India, Part I – February 2017

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I decided on this trip because 1, it’s in Asia and I want to visit as many countries in this continent as I can; and 2, it was 5 weeks long so I’d get to see a lot. In all honesty, India had never appealed to me but everyone kept saying you can’t do Asia without visiting India so I decided to bite the bullet and go. The trip was broken down into 2.5 weeks in the North and 2.5 weeks in the South. So right off the bat let me tell you – India is an assault on ALL your senses, the noise, the smells, the sights – Incredible, and not necessarily in a good way! No matter how much someone explains India to you, you will not be prepared – it comes as a real shock, I thought I knew what to expect and was ready but heck no, that was not the case! This blog contains a lot of information as I want to cover off most, if not all, the places I visited so I’ve broken it down into 2 posts, this way you won’t get bored 🙂

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Delhi – Arriving here was HOT but driving to the hotel was interesting, talk about diving in head first. There is no easing yourself into this country, it hits you smack dead in the face – Bam! The traffic was bumper to bumper but the noise, oh dear God the noise, it seemed like every driver was constantly holding their horn down. There was so much to take in. The place was dirty and hot but I expected that. We had a brief walk around before we, as a group, went for dinner. The food was pretty good and plentiful but the evening was kept brief as had a long day ahead. We went into Old Delhi by using their Metro – it was very modern which I wasn’t expecting, I’d only ever seen their packed trains so didn’t realise they had an underground system too. As you’d expect in India, it was pretty busy but not as crazy as it would have been if we’d hit rush hour…

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The streets were swarming with people, there were loads of makeshift ‘stalls’ along the road with people brewing ‘Chai’ (tea) and cooking snacks. Above your head, all you see are wires, tons of electrical cables hanging from post to post, I was surprised they weren’t sparking as they were not in good condition. We visited the Jami Masjid Mosque which was (is) the largest in India – spectacular, great architecture and a must if visiting Old Delhi. Opposite the mosque was this massive shop which used to sell ivory products, it doesn’t anymore as it’s illegal but the old shop front wording was still clearly visible. It made me realise what a lucrative business ivory selling was – very sad! Random observation, but as you travel around India you see the most amount of washing hanging over walls and railings, it seemed like a futile exercise to me because it all gets covered in the dust and dirt kicked up by the traffic…

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Udaipur – We took our first overnight train of the trip to Udaipur. This I was NOT looking forward to as my previous experience in Thailand did not bode well… After freshening up at the hotel (which was a good one with a fabulous roof top view) we went out for a walking tour of the city. We went to see the lakeside ghats and dhobi wallahs who come down to wash clothes. Interesting and ornate buildings everywhere, we visited Jagdish Temple and the City Palace which was a sight to behold. If you have read any of my previous posts you will know I am not a foodie by any stretch of the imagination, I was also very wary about the food because of the stories of Delhi belly so when our guide told us we were going to eat street food from a market stall, I was a bit freaked out. However, it was one of the best meals I had all holiday and oh, the cheapest. You knew the place was good because none of the food lasted longer than 3 minutes after it was cooked as the queue was long. It was a very popular place.

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Pushkar – We took a train to Ajmer where we transferred to Pushkar. This is a famous Hindu pilgrimage place which also hosts camel fairs. In fact we took a camel safari out to the desert, I opted not to ride a camel solo as have done this before and they don’t exactly smell the best, so took the camel carriage ride instead. Pushkar is a ‘dry’ state which essentially means no alcohol, well not on display but as ‘Westerners’, restaurants can always get you a beer if you so wish but you either have to drink it in a mug or out of the can that is ‘disguised’ by being wrapped in tin foil LOL! I have to say, I did like Pushkar, it felt safe. I was really surprised to find that it had a large Israeli community – who knew… There happened to be a religious festival going on whilst we were there but you’ll find out as you travel around India, this is not uncommon. Decided to go up to the Savitri Temple which is a really long steep climb. At the beginning of the climb, the stone steps are in pretty good condition but the higher you go the steeper the steps and in a state of disrepair. To be fair, the steps were under construction so must be much improved by now. It was all worth it in my opinion as the view was pretty stunning, don’t be put off by the climb as there is an option of a cable car. Be aware though because other than the view, there really isn’t anything else up there to do and on your walk both up and down, you will encounter a lot of monkeys roaming around. When I was there, we also had to navigate around the donkeys that were lugging up the stone for the steps to the construction workers.

