Dear All,
Happy Christmas!!
You will be pleased to know, no doubt, that we are happily ensconsed within the beach life of northern Goa in Arambol. It is a beautiful long sandy beach, palm tree-fringed on the Arabian Sea. The water is warm and we spend our time either looking at it or in it! The van is parked on the edge of the beach on an old beach bar site. We have two Austrian neighbours: Veronica and Christian. It's perfect.
We will be thinking of you all tomorrow, tucking into your roast dinners! We're going out with Gemma, Mark, Pete, Caf, Christian and Veronica in the evening.
The mobile we had has packed up. It's a long and frankly tedious story, but the new mobile is
00919561746810
We'll miss you all,
Lots of love
Jo and Mark xx
Thursday 24 December 2009
Sunday 13 December 2009
Chittorgarh to Ajanta
Dear all,
I realise it's been a while since we wrote. I almost felt neglectful when it dawned on me last night that it had been a couple of weeks. It really is true that time flies when you're having fun! I suppose I shouldn't gloat too much, when I know that you're all dealing with rain, coldness and the general greyness of the British winter!
The strange thing is we know that you're all gearing up for Christmas. Linda, Gra, Jordan and Rebecca's tree has gone up, Christmas shopping is busily being done and plans for big dinners and drinking are taking place! These are the things that we would normally be a part of, so it's very strange to be in the sunshine and heading for the beach. I promise this isn't gloating, it just feels so different.
When we last wrote we had been camping in the fort at Chittor. We had bout of luxury after we left there and stayed for two days in a beautiful hotel called Castle Bijaipur. Mark had always wanted to stay in a real-life old castle and this fitted the bill. It was built in the16th century and has classic Rajasthan architecture. The owner of the hotel upgraded us to a suite for the same price as a double room. He was very impressed with our journey and had done some of his own 4x4 travel.
The setting was fantastic. We spent some of our day around the marble swimming pool, some walking around the stables, chatting with other residents, having long hot showers (our idea of luxury!) and eating! The evening started with drinks in the courtyard where we were treated to Indian dance and fire breating. After this we went to our table by the pool for a hot Indian buffet meal. We met two fellow Londoners there who had left London seven years ago for a most intersting life; they now spend 6 months of a year in an Umbrian ruin in Italy and 6 months in Bijaipur teaching in local schools.
When we had finished our stay at the hotel Jude and Alistair let us camp in the grounds of their new cottage, being built 500 meters from the hotel. The man who owns the hotel owns most of the valley it stands in and has opened a school for impoverished girls. Jude teaches English there. We were fascinated by their story. We cooked them dinner that night with the spinach from the fields we were camping in and fresh turmeric, which we've never had before.
After our glorious retreat into Bijaipur and our historical and quiet isolation in Chittor, we were ready to face another city. Udaipur has been described as the Venice of India. It is a lovely place and boasts the Lake Palace where parts of the James Bond film Octopussy were filmed. We enjoyed our time there attending another cooking lesson, having a tin door made for the kitchen cupboard, eating and drinking and meeting other travellers. We stayed near Brahmpole next to a school and had good access to the old city. We spent a really good night with Sasha, a 23 year old from Moscow, who had never left Russia before and was enjoying his first holiday abroad. With him we met Sara and Alberto from Madrid and Nikel and his friend from Mumbai, and had a great evening.
We left the next day and headed South-west through Gujarat. We stopped in Ahmedabad, the largest city in Gujarat. We loved this place for two reasons; we bought a car stereo and canpopies for the beach! The stereo Mark's mum Shiela bought for us in the UK went wrong - thanks Sony - so we sent it back and Shiela bought us another. We can't tell you how much we have loved having music back! Its brilliant! Can you believe we bought a Queen CD and sing at the top of our voices 'I want to break free', 'Don't stop me now', and other cheesy but great tunes! I think they call those things 'guilty pleasures'. Mark will probably curse me for dicslosing this on the blog!!
The canopies we bought are the ones they use here for weddings. They are huge canvas decorated sheets that are sewn with rope so they don't rip. They are usually suspended over bamboo poles. The idea is that when we get to the beach in Goa we can set up a large shaded area for us and our friends to sit and eat and lounge under. We bought a huge outdoor rug as well. It sounds like we're spending a lot of money, but of course, being India, it's cheap.
