It’s time to go and Terminal 5 is still celebrating Christmas!

I am leaving London in the company of my brother and his family (Nicky, Olivia -4- and Alex -2-) for my very first visit to India.

We boarded right on time for our 20.50 flight to Mumbai, but not before the recovering wonder baby Alex has ran around the length of the B gates several times over in his jammies looking rather cute and captivating everyone’s attention.

...a slightly tired looking one...So, I had booked myself on the first row of the economy seats in an emergency exit but as it turns out, when the steward came round, the screen was flopping around and not staying upright. I didn’t think much of it, but, RESULT! He comes back and says: I am really sorry about the screen, but I do have one place available in Premium and I’ll come and get you once we’ve taken off!

So, after staring for 10 minutes at the lady next to me who texted throughout take off despite being told to switch the phone off, the chap came back and off I went. I managed to eat quickly my dinner, gloat to my remaining family in economy and sleep enough not to arrive in the shape of a zombie. A special thank you to Ludovica who bought me my favourite Settimana Enigmistica to pass the time during my travels.

Mumbai here we are. The floor told us where we were...no need for signs. Here it’s winter, but it’s still pleasantly hot and a little humid...Immigration, despite the e-visa’s recently introduced, was a slow affair. The biometric fingerprinting a bit of a hassle, but 45 minutes later, we were through with our luggage to find Sue to greet us much to the excitement of young Olivia.

Sue is Nicki’s mum and has lived in Mumbai for a few years now and absolutely loves it. 

We proceeded to go to the car park and part ways with our luggage. The bags went with a very kind young man and we all piled into Nani’s (Sue’s) car together for my very first taste of Mumbai traffic madness. And madness it was....once we left the safety of the recently built new road from the airport, the traffic became cahotic. Cars, motorbikes, rickshaws, trucks, all narrowly missing each other, cutting each other up and somehow managing to move along. The landscape reminded me of some of the South American favelas intertwined with new buildings. We also went through a shopping area. It is nothing that we may be used to in London. Again (but I have a feeling it’s a pretty standard thing), total madness. Add to the traffic, crowds of people walking and trying to cross the roads and bicycles! Thanks to Sue’s dab hand at driving, we made it safely to the flat where we’re staying for the next three days.

Of course, Santa has also made it to Bandra, here in Mumbai. We were greeted by a Christmas tree and another load of gifts for little Olivia and Alex. We had our very first taste of street food as Imtiaz (Poppa, Sue’s partner) popped out for some spicy samosas to fill our bellies and afterwards, as Alex and Nicki rested, Olivia proceeded to open her packages. Imtiaz, started preparing dinner (mutton and lentils) and once done, we went for a walk along the sea front. 

By this time it was dark, but clearly there were a lot of people about, whole families hanging out, eating freshly roasted corn and other delicacies. The use of rubbish bins was obviously not taken as necessary...You will also see from a couple of pictures that there were signs forbidding cooking on the beach, washing clothes on the beach, etc etc. I can assure that there was no rule left unbroken. It was also clear that they are fighting obesity and diabetes with a passion...signs everywhere about nutrition and doctor warnings.

In our stroll, we went past a couple of homes where famous Bollywood actors lived and there were crowds outside hoping for a glance of the stars. I am also reliably told that the amount of money these guys make is humongous! Way more than their western colleagues...amazing!

One of the highlights of the evenings was our (my very first) motorised rickshaw ride! Again, only one word describes it...madness. Attempting to squeeze past a bus where there was no room, is crazy. Everyone cutting everyone else up...

I’m really looking forward to seeing some of the markets and colours (and smells) of Mumbai over the next couple of days.

After a full night’s rest, we were all feeling a lot better. It took a while to get going but we eventually left the flat to go for lunch at Elco, a well known vegetarian place here in Bandra. The food was great and Olivia especially enjoyed it. She’s not at all squirmish over spicy food and tried absolutely everything. 

Alex on the other hand is more of a stickler for healthy non fried plain food so after deciding he was skipping lunch, he fell asleep and Cristian and Imtiaz went back home to rest. I spent some quality time with little Olivia shopping.

In an attempt to get home, we were suddenly reminded of last night issue with the rickshaws. They have become very picky as to where they want to go and will quite happily refuse to pick you up if they don’t think the fare is worth their while. Last night it took Imtiaz 6 or 7 attempts to get us a willing carriage. We (and by we I mean Sue) decided the best way was to get on without giving the destination. She then had to argue with the driver for a while as he wanted us to get off! She won the fight and we got home to a very sleepy house as everyone was resting. Of all the things that I thought I might be surprised by, rickshaws refusing rides was the biggest...it’s a bit like being in London and trying to get a black cab to pick you up for a £5 ride :-))))!

I spent the afternoon walking around Bandra and visited the church that gives Sue’s area its name: Mount Mary. There are some beautiful steps leading up to the hill. I also went back to the beach where I noticed a large number of couples on dates. Some hiding between bushes, some walking, some sitting and talking. Apparently, it’s common also for ladies to dress up in burkas even if they are not normally covered ladies, so that people can’t tell that they are out with a boy! 

Remarkably, some had also started their washing, although, it is very clearly forbidden...but so is food, littering and urinating...all of which also go on. It’s also shocking how there is a perennial haze over the city. Humidity and pollution are a constant. We are actually lucky that it’s winter so it is not as bad as during the really hot months.

Dinnertime! We were supposed to go out for some indian food (I guess just ‘food’ is the right word) but Alex was playing up so we had a take away instead. Amazing food! Eaten in the company of a friend of Imtiaz’s who dropped in to visit. 

