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India

November 2018 - April 2024
An open-ended adventure by Shahnavaz Read more
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  • TravelerIndia
    Day 11

    Venice of the East

    November 29, 2018 in India ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Up I got and Will wasn't in the dorm room... Uh oh I've lost him again. Luckily he messaged me this time. He'd moved to an empty dorm due to a snorer in ours! As I was awake I decided to get up and shower. It was absolutely freezing! I couldn't get warm (even in the 26 degree heat) for hours!

    Although I've had a few moments of worry I've overall been enjoying my life of luxury in Rajasthan, but Will has been worrying the whole time. Maybe we should have taken the cheaper options of trains but meh it's done and there's nothing we can do. It's time to enjoy!!

    Today was a day of no travelling, to just enjoy the beautiful city of Udaipur. In the morning we sat on the rooftop for a while to enjoy the beautiful views from the hostel Fort. We then took our trousers and my backpack to a lovely old man for repair. He didn't care how much we gave him which was really sweet and then we had our morning Chai. Then it was time to sight see. We wandered around the town visiting various temples including the Jagdish temple which had prayers happening and we even bumped into some people we met in Pushkar which was nice. For lunch we had Kachori which is spinach and peas encased in a samosa like round casing. Yum. Will is doing amazingly well with the spicy food, I'm actually super impressed. Even if it might take him a while yo eat it he finishes every dish! I must admit I'm absolutely loving the food, I'm in heaven!

    In the afternoon we visited the City Palace which was beautiful and then a tibetan market where we had some shakes.

    Now the thing we've been waiting for the boat ride along Lake Pichola. A tip for anyone who comes here, go to the port near Natural View Restaurant. Here is the government run boat and for a sunset tour it is only Rs300 instead of Rs 600 which other companies charge. As we were a bit early we went to a cafe to get a cake as a trear and spoke to Simran the owner of the cafe who gave us some amazing tips for the rest of our travels in India. Finally it was time for the boat ride and finally we got to see the sunset in all its glory. It was so relaxing and really romantic. We were both finally fully relaxed and able to enjoy the luxury of the car. In the words of Will's mum "Just enjoy the luxury and it is the duty of the rich man to".

    After the boat ride we went to Natural View Restaurant which had an amazing view of the lake and sunset. We sat and drank mint tea and it couldn't have been more perfect. I'm so glad to see Will finally relaxed.

    We then rushed back to to the tailor to pick up our trousers and my backpack which needed fixing and the lovely old man did a fantastic job too!

    For dinner we went back for Thali (for those that don't know Thali is one of my fave things to have. It's a metal tray full of small dishes of Dhal, Aloo Gobi, Raita, Rice, Chapattis and Papad). Its delicious! My funniest moment of the day happened over dinner. I forgot to ask for Will's Thali to be a bit less spicy as he wasn't feeling well. Half way through the dinner Will said jeeze I just can't cope with the spiciness of this Papad. Papad is a papaddom!! It's possibly the plainest thing on the Thali 😂

    After dinner wandered to HatiPole Market which is clearly where all the locals really dine! What a shame we had already eaten! They had some amazing looking street food and although full I could not resist a Gulab Jamun. According to Will it is the Indian version of Treacle Tart without the tart and for me and in fact most Indians its a memory of childhood.

    A perfect day of finally eating 3 meals in a day and seeing the beautiful sights and views of Udaipur.    Read more

  • TravelerIndia
    Day 12

    Peace And Quiet - Ranakpur

    November 30, 2018 in India ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Ajay has recommended that we go to Ranakpur for 2 days of peace and quiet in the mountains. So we got up, had one last look at our gorgeous view from the castle, picked up some somosas for breakfast and off we went in the car. Will has been getting really bad stomach cramps again in the last couple of days so I'm really hoping some R&R will get him back to normal.

