Jul 2007

Namaste to you all,

Upon leaving Khajuraho we headed to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. The journey was always going to be an interesting one involving buses, taxis and trains, but after 12 hours we were very pleased to reach our destination. Hungry, tired and sweaty we jumped in a rickshaw to our pre-booked hotel.

Keen to see the Taj for the first time we wandered to an area with rooftop restaurants. Much to our surprise the surrounding area is not full of expensive apartments and hotels charging a mint for a glimpse of the Taj. It was infact a skanky scum-hole with below average eating places all in dis-repair - much like the rest of India. Not deterred we headed upstairs to a rooftop eatery and had a wonderful close-up view. The food was average but the two boys come waiters provided much entertainment showing us their hand-stands and how to 'pick up the Taj'.

The next morning we had a short walk to the East gate entrance at 6am to join the other tourists in queuing for tickets. By 6.30am we were in (after placing our torch in a locker for security reasons???) and first saw the world famous monument in all its glory. What a sight for sore eyes! (Shame about those people standing in the way - as yes you are correct, Simon is wearing a t-shirt with a gnome on it!)

The Taj was built by an Emperor as a memorial for his second wife who died giving birth to their 14th chilld in 1631. This left the emperor so heartbroken that his hair is said to have turned grey overnight. 22 years later is was completed after 20,000 people worked on it and at a cost of US$70 million (in today's money). It is constructed from marble and semi-precious stones and apparently looks as spectacular today as it did when it was built! We won't disagree; an incredible building, like no other. The building is totally symmetrical (sorry could't get a birds-eye-view photo to prove it) with her mausoleum being the centre point. And what a day to have seen it on: 07/07/07 and the day it was voted the number 1 of the new seven wonders of the world! Well worth the visit - it was every bit as beautiful as we had imagined.

The view from behind the Taj Mahal:

Off to Kuala Lumpar tomorrow for some relaxing and sun-bathing (well for me anyway!)

Bye for now.

Emma xxx

Dear All,

After leaving the madness of Varanasi behind we headed, via Indian Airlines - complete with hail falling from the air conditioning, to yet another World Heritage site for some temple tramping. Em was overjoyed at the prospect. However, given that it was my choice to visit here, whereas Varanasty was Em's choice, she couldn't prostest too much.

Thus we have spent the day visting the temples of Khajuraho famed for their erotic artwork. And when the guidebook states erotic what it really should say is pornographic as the things we have seen in stone would make Mary Whitehouse blush and write to points of view in a fuming fashion. Take a look for yourself (Mary please look away now).

However, the focus upon the erotic shouldn't detract attention from the fact that the temples are exceptionally detailed and beautifully created. They are also located in a well kept garden free from touts. Although no lazing upon the grass allowed.

So Khajuraho has provided much needed r & r with much consuming of pizza, pasta and salad at Cafe Meditteraneo. When you start to sweat curry you know it's time for a change of diet!! We also hired some bikes for visiting outlying temples which meant we could exercise for the first time in weeks and not have to haggle for a "special good price".

Cycling through village: Kids want pens, they get nuts and raisins. Such is life!

We bid farewell to Khajuraho tomorrow and head to India's most famous temple - the Taj Mahal.

Wish you were here
Emma & Simon

Hello All,

Our time in Varanasi proved to be an interesting one. Overall our experiences tilt the balance towards it being Varanasti rather than nicey (apologies for the cheap puns). However, it is an absolutely fascinating place despite its less attractive elements (Ross?)

Meeting our colleague Ross:

Varanasi is the holy city of Shiva through which the sizeable Ganges (Mother Ganga) flows. It is a site of pilgrimage for Hindus. A site to wash away all your sins in the Ganges or to die which offers moksha (release from the cycle of birth and death). Thus a sunset boat trip offered up a multitude of fascinating sites which took people watching to a whole new level. Our trip was about two hours long but we could have spent hours just watching the daily goings on. However, our daily goings on (i.e. a need for breakfast) forced us ashore.

And so the main question thrown up by our floating tour was "would you have a swim in the Ganges?". In all the heat and humidity a quick dip in this holiest of rivers (certainly holier than the Tyne) would have been greatly enjoyed. However, we weighed the sites for and against during our trip and decided no. Please decide for yourself:

Sites for:
- Multitudes of people swimming in the river.
- People washing their clothes.
- People drinking the water.
- People brushing their teeth in the water.
- People praying in the river.

Sites against:
- 1 dead buffalo floating past.
- 2 human corpses floating by.
- 3 corpses being cremated upon the shore their ashes to be ceremoniously placed in the river.
- Countless amounts of rubbish floating by.
- The odd sewerage pipe pumping into the river.

And despite the latter sites people still continue to bathe etc in these waters. Maybe they are right and the religious powers of the Ganges keep them free from harm. They certainly believed that and they were there to tell the tale.

Thus Varanasi was a fascinating place and unlike any we have ever experienced. As mentioned it had its negative sides: incessant touting, people waiting outside your hotel at 5:30am and for most of the day to drag you to their boat or silk shop, a very real sense of 'we're going to be robbed' after dark (which was almost realised when someone attempted to snatch our bag from a car), and the countless amounts of purving men (but thats just India for white women and Spencer's bar in Norwich). However, it was well worth a visit but not somewhere we'd go back to.

Two tourist mugs: "20 rupees please sir", "But I didnt want paint on my forehead"

Hope all are well
Simon & Emma

Hello All,

After 5 weeks of residing in the Hindu colony of Dadar and playing baby doctors we bid farewell to Mumbai and headed to Dehli. A place which seems to strike fear in to the hearts of westerners perhaps due to its link with the dreaded Dehli belly (only a couple of epsiodes of that but thats a story perhaps not suitable for this blog. maybe a bog blog??).

Our departure was very well timed and almost delayed due to persistant mon'Not so'soon (which has finally arrived 4 weeks later than expected) which saw us housebound on saturday and unable to do any last minute sight seeing, posting or shopping. Luckily Dehli provided some much needed shopping relief and I fear that Emma may come down with a severe case of Dehli Shoppy upon our return.

Floods in Dadar:

After arriving in Dehli, yesterday, we had a quick explore and were very pleasanty suprised as it seems less hectic than Mumbai with actual open spaces and grass which you can sit on. It is also much quieter as it lacks the persistent horn honk which characterises daily Mumbai life.

Red Fort in Dehli:

However, despite the almost relaxing atmosphere of Dehli we have fled for a week in much less sedate places for some more horn honking madness and sightseeing. Our current stop is Varanasi.

Varanasi is one of the holiest places in India thus it is utterly chaotic. More on that soon.