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Solo Trip to India and Nepal
  • Happy Days Travel
  • Happy Days Travel

Solo Trip to India and Nepal

This is my first solo overseas trip since Mark died earlier this year. I'm excited to return to India and to explore Nepal for the first time, but it will be strange not to have Mark with me to share the experience with. Les mer
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  • Happy Days TravelSolo Trip to India and NepalReisende

    Ganga Aarti

    9. april, India ☀️ 31 °C

    We then went for a delicious malai lassi, a thick, creamy version topped with a dollop of fresh cream. Afterwards, we went in totos to Assi Ghat, the southernmost ghat in Varanasi, to watch the Ganga Aarti ceremony. It was similar to others I've seen, but we were quite far away from the action, so we couldn't really see what was going on.

    We ended the day in a pasta and pizza restaurant. Fiona and I just had a drink. We then returned to the hotel in autos.    Les mer

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    Sunrise over the Ganges

    10. april, India 🌙 19 °C

    We slept well, but not for long enough! I could have happily slept for longer when the alarm went off at 4.30am! We had to meet in the lobby by 5 to get autos to take us back to Assi Ghat, where we were getting on a boat for a sunrise cruise.

    When we arrived, there were almost as many people there as there had been last night. The Subah-e-Banaras, a morning ceremony to wake up Mother Ganges was in full swing. We watched proceedings for a while before making our way down to the 'beach' to board our boat. Before we did, the sun appeared over the horizon, and we witnessed a glorious sunrise.    Les mer

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    Remembering Mark

    10. april, India ☀️ 20 °C

    We motored down to Manikarnika Ghat, one of Hinduism's holiest cremation sites, where fires burn 24/7 on the Ganges bank. Hindus believe cremation here grants moksha (liberation from the rebirth cycle). Hundreds of cremations occur daily, making it a powerful, intense, and sacred site of death and final rites. It is believed Lord Shiva grants liberation to souls here, making it the most coveted place for passing.

    Bodies are covered in cloth/garlands, brought to the ghat within two hours of death, and cremated on wood pyres, often using sandalwood. The fires are lit from a sacred, continuously burning flame that has allegedly burned for centuries. A close male family member typically leads the rites. He shaves his head, circles the body and often breaks the skull with a bamboo pole to release the soul. The remains are scattered into the Ganga River. Pregnant women, babies, and toddlers are not cremated. Instead, they have rocks attached to their bodies and they are drowned in the river.

    The ghat is intense, noisy, and smoky, with constant activity. It is also extremely moving. As we watched proceedings, a boat pulled alongside us. The boatman was selling garlands of flowers with candles and prayers attached to them, just as I had seen in Rishikesh and other places. I'd had no prior idea to do it, but at that moment, it seemed like a fitting thing to do for Mark. When I first dropped it in the Ganges, I managed to create quite a splash and extinguish the candle! I knew Mark would be laughing at me if he could see me! The boatman lit another one for me, and Fiona did one for her Dad. We watched them float off down the Ganges together. It might be stupid, but it was very emotional and we both shed a few tears as we returned to our starting point.    Les mer

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    Breakfast and another cyclo ride

    10. april, India ☀️ 22 °C

    Back on dry land, we went to the New Bread of Life Bakery for breakfast. We had to wait for quite a while as there was another group ahead of us, but it was worth waiting for! We had the skillet - orange juice, wholemeal toast, hash browns, tomatoes, mushrooms, scrambled eggs, and coffee. Lovely! 😀

    Before we left the café, I bought a couple of slices of freshly-baked cheesecake for later. Then, it was into cyclos to visit a silk weaving business. Fiona was on the back of one, facing backwards, with Emma. I shared another with Meriy.    Les mer

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    A spot of shopping

    10. april, India ☀️ 29 °C

    At the silk house, we were given cold drinks and a very interesting talk on how silk and cashmere are woven, and how to tell real from fake. Afterwards, obviously, they wanted us to buy something. There were some gorgeous pieces! Fiona ended up buying a beautiful cashmere blanket, a silk scarf, and some handwowen cotton fabric that I'm going to make into a table runner and placemats for her. The only other person to buy anything was Joe, who bought a couple of silk shirts.

