Tuesday September 18th of 2018 was a traveling day for us. That was the day we made our way by bus from Jaipur to Agra in India.
We had a surprise stop along the way at a beautiful stepwell in Abhaneri. It was called Chand Baori Stepwell.
The Chand Baori Stepwell is an architectural wonder. There are many places like it in India. And it was just sitting there in a small village, at the side of the road.At the Chand Baori Stepwell in Abhaneri, India. September, 2018.
While there, we visited a holy man who was at a small temple off to the side. He tied red and yellow pratisara protection threads on our wrists and offered us a blessing. I’m writing about it today, on Tuesday May 14th, 2019, because my threads finally broke free of my wrist this morning.
The Holy Man who gave us our pratisara protection threads while we were en route to Agra, India.
It was bound to happen. It was just some threads tied together around my wrist. I’m actually surprised it lasted almost 8 months. Michael’s is still intact. Not only that, his looks way better than mine looked when it snapped. I’m guessing he’ll get a full year out of his. We shall see.
The Rio Sarria, flowing past the beautiful monastery in Samos, Spain.
They say you should place your pratisara protection threads into a flowing waterway after they come off your wrist. I now have an offering for Rio Sarria, the river that runs through Samos, Spain, along the Camino. The river runs alongside the monastery there and I love the idea of leaving my protection threads in the river there.
There are places in the world where one enters and they immediately know they’ve discovered one of their heart-homes. Samos is definitely one of those places for me. From the moment I saw the monastery from afar as we entered the town, I knew it was a special place. I knew I would have to return.
Now, I get to Samos added meaning by leaving something behind when I go back in September. (-:
The Pratisara Protection Threads I’ll Be Leaving Behind in the Rio Sarria in Samos, Spain.
As a wise man once said, “I think I’m goin’ to Kathmandu, that’s really really where I’m going to. If I ever get out of here, that’s what I’m gonna do…”
To give credit where credit is due, that wise man was Bob Seger. The year was 1975 and I was 9 years-old and ready to explore the world. And, yes, I have wanted to go to Kathmandu ever since the first chords of Seger’s song.
Without further ado, this is exactly what we did the next morning. Our goodbye to Pokhara was bitter-sweet. It’s nice to arrive in a place with zero expectation and fall deeply deeply in love with it. It happened a few times during our wonderful G Adventures itinerary, but never more powerfully than with Orchha and Pokhara.
Have I recommended G Adventures in any of my previous posts? If not, I have been remiss. It’s a fabulous tour company! We were so impressed, we actually started searching upcoming getaways for our next adventure…while we were still on this one.
As we boarded the bus for Kathmandu, a street vendor approached us with fresh baked goods. By fresh baked I mean the chocolate inside the croissants was too hot to eat. An entire basket of baked delights just for us. Delicious!
The road from Pokhara to Kathmandu is not a long one, but it is an incredibly busy one. Near the end of the journey, there is a mountainside traffic jam that can take one-two-three-four hours to get through. We sat and we sat and we sat. I’ve never seen anything like it. But the reward at the end of the journey was worth the inconvenience of the jam. I’ve just never seen so many trucks in a row in my life. The road zigzagged up a mountain, so we could look across the divide at places and see the line of trucks just go off to what seemed like infinity. It took a few hours to get through the last few miles of our journey…
The reward for our patience was the Swayambhunath Stupa (otherwise known as Monkey Temple), which we visited prior to checking in at our hotel. Situated atop a large hill, Monkey Temple offers gorgeous panoramic views of all Kathmandu! It was founded by the great-grandfather of King Mānadeva (464-505 CE), King Vṛsadeva, around the beginning of the 5th century CE. And it is filled with monkeys. (-:
With all the monkeys and the music makers and the tourists and the bells and the prayer wheels and the mayhem, Monkey Temple is a festival of noise and a feast of sights.