We are really looking forward to the beach and not least to our friends Alan and Shameem and Tracey and Martin coming out to see us. How exciting!! Alan and Shameem come out in the second week of January to Goa and then we're travlling South to Kerala via Hampi. Tracey and Martin are joing us in the first week of February in Kerala.
Anyway, after Ahmedabad we headed further through Gujarat and stopped in an empty field amongst fields of sugarcane. We were near a village called Pisad, near Bardoli. We managed to meet twenty or so men from the village under rather tense circumstances! When we parked, we were aware that there were some people with motorbikes looking at the van, but they didn't come and knock on the door or say hello. Men on motorbikes are ten a penny in India and we didn't think much to it. We were however, quite surprised that no-one came to say hello.
About an hour later, when it was dark we saw more motorbike headlights appear and were rather alarmed by people shouting and banging sticks on the van! We opened the door and shone a torch out to see twenty or so men who suddenly looked very relieved to see two white tourists in fron of them. They had experienced thefts locally, not least their electric irrigation system, and thought it may be the theives returning!!
The next day two of the men came back with a pot of Chai at around 7 in the morning and we then returned with them to the village.
This was an eye-opening experience. The village had a strange combination of one storey normal village houses/cottages and then a load of two storey American/Indian looking houses. A local man named Tack came to greet us and explained that during the 60s when America was seeking educated labour he and many other local Indians had applied to go and succeeded. He was a civil engineer and is now retired. He lives in Washington DC and returns to Gujarat for four months every winter.
As we were eating breakfast the local villagers came in, except this time when they introduced themselves they then said where they came from; Colarado, Texas, Oregan and so on! It was a surreal experience! Most of them run motels in America and were really interesting people to talk to about their time in the US, institutional racism, the Iraq war, Obama and so on. Apparently Indians run seventy per cent of the motel business in the US. We both thought that was pretty remarkable.
From Pisad we headed South, but this time East as well. There are some Buddhist caves in the North of Maharastra that date back some 2,000 years and are carved into the rocks. Ont he way we had our first getting stuck experience. We pulled off the road to camp and ended up in what looked like a dry river bed, but turned out to be not so dry! After some sweat-inducing digging and a vague sense of panic we manged to get out. It took us about an hour, but we were so chuffed with ourselves for doing it! We feel like proper overlanders now!
We made it to Ajanta the next day. The caves were amazing and in a beautiful setting. The countryside is changing again. We drive along in beautiful sunshine and look over what seems to be the Malborough Downs or some other gorgeous rolling hills of the British countryside. In the next bit we'll bring you up to date on the Ajanta and Ellora caves. By then we should be in Goa, having driven the Konkan coast from Murud southwards.
We've also found out that our friends Simon and Handan from Sheffield are in Goa with their 6 month old daughter Zola. We're really looking forward to seeing them too. So, for now, enjoy all your Christmas preparations, we do secretly miss them a bit, and we'll be in touch soon.
Lots of love,
Jo and Mark xx
I realise it's been a while since we wrote. I almost felt neglectful when it dawned on me last night that it had been a couple of weeks. It really is true that time flies when you're having fun! I suppose I shouldn't gloat too much, when I know that you're all dealing with rain, coldness and the general greyness of the British winter!
The strange thing is we know that you're all gearing up for Christmas. Linda, Gra, Jordan and Rebecca's tree has gone up, Christmas shopping is busily being done and plans for big dinners and drinking are taking place! These are the things that we would normally be a part of, so it's very strange to be in the sunshine and heading for the beach. I promise this isn't gloating, it just feels so different.
When we last wrote we had been camping in the fort at Chittor. We had bout of luxury after we left there and stayed for two days in a beautiful hotel called Castle Bijaipur. Mark had always wanted to stay in a real-life old castle and this fitted the bill. It was built in the16th century and has classic Rajasthan architecture. The owner of the hotel upgraded us to a suite for the same price as a double room. He was very impressed with our journey and had done some of his own 4x4 travel.
