Travelling on from Japan we started our Indian odyssey in Delhi (Jan 18), a sprawling poor city with lots of people, chaos, broken run down infrastructure, noise and pollution. On our first day we ventured out to explore Old Delhi and had a fortunate encounter with a couple of men riding bicycle rickshaws who followed us relentlessly down the streets until we agreed to hire them to show us around. We went around the Chandi Chowk and Kinari Bazaar and climbed up onto the roof of an old run down apartment to view the derelict vista of Old Delhi. Alone we wondered thought the Red Fort and its Lahore Gate built from red sandstone in 1639 by Shah Jahan - it was the seat of Mughal power until 1857. Then walked through the famous Connaught Place built in 1931 in order to provide a nice shopping experience for the English - a bit run down now.
Alex had visited India many times and decided it would be less stressful on the family to join an Intrepid Tour group specifically designed for kids. The tour idea was great we had our own guide and were joined by three other families from Australia with kids the same age to share the adventure with. It was also helpful to read 'Holy Cow' written by an Australian journalist who moved to India - a hilarious account of the realities of living in a varied and developing country.
So whilst in Delhi with the group we visited Jama Masjid - India's largest mosque in old Delhi. Women had to put on long robes and removed shoes to view the inner court year with its colourful visiting family groups. We then drove through the Rajpath Avenue lined with public buildings form the Colonial days including the India Gate (a small arch de Triumph) to remember the soldiers from WW1. There are still goats, donkeys, camels and elephants in the streets of Delhi which delighted the kids.
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| Jama Masjid |
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| Roti bread oven |
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| Monkey God temple in Delhi - Hanuman |
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Old Delhi - elephants and camels still seen in the streets.
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The next day of the tour we caught a train to Agra which took about 2 hours, we saw the varying semi rural landscape rush by and on the side of the track women and children breaking rocks down to ruble. The group travelled Indian first class meanwhile I was thinking about the beautiful movie the 'Lion' - based on teh boy who got lost on a train in India and then was adopted by an Australian couple.
Our first stop was Agra Fort on the Yamuna River built by Emperor Akbar in 1565, constructed of red sandstone with amazing dried up moats and ramparts that enabled the Mughal's to pour flaming oil, roll large boulders and corral elephant charges to ward of enemies. This was the capital of the Mughal empire until it moved to Delhi.
From the Agra Fort we could see on the opposite side of the river the famous Taj Mahal. A hazy vision in the warmth of the day, ironically it was viewed easily from the Musamman Burj tower in the fort where Shah Jahan (who built the Taj Mahal) was imprisoned by his son. The beautiful white marble Taj Mahal was commissioned by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife Mumtaz Mahal who died in 1631. It is covered in intricate carved inlaid marble in floral motifs. Visitors have to wear forensic socks over shoes and stream through the mausoleum in cramped fast moving lines watched over by guards with guns.
The area is renowned for its rug making so the group visited a business that made them, and were shown through the process before being ushered into the bargaining room to purchase - we got a very small patch that was mailed back to Australia and is now the special matt for our dog Kendall.
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| Silk and wool rug makers of Agra. |
We also visited Fatehpur Sikri built by Emperor Akbar in 1571, it was the Mughal capital for 14yrs before being abandoned, probably due to lack of water. The red sandstone complex had many beautiful courtyards and columned corridors and rooms. Lots of green parrots, woodpeckers and chipmunks were in the grounds. The most interesting structure was the Hiran Minar memorial tower built for Akbar's favourite elephant decorated originally with tusks but replaced with marble.
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| Fatehpur Sikri |
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| Hiran Minar |
The group travelled on to Rathambore National Park staying in the Raj Palace Resort a lovely pink Indian hotel with individual cottages in the grounds. The National Park is 392 km2 of jungle and lakes i the shadow of a mountain range. It is teaming with deer, monkeys, birds, crocodiles, supposedly hyena, panther and the elusive tiger (we saw tiger prints and heard the warning calls of monkeys but didn't see any in the two safari trips we did however a fellow Kiama traveller who visited not long after us did get photos of the tigers). The reserve was originally the hunting grounds for Jaipur's Maharaja's and became a conservation reserve in 1973. Rudyard Kiplings' The Jungle Book 1895 is believed to be situated in this park or similar.
