Back in Blighty

Well we've been back for over a week now, and I have to say it feels like it was all a dream. It's lovely to back though. It's been so great to see everyone again....and get back to civiliastion.

The last couple of days in Delhi were cool (literally, it was cold!?). We did one last spot of sight seeing; visiting the Fort, the Jama Masjid and Old Delhi, and the rest of the time shopping. Sadly it rained our last day, but at least it eased us into the weather for back home.

The mighty Taj

It's been 10 days since the last update. We've covered a fair bit of ground in that time and have now completed the final stretch of traveling before it's game over (in 2 days time!!).

We spent a night in Chennai (on 28 Jan) as a stop off on the way back from the Andaman Islands, and popped into the Government Museum while we were there. I have to say we weren't expecting such an impressive display of stuffed animals and skeletons. Everything from snakes and rats preserved in big jars to stuffed bears, monkeys, peacocks and a whole whale skeleton suspended from the ceiling. There were geology and archeology sections among others, so it was a proper educational school trip!

From Chennai we flew up to Udaipur via Mumbai (29 Jan); shame we didn't have time to stop over there. We got a train into town about an hour from the airport and a guy on the street led us up the last stretch to our guest house through the winding lanes. Was the cutest little guest house run by a really sweet old couple and their children. Apparently it's the oldest guest house in Udaipur; it certainly looked run down enough to be. But apart from the peeling paint and cell-like rooms, the wooden shutters, pretty courtyard and fantastic view from the rooftop over Lake Palace (Octopussy Lake) made it a really lovely place to stay.

Udaipur was a cute little town, lots of winding lanes, rooftop cafes, beautiful lake views and lots of shops! The only annoying thing was the constant hassle from shop owners and guys on the street. Sounds a bit miserable, but when almost every person you pass in the street asks you where you're from and returns your answer with "lovely jubbly", "look in my shop!" or "rickshaw?".......you get a bit sick of saying, NO shop, NO rickshaw!!!! Anyway, we took a trip round a few of the sites (memorials, temples and parks) and then up a mountain to Monsoon Palace. We also had a mosey round the City Palace and saw a Rajasthani dance show. The dancing was pretty impressive. There were about 5 different sections; including a puppet dance, a group dance (which looked fabulous with all the ladies performing their routine in their fancy, brightly coloured dresses and ornate jewellery) and finally a lady who balanced more and more pots on her head, until she had 10 of the things piled high while she swayed and bopped about (admittedly a little slower once she had the full stack on!).

We booked up all our train tickets in Udaipur for the rest of our trip and then headed from there to Pushkar on the 1st of Feb. The 5.5 hour train took us to Ajmer, where we got a bus for the last half hour to Pushkar. The bus was err, cosy! Teg had a little friend using her shoulder as a seat for the trip. We bumped into a couple in Udaipur that we met around Christmas time in Ooty and ended up being on the same same train and bus from Udaipur to Pushkar. They'd got chatting to a guest house owner on the bus so we all got a ride to his place. Turned out to be really lovely and pretty cheap so that was cool.

Pushkar was like a more chilled out, quiet and friendly version of Udaipur. Much less hassle and even cooler shops! They don't have any auto-rickshaws in Pushkar so we were able to tick off another 2 modes of transport: cycle-rickshaw and motorbike. It wasn't actually the first time for the latter, but it was the first time we'd been on one together; plus the driver (still not a patch on the bikes carrying a family of 5 I guess). We stayed in Pushkar for 3 or 4 days. Did a fair bit of reading and tea drinking, also had a stroll around the edge of town passed a few hills (or ghats), fields, camels, cows, monkeys, goats and dogs. There's a beautiful lake at the centre of the town with steps leading up from all around to temples, houses and cafes. One morning when we were walking through the market to get some breakfast, we got scammed by a couple of dodgy priests. We'd heard about them, but hadn't really clocked when they first just offered us some rose petals to sprinkle in the Holy Lake. They led us off to the lake and ran through a whole string of prayers about our families and lo and behold, asked us for a donation for the monks and charities at the end of it. When I offered him 40 rupees he gave me this look of utter disappointment and basically said, "do you really expect 40 rupees to cover the good wishes and prayers for all 20 members of your family??". I was having none of it and luckily Tegan didn't hand over the 300 rupees that her 'priest' was suggested she donate. So off we went with our red paint and rice smeared all over our foreheads.