That was a quick journey! We were in and out in 40 minutes. I could have spent a day there. I am drawn always to prayer wheels. And to hear the Oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ chant coming from the little shops does a heart good! I see the words every day, as they’re tattooed on my left forearm. The chant swam up and down the alleyways and alcoves of the magical space.
After the temple, we went to our hotel–FUJI HOTEL–located in a sort of back alley in the heart of Kathmandu. It was a lovely bustling neighbourhood and a glamorous old hotel that felt like it held a history of its own…a history worth knowing. I immediately liked the owner, who spoke to me on several occasions. He was animated and really appeared to love life. He had, I am certain, as many stories to tell as his hotel did.
Alas, all great adventures come to an end. And we were there, standing at the end of the trail with our hearts in our throats and our lungs filled with the life we lived on the long and winding road from New Delhi to Kathmandu. Blessed and blissful and sad beyond measure, thirsting for more adventure and exhausted from our endless travels.
One last meal with the family we had created along the way, a group of strangers who found ways to connect and share a great adventure and form a bond of memories to carry forward into futures spent apart. Forever locked together as travelers with a shared experience on a chaotic dusty muddy pot-holed road filled with trucks and buses and pedestrians and cows and water buffalo and goats and hens and wheel barrels and bicycles and motorbikes and scooters and tuktuks and rickshaws and more.
Promise me you’ll never forget. Swear to me you’ll always remember.
Our only full day in Varanasi began early. We were up before the sun and making our way to the Ganges by tuktuk once again. The morning is when pilgrims bathe and swim in the river. It’s a spiritual cleanse. Hindus come from all over India to partake. From all over the world, for that matter. All Hindus are to visit the Ganges at least once in their lifetime.
Michael, on the Ganges, Varanasi, India, 2018
Ranny arranged for us to take a boat out onto the river again. We did the same route as the previous evening, visiting both the crematorium and the Dasawamedh Ghat. On the way from the crematorium to the Ghat, I saw what at first looked like some kind of effigy in the water. It was sort of wrapped around the anchor line of a boat. It turned out to be a partially clothed bloated body of a deceased pilgrim.
Nobody moved it, nobody really even acknowledged it. Ranny told us it would stay in the river and that it would eventually disentangle itself from the anchor line. He also said it would be improper to move it. It was a bit startling to witness.
After we returned to our departure ghat and made our way up it’s steps, we said our goodbyes to the mighty Ganges. And mighty it is. I had no idea it was as big as it is. And it has a mighty current too. Seeing the swirling eddies on the water’s surface reminded me of the Buddha dipping his begging bowl in the river and having it float UPSTREAM against the powerful current. Now I can no longer remember if that was something said to have happened or a dream. They are each the same, I suppose.
Ranny took us to a tiny local restaurant next for breakfast.Some would call it a hole in the wall, but there are enough of us who know these kinds of places are quite often the best. Luckily we have Ranny to bring us to these gems. The owner was such a lovely man. I had French pancakes (crepes) with rock sugar and lemon wedges. Sooooooo good. I talked to the owner about his baked goods at the counter when we were leaving. An American had taught him to bake and he loves doing it. It showed. His breads and brownies were picture perfect. I took a three pack of chocolate chip cookies for tomorrow’s train ride to the Nepalese border.
Back in the tuktuk! We were off to see Buddha gardens and a temple, as well as an ancient stupa. The streets of Varanasi are a blur of commotion, just like everywhere else in India. I love the traffic here so much! It’s a thrill to be inside the chaos. One knows one is alive when one is tearing through streets narrowly avoiding cows and babies and fruit carts and transports and bicycles. The traffic itself is beautiful music, punctuated by the ever constant and persistent HERE-I-AM call of the horn!
Dhamek Stupa was only one of the many sights we visited next. It seemed like a sort of complex. Ranny arranged for a guide to take us through all of it. We also saw the standing Buddha statue and the Tibetan temple. The deer park, where Buddha gave his first dharma teachings, is just behind this temple. Sarnath has much to offer and it’s worth the tuktuk ride to the area.
