Sunday, November 23. 2014
Without doubt this has been the holiday of a lifetime. We have seen a lot of India – albeit through a very sheltered viewpoint, but non the less we have seen and experienced the “real” India.
Before we came to India we had many preconceptions which, as it turned out were unfounded. In no particular order:
Food – at the outset we were thinking that all the food would be like that from the Indian restaurants/takeaways at home but how wrong we were. Before we came to India we had Rick Stein’s India cookbook and tried many (most) of the recipes in it and they bear no resemblance to the Indian restaurants/takeaways but are so authentic and are actually what we have been eating – along with the occasional International dish.
Poverty – our perception, from the media at home, was that India was a “poor” country, this is so unfounded. We have been told that this perception is nothing more than political propaganda. Yes we have seen some poverty especially in Mumbai but, again as we have been told, much of this is not the indigenous Indian peoples but immigrants – many from Bangladesh. The one thing that has to be borne in mind is that India has a different standard of living to that in the UK but that in itself does not mean that they are poor.
People – the main perception of the Indian people has been gained from the Indian call centres where, in the main, they come across as officious and humourless and nothing can be further from the truth. Almost everyone we have encountered has been warm, friendly and helpful – albeit the majority are in the hospitality business. But even when out and about they love nothing more than a smile from you which is returned, and the children just love you to smile and wave at them – oh and take their photo. Ay no time have we felt unsafe or threatened although we have never ventured out unaccompanied at night in the less salubrious areas!
Culture Shock – another thing that we heard before we came was that India would be a culture shock. Perhaps it was the research that we did before we came or maybe it was just how we felt about the country but, to us, it was no different than going to any other Asian type of country. Yes their way of life is different but mostly in a good way – they are alive and everywhere is vibrant. The one thing that I will never get used to is the traffic – sitting behind the driver for hours on end I ended up with my legs aching from pressing the brake pedal.
“Delhi Belly” – everyone says, or at least believes, that if you come to India then you are going to get the dreaded Delhi Belly – well we have disproved that notion. Having been here for five weeks we have not suffered at all. We have, however, taken several precautions; we have been on probiotic tablets, had salted lassi whenever we could in a morning, always drank bottled water and unless the hotel stated that the water was safe used bottled water for teeth cleaning.
Alcohol – we were lead to believe that wine, and alcohol in general, was not readily available in India. This is not so as we have proved. Imported alcohol is available but is very expensive – a bottle of wine can be anything from £45 upwards whereas the local Indian wines are more reasonable (starting from about £16 up to about £30 – these are hotel prices) and the local beer is around £3 - £5 a bottle.
Would we do this again? No, but only because we have done it.
Would we come back to India? Before we came we said that it would be unlikely that we would come back, but now we would love to come back – whether we will or not remains to be seen.
Would we do another similar trip? Even though all the travelling and packing/unpacking made it hard work yes we would if it meant that we could see and experience so much. (Packing tip for such a trip – pack items in nylon laundry bags so you only have to lift a few packages out of the case)
Saturday, November 22. 2014
Tonight was not only our last night at this hotel but our last night in India.
The hotel has one of, if not the, best restaurant in India specialising in fish dishes. We have dined there for four out of our five night stay (could not get in for the first night as it was fully booked). When we arrived tonight our "regular" table was covered in rose petals and we had a meal that was specially created for us and it was "on the house". It is without doubt one of the best meals that we have had in India and we just cannot believe the generosity of these people.
Did I mention that the hotel that we are staying in is the same one that Prince Charles stayed in last year when he was in this part of India? Although I cannot claim that I have slept in the same bed as HRH I am not that far off as he was only two floors directly above us - oh and the head waiter in the restaurant was his "butler" when he stayed here.
Saturday, November 22. 2014
Well, as they say, all good things must come to an end and that is where we are almost at.
We have had the last five days of doing nothing more than eating, drinking and sitting around the pool recharging our batteries for when we get home to whatever is waiting for us!
The highlight of sitting around the pool was this morning when Silversea’s Silver Wind sailed past and was docking at the cruise terminal around the corner – and later a group of passengers came through the hotel to board a boat for a trip around the backwaters!
Another, and last, “silly o’clock” start in the morning and if all goes according to plan we will be back home tomorrow night.