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I have to tell you about this hysterical incident that I witnessed on the evening of the festival. Everywhere was extremely busy as you can imagine, when I heard this fella who was probably in his 30s, shouting. I turned around and saw him rolling around on the ground looking like he was having a fit, shouting up at this older guy. I thought he may have been hit by a car or something and was injured but my guide informed me that the man on the floor had thrown himself down and was having a full blown tantrum. He was screaming at his dad as to why he hadn’t found him a wife yet – Oh Dear God, that was just too funny. His behaviour was not a good selling point for a future wife. By the way, my guide thought he was on drugs and I hope for his sake that is how he can explain away his actions…

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Jaipur – This place is NUTS! We came out of the station and there were all these drivers who were completely covered in dust and dirt, crusty looking but they were all looking in their mirrors slicking back their hair, I’m guessing for the ladies – hysterical! We got tuk tuks to our hotel and pretty much had my life in my hands. Oh my, what a ride. We were so close to the vehicle in front, behind, to the left and to the right that I could have swapped bodily fluids with those drivers! We were staying at the Bissau Palace hotel which was this big old British colonial home with a library and everything, I had an old four-poster bed in my room and the entire place was really quite quaint. Jaipur is really busy but it didn’t feel quite as crowded (barring the traffic) as other cities I’d visited. We went on our city orientation tour and let me tell you, only a few yards away from our hotel heading towards the main street, was this horrendously massive pile of rubbish on the middle of the pavement. It was not only litter and plastics but food waste including fresh animal innards – the smell was completely indescribable and yes, I did throw up a little. If that wasn’t bad enough, on the way back there was a random cow eating from the pile – Ewww! Happy to say that the rest of the smells weren’t anywhere near as bad, pee and pollution I could deal with and fortunately, we did pass by a number of spice stalls which made for a more pleasant aroma.

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We visited the red/pink sandstone building of Hawa Mahal, ‘Palace of the Winds’ which was pretty stunning before heading off to the City Palace. This place was impressive and offered painted elephant rides – I did not partake, although the elephants looked in good shape, our guide pointed out that they were treated poorly. Let me just give you a quick low down on our guide, he was from Jaipur so was able to stay home for a couple of days which was obvious when he rocked up the next day with his neck covered in ‘love bites’… He is what I’d describe (from my observations), a typical northern Indian male with both ears pierced (I didn’t realise this was a thing until I got there), has this air of superiority about him and walked in front of the group with his hands clasped behind his back – just like Yul Brynner did in The King and I… I digress, you can’t visit the ‘Pink City’ (Jaipur) without seeing the Amber Fort, surprisingly pretty vast.

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Agra – Yet another train but least it wasn’t an overnighter. Was excited to visit Agra because of the Taj Mahal, but we also went to the Abandoned City of Fatehpur Sikri and Itimad-ud-Daulah also known as the ‘Baby Taj’, had never heard of either but well worth seeing. So let’s talk about the Taj Mahal, as you can imagine it was crazy busy and it is without a doubt a magnificent structure with intricate carvings – the detail is exquisite. There were some repairs going on so scaffolding was up but not the scaffolding we had been used to seeing i.e. bamboo but because it’s a serious money making tourist attraction, it warranted ‘proper’ metal scaffolding. To help preserve the Taj Mahal, you have to wear surgical shoe covers, stylish! So not really sure why but I was underwhelmed, the architecture is fantastic and it is visually stunning, I just couldn’t shake the disappointment that the Taj Mahal was just a tomb. Sounds ridiculous saying that it’s just a tomb, I knew it was built in honour of the emperor’s dead wife, I just always assumed it was a palace, a place that was lived in. Located in a very poor area, I think the whole opulence of it made me sad even knowing that for 25+ years locals were employed (can’t imagine that they were paid well) and even sadder for the daughter that had to take over all wifey duties… Regardless, of my personal feelings it is a MUST.