After Sarnath, we returned to the restaurant where we had dinner the night before. Delicious food! The owner came and chatted with us. When he found out we were from Canada he proudly tested his French on us. He even spoke German on our way out, ever ready to impress us with his mastery of so many languages.
Next, SILK. We had a quick tour of a silk factory after returning to the heart of Varanasi. Of course I bought a scarf. I don’t need my arm to be twisted to do so.
That was that. Another day over. Time races by so quickly here. We had supper at the hotel restaurant and quickly hit the sheets. Our wake up time for day eleven is 3:45am, as we are to meet in the lobby at 4:15am to make our way to the train station. Leaving Varanasi in the morning for Nepal! Can’t wait! Lumbini will be a highlight. The birthplace of Siddhartha Buddha.
I will be sad to leave Varanasi and I will be sad to leave India. I’m breathless from the beauty I’ve experienced so far. India just keeps giving, keeps opening up. Such a festival of humanity!
Gangaji! Tonight we took tuktuks through the streets of Varanasi to the most famous holy river on the planet. The Ganges. Coming upon the Ganges for the first time was, for me, comparable to coming upon the spires of the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela for the first time. Only, slightly more spectacular. The cathedral I walked toward for days and days. The Ganges? I feel as though I have always been walking towards it.
Ranny arranged for a boat to take us out on the river and we cruised the shoreline to view the cremations taking place outside the crematorium on the riverbank. Hindus believe cremation on the banks of the Ganges releases the soul from the cycle of death and birth.
This reminds me so much of the Heart Sutra from Buddhism. There’s a place in the sutra that states, “no birth, no death, no being, no non-being, no defilement no purity, no increasing no decreasing.”
Buddha, who was originally from Lumbini (which was once a part of India but now resides in Nepal), also considered the Ganges sacred. He made pilgrimage to its sacred shores.
After stopping at the fires of the crematorium, we made our way back up the river to the Dasawamedh Ghat to see the nightly Ganga Aarti Ceremony… which involved chanting, incense, fire, singing. It was quite beautiful. We all released little bowls with flowers and lit candles into the Ganges while we were there. The banks of the river quickly filled up with boats, so many that people could walk from one to another. Many came through from boat to boat selling masala chai, flowers, candles, and bowls. The sunset and the darkness that followed were filled with pomp and ceremony.
Overall it was not a very busy day, as we had travelled overnight from Orchha to Varanasi on the train and we were pretty wiped out. After the sunset ceremony we went out for supper—tuktuks barreling through the darkened city streets protected from utter destruction by some unseen miracle of happenstance—at a local restaurant. The food was delicious, as usual. The blackouts/brownouts throughout our meal reminded me fondly of my time in Nairobi. All calmness and chill awaiting the return from darkness to light.
We then reached our limit for the day. Varanasi is glorious! And we were knackered. Only by knowing the city would still be there in the morning, waiting to entice us back into its swarm of colour and light and mayhem, were we able to return to our hotel and fall soundly into our beds.
We have seen the Ganges! We have dipped our feet in its sacred waters.
Day 8 was a good one. One of the best! We were able to have a more lazy schedule today, which was lovely considering our beautiful hotel. It was nice to have a little pampering. And sleeping in for once was also nice. It’s often a grueling schedule, as most days are travelling days. When they’re not travelling days, we wake up early to ensure we see everything there is to see. But today? Sleep in.
After check-out we headed back into town, back to the restaurant by the fort. The masala omelette was fantastic. As usual, the masala chai was also delicious.
My expectations for Orchha were minimal, only because I didn’t really know much about the town. The more we explored, however, the more it opened up to me. The more I opened up to it! It’s a jewel. The fort was incredible yesterday, but Chaturbhuj Temple today? Such an unexpected delight!
Chaturbhuj Temple. Orchha, India
After a rocky start inside the Chaturbhuj Temple gates, where someone insisted we needed tickets (luckily an older gentleman from the restaurant walked us to the temple and was down below awaiting our return. When we left the temple dejected and he asked us why, he practically stormed up the stairs and inside to yell at the ‘ticket taker’. We made it!), we managed to get inside.
