Jaipur - Goa, India

Let’s Go Jaipur… We arrived in Jaipur by chartered bus which was nice as we could stop as we wanted en route.  It also worked out quite nicely for me as I had started to feel much worse and was able to lie down in the back row.  We called the doctor when we arrived and it turns out my Delhi belly is actually an intestinal infection and he started me on a course of antibiotics and rehydration salts.  I felt almost completely better after taking them for only a day or so- though I have to say they are quite strong and I will not be operating any heavy machinery anytime soon.  I’m recovering just in time because Jaipur has a lot to offer.

In the meantime Stijn and the rest of the group were treated to a Bollywood film at the local theatre that seated 1200- it sounds like it was quite a sight to see and while there were no English subtitles Stijn was able to give me a full synapsis when he returned.  It was the premiere of the movie so it was a full house and the movie was about a cricket player so it seems well timed with the World Cup starting in only a few days.  The people get right into the movie with cheering and at times even start dancing in their seats and the aisles.  I was sad to have missed it but I’m glad that Stijn was able to have the experience.

We got up early this morning and headed to the Amber Fort- this Fort was particularly impressive with a lake on the front side and gardens emerging from the water.  The walls around the fort are often the most impressive part as they build a fortress-like wall for miles up and down mountains.  The majority of tourist entering this fort do so on elephants but we opted to walk as the animals are not treated well and have the markings to show for it.  It was horrible to see how painful the steep descent was for the massive creatures.  Similarly there were several ‘snake charmers’ who have cobras in baskets only they’ve cut out the snakes fangs and instead of charming them with their flutes, they smack them to make them stand up.  Our tour guide is quite passionate about animals and educates all of his groups about making responsible travel decisions which is really important and great to see as there are a lot of people who wouldn’t otherwise understand.

 We also took in the City Palace which for us was quite disappointing coming from Jaisalmer but is apparently quite well known for its architecture.  From there we headed to the Monkey Temple which is quite literally filled with monkeys.  You buy bags of peanuts at the bottom and then feed the monkeys all the way up to the top of a large hill where the temple sits.  The smaller monkeys were quite cute but the adult males were a tad on the aggressive side for me.  None the less it was really a site to see and Stijn got some really great shots of the very well fed monkeys.

The highlight of Jaipur and perhaps India thus far was one of sheer coincidence.   His Holiness the Dali Lama was in town and speaking this afternoon- and not to be missed.  Our tour guide was able to get us all in to hear him speak and it was amazing just to see him in person. He arrived with fairly light security and little fuss and spoke of the human morality and understanding that is needed in today’s world and among all religions and all people.  All of what he said was noteworthy, and particularly his laugh, but his forward thinking and true open mindedness was truly inspiring.  He spoke of India as being one of the few places where for centuries many different religions have coexisted in harmony and that we all must have compassion and respect for each other and our different religions as they do here in India.  I suppose that one of the reasons he has lived here since 1956 awaiting the day he can return to a free Tibet.

There doesn’t seem to be a fitting way to follow the Dali Lama but none the less we headed to the markets for some shopping before heading back to the hotel for the night.  We once again leave bright and early for our next destination which is Agra- home of the Taj Mahal.  How fortunate for us that we’ll be at one of the most romantic places in the world for Valentine’s day-coincidence yes- but we’ll take it!

Let’s Go Agra… We arrived in Agra in the afternoon and our hotel was conveniently next door to the only proper coffee shop we’ve come across since landing.  India is not known for its coffee and for the most part it’s instant and really terrible. We only had to order it once to find out that tea was definitely the way to go. We’d given up hope until we ventured into costa coffee- a Starbucks type café- needless to say we took full advantage and loaded up on caffeine while we could.

Aside from the great coffee, we were eagerly anticipating visiting the Taj Mahal which is best seen at sunrise so instead of rushing through it that evening we took in the Baby Taj which is also made of white marble but is on a much smaller scale but too was built by a Mogul to mourn the loss of a wife.

Bright and early the next morning we headed to the Taj which was in walking distance from our hotel.  When you walk into the courtyard from anyone of the three entrances you are greeted with massive red sandstone gates that perfectly block the view of the Taj until you’re ready to cross through at which point the gleaming white Taj appears in perfect contrast.  No matter how many pictures you’ve seen, nothing prepares you for its beauty- it is truly stunning and surreal.  Goosebumps and all, we entered and just marvelled at the amazing creation.