Monday, November 17. 2014
Another day of trundling up and down the Backwaters – this time going deeper into the narrower channels by rice boat. We had two stops again, the first being at the St Mary’s Church which was actually quite impressive for a church which was basically in the middle of nowhere. This was followed by the obligatory visit to a wood carving factory which is now in its third generation of the family. This wood carving factory now supplies the majority of religious carvings in India and also some to other parts of the world.
We then got back onto the rice boat for a trip across the river to see a “Snake Boat”. These Snake Boats are impressive being something in the region of 130 feet in length and would have a full crew of about 120 men. Originally Snake Boats were used as war boats but these days they are only used for racing as they can reach speeds of up to 25kph.
After these visits the afternoon was taken up with along leisurely lunch whilst meandering back to our jetty through the Backwaters.
Our entertainment this evening, before dinner, was a performance of Mohiniattam which is an expressive form of dance performed by two young ladies.
Tomorrow we set off back to Cochin for our last five days where we will have some well-earned R&R before heading back home.
Sunday, November 16. 2014
Today was our second day on the backwaters and as were already on board we set off from the jetty before 08:00 this morning so that we could go further into the backwaters. After we had been travelling for a couple of hours the boat slowed down and eventually stopped. We were all wondering what was happening when all of a sudden four more passengers (and a guide) came on board “our” boat – and what was even worse was that another couple joined the boat a bit later, making 12 of us in total.
The boat then continued for a while with the guide explaining what was going to happen when we boarded the rice boat for a trip along some of the narrower parts of the backwaters.
The rice boats that they use were up until the 1990s used to carry the rice up and down the rivers but these days they have been transformed in pleasure craft – not altogether dissimilar to our canal barges.
Once we were on the rice boat we set off along the narrower backwaters until we reached the first of two places where we were to get off the boat. The first stop was for about half an hour to have a look at a village and a rice field. Rice growing is now nationalised in India since the Government took all the rice fields from the farmers. After getting back on board the rice boat we went a bit further and all got off again – this time to see a half-statue of Lord Buddha at Karumadi followed by a short walk to see the local Hindu temple, from the outside. Back on the rice boat and back to our own “big” boat. All in all, apart from seeing the narrow backwaters a bit of a waste of time!
Once back on board we had lunch which today was a Sadya which is a Indian banquet of about 20 courses, most of which is served on a banana leaf and eaten with your fingers – those who were able to move after this lunch tended to collapse into chairs and later fall asleep on the sun beds.
That was the afternoon taken care of and our pre dinner entertainment tonight was a performance of Vrindadyam – effectively three guys hitting various drum type instruments, another guy playing a stringed instrument that is unique in this area of India (but looked, and sounded, like a violin) and the fifth guy playing what looked and sounded like a Jew’s harp. I have to admit that it was not my type of music and I cannot see it ever getting in the top ten!
Today is the first day that it has not rained whilst we have been in Southern India.
Sunday, November 16. 2014
The drive today was about one and a half hours from Cochin to the jetty where MV Vrinda was docked and waiting for us. The ship, when full, only has 16 passengers but we are lucky as there are only six of us. This ship is like no other that we have ever been on in that there is a constant supply of food (all included). The chef comes round twice a day to take your order for lunch and dinner – it is almost like having your own personal chef.
Once we were on board and the normal formalities dealt with our lunch order was taken before we got under way for our first trip along the Backwaters of Kerala. This was such a serene cruise and the scenery was quite remarkable. The sight of rice and houseboats racing up and down the backwaters all added to the experience.
Once the ship returned to its jetty (it comes back each night as it is not allowed to sail after 18:00 as it affects the fishermen) we were treated to musical performance of Kathakali – a traditional form of dance in this area which is a mix of dance and mime. The performance was mesmerising.
That is day one of our three night cruise.
Sunday, November 16. 2014
Today we set off on the final leg of our trip – although it is by no means over. We left Periyar for Cochin which is about a five hour drive through some of the tea plantations in southern India. The whole countryside in this part of southern India is just so much different from the north of India – it is just so much more luxuriant with, as I said, tea, pineapples, coconuts, grapes, spices of all kinds and much, much more.
There are so many differences between the north and the south of India that it is difficult to know where to start. Firstly the south is lagging some way behind the north in embracing tourism in that it is clear that more money is being “poured” into the north to improve the infrastructure with many new roads having, or are in the process, of being built. Also there is a major shortage of “quality” hotels in the south. Another problem is that in the south they do not, in general, speak/understand English as well as they do in the north.
