India 2, continued

I'm now back with Sarah and Mike and they now have broadband and computer working well. Next stop China (tomorrow) but I have more reporting on India to do...
14th March. Off to Mandawa, a town known for its havelis - the houses painted with loads of pictures inside and out.  The hotel is also a haveli and beautifully decorated, but limited water and electricity (only available at certain times).  Was 'guided' around the town by one  the hotel staff and saw all the other havelis.  Most of them are very run down, crumbling even, but a couple have been, or are being, restored and are impressive.  Taken to the inevitable shop and shown loads of things but managed to extricate myself fairly quickly.  That night I was joined at supper by some of the drivers who thought I looked boring and would like company!  I tried to explain the different between bored and boring...
Next day was my last day and we drove back to Delhi.  Sidur took another of his 'short cuts' and we got very late - plus he wanted me to go to his home for lunch, which we did.  It was cooked while I was there by his beautiful wife.  4 different dishes all cooked over a camping gas stove with his wife, Ruby, sitting on her haunches.  It did take a long time but was delicious.  Got back to Sarah and Mike's in time for supper!
Couple of days with Sarah and Mike, sorting out washing, talking English and drinking wine!  And Sarah had recommended a pedicure nearby so we splashed out all of £6 for an hour's foot pampering.  Probably lost 7 ozs with all the rough skin they removed and my toes are now a beautiful shade of deep pink.
On Sat. 17th I started another experience - an Indian train ride.  Friends had said I should travel by train so I booked a 46 hr trip from Delhi to Kerala.  I don't think I'll do it again but I survived!  I don't think the carriages had been cleaned since the train was built although I did have clean sheets and a very dubious blanket which would have stood up on its own.  Sarah had made me loads of sandwiches, gave me crunchy bars and bananas which kept me going for lunches and breakfast but I splashed out on the trains suppers at 25 rupees (30p) and I'm not sure what I ate but I suffered no side effects. People come through the  corridors continuously selling chaia and coffee, sandwiches, nibbles, books, jewellery.  Chaia and coffee are sold continuously and the calls of Chaiya and Caffee never stop. I thought I would spend time looking at the countryside going by but the windows were dirty and made of defective glass so couldn't see much!  Nowhere to wash so thank goodness for wet wipes but the loos were tolerable.  I moved bunks at the request of a guy who wanted to share with his family and ended up sharing a 'cabin' (curtained area off a long corridor full of curtains and bunks - no doors) meant for 2 with a husband and wife and loads of carrier bags.  Finally got back to my original cabin and shared with a very pleasant and interesting lady from Kerala.
So, I arrived in Kerala .  The countryside has changed from desert, to farming, to palm trees and lots of green. Met my new driver, Vipin and got the hotel for a very welcome shower.  Spent the afternoon looking around Cochin town guided by Vipin and saw the enormous fishing nets being used.
20th March we drove to Munnar.  Very slowly, Vipin is in no hurry.  The countryside is gorgeous, green, loads of trees - coconut palms, banana and pineapply plantations, rubber trees.  Very hilly - high hills so the ride was up and down and round and round.  Houses now built more substantially and the villages and towns look more prosperous and not so crowded.  Very few cows, I didn't see any pigs in the road, a few goats, and not so much rubbish everywhere.  Even the chai places are more like little restaurants.  Large, well built and imposing Catholic churches everywhere.  And in Kerala they drive on the left hand side of the road and overtake on the right - just like home!  Still lots of horn blowing and jostling for places in the towns.   Then we got to Munnar and there are tea plantations for miles.  Thousands and thousands of acres.  Every hill is covered with tea.  Shrubby dense bushes about 3 ft. high, in varying shades of green depending upon when they were last trimmed.  They are clipped all year round by women in colourful saris using huge shears which have metal 'buckets' attached to them to save the clippings.  They all look very neat and, although in rows, they are not in straight lines and almost look like sanskrit writing with the gaps around the plants, or perhaps flock carpets.  Silver oak trees, tall and slender, grow amongst the bushes as they not only give shelter but apparently draw up loads of water in the rainy season and leach it out when its dry.  It all makes for a very calm and lovely countryside.  At the side of the roads, too, there are brilliant blue tamarind trees, as well as the palms.  It is a beautiful place, I loved it.  I spent 2 days in Munnar in a hotel with sullen staff whose favourite word was No if I asked for anything, but apart from that, it was great.  I had a Ayurvedic massage which was excellent, and went to a local show of mime particular to Kerala, both good suggestions of Vipins.  The second day he drove me around and we visited two dams and lakes which were picturesque (apart from the rubbish), and went right up high to a view point over a deep valley with hills of tea and other shrubs around - spectacular.  We ate wonderful tasting little bananas sold at the side of the road.  Visited a local plant nursery and the plants are just the same as in England.  Pansies, geraniums, petunias, etc.
