the walls of the fort. After the fort we looked around at some of the other sights of the city, including the city gardens, where monkeys roam around (really big, scary looking monkeys….) We also visited the local markets, which was fun, being the pedestrian trying to dodge all the ‘crazy’ drivers, cows and children!

Audio Guide at the Mehrangarh Fort

Right now I’m contemplating dinner – the Indian food is great. Butter chicken or palak paneer – whatever we have theres sure to be heaps. They dont seem to believe in small portions here, we havent been able to finish a meal! Hope everyone is having a great time as we try and survive on the crazy Indian roads!!!

xo Bobs