    Then, it was back to the hotel in cyclos. We hadn't booked any afternoon activities, so we were able to catch up on a bit of admin. Fiona slept, waking only when Isabel phoned with an update about Fred's visit to the vet. I caught up on some of my notes. Later, we had a meal in the hotel restaurant. I had chicken fried rice and Fiona had a bucket of dahl and a basket of bread. There was so much food. Neither of us managed to finish it! It was probably because we'd already eaten the cheesecake from this morning 😀.    Les mer

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    Sunset cruise on the Ganges

    10. april, India ☀️ 31 °C

    At 5pm, we were ready to go on the sunset cruise on the Ganges. All of us except Mira and Hisa chose to do it. We went by auto back to Assi Ghat and then transferred to a small boat. It was much busier on the water than it was this morning. We basically covered the same route as earlier on, but the atmosphere was totally different. When we got near to the cremation site, we could see that there were many more cremations taking place than there had been this morning. At this point, our boatmen offered small flower arrangements with candles to remember a loved one by. I didn't want to do another one after this morning, but most of our fellow travellers did, so there were a few tears on our way back to the drop-off point!Les mer

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    A trip to Sarnath

    11. april, India ☀️ 36 °C

    I was awake from 6am despite having nothing to get up for this morning! I managed to drop off at around 7.30, only to be woken up less than an hour later by Kathy phoning me! I didn't sleep any more! I spent the morning trying to catch up on my notes while Fiona slept. I woke her at 10.30, so that we could go for breakfast and get packed up ready to check out of our room at 12 noon. We then moved our luggage to the day room, and chatted to Kathy for an hour before it was time to leave for our trip to Sanarth Temple.

    We were downstairs at 1pm to meet our tuk-tuk driver. We saw our leader, Meriy, who told us that she was too sick to continue the tour. She will leave us in Agra, and we will have a replacement leader for the rest of the trip. It is no great loss - she hasn't been very good from the beginning!

    Our auto arrived on time, and we made the 35-minute journey to Sarnath, a sacred Buddhist pilgrimage site where Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon to his five disciples after attaining enlightenment, often called the "Turning of the Wheel of Law". It is home to ancient ruins, including the massive Dhamekh Stupa, Ashoka Pillar, and the Sarnath Museum, which houses the famous Lion Capital. Sarnath was historically known as Isipatana and is one of the four most sacred Buddhist sites, attracting pilgrims and tourists from across the globe.    Les mer

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    Mulagandha Kuti Vihar

    11. april, India ☀️ 36 °C

    On arrival, we visited Mulagandha Kuti Vihar, a modern Buddhist temple and monastery built in 1931 by Anagarika Dharmapala of the Maha Bodhi Society. It commemorates the site where Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon. It is known for its exquisite frescoes of Buddha's life by Japanese artist Kosetsu Nosu, a golden Buddha statue, and tranquil surroundings.

    It was extremely hot this afternoon, so when we came out of the temple, we both needed a drink. We went to a nearby stall, bought a bottle of cold water, and asked if we could sit in the shade for five minutes. Chairs were immediately found. I left Fiona sitting there while I went to buy an ice-cream. When I rejoined her, the stallholder's 3-year old son had come home from school. I couldn't just sit there eating an ice-cream in front of him, so I asked his Dad if I could buy one for him. He said yes, so the little boy came with me to choose his ice-cream. His 4-year old brother then appeared. The delight on their faces when I bought them a Magnum each was unforgettable. Their smiles were so wide 😃. They thanked both Fiona and I by kneeling in front of us and touching our feet!