    The journey was really lovely through the mountains, seeing the locals and watching everyone get on with their daily lives. The best part was that I could feel it becoming more peaceful. I was excited to arrive and when we did I was even more excited. We arrived just before lunch so we checked in, did a quick wash and then headed out in the car to see the Jain Temple. If I'm honest I have done zero research about Ranakpur and just went along with whatever Ajay recommended. Wow wow wow, I wasn't expecting the spectacle that I saw. Firstly it was enormous, I was expecting a small one room temple and its was just stunning both in its surroundings and the temple itself. We must have been there for about 2 hours around the temple, its outer temples and the grounds. It was really lovely. The only problem once again was all the disrespectful Chinese tourists who were screaming for each other around the temple. I had to shush them at one point as it was just crazy. Luckily I was able to find a lot of hidden corners for peace and quiet.

    We then visited the sun temple which was very small compared but with no one apart from us there, which was really nice. I sat in the prayer room and listened to the world around me. The rustle of trees in the wind, all sorts of birds chirping, bliss.

    Our final stop was to see the big lake full of crocodiles! A local boy at the hotel took us along a dry and baron path to the lake. As Monsoon didn't hit Rajasthan all the mountains are duty baron mounds. The lake was really low of water but this meant you could see the crocodiles in all their glory. We only saw a couple but were told there are thousands in just that one lake! We sat, bird watched and just enjoyed the sunset. There are so many different types of birds in India its so fun to just sit with the binoculars and spot the exotic birds. After a while the boy had to go back so we tipped him and let him go without us in hope we will be fine finding our way back and we did 😊 I must admit I was a bit worried about walking back as there are leopards, grey langurs, buffalo's, sloth bears, cobras and much much more.

    When we got back to the hotel Ajay was sat waiting for us in his car in the car park. He waved us over and said it's whiskey time. Haha it was so funny, we all jumped in the car, Ajay asked one of the boy waiters to bring some glasses and we sat enjoying the local whiskey. I don't actually like whiskey but this was a super smooth, white whiskey. It was yummy! First we tried it with lemonade and then with lime and soda. Ajay was using the front seat as his little bar, it was fun. He even brought us papad and snacks! We soon finished 4 little bottles of whiskey and realised it was very strong so insisted we have dinner! After dinner Will was feeling really ill again, I don't think the alcohol helped but he had a horrific fever and bad stomach. So we went to bed and drugged him up.    Read more

  • TravelerIndia
    Day 13

    Can we stay here?

    December 1, 2018 in India ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    It's so peaceful here! Sure there were dogs barking at night but hey we can't have it all! Not waking up to constant beeping and call to prayer was just luxury. But.. Will really wasn't feeling very well and unfortunately had quite an unsettled sleep with his fever, so we had a lie in for once and stayed in bed till about 9am. We then got up and went for a little walk around the dam and found a trail. We'll obviously we had to follow it and that we did! It took us to a really small lake, normally it would have been huge, where we sat, meditated, bird watched and enjoyed the peace and quiet. Realising it was quite late we walked back as I'm sure Ajay thought we would only be half an hour. We've definitely been gone two!

    When we got back Will was feeling worse so we just chilled out as we weren't sure where Ajay had gone. We had only eaten a banana and orange today so we had a quick stuffed paratha to settle our rumbling stomachs and then around 4pm another guest Iver took us on a little hike around the lakes and villages and up a small hill to watch sunset. We saw a couple of King Fishers including the Indian Blue Kingfisher and a black and white kingfisher and we saw plum headed parakeets. It was really beautiful and so peaceful.

    In the evening, as Will wasn't feeling very well still, we decided it was a day to have our traditional pizza night. Even though we were in the middle of nowhere and it wasn't very touristic there was a local pizzeria with a clay oven. The pizza was really yummy, but all of a sudden Will got really ill. He's had a really bad fever, stomach cramps and is now having acid flux. We rang Ajay and he came to the rescue and picked us up. Will's hands were freezing. It was a bit chilly but with my coat I was snuggly so I began to get worried. I got lots of hot water and lots of blankets, we watched a bit of friends, he took night nurse and fell asleep. Unfortunately at about 2am he woke up really ill again so we topped up on medicine and all I could do was warm him with my body heat as he was just so cold. He soo fell asleep again and was fine till the morning. I think it'll be a doctors visit tomorrow.    Read more

  • TravelerIndia
    Day 14

    The Blue City - Jodhpur

    December 2, 2018 in India ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Although we had a bit of a rough early morning Will slept well after his last fever episode. He was much perkier especially after I jubilated "it's a hot shower". After grabbing our leftover pizza and topping up our water bottles we jumped in the car and was soon on our way to Jodhpur.

