13th, 14th & 15th Feb

13th Feb 2013

We are starting to slow down a bit!  Today we visited the Jewish synagogue by tuk-tuk.  This can trace its history back to AD73 shortly after the Romans expelled the Jews from Jerusalem and although there are only about 60 remaining there has been a continuing Jewish presence ever since.  As a contrast we also visited the Jain Temple then back via shops where we bought a wooden elephant, Buddha and yet another scarf.  Well you have to don’t you!   Finished the afternoon sitting by the pool.  The musical accompaniment for this evening’s meal was Indian, this time a violin and tambour drum, ouch.

14 Feb 13

As it is Valentine’s Day the maids have placed bowls of red roses all over our little house and a large red heart in red rose petals on our bed.  Eighteen red roses in total were in the bowls and that is before you get to the hotel itself which was festooned with dozens of roses and red hearts.

We decided to visit Ernakulum, a town about 1.5 hours away by car but only 15 minutes by ferry.   It’s been a while since we took public transport in India so we thought it was about time we did.  We took a tuk-tuk to the ferry port & immediately noticed 2 queues for tickets, one for men and one much shorter queue for the ladies (that makes a change).  A ticket cost 2.5 rupees which is about 2.5p. 

Ernakulum is a large commercial city, very busy like all Indian towns, loads of jewellers etc.  We spent an hour or so looking around before walking back to the ferry alongside a beautifully maintained waterside park.  Alongside because as far as we could see all the entrances were closed so you couldn’t go in.  Another 2.5p for the ferry and 30p for the tuk-tuk and we were home.  I don’t know why we were so wary of taking tuk-tuks, as long as you are firm about where you want them to take you they are fine, if somewhat uncomfortable.

Pushed the boat out in the evening and had a lobster and seafood grill, £25 for two washed down with a bottle of Indian Chenin Blanc.  It weren’t half good!  The musical entertainment for the evening was western and appropriate to the Portuguese/Jewish heritage.  A duo who played everything from The Everly Brothers to Eagles and were named Fernandez and Isaacs.

 

 

15 Feb 13

Last day and a lazy one spent by the pool.

Carol got shat on by a bird,

Not once but twice how cool.

They say it’s lucky so to be

And so twice lucky she.

Cochin 12th Feb

12 Feb 2013

We did a lot of walking today, despite the heat.  We went to see the Basilica, and then walked all the way to Mattanchery