22nd March we drove to Periyar.  Left behind the tea and drove through woodland of palms, bananas and rubber plantations, lots of cardoman.  Visited an interesting spice garden with loads of plants used for Ayurvedic medicines and then I had the statutory Elephant ride before a 90 min boat ride on a large lake which is at the centre of a wildlife park.  Still no tigers (!) but loads of huge bison, and deer and different birds.  Great hotel where there were notices up for me to keep my doors closed as monkeys were regular visitors!
The next day we drove to Alleppy for my planned trip in the Kerala backwaters on a traditional rice boat.  We arrived about 12.30 and I have the boat to myself!  Lovely boat, sides and 'roof' covered in woven bamboo and a dear cabin and good 'en-suite'. We set off, poled out of the mooring by a very long bamboo cane and  I was served a 5 dish lunch of delicious fish and different vegetables and rice.  We made our way lazily through wide canals and some parts of a lake.  Sides of the canals are populated by small but mainly quite neat looking single storey houses, coconut palms, banana trees and loads of rice paddy fields.  The river is used by the river folk for washing, doing the washing, cleaning teeth, washing pots and pans, swimming, everything!  The main noise heard is the slapping of clothes against stones by women standing knee high in colourful saris.  It was just wonderful and the crew were chilled and pleasant.  I had a beer as I watched the sun go down behind the palms and then given another great supper - chicken this time - after we had tied up to a bank with our own banana tree bending over the bows of the boat.  The next day we went back and my 'cruise' finished but it was very memorable.  I then flew back to Sarah and Mike and their great hospitality - and more washing!
It has been so interesting to see the difference, not only in scenery but way of life and attitudes, between Rajhastan in the north and Kerala in the south.
Up to date now - and probably enough reading for you for now!  Next blog will be from China.
With love, Liz 

India Part 2

I'm sitting in airport waiting for my flight from Kerala to Delhi.  Loads to report and I may not get it all finished before I leave, but at least I will make a start.  Haven't had much luck in finding a computer keyboard and terminal recently and writing lots on my phone is too tortuous to contemplate!    So, update:
on 7th March we went to Jaipur.  Roads were varied to say the least.  They are 'repairing' some and building others.  Building new fly-overs and new towns.  In 5 years time this area will look very different but until then... the road starts well, then it suddenly becomes a dirt track, then a bit more of tarmac, then dirt, skirting around built up bits of flyover but none of it meets the other bit.  Its as if a few people 'here' got together and did a bit of building, then a few people somewhere else.  One place we went on winding through villages and even small towns, through cut throughs in rocks, over gravel, sand, mud, for miles and miles with huge trucks coming towards us setting up sandstorms.  We had a chaia stop, which later became a habit.  Just a few grubby tables at the side of the road, shared with cows and dogs.  Chaia made with boiled sweetened milk, tea and masala all boiled in a pan which should be in a museum, over a paraffin stove and picked up with tongs and poured into pyrex glasses.  I'm getting to like it, and haven't suffered anything as a result! - actually, its 24th March today and I have been very well, no digestive problems, thank goodness!  Anyway, back to Jaipur..  This is the Pink City.  (Actually its a sort of terracotta colour as the sun turns the pink to orange, apparently).  We checked into the hotel and the inevitable guide turned up.  Saw some beautiful 'sights', Jaipur has a wall around it, winding up and down the hills like a mini wall of China.  The Red fort is amongst this and has some beautiful rooms and views.  Also elephants, all painted up, wandering around.  Jaipur is a busy busy place but I still liked it - despite the guide!!  He was pretty creepy, thought he was God's gift and kept going on about the sexual activities of the Sultan, and how I should find a husband soon...  We fell out big time when he took me to a print 'factory' where they sell block printed items "a speciality of Jaipur" and I got very stuck in there, being shown literally hundreds of things even though I kept trying to walk out of the door.  I gave the guide the usual tip, which has been fine with everyone else, and he counted it out in front of me and told me it wasn't enough!  I told him he shouldn't have taken me to the warehouse and to please go...
