Jaipur to Shimla

Thursday  April  11


Jaipur is known as the pink city. All the buildings in the original city were painted pink because this was the favourite colour of the Hindu God Shiva. These days the colour is more like terra cotta and, unfortunately for me, nearly all of the important buildings were hidden behind scaffolding for renovation work.

It is quite attractive in appearance and certainly better than Delhi (anywhere is better than Delhi !) but still the same litter problem. Everywhere there are piles of  rubbish that builds up and  is never collected or removed. It doesn't  inspire much enthusiasm for walking around and I'm quite surprised that a city which  is a magnet for tourism does nothing about it.

In translation,  pur=city.  The ruler at the time was a chap called Jai,  hence Jaipur or city of Jai. Now Jai had a "special" number which was 9. So the original "pink" city was built on a grid system (like America) with 9 blocks, The entire area within the city walls is exactly  9kms2  (I didn't check this out personally !), Every road is 108m wide ( 1 + 8 = 9 )  and all of the buildings that front onto the roads are exactly 3m wide.

   

Then we drove to the Amber Palace which is behind me on the other side of the lake.  Amber was the original city built by the Mughals long before Jaipur and the palace was the home of the Rajasthan Maharajahs.  Above the palace is the fort which housed the Maharajahs' army and for added protection, the lake in front of the palace used to be full of crocodiles !!

Entrance to the Maharanis palace

The Palace is fabulous and I had a really good guide (Rajeeth) to tell me the history.  When you're inside it's very easy to imagine life with the maharajah, his wives and his entourage.

Maharajahs bedroom

Vertical carpets and drapes were suspended from the ceilings and, using ropes pulled by punkawallahs,  these carpets and drapes would be swung back and forth to create a draught and cool the air.

The brass and steel rings that held these carpets in place can still be seen in the ceilings.

The gl;ass and mirrors inlaid to the marble would have provided stunning lighting effects with oil lamps and candles.

Located high on the hill with the fort next door and the "crocodile" lake

below,  this place would be pretty difficult to attack !

 

Traders outside the palace walls.  Apart from the western tourists,  I don't suppose this scene will have changed much over the past 200 years.

Look at the size of those wooden gates  !!

Time to move on because we need to get back to Delhi tonight so that I can catch my overnight trains to Kalka and Shimla.

Just outside of Jaipur is yet another palace !

This one is known as the floating palace for fairly obvious reasons.

Two years ago the monsoons failed and the lake dried up revealing the foundations of the palace for the first time in over 100 years.

It was built by that chap Jai again and used as his home whilst Jaipur was being constructed.

Now we are on our way back up towards Delhi (can't wait !!!).

I just thought I'd show an image of the "rubbish" situation that I keep banging on about.  In every Town or City you will see a pile like this every 10 metres or so.  And in between,  it's just strewn all over the place. 

 It looks even worse in the country, all along

 the roadsides.     Most of it is plastic.

It's an ecological nightmare.

Elephants and Camels are quite prolific in this area and it's good to see them at work rather than always / only being used for tourism.   The elephants head, ears and (sometimes ) tails are often beautifully decorated.

Away from Jaipur is an elephant farm. The farm has it's own elephants which are used for tourism at the Amber Palace but, more importantly, it is a place where local elephant owners can take their animals for watering and bathing - there is a large man made lake here specifically for that purpose.

Now we have the 250kms drive up to Delhi.   Sanjay has been very protective towards me so far, he only ever stops at what he calls  "very first class establishments" so that food and toilet facilities don't have an adverse effect on my sensitive western stomach !    Today he was quite shocked and a little bit distressed when I asked him to stop at a regular transport cafe !!  He feels responsible for me and I'm very grateful to him but .... I want to see the real India

 

He agreed, but only if I promised not to eat !  You can see that the drivers don't use "western" style chairs but the traditional

Indian cot where they prefer to sit cross legged. The tables and chairs in the background are for westies like me !!

How about the on-site hairdresser on the right !!  They were a bit surprised to see me but very friendly and good humoured.

And I only drank bottled water !!!!

So finally, and very sadly,  I must say goodbye to Sanjay.

He has been brilliant, a great guide and a good friend.

I shall miss having him around.

I'm off to get my train to Kalka and then up the mountain to Shimla.

See you there I hope.

Agra to Jaipur

Wednesday April 10.  We've left Agra and the Taj Mahal heading into Rajasthan towards Jaipur.  Sanjay has made a detour to Galta and an old 18th century Temple set back in the hills outside of Jaipur. The country and landscapes here are breathtaking.

