Varanasi

Took the night train to Varanasi. Spent the evening watching the sun go down on a boat on the Ganges complete with candles floating on the river. Very tranquil and relaxing. Then on down the river to join a few hundred other boats and a huge crowd to witness a religious ceremony on the bank of the river. It was incredibly dramatic, with 6 high priests, chanting,  loud music and flames.

 

 

Started the next day back in the boat to watch the sunrise but this time accompanied by a sitar player. Took a strole down the river after breakfast. There were several bodies being cremated on the edge of the water. Quite a strange sight.

Orcha

This place is out in the countryside which was a welcome relief from the towns and cites. A boulder strewn landscape with temples of various shaped and sizes dotted around for as far as the eye could see. This is like nothing I've ever seen. Magical!

 

While we were in Orcha we had a cookery lesson which was great fun, although I've never experienced one in the presence of a field mouse and a puppy, both watching and waiting for the food to be cooked.

 

 

 

On the train to Orcha we all got chatting and i discovered i'm sat next to a girl from Singapour who has traveled to Iceland and had even sampled the rotten shark in a jar too. Small world. (She didn't like it either, sorry Adam!)

Agra

Spent the morning at the Agra Fort, a huge red sandstone fort that can more accurately be described as a walled city which took 8 years to construct, completed in 1573. Well that's what the guide book said anyway. The scale of the fort was extremely impressive.

In the distance we could just make out another palace but this one was milky white - the Taj Mahal. Close up it was truly breathtaking. I was shocked at just how large the palace was. Amazing. It took 12 years to construct and on completion the Mughal emperor had the thumbs of each craftsman sliced off so they could never create something as beautiful again.

We couldn't help noticing as we spent more time in India that quite a number of people dyed there hair red, or more accurately - ginger. The passport control guy at the airport even had dyed ginger hair. We asked our guide why this was so popular, assuming there was some sort of religious significance to the colour. He explained that there was only one reason - Style!

Where ever you go in India you tend to get stared at. In more affluent areas they take it a stage further and ask to take your photo, like you'd just landed from Mars. Walking round the Taj Mahal this happened white a lot, with people standing next to you while their mates click away. I'd just finished escaping from a group of about a dozen teenagers when i spotted a white guy about 6 feet 10 with blue eyes and blond hair surrounded by at least 50 Indians, all going crazy. He seemed to be taking all the attention in good humour and politely smiled for the cameras.

Jaipour - The Pink City

Beautiful city 5 hours by train from Delhi. Train was basic but it did have Air Con - they left the doors wide open. Food on the train was great - vegi burger and good tea. Visited the Royal Palace which was stunning, lots of intricately carved stone.  And a snake charmer with a cobra. The city was painted pink for the visit of Prince Albert in 1883.

Then on to the Amber Fort, situated on top of a hill with spectacular view of the surrounding landscape. Palace was crawling with monkeys. Access to the palace involved a short auto-rickshaw ride then a trip up the hill in Jeeps. On the way back another snake charmer sat down very close to our rickshaw, opened his basket and started playing. i turned my back on the snake and squeezed into the rickshaw. i suddenly felt a sharp pain in my leg. i spun round to see the rickshaw driver had sneaked up behind me and pinched my leg. Everyone else thought it was hysterical.

Delhi

Hi there!

Apologies for taking so long to get around to writing this, it's been a manic few weeks in India. So, first we arrived in Delhi. i was expecting a culture shock but nothing like this. I feel like I'd landed on the Moon. How to even begin to describe this city. The view that greeted me as i stepped out of the hotel was of total chaos. Streets made up of poorly surfaced roads with whole families living in the gutter. Washing, cooking, sleeping, squatting, everything. The streets were bustling with people walking around, rickshaws trying to squeeze past and auto-rickshaws beeping, trying to overtake each other. And scooters and motorbikes trying to get passed them. People cooking street food, mending shoes, selling clothes. Half way down one of these streets a McDonald's of all things. Lots of beggars including young children. In the middle of all of this noise a cow walks passed, seemingly oblivious to all that was going on around it. Quite a serial sight in the centre of the city. i rummaged around in my bag to get the camera and by the time i looked up an elephant walked passed!

We visited various sights including the Red Fort and India Gate but nothing was quite as memorable as the streets around old Delhi.