From the main platform at the front, our guide told us the touching story of the Mogul who built the magical monument after his third wife died giving birth to his 14^th child.  They were very much in love and she had made him promise that if she ever died he wouldn’t take another wife and that he would build something in her honour that would show the world of their love.  After seven days of solitary mourning he emerged a different man- the once young and proud Mogul was instantly grey and old.  But true to his word, he dedicated the next 22 years to making the completely symmetrical wonder in her honour complete with a mosque on the left and a replica building on the right simply so that it looked exactly the same from both sides.  Her tomb is directly in the centre of the building where he too now lays.

The architecture and immense thought is evident in every inch of the solely marble building- the main structure is surrounded with four minarets on each corner which were built slightly slanted so that should an earthquake hit the area, they would each fall away to the gardens and not in on the Taj itself. Every inch is perfectly crafted and delicate inlay stonework surrounds each of the four entrances to the tomb. Sadly, he didn’t get to enjoy his masterpieces long as he was imprisoned by his youngest son who overthrew him and took over the army after having killed his three older brothers.  But don’t feel too badly for him- he had done the same thing to his father so it would seem that karma had his number.

But the Taj wasn’t all beauty and romance- we were very sad to see the gardens littered with garbage and the four large fountains and water unkept.  It’s hard to imagine having such an amazing building that brings people from all over the world and not having staff making sure that the garbage is removed and the water stays clean.  But as they say… TII… ‘This is India’ and anything is possible in India!

After the Taj Mahal we retreated to our hotel and prepared for the night train which will take us to our last destination on the tour- Varanasi- where we’ll explore the Ganges River.

Let’s Go Varanasi… We arrived very early to Varanasi and had to sleep on the lobby couches until our rooms were ready… or so we thought.  The hotel we were supposed to stay in lost our reservation so we had to relocate to another hotel and continue waiting for our rooms to be ready. 

Varansai is most well-known for the Ganges River which is considered to be very holy for the Hindu people.  The first night we arrived we took a boat ride to see a daily ceremony that takes place.  There are a series of dancers performing.  Five that represent the elements of the earth and Seven that represent the seven days of the week.  Along the river are two main crematoriums where they burn the bodies of their loved ones on piles of wood to be purified before returning the ashes to Mother Ganges. Children are never cremated as they are already pure and are instead floated out and placed on the bottom of the river.  It was quite traumatic to see bodies being burned along the shore and I’m not sure I was quite prepared for that but the Hindu’s strong beliefs and rationale make it a bit easier to bear. 

The next day we had a free day to explore the City so Stijn and I headed out to the streets around the hotel.  We stopped in at a barber shop and got Stijn a haircut- it was amazing to see the elaborate process that they go through, from straight blade to head massage, it appeared to be a really relaxing and pleasant experience.  We’ll have to see if he’s brave enough to get a shave next time.

After that we headed out to the market to look around but we didn’t last long- Varanasi was surprisingly one of the loudest cities we’ve been to yet and you have to be pretty loud to beat some of the much larger cities like Delhi.  We weren’t very impressed and retreated back to the hotel for some peace and quiet. 

The next morning we were scheduled for a morning boat ride on the Ganges to see all of the Hindus that start their morning by taking a dip in the river to cleanse themselves.  Again we had to pass the crematoriums and to be honest it was just not necessary.  Perhaps it’s a bit too soon for me and perhaps other people didn’t mind it as much as I did but I found it unnecessary.  Luckily we were able to salvage the day by heading to the Saranath where Buddha is said to have given his first Sermon and the tree under which he received enlightenment.  The site is filled with ruins dating back to the second and third century, but were only discovered in the 18^th century by the English. 

After Saranth we heading to the silk factory district where 7 kilometers of cooperative silk factories operate.  We were given a tour of a few of the factories where the men worked tediously on each scarf, bed covering and pillow case.  It was amazing to see how delicate the process is and just how intricate the work is.  We were taken to the store where all of the factories send their wares and one man sells them all for the entire area.  We were inundated with such amazing pieces and even ended up buying a few items that we’ll have to ship back home-some of which are gifts so I won’t detail them here.  A bed cover can take months for one person to make and scarves up to a few weeks.

That night we headed back to the train station to take an overnight train back to Delhi where our tour concludes.  It’s amazing how quickly the three weeks has gone and how well you can get to know people in such a short amount of time.