    So why is known as the blue city? Well a lot of the buildings are painted blue. But why? There isn't actually any historical reasoning for the blue colour but their are various guesses including the Blue color was associated with Lord Shiva and there were lot of Brahmin followers of Shiva , they consider blue color to be sacred, or because blue color reflects most of the heat and because Jodhpur is known as suncity as it has sun all year round. And I can believe it. The scenery was completely different along the way. It was even drier, very little trees, flat and possibly the most real India we have seen. Although Rajasthan is seen as the Kings Home the poverty in Rajasthan is unbelievable. Ajay told us that the residents were given only 100 days work through the government and so it's very normal for families to go without food for days and weeks. Also the roads were basically rocky dust tracks that were just full of bulls and oxen. They would come about an inch away from our moving car without a care in the world of our drivers manic beeping. I must admit it gave me a few heart attacks along the way!

    We soon arrived in Jodhpur and our first stop Umaid Bawan, but it was closed. Now I believe it has made international news of a famous bollywood actress getting married. That's here in Jodhpur!

    Next was the famous Mehrangarh Fort. I think out of the many forts we have done (and let's be honest it's been daily in Rajasthan) it's my favourite. You get a free audio guide with your ticket and the views of the blue city and along the Fort walls were just stunning. I think we must have spent about 3 hours going round!

    It was now well after 2pm and I was getting grumpy with hunger so we went to our hotel, checked in, had a quick half an hour chill time and then walked out into the chaos of the bazaar. And it really was chaos! I had to bang on a rickshaw that nearly ran me over! It was a bit of an odd time for eating so we decided to just have some small street food and have dinner later. We had a bite to eat, bought some bananas from the market, feared for our lives a bit on the streets and could barely breathe because of the dust. However, I must admit it is one of the most real cities we have been to. Some of the others feel quite touristy, maybe it's the location of our homestay but everyone is just getting on with their lives. There's no tourist prices, everyone just pays the same. So although there's not much to see here it's just a really good city to sit have chai and people watch and this is exactly what we did. In the evening we had chai, went to the famous omelette man (omelette sandwiches an obvious winner), had another chai, bought snacks and then had a simple dhal and rice for dinner.

    Luckily Will is on the mend but now I'm getting a cold! Typical!    Read more

  • TravelerIndia
    11
    Day 15

    Our First Desert - Khuri

    December 3, 2018 in India ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Today is going to be super exciting! We are having our very first desert experience. We are off to Jaisalmer were we will ride a camel into the desert and then decide whether we want to camp underneath the stars or stay in a hut (it's supposed to be absolutely freezing at night and they don't provide proper warmth, so we will decide later!).

    After very little sleep (attempting to sleep in any of these city's seems near impossible, it's just so loud throughout the night) we got up, had a chai and aloo paratha and then headed off on our next adventure. Oh and an update on Will, his temperature is back to normal and his tummy is on the mend too. Phew!

    For about 5 hours the journey was a single road, with barely any sign of the living. There were a few trees dotted around, the odd herd of cattle or goats, a wind farm but that's it. As far as the eye could see was dry, sandy desert land with maybe an hand full of people along the way.

    It's been a really odd feeling being away at this time of year. I've seen so many posts about Christmas, advent and that wintery feeling and although we have felt cold in parts there isn't a single feeling of Christmas. Especially now that we are in a desert!