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| Our cabin |
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| Safari ride |
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| Swimming with crocodiles |
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| Mongoose |
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| Fresh tiger prints! |
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| Cow dung is dried and stacked in these towers for cooking fire fuel. |
Next stop was the pink city of Jaipur, it is renowned for its pink painted walls and jewellery making. The high lights were the Amber Palace, the market streets - Tripolia Bazaar, City Palace, the Hawa Mahal - Palace of the Winds, the observatory, and going out to see a Hindi film.
We visited the Amber Palace which is situated outside Jaipur on top of a hill. It was the Kachawaha fortress until 1727. Now it draws tourists who either climb the stairs or mount the elephants who carry them up the ramparts which zigzag the hill. Inside the fortress are a number of court yards, private quarters and beautiful public rooms including the mirrored tile room called the Sheesh Mahal. The family's deity Shila Devi has a temple situated here with silver doors. The gateway to the private quarters The Ganesh Pol was built 1640 a popular photo for tourists as the God of Wisdom and Learning. At the base of the hill the tourist buses attract touts etc and a few snake charmers illegally trying their luck. The poor snakes have their fangs removed, dehydrated and harassed into performing out of their baskets - the old trade is supposed to be banned.
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| Amber Palace |
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| Sheesh Mahal |
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| Jaipur is famous for its textile printing too. |
The group visited the City Palace Jaipur walking through the armoury and the fine clothing displays with cloth inlaid with silver. In the streets outside we paid for henna tattoos to be put on our arms, the goo is applied skill-fully by nimble hands producing the intricate Indian designs which stain the skin once dried off.
The Jantar Mantor Observatory was built by Sawai Jai Singh II in 1728. He was interested in astronomical studies and built structures to show the zodiac constellations, the movement of stars in sunken hemispheres and sundials.
In the City Palace vicinity is the Hawa Mahal - Palace of the Winds, the pink facade is an icon for the city and once provided a screen for veiled ladies of the haram to view the street scenes below.
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| Tripolia bazaar - shopping for a wedding sari. |
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| Getting ready for India's national kite flying festival |
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| The cinema where the tour saw a Hindi film called Tiger. |
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| Rajasthani puppet show |
The group then travelled into the Shekhawati region which is a semi arid historical area located in the northeast part of Rajasthan. Here Intrepid sponsors a
school for the disabled called Asha Ka Jharna which we visited in
Nawalgarth. The school is one of three
run as a non profit , it has very basic facilities to assist children with
mental and physical disabilities including hearing impairment to help them
develop some independence, give respite to families and address welfare
needs. As a group we went into the small
sparsely supplied classes to observe and have some interaction with the kids. Donations were welcome and on return home our
family put together a package of teaching aids to send over.
We stayed at the Roop Niwas Kothi, Nawalgarh Founded in 1737 by Thakur Nawal Singhji. The town of Nawalgarh has a number of havelis (a mansion with a central courtyard often built by traders on camel routes) some are more than 300 yrs old with their facades adorned with colourful frescos depicting social and religious life. Roop Niwas was originally built as a country house on 150 acres land, which was mainly used for stabling and grazing the family's favourite horses - the Marwari Arabian horses have turned in ears which make them unique. It is here outside the compound that the tour group discharged our fireworks which are illegal now but we managed to buy some in Delhi. We could see why they are now regulated as the fireworks were more like Isis bombs and seemed to be unpredictable and incredibly deafening, terrifying the lot of us.
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| Roop Niwas Kothi |
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| Marwari Arabian horses |
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| Local kids from the tent settlement came over to interact. |
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| The scariest fireworks ever! |
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| Haveli courtyard |
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| Jalebi sweet street food |
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| Disco tuk tuk's |
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| Kite flying festival - kites get cut down by glass crusted thread. |
Our next heritage stay was at Alisisar Haveli in the town of Jhunjhunu also in the Shekhawati region, which was built in 17th century - the stunning haveli was on top of a hill surrounded by a poor town and arid desert. The hotel had a grand lobby, outrageously beautiful dining hall with murals and chandelier's, and a gaming room with billiards table/tiger skin/guns on display reminiscent of the grand colonial days. While we were here we had a camel cart ride through the town and into the surrounds.