There are, however, several things where the south outperforms the north with the most prominent being the level of education. In the south the average number of children attending school is well up in the 90%+ level (with some areas claiming 100%) whereas in the north it is only around the 70% mark.
Another good point about the south is that it is much calmer and the pace of life is also that much more relaxed. Also the traffic is nowhere near as manic in the south!
We eventually arrived at the hotel and not having been in the place five minutes the heavens opened and it poured down for about an hour which prevented us from going out. Once the rain had stopped we ventured out as we wanted to see the famous Chinese fishing nets which are some weird old engineering construction which are used to lower and raise large fishing nets into the lake in the hope of catching some fish. The system obviously works looking at the amount of different varieties of fish that are for sale around these fishing nets.
Tomorrow we set off for our mini cruise on the backwaters for three nights/four days.
Friday, November 14. 2014
Today we had a four hour drive from Madurai to Periyar through some of the most fertile countryside that I have ever seen. The fields were constantly changing with what was being grown and it would appear that virtually all fruit and vegetables are grown in this region.
Unlike all of the other places that we have stayed this time we are only here for one night as a break in the journey to Cochin which would otherwise take around nine hours.
The area that we are in is called the spice capital of India as it is one of the main areas where virtually all spices are grown – you name it they grow it.
This afternoon our driver took us into the mountains where there were some stunning views of the countryside, and a waterfall.
This evening it has rained, virtually all night, and there has been some serious rain – should have known this with all the crops that they grow.
Wednesday, November 12. 2014
Today’s update – this morning we were on the excursion road once again, starting with a visit to the Thirumalai Nayak Palace in the city centre of Madurai. This palace was constructed some 350 years ago but sadly today is only about a quarter of its original size. Whilst this was quite an interesting temple it is nothing like the palaces that we have seen in the north of India. We got the feeling that, certainly in this part of the south of India, they have not as yet fully embraced creating the sites in a way for tourists.
Talking to the guide this morning it appears that this year has seen a significant decline in the number of visitors to the south of India (possibly due to the economic situation, the current level of terrorist threats and, possibly, Ebola).
From the palace we then drove to the Sri Meenakshi Temple for a day-time visit and to see it in the daylight is an incredible sight with its towers covered in a profusion of brightly coloured images of gods, goddesses, animals and mythical creatures. Theses towers are repainted every 12 years and take about a year to complete, and whilst this is happening they are all totally covered so nobody is able to see their splendour. The last time they were repainted was in 2008 so the next time will be around 2020/2021 (so take this into account if you are planning a visit!).
This temple is a living/working Hindu Temple which means that (a) you have to remove shoes and socks before entering and (b) there are some areas that non Hindus cannot visit. When there is a temple in India that requires you to remove your shoes (and there are many) then there is always a “shoe keeper” to look after them for a fee, of course – but it is only 10 rupees.
Being the “wedding season” there were several weddings taking place around the Temple which all added to the atmosphere. The Temple takes on almost a party atmosphere during the day with many Hindus coming to spend the day here – picnics and all!
Having seen much of the Temple last night there were only a couple of things to see in the daylight, one was the two Golden Towers and the other being the Hall of a Thousand Pillars, which actually only has 985 pillars. None of the pillars, allegedly, is the same.
After our visit to the Temple, and collecting our shoes it became time for a little retail therapy!
Tomorrow we have a four hour drive to Periyar where we stop for just one night before moving on to Cochin.
Tuesday, November 11. 2014
The journey to Madurai was unspectacular as you would expect with two flights – all went well and we were in the hotel by 16:30. Another tiring day doing nothing other than waiting around airports.
This evening however was a different matter – first of all it rained (heavily)!! Then we went to the Sri Meenakshi Temple for the “Going to Bed” ceremony where Brahmin priests take Shiva from his sanctum and parade the image around the temple in a palanquin and after a symbolic washing of his feet he is carried into his wife’s (Meenakshi) sanctum – all in all a fascinating experience, although the cynic in me says that it has now become a “tourist attraction”. Another anomaly with the Indian logic is that cameras are not allowed within the temple but mobile phones are – so you cannot take photos with a camera but you can with a mobile phone!!