    When we arrived at our resort we were able to have a little rest before our camel ride. The last time I was on the back of an animal was when I rode a horse in the mountains of India 19 years ago. Now I must admit there is a reason I haven't done anything like it since, it was terrifying. I had an absolutely barking mad horse that would just keep rearing. So let's just say I was feeling nervous. At 4pm we all came out and each got on our camels. Eeek!! Getting up on top of the camel was fine, but when the camel stood it did make me squeal a bit inside. After a couple of minutes I soon got used to it and maybe because I'm used to being thrown around as the 3rd person on a scooter was why I felt much more comfortable than expected. It was a really fun experience. Now, is this cruel for the camels I'm not sure. So apologies to all my anti animal cruelty friends out there and I wouldn't do it again but it was pretty fun. I've never done anything like this before and it was just super exciting, romantic and just amazing. The camels took us to to the top of the sand dunes where we watched the most beautiful sunset and then we rode back. Wow the temperature difference was crazy. At one point it was 30 degrees and then all of a sudden it must have gone down to 12!

    In the evening we were showered in entertainment from the classical musicians, the dancer, a huge fire pit and ate from their buffet. It was good fun!!

    Once it started to quieten down a few of us chose to camp under the stars in the desert so off we went in a jeep to our romantic spot. I was worried about being cold and I shouldn't have. They had humongous multiple layered thick blankets that they laid outside the tent for us to lie under the stars on. Unfortunately there were a few lights around so it wasn't perfect but it was truly a spectacular night under the stars until we decided to get into our tents.    Read more

  • TravelerIndia
    Day 16

    Sunrise then Back to Chaos

    December 4, 2018 in India ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    At about 6:30am we got out of our tent, moved our blankets back outside and led under the twilight sky. It was cold!!! Then when the sun began to rise we moved to the top of the dune to enjoy it in all it's glory.

    For breakfast we went back to the resort and then headed to Jaisalmer the near by city, back to the hustle and bustle and checked into our hotel. Ajay has been such an amazing driver finding us fantastic hotels for within our budget with towels and hot water!! He's definitely getting mates rates!

    Around lunch time we went for a quick bite to eat and then to our final Fort of Rajasthan. The Fort of Jaisalmer is the largest living Fort in India. It reminded me of scenes from the Game of Thrones with people living their daily lives within the walls of the Fort. We didn't bother going to the museum and instead got lost down the tiny alleys and streets of the Fort. To be honest the Fort isn't actually that big compared to others we have seen and we saw the whole thing by about 3pm. We then sat on a wall, people watched and then went for chai and did some more people watching. A friendly rickshaw driver came and sat with us just to chat and practise his English and told us all about the Fort and how he has always lived within the city walls. He didn't mention a single thing about wanting money or selling us a tour, it was eye opening!

    In the evening we were hoping to meet Alex our friend from Taiwan who happened to be there that day but unfortunately she got side tracked and then had to get her bus. We watched sunset at the Fort walls and then ummed and ahhed for AGES about what we wanted for dinner. We have been in India for about 2 weeks now and in Rajasthan for most of that. I never thought I'd say it but I'm getting a bit sick of the food. Not because it's not delicious but because in this region the food is very very samey and not refreshing. For example it is a huge no no to get salads (in case it is washed in tap water) and so you end up eating some sort of piping hot vegetarian spicy dish with rice or chapattis everyday. I'm dying for a refreshing salad. We are eating a lot of fruit during the day but I could kill for a salad in the evening.

    We did a bit of research and ended up going to a tourist restaurant as it did slightly different local dishes on the menu. We had Guttu Curry and Chapattis and it was delicious.    Read more

  • TravelerIndia
    Day 17

    Bikaner

    December 5, 2018 in India ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    We are now in our final 3 days/ 2 nights of our Rajasthan tour and to be honest although we can't always have this luxury I am sad to have it end. Today we have a a long 6 hour drive to Bikaner. We are now basically driving back to Dehli but as the distance is so far we need to break it up into 3 days.

    Again, I'm sure we just drive on a single straight road the entire way!! Along the way we saw the norm of goats, bills, camels wandering along the highway. We even saw the Indian kingfisher fly past which was fun. At about 3pm we got to the hotel and chilled before heading out. I can't remember if I've mentioned but Ajay is a machine at driving. I think he'd do the journey in one if we didn't need to stop for a wee. But it also means that we don't stop for food, I'm sure he would if we asked, but we just power through on a kilo of bananas and then have a big dinner.