The setting was fantastic. We spent some of our day around the marble swimming pool, some walking around the stables, chatting with other residents, having long hot showers (our idea of luxury!) and eating! The evening started with drinks in the courtyard where we were treated to Indian dance and fire breating. After this we went to our table by the pool for a hot Indian buffet meal. We met two fellow Londoners there who had left London seven years ago for a most intersting life; they now spend 6 months of a year in an Umbrian ruin in Italy and 6 months in Bijaipur teaching in local schools.
When we had finished our stay at the hotel Jude and Alistair let us camp in the grounds of their new cottage, being built 500 meters from the hotel. The man who owns the hotel owns most of the valley it stands in and has opened a school for impoverished girls. Jude teaches English there. We were fascinated by their story. We cooked them dinner that night with the spinach from the fields we were camping in and fresh turmeric, which we've never had before.
After our glorious retreat into Bijaipur and our historical and quiet isolation in Chittor, we were ready to face another city. Udaipur has been described as the Venice of India. It is a lovely place and boasts the Lake Palace where parts of the James Bond film Octopussy were filmed. We enjoyed our time there attending another cooking lesson, having a tin door made for the kitchen cupboard, eating and drinking and meeting other travellers. We stayed near Brahmpole next to a school and had good access to the old city. We spent a really good night with Sasha, a 23 year old from Moscow, who had never left Russia before and was enjoying his first holiday abroad. With him we met Sara and Alberto from Madrid and Nikel and his friend from Mumbai, and had a great evening.
We left the next day and headed South-west through Gujarat. We stopped in Ahmedabad, the largest city in Gujarat. We loved this place for two reasons; we bought a car stereo and canpopies for the beach! The stereo Mark's mum Shiela bought for us in the UK went wrong - thanks Sony - so we sent it back and Shiela bought us another. We can't tell you how much we have loved having music back! Its brilliant! Can you believe we bought a Queen CD and sing at the top of our voices 'I want to break free', 'Don't stop me now', and other cheesy but great tunes! I think they call those things 'guilty pleasures'. Mark will probably curse me for dicslosing this on the blog!!
The canopies we bought are the ones they use here for weddings. They are huge canvas decorated sheets that are sewn with rope so they don't rip. They are usually suspended over bamboo poles. The idea is that when we get to the beach in Goa we can set up a large shaded area for us and our friends to sit and eat and lounge under. We bought a huge outdoor rug as well. It sounds like we're spending a lot of money, but of course, being India, it's cheap.
We are really looking forward to the beach and not least to our friends Alan and Shameem and Tracey and Martin coming out to see us. How exciting!! Alan and Shameem come out in the second week of January to Goa and then we're travlling South to Kerala via Hampi. Tracey and Martin are joing us in the first week of February in Kerala.
Anyway, after Ahmedabad we headed further through Gujarat and stopped in an empty field amongst fields of sugarcane. We were near a village called Pisad, near Bardoli. We managed to meet twenty or so men from the village under rather tense circumstances! When we parked, we were aware that there were some people with motorbikes looking at the van, but they didn't come and knock on the door or say hello. Men on motorbikes are ten a penny in India and we didn't think much to it. We were however, quite surprised that no-one came to say hello.
About an hour later, when it was dark we saw more motorbike headlights appear and were rather alarmed by people shouting and banging sticks on the van! We opened the door and shone a torch out to see twenty or so men who suddenly looked very relieved to see two white tourists in fron of them. They had experienced thefts locally, not least their electric irrigation system, and thought it may be the theives returning!!
The next day two of the men came back with a pot of Chai at around 7 in the morning and we then returned with them to the village.
This was an eye-opening experience. The village had a strange combination of one storey normal village houses/cottages and then a load of two storey American/Indian looking houses. A local man named Tack came to greet us and explained that during the 60s when America was seeking educated labour he and many other local Indians had applied to go and succeeded. He was a civil engineer and is now retired. He lives in Washington DC and returns to Gujarat for four months every winter.
As we were eating breakfast the local villagers came in, except this time when they introduced themselves they then said where they came from; Colarado, Texas, Oregan and so on! It was a surreal experience! Most of them run motels in America and were really interesting people to talk to about their time in the US, institutional racism, the Iraq war, Obama and so on. Apparently Indians run seventy per cent of the motel business in the US. We both thought that was pretty remarkable.