Now my new pet annoyance – why do people have to play with their i-pads when they are in a restaurant. OK they have taken some photos during the day but there is a time and place for everything and looking at photos whilst having dinner is, in my opinion, neither the time nor the place – that’s it rant over (for now).
Monday, November 10. 2014
Today we were back on the excursion trail with a tour of the city. The tour started, obviously, from our hotel from which it was but a short walk to The Gateway of India and also from where we could really get to see our hotel – did I mention that we are staying at the Taj Mahal palace???
From the Gateway of India (which was built in 1911 for the visit of King George V) we went to what is claimed to be the largest laundry in the world where the dhobi wallas wash the clothes. All of this is organised by symbols on the garments and it is claimed that they hardly ever get it wrong. One interesting point is that there is a school within the dhobi wallas district for their children.
Next we called by a small fishing village (which is a village within a city) and it is the point at which the terrorists entered the country in 2008 when they made their attack on several buildings – one of which was the hotel that we are staying in. A short stop was then made to view the very elaborate Victoria Station (from the outside – we have seen enough Indian railway stations to last a life time) before we arrived at Crawford Market – a place where at one time you could buy anything, but today it is more of a wholesale and retail fruit and vegetable market.
Our next stop was at the hanging gardens. This is in a way a bit of a misnomer in that there is no resemblance to those on Babylon but are built over the main reservoir for Mumbai – there were (or would have been had it not been for the mist) some excellent views of Mumbai from there.
The next stop was at the house where Gandhi used to stay in when he was in Mumbai which is now a museum about his life. There is a library there where it is claimed that every article and book that Gandhi wrote and every book that has been written about Gandhi is in there.
Finally we went to see the “tiffin” boxes. These originated about 100 years ago and are a means of sending food from home to those who work in the city. This is a highly organised system that relies of immaculate timing so that everything is in the right place at the right time. These days many of the “tiffins” are not the conventional four stack tins, but insulated bags.
Eventually we arrived back at the hotel for some lunch before [sleeping] around the pool.
Our overall impression of Mumbai is that it is not “typical” India – or at least not we have seen of India. This is a major business centre and it feels like that and it is very cosmopolitan, there are no cows in the middle of the road, no camel carts and a lot less hooting of car horns. Mumbai gives the impression that it wants to be the capital of India – but that is not going to happen any time soon!
As for the hotel – well it is really two hotels in one. There is the old palace hotel and the newer tower hotel (we are, of course, in the Palace wing). Overall this is a very large hotel and at first we were not sure about it, but as time has gone on we are growing to like it. It did not help that last night when we arrived we were weary from the journey and we were rushed through the place. The hotel, or at least what we have seen, is nothing like that portrayed in the TV series – the only thing that I would say is that it is expensive!
Tomorrow is another early start as we have to leave the hotel at 07:00 in order to catch our flight to Madurai, via Chennai.
Sunday, November 9. 2014
Today was something of a bit of a waste of time as our flight from Udaipur had been changed. Originally we were due to fly around 17:00 but a few days ago it was changed to 14:20 – however today there was an hour’s delay so we did not fly until 15:20. This meant leaving the hotel at noon so after doing some “creative” packing (we are way over the 15kg limit for the internal flights) we were just “hanging around” waiting for the car, and then waiting around at the airport.
I don’t know what the problem was at the airport but the security checks were the most stringent that we have encountered whilst being in India. Anyway all’s well that ends well and we were soon on our way to Mumbai.
First impressions of Mumbai are that it is totally different to anywhere else that we have been to in India. It is far more cosmopolitan and much more akin to any other major city – it gives the impression that it things that it should be the capital (which as we all know is actually Delhi).
Now for the “posh” bit – we are firmly ensconced in our room at the Taj Mahal Place Hotel (of BBC TV fame) overlooking The Gateway to India. This hotel is a completely different world than anything we have encountered before whilst in India. Will report later on our views of the hotel.
Saturday, November 8. 2014
Today has been a leisure day – the most energetic activity being going for a boat ride on Lake Pichola. The main attraction on the lake is the Lake Palace Hotel which was built between in the 1740s by Maharana Jagat Singh II as a royal summer palace. Now you may ask “how do you build a palace in the middle of a lake?” – this where a bit of lateral thinking is required. First you build a palace on dry land then you flood the land to create a lake and hey presto you have a palace sat in the middle of a lake – simple really!