Religion: Mumbai is a multi religious metropoli and Mount Mary is a mainly Cristian area (the majority of the inhabitants are Catholics). That is not so in the rest of the country where I believe Cristians represent less than 3%.

As yet unexplained remain the bars on the windows and terraces on blocks of flats that go all the way to the top. Imtiaz’s take is crime whereas Sue’s is children safety...to be continued.

As my time here is short, I am abandoning the family tomorrow morning to take in the classic Mumbay sights with a local guide. 

I left early (9am) this morning to go and see the Mumbay must see bits. Having booked through an app I hadn’t used before last night, I was a little concerned the guide might not be able to find my address, but, fear not! At ten to 9 my phone rang and the chap was downstairs waiting for me. I know it was an authentic experience because I was greeted by a driver and a guide! Overstaffing is obviously not an issue in India given the cost of personnel, but sometimes the level of specificity in their tasks/jobs makes me smile. I noticed this afternoon, for example, that a 15/20 metre patch of road was being repaired. There were 10 peoples involved. Two were laying the tarmac, three were giving advice, and five people looked on :-).

But, back to the guides. Off we went and after presentations were over and done with they kindly made sure that I had had breakfast (I hadn’t) and took me to buy coffee at a Starbucks nearby. What has struck me particularly, has been the kindness and respect (generally) that you are treated with. Sometimes a little too much. After having my door opened by both of them several times, I told them very politely it wasn’t necessary. Especially as I was in and out all the time.

It was an interesting morning. We stopped off at an open air laundry where only men worked. Quite popular with female foreigners as husbands apparently don’t often offer to do the washing...particularly by hand. We went on to see the hanging gardens (only called hanging because the Iranians used to hang the dead nextdoor to the park to be eaten by birds), the Gateway to India (built for King George’s visit), the Taj Palace (beautiful hotel infamous also because of the terroristic attack in 2008), Crawford market and Marine Drive (the pollution today was particularly bad and it was almost impossible to see the other side of the bay), as well as a Museum on Ghandi. The last stop before turning back and crossing the bridge back over to Bandra, was a temple. Shoes and socks off we took a look around. There were people pouring water and milk over flowers, randomly ringing a bell and rubbing a bull. It was only after I got home that Sue explained it the flowers/milk and water was some sort of rite to do with the vagina and the man appendix. Some, actually a lot, of the stories I heard throughout, were tales of generosity by the country millionaires. Starting from the Bollywood actor paying for people’s hospital bills (apparently only after he had ran over 4 people whilst drink driving), the business man giving away internet for free for a year and then subsidising people’s phones (Jio), etc etc. 

Some other stories reminded me of my own country of origin...damaging roads and public property etc so as to take money to do the repairs and actually not ever repairing the damage. Tutto il mondo e’ paese (the world is the same all over).

The rather unfortunate thing about the guide was that he knew very little of Mumbai’s history or religion. He had very few basic facts. But he was so kind that you couldn’t really be mad at him.

Interesting facts about the guide: he is 22 and to go on holiday in Goa and not ask for the money from his parents, he sold a camera they got him because he’s a passionate photographer, knowing that as he had a friend with exactly the same one, should they ask, he could borrow it. The driver, an older man, seemed to be a little more switched on about where to go and kept offering info to his young friend who then translated it for me.

After I got back from my little private trip without the family, I was famished (and so was Cristian), so Imtiaz went off to procure some samosas. He then offered to take me for a walk around Bandra and Ranwar (the original fishing village which then became the whole Bandra district). Although not entirely happy to be living in Mumbai, his parents are from here, so he was able to take me through the changes that have taken place. Bandra for example, has become very gentrified, mainly thanks to expatriates choosing to live here, a little away from the hussle and dust of the city. There’s more and more little restaurants, bars and shops popping up. Some take advantage of the original charming structures and give it a slightly more modern and sleek look. Of course, as you’d expect from a metropoly in a developing country, you have beauty next to ruins and rubble...

We walked quite a while through the charming streets in Bandra and Ranwar chatting away until we got to Joggers Park along the Ocean where we took a rickshaw back home. Sunset over the sea was amazing. In one of the sunset pictures you’ll see the fishermen shacks and rocks where they dried the fish. Ranwar was after all a fishing village to start with, but aside from a few fishing boats there is very little left of the original community. Mumbai itself is built across seven islands.

Dinner: guess what? Indian take away :-)! Different dishes, similar spices...my favourite so far I think.

Tomorrow morning we all leave for Goa! Can’t wait! I’ll spend four days with them before flying to Delhi to start my visit to Rajasthan.

A few last words on Mumbai before I leave. You’ll have seen a peculiar sign amongst my photos, saying: this property is not for sale. It is due to the fact that housing prices have rocketed to a level that has made any plot of land worth a lot of money and developers are scouring all the up and coming areas for building plots. Sometimes scaring/bullying people into selling. 

So, back to this morning...It was never going to be easy travelling domestic in India so I was not surprised by how the day unfolded. Nicky had booked a lovely villa/cottage close to the sea, but just before we left London, the airBnB chap cancelled the accomodation. It was obviously impossible to find a similar place given that it is over New Years, so they were offered two flats instead, but in different locations :-). We are all going to stay in one of the two, so that at least we’ll stay together. 

So, the travelling I was saying...

We got up earlier than usual, or at least with a little more purpose, and started getting ready to make our way to the airport. Little Alex was in a foul mood and ‘no’ combined with screaming, was his mantra. Olivia was as usual in her calm Queen like mood, doling out kisses and hugs. 