This trip just keeps getting better and better !

The Temple has been disused for some time now but it is still used by pilgrims who bathe in the sacred water tanks known as kunds.

King of the Temple !

Mum with baby

Since falling into disuse the old Temple has become populated by a number of families of Macaque monkeys and they have made their home here.

Kanhaiya  "monkey man"

Kanhaiya is a local man who lives in Jaipur and  who has "adopted" the monkeys.  He comes to the Temple every day and voluntarily looks after them by making sure they have enough food and are not harmed. Kanhaiya (Kani for short) is also known as the "monkey man" and was featured in a National Geographic documentary some years ago.  He is a good guy, very interesting and devotes his life to looking after the monkeys.

Old Geezer apprentice "monkey man"

They can be vicious but generally they seem to know 

what kind of person you are 

and whether you can be trusted or not.  

A hand full of peanuts generally helps !!

To talk to them I had to give them names so .....

....  standing up on the left is Georgia,  sitting on the step is Joshua,  and Harry is on my knee !!

I'm getting a bit carried away here, these little monkeys are adorable but I mustn't forget my surroundings.  This Temple is stunningly beautiful and although it has been disused for a long time now,  some of the original decorations are still intact and

undamaged. The artwork is fantastic.  If ever there was a place for quiet contemplation then this would be it.

The design and layout means that everywhere you turn there is always a stunning view.

And of course,  for every sacred Temple  there is always a sacred Bramah bull !

             

And just in case she thought I'd forgotten her,  here is Emily.

Beautiful and cuddly

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Next stop is Jaipur ....   see you then

April 8 2013, Day 1

Over the past few days everyone I have spoken to has asked the same question ...  "are you excited ?".
The truth is I haven't really felt excited,  more ... bewildered,  because planning and dreaming have become the norm just lately and I haven't really thought too much about actually  "doing" it  !!!

Now at last I think I'm excited.  I'm at Heathrow T5 boarding the 10:20am flight BA137 to Delhi and 1st class, courtesy of Avios to whom I should say a big thank you. Needless to say the flight was fantastic, great food and wine, really comfortable bed seat and constant service.  As a bonus and having read the book last year,  I finally got to see the film of David Mitchell's "Cloud Atlas", totally brilliant.  (But you must read the book first ).

I arrived at Indira Ghandi airport around about 11pm and it was 30deg.C.  My taxi driver promptly introduced me to the pleasures of driving in Delhi and he seemed very interested in me because he didn't take his eyes off me all the way to the hotel !. He appeared to have some weird navigational powers which enabled him to weave in and out of traffic at 60kph without ever actually looking through the windscreen.  White lines, lane markings, pedestrian crossings and traffic lights were completely ignored and, along with every other driver, the horn was being sounded constantly.  The drive along the freeway reminded me of Josh or Harry playing one of their X-Box car driving games !  It remains a mystery to me how we arrived at my hotel without even a scratch on the vehicle and with no fatalities !

                       Q)   First rule for driving in India ?      A)   There are no rules !!

The hotel was ok and I got a good nights sleep.  On Tuesday I thought I'd have a wander round the City !!!!   I couldn't even cross the road outside the hotel.  The traffic stops for no one. So I gave up and decided just to walk around the block !   Everywhere  is ankle deep in rubbish. Kim and Mike will remember Mombasa and some of the places we visited in Africa, well this was twice as bad. The traffic, the rubbish and the chaos was so bad I actually found myself laughing at it all.   I remember when I was planning the trip that I never really fancied Delhi, it was just a stop off on the way to other places.  It was a great experience and I'm very glad to have seen it with my own eyes but,  in future,  I will stop off somewhere else !!

I decided to change plans, move out of Delhi and travel to Agra, Rajasthan and Jaipur. I went to the Indian tourist office in Delhi and hired a car and driver (Sanjay, good English and great humour)  for 3 days. What a good idea, the whole trip was fantastic.  Still piles of rubbish everywhere and still the same chaotic traffic but the countryside was beautiful and through Sanjay, I learnt loads about Indian culture, history and Hinduism.

Statue of Indian Goddess Durga Mata

By the side of the old road from Delhi to Agra at a place called Vrindavan is this statue of the Durga.

The entire statue is 140ft tall and can be seen for miles around. The lion itself is 50ft. tall.

