Hi Guys
So here is the first blog entry of our travels! Arriving at Delhi airport was pretty intense and indicated just how crazy our trip in India would be! After prepaying for a taxi we headed out of the airport to be soon flagged down by loads of men trying to push us in a taxi, we were told to go to stand 37 (there was no such thing). Once in a taxi we were on our way to an area called Karol Bagh where we would be meeting our group and group leader for the two weeks. Definitly a culture shock on the way with crazy and hectic roads filled with beggars mainly children everytime the taxi slowed down or stopped!
We stayed in Delhi for two nights before getting an overnight sleeper train to Johdpur which had the most amazing fort and colonial style bazaar (market). In the evening we had a rooftop meal overlooking the city. After one night there we went to a placed called Ranakpur which was up in the jungle type mountains of the aravalli range. This place was stunning with no one for miles, we visited a Jain temple that was huge and so calm and was made entirely of pillars (1444 apparently)!
The next day we got the bus to Udaipur where we stayed for two nights. It has a massive lake with a lush palace in the middle of it, we got a boat over to a smaller island next to it which was lovely and took some good pics. Udaipur was one of our favourite places because it wasn't too big and the people weren't always badgering you. Here we also got to see a cultural dance show where a woman danced with loads of pots balanced on her head!
After Udaipur we went to Jojowar which is a little village with not much going on, on the way here though we took a local train along a mountain pass which had beautiful scenery. On this train its all open doored to so i got to sit with my legs dangling the whole way which was exhilarating especially when going over the old bridges :) While laura got stuck with a local woman and a baby which peed on her foot! After a quiet night in Jojawa we went to see a school for orphans which was very sweet and we told them all about what we do back in the UK and had a chat with them about what the wanted to do when they grew up ( which was mainly cricketers amongst the boys!).
After leaving the school we headed to the hippie hangout Pushkar which is where earth was created according to Hindus! It was a funny place, we took a camel ride across the desert and watch the sunset with some weird guys following us playing music and demanding tips which we didn't give them haha. The next morning we got up at 5 o'clock to climb a thousand steps to a temple on top of a mountain to watch the sunrise which was well worth it! After chilling out for a little while at a roof top cafe where a weed smoking owner gave use bannana and chocolate lassi (indian sweet yoghurt) and catching up on some sleep i played cricket with some Indian boys before we went for a traditional meal at an Indian families house. We got to help prepare the food and sat onn their rooftop all on the floor. The food was amazing made of about fifteen little dishes on one plate called a 'thali'. I didn't have much because i wasn't feeling very well but Laura said it was the best meal she had in India.
Jaipur was our next stop after pushkar which i didn't like really it was too touristy and was to polluted and overpopulated! Street children would grab on to you as you walked along the street. Intstead of heading to another palace we chilled out in park which happened to have a Hindu ceremony a guru talking which was fun because It was only local people. We also spent some time in the market here which was crazy and went on forever it seemed, was lots of hawkers trying to sell gems which annoyed us because they won't leave you alone! The one good thing about Jaipur it that we went to there famous cinema which is decorated inside and out like a oldschyool grand theatre. We saw a movie called Paitilla house i think which was a bout a Sikh family in South London a the battle between a man and his father because he wants to play cricket for england! (This was lauras favourite bit she cried it was so emotional) It was all in Hindi but you could follow it was more entertaining hearing all the woop and clapping every time a joke was made or something good happened!
The night after this we stayed in a motel which was pretty boring and the day after we went to Agra! Here we saw the red fort which is the biggest in india and is made from really nice red sandstone. Inside the palaces are made completely of white marble. The morning after we saw the taj mahal at sunrise which was absolutely fantastic its such a nice place and looks soo much better than any picture i have ever seen of it! We took a nice picture of us both here which should be good and got one on the bench where Diana had here taken ha! After agra we got the bus back to Delhi and chilled out until our flight. That's about all we've done so far which after writing already seems like alot!
Overall India was a pretty hectic place but we ate some great food and saw some great sights! We will upload some photos soon :)
Pete and Laura
xxxxx