I was always going to be flying to Goa, but the original idea was that the rest of the family would experience an overnight train journey. I am guessing it’s probably best that the waiting list didn’t dissipate and my two tiny niece and nephew flew instead of going on a chuf chuf. However, we were on two different flights but with the same outcome: mine delayed by three hours and theirs by about two. So we arrived at roughly the same time.

Also, I had been told that the lounge was closed for renovations, it actually was not. In fact I took a nap in very comfortable surroundings and had a lovely lunch. My first time in a lounge with Indian dishes being served :-)))! God save Priority Pass!!!

Funny fact of the day: my plane was further delayed because one of the front wheels needed changing. One man was doing the work and six looking on! One of the six was gesticulating to do it slowly. It defies belief...

Once we were all together, we climbed into our ride and made our way from the airport to our home for the next few days. It took about two hours to not go very far at all...the traffic was pretty bad, but the scary thing was the driving. Mumbai has been interesting, but here, there was overtaking on blind bends and worst of all overtaking even if you could see a car coming the opposite way, expecting them to stop pretty much in a ditch to let you pass. Top prize goes to the guy that as this was going on, was doing a u turn on a bend! It was downright scary at times.

By the time we got to the house it was dark, but the flat we are staying in is spacious and backs onto a river that I am hoping will look pretty in the morning. As for the location, we are close’sh to a town with some basic shops and about 10/15 minutes drive away from some pretty wonderful beaches I’m told...so looking forward to tomorrow! The kids played chu chu train with some cylindrical cushions and involved everyone as we were waiting for the equivalent of deliveroo to turn up. The agent that manages the flat took pity on us arriving so late and arranged the drop off. However, there was no following the food delivery on an app :))), and the food eventually turned up nearly two hours later!

It was delicious, but you do have to wonder as to the conditions of the kitchen that prepared it :-)!

New experience: we will have to wash our own dishes from now on...no staff!

First morning in our new accomodation! Cris, Nicky and the kids had a difficult night. Everyone wanted to sleep next to papa so in the end not much sleeping got done and a lot of bed swapping went on. 

Hugs and kisses and off to bed...tomorrow, another tiring day at the beach awaits us!

It took a while to get going this morning. We had an eventful night. Alex woke up by falling off the bed and screamed the house down at around 3am, but that was only after we had war like explosions (fireworks Goan style) which seemed to be right outside our front door. 

Nani went missing, or so it seemed, during the night!  When Cristian went into Imtiaz’s and Sue’s room with Alex to say hello, he discovered Imtiaz was on his own. In fact Imtiaz had no idea of where Sue was. Having discovered the front door unlocked (armchair detectives eat your hearts out), we thought she might have got up early and gone out, but it made no sense as we are a fair distance from anything to do. We looked everywhere in the garden, but no joy. After a fair bit of looking around and calling out her name, we heard a voice from upstairs at the back of the house. Basically Sue was coughing so hard that she didn”t want to keep people awake, so she had climbed on the outside porch of the flat above and slept on the floor outside! Poor Nani! Having solved the mistery, we set about our not very efficient daily routine: Alex refusing three kinds of breakfast and having a tantrum. The poor little boy is just now getting back to normal after his fever and sniffles. Here’s hoping it’s all downhill from now on.

By the time we made it to Patnam beach it was lunchtime.  We had a light lunch in the same place as yesterday, but settled down to the cushions of the place next door for the rest of the day. The service was equally slow and the menu identical. 

Olivia couldn’t wait to get into the water, her swimming having come along in leaps and bounds. She could spend hours in the sea whereas Alex prefers covering himself in sand from head to toe and burying his diggers.

I had a nap, continued with my crosswords, and generally relaxed...

On the way home Sue bumped into some old friends and a buddist monk (who stood very silent in the background as the rest of them caught up with events since last meeting). The highlight of the night was finding Nutella on sale in the grocery store when we finally continued our trip home!

We decided we’d settle for a local restaurant delivery for dinner so had the kids eat early, watch cartoons and go to bed. However, I should point out that when I say take away, between ordering and getting the food delivered, normally a couple of hours go by. So, we always end up eating very late. As it was a very hot day today, we were all pretty shattered but played ‘shit head’ at cards before going to bed so to at least give digestion a chance.

Tomorrow we will attempt the impossible: leaving the house before 10am! We are planning to go to a beach further away, Agonda. The highlight for Imtiaz there, is a run down shack that serves awesome food...fingers crossed!

We went for a quick lunch at a place nearby, and introductions were made. We then did a quickish tour of Delhi’s must see monuments. Mayur is very knowledgeable and run through maybe a little too much info on history and indian rulers for my very tired brain :-).

The India gate and the tomb of Humayuns were amazing. You’ll see from some of the photos. It is thought that the tomb was actually the inspiration for the design of the Taj Mahal as it was built later and by a descendant of the lady who had the tomb builf for her husband. At first glance, Delhi appears to be quite different from Mumbai. The roads are wider and grander and there’s much more green all round. Dehli is where the government is (the British moved it here from Calcutta) whereas Mumbai is the business hub of the country.

After a quick rest at the hotel we went for an early dinner in Connaught (more into the heart of Delhi). Very nice place, top food (except for the half raw chicken that we left on the plate). We tried a dish that is a deep fried spinach leaf with some chutney topping. Very very nice, and one of the few things I hadn’t tried yet.

Tomorrow we drive to Agra...Yieppy!!!!!!!!!!!!