From Pisad we headed South, but this time East as well. There are some Buddhist caves in the North of Maharastra that date back some 2,000 years and are carved into the rocks. Ont he way we had our first getting stuck experience. We pulled off the road to camp and ended up in what looked like a dry river bed, but turned out to be not so dry! After some sweat-inducing digging and a vague sense of panic we manged to get out. It took us about an hour, but we were so chuffed with ourselves for doing it! We feel like proper overlanders now!
We made it to Ajanta the next day. The caves were amazing and in a beautiful setting. The countryside is changing again. We drive along in beautiful sunshine and look over what seems to be the Malborough Downs or some other gorgeous rolling hills of the British countryside. In the next bit we'll bring you up to date on the Ajanta and Ellora caves. By then we should be in Goa, having driven the Konkan coast from Murud southwards.
We've also found out that our friends Simon and Handan from Sheffield are in Goa with their 6 month old daughter Zola. We're really looking forward to seeing them too. So, for now, enjoy all your Christmas preparations, we do secretly miss them a bit, and we'll be in touch soon.
Lots of love,
Jo and Mark xx
The Taj Mahal
Taj at sunrise.
Taj viewed within its gardens.
We have got the obligatory photos of us both in front of the Taj, but they seem to have disappeared off the memory stick temporarily. Rather than delay the blog any further, these two photos hopefully show some of the beauty of the building.
Tuesday 1 December 2009
Amber, Jaipur
The fort at Amber, near Jaipur.
At the city palace in Jaipur in the peacock doorway. This was one of four doors into a carpeted courtyard, where many Bollywood films have been made.
Mcleod Ganj
Our truck was parked on the hill in the top right of the picture.
The view from our truck window.
Our neighbours!
Tibetan Momos - made by our own fair hands at Lhamo's kitchen.
Sunset at Mcleod Ganj.
Driving away from Mcleod Ganj, but still in the Himalaya, the cloud is laying like a sheet over the hills behind the houses.
Attari Rd - the first day in India
These were the first people we met in India. The women had just finished collecting the fallen grains of rice. They had come over in a larger group to see us earlier and then shared some of their lunch with us.
The boys were very helpful and wanted to tell us all about the Punjab. The younger one has forgotten to look cool like the rest of them, but before the photo they were all chatting and laughing!
This man was on his way home in the late afternoon. Talk about back to basics with the truck, but he still manages to transport a cow in the back!
Monday 30 November 2009
Agra to Chittorgarh
First of all I should say Good Morning, as I’m writing this at quarter to eight on Sunday morning! It’s the 29 November and we’re currently camped on large piece of scrubland, which also encompasses a football pitch. It’s a pretty amazing setting, as we’re on the top of a mountain plateau in the middle of Chittorgarh fort. Our skyline is a range of temples and palaces dating from the 6th to the 15th Century.
We bought an outdoor gas burner in Tehran, so Mark is currently outside boiling the kettle and making the coffee. When we went to bed last night we joked that there would be Sunday morning football and we’d wake up in the middle of the match! Well, it’s not quite a match but Sunday morning football practice. As I’m typing in here, Mark is chatting with about 5 10-year old budding Indian Beckhams! They’re all in their kit and very excited about playing! He’s promised that he’ll watch them play when his coffee is made. They were satisfied with this and ran off to meet their coach.
It may seem rather early for a Sunday morning, but here it’s the best time of day as it gets too hot later on. We seem to wake around this time every day. Bedtime is anything from 7-9! Can you believe it? I’ve never been to bed that early in my life as I always feel like I’m missing out on something, but during the travels that’s the way things have developed.
The last blog entry was when we had arrived in Agra to see the Taj Mahal. We found a restaurant/bar with an amazing view of the Taj and spent the last few hours of daylight sipping tea, then eating and drinking a beer. We arrived on a Sunday so it was pretty busy. We could see the throngs of people even from half a kilometer away. Our intention was to see the Taj at sunrise, so the next morning we got up at 5, had coffee and then made our way up there in the dark. We had parked in the car park near the site, but motorized vehicles are not allowed within 1 km of the building as it was becoming too dirty from pollution.