Once inside, the delights that awaited us! A ‘guide’ quickly led us to an old stone stairway up a dark narrow path to the second floor. He knew every single good camera shot, every angle. He guided us around that level, pointing out the fort across the way through arched windows—showing us the perfect way to frame the shot. Every sight more incredible than the last. And then he’d take us up another level and another level still.
We’d take our shots and look around, thinking that was the top. But still another level. Soon there was nowhere else to go but the rooftop of this old beautiful temple that has stood for centuries looking very much like the architectural cousin of Angkor Watt. It was breathtaking. And we were on its roof.
Our ‘guide’, Manaju, suggested the four of us (I was with Karen, Tammy and Kylie from the G Adventures group) do a jumping shot together with the town and countryside as the backdrop. Seemed like an easy task, but with much laughter and jumping we realized it wasn’t quite as easy as it looked. But he was patient with us. He got the shot. I’ve a feeling Manaju always gets his shot. Not only did he know all the best views and photo frames and shots, he also knew how to take them. He knew our phones better than we did. He zoomed in and out, he went into extra camera options some of us didn’t even know about, and he knew which phone model would take the best shot in every situation.
AND…we jumped!
I call him a ‘guide’ in quotes because he’s not an official guide, but really… the town should hire that man officially. He was just a young guy, but he was suave, entertaining, joyful, proud of his relationship with the ancient temple, and as friendly and as helpful as can be. He deserves the tips he receives.
I will long remember that tour. The steps inside the narrow stone walls were scary to navigate. For me, it was difficult… as the steps were a good foot and a half apart. I cannot imagine being a much shorter person navigating them. Treacherous, to say the least. But with phone torches, and a lot of help from Manaju, we all made it up to the top and back to the bottom safely. Everything in between was pure magic!
After a little free time for shopping, we headed back to the hotel. The whole group pitched in to keep one room for the day and share it as a sort of home base. Somehow, it worked. As we were all on different schedules of exploration and/or relaxation, we all managed to have showers, chill out, etc.
For those of us who wanted to partake, G Adventures (I HIGHLY RECOMMEND G ADVENTURES!) arranged for an optional cooking class. Michael and I went and it turned out to be a high point of the trip so far. Rajni was the instructor’s name. She was lovely. She had prepared some of the ingredients ahead of time, chopping up onions and garlic and okra, etc. She went through every ingredient, being patient with those of us who are slow to write things down (yes, I’m talking about myself here!). I get lost in the numbers when people start reading out ingredients. I’m hopeless.
We watched while Rajni made the ever delicious masala chai, our (okay, MY) mouths watering as the sweet aroma filled the air about us. From there, as we sipped our delightful chai, she made eggplant curry and okra curry. She invited us to come up and assist throughout different parts of the preparation. Yes, I did. You bet your bottom dollar I was up there sitting cross-legged measuring out teaspoons of spices and dropping them into the oil in the wok. With each dump of the spoon another heady aroma wafted up into the air to tickle our tummies and entice our hunger to an even deeper level of desire.
Rajni then taught us how to make raita, chutney, and two kinds of bread. And yes, I was doing the math. I knew it would soon be time to eat!
It was the best meal I had thus far in all of my Indian wanderings. Eight days of devouring the lovely and incredible dishes of India and it was in Orchha I found food heaven. The best! IF YOU’RE EVER IN ORCHHA, BE SURE TO VISIT RAJNI! HERE’S HER TRIP ADVISOR PAGE. You’ll cherish the experience!
I did a first today. At the end of the meal, Rajni brought out a tray with individual dishes of tapioca for everyone. So, basically for 50+ years I have insisted tapioca was disgusting. Without having ever taken a single solitary bite. Or even smelling it. It was a texture thing. Some foods I can’t even imagine eating. Well, tapioca is, after all, rather delicious. I’m so glad I went into this insisting I would eat all the things!