We spent a couple of hours inside the Agra Fort. A beautiful red building enclosing several palaces. One of which was the palace where one of the Moghul emperors was kept prisoner by his third son (who had also killed his two brothers to take power). From his very beautiful cell, the emperor could see the Taj Mahal in the distance...most days I would guess, as sometimes the fog and mist obscures the beautiful view. We are fortunate enough not to be coming at a time where the Taj Mahal is covered in scaffolding, but unfortunate because of the mist and fog that make the viewing a little hazy. In fact, we were supposed to see it at sunrise tomorrow, but fog is expected, so we’ll just visit at a less romantic time, but at a more comfortable one. For the visit to the Fort and throughout the day tomorrow, we have a local guide with us. It’s part of the Wildfrontier ‘give back to the people of India’ program. Much like Mayur, the guide was very well prepared on history and the mughol emperors. 

By the end of the afternoon, we were pretty much mughol’ed out! 

Indian history, and some would argue history in general, I know nothing about and over the last two days the amount of information and names and relationships between the names, passed on, has been significant.

The palaces and fort were absolutely stunning and I hope it shows in the pictures. 80% of the buildings are used by the government and the army and are not open to the public. Other than that, the only other inhabitants of the fortress, are the monkeys, one bat that we could see, and, an enormous number of tiny squirrels. Before heading home we drove to a spot (a moghul garden called the moonlight garden) at the back of the Taj to view it at sunset. Pity about the hazyness...but a beautiful view nevertheless. Looking forward to visiting it tomorrow!

The highlight of any trip to India has to be the world famous Taj Mahal. It is not so much the building itself that surprised me but, in my ignorance, I confess I didn’t know it was a tomb. Moreover, it simbolizes the love for a wife, that knowing she was going to die, made three requests of her loving husband. One of the wishes was that he would build something unique in her memory. It took nearly 20 years and 20,000 people, but the Taj Mahal was indeed unique. The amount of detail in the carvings in the marble with the inlay of stones is amazing.

We had a truly unique visit as when we arrived at 9sh (we had abandonded the idea of sunrise due to weather conditions), the fog was so thick that the Taj Mahal was only visible at a distance of 5m. Luckily, by the time we had visited the monument and tried to take in all the info thrown at us, the fog had partially lifted and although a little hazy, we were able to take pictures of one of the most photographed icons in the world. There was a lot of security getting in, but Mayur explained that it is the single biggest terrorist target in India.

We moved on...no rest for the wicked! We went to see a place where they still work the marble in the same way as for the Taj decorations. Although, I am told it is dieing art as the work and time needed to produce even a single flower is amazing. We did hang around a little longer than expected as we loved the objects displayed in the gallery...all on sale of course! It was however difficult to picture a place for a model Taj Mahal in my flat in London, and I also managed to restrain myself from also buying a chess set :-).

After yet another lovely meal, we went onto the Fort. A red fort built with several palaces on the inside, three of which for the three wives (built as per their requests). The emperor also made Fatehpur Sikri Fort, the hub of the empire for 9/10 years.

Funny story: the love story here was one of a love for an elephant that the emperor took with him everywhere. 

There were several groups of schoolchildren visiting the Fort. One of them was being led around by a teacher like a herd of sheep, hitting them with a stick (on their backpacks luckily). At one point they surrounded us and wanted us to take pictures of them and shake their hands...very amusing!

The poverty around the fort, and much like in Agra itself, is evident. Begging by children and adults alike is everywhere, as well as garbage, dirt etc. It is at times difficult to look at it. 

We left the Fort to venture towards Jaipur. Along the way, a cow jumped out in the middle of the highway and we narrowly missed a head on collision! The rest of the journey was fairly non eventful by indian standards. The usual u-turns in the middle of the carriageway, overtaking on the left and a lot of honking horns. We are actually sleeping about 10km out of Jaipur at what is commonly known as the Viceroy Club in the movie ‘The Best Marygold Hotel’.  

Scenes from both the first and second movie were shot here. In fact the second time around they were here for nearly three weeks. The real name is Castle Kanota and it’s an old stately home that has been opened up to the public and turned into an hotel about 20 years ago. In India, but similarly in Europe, old noble families have found themselves with big old buildings in need of upkeep and no money to do it with, and this has been one of the ways to preserve heritage and make a living. We met the young owner who inherited the property and his wife. They proudly recounted the history of the building and talked about their great grandfather who fought, like many indians, for the british in the two world wars. We had a drink in front of a roaring fire and a lovely thali in the upstairs dining hall before all retiring to our uniquely shaped rooms. This is our first of several heritage homes. It should make for an interesting rest of the trip!

Before seeting off for Jaipur, we were taken to visit the museum at Castle Kanota. It’s been housed in one of the wings of the main building. It is the memorabilia of the current owner grea great grandfather. An Indian who became an officer in the British army. The remarkable thing wasn’t so much his military career, which was also incredible, but the fact that he kept a daily journal, in english, of his life for 42 years! Bloggers eat your hearts out...there was a whole library full of history. He had no formal education and his initial pages were corrected by his mentor who was also the one who had suggested that to fit in in the Britis army he should write, read and think in english. He also read voraciously. An amazing man. The museum has been set out to perfection. I have rarely seen anything like it. It puts the Ghandi museum in Mumbai to shame. 

I also came across a couple of things on modern britain I had no idea of before. These days we ride horses using trousers called jodpurs...the name comes from the city of Jodhpur in India. Fun fact number two, being doolally, derives again from an indian village, Deolaly where an asylum for the british military was housed.