But better later on - Jaipur has an annual Elephant Festival which was that evening!  So Sidur and I went and mingled with the crowds and wonderfully painted and dressed elephants, watched dancing, etc.  The next morning is was Holi - one of two major Hindu festivals.  It is the colour festival and you buy bags of amazingly bright colours - brilliant blues, reds, yellows, greens - and paint any part of anyone you see.  Some people (mainly children) then squirt water at you.  The ground everywhere is covered with coloured powder and people get pretty merry on different alcoholic concoctions and weave around on motor bikes, 5 to a bike, shouting greetings and waving vigorously.  Horns going, drums.  Great atmosphere.  It is only allowed to go on until 12.30 p.m. so normality can return slowly but there are people looking colourful all day, just not weaving around on bikes.  Sidur collected me at 10.30 to take me around but actually took me to the friends he had been with earlier and I joined in with him and his mates.  My face and hair were coloured and they drank whisky and ate heaven knows what which I ate as well.  I stuck to a beer.  They were fun and it was good to be part of it.  Two of them decided they had to go to work and grabbed a host which was lying around, linked it up to a water tap and stripped off to wash.  Well - its all part of life's rich experience!! 
Despite the whisky, Sidur drove me pretty well (if a little fast), to Pushkar - after I had gone back to the hotel to collect my bag.. the doorman looked at me and smiled and offered me a towel to clean myself off a bit!
The road to Pushkar was a welcome change from flat and dusty, winding up and down hills and greener than before.  Hotel down a dust track with camels lying around.  Somewhat quirky hotel with intermittent electricity and water, but pleasant.  Pushkar is a holy town, so no alcohol (although I understand from folk met the next day, you can find it and there was apparently plenty around for Holi!) and it is at the side of a lake but the only Brahmin temple in India.  The temple offers a great opportunity to grab unsuspecting tourists to give 'students' the opportunity to explain the Brahmin history and theology.  Student then hands tourist (me) over to a 'monk' who performs 'rituals' over you and then demands dollars or pounds - lots - $500 was suggested - and gets very nasty when you decline.  Sad, as I was quite enjoying the place until then! 
Next day (9th) we went to Udaipur.  On the way there, waiting at a railway crossing, we met another car with a friend of Sudir driving and so followed him to Udaipur.  Somewhat scary ride!  His friend was taking an English couple to Udaipur so we joined up for lunch which was good.  A day of guide reprieve - no-one turned up - horray!  so I took myself to the City Palace and a great boat trip around the lake.  This is the place with a palace looking as if it is floating on the lake.  That was lovely.  Probably my most dubious hotel (except for Delhi) and I think I was the only person there! but breakfast the next morning was OKand I had my first 'scrumbled eggs'.  (Observations on Indian English:  it just seems to be OK whatever you write.  It can be traffic signs, hoardings, menus, advertisements, shop fronts, anything - nothing is checked, just write something and it will do.  So, on motorways, motor cyclists should 'ware' their helmets, there are 'dipartmentel' stores, along the way there are resterents, etc.  You may find a place that says resterent at the gate and restarant over the door..)