On the 5th Feb we headed on to Jaipur on the train. We met a couple of lovely Indian families on the journey and they took about 20 photos of us with various different combinations of family members; husbands, wives and children. Certainly added some light amusement to the trip. And but more photos when we got off at the station; by which point we decided it was only fair to get our cameras out and have a go as well.

Our hotel had arranged for a car to pick us up in the evening when our train arrived at Jaipur station. We hadn't realised that we'd come out the side exit and the car was waiting round the front. We'd been told to wait by the rickshaw rank, which we did, but it took a while for the guy to find us (as there was more than one rank!). During the quarter of a hour or so trying to track down our lift, we had about 6 different guys trying to convince us that they were our pick-up and that the car was just down the road. One of them even held a phone to my ear with a guy on the line saying "yes, your car is here, OK?". Wasn't helped by the fact that we couldn't remember the name of our guest house at first. One guy was holding a board up for a different guest house and when we said it wasn't ours, he came back about 5 minutes later with a different guest house name to give that a try! Basically, it a was a circus! Anyway our guy finally found us and we promptly leapt into his car. Luckily the frantic, near kidnapping incident, was rewarded by the most beautiful guest house just up the road. A really lovely, friendly family and a beautiful, spacious room; with sheets AND toilet roll!? Rare luxuries for us (well, for free anyway). And for just under 4 quid each.

We only had a couple of nights in Jaipur as our time was running out. So for the day we were there we checked out the City Palace. We went the whole hog and did the audio-tour; which was actually well worth it as we've certainly traipsed around a few palaces and temples without really knowing what we're looking at and the history behind things. After that we tried to find an Airtel phone shop to try and sort out my barred sim; having previously phoned 10 different customer service numbers and finally being told we needed to go into a shop to verify some details. It turned out our cycle-rickshaw driver didn't actually have a clue where the shop was. So he eventually gave up and dropped us off somewhere else, charged us more than the agreed price (even though he hadn't taken us where we wanted to go) and transferred us to an auto-rickshaw to whom we then had to pay even more money. Well we made it to the shop in the end and surprisingly enough they were unable to sort my phone out anyway.

From Jaipur we took the train to Agra on 7 Feb at 6.00am (well 7.00am by the time it left - could've had an extra hour in bed). After 5 hours on the train, we checked into our stinking, damp-ridden guest house room which stank of raw eggs walking round the back to our room. Luckily it was only for one night so we didn't mind too much. We spent the afternoon taking in the view of the Taj Mahal from our guest house roof top and made plans for the next day of sightseeing.

So yesterday we got up for sunrise to go and see the Taj Mahal. Must admit it was slightly overrated going for sunrise. Part of the reason for going early was apparently to miss the queues, but there was more of a queue at 6.15am than when we came out a couple of hours later. Anyway, it was good to have got up early and have the rest of the morning to do our other sites. The Taj was indeed very spectacular. Really beautiful. And also really lovely gardens surrounding it. Bit cold at that time of the morning though!? After breakfast, we headed off to the Baby Taj, the park at the back of the Taj Mahal and then the Fort. Then in the evening we got the train back to Delhi. Very strange being back here again after 2 and half months!

Just being kicked out of the internet cafe so will sign off.

Hope all good at home. Back in a couple of days! Hope it's not snowing then?

A few photos at last

First stop, hospital in Fort Cochin (Dec)






Waterfalls in Kerala (Dec)






Boating along the backwaters in Kerala (Dec)






Christmas in Ooty, Tamil Nadu (24 Dec)








Palolem, Goa (5 - 8 Jan)





Snake charming in Hampi (9 Jan)






Temples in Hampi (10 Jan)








The Lagoon at Beach #7 on the Andaman Islands..mmm (18 Jan)





Teg in her scuba clobber. Our first dive together; South Button Island, Andamans (22nd Jan)








Government Museum, Chennai; can't take her anywhere (28 Jan)








The Queen's Garden, Udaipur (31 Jan)








Pertap Memorial Museum, Udaipur (31 Jan)










Rajasthani Dancing, Udaipur (31 Jan)






Camels in Pushkar, Rajasthan (2 Feb)

Gokarna to the Andaman Islands

So our last installment was from Gokarna where we stayed for nearly a week, soaking up the sunshine on the beautiful Kudle Beach. We headed on to Palolem, Goa, from there on 5 Jan, which was a short train trip north.