We got a chance to chat with our museum guide, the young wife of the owner. Toirists being tourists, we prodded away to our hearts content into their private lives. Despite their being brought up in wealthy families and having private education, they had an arranged marriage. At their wedding there were 3,000 people. About average, as it turns out, for an indian wedding. Even our guide had 2,000! She was wearing traditional clothing and she told me that whilst in Jaipur, that’s what she wore every day. She only wore, say, jeans and a t-shirt, if she was out of town.

Jaipu here we come! We said our goodbyes, and drove to Jaipur, where we are staying for the next two nights. Our home for this brief spell is a beautiful heritage building: Khandela Haveli. The building is buil aound a small courtyard and is beautifully restored. The top, third floor, even has a small pool. I had my room changed...somehow I get the feeling I get the worst room always on this trip as I am not a complainer. They had put me in a small but perfectly formed room with twin beds on the third floor (no lift here). So they they moved me initially on the first floor at the back of the laundry, and eventually to a good room overlooking the courtyard.

We set off for lunch and a tour of a couple of the must see sights of Jaipur. Despite being Sunday, the traffic was horrific once through the old city walls! Jaipur is called the pink city. It is due to the colouring of the buildings in terracotta colour. It is by decree of one of the old rulers that all buildings facing the main roads in the old part should be painted in this colour. In fact, the government pays and gets the repainting done every 5/6 years.

Today we visited the Royal Palace where the current King lives (we were not allowed, of course, to visit his actual residence). The complex was made up of several couryards with a mix of administration buildings, a museum and a town hall where the ruler used to listen to peoples quarrels and administer justice. These days I imagine it’s purely used for ceremonial events. The British Royals have of course been received here.

News item: the game of polo seems to have been picked up by the british army in a town called Manipur!

In fact, Prince Albert had a palace built for himself (now a small museum). 

We moved onto the observatory. Amazing how, without the use of technology, they were able to build instruments with such perfection that they are able to tell the time precicely to the second!

There were a lot of kites flying around Jaipur today. On the 14th of January they have a kite festival. Thousands of kites fights! The string of the kite has a special glassy like concoction so that it facilitates the cutting of the opponents string. Kids then chase the falling kites, unfortunately also causing accidents.

In the evening, we did something a little more unusual for tourists...we went to a bollywood movie! But not to any normal cinema, but to the Raj Mandir! Amazing building, a real treat. It’s huge. It was a little peculiar that young indian boys would come upmand ask to take selfies with us...as if we were sort of an attraction. They are all very polite, so we oblige them...it’s good training if we ever become famous :-). We were in diamond class, so had very comfortable seats, although the rest of the enormous hall seemed pretty comfy. It is a treat for the average indian family to come here, as it is not cheap in relative terms. It was obvious from their behaviour that it was the first time for most of them. I have never seen anyone in the UK taking pictures if the cinema!

The real surprise was the movie itself. The star was a very famous bollywood actor but the movie budget must have been hollywood style! The stunts and special effects were amazing, although at times ridiculously over the top. The funniest thing though, was the audience: they cheered whenever he appeared and on any of the action sequences...a must do for any Jaipur visitors! And the movie wasn’t bad at all despite being in a language entirely unfamiliar. We only saw the first half but could have happily sat through till the end...BUT the movie lasted over 3 hours, saw we opted for dinner instead. 

We were joined towards the end of the meal by Mayur’s sister in law and his nephew who live here in Jaipur. The little four year old boy wouldn’t look up at all as he was very shy (it reminds me so much of Paolino’s behaviour). After chocolate bribing him, he eventually became a little friendlier...but it can’t be easy being surrounded by 5 funny looking tourists speaking in a language you don’t know! We gave them both a lift and on the bus ride we saw a man on a white horse riding in the middle of the highway. There was a wedding nearby, and it is traditional for the groom to arrive on a horse! No Bentleys here! Reflect people...maybe a nice idea for wedding planners out there!

We are now in a routine just like schoolchildren! After breakfast at the appointed time, we set off to visit the Amber Fort a short distance outside Jaipur on the hills. On the way we stopped to see a facade built purely to allow royal women to look out and view day to day life, without being seen: the Palace of Winds.

The fort is an awesome building and the walls stretch out over the nearby hills, almost making it look like the great wall of China (wI can only go by what I have seen in photographs). As we drove to the parking lot, Mayur told us we would be seeing many many elephants, used to carry the tourists up to the top of the hill. He also told us how they get mistreated and how Wild Frontiers were against this kind of abuse. After the speech he said: so who would like to ride up with the elephants? Hahahahahaha...only one answer was really possible after the introduction he ha made, and so, we made our way up in a jeep. Equally as exciting as the driving was as erratic as always and the people and traffic added flavour. As always (I say always as we have become accustomed to the Indian Forts being builts in this way), there were several palaces within the walls. In one section there were nine apartments for the nine wives of the king at the time. They were cleverly arranged so that each wife could get to the king without going through any of the other apartments, and, similarly, the king could go to his chosen wife for the night directly. It’s a truly beautiful compound, overlooking Jaipur. 

On our way back we stopped briefly to glance at the floating palace, the Jal Mahal. It was built as a garden for the summer for the king and the lake is artificial. The foundations went in before a dam allowed them to flood it and create the lake. It has no rooms. It’s currently leased for 40 years to a very rich Indian billionaire who has restored it and uses it to entertain his friends. 

Note to self: make similar kind of friends.

