the last entry

Notes: I am back in London and this is the last entry (as you can tell from the title). I am going to do a series of pictures so it is vital you click on them if you want to know the important information.

After Varanasi we went to a place called The Glenburn Tea Plantation, which is near Darjeeling, which is near the third highest mountain in the world -Kanchenjunga- which is in the Himalayas (and so was Glenburn, and Darjeeling).















Calcutta





Mysore



















Varkala


















the house boat (Kerala)


















coconut lagoon

















Fort Cochin







Goa (Agonda and Fort Terecol)



















Mumbai

It's been a pleasure writing for you and, untill my next around the world trip, goodbye

Samson

Varanasi - the city of light

We were on the way to Varanasi in our first Indian sleeper train. We were meant to arrive at nine-thirty am. We arrived at three in the afternoon. We got in the car to get to the hotel. On the way our guide, who came with the driver, told us how high the water of the Ganges (one of the most holy Hindu rivers in India, and Varanasi is the most holy Hindu city in India) had once come. At that time the water was tremendously high covering at least one floor on most houses near the river (and considering that there was an average of fifteen steps on the ghats at the time we were there, that is tremendously high). We got out of the car to walk to our hotel for the last little bit through little side alleys and we saw cows every where(I repeat, this is the most holy Hindu cities, so of course there are going to be cows, they’re the most holy Hindu animal). After we got out of the side streets, we saw the Ganges (or the Ganga as the Indians say) for the first time. It was very wide but we could still see a huge plain which I imagine is completely covered with water directly after the monsoon.
Our guide also told us that the first and the last name of the ghats (varna and assi)were joined together to make varanasi. We went to our hotel which overlooked the Ganges. At night we could see loads of candles floating down the river (they act as a blessing, or something) and we saw people bathing every where. The hotel had free internet access so Bruno spent half his time sitting in front of a computer watching Kids Next Door episodes. After settling in we went on a walk on the ghats (incidentally there are 365 ghats and some people bathe in one each day of the year). We went to a temple down the ghats where the guy said we couldn’t come in because it was “my god not yours”(and the temple policy). We were not unhappy (or at least I was not) because that meant he truly believed in his religion and that he wasn’t tempted by money. It was red and a bit like a Jain temple in its carving. (Later we discovered this temple was for people with smallpox – they think it’s a blessing to have smallpox, like a mark from God)
We went back to the hotel and mum and pup went upstairs to their suite while we were stuck in our average room (meanies). The next day (this is the halfway day) we got up and had a wander through the small side streets again. On the way we met a guy (who later was revealed to be called Beki) who took us along to the burning ghats. We let him because both him and the guide book said people would try to be our guide (without us asking) and then ask for some money, and Beki said that they didn’t bother you so much if you had a guide (because someone else is telling us the stuff so they can’t). And he insisted he would not ask for money. The burning ghats were great ,unfortunately we couldn’t take photos because it was sacrilegious, but I can describe what it looks like (I will describe the process leading up to the burning bodies). Firstly the bodies are wrapped in coloured cloth (there were different colours for male and female but we can’t remember them), then they are dipped in the Ganges. They are then put on their funeral pyre and walked around five times by five of their male relations (the women have to stay at home because they are weak and would cry) The pyre is set alight and the male relations stay until the fire has burnt out (this all happens within 24 hours of dying). We stood next to these very hot bars (from all the fire smoke) watching the dead people burning and the alive and healthy children playing just a ghat down. Other Indian people were bathing some twenty meters away, and on the other side –I told you there were many ghats—women were washing clothes (I hope they didn’t wash our clothes there). The