Varanasi is one of the most interesting places we went in India. But I still can't say I loved it. The streets once again are crowded, dirty and covered in shit but it's the Ghats that hold the most interest for travellers.
We stayed at the Scindhia Guest hose which was right on one of the main Ghats. The hotel itself wasn't anything to righ about but the 5.30am boat ride that they organised was great. We headed for the boat before the sun was up and slowly glided up the river towards the bathing Pilgrims. As you row along you past such things as the Burning Ghats which is where they cremate the dead before pouring their ashes into the river. The rivers is probably on of the dirtiest rivers in the world which is a surprise for the holy quality that it holds to Hindus. But everything is done in the river. As we snaked the shoreline we saw dead cows floating, people bathing, cremations being poured in. I've even heard that it's not uncommon for human bodies to be set afloat.
The interesting aspect of it all it the bathing and it's definitely worth a visit on a trip to India. But for me this is my last Indian blog as I have had enough and will be flying out tomorrow night with Singapore Airlines to Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Jaipur
Well I don't have that much to say about Jaipur sadly enough as we didn't get to see anything. I was still sick from our first night in Delhi and to add to this I had no developed a cough and also thrown my back out messing about with Mel. The hotel though was called the Hotel Pearl Palace and it was one of the best hotels on our entire trip. Each room was individually decorated in Mughal style and came complete with AC, cable TV, hot water (finally), awesome pillows and a comfy bed.
From here we caught a plane back to Delhi with Jet Airways and then jumped on a Spicejet flight down to Varanasi.
From here we caught a plane back to Delhi with Jet Airways and then jumped on a Spicejet flight down to Varanasi.
Agra
Theres not many words that could make Agra sould attractive. If it didn't have the Taj Mahal or possibly Agra Fort then this town would be well, well off the tourist trail.
We caught the 3Ac train from Delhi and that was better than expected but long. The trip should only be 2 hours but we ended up taking almost 5 hours. A 3 Ac train means you share an open styled cabin with 6 other people. Our fellow travellers were nice enough but only one of them could speak english so the whole trip was spent with him interrpruting and when he wasn't there the other guys would just talk anyway even though we had no idea what they were saying. In the end I found the whole thing very tiring as I was still sick.
Our hotel was called the Tourist Rest House. The room was basic but very clean and they all centred around a small plant filled garden. Perfect for a quite eveing in. In the afternoon on our first day we just chilled out and took a bit of time to relax. We found it the pefect place to plan the rest of the trip and book our flights to Bangkok.
The next day we headed down to the Taj Mahal. Everyone says it and it's probably true. The Taj is possibly one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. The white marbel just stands out againts the polluted sky and drab, dirty city. Quite sad to think that it was built by a Mughal Emperor for his wife who died during child berth. And as if that wasn't enough his son then took over as the Emperor and threw him in jail for the rest of his life, giving him a small cell with a view of his wifes tomb. A nice son to have hey.
In the afternoon we went to Agra Fort but it all knid of looked like the Red Fort so we didn't hang around long. The next day we caught the train to Jaipur.
We caught the 3Ac train from Delhi and that was better than expected but long. The trip should only be 2 hours but we ended up taking almost 5 hours. A 3 Ac train means you share an open styled cabin with 6 other people. Our fellow travellers were nice enough but only one of them could speak english so the whole trip was spent with him interrpruting and when he wasn't there the other guys would just talk anyway even though we had no idea what they were saying. In the end I found the whole thing very tiring as I was still sick.
Our hotel was called the Tourist Rest House. The room was basic but very clean and they all centred around a small plant filled garden. Perfect for a quite eveing in. In the afternoon on our first day we just chilled out and took a bit of time to relax. We found it the pefect place to plan the rest of the trip and book our flights to Bangkok.
The next day we headed down to the Taj Mahal. Everyone says it and it's probably true. The Taj is possibly one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. The white marbel just stands out againts the polluted sky and drab, dirty city. Quite sad to think that it was built by a Mughal Emperor for his wife who died during child berth. And as if that wasn't enough his son then took over as the Emperor and threw him in jail for the rest of his life, giving him a small cell with a view of his wifes tomb. A nice son to have hey.
In the afternoon we went to Agra Fort but it all knid of looked like the Red Fort so we didn't hang around long. The next day we caught the train to Jaipur.
Delhi
India was a country that I had wanted to go to for some time. I thought it would be one of the highlights on our long round the world adventure but I was sadly mistaken.