Our last stop before lunch was a laboratory that made fabric with block printing (a Jaipur speciality) and carpets. They employ several families in the countryside in the surrounding villages to produce both the carpets and the fabric. In both instances it takes precision and patience. The work needed to produce the carpets in particular, is neverending. It takes between a month to six months, depending on design and size, to produce each carpet. The owner was knowledgeable and knew how to go about his job...selling! He took us through to the carpet gallery and proceeded to show us some pretty amazing carpets at prices that considering the work and materials, were reasonable. I really loke a modern blue design one...but, could I really spend £650 ona carpet to replace my £25 Ikea one that I actually loved? There was only one answer...so I told him I would think about it as he took us through the textiles section (pashminas etc) where everyone bought something. As we left, he had one of the boys bring up the carpet for me and after I had another wobble, he said, of course, that he could do a special price. At £500 I re-wobbled but reasoned myself out of it and kindly declined the offer.

We drove to an organic cafe for lunch and more shopping at the famous (not for me) Anokhi! They sell block printed clothing, accessories and homeware. They also work with the community to produce the garments and reward and sell at fair prices.

This was really it for today andwe were due to go back for a rest before dinner, but me, Mary and Pat, craved for a little adventure. We asked to be dropped off in the market area. Mayur was not comfortable at all in leaving us behind...even asked me to call an uber when we wanted to go back. So off we walked into mayhem. For a while we were in the slightly touristy bit, so we got hustled by the vendors. 

Peculiar sightings: lots of orange tinted hair! In the UK the last thing most people would do is turn their hair orange...so refreshing to see that here people actually do it on purpose!

Rajasthan is proving to be way more colourful than Mumbai, Goa and Delhi. It’s more along the lines of what I thought it would be like in my imaginary voyage.

We purchased more souvenirs and even a couple of local kites! I am pretty sure we will not be able to put them together and will have no local boy to teach us how in the UK!

Soon however, we turned into the hub of the very local market. Narrow corridors so crowded that you could hardly walk, in a bazaar full to the rafters with sarongs, fabrics etc. I have never seen anything like it. Pat was very excited to be in the hub of ‘real India’. We eventually made our way out and got a rickshaw home. The ride was an experience in itself as the rush our traffic was in full flow. All in all a great day, but by the time I got back, I was pretty shattered. Shower, rest and dinner. 

Charity and wastefulness: Mayur explained that some restaurants collected the untouched food from customers who did not finish their meals, put it in pots, and distributed it to the homeless at the end of the day. Half eaten food was collected and given to animals. In Hindu religion, being kind to animals ensures good kharma. Also, you might come back as a cow in a new life...You never know!

Tomorrow we leave for Pushkar...a holy place on a lake. Can’t wait!

Last night Mayur turned up to dinner with nearly no voice at all (he has a bit of a cold) and bets were on as to his condition this morning. Well, our guide had NO voice at all! We have been feeding him lemsip and honey and as of today, he was given a ban on attempting to talk for the whole day. 

Off we went with Mr V (the driver) in an upbeat mood. Our mute guide would write notes about our surroundings as we were driving along, and pass them to me to read to the group. All in all an amusing situation, more so because I’m the only non native english speaker of the group. 

On the outskirts of Jaipur we came across a large crowd of day labourers congregated, waiting to see if they were going to get a job today, and, as per all the other bigger cities we have been in, a large number of homeless people with children roaming the streets. You never really get used to the terrible conditions these people live in. It’s an horrific sight. They wash on the streets and they sleep wherever. Fortunately, we have come across several places that feed the poor either for free or for 5 rupees. So maybe starvation is less of an issue. Mayur proudly explained that the Indian government obliges the schools to take in any child who wants to study. Now...the real problem is that the parents send them to beg! So they still have an education issue, which means that these people find it very difficult to pull themselves out of their terrible living conditions.

The drive lasted about three and a half hours and presented the usual challenges. It may seem repetitive to you, but the harmonious dance with which the vehicles and people manage to not hit each other, defies belief. On this subject, I have forgotten to mention that most vehicles actually have the sign ‘blow horn’ painted in the back, to encourage honking your horn to make your presence known.

On both sides of the highway you could see the white marble market. The caves where it originates from are from this area, and it is the same marble that has been used to build the Taj Mahal.

We made one single stop for coffee, unremarkable in itself, but, interesting because to get back to riding in the right direction of the highway, we had to actually drive up oncoming traffic in the opposite direction and then cross over and join on the opposite side on the fast lane! Awesome...awesome that with so much of this going on, they don’t have more deaths on the roads.

Pushkar is the quietest place we have visited so far. It’s a holy hindu place, there is no alcohol and the food is entirely vegetarian. After settling into the Pushkar Palace which is positioned right on the holy lake, we had a quick vegetarian lunch and set off with a local guide (with the mute guide on tow) to basically do a round of the small lake. It was so peaful and tranquil.

People come to Pushkar from all over the country to get blessed or to bless members of the family who have died. There are priests performing the ceremonies in the many ‘ghats’ (small pools of water in the lake) around the lake. People also bathe in the ghats, as presumably it purifies you. There are no shoes allowed within 40 feet (12 metres) of the water’s hedge and indeed no photography allowed of the ceremony (funnily enough as always the indian population seemed to be the one breaking the rules and I saw several people taking selfies...go figure). On our walk we crossed a holy bridge and had to do it shoeless and at the same tome attempt not to step on the holy cow shit...the cows did not to deem it appropriate to not defecate in the holy places! 

There are many temples, and we came across a couple dedicated to Shiva, the only god rarely represented in human form. In fact, in the temples, it is reprented as the reproductive organs for a man and a woman: the lingam. The lingam is then worshipped with offerings of milk, water, flower petals, fruit, fresh leaves and rice.