people who are not burnt are a priest, a sadu (a holy man), people with smallpox (because they are already blessed) and pregnant women. They are boated to the middle of the river with a heavy stone tied to them and dumped in the river (where people swim, bath and wash clothes –remember- scary huh?). While we were watching some people came to us with a sad story of their mother or grandmother had died and they needed to buy wood for the funeral pyre. We knew these stories were fake. They warned us in the guide book for it. We saw that at the top of the ghat men were shaved bold because it is a tradition for men who mourn their lost and loved ones. When we were walking away we saw a young, bold, man crying, looking at one of the burning bodies. (even though only the women are meant to cry)
We went to another temple in one of the back allies. It is one of the last remaining Kama Sutra temples. It had lots of carvings of people having sex (and I won’t say anymore or I’ll get in trouble)
We had sent our guide away because we wanted to walk alone –and of course got lost- but after about an hour he ‘accidentally’ ran into in us again, even though we believe he had been shadowing us. He took us to the Golden Temple – which had lots of military guys with guns – because it was next to a mosque so they expected terrorist attacks any moment. And then our guide ultimately brought us to the shop of his father –who had very bad quality fabrics—We got out quickly because we didn’t like it, we didn’t have much time in Varanasi to be polite and the mosquitoes were killing us in that shop. Beki however didn’t give up and took us to the shop of his cousin. Mum ultimately bought some bracelets . Mine broke quickly, so did Bruno’s, but later we repaired them later.
At night we took a rowing boat to see the burning ghats again, and we passed a boat going to dump a body. The boatman let me have a go at rowing, after my courageous but failed attempt, we went to see a festival with chanting monks to celebrate the Ganges. They do it every night and you can see it best from the river. Other boats came up to us trying to sell candles, flowers to throw in the river, and small fish which they just caught and bless you when you put them back in the river (after paying a price first of course). We asked the boatman to come back the next morning (he of course didn’t and when bumped into him at the market he said he slept in).
Anyway, the next morning we got up at sunrise and as soon as we left the hotel Beki came up to us and before he could say a word Ate walked right past him saying “thank you we don’t want your assistance”. After some negotiations –you have to negotiate about everything, from bananas to big pieces of furniture—another boatman rowed us on the Ganges. During sunrise we saw millions (actually that’s an exaggeration) of people bathing and washing, and the burning ghat –a smaller one for people with less money—was just starting. Above the ghat was a sadu sitting. His face and body was covered in ashes from the burning ghat below him. Next to him was a skull on a spike. He just sits there all day trying to find a way to enlightenment. Me and Bruno had another go at rowing. It went better than the evening before. After the boatman brought us back, he wanted to take us to the shop of his cousin (Lots of people in India seem to have a cousin, or brother, or father, or sister, or any family member with a shop)
We took a rickshaw to the Monkey Temple, apart from the fact there were no monkeys. The driver, a very skinny man, we were surprised he could pedal the four of us, took us to another temple and there were lots of monkeys. We saw a monkey fight that was probably over territory. They didn’t care that people were around. The rickshaw driver brought us to the very first ghat where there were loads of huge cows. They were properly fed, unlike most cows we had seen in India.We walked along the ghats, avoiding the cow pooh which is being collected and dried for cooking, and passed the place of the sadu again. He didn’t seem to be there so we walked up the steps to see where he had gone, when suddenly he came out of a doorway leading to his sitting place, and he came up to us, cigarette in hand. He was very friendly and said he recognised us from early that morning in the boat (we couldn’t believe it because there are lots of tourists in boats in the morning and it is quite a distance from his sitting place – he must have excellent eyes). He gave me loads of wise advice such as ‘Be yourself, and don’t let others rule you.’