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| Alsisar Haveli - dining hall |
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| Water well for camel route riders |
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| Rajasthani women cover their faces. |
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| Delhi Karol Bagh market |
The Intrepid tour ended in Delhi where we said our good byes to the other families before heading off on our own to the lakeside city of Udaipur. We arranged to stay at a lake side hotel called Jaiwanna Haveli in the old part of Udaipur, it was nice to be in sight of water again and to be in a bustling touristy town. The roof top open air restaurant was lovely for dining an the views of the iconic Lake Palace.
On the lake are two palaces, Jag Mandir which is open to the public was built in 1629 as a refuge for the Prince Khurram (late Emperor Shah Jahan) it has a large garden and restaurant we had lunch there and caught the ferry back.
The most famours however is the Jag Niwas - Lake Palace, built in 1734 it was the royal summer retreat and now a heritage Raj Hotel where James Bond Octopusy was filmed. We stayed in beautiful rooms with views of the City Palace imagining what it would have been like to be a royal in the day. The hotel was stunning, great food and it was nice to have some luxury after the challenges of travelling elsewhere in India.
We visited The City Palace which is on the shores of Lake Pichola it is a complex of several palaces built by 22 different Maharanas between the 16 - 20th centuries, the oldest section dates from 1568. The palace entrance is through the Tripolia Gate 1713 which leads to an open chowk area and the adjoining royal apartments, halls, narrow passageways and courtyards. The Mewar crest - a sun face, represents the rajputs as descendants from the sun. Udaipur was founded by Maharana Udai Singh in 1559as the capital of Mewar.
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| Jagdish temple 1651 |
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| On top of our hotel - Jaiwanna Haveli |
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| Jag Niwas - Lake Palace |
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| City Palace Udaipur |
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| Mewar Crest |
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| Tripolia Gate |
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| Jag Mandir |
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| Catching the boat to Lake Palace |
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| Rose Petal welcome at Lake Palace |
Our last stop in India was a visit to Varinasi India's holiest Hindu city which has a legacy going back 3000 yrs. The city is situated on the Ganges River - the 'living goddess', which is lined with temples and shrines displaying an endless cycle of Hindu religious practice. We had a few difficulties with flights being cancelled an delays so our time at Varinasi was shortened, however we feel we saw enough of the confronting city. The bustle of people, carts, cars, cows is overwhelming particularly the very obvious begging of maimed people gathering at the busiest part of the town. The kids were distressed and the cacophony of human activity was too much.
We hired a guide to take us on the evening boat ride on the Ganges to observe the funeral pyres on the ghats (steps) and purchased tea light candle offerings to float down the river. All the large wooden boats gather tightly in front fo the main ghat for the nightly holy bell/lamp/blessings performed by Hindu holy men. The next day we decided to forego the ease of having a guide to have our own experience and ventured to the golden temple Vishwanath Temple dedicated to Shiva. The temple was originally built 1000 yrs ago, the current structure was constructed in 1777and has a 750 kg gold topped shrine visible not very easily from the rabbit warren of narrow lane ways surrounding it. The temple is very popular with locals who file in carrying offerings whilst being pushed and shoved by the crowd and armed police. We were the only non Indians so easy targets to be swept up into the chaotic scene. We were picked up by one man then delivered to another who proclaimed he was holy, we had to pay for a locker in a lane to leave our belongings but had to take our passports with us. The holy man hustler led us past the queuing locals and delivered us to the police down a dark laneway to have our passports collected and then have a very physical feel up ie/ pat down that was too thorough. We were then thrust past the temples and then filed into the main temple with the phallic sculpture which was the most important and heavily controlled by police. We were directed to throw our offerings and the milk over the phallus. On leaving the chaos Alex was hustled (pulled) away up the confusing lane ways by our 'holy man' - he had the money so I stressed that Oren had to run after him through he crowds while I gathered up distressed Hollander not coping with he jostling. In the end we got out but ended up paying for it , feeling like we were stupid for putting ourselves through what felt risky and an uncontrolled situation, but also because it was obvious we were not Hindu - the temples were very special to the locals and we didn't deserve to be ushered through ahead of the devotes.
Singapore was a stop over on the way home, we were recovering from stomach bugs but managed to enjoy the Marina Bay Sands hotel and surrounds.