Off to Jodphur.  My room is in a 'Haveli' - older type place, grand in its time with colums and fountains and fancy lamps.  All a bit faded and lamps don't work - just light bulb on an electric wire instead - but interesting all the same.  Jodphur is the Blue City and view from the fort shows loads of blue buildings everywhere.  It used to be a sign of high caste people's houses, but now its anyone.  Sidur and I went to a nice restaurant in a garden for a beer in the evening which was nice.
Next - Jaisselmeer. Great hotel - a 'new Haveli' and they upgraded me!  I was left to myself and went into the town when I walked through the streets without people grabbing me to look at their things.  Dodged cows and bikes, but cars not allowed in the market streets.  I bought a pair of trousers which were taken up while I waited.  All very nice.  That night there was a wedding party and there was music and lights and parades all through the town.  The restaurant of the hotel was right at the top so you could see it all wending its way through the streets.  The next day I had a guide, but he was good and didn't force me to go where I didn't want to go.  We then drove through desert to where I was staying that night, in a 'tent in the desert' (actually it was about 500 yards off the road!)  Some big windfarms on the way, about 100 turbines.  Camp was interesting.  Tent complete with flush loo (when there was water!) and tiled bathroom floor.  I had a camel ride but, for some reason, this was booked for an hour before anyone else so was on my own and would have had to wait 2 hours in the sand-dunes for the 'shinsat' which I gathered was the sunset.  I elected to go back to the camp for the shinsat and explained when I returned, that it was boring to be by myself.  Later that evening a couple of german girls were asked if I could join them as I was boring!!  However, they agreed and we had a good evening watching dancing and eating by firelight.  Next morning, no water so wet-wipe wash before a long drive to Bikaner.  During this drive Sudir decided to take a short-cut (he likes short cuts and by-passes! which usually end up taking hours!!)  This time we ended up in a sand-drift and 1 1/2 hours later got uot with lots of help from local blokes!! Quite fun, although we ran out of time to see the famous rat temple where it is a tradition to let the holy rats run over your feet.  Well - I was really sad to miss that!!!.
Have been told I have been on this computer long enough, and this is probably long enough to read, so next installment later...
Hope you are all very well.  I do get my emails from time to time but texting is unreliable.  Also, if I can get to wi-fi I can send emails free, but texting is 40 p. although I can receive free texts.  Love to you all. 

First Blog from India

I've been in India one week today.  Spent Tuesday to Saturday with friends, Sarah and Mike, and their 3 children - 2 girls 4 & 6 and boy 22 months.  They have a driver and a "nanny" - it seems as if these are obligatory and all homes have room(s) for a nanny to live in.  When I arrived they were staying in temporary furnished accommodation - an apartment - but while I was with them their furniture arrived and they started moving into a house.  Next time I see them they will be more settled.  Did some 'family' things with them - the children things, school run and an amazing school sports day (the children are at an interesting International School), and coffee morning with loads of expat wives.....  But also Sarah and I took the Metro to central Delhi and had a rickshaw ride through the tiny crowded narrow market streets with loads of run-down shops all selling - shoes in one sreet, saris in another, jewellery in another, leather, wedding outfits, spices, etc. etc. Indescribably amount of people, children, cattle, camels, rickshaws, bikes, motor rickshaws, motorbikes, busses (overcrowded, people hanging off the sides and tops).  Horns going, people trying to sell things, incense sticks, children in school uniform and no shoes dodging the traffic, women carrying anything on their heads - bundles of sticks, bags of flour, water, etc.  Roofs held up by loads of poles, scaffolding with similar poles, none straight, and electric cables as you hae never seen.  Thousands, literally, of them hanging from everywhere and eerything, cross-crossing every street and entrance, all wound around each other and anything on the way.  Thick, think, held up by bits of string or other cables.  It was an amazing 1 and a half huors.  We also had a great evening at a Bollywood type theatre show which was spectacular, colourful and fun, and another evening a great proper Indian restaurant meal. 
