Goin’ to Goa

We have had a relaxing time here at Colva Beach in South Goa. Mostly we have been going for walks, checking the colour and movement on the beach, trying out the local cuisine at many of the restaurants around the town, and swimming in and lounging around the pool.

We did manage an excursion to Old Goa where we explored an old Basilica, Cathedral, church and chapel. Goa was once a Portuguese colony and most of the population is Christian.

Tomorrow we fly back to Delhi and we will commence our return journey on Wednesday.

Udaipur the City of Lakes

Known by many names including "City of Lakes," the "Venice of the East," and the "Kashmir of Rajasthan", Udaipur is set on a series of interconnected man-made Lakes. It is the most picturesque of the Indian cities that we have visited.

The local Maharajan once owned three palaces: a City Palace, a Lake Palace (now a hotel) and a Mountain Palace. We toured part of the City Palace, the old market and went on a boat trip to island with gardens.

Tomorrow we fly from Rajasthan, India’s largest state to Goa its smallest where we will be having some R&R.

Jaipur the Pink City

We arrived in the pink city of Jaipur on Saturday afternoon. The Old City which dates from the 17^th century is a planned city with wide streets inside its defensive walls. The walls and buildings were painted pink for a visit by Prince Albert in the 19^th century and have remained that colour ever since. We explored the markets of the old city on Saturday.

Today (Sunday) we took an elephant ride to the Amber Fort and we explored its palatial buildings, and then returned to the Old City to visit the Wind Palace. We finished the day at old observatory built by a king to accurately calculate horoscopes.

 

Tomorrow we head on to Udaipur which will be the end point of the tour component of our Indian holiday.

Varanasi, Agra, Ranthambore

It’s been a busy time since arriving in Varanasi on the overnight train. We visited Sarnarth where the Buddha first preached and had an evening boat trip down the Ganges where we viewed 2 competing prayer ceremonies. The ceremonies were about 100 metres apart, were conducting the same chants and rituals but were out of synch by a few minutes.

We received some comments about the skinny cow in Delhi. In Varanasi the cows were much fatter and much more common on the streets. We were told that they like to stand in the middle of the road as passing traffic keeps the flies off them.

After a night in a hotel we were up before the crack of dawn for a sunrise boat ride. We didn’t actually see the sun, due the thick smog but it was pleasant and cool. After breakfast it was off to the airport for a flight to Agra. Joy went on a tour of the Red Fort while Adrian stayed at the Hotel to sleep off a dose of Varee Belly. In the morning it was a tour of the Taj Mahal and then an 8-hour road trip to Ranthambore. Along the way Joy became ill: so, it has been a diet of boiled rice and dahl for the both of us until today.

This morning we went on the first of two-jungle safari’s at the Ranthambore Tiger Park. Tiger sightings are not guaranteed but we were lucky enough to see a pair of them doing what comes naturally. We also saw deer and antelope and some pretty specky scenery.

   

   

Dalliance to Delhi

It has been difficult to find reliable WIFI so far in India.

We touched down at Delhi International Airport at around 11.00pm (Delhi Time) on Friday after a journey of around 20 hours elapsed time. Having been granted E-Visas before arrival, we expected an efficient passage through border security. But we were wrong. The Indian Government requires E-Visa holders to have fingerprints scanned as well as the usual document checking. This was a tediously slow process as the scanners repeatedly failed to read and in the end, it took over 2 hours to make it out of the airport. Fortunately, we had a driver waiting for us and he managed to get us safely to our accommodation.

Saturday was a lazy day and all we did was lounge around in the 36C weather, visit some nearby markets and eat: Yum.

Sunday, we met our guide and toured monuments in New Delhi including: Qutab Minar, a Jain Temple in the shape of a lotus flower, Humayun tomb, India Gate, and a Sikh temple.

Monday was all the hustle and bustle of Old Dehli with a rickshaw ride through the old city, a walk through the spice markets and visits to various mosques and temples.

We are now on the night train to Varanasi (a 12 hour trip) but more about that later.

PS we made it to Varanasi. Hotel overlooks Ganges ... pics later

Bound for India

The bags are packed, tomorrow we fly to India.