India

Well, Ive been back off the hols for a few day now, so it's probably time to tell a disinterested public about them.  An initial impression with important details from Rach can be found here. It was a good couple of weeks, great to see Rach again and spend some time together. The madness started almost before leaving the airport at Delhi. The building seems to be half renovation site and half working airport, unfortunately immigration was in a bit they hadn't got to doing up yet, so it was a long slow moving clue in a very dinghy area. Then of course comes the joy of leaving the airport. being mobbed by the touts, the taxi drivers, the rickshaw wallahs...but that was ok, I'd booked ahead with the hotel, they would be sendnig a taxi to pick me up, all I had to do was look for the little man holding my name and all would be fine....but he wasn't and it wasn't, I had to fight the screaming hoards. Upon eventually arriving at my accommodation, pre paid for and booked, i was informed that Ii wasn't actually staying at this hotel because they were full, but i had a room at a not quite so nice place round the corner. Lucky me. Still things can only get better right?

On the camel trek

Well, they kinda carried on in the same vein:  Connaught place we said to the driver, who grinned and nodded, so off we went.  and stopped outside some emporiums we'd been taken to by another driver the day before.  Been here we have said I, take us to Connaught place.  The driver nods and says emphatically 'Connaught Place', this is Connaught Place.  Noooo we said it's not is it?  Oh says he, it's closed.  This is a central area of Delhi were talking about.  We threatened that if he take us there immediately or we would  get out and not pay.  As if by magic we arrived.  He then had the nerve to be put out when we didn't pay him what he thought we owed him ie three times the going rate.  And so it continued for the rest of the holiday, it's a shame because it becomes the central theme of the holiday, not the places you visit or the places you stayed.  In 30 years time might be the anger at the rickshaw driver, not the beauty of sunrise at the Taj Mahal or sunset in the desert that stays in the mind.  It's a sad because once you can get get past the endless litany of lying cheating greedy touts, guides, rickshaw drivers and the like India's a great place with friendly helpful people and some amazing things to see and do.

You didn't think you'd get away without seeing a Taj pic did you?

Enough ranting, on to the good stuff: Sunrise at the Taj Mahal.  Cold but not many other tourists around.  Not getting dysentery in Varanasi again, always a bonus, and we stumbled on a very nice Greek restaurant of all things.  The Pink Palace where we stayed in Jaipur, not, as you might think, the campest guest house EVER, but named in reference to the Pink City as Jaipur is known, due to the colour of the buildings. Jalsimer, staying in the old fortress was nice.  Lots of small streets with the occasional surprising view of the city below and riding a camel was fun, though I'm glad we only did it for a few hours.

Ok, enough for one post.  I might revisit India stories later and flesh out some of the good things, and maybe a few more arguments with rickshaw drivers.

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