Let’s Go Delhi… again… After a series of cities and long over-night trains we’ve decided that it’s time to hit the beaches and two overnight trains via Mumbai won’t do.  As soon as we arrived back in Delhi we booked flights online direct to Goa along with a couple other people from the tour.  We then headed to the train station to refund our train tickets and were delighted to be able to get all but about four percent of our money back.  Across from the train station was a market that we have not yet explored so we meandered our way through the tiny backroads and alleyways passing children and men playing cards and cricket.  The older parts of Delhi are filled with these tiny winding streets that are hundreds of years old.  Every square inch of frontage is utilized with tiny store fronts and the family homes in the back.  You can find just about anything you could possibly imagine in these tiny stores and each one has something different and interesting to look at.  As we made our way to the main street the local feel is immediately exchanged for the hawking of anything and everything that might catch the eye of a tourist.  There is more variety in Delhi than in some of the other smaller cities and more ethnic variety.  Items from Tibet and Nepal are offered here- seemingly a strange fit with their heavy toques, jackets and other wool items- but beautiful none the less. 

With a taste of local fulfilled we headed to India Gate, a large war memorial in the centre of New Delhi, to try and find more tiny toys similar to those that we found on our first day at the start of our tour.  Stijn has started quite a collection of toys that we will give to the children when we make it to Africa… if he can manage to fight the urge to play with them himself!  After some haggling we are able to add to the collection and then head to the Imperial Hotel- a seven star hotel aptly named and dating back to when the English ruled India.  It is a stunning site and in complete contrast to the majority of the Delhi that we’ve seen.  Bentley’s, Jaguar’s and other stunning cars, both new and antique, fill the parking lot and as you walk in the grand entrance, we are greeted with a Channel store.  The room rates are for most people, out of range however, lots of people come to dine in the elegant restaurants. Unfortunately we only have time to look at the stunning buffet and to salivate over the sushi and other delectable treats before having to head back to the hotel in order to head to the airport.  The promise of sand and sun make the lavish spread seem irrelevant and off to the airport we go.

Let’s Go Goa …  We arrived in Goa late in the evening and have to walk around a while before finding a place to stay for the night, or at least one we were willing to stay in.  We didn’t think we’d need reservations but we were wrong- it’s Saturday night and all of the hotels along the beach are full.  We are shocked to find the whole town filled with mostly Russian’s and while there are of course Britt’s dotted amongst them, they are mostly older and not the young backpacking crowd we were expecting.

The next morning we spent a few hours trying to sort out our accommodation for the next few days and it was not without frustrations.  Customer service is something of a mystery at times here in India- even if they have rooms available but you don’t have a reservation, they will not let you stay at the hotel.  We had to go to an internet café, make reservations online, and then come back with them before they would book us in.  None the less, we booked five nights at the resort since it’s on the beach and location is definitely important here- the main streets are filled with inns and guest houses and while they’re in walking distance from the beach, they lack charm and serenity.

For the most part we spend the next few days relaxing on the beach although we did have to take a few days off after having bought local sun screen that was either long expired or just completely useless.  Needless to say in weather reaching 34 and 35 degrees- we were burnt.  We did manage to take in a weekly market in Anjuna and a day trip to a beach about two hours south of where we are called Palolim.  This beach is more in line of what we were expecting- though still a large contingent of Russians- all of which are very large and appear to have no age limit to wearing a bikini nor taking their tops off (surely not the topless experience Stijn was hoping for)!  Overall though, a much quieter and remote beach with only beach huts as accommodation that are taken down each year after the tourist season.  We were a bit sad that we hadn’t stayed here but none the less enjoy exploring it for the day before heading back to our resort.

Today we are checking out of our hotel and saying goodbye to India and heading to Bangkok.  We had hoped to be able to head to the Maldives from here however it was much more difficult from India particularly because once we leave India, our visas do not allow for us to come back, and Bangkok is a much better hub so we will see what we can find from there.

As we depart India and reflect on our time here we are pleased with the vast majority of experiences we’ve had here.  Thankful that we joined an organized tour knowing full well that left to our own devices we wouldn’t have lasted a week.  There are many more parts of India that we would have liked to take in but it’s much too large of a country to devour in one trip.  We have enjoyed the people and the culture immensely, though there are certainly aspects we could do without, namely the loud burping and the inexplicable idea that every square inch of this country is a suitable toilet, but we are humbled by the simplicity and yet complicated way of life that exists here that is steeped in rich history and the warmthness of its people.  And while the country has kicked our butts repeatedly, it is truly an amazing country and far more enjoyable than we were expecting. We are grateful for our time here and for the memories we’ll have.

Now to the familiar Bangkok to start the second leg of our journey.