We queued to get our tickets and then queued to get in. They open the doors at sunrise, which was at 6.40am that day. In the queue we got chatting to a guy named Shaun who had been in India for a few months and was on his way to Dehli. We ended up going round the Taj with him. When we went in, there must have been around fifty-sixty people who’d made it for sunrise, and we were the tenth or so people in. We got our picture in front of the beautiful pond leading up to the Taj and walked towards the back of the Taj where it drops down to the Yajuma river. The lovely thing about sunrise is that the mist rises off the river and shrouds the base of the Taj making it seem almost mystical.
It is made of white marble and has precious and semi-precious stones inlaid with the most beautiful detail. It was built as a monument to Mumtaz Mahal, the wife of a maharaja in the 1600s. She died whilst giving birth to their fourteenth son and he was left devastated. It is a huge mausoleum and is simple inside, but the way it is elevated so it has its own skyline, the symmetry of the design, the materials used to build it and the magnitude of it make it so pleasing to the eye, that you just want to sit and look at it. It is a magnificent building.
Empty stomachs pulled us away and we walked through Agra, which itself is pretty filthy, in search of breakfast. The food here is so tasty and our favourite places to eat are the roadside stalls. Dhabas or cafes are all over and offer the best value for money. Breakfast is usually parantha – potato-stuffed bread with daal or spicy omlette, samosas, chickpeas, potato curry and chai. The chai is made with milk, which is boiled with black tea, ginger and sugar. It is yummy. The origins are from water shortages so milk was used instead and you have to boil it because sometimes the milk is fresh and not pasteurised.
Update on the football. It is now a match and there are around thirty-six people playing ranging from 10 to 55. Mark’s estimation of the talent is that there are a few players who know what they’re doing! He also kicked the ball and it nearly broke his foot, it’s so heavy!!
After breakfast we made tracks for Jaipur in Rajasthan. Rajasthan is the place to come in India if you have short time and want maximum historical input. It is on the North-West of India and borders Pakistan. It is a dry state, encompassing a large desert and has rugged hills and more forts than you can shake a stick at. Almost every hilltop has fort from the Rajput and Muhgal eras, spanning at least the last 600-700 years of Indian royal history.
Our journey to Jaipur should have been straightforward but we got lost and ended up stopping on our first night in a village only 90km from Agra! We pulled in to what looked like common ground. We learnt later that it belonged to a village up the road and was their cricket ground. The crowd of people who came to see us included many young men who were all on the local cricket team. Cricket is so popular here. There is not one day goes by when we do not see at least one cricket game being played somewhere. Even in the Himalya, they play on the terraced farmland!
The village was called Punchhari. One of the young men who introduced himself was called Lokendra and was in the Indian Navy. The next morning he took us up into the village and to his fathers’ house. We were given hot milk and snacks and then taken round to meet people. One woman was cooking her chapatis for the day over a really basic wooden and clay oven. People here are so skilled in how they use their resources. We are always amazed at what they make do with.
We head off for Jaipur and decided to stick to the main roads this time instead of the back roads! The roads are a real mix of good and bad, but the use of the roads is incredible. It is a real reflection of the influence that agriculture has on everyday life. Driving down a duel carriageway it is perfectly normal to come across camels in the fast lane, (we drive on the left here – same as at home) cows asleep in the middle of the road or just wandering down the road, tractors going the wrong way up the hard- shoulder, and our worst yet a JCB being driven the wrong way up the fast lane!
People and animals co-exist here in ways that we have never experienced. In any built-up area you can guarantee to see cows, pigs and horses and half of the time, monkeys. Some of the cows don’t seem to belong to anyone; they just wander around. In Jaipur we saw a huge cow just walking down a shopping arcade!
I digress; we made it to Jaipur that day but headed for Amber Fort, which is 11km north of Jaipur. We parked up in the coach car-park, which was empty by 4pm and sat with our gin and tonics watching the sun set on this glorious fort. We went to the light and sound show that evening, where we learnt about the history of Amber and Rajasthan with a show that used the fort and palaces as a backdrop.