drive through Rajistan

Notes: to see pictures big and read captions, just click on them (I know this is getting a bit repetitive, but this is just for the idiots out there).
We were just leaving Jaisalmer for a day in the car (with a few stops along the way)

After breakfast on our next-to-room-rooftop-restaurant, we bundled into the car and set off to Jodhpur (yes, we had just been there but we needed a stop between Jaisalmer and Udaipur, and Jodhpur was in the middle).

Our first stop was a magnificent Jain temple (quick, in brief, on Jains: they broke from the Hindu religion because they didn’t believe in the caste system, but they brought a lot of gods with them. They believe in non-violence and peace and some priests wear cloths around their mouths to avoid breathing in insects) which had a long climb up the steps, but it was worth it. The Jains are very rich (because most go into banking, which they consider to be non-violent) so they can afford to maintain their temples well. On the other hand we did see children carrying big blocks of stone on their heads (some were even under 8). After giving some money to the younger ones (which the big girl stole almost immediately) we got back in the car and started driving again.

We went to lunch in a place which mum found in her book and the guy (thinking that everyone in our family including aunts, uncles etc.lived in our house) asked after five minutes if he could come and work for us. We refused of course, though we were rather shocked. After goodness knows how many hours, we stopped at a place where there were supposed to be some kind of special cranes, we saw a smallish lake and we had to be happy with that. Next stop Monkey Mausoleum, although it wasn’t a mausoleum for monkeys, it was just full of them. It was actually a mausoleum for the past maharajas of Jodhpur. I took a photo of one of the monkeys (very close) and when my camera flashed the monkey looked around for a bit, saw me and barred its teeth and screeched, I jumped down to the grass before you can say “monkey”. Most of the mausoleums had been looted so there wasn’t much to see, but this group of men asked if they could have a photo with us, so we obliged (if we charged it would have been “thirty rupees, only for you”). We then left and finally got to Jodhpur. We went back for a softy and softy ice cream and the grown ups had a lassi (including Vikram). The hotel had a great pool which went indoors and outdoors, it was fun swimming in it. Bruno bought some puppets, a snake and snake charmer, after a bit of haggling, for 1000rs/-

Next day to Udaipur (another day in the car). After a long (and I mean long) drive, we stopped at “the Jain temple at Ranakpur”(we don’t know the real name, and that’s what everyone calls it) and it was worth the long (and I mean long) drive. It had 1444 brilliantly carved pillars, and no two were the same (apparently). It also had carvings of elephants in it (I climbed on one but the guard told me not to). After an hour of marvelling we went out to put our shoes on (we had to take them off before entering, and it happens everywhere else as well) we got in the car and set of to Kumbalgagh Fort. It is very high up in the mountains so it has a great view. It also has a tremendous echo in some rooms. We saw the toilet which was just a hole in the ground that went down some 20 meters and then stopped and the poo boy had to clear it out (this happened while the maharajas still used it, not right now). After another hour of marvelling we got back in the car and carried on. On the way, we saw many women carrying hay on their heads (in India they seem to carry everything on their heads). In Rajistan (now we are on the subject of roads) the roads are always full of putholes (even in the main roads) and the roads were full of trucks whose backs always said “blow horn”. We arrived at around six o’clock to a hotel where we didn’t want to stay but our travel agent said was good (we think the place we wanted to stay didn’t have room but we are not sure). He was wrong (before I start ranting about the Garden hotel, I’ll tell what the fuss is about. Udaipur is famous for its lakes and the hotel we tried to get into is right next to the lake while the Garden hotel is nowhere near it. And I won’t rant about the Garden hotel because it’s a waste of space). The lake was full with water (it hadn’t been for some time so we were quite lucky) We saw the set of Octopussy (not the inside but the outside) in full glory. When it’s not starring in James Bond films, the set is a hotel, known as the Lake Palace hotel, though I like to call it the Octopussy hotel (that was not the hotel we wanted to stay in because it was cut off from the rest of the town and is extremely expensive). We saw it and the lake at night when we had dinner in a lakeside hotel (we got there through very small side streets, Ate was amazed they allowed cars to pass through).

After breakfast we walked along the streets to the palace (that was next to the lake as well). We walked around and saw all kinds of weapons but it is more like a museum than anything else. Just before we left we saw some horses in there stables and tiger and lion traps. We walked to the other side of the lake and had lunch at the hotel we had wanted to stay in (which was very peaceful) looking out on the lake and next to it the washer woman (they washed by dipping the clothes in the water and then beating them with a stick, and that is how they live).
We can skip the next couple of hours because all we did was shop. We were going past the palace when we were stopped by the security guard. We didn’t know why, when, low and behold, a naked man stepped out (hey, remember the Jains, well their really high monks go around stark naked. Can you guess who this guy is) he was brown (obviously), fat, had white hair on his head and his chin and his chest, and two people flanked him who wore loincloths. He strode into the fanciest hotel in Udaipur like no man’s business. We then got on the boat which went to an island where the maharana of Udaipur used to have his summer palace - it had loads of elephant statues. Next we went back to the hotel where we watched telly. After a couple of hours or so, we went to a place called Savage Garden. It had really blue walls and three levels and we couldn’t decide where to sit. We finally chose a table on the second level which over looked the courtyard (it was a haveli).