It all seemed so much quieter than anywhere else we have been on this Rajasthan trip. So refreshing. Even the market, was a more humane experience. I strolled around town for a while before going back to the hotel in time to see the sun set from the hotel balcony...very beautiful. Of course it isn’t always as peaceful as this. In October/November they have a camel fair. 15 to 20 thousand camels relocate to Pushkar and crowds are drawn to the city from all over the country. 

By the time we got to dinner, Mayur’s voice had started to come back...good news!

Tomorrow we have the longest drive so far, about seven hours, to Khempur. Khempur is an unremarkable agricultural settlement, made famous only because one of the heritage palaces has been used as a location in a movie, ‘The best exotic Marigold Hotel’. We are staying at the hotel in question (it was turned into a hotel only after the movie I believe) for two nights. Time enough to take in real life in this indian rural town and maybe go for a ride, as the hotel has a stud farm. Again, very very excited! And I am hoping the authentic palace won’t be TOO authentic!

Today was a travelling day. We drove (I say we, but I slept on and off and Mr V did all the driving as usual) for about 6 hours to our destination: The Real Exotic Marigold Hotel in Khempur. This was the setting for part of the shooting of the movie. In the movie the hotel is situated in Jaipur, but only the outside scenes were shot there, as well as Udaipur and Castle Kanota (the Viceroy Club in the film). In reality, Kevla Khempur (the real name), is in the middle of nowhere (about an hour and a half from Udaipur), in a very rural setting.

We made only one stop for lunch at Bhilwara, incidentally at the restaurant run by a cousin of our guide Mayur. What are the chances? 

Unusual sighting (per te Cris): KTM Bhilwara! So far we have seen nothing but scooters or beaten up bikes, so it was refreshing to see a properly kitted out KTM outfit.

We eventually turned left off the equivalent of a B road in the UK (a terrible B road) onto something that was little more than a dirt road...and, voilà! Awesome! As we drove up to the hotel, I felt truly excited. It is one of the highlights of my visit to India. I loved the movie. 

As we drank chai tea in the courtyard, waiting to be assigned rooms, our eyes wondered and tried to piece together from memory where the scenes were shot. 

What a day! The night was uneventful with the exception of the dogs howling for a little whole around 11pm. So, if the boiler did turn on with a bang at 4am, I did not hear it at all...I must have snored my way through it. Remarkably though, the hotel stay is closer to the reality of the movie than one would like. As I attempted to take a shower in lukewarm water, a voice from outside said: are you taking a shower? Is the water warm enough? The same voice than insisted in coming in to take a look, and although it was clear to me (and me alone) that there was no hope that I would get hot water, I conceded it was hot enough and sent the chap on his way. I then worked out that the tap at middle height was sloghtly warmer and ended up taking a shower crowching down in a semi-fetal position. So, I can confirm that the electrics are dodgy (the side light went on and off for a while during the night), the boiler has seen better days and the pluming spits out residues as well as water...and there is little real privacy as the staff seems to be in the unlikeliest places all the time.

After breakfast we went for a walk in the village. As it is a working agricultural town of rougly 2,500 people, we were not greeted by the usual begging and requests for money in various forms. We actually walked around undisturbed with the manager of the hotel and his small boy. In fact, if anything, people actually requested to be photographed purely because they liked to see themselves in our photos. We visited a state school that taught children up to the age of 14. It was striking how poor the children were, but even more so how happy they seemed to be to see us. And not because they wanted something, they just liked to be photographed and wanted to know our names. The most senior class sang the national anthem for us and requested that we did the same. So the brits obliged! I found out later, that a chap staying at our hotel had actually donated the rugs they were sitting on, as well as a water filtering system (the kids had no clean water to drink at school) that was due to be installed that very afternoon. You really felt you wanted to take them all away from this reality so alien to us...but as I said, they actually seemed happy and they had nothing but beautiful smiles. It was quite an emotional experience for me. I spoke to Mary later, one of the ladies on the trip, and proposed that when we get back, we each get the pictures we’ve taken of the kids printed and sent over to the school as they were so keen to see the result of our snaps on the digital cameras.

After lunch we had a free afternoon. I had a snooze, a walk about photographing the hotel and a chat with Pat, the oldest lady on the trip. She’s 83! We were joined by Mark (the kind sould that donated the rugs and water system to the school). He’s from the US, retired, and on his first trip without his partner. They travel to India for two months a year, december and january, and try and do something positive in the places they visit.

We were treated to the sequel to the original movie, before dinner. So so amazing, again, to see it after having seen the locations it was shot in. And always moving...

We leave the Best Marigold Hotel tomorrow, forever, I guess. It is difficult to think that I’ll ever be back in this remote place again. It has been a rather unique experience. I do hope they find a way to make this place work going forward (a lick of paint and a new boiler would suffice), and maybe turn it in a yoga/meditation retreat. There’s something special about the place.

A short distance fom our quiet imperfect paradise in Khempur, stands Udaipur. The Venice of the east they say. It’s built around a number of lakes, it has a beautiful royal palace and some floating buildings (such as the Taj hotel and Jagmandir Ghat) but it doesn’t quire have the same charm...falls a little short as the english would say. 

Funniest moment: as we got on the bus this morning, Dianne noticed that Mr V (our driver) had gone from gray to black overnight. On closer inspection he had also had a haircut. Unfortunately the tint is also on his scalp, so he does look a little odd.