Right now, as I write this, it is the end of day 8…actually after midnight so technically the beginning of day nine. I am on an overnight train, in a sleeping bunk almost touching the ceiling. Two people are below me on lower bunks and three are directly beside me and two are across the aisle facing long-ways probably with a great view of the bottoms of my questionably clean feet. We are shaking and rattling helplessly and I’m praying for a safe landing soon. We are on our way to the holy city of Varanasi and the Ganges! THE GANGES!
Welcome to India. It’s different than what I’m used to and it’s more beautiful than my wildest dreams. This is where I imagined being since I was a little boy. I know I won’t see him or his chocolate palace any time soon, but in this moment I’m thinking of Prince Pondicherry… wondering how he’s making out these days. He’s now but a ghost of my childhood. I love you, India…like I knew I would.
We took our first train today. Around three to four hours. I’m getting lost in this time concept thing. Ranny warned us so much about watching our belongings, I became overly nervous prior to boarding. It was fine. I keep forgetting that I’m already a confident tourist. I’m always aware of my belongings as it is. The train ride was a lovely trip with breakfast served. The omelette was wonderful… spicy with jalapeno.
From the station, we had to travel to Orchha in tuktuks.
We stopped at a paper recycling plant on the outskirts. We were told it was run to employ local women.
After picking up a couple journals for ourselves (yes, I know I’ll never write a word in mine…I never do), we hopped back into the tuktuks and completed our journey to Orchha Palace. This is the name of the hotel. We were to stay in a cheaper hotel closer to Orchha’s core, but it was recently flooded out. Orchha Palace Hotel is a fortunate upgrade for our party.
The hotel opened only two years ago. Orchha seems to be just getting into the tourist trade. None too soon. It’s absolutely beautiful here.
After lunch in a local restaurant, we went to the nearby Orchha Fort.
The Fort went on and on. In our free time a guard caught up with us and offered to walk us about. We were able to see all the best views this way and got closer to the monkeys.
After the fort, and some free time, we made our way to a group of mausoleums along the river.
We capped off our evening in Orchha with a religious ceremony in the Hindu temple. No pictures were allowed. There was a ceremony performed by a high priest, followed by a time of offerings–flowers and sweets were given. The laneway all the way to the temple was filled with vendors of flowers and sweets.
Tomorrow will be lots of free time in Orchha, along with a cooking class which I’m overly excited about participating in! This will be followed by a 10:30 pm train boarding. An overnight train ride to Varanasi! This, I’m sure, will be a highlight in our adventures!
Today we made our way from Jaipur to Agra. The road between is, for the most part, green and farmland. We detoured to see the beautiful Chand Bauri Step Well.
After touring the well and receiving blessings from the holy man in the temple, we re-boarded the bus for AGRA.
Once in Agra, we settled into the hotel and a few of us made our way to Agra Fort. It was unexpected and quite stunning. One hears about the Taj Mahal so much, the other attractions of the city become dwarfed in comparison. But Agra Fort is definitely worth seeing.
After Agra Fort, we visited, finally, the jewel in the crown! Taj Mahal. A mausoleum dedicated to love. Maybe.
Taj Mahal, Agra, India, 2018
It was worth the trip. You hear about the Taj your whole life… and then you’re standing in front of it and it’s nothing like you imagined. It’s a source of light and beauty. So glad we saw this! Onward to Orchha tomorrow. Day 7 is coming and this adventure really needs to slow down!
Day 5 felt like a slower day. We began it in the beautiful hotel dining room. We were first up and had the place to ourselves. The first thing I asked for was masala chai. Such a rich, sweet, beautiful tea!