The next day we walked around the fort and the day after made our way into Jaipur for a touch more sight-seeing and a bit of shopping. Jaipur is also known as the Pink city. The old city is all painted in the same colour, we thought it more terracotta than pink, and is a great place to visit.
From Jaipur we headed south towards Udaipur. Chittorgarh is on the way and around 100km short of Udaipur. The town itself is not worth seeing, but the fort is the largest in Rajasthan and includes around 130 temples and around 4000 people who live in the old town and around the fort.
The Lonely Planet describes it as walking into a History Channel film set. They’re not wrong. The towers, temples and palaces are amazing. The road that runs round the fort is 13km long, so we got the bikes out and cycled round from building to building. The carvings on some of the temples were so intricate and ornate. Many of the temples you would associate more with SE Asia. On the way round as we stopped to look at a huge pool we went past a nursery and were invited in by Ajay. He showed us around and made us Chai. Mark and he had some really interesting discussions about the direction of Indian agriculture, British agriculture and farming and the encroaching GM and hybrid crops. We left with another email address – god knows how we will ever keep in touch with the people we meet! Most likely we won’t, but when you meet kind and hospitable people you leave hoping you will.
Anyhow, we’ll spend another day here as it is so peaceful and without the hustle and bustle that comes from having such densely populated towns and cities. Mark had a metal box made for the underside of the van in Jaipur and wants to fix it to the van today. I’ll do some cooking and cleaning. Isn’t this just like a Sunday at home?!
Thursday 26 November 2009
The Himalaya to the Taj Mahal
Dear All,
Having posted a huge number of photos for us, its time to return to a bit of boring old writing! We'll post some photos of India soon. When we last wrote we had arrived in Mcleod Ganj, near Daramshala in the Himalaya. It was a beautiful spot. We managed to get a parking space in the state-run tourism hotel carpark. This it turned out was a busy little place during the day. The car park itself was not the usual concrete affair, but dirt tracks and different levels amongst a forested knoll. Every day Tibetan monks would come, sit and contemplate life or play 'keepy-uppy'. There was a small concreted area where more games were played and where one group of young people came and practised their dance routines. To top it all off, the view was fantastic and there was a troop of monkeys, say 40-50 who came every day to eat the chestnuts off the trees.
We sat for some time just watching these monkeys play. They were tumbling around, wrestling each other, jumping from tree to tree and onto the hotel corrugated roof, delighted with the racket they could make! We also met Gile there, the Tibetan Monk who gave Mark herbs and medicine for his cold. We took Gile for breakfast one morning when it had got quite cold and all enjoyed a bowl of porridge, banana and honey. There are so many cafes in Mcleod Ganj. We spent two rainy days effectively going from cafe to cafe.We decided after the rain that it was time to leave and find the sunchine, but the next day the sunshine re-appeared and we stayed another couple of days.
We really enjoyed the Tibetan food. The momos, Tibetan steamed dumplings, were really tasty. We actually spent three mornings learning how to cook momos, Tibetan soup and Tibetan bread at Lahmo's kitchen. Jo also did an Indian cooking course which was supposed to be for two days, but the second day was cancelled. Still, I learnt alot in one day and have made my first fresh chapatis since!
We, of course, visited the monastery and paid our respects to the Dalai Lama!
Mcleod Ganj was a cool place to hang out and we could have easily got stuck there. When we're ready to move on we usually try and be out of a place by 11, but just managed to leave Mcleod by 1pm! We made it 30km down the road and camped out next to a tea plantation at Palampur. We had a lovely view across a deep valley with terraced farming and palm trees.
The next day we managed to get a little further, although mountain roads are not the fastest. We stopped near Bilaspur in a hotel carpark called Sagar View. It was an amazing view of this huge man-made lake that had been created in the 1950s. We were just leaving the foothills of the Himalayas. The hotel was run by a man called Rajinder. He was really welcoming. He allowed us to park free of charge in the car park and let us shower in the hotel. He was very interested in the van as he was about to take on a franchise of Mahindra Indian cars and wanted to know about the conversion.
Mark and his dad's skills got us a free meal that night! There was local wedding on an Rajinder and his brother-in-law brought us back free food from there. They were very impressed that we liked Indian food and wanted us to try their local dishes. It was great food and we really enjoyed their company and hospitality.