    After our break, we wandered down the tree-lined avenue to the site of the Dhamekh Stupa. We bought sugar cane juice (Fiona) and freshly squeezed orange juice (me) on the way.    Les mer

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    The Dhamekh Stupa

    11. april, India ☀️ 37 °C

    We visited a Jain temple on our way to the stupa.

    The Dhamehk Stupa is a massive, 43.6 metre high cylindrical Buddhist monument, marking the spot where Buddha delivered his first sermon. Built in 500 CE to replace an Ashokan-era structure (249 BCE), it is adorned with intricate Gupta-period carvings and serves as a major pilgrimage site, maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India. It is surrounded by many other archaeological ruins. It remains a profound spiritual site for Buddhists worldwide.

    The site is immaculate - very well maintained and extremely clean. We would have loved to have lingered longer, but our time was running out.    Les mer

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    Big Buddha and a night train

    11. april, India ☀️ 36 °C

    We quickly walked down to where we'd arranged to meet our driver, giving ourselves a few minutes to visit the impressive Big Buddha.

    We then returned to the hotel and met up with Kathy for a late lunch in the hotel restaurant. We had a repeat of yesterday - dal and bread for Fiona and chicken fried rice for me. I still couldn't finish it! We then chilled in the day room, chatting to our fellow travellers, until it was time to go to the station for the night train to Agra. During the evening, we were told that Meriy was too ill to continue the trip. She would travel with us to Agra, but another guy, Annu, would be our point of contact if we had any problems during the night. We would be getting a new tour leader when we arrived in Agra. I can't say we were sorry. Meriy is lovely, but she's not a leader. She hasn't been very good at keeping us informed and has left us to fend for ourselves in many instances.

    At 9.15pm, we left our hotel in autos to be taken to the station. Our train wasn't leaving until 11.10pm, so Annu cleared some people off some benches, so we could all sit together. He then stood guard over us (he was a big guy!) and made sure we were all OK. He moved beggars away and generally kept us safe. It felt very reassuring 😊.

    When the time came to get on the train, ot seemed that Meriy had completely handed over her responsibilities to Anu. He was the one who checked that we were comfortable. He even prayed for us to have a peaceful night 😀. Fiona, Rachael, Emma, and myself were in a section with a couple and their two young children. We swapped our allocated seats around a little bit, so that Fiona had a middle bunk and I had a lower one. We set off, knowing that we had a shorter journey than the other night. We were due in to Agra at 6.10am.    Les mer

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    Agra Fort

    12. april, India ☀️ 32 °C

    Annu appeared in our section this morning. I was already up and ready. He asked me to wake the others and then he kept popping back to make sure we were OK. I hadn't slept well, but I think I did better than the other night.

    There was a hold-up before we got in to the station, so we finally arrived at around 6.45am. Annu then led us to an Intrepid minibus which took us to our hotel, an hour's drive away. Once there, we were given the keys to a couple of dayrooms to freshen up in, and then we went for breakfast which was already being served in the hotel restaurant. We had a final group photo with Meriy, who was going home to Delhi, and we met our new leader, Tusher. Immediately, the vibe was different. He was open and friendly, very smiley, and he gave us all the information we needed about today and tomorrow. As Rachael and Rick said, 'this is Intrepid'! After me singing the company's praises for years, I was glad that Fiona was seeing what a group leader should be like!

    We left on an optional visit to Agra Fort in the minibus at 10.30am. Everyone except Mira and Hisa chose to do it. The price of 1210 rupees per person included the transport, entrance fees, and the services of Amol, an excellent local guide. Tusher came with us, too. He is from Agra, and was able to add lots of details and personal stories to Amol's already comprehensive information. 