And such a gorgeous English formal dining room. We had a view of the pretty backyard and the too-blue swimming pool apparently there for no one to use. Don’t get me wrong, it was available to all. Just, no one among us partook…or, of course there is the other possibility. We were up first and were able to enjoy it to ourselves prior to the chaos of others. (-;
After breakfast, Ranny picked us up in the bus and we went to the Jaipur observatory. It was built, if I remember correctly, in 1727. Karen, one of the women in our group, said it best. “It’s basically a garden of clocks.” Exactly what it is! Sundials abound. And as we compared shadows on sundials with our own sun gods–Samsung and Apple–they all matched up to a tee.
We each also discovered monuments representing our own astrological signs. I’m still not quite sure what these fixtures measured, or how they worked… but they had their purpose to the ancient astrologers who erected them.
After the observatory we had a stop at a local jeweller, which is something we’ve come to expect with guided tours like this one. One isn’t exactly pressured to buy, but we get a little tour of their operation and then are brought to their showroom for an opportunity to do so.
We each bought cheap keepsake bracelets after seeing how the beads are buffed and polished to a shine.
Ranny then took us to an area restaurant where we had a buffet which included a Dahl I couldn’t get enough of. He arranged for a horoscope reader to meet us there and have our horoscopes read, if we so chose. I did not. Those who did enjoyed it.
I couldn’t help but notice the swagger glare on a nearby wall as we dined. I think you’ll agree with me when I say this guy’s got game…
Dude with Swag…
For the rest of the afternoon, we all had free time. The two of us set out into the streets of Jaipur on our own. The streets are never anything less than overly lively. It’s a carnival of noise and sights and smells. One would never tire of such a cacophony of chaos! I can’t get over its beauty. I am drawn to it like a moth to a flame.
Last night, our last night in Jaipur, Ranny arranged for a gaggle of tuktuks (that’s the title I’m choosing to call a group of these wondrous green and yellow bubbles of fury) to take us to the more modern part of Jaipur for an a la cart dining experience. It was a lovely, harrowingly terrifying, but exhilaratingly wondrous romp through the impossible streets of the city (all the lys and ings are necessary whenever one discusses the movement of life through these streets, believe me!).
Today, we are up at 4:30 and we are slowly getting ourselves moving. 6:00 we board the bus and leave this vibrant city. Off to Agra, and the world famous Palace built for love lost—-TAJ MAHAL!
Goodbye to Jaipur, an exquisite jewel not to be missed when visiting India. Onward, we go…
I feel like I should say the trip from New Delhi to Jaipur was harrowing, as the traffic is just as intense on the highways as it is in the city streets. But it did not feel harrowing at all. One quickly acclimates. The people running across six, seven, eight, ten lanes of highway traffic? I knew they would make it to the other side. Cows are sacred, so I knew they would be safe. Too many people on a motorcycle or scooter at once? None wearing a helmet? They had such faith in their safety that I too believed they would make it to their destination. The chaos has a rhythm that cannot be denied, and it is a beautiful dance to behold… to be a part of.
Not that I would ever consider getting behind the wheel, myself. I am not one to lead the dance, just as I am not one to shy away from its chaos.
The road to Jaipur is filled with beauty. Mountainous hills, though maybe not quite mountains, abound. So many times I felt the desire to stop the bus, to climb to the top of these rolling hills with what I could only imagine would offer breathtaking panoramic views of the countryside about us.
It was a long drive. Some four or five hours. But it was not in the least unpleasant.
Coming in to Jaipur, the streets immediately became bustling and thriving. I saw the magic the cows wield for the first time, as we entered the city proper. In a busy intersection filled with trucks, cars, tuktuks, bicycles, scooters, motorbikes, and more not a vehicle moved. It was as though the air had been taken out of the world, and a chaotic still-life preserved in amber had been left behind. A cow sitting in the middle of the intersection had orchestrated a moment of stillness that was incredible to behold. This is the power a sacred and revered being holds over those who revere them.
Once in the Pink City of Jaipur, our guide Ranny took the ten of us for a walk through the streets. They were filled with people and smells and vehicles. We had found another impossible dance to become a part of. So quickly the scents changed. One can go from holding their breath against the smell of rotting food being gobbled up by a group of wandering pigs while being careful not to step in any of the waste about them, to experiencing mouth-watering sensations upon smelling the most tantalizing aromas of street food being prepared right there amid the riot of noise and smells!