Palolem was a bit of a shock to the system after the laid back, hippy, small town of Gokarna. Some of the people in Gokarna look like they came travelling to India about 40 years ago and just never made it home. Although much more touristy, Palolem was still a very pretty, green town with a lovely, less busy beach a short walk from our bungalow. Randomly Teg bumped into a friend of hers from Glastonbury the night we arrived so we hung out with him and a few of his mates for a couple of days before we left. There are of course some benefits to being in a slightly more touristy area sometimes, like having banana lassis or pina coladas brought over to you on your sun lounger on the beach, nice. There was a big party one night which of course we attended and were actually the last to leave; two hours after it had packed up and finished in fact.

While we were in Palolem we decided to book flights to the Andaman Islands. We'd considered it ages ago and for one reason or another, probably money and time, decided against it, but we bumped into another friend of Teg's on the train who was absolutely raving about the Andamans, so we thought what the hell. They're east of the mainland across the Bay of Bengal, and are actually closer to South East Asia than India, although still part of India. So we booked a bunch of trains and flights for the next 3 weeks of our trip. Was quite a nice feeling to have plans set for a little while and just sit back and enjoy as it's so easy to flit from one plan to another from one day to the next. That's a great thing about travelling here, you can just shoot off in any direction really. But it also makes it hard to decide what to do as there are so many options!

So we made the most of our last chance to have a dip in the sea and lie in the sun before being away from the coast for a week or so (tough life). I played a bit of frisbee on the beach and Teg nursed her hangover (no sympathy).

The next day we got the train for 7 hours to Hampi (on 8 Jan). Hampi is a beautiful, quaint, little town with loads (and loads) of temples and ruins and obscurely placed boulders scattered all over the surrounding hills and mountains. With loads of chilled out cafes and restaurants, you could easily spend hours of your day horizontally, nestled amongst cushions, sipping chai. Which is exactly what we did one day as we were both feeling really rough, so we took a day off from exploring temples and chilled with our books.

From Hampi we made our way to Bangalore on an overnight train. Not much to report on Bangalore; just a big, hectic city, with the most ridiculous amount of traffic and pavements that look like they've been hit by an earthquake. We had an afternoon's trip around a couple of palaces, a nandi (a big holy bull), the Botanical Gardens and a couple of shops the rickshaw driver insisted we go to (we didn't have the energy to argue with him anymore and succumbed to his persistence).

Next we got the train to Chennai and stayed there for a couple of nights. Again not much to report from there, as just a big city and a stopping point for us on the way to the Andamans. We had a wander round one of the malls and checked out the festival on the beach. Apparently later that day there were hoards of cows with lights decorating their horns and balloons all over them. Err, we missed that bit, but we did check out the manually operated ferris wheel (?) .

From Chennai, we flew to Port Blair on the Andaman Islands. From there we took a ferry for a couple of hours to Havelock Island; the main scuba diving point. Havelock is sooo beautiful! White sandy beaches, clear/turquiose sea, bamboo huts and palm trees everywhere you look. Didn't want to leave. We stayed on the Andamans for nearly 2 weeks. Teg completed her Open Water diving course and I did my Advanced. We went diving a couple of times together which was really fantastic. There are so many other islands we didn't get a chance to visit, will have to go back some time!

So now we're back in Chennai for the night, flew in this morning. Back to reality from the paradise of the Andamans. All good though; got an action packed sight-seeing intinerary for the next couple of weeks. Tomorrow we're flying up north to Udaipur (Octopussy palace!) in Rajasthan. We'll be getting trains from there back to Dehli, via Pushkar, Jaipur and Agra (Taj Mahal), etc. Getting back to Delhi by about the 8th Feb.

Teg is thinking of heading on to Thailand from Delhi, so I may be returning on my own. I'm running out money (not sure how I managed that in India?) and looking forward to coming back home to see everyone to be honest. Oh, and saving up for the next trip...Indonesia and Australia.

Hope all is good with everyone back in blighty. Wasn't able to get any photos up last time as the internet cafe was being powered by a rat I think. And now I don't have my cable with me. Will try to make the next update a little sooner so not quite as long. Saying that, I've only got 2 weeks left anyway. Teg will have to set up her own blog for Part II!

:)

Beach....bosh

We finally made it to the beach - hoorah! Was hoping to add some photos today but there are no USB ports in this cafe, so just a bit of blurb for now I'm afraid.

We had a lovely Christmas in Ooty. We splashed out and bought each other some little gifts to open on the day, and decorated our guesthouse room with some tinsel and stars! We had a lovely walk around the lake in the morning and then treated ourselves to an Indian-style Christmas lunch of err, pizza and chocolate brownies.