    Within the first few seconds of getting off the minibus at the entrance to Agra Fort, I'd been offered a chess set, the Taj Mahal in a snow globe, and a whip! Random! 😀

    The Agra Fort (Qila Agra) is a historical Mughal fort in, also known as Agra's Red Fort. Mughal emperor Humayun was crowned at this fort in 1530. It was later renovated by the Mughal emperor Akbar from 1565 and the present-day structure was completed in 1573. It served as the main residence of the rulers of the Mughal dynasty until 1638, when the capital was shifted from Agra to Delhi. Before being captured by the British, the last Indian rulers to have occupied it were the Marathas. In 1983, the Agra fort was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its importance during Mughal rule. It is about 2.5 kilometers northwest of its more famous sister monument, the Taj Mahal. The fort can be more accurately described as a walled city.    Les mer

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    Sheroes Hangout Café

    12. april, India ☀️ 35 °C

    From the fort, we went to Sheroes Hangout Café for lunch. This is a cafe and community, set up by the Chhanv Foundation, supported by Intrepid, and run by survivors of acid attacks. The aim is to increase awareness of acid attacks and empower acid attack survivors. The cafe staff are survivors, and all profits are used for the rehabilitation and treatment of all their fellow survivors. Survivors are also offered classes that focus on basic skills, crafts, and English conversation. There are currently three cafe locations in Delhi, Agra and Lucknow.

    The atmosphere in the café is happy and uplifting. They serve a set menu lunch of sandwiches, fries, assorted pakora, aloo stuffed paratha, pickles, and curd, and invite customers to pay what they think it's worth. After we'd eaten, we watched a very moving video featuring survivors of acid attacks. Nearly all of them had been attacked by a family member - husband, brother, father, mother, or cousin. Their stories were horrific. How can anyone do that to another human being? The Sheroes name is something of a misnomer as 25% of victims of acid attacks are male, and they are helped by the charity, too. Some of us bought craft items made by victims to further help the cause. Through campaigns run by the charity, there are now much more severe punishments for those found guilty of committing acid attacks, and the sale of acid used has been banned.

    Back at the hotel, Meriy was just leaving for Delhi, so we had a group photo.    Les mer

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    The Taj Mahal

    12. april, India ☀️ 35 °C

    After lunch, we returned to the hotel, where we checked in to our rooms and had the opportunity to get changed ahead of our visit to the Taj Mahal. Kathy had bought a dress specially for the occasion. The rest of us just put on clean trousers and tops 😀.

    At 4pm, we got back on the minibus and went to the Taj Mahal. From where we were dropped off, we transferred to a large golf buggy to take us the one kilometre to the entrance to the Taj itself. Mila, one of our group, was feeling so poorly and weak that she had to be transported in a wheelchair for the whole of the visit. Kathy quizzed her about her symptoms and suggested to Tushel that she have a Covid test - if only to reassure the rest of us that she's not contagious.

    Anyway, we arrived at the outer entrance to the Taj. We walked through immaculate grounds with lush emerald green lawns, through an archway thronged with people, most of whom had their phones held aloft, and emerged to get our first uninterrupted view of the monument itself. We must have seen thousands of images of the Taj Mahal durung our lifetimes. After all, it is one of the most famous buildings on earth. However, nothing prepares you for the reality of it. It is stunningly beautiful. The symmetry. The way the light reflects off the marble. The smooth curves of the domes. It is a truly magical experience.

    For those who don't know, the Taj Mahal is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, to house the tomb of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal; it also houses the tomb of Shah Jahan himself. The tomb is the centrepiece of a 17-hectare complex, which includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set in formal gardens bounded on three sides by a crenellated wall.

    Construction of the mausoleum was completed in 1648, but work continued on other phases of the project for another five years. The first ceremony held here was an observance by Shah Jahan, on 6 February 1643, of the 12th anniversary of the death of Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal complex is believed to have been completed in its entirety in 1653 at a cost estimated at the time to be around ₹32 million, which in 2015 would be approximately ₹52.8 billion (US$827 million).