Saturday I left S & M and family.  It was so great to stay with them first and get my feet - they were so easy and welcoming and just right.  I then stayed the night in a slightly dubious Delhi hotel ready to start my tour the next day.  As I anticipated, the tour operator didn't arrive that night, but the next morning and I didn't get ,my 'welcome garland and non-alcoholic welcome drink' but I can live with that!  Also as I was expecting he told me that there was no group tour so it is just me in a car with a driver called Sudir.  So meals alone but at least the tour is happening!!
The last 3 days have been varied and good.  Started with a whistle stop tour of Delhi, seeing some of the sights, visiting a temple or two, including a beautiful Lotus temple which encompasses every religion and was very gentle and peaceful.   Then we had a drive to Agra and I now know why no-one drives themselves.  It is not just Delhi being chaotic, the driving is unbelievable.  They have right hand drive cars but drive in the outside lane and undertake with lots of horn blowing, skidding around whatever is in the left hand lane, missing everything by a hairs breadth every time.  Indian cars could not exist without a left hand wing mirror, horn or brakes.  I cannot believe I have never seen an accident.  The roads are shared with cows, camels, goats, sheep, pigs, motor rickshaws with about 15 people in a rickshaw meant for 6, all hanging off and tearing around everything.  If its a dual carriageway its not unusual for something to be coming towards you - and its like that everywhere.  The moment I get in the car till the moment I get out.  Sometimes on long roads its calm, then you suddenly hit a 'town' (conglomeration of run-down buildings, tents, lived in ruins, little shops all selling much the same things, market stalls of veg and fruit, people, more rickshaws, bikes, camels, cows, pigs, sheep, goats, 'cafes' of men drinking beer and smoking, colourful women in lovely saris, barefoot children) and Sudir starts weaving in and out around everything with the inevitable hand on the horn.  He's an excellent driver and has never had an accident in 9 years.
So, yesterday was an early start, we were in the Taj Mahal queue at 6.15.  I had an excellent guide and we finally got through the gate.  For all monuments you have to go through an electronic scanner, have your bag inspected and be scanned by a hand held scanner.  Then I saw the Taj Mahal.  I was a bit knocked sideways by the emotions I suddenly felt and if I hadn't had a guide with me I think I would have been a blubbering heap.   It was just amazing - so perfect and beautiful.  We spent a while there, looking around and  I was sad to have to leave it.  Back to the hotel for breakfast, then more sightseeing - the Red Fort, also pretty stunning, loads of monkeys too! and then a drive to Fahtepur Sigri, the palace built by the last Moghul Ruler who seems to have been quite an amazing bloke.  After a terrible drive over dirt roads, rocks, bits of tarmac which never joined up, then thankfully a proper road with the usual mixture of traffic and toll booths stuck in the middle of nowhere, we ended up in Ranthambore.  The drive had been interesting, through the plains growing masses of wheat and corn.  Seem to be tended by women in colourful saris, wheat stacked up and then threshed, lots by hand, and piled into huge bags which are packed into lorries and hang over the sides like obese tummies!  Past villages of houses which seem to be made from corn, like lived-in haystacks, also make shift tents, houses of any bricks stones etc. stuck together with concrete and dung.  The fuel is bullock dung made into plate sized pats and beautifully stacked into little house shapes and then 'plastered' with more dung and decorated!
Today I visited Ranthambore National Park to see the tigers, but they weren't coming out to play.  It was good to do the visit, though, although we didn't see too much.  Lots of monkeys, deer, peacocks, a few hyenas, crocodiles and some beautiful birds. 
Better stop now as there is a queue for the computer. 
I hope this reaches you all OK.  I'm having a bit of trouble with getting photos on the computer but I'll keep trying.  Speak to you again soon I hope!