    For tonight's hotel he booked us into a haveli! Haveli's are beautifully ornate heritage buildings and this one was really lovely. I don't think we would have been able to afford it without the mates rates! I did a quick wash of clothes, we ate vegetarian biryani and then visited our final Fort of the trip. It wasn't anything spectacular but it was nice. Bikaner Fort is quite different from the others as its not actually on a hill top and is at the same level of the town.

    After we walked around around the town and ate dosa, jalebis, batata vada and something I had never had bettroot and potato kachori. Now that was a winner!    Read more

  • TravelerIndia
    Day 18

    Mandawa - Our last night with Ajay

    December 6, 2018 in India ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Although it wasn't our longest journey it really did feel like it. I slept for about an hour of it, was being thrown out of our seats for about 2 hours and felt starving and thirsty for the remaining. We did ask for filtered water at the hotel but it tasted like chlorine so I didn't want to risk it. We also had a kg of bananas but devoured them within the first hour or so. Now if I'm honest I've been very impressed by the quality of the roads here but I think I spoke too soon. It was like being in Laos again for part of the journey!

    Ajay did not disappoint us when taking us to our final accommodation. He dropped us off at Hotel Heritage Mandawa and he warned us "it will be very expensive but let's see what you can do with the price". This was now completely down to our bargaining. The owner showed us 3 different rooms first costing Rs 3,500. It was a beautiful beautiful suite, but 3.5x our price range! Next he showed us another room which was 2.5x our price range and then one that was 1.5x. I politely said they were all beautiful but unfortunately we just can't afford it. He then dropped to the price to Rs 1,000, which was bang on our budget and he asked us to not tell the other guests! I think we were lucky. :) We had a quick attempt to rehydrate and then headed off in search of the much loved famous Havelis of Mandawa, oh and of course food... That vital thing we keep skipping on...

    We found a man selling fried potato patties which was then mashed and mixed with chickpea dhaal, onions and covered in yoghurt. It was delicious!! So much so that Will ordered two. We then wandered round the teeny town, saw the outside of the Fort, a few Havelis, sat for a while as I was suffering from dehydration, I ate a somosa, we topped up on snacks and bananas in prep for our long day tomorrow and then headed back to our guesthouse to sit, read watch sunset and have dinner. Aftwe dinner we did a final stretch of our legs and had Peda an india sweet that Will's says is like Indian version of fudge.

    As tomorrow we have to get up and out for 5am we had an early night.    Read more

  • TravelerIndia
    Day 19

    It's gonna be long old day....

    December 7, 2018 in India ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    What a sleep! There were no calls to prayer at 5am,no dogs barking throughout the night, no beeping, just silence! At 4:20am we woke quite refreshed for once. We quickly got ready and jumped in the car.

    Now Ajay has now been driving us around for what will be 14 days and I have been unbelievably impressed by his knowledge of the routes and his lack of any technology. He has a phone but it must by much older than a Nokia 3310, and he calls it his apple haha Every other day we have been driving during the day and I think the dark has completely thrown him. Bless him he got lost after about 10 mins as he didn't take the correct right hand turn and we had to use GPS to get him back on track.

    Knowing it was 5am and dark we wrapped up in our coats prepped for a somewhat chilly start but I don't think I could have been more prepared... It was freezing. There was actual early morning mist on the fields like you see in the UK winter. Now I can hear you saying "Well I'm sure it's not actually cold like it is in England" and sure it isn't, but the temperature difference between day and night time is almost 20 degrees and that's what makes it feel so damn cold!

    Eventually the sun rose and by about 10am I was beginning to warm up and even took off one layer. At about 12pm we stopped for Aloo Paratha and chai before reaching a metro station in Dehli at 1pm. The restaurant was called Mannat and it had the rip off version logo from Masterchef haha

