5 April 2016

The adventure is over and we are back home.  Its was quite a jolt to be in the chaos of Delhi traffic one minute and just a few hours later to be stepping out of Sydney airport into traffic that understands pedestrian crossings, stays within the white lines and there is not the constant tooting of horns.  The weather has gone from 41c (106f) to 20c (68f) and from very dry to the odd shower of rain.  Here everything is green, there are no villages and fields of wheat being manually harvested.  The differences between the two countries couldn’t be more extreme.

I thought I would finish the India reports with a series of awards for things that stood out over the 15 days of the tour.

Craziest Bike Ride

• Riding through the streets of old Udaipur during what was probably peak hour.  No rules, just keep moving with the traffic and when crossing a road show no fear.  Never wonder whether your travel insurance covers you for this little adventure, nor should you be wondering ‘what does the inside of an Indian hospital look like’.

Cutest Kid

• During a tour of a vegetable and fruit market we met a little boy with his dad.  The little boy didn’t speak too much but gave his dad the classic Indian head nod when dad asked a question.  The child was probably about 18 months old. We all had a little chuckle.

Scariest Moment

• On a night time jeep ride through some very remote villages on the pretext of seeing some wild life we were surrounded by a bunch of local lads on motor bikes.  The guide didn’t speak english so we had no real idea of what was being said or their intention.  We were glad when the cars started up and we drove away. We did see antelope, maybe a fox, maybe a hyena and other furry critters scurrying away into the night.  This was the total result of more than two hours on some very remote tracks in the open back of small 4WD vehicles in the dark.

Best Sunset

• Sunset at Sardargarh Fort on the top of a pavilion drinking local rum and orange juice.  The sunset was spectacular however after a couple of drinks we then had to negotiate some very steep stairs which were only slabs of rock protruding out of a wall.  No side rails.

Best Stone walls

• The stone walls of Rajasthan especially near marble mines.  The walls were straight and square and all made of white marble blocks.

Most Piercing Look.

• The stare given by locals when we visited a mosque in Delhi.  A bit unsettling.

Best Birthday party

• We gate crashed the birthday party for the 23rd prophet of the Jain religion at a major Jain temple.  The party goers were very happy to tell us about their celebrations.  Not sure how old the 23rd Prophet was but I am guessing the local shops would not have stocked sufficient birthday candles for his cake.

Most Gods in One Religion

• 33 million gods, semi gods and deities in Hinduism.  That’s got to be a record.

Least Number of Gods in a religion

• None in the Jain religion or Buddhism.

Most Indulgent Maharaja

• Probably Maharaja Madho Singh IIwho had two massive silver urns manufactured for his visit to London for Edward VII’s coronation.  The maharaja wanted to take Ganges water for his own consumption during the trip not trusting English water.  Each urn held 4,000 litres.  It’s a tough choice because all the maharajas were pretty good at surrounding themselves with lots of luxury.

Most Impressive Workforce Size

• India Railways employ 1.3 million people.  Can you imagine the weekly salary bill?  Everyone travels by train and it soooo cheap.

Most Impressive Fort

 

• This is tricky because we saw so many, some just ruins or museums and others active hotels.  My choice is Sardargarh Fort in Rajasthan.  This fort is being progressively restored by a husband and wife team who have made amazing progress over the past 10 years.  The fort is off the beaten track but well worth the visit.

Best Food

• Hard to pick but probably the food at the Sheraton Hotel in Jaipur.  The hamburger at Sydney airport on the night we returned was also pretty good.

Accidents

• Our guide for the bike ride through Udaipur was knocked down by a motor cycle.  After a few brief words, both got up continued on their way.  No road rage or exchanging of details for an insurance claim.
• One of our fellow travels was butted in the midriff by a cow who did not want to get out of his way.  No harm down and the cow maintained her position in the herd.
• Dehli Belly Score
• Probably only a couple of fellow travellers had a true case of Delhi belly, the rest of us had digestive systems that were challenged by the rich and spicy food.  Western toilets can be such a luxury in these moments of stress.

Best Road

• The freeway into Dehli.  The toll is so high the farm vehicles are discouraged along with every other dodgy vehicle, animal drawn cart and pedestrian.  The road was well maintained with virtually no trash on the side and the road surface in very good condition.

Emptiest Road

• We travelled along a section of newly built divided highway that had almost no traffic.  We drove several miles in the luxury of no traffic only to discover this new road wasn’t connected to anything; the road wasn’t complete.  At the end of the sealed road was a dirt track that connected us with another highway and surprisingly lots of traffic; we were back on a real road.

Best Deal We Didn’t take

• Hand knotted carpets at $40 a sq metre for merino wool, $43 for camel hair and $130 for silk.  Next time must have measurements and a room in mind for such a carpet.

Most Odorous Market

• The Delhi spice market had us all gagging for breath.  We rejected an offer to walk deeper into the spice market as none of us brought oxygen equipment with us!  Even the locals wore face masks.  There was so much spice there was a consistent fog of spice.

That’s it until the next adventure.  We have two more planned for the rest of the year so you never know when I will be adding to this blog site.