India!

Sunday 16^th Dec packed and picked up Dennis and his presents. Arrived at Acton – both boys had been asleep. Had an excellent lunch at The Rocket. Bruce produced cards from which we were supposed to read words in turn to make up the message and clever boxes inside each other with sweets – Ciaran loved that. Back to the house in the rain for presents. C and S had big piles of course and the real highlight was the train turntable which went up and down! Watched Sports personality of the year and it was obvious Bradley Wiggins would win despite a strong field including 3 paralympians. Slept reasonably and taxi arrived early so we were at Heathrow early.

Monday 17^th a good flight to Abu Dhabi on Etihad. I watched 2 films Cheerful weather for the wedding and Ruby Sparks. Also listened to Elgar while dozing. Had a wait for plane to Delhi but it left on time. I watched an interesting Indian film called “Beautiful” which was set in Kerala. Having left London at 9.30 a.m. we reached Delhi at 11 p.m. local time 3 a.m. Car and rep there to meet us and to Claridges – very nice room and we got all out vouchers.

Tuesday 18th Slept from 5 to around 9 and breakfast although not very hungry. Rested and swam in pool which was cold to start with.

2 p.m. tour with guide. To Qutub Minar – the traffic is horrendous and some of the driving! A most impressive tower and 2000 year old iron column. Beautiful carvings. Stopped to see Bahai Temple from outside -  a fine building. Then we ended up at an expensive shop where we refused to buy carpets, jewellery and clothes! I wish we had done something more useful with the limited time. Ended at the lovely Humayan’s Tomb and the sunset. So 3 of the things on the list we did not see!

7 p.m. by car to Laseez  affaire restaurant where we had delicious mutton birhani and vegetable curry, Chocolate brownie but neither if us ate the accompanying ice cream. Lovely flavours. The hotel is very grand but the staff are friendly and helpful.

Wednesday 19^th Good breakfast and left at 9 a.m. still have not found out the guide’s name! Despite his comments I stuck to the tip recommended by Trailfinders! The Red Fort most impressive and loved the lapis lazuli flowers inlaid in marble in the Emperor’s Diwan-I-Khas. We then took a rickshaw to the Digambara Jain temple 16^th century with fine murals (interesting that figures are naked) and we saw various rituals taking place accompanied by bell ringing. We glimpsed the silver interior of the  Hindu temple next door but did not enter due to a wedding anniversary festival, Back on the rickshaw to the biggest mosque in India which can take 35,000 – the Jama Masjid. Once again the guide left us to walk around and it was interesting that the guard made some young men move away from us. We paid for photography and a gown for Liz! By car to Raj Ghat where Gandhi was cremated -  a simple site and visited by large numbers. We kept running into large groups of friendly school children who took great interest in looking at us and saying Hello! The Government buildings built by the British are certainly impressive. Back to the hotel where we saw an elephant and camel outside! The National Museum of India has much to offer although feels rather run-down and neglected. The audio guide was most helpful and loved the musical instruments, sculptures, miniature paintings and beautiful wood carvings and textiles. Our driver suggested a stop at the Indira Gandhi house and this proved most interesting as it covered the whole family. Chilling to see the spot where she was assassinated. To the ATM in Khan market – again a traffic jam. Had a short swim but the water was cold!. Ate at Laseez Affaire again and had mushroom curry and delicious lamb. Also a lime cooler drink. Met a couple from Singapore he Christian and South African, she Buddhist and Chinese I think so had an interesting chat about interfaith.

Thursday 20 Dec. An early start leaving at 7.30 a.m. woke in the night a couple of times. An amaing 4 hour drive past the birthplace of Krishna. It took ages to get out of Delhi and the people, animals, traffic indescribable. Had one stop for coffee. Trident hotel at Agra very pleasant and we enjoyed a short swim in the cool water. Abdul was an excellent guide and accompanied us all the time unlike the guy in Delhi. The driver explained the commission system on the shops but we were firm about not going to one! The Taj Mahal was absolutely stunning – a truly amazing building and the details and proportions are wonderful. We then went on to the Red Fort and saw the Taj from across the river. The Mughal emperor’s palace is most impressive and it was good that we had seen the armour of Arenghzeb and the furnishings in the National Museum. We returned for a quiet walk in the hotel gardens at sunset.  Then we were off at 7 to Indiana which proved to be very reasonable in price and in fact neither of us could finish our thali – I had non-veg and Liz had the veg.

Friday 21 Dec Woke at 1.15 having dropped off around 9 and Dennis rang at 5.30 a.m. Good breakfast in the stylish dining room and chatted to a couple from England who spent the winter months travelling. Left at 8.30 and picked up Abdul at Fatehpur Sikri and again he was excellent explaining about Akbar the Great and his 3 wives, Hindu, Christian and Muslim. Beautiful carvings in red sandstone. The capital was abandoned because of water problems despite a huge reservoir. We then continued the long 4 hour drive stopping for delicious samosa and pakoura at a pleasant roadside restaurant where we chatted to a tour party. Taksin suggested a short detour to Abhaneri to see the Harshat Mata Hindu temple where we received the red dot on our foreheads and the amazing Chand Baori  a 10^th century step well water tank.  And so finally to Jaipur and the sprawling city a mass of traffic. The Golden Tulip is an excellent hotel – the biggest room so far! At 7 to the Spice Court restaurant where we had delicious mutton and chicken with rice. Watched dancer, drummer and puppets while we waited for driver to appear! Wrote a comment about a guest being sick on the floor and it was ignored by waiters and manager until one of the waiters threw water at it and it eventually got cleaned up 20 minutes later. It also looked as though nobody attended to the sick lady! Very unhygienic.

Saturday Dec 22 Woke at 1.30 a.m. having dropped off again and woke early. At breakfast suddenly thought I was going to be sick so went back to the room but it passed off and I stuck to bread! Jamal was our guide a pleasant young man with 3 young children. We saw the Palace of the Winds and drove to the Amber Fort where we queued amidst many hawkers to go on the elephant ride up to the Fort. Actually not that unpleasant! The Fort itself is impressive. Bought some photos taken of us on the elephant 3 for R300. Stopped at a co-operative shop to see how the cloth hand printing is done and then how the carpets are made. Liz had a go at knotting. We eventually bought a lovely carpet which we had not expected to do and then went upstairs to see the textiles and bought a lovely pashmina for Liz! An expensive morning. On to the observatory which is amazing  -huge structures to calculate horoscopes. Into the Royal Palace where we saw the costumes and how the miniature paintings are still done with very delicate painting. Saw the audience halls and portraits of the maharajas and fine Hindu paintings. Lastly the carriages and then off to a restaurant for light snack. I stuck to naan and lime soda water. Then to a gem factory where we resolutely were not going to buy any rubies! Back to the hotel for a swim – water cold but refreshing in rooftop pool and had a rest. Found out details of Mass tomorrow.