Our hotel here is a magic of its own. Bissau Palace Hotel. Gorgeous colourful rooms, a rooftop terrace where they will serve your meals from the restaurant below, and breathtaking architecture and furniture wherever the eye lands.
After the walk through the bustling crowds, we boarded our bus and we were taken to Amber Fort at night! A sight to behold. Just before we arrived we stopped for the last few minutes of daylight to see a palace afloat in the prettiest of lakes surrounded by rolling hills. Jal Mahal is a palace in the middle of the Man Sagar Lake. This sandstone palace is five stories, but when the lake is full four of these stories are underwater. It’s breathtaking to see the palace rise up out of the water and its mirrored reflection on the glass-like surface of the lake.
Before I take you to Amber Fort, which is very closeby to Jal Mahal, I need to at least mention the dance of kites. I don’t know whether it’s because we’re so close to Pakistan, or if it’s always been a custom here as well… but just before sunset the sky over Jaipur became alive with a cacophony of kites. What is a group of kites, anyway? Until today I did not consider a need for the term, but cacophony seems to fit. It was beautiful. Hundreds, no… thousands of kites dancing above the city! None were bright and joyous of colour. They were mostly just black. None danced arrogantly to show off wondrously intricate tails. None of them had tails at all. These homemade kites, flown by children, were there to send joy up into the sky above a city filled with struggle. The dance of the kites seemed to transform one’s thoughts on the city itself. So much joy in these simple black kites as they swooped and soared and dove and dipped. It took one’s breath away to see so many.
I only wish I could have captured them on film.
Next, the Amber Fort! We reached the base as nighttime arrived. We disembarked the bus and were escorted to open-backed jeeps…five to a jeep we poured into the back benches and held on for dear life. Squashed like sardines, we made the treacherous climb up the cobbled winding narrow street to the palace at the top of the world.
Once there, we met a lovely guide to took us to various parts of the remarkable huge and sprawling compound known as Amber Fort. It honestly seemed unending.
Another packed day tomorrow, which includes a daytime trip to Amber Fort. Ranny seems to have everything perfectly timed. There seems to be nothing he doesn’t consider when planning the itinerary. I’m looking forward to what comes next. And next. And next! And next!
We began our day today on the rooftop terrace, where breakfast was served. Curry and chai perfection! After a quick cab ride to the hoho tourist office, we hopped on the bus, Gus. We saw some of New Delhi’s landmarks and hopped off for India Gate!
Michael, India Gate, New Delhi, India, 2018
India Gate was built as a monument to honour the Indian soldiers who died in World War One. Their names are carved in the bricks of the arch. We drove through the chaos of New Delhi traffic once again. It’s a thrill ride I’ll never get over and never get enough of. I love the adrenaline rush it provides!
After a very uncomfortable last leg on the hoho bus (the guide on our second bus was a starer and bound and determined to engage us in conversation not pertaining to the hoho experience), we were on our own to find our way back to the hotel.
Tuktuk time!
As Graham said in the movie The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, “All life is here!” I now believe him. I now understand what he meant.
We will be meeting our tour guide this afternoon, along with the other tourists in our G Adventures group. Looking forward to it! And, as a group, we’ll be heading back to the restaurant we visited for supper last night. Kitchen With A Cause is a restaurant that gives back to the community. A socially conscious restaurant. And the food is incredible!
After the temple, we went to our hotel–FUJI HOTEL–located in a sort of back alley in the heart of Kathmandu. It was a lovely bustling neighbourhood and a glamorous old hotel that felt like it held a history of its own…a history worth knowing. I immediately liked the owner, who spoke to me on several occasions. He was animated and really appeared to love life. He had, I am certain, as many stories to tell as his hotel did.
KEVIN CRAIG 