    We said our fond farewells to Ajay and we were now on our own. Ajay had told us the route we needed to take to get to Rishikesh and so we followed his instructions. First take a train direct to the bus station and then take a direct bus to Rishikesh. Easy... Haha so we were sat at the train station for about 40 mins when we realised there was no direct train to our required stop. So we asked and then jumped on the train. We arrived at the bus station an hour and half later to then find that Ajay had told us the wrong station! A local told us we needed to take another bus to the correct station and then get the bus to Rishikesh. So that we did. 2 hours later we were finally on the bus to Rishikesh! Ahhhh!! To be honest we were both just laughing at the whole situation hehe We decided to rough it and go on the local bus. Was this a good idea? I'd say it was bearable. It took 6 hours and the traffic was chaotic, our driver kept getting in yelling matches with other drivers, we eventually stopped for food where another driver was so peed with ours and so trapped our bus in completely and refused to move it for half an hour, but hey we eventually arrived in Rishikesh and I completed my book in the meantime - Andromeda Strain, I would definitely recommend it :)

    We then took a final tuk tuk, got to our guesthouse, and it was absolutely freezing. I had to sleep in all my clothes and my coat! But I must admit it was nice to be out of the crazy city atmosphere. Rishikesh is at the bottom of the Himalayas and on the Ganges. Can't wait to actually explore and see the beautiful surroundings in the morning!

    In the morning we both woke and decided today is a chill day. We had a few life decisions to make and to be honest just needed some time out to breathe the fresh air before we go exploring. We are both feeling a bit homesick and in need of fresh food so we went to a tourist cafe for avocado's and poached eggs on toast! We then wanderd along the Ganges and sat at a warm sunny spot on a peaceful beach along the river. My latest dilemma is what book do I pick next? After huge deliberation I've gone for Eragon.

    For lunch we had thali for Rs50! It's the cheapest I have ever seen it and it was so much food. I was in mini heaven.

    Then we went for coffee at a cafe looking over the Ganges, sat deliberating our next few months plans and then towards sunset we treated ourselves to carrot cake and ice cream!! Well that's what being homesick does to you :)

    We sat for as long as we physically could with all of our layers on and then went for a wander to heat up. We found a popcorn man and bought a bag of fresh popcorn as another home comfort treat. We we do have a lot of calories to make up for barely eating yesterday haha    Read more

  • TravelerIndia
    Day 21

    Rishikesh - The Beauty of India

    December 9, 2018 in India ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    I just can't explain my love for this place. Its a bit touristy and is very well known for its Yoga and has quite the hippy vibe. It's just so peaceful, well obviously it's has a bit of beeping but don't think I can ever rid of that... We checked out of our homestay as its got quite a lot of construction work so it is noisy and then we headed for Aloo Paratha for breakfast. The plan for the day is to go for a hike, but we are so chilled that I'm not sure if we will haha After breakfast we felt so calm we decided to go for a coffee again at the beautiful cafe we sat at yesterday. The sun was blazing into the cafe and it has a gorgeous outlook onto the Ganges. After having made a couple of life decisions yesterday we now feel super chilled and even more excited for our next month of travelling. (Watch this space for an update...).

    After a lazy start to the day we decided to go on a bit of a hike up a nearby hill we saw. It was super steep! But the view at the top was really lovely. Luckily I made it to the top as let's just say I was pretty sick along the way! We sat and bird watched for a while. On the way down we saw a family of pied hornbills!! What an incredible site!

    In the evening we had falafel, dumplings and chowmein. An odd combo I know but Indian food gets a bit much after a while... Dare I say it... Then we moved to our new homestay. We didn't realise how far out it was and jeeze it was far, mainly because it was uphill the whole way. Although feeling quite ill its been a really nice day... So far...

    Now the main reason we moved was because we wanted tranquility and peace. 😭 The reviews lied! It was not peaceful at all, constant bikes revving, children screaming, construction work going on and a guy constantly making sick noises. I ended up watching a film on my phone in attempt to block out the noise and eventually fell asleep at 3am. Not what I wanted when I was already feeling rotten. Unfortunately we booked 2 nights here 😔

    The next morning was very rough and I had a horrible fever and achey bones again. The positive of the situation was that they had hot water! Phew. I must admit today was a nothing day. I was either in bed or helping Will with the washing. My highlight of the day was when Will went for a little excursion and came back loaded with a chocolate croissant, cinnamon roll, popcorn and a mini dairy milk. He's the best!! As I hadn't eaten all day I was in heaven 😊

    Hope your day was better!    Read more

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