Guide Sanjay explained about the thousands of Gods in Hinduism, I'll leave it to you to research this one if you want.

I would  imagine that every tourist who has visited the Taj Mahal with a guide will have had a photo taken just like this one !!

One of the "seven wonders of the world" and I can see why.  Books and pictures are ok but you really have to come here in person to appreciate it.

By the way,  I have much better pictures but I find this one quite amusing !!

Shah Jahan built the palace in memory of his 3rd wife who died after giving birth to 14 children in 15 years !

If they had death certificates in those days I would love to have seen the  "cause of death" description !!

He was so upset, he built the Palace as a monument.  Well, I suppose he had a lot more time on his hands  !!!

On a more serious note, the design and construction is fantastic. The four outer towers were built to lean outwards away from the main building so that in case of an earthquake, they would not fall onto the Palace.   Although the building looks as though it's built in marble it's actually sandstone with marble cladding to reduce the weight of the structure.  The intricate marble inlays are fantastic and considering it's nearly 400 years old it's in very good nick,  speaking of which .......

  

Marble inlay and relief work

Hand grinding the inlays

.

......I Hope you're looking in Nick, I was thinking of you when I went to the restoration workshops to see how the inlay work was being done by the original methods.

Taj Mahal is a UNESCO world heritage site. It's good to know there is funding for restoration work.

So now it's back through Agra and on towards Rajasthan and Jaipur,  250 kms,. away.

Off to school with Dad

The most people I've seen on a scooter (so far!) is six. It looks like a circus act but everybody does it. It's law in India to use crash hats but surprise, surprise,  nobody takes any notice.

       

The "Tuk Tuk"on the right is another "safe" form of transport !     NOT !!

I's about 200 kms from Delhi to Agra and now another 250 kms from Agra to Jaipur.  Farmland is mainly smallholdings growing wheat which is harvested by hand. After harvesting and the monsoons a lot of  land is turned to rice growing. Everywhere you go the sacred bulls and cows roam freely, in the cities, towns and in the country.

All of this and the great news that the Seagulls won away to Middlesborough and look like appearing at Wembley.

Maybe I'll fly back to see them !!  ( only joking ).

Next is Jaipur and then Shimla in the western Himalayas.  See you in a couple of days time.

Intro.

After many years of dreaming,  4 months of planning,  booking flights,  booking trains and accommodation, applying for visas,  getting vaccinations and now ....  it's just a few days before I finally get away on my travels.    Monday April 8th.

I've been told that setting up a Blog is a great way to keep a diary or record of events.  Also, friends, family (and anyone else for that matter !) can go on-line any time to check on my progress  (just like you're doing now !).   

I'll try to keep it interesting and throw in a   few photo's along the way but .....

    ...  Georgia, Joshua, Harry and Emily  !!!

       you need look at your atlases.

  

I'll be asking questions when I get back !

(Well, maybe Harry and Emily will be excused)  

I start by flying to Delhi and then moving up to Shimla in the Punjab and close to the foothills of the Himalayas.   Like all the places I'm visiting, I would love to spend more time here but at least I'll get a flavour of the region, people and culture.  Then it's on to Northern Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

After this I will travel down to Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur and then on by rail to Singapore.

Carole & Paul

From Singapore I fly down to Adelaide to spend 12 days with my long lost big sister Carole, brother-in-law Paul and nephew Richard. 

Dean & Carys

I'm really looking forward to catching up with the cool dudes on the right !   It's a long way to travel just to get an updated photo of them  !!  And I know of course, that it's only through photographs that they will be able to recognise Great Uncle John from England  !!!

From  Adelaide it's on up to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef, then by rail down to Brisbane and on to Sydney before flying to Jakarta and Pangkalanbun where I have organised a 6 day "one to one" canoe (Klotok) trek in the rain forests of Southern Borneo (Kalamantan).

   
I've been fascinated with Orangutans since I was very young (a long time ago !!)  
Now, I'm actually going to see them in their natural habitat.
This of course all ties in with my interest in genealogy and research into my family history !!! 

Finally, it's a  "chill out"  in Penang before flying back home on June 14th.

I will probably try to update the blog every 4 or 5 days whenever I'm in wi-fi range so I hope you'll follow me on-line and I'll always be pleased to get your comments  ( I think !!)

( Click on "comments"  or "no comments"  below. )

All being well I'll publish my next Blog from Shimla in Northern India in a couple of weeks time.