We then spent a few days in Mysore (arriving there on Boxing Day). It was a four and a half hour bus journey north to get there; not including the hour and a half just driving around town in circles. Could have had an extra hour and a half in bed!? No one got on or off the bus during this time; most odd (but then a lot of things are). Was a bit touch and go on the bus tearing around hairpin bends, but the scenery was really beautiful and we drove through a national park along the way. Although saying that we didn't actually see any animals? We did see the most horrific toilets on the planet though; Trainspotting had nothing on these bad boys.

During our stay in Mysore, we looked around the fantastic palace and took a trip up Chamundi Hill - a big hill with a temple at the top! Lovely views down over the city. You could walk down the 1000+ steps to get back down from the top, but we lamed out and decided to go for the rickshaw option!

From there we embarked on our mission to Gokarna where we are now and have been since the 29th. We took an over night bus for 6.5 hours and then a 5 hour train. The bus dropped us off about an hour earlier than expected, so not only were we turfed off the bus in the middle of a dead town (apart from a few rickshaws thank goodness), we were waiting at the train station from 4.30am til 7am for our train. On the plus side, we were preparing ourselves for the train journey from hell, to be sitting on the floor with about 5 people on our laps or something. As it turned out we had our own seats and plenty of space; OK not the most comfortable seats, but seats nonetheless! And the views from the train were just stunning. Just wish I'd been a little more awake to take them in - I didnt manage to sleep on the bus beforehand as I was too busy fearing for my life. It was really beautiful setting off on the train at that time of the morning with the sun glistening off the dew. The copious amounts of tea and coffee on offer throughout the journey certainly made the 5 hour, bum-torturing trip a little easier to deal with.

When we finally arrived in Gokarna, the journey already seemed a distant memory. It is just beautiful here. Long, empty beaches, surrounded by rolling hills and lined with palm trees and little cafes (for pineapple lassies and pancakes..mmmm)! It's such a relief to finally deck out on some sand and swim in the sea! Unfortunately Tegan has been feeling rough with a fluey type bug for a couple of days (yes, she 'is' actually allergic to India!), but she's on the mend now thankfully.

We had a pretty chilled out New Years Eve here. Just had a few drinks in one of the beach bars and then watched some fireworks outside our guesthouse and had a drink with an Irish couple we met.

So tomorrow we're heading an hour north to Goa, by train. Our first stop in Goa is Palolem (right down south) for more, err, beach! Heard lots of good things about Palolem from other people we've chatted to, so quite excited about heading there next.

Well I think that about brings us up to now. Scary to think we're nearly half way through!

Will get some photos up here soon.

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year....

Laters! x

Ooty

After a very strange night in Mettupalayam we made it up through the hills on the mountain railway to Ooty. Was a bit of a mission sorting out our train tickets, but thankfully the 5am start to meet with the illusive station master was worth it. And after the initial pandamonium of 20-odd people frantically barging through a 3-foot wide carriage doorway, it was a relatively chilled out little trip.

The train journey was fantastic; with amazing views of the rolling green hills, waterfalls and sheer drops from the track. Ooty is a really beautiful little town. We're staying in a little 'holiday home'/shed with a gorgeous view overlooking the lake (although we did read somewhere that the majority of the towns sewage ends up in there?)

We're staying here for Christmas and then heading to southern Goa (via a couple of other places) for New Year. Our plans change by the day (so ignore previous mentions of Wildlife Sanctuaries and Andaman Islands...)!

Off for some Christmas shopping now!

Hope all is well back in blighty.

Ex-patients and houseboats

Tegan is out of hospital hoorah! Came out Wednesday afternoon....and (touch wood) is feeling back to normal.

Went on a lovely boat trip yesterday along the backwater canals; a house boat in the morning and a row boat in the afternoon.

Tomorrow we're heading to Ooty; stopping for the night in Mettupalayam on the way (for those who are interested in checking the map!). We'll get the early morning miniature railway train to Ooty on Sunday morning which takes about 4 hours as it's such a windy, steep journey...although distance-wise it's probably only about 5 miles (OK, maybe slight exaggeration).

So it looks like we'll be in Ooty for Christmas and are hoping to be taking a leisurely walk through the hills on the day (or maybe a horseride)! It's going to be a lot cooler in Ooty, down to zero at night maybe, and I have to say we're both quite excited about the prospect of being a little bit chilly for a few days after 2 weeks of heat and humidity.

After Ooty, we're heading Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary and plan to stay in the 'Jungle Retreat'...cant wait!

Inabitski...