The next day, after another late start due to more chats and chai with Raji, we made it to Kiratpur where we stayed at a Sikh temple. We were struggling to find anywhere and knew from the Golden Temple that Sikhs will allow you to stay and feed you. When we asked about parking the van there, they actually offered us a room each due to misunderstanding us!
We parked up and went into the communal kitchen to eat. It was a simple meal of daal and chapatis and rice pudding, but it was lovely. Mark especially liked the rice pudding! We washed our dishes after and had a quick look at the kitchens. Biggest cooking pots you've seen in your life!
The next day we head off early and made it to Chandigarh. Chandigarh is the joint capital of the Punjab and Haryana states and was built and designed in the 1950s. Le Corbusier designed the whole lot, including the huge man-made lake and grid like structure of the city. When India and Pakistan were established after partition, Lahore, the original capital of the Punjab was in Pakistan, so the Indians needed a new capital of their Punjab.
It was a relaxing few days in a cheap hotel and the final night we parked by the lake. That night we met a really nice man called Bupinder or Bupi, for short. He had been quite high up in managing tea stations for some British owners and was really interesting to talk to. We learnt alot about tea production and after a few beers and food had a real laugh together.
One of the really good sights we saw in Chandigarh, apart from the museum and modern art gallery, was Nek Chands fantasy rock garden. It was started by Nek Chand around 40 odd years ago and is built totally out of rubbish! It is believe it or not, an amazing garden with incredible moasics, sculptures and landscaping.
Leaving Chandigarh, we were headed for the Taj Mahal in Agra. We wanted to avoid going through Dehli as we had heard horror stories of the traffic there. Our scenic route took us through Baghput where we stayed in a rice field and the next night in Khurja where we were in a field of Marigolds. We have been the talk of every village we have stayed near and have a regular stream of visitors in the late-day sun and first thing the next morning. Its usually young men and in the mornings when they visit us they light a fire to keep themselves warm whilst they await our company!!
That Sunday we made it to Agra by the afternoon and sat in a hotel overlooking the Taj as the sun set. It truly is a beautiful building. We were due to visit it properly the next day and wanted to see it at sunrise. Next time we write we'll post some photos of the Taj at sunrise and update you on the next stage of our travels.
Having posted a huge number of photos for us, its time to return to a bit of boring old writing! We'll post some photos of India soon. When we last wrote we had arrived in Mcleod Ganj, near Daramshala in the Himalaya. It was a beautiful spot. We managed to get a parking space in the state-run tourism hotel carpark. This it turned out was a busy little place during the day. The car park itself was not the usual concrete affair, but dirt tracks and different levels amongst a forested knoll. Every day Tibetan monks would come, sit and contemplate life or play 'keepy-uppy'. There was a small concreted area where more games were played and where one group of young people came and practised their dance routines. To top it all off, the view was fantastic and there was a troop of monkeys, say 40-50 who came every day to eat the chestnuts off the trees.
We sat for some time just watching these monkeys play. They were tumbling around, wrestling each other, jumping from tree to tree and onto the hotel corrugated roof, delighted with the racket they could make! We also met Gile there, the Tibetan Monk who gave Mark herbs and medicine for his cold. We took Gile for breakfast one morning when it had got quite cold and all enjoyed a bowl of porridge, banana and honey. There are so many cafes in Mcleod Ganj. We spent two rainy days effectively going from cafe to cafe.We decided after the rain that it was time to leave and find the sunchine, but the next day the sunshine re-appeared and we stayed another couple of days.
We really enjoyed the Tibetan food. The momos, Tibetan steamed dumplings, were really tasty. We actually spent three mornings learning how to cook momos, Tibetan soup and Tibetan bread at Lahmo's kitchen. Jo also did an Indian cooking course which was supposed to be for two days, but the second day was cancelled. Still, I learnt alot in one day and have made my first fresh chapatis since!
We, of course, visited the monastery and paid our respects to the Dalai Lama!
Mcleod Ganj was a cool place to hang out and we could have easily got stuck there. When we're ready to move on we usually try and be out of a place by 11, but just managed to leave Mcleod by 1pm! We made it 30km down the road and camped out next to a tea plantation at Palampur. We had a lovely view across a deep valley with terraced farming and palm trees.