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Ganges – Took an overnight train to Allahabad, although still not my favourite mode of transport, I was able to sleep a bit better with each overnighter we took. We travelled on to Batoli Ghat which is on the shores of the river Ganges. Here we were going to travel to Varanasi via a boat which would take 2 days. We averaged 4 passengers per boat, but included 2 ‘catering’ boats for the trip but before we even set off, there was a cremation happening right on the bank near where we were boarding. Not being funny, but we must have had the two oldest rowers EVER! We were last the entire journey. Anyway, let’s talk about this river – it is dirty, real dirty, we saw a cremation with the ashes going into it, people swimming in it, bathing in it (including cattle), washing clothes in it and waste flowing into it. At one point there was a bloated dead body floating in the river, glad I didn’t see that but I did see a long nosed silver dolphin, actually I saw 2 but at separate times, they are quick! Do not know how anything could live in the Ganges but I guess one can be born immune to certain things, maybe… I did have a major panic whilst travelling down the river, we were so slow that we totally lost sight of the other boats and it got dark really quick so couldn’t see a thing. I thought we were lost for ages and was trying hard not to have a panic attack, luckily, our rowers knew where along the Ganges we were camping for the night so got us there. Camping I hear you say, I know, camping – I have dismissed trips I really wanted to go on because it involved camping BUT, as it was only for one night I could deal.

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Varanasi – We moored at Asi Ghat and transferred to our hotel which was outside of the immediate area so slightly quieter. How can I describe Varanasi… OK let me try. On the way to our hotel, all I could say was Oh My God, Oh My God, Oh My God! I thought Jaipur was nuts but that was nothing in comparison, Varanasi was (is) on a totally different scale – there is nothing that I have seen or experienced since that can compare. I hated it and loved it at the same time, exciting and dreadful, a total contradiction. The noise is like nothing you have ever heard before, not really surprising considering it’s a major Hindu pilgrimage centre that attracts 75,000 visitors every day who come here to cleanse (ha!) along the banks of the Ganges and participate in the daily Aarti ceremonies. Fact for you, Varanasi is believed to be the oldest continuously inhabited city on earth – I paid attention!

Now the traffic here like I said, is crazy but what makes it worse is in parts, there are no pavements (side walks) so you have buses, cars, motorbikes, tuk tuks, rickshaws, bicycles and people, all vying for a space. I was so surprised that I wasn’t witness to accidents on a daily basis during my trip thus far but in Varanasi this changed. I did see a few, which is not a shock when both tuk tuk and motorbikes decide to drive on the wrong side of the road just to beat traffic. My opening page to my blog states that I will tell all, even the not so nice stuff. So here goes (warning: you may want to skip to the next paragraph), we went on a rickshaw ride and whilst heading towards the Ganges, I saw a number of people running and shouting, the traffic came to a stop but when we got moving again I saw a large amount of thick fresh blood on the ground with a small child’s shoe a few feet away. Further down, I saw a group of men marching a man up the middle of the road. What had transpired was a bus had ran over a little girl and kept going as he was unaware of what had happened, so a bunch of motorbike riders drove up and stopped in front of him, forcing the bus to stop, they then dragged the driver out. It was horrific from both sides but glad I didn’t see any more, it WAS an accident. Moving on, another little fact for you, women are not allowed to attend the cremation that are held along the banks… This is a very, very interesting place.