    The building complex incorporates the design traditions of Indo-Islamic and Mughal architecture. It employs symmetrical constructions with the usage of various shapes and symbols. While the mausoleum is constructed of white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones, red sandstone was used for other buildings in the complex similar to the Mughal era buildings of the time. The construction project employed more than 20,000 workers and artisans under the guidance of a board of architects led by Ustad Ahmad Lahori, the emperor's court architect.

    The Taj Mahal was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 for being "the jewel of Islamic art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage". It is regarded as one of the best examples of Mughal architecture and a symbol of Indian history. The Taj Mahal is a major tourist attraction and attracts more than five million visitors a year. In 2007, it was declared a winner of the New 7 Wonders of the World initiative. The Taj Mahal and its setting, surrounding grounds, and structures are a Monument of National Importance, administered by the Archaeological Survey of India.    Les mer

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    Carpet weaving and dinner

    12. april, India 🌙 29 °C

    We drove to a handwoven carpet studio next, where staff were waiting with very welcome cold beers and soft drinks. Although I had no intention of buying anything, I was fascinated to learn more about the weaving process, and watch it in action. There were some beautiful carpets and rugs at very reasonable prices considering the time and the work that had gone into making them. Kathy was the only one of the group who bought one 😊.

    From there, we went to a local restaurant for dinner. It was after 9pm and far too late for me to be eating, but I was hungry, so I ordered something. I knew it was a mistake 😂.    Les mer

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    Arrival at Tordi Ghar

    13. april, India ☀️ 36 °C

    I didn't sleep much and my blood sugar was sky high when I checked it this morning. I felt terrible! I knew I shouldn't have eaten so late!

    We were leaving by coach at 7am for the eight-hour drive to Tordi Ghar. The family from New Zealand decided to stay in Agra for another night. They will join us in Jaipur tomorrow if Mila is feeling better. So, we had plenty of room to have a double seat each on the bus 😀.

    We had brunch boxes containing two hard-boiled eggs, a packet of crisps, two cheese sandwiches, two bananas, a vegetable curry, two paratha, and a yoghurt, to eat on the way. Most people slept. I didn't - despite how tired I was feeling. I got a bit of work done while my wifi was working. We stopped once for coffee and toilets, and arrived at our destination at around 1.45pm, well ahead of schedule. 

    Our accommodation for the night was a 350-year-old royal family home converted into a hotel in 2008. From the outside, it looked stunning. Inside, we were given a cold drink in a lavishly decorated and furnished drawing room. It was only on closer inspection that you realised the place was rather run down. I guess the upkeep costs on a building of this size and age must be astronomical! 

    We were shown to our rooms and given time to freshen up. We went with Kathy to the dining hall, where we had an omelette each and tea or coffee. Worried about my blood sugar, I hadn't eaten much out of the brunch box.    Les mer

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    Jeep safari

    13. april, India ☀️ 36 °C

    At 4.45pm, we met up with Tusher and a local guide to do a jeep safari. It felt like a bit of a contrived activity, but it turned out to be enjoyable nevertheless.

    Our first stop was just down the road at the old stepwell that used to serve the village. Close by, we saw the cenotaphs belonging to the family who own the hotel where we're staying. Next, we met a farming couple who were feeding their goats aubergines as we arrived. We walked a little way into their field to see their crops of cumin, coriander, aubergines, tomatoes, and okra.Les mer

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    Sand dunes and sunset

    13. april, India ☀️ 35 °C

    From the farm, we drove to some sand dunes. The others walked up while Fiona and I remained at the bottom. Our last stop was a reservoir, where the drivers served us tea, coffee, and biscuits as we watched the sun set. It was beautiful!

    Back at the hotel, it was lit up like a Christmas tree! It did look pretty 😊. We had dinner on the terrace - tomato soup followed by chicken curry, dahl, rice, and chapattis. It wasn't particularly tasty, but it was OK. By now, I was suffering a bit with tummy issues, so I was careful about what I ate. We sat chatting to Tusher until we turned it in at around 10pm. For me, this is what Intrepid trips are about - and what we were missing during the first half.    Les mer

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