The next day we managed to get a little further, although mountain roads are not the fastest. We stopped near Bilaspur in a hotel carpark called Sagar View. It was an amazing view of this huge man-made lake that had been created in the 1950s. We were just leaving the foothills of the Himalayas. The hotel was run by a man called Rajinder. He was really welcoming. He allowed us to park free of charge in the car park and let us shower in the hotel. He was very interested in the van as he was about to take on a franchise of Mahindra Indian cars and wanted to know about the conversion.
Mark and his dad's skills got us a free meal that night! There was local wedding on an Rajinder and his brother-in-law brought us back free food from there. They were very impressed that we liked Indian food and wanted us to try their local dishes. It was great food and we really enjoyed their company and hospitality.
The next day, after another late start due to more chats and chai with Raji, we made it to Kiratpur where we stayed at a Sikh temple. We were struggling to find anywhere and knew from the Golden Temple that Sikhs will allow you to stay and feed you. When we asked about parking the van there, they actually offered us a room each due to misunderstanding us!
We parked up and went into the communal kitchen to eat. It was a simple meal of daal and chapatis and rice pudding, but it was lovely. Mark especially liked the rice pudding! We washed our dishes after and had a quick look at the kitchens. Biggest cooking pots you've seen in your life!
The next day we head off early and made it to Chandigarh. Chandigarh is the joint capital of the Punjab and Haryana states and was built and designed in the 1950s. Le Corbusier designed the whole lot, including the huge man-made lake and grid like structure of the city. When India and Pakistan were established after partition, Lahore, the original capital of the Punjab was in Pakistan, so the Indians needed a new capital of their Punjab.
It was a relaxing few days in a cheap hotel and the final night we parked by the lake. That night we met a really nice man called Bupinder or Bupi, for short. He had been quite high up in managing tea stations for some British owners and was really interesting to talk to. We learnt alot about tea production and after a few beers and food had a real laugh together.
One of the really good sights we saw in Chandigarh, apart from the museum and modern art gallery, was Nek Chands fantasy rock garden. It was started by Nek Chand around 40 odd years ago and is built totally out of rubbish! It is believe it or not, an amazing garden with incredible moasics, sculptures and landscaping.
Leaving Chandigarh, we were headed for the Taj Mahal in Agra. We wanted to avoid going through Dehli as we had heard horror stories of the traffic there. Our scenic route took us through Baghput where we stayed in a rice field and the next night in Khurja where we were in a field of Marigolds. We have been the talk of every village we have stayed near and have a regular stream of visitors in the late-day sun and first thing the next morning. Its usually young men and in the mornings when they visit us they light a fire to keep themselves warm whilst they await our company!!
That Sunday we made it to Agra by the afternoon and sat in a hotel overlooking the Taj as the sun set. It truly is a beautiful building. We were due to visit it properly the next day and wanted to see it at sunrise. Next time we write we'll post some photos of the Taj at sunrise and update you on the next stage of our travels.
Wednesday 18 November 2009
Leaving Pakistan
We're off to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. It should be a few days driving. So, we'll post more things soon.
Hope you're all well.
Lots of love, Jo and Mark xx
Haircuts, trucks and camels!
The camels with carts were a new one for us too. We never realised they pulled carts! Camels were a regular feature by the time we left Pakistan, but we were so excited to see them at first. They have a slow almost nonchalant walk to them and are interesting to watch.
The truck, I forgot to put in the first lot, but just another example of the decoration.
Cotton - if you ever wondered what it looked like in the raw!
We spent a lot of time on the road!
Paskistan - the beginning showed such promise!
Gender stereotypes extend to the desert!
Camping and games in the Kaluts
The Kaluts - a stunning desert.
This beautiful desert has only 3% humidity making it the driest desert on earth. The scenery is unlike anywhere else.
New photos
Dear All,
In an attempt to catch up with our past, I've started uploading some images from Iran. The computer is pretty slow though, so it may take a while!!
In an attempt to catch up with our past, I've started uploading some images from Iran. The computer is pretty slow though, so it may take a while!!
Persepolis, Nr Shiraz, Iran
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