We arrived into Delhi on the 26th of September 2008 after an overnight flight from Luxor, Egypt. We had been tossing up for sometime before whether we should do India on a tour or give it a crack independently. But after working out the figures we decided that the money saved far overshadowed the scam artists, dodgyness and all round shit we had read about India. We had organised 2 nights accommodation at a hotel called Rak International in the drug and suspect area known as Parhaganj. The hotel was barely a 1 star but it did only cost $16 a night so what do you expect. We were told we had the best room in the place so I am a little worried what the rest of them were like. Our room had a big round bed, cold water 24 hours a day and an overpowering smell of mothballs.
India is everything you read plus a lot more. The noise, the chaos, the smells and sights. It's in your face and if your not ready then it's too bad. The streets are crowded with cars, buses, trucks, bicycle rickshaws, auto rickshaws, donkeys, elephants, dogs, children, Sari clad women and dirt stained men. The poverty is quite apparent as you pass slums set up in every spare crevasse the city has to offer. Any stop at an intersection brings the constant knock, knock, knock on your window by someone begging for help. The thing that we instantly didn't connect with was that we have been travelling for some time and we are kind of ready to wind down. India probably was the smartest choice. We should of taken the hint from the hassel we had trying to get the visa.
The first night we decided to go and get some food from the Lonely Planet recommended restaurant "Sam's Cafe". We thought we would stick to the recommended cafes as this was India and we didn't want to get sick. With in hours of eating a quite good chicken curry I was sick. What a prick! Mel was fine but for me the Indian experience was not looking good.
The next day we headed for the New Delhi train station to buy our tickets for the next days journey to Agra. After deciphering the process of how to buy our tickets we were headed out the door with a 3AC ticket to Agra and a 2Ac ticket to Jaipur (the gateway of Rajasthan). That afternoon we went to check out our first Indian sight, the Red Fort. At this stage I was on so many pills to try and keep everything in that I just didn't find it that impressive. Maybe it's because we had just come from Egypt & Europe or maybe, it just wasn't. That evening we went to a dance show called "Dances of India). It was actually quite a good night and made me forget about being sick. After the show we got ourselves a Auto Rickshaw home and then hit the hay to get up early for our trip to Agra.
We arrived into Delhi on the 26th of September 2008 after an overnight flight from Luxor, Egypt. We had been tossing up for sometime before whether we should do India on a tour or give it a crack independently. But after working out the figures we decided that the money saved far overshadowed the scam artists, dodgyness and all round shit we had read about India. We had organised 2 nights accommodation at a hotel called Rak International in the drug and suspect area known as Parhaganj. The hotel was barely a 1 star but it did only cost $16 a night so what do you expect. We were told we had the best room in the place so I am a little worried what the rest of them were like. Our room had a big round bed, cold water 24 hours a day and an overpowering smell of mothballs.
India is everything you read plus a lot more. The noise, the chaos, the smells and sights. It's in your face and if your not ready then it's too bad. The streets are crowded with cars, buses, trucks, bicycle rickshaws, auto rickshaws, donkeys, elephants, dogs, children, Sari clad women and dirt stained men. The poverty is quite apparent as you pass slums set up in every spare crevasse the city has to offer. Any stop at an intersection brings the constant knock, knock, knock on your window by someone begging for help. The thing that we instantly didn't connect with was that we have been travelling for some time and we are kind of ready to wind down. India probably was the smartest choice. We should of taken the hint from the hassel we had trying to get the visa.
The first night we decided to go and get some food from the Lonely Planet recommended restaurant "Sam's Cafe". We thought we would stick to the recommended cafes as this was India and we didn't want to get sick. With in hours of eating a quite good chicken curry I was sick. What a prick! Mel was fine but for me the Indian experience was not looking good.
The next day we headed for the New Delhi train station to buy our tickets for the next days journey to Agra. After deciphering the process of how to buy our tickets we were headed out the door with a 3AC ticket to Agra and a 2Ac ticket to Jaipur (the gateway of Rajasthan). That afternoon we went to check out our first Indian sight, the Red Fort. At this stage I was on so many pills to try and keep everything in that I just didn't find it that impressive. Maybe it's because we had just come from Egypt & Europe or maybe, it just wasn't. That evening we went to a dance show called "Dances of India). It was actually quite a good night and made me forget about being sick. After the show we got ourselves a Auto Rickshaw home and then hit the hay to get up early for our trip to Agra.
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