Next day we got into the car, for the last time, to go to Ranthambore, and the tiger safari. On the way we went to the fort at Chittor . We had to drive through it but we stopped at a small temple with a tower next to it, which we couldn’t climb but if we could I would have done, and a huge tower which we could climb so we climbed up to the third floor (it had more then 5 though). All were brilliantly carved and, well, brilliantly carved. After only half an hour wandering (we had no time to stay any longer) we set off in the car again. We drove and stopped at a place called Bindi to have a very-late-goodbye-to-Vikram-lunch and we saw the sun set (pretty late wasn’t it, like 4:00 pm). After the very-late-goodbye-to-Vikram-lunch we got back in the car (that really was the last time) to get to Ranthambore. We got there at 8:00pm and more less immediately had dinner, where there was a small dancing girl. We gave her money and then went to our tents and our bed had a mosquito net.

We had a huge sleep in and when we woke up we just sat and read until two when we went to the tiger safari(a quick explanation coming up). Ranthambore park is a huge national park where about 400sq kms is set aside as a tiger sanctuary. It is divided into 5 zones so the jeeps and tourist vehicles which go in are restricted to going in to one zone each time. There are only about 30 tigers in the whole area so the guide told us the chances of seeing one in a safari are about 10%. We had 2 safaris, one that afternoon and the other at dawn the next day. The first day we went into zone 3 which was really beautiful. It had 3 lakes and an old fort and the hunting palace of the old maharajas before tiger killing became illegal (by the way Prince Phillip shot a tiger there even after it became illegal). We were picked up by a big canter (an open top bus) and went to the safari gates and were swamped by touts trying to sell us something or anything. We got through and went up the road to the fort. On the road we saw a man who took a step, kneeled down, and did the bow where you lie down and sweep your arms, then got up, took a step, kneeled down, and did the bow where you lie down and sweep your arms, then got up, took a step, kneeled down, and did the bow where you lie down and sweep your arms, then got up, took a step, kneeled down, and did the bow where you lie down and sweep your arms, then got up, etc… our guide on the bus said he was going to do that all the way to the fort(which was a very long way a away). Also on the way we saw a holy banyan tree (its holy, deal with it).We finally got into zone 3 and like I said before, it was beautiful. It had a lake and in it were deer that more or less lived in the water (there was a lot more but I think the pictures will explain everything). However we didn’t see a tiger in zone 3 (although we did see a paw print). Right at the end we stopped at a place out of zone 3, where there were meant to be tigers but we didn’t see any. We went to the hotel, had dinner, gave the dancing girl some money, again, and went to bed.

Next morning we had to get up really early because the tigers were most active at dawn (apparently). We went to zone 4 this time and it was much less beautiful, mainly because we spent most of the time staking out a tiger by a single paw print and a warning call, so we didn’t see a lot until towards the end when we realised it was hopeless so we looked at the other animals instead. When we got back we had an hour resting time (not including breakfast) and then set to the train station. When we got there we found out that the porters charge far too much (and it happens everywhere else as well). We got on the train for the short two hour journey to Agra, home of the Taj Mahal (which is currently in the running for the new seven wonders, so is not a wonder of the world at the moment). On the train I met an Indian boy and I played a chess game or three and he killed me in all three. We arrived expecting an Ambassador car and we got a titch, so mum was a bit pissed off. We went to Fatephur Sikri which is a palace built by a maharaja who believed all religions shouldn’t fight, so he married a Christian, a Muslim and a Hindu. We visited their quarters, and what the maharaja had done was give them each the same amount of money and say; ‘You can build your own quarters’, so that way no one could complain. While we were walking across the courtyard one of the many touts was trying to sell us a chess board and saying “ten, ten”. After my crushing defeat on the train I wanted a bit of practice so I said to papa; “Can I have it, ten is nothing.” He agreed, so he handed over ten rupees. The guy then said; “No ten dollars.”and Ate immediately got very angry and when the guy asked if he was angry (it was pretty obvious so this guy must have been an idiot) Ate said; “Of course I’m angry because 10 dollars is 80 times the amount you asked me.” He was thinking in pounds but it got rid of the idiot. After that we carried on to our hotel, and when we arrived we found out it was only one week old. We got checked in, sorted, and then went to the hotel restaurant which proved the hotel was only one week old because it didn’t have a menu card (that meant nearly everything was possible). After a funny dinner (the food was fine, it’s just the fact that we didn’t know what our choices were so we were a bit confused as what to order) we went to bed.