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Kolkata – One overnight train later and we get to Kolkata, formerly known as Calcutta. This place wasn’t as grim as all the other places we visited, cleaner but not clean by any stretch of the imagination. Homelessness was more prevalent here as there were a lot of people living in makeshift homes made from tarpaulin on the pavements. Wasn’t expecting that. One of the most creative things I witnessed was street barbers – this consists of a chair, a mirror nailed to a tree, a man with a pair of scissors or razor and a spray bottle filled with water. I’m guessing inexpensive because there was always someone in the chair. Kolkata has a large Christian population so has a number of elaborate churches… This is where my North India trip ended. It’s been real!

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THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW – Trains DO NOT run on time, it is not unheard of for a train to be delayed 12 hours or to be cancelled completely with no prior warning. If you can book a first-class carriage on an overnight train do, it does not take away the experience, trust me, you’ll still be unable to sleep but in a wider berth! When you get to the train stations do not be surprised to see families sleeping on the floor of the ticket office and platforms. The entire place smells of urine and it’s not surprising to see why when people brazenly walk over and urinate onto the tracks. One time a saw two little girls (around 6 and 4 years old) with what looked like their grandparents, wake up from sleeping on the platform floor and each go over, squat and pee on the ground. If this wasn’t horrific enough, it was all carried out in front of groups of men waiting for their train. I wanted to scream but all I could do was put my head in my hands and walk away… When on the train, you will be woken up around 4 or 5am with a man walking through the carriages shouting ‘Chai, Chai’ – A-nnoy-ing! Generally you will find both an ‘Indian’ and Western toilet in each carriage. On the day trains, because of the heat, the doors are often left open, although not recommended, I did stand at the doors for the air and a better view but be warned, often whilst driving through some areas, the piles of rubbish almost reach the bottom of the train doors – really.

Beggars, I am totally not opposed to giving money to the beggars but note, these are generally run by gangs and the person you are giving the money to does not necessarily get to keep it. Another thing is that most beggars have learned not to ask for money but for food so if you feel more comfortable with that, just carry extra snacks etc., to give out. Word of warning though, I was approached by this sweet looking kid who asked for food I said OK and was heading to a nearby restaurant but he was insistent that we go to his house where I could buy them from his mum. I said no, I wasn’t about to be led somewhere I didn’t know so went to this local restaurant to buy him 10 chapattis. The cheeky little imp then told the restaurant owner to give him a large block of butter which costs 5 x the amount of the 10 chapattis. I was not down with that so he got the 10 chapattis that I agreed to, had he asked for the butter instead of trying to scam me I would have bought it but I was totally put off by that… In Varanasi there are more beggars than anywhere else with many of them being disabled in some capacity or really elderly, with a lot of them positioned in the central reservation of the road leading down to the river. If you want to help out, there are a number of poor village schools you can visit all over India, you can contribute with either a one-off donation or monthly subscription.

Cows, there are cows everywhere! As cows are sacred animals, when they are no longer any use to their owners i.e. they no longer produce milk, they just let them go so they live in the street eating from piles of rubbish. They will often just sit down in the middle of the road so the cars drive around them until they decide to move on their own accord. I also saw some cows on the platforms at train stations…

Urinals, they are everywhere, out in the open, where you least expect them but do they get used – NO! I actually saw a man pee against the wall right next to a group of available urinals. Go figure!

Cremations – Hindus believe in reincarnation but not all are allowed a sacred cremation in Varanasi. I can’t remember all the exceptions (and there are loads) but the ones I do include, being bitten by a snake and a baby dying before they are weened off the breast – these deaths are believed to be unworthy because they did something bad in their previous life…

Vaccinations – Hepatitis A and B, Diphtheria, Tetanus, Typhoid and Cholera. If in doubt, check with your doctor or travel clinic.

Additional costs – This trip was booked through Explore and at the time of booking, the single supplement was around £500. There are a lot of optional excursions on this trip and as usual, I included this cost in my budgeting (approx. £120) however, when we got there, all the costs were completely out of date and had pretty much more than doubled (approx. £250). This was the first time this had happened on all my trips so if you fancy going on this tour, maybe ask your tour company to check that the excursion costs are current.

*Disclaimer – all prices quoted were correct at the time of my trip.*