After all of that exertion the rest of the day has been spent lying in the sun around our own personal semi-private pool.
For this evening we had, before we arrived, arranged for a “dining experience” in the pavilion which is on the edge of the lake looking out to the City Palace.
As a surprise, and to earn extra Brownie points, I had organised that Maxine had a sari to wear for the night. Now the thing about this was that everyone at the hotel seemed to know about this as they we in on the surprise (it had been arranged via our tour operator in the UK, the main tour agent in Delhi, the local tour agent in Udaipur and the hotel over the last five or six weeks!) – all went to plan and one of the young ladies from Guest Services came to give a lesson in how to “wrap” a sari. I have to admit that it was worth all the planning.
Anyway now to the meal – this was a customised menu for us with our own selection and we both thoroughly enjoyed it.
Tomorrow we are off to Mumbai – yet another internal flight!
Friday, November 7. 2014
We set off this morning from Jodhpur for the seven hour journey to Udaipur. About half way there we stopped at the Ranakpur Jain Temple – this is one of those places where no leather is allowed in (allegedly) having removed my belt and clutching my trousers to stop them falling down we set off for an hour’s audio tour of the Temple.
This is claimed to be one of, if not the, most exquisite examples of a Jain Temple in India and dates back to the 14th century. There are 1,444 (I will take their word on that as I did not count them!)richly and breathtakingly carved pillars and they are all different.
Once we had finished here we set off to complete the journey just stopping for a moment to see an ox driven water wheel.
We are now in our room with its own semi-private pool overlooking Lake Pichola.
Thursday, November 6. 2014
Today we set off on the tourist trail again viewing the main sites of Jodhpur.
First of all we were taken to Umaid Bhawan which was a palace built in the 1940s by the then Maharaja as a job creation project for 3,000 of his subjects. The palace is believed to be the last great building in India built by the Maharajas before they had to cede their property to the new nation. This palace now serves three purposes – the first being a home for the Maharaja and his family, the second as a museum open to the public and the major part is an hotel run by the Taj group. The palace also has a superb collection of vintage cars, including a silver Rolls Royce Silver Shadow.
From there we then went to Jaswant Thanda which is a dazzling white marble (the same marble as used in the Taj Mahal) cenotaph to Maharaja Jaswant Singh. The site is also where the Royal family are cremated and the site of each cremation is marked by a monument – with the lesser members of the royal family being furthest away from the main monument. There was a brilliant local lad who gave us a tour of the main monument.
One of the things that we have found wherever we have been, be it one of the “tourist” sites, around any of the cities or in and around the back streets is that the vast majority of Indians are pleased to see you and will return a smile with a smile or a wave and they like nothing more than you showing an interest in them or in what they are doing.
After the visit to Jaswant Thanda then it was onwards and upwards (literally) to the main event – Meherangarth Fort which was built in the 1730s. Having been to many impressive buildings since being in India this has to be up there with the best of them. There is just so much intricate carving and whist much of it appears to be timber it is in fact all done in sandstone. How anyone could carve that much that well is beyond belief.
Whilst Meherangarth Fort is, by its name, a fort it was also a palace for the Maharajas but on a different scale to many of the other palaces that we have seem. The palace is quite compact horizontally but much higher vertically than many others where the reverse is true – they low spread out buildings. Being a palace there are/were many opulent rooms – sadly over the years the lack of upkeep, and in some cases poor maintenance has removed much of what there once was.
From Meherangarth Fort we then started our walk down into the town passing through the “Blue City” named because many of the buildings are painted blue. Why they are painted blue is somewhat debateable but one explanation is that the colour is associated closely with the Brahmins, India's priestly caste, and the blue houses of the old city belong to families of that caste (there are other versions available).
The walk was not exactly the most comfortable due to the fact that the roads were narrow and there was an incessant stream of motor scooters flying up and down in both directions sounding their hors at ant, and every, opportunity and not bothering about the tourists who were there to take in the “sights” and sounds and smells! Eventually we arrived back at our hotel in one piece – well actually two pieces as there are two of us!!
Jodhpur is also a major military base, in fact is the main headquarters for the area, due to its close proximity (about 200 miles) from the Pakistan border.
Tomorrow we set of for Udaipur which is something in the region of a six or seven hour drive.
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