We stopped off at a garden built to appease a new queen and her favourite suite of women servants, before making our way into old Udaipur and our hotel, nestled on a hill overlooking one of the lakes. The building is of course a little dated and the paint is falling off the walls in my room BUT, I have a view on the lake! We wondered through the streets of the old town on what was our orienteering walk. We have a little free time here in Udaipur, so is will help us in not getting lost. We also took an afternoon boat ride on the lake overlooking the Royal Palace. A beautiful experience almost ruined by two spanish women who didn’t think much of having got on the boat last and left their seats to come and stand right in front of me (I had occupied the front row to be able to snap away to my heart’s content). Just rude! 

Dinner tonight was at Mayur’s own restaurant (opened, I presume, with a few partners) right on the lake. It’s a slick place. Modern, clean, with a pool. A cross between a beach club and a restaurant. The food was the best we’ve had so far on the trip, and, served in an ambience that we’ve yet to experience in India. Very very nice! Pat, our eldest fellow traveller, bought everyone a drink tonight, so altogether a great evening.

On the way back, we were stuck between two wedding marches and fireworks (december is a popular month for weddings), and after having to wait a while, took a long loop around to reach our hotel. 

Tomorrow is our last day together before we all go off home (most of us)!

We visited the Royal Palace and a temple first thing this morning with a local guide. We started with the place of worship. Up till now I had been spared the sight of what I have dreaded throughout the trip: the mighty rats! Although I am sure they were around us...but here, where gods and goddesses were chanted to, they seemed to have the run of the place. I exaggerate of course, but, if I saw 5 of them, I imagine there were many more hanging around. I wanted to leave, I have to be honest. More so because as it was a place of worship, we were walking around with no shoes on. I confess I paid very little attention to the guide as my eyes were roaming around the place making sure I wasn’t set upon by the smellier version of Mickey mouse: India Mouse!

We moved on, luckily, to the palace. The place is absolutely huge, and splendid in parts. I don’t much care for the narrow corridors and stairs linking the rooms in the different wings of the palace. The visit should have been followed by a cooking class, but the lady running it had an emergency, and it was cancelled. So we did what we do best: wondered about shops and street stands picking up souvenirs (even though we really don’t need anymore of them). The attraction throughout has been how cheap everything seems compared to Europe. But we have learned to ask ourselves a very basic question when considering slightly more colourful purchases: would I really use it at home/where on earth would I put it? It has saved several of us from ourselves.

We then had lunch on the lake at a very tranquil location. It was lovely to get away from the noise and hussle.

On the way back to the hotel, we did more shopping...I even got talked into buying a painting on silk. It’s a ruined, ex-display painting that the guy tried to tell me he should be charging more for because it was an antique! Ahahahahahaha...it’s all part of the charm of the place I guess. I am however feeling that I am ready to go home. Being constantly lied to, loses its charm after a while. 

I eventually found my way back to the hotel and joined Dianne and David (the couple in our group) on the roof for a coffee and a nutter. The view was spectacular. Wouldn’t be out of place in Amalfi. And again, can’t stress it enough, peaceful. No wonder they go off to find peace in the forests in India!

After a shower and a rest I joined the others downstairs for our goodbyes to Mr V, the driver. I do believe that he had the most stressfull and tiring job out of our two companions (the other being the guide). He seemed a lovely man and was very polite and kind. Of course there was a language barrier, so we knew pretty much nothing about him and had had no conversations. Still...you get a feeling about a person. During our day long shopping spree we had bought a present even for him! A keychain with an elephant for luck...and an envelope with money, which I am sure he prefers: his tip.

We walked to a folkloristic show at the local community centre. Mayur had secured the equivalent of a royal box! Everyone else seemed to be either sitting on the floor or crowded up in uncomfortable chairs. The show was...mmmm...interesting. There was dancing with and without fire, there was a puppet show, but, the most applauded act, was a 71 year old dancer who had an unthinkable number of pots on top of her head to keep balanced as she danced. 

We caught a crazy ride on rickshaws to get to our last meal together. The place was a terrace on the lake, facing the royal palace and the floating Taj hotel. It was part of a very posh hotel. Again, amazing views! The food was ok...we’ve had better.

We thanked Mayur here...and handed over another customary envelope with cash. Pat and Mary (the mother and daughter duo), gave us all a present each for having been helpful with Pat (at 83 sometimes she needed a little help with the stairs): a lovely star for our Christmas trees. Here in Udaipur they make lovely christmas decorations and despite the holiday having been and gone, some of the shops still had a few pieces. What a nice thought.

We walked back and said our goodbyes...we all leave at different times tomorrow. I’m off to Mumbay for a few hours before boarding for London, and will be popping in to see Sue and Imtiaz.

Bye bye Udaipur... 

I left Udaipur this morning and, much to my surprise, the flight to Mumbai was on time. By lunchtime I was knocking on Sue’s and Imtiaz’s door in Bandra. Almost disappointingly, my trip from the airport, using the pre paid service, was totally uneventful. The booking was done on a computer, I was asked if I wanted an air conditioned car and even if I preferred a man or a woman. Very very different from the booking counter at Delhi airport! 

It was great to see our ‘Indian’ family before flying back. Sue debriefed me on my trip and insisted in flicking through I think about 1,000 photos (I haven’t had a chance to sort through them yet). We then brunched at a lovely place, despite the fact that it does not serve pork (all other animals where however available). Sue has promised to find out why...and also not to take bacon eating Imtiaz here again :-).

I have my Uber booked for 22.15 for the airport...I’ll see you all soon!