The next morning we got up at half to dawn (again) to see the Taj at sunrise. We got up and dressed and in the car in fifteen minutes, bought the tickets and were through in another ten. We walked up to the large red sandstone gate (which had verses from the Koran on the marble inside) and got our first glimpse of one of the seven wonders of the world (for I have no doubt that it will be a new wonder of the world, especially from what we saw). It was magnificent, and it was completely symmetrical (except inside it where the kings tomb was bunged up rather rudely next to the queens by their son who had imprisoned the king and seized power). The king had built the Taj as his wife’s tomb and then cut off the fingers of every single one of the people who had worked on it, that was 200,000 fingers when he had finished cutting them all off. The towers that surround the Taj lean out a little so that in case of an earth quake, they would fall away from the Taj, not towards it. It is built on a raised platform so there is nothing to see behind it but the sky, even though there is the river Yamuna behind it. After a while we went inside (there are no photos because cameras weren’t allowed) and saw the very carefully inlaid stones and heard the famous echo. The echo was quite something. If it was quiet and we could stand in the middle, it would have gone on for at least two minutes. Apparently when music engineers want an echo, they have a list and Taj is the longest echo and so is at the top. The reflection in the pool is great too, if you can get in the middle, which I did and I have the photo to prove it. There were also monkeys and I took a photo of one and it chased me, not far but enough to make me jump. I think the monkeys have something against me but don’t know what it is. I’m going to let the photos do the rest of the talking or I could be here all day. We finally got out (but later we came back) after seeing cows pulling a cart in the Taj grounds. We went to the baby Taj (it was built before but the Taj looks better) and you could see that king had got his idea from it. It was on a raised platform as well, and it was completely symmetrical. When we went inside we saw loads of tombs (possibly just memorials) of the people who had died. We even saw the tomb of the son of the king who built the Taj (the baby Taj may have been built before the real Taj but it was used after it as well as before it).

We then went to lunch where there was a magic trick stall and Bruno tried loads of things, but we didn’t buy any thing. After lunch we went to the Agra fort which had the room where the king was imprisoned (you probably know that this is the same king who built the Taj by now but you can’t be too careful) by his son. Half of it was marble, half sandstone (because the later sultans liked marble while the earlier ones liked sandstone) and inside were two brilliant gardens. They had wicked patterns in them made up by the flowers and pools cutting through the flowers. Before we went in the fort Ate was getting pestered by the guides so when one came and touched him on the shoulder he jumped in pretend shock and the guide walked away with a priceless expression on his face. Anyway after the fort we went back to the Taj and snuck in on the same tickets (it was really expensive) and when we got in we saw that a line to get into the Taj itself had appeared and it was like 200 meters long. We saw it at sunset while being pestered by boys who kept wanting to have a photo with us. We obliged a couple of times but then we got really annoyed. After the Taj we got in the car to our hotel, packed, and then got into the car to the station which was full of monkeys, they stole peanuts as well as the porters (they didn’t steal the porters but the porters stole the peanuts). We got on the train to Varanasi, the city of light, at nine thirty at night, due to arrive twelve hours later. Our first Indian sleeper train. What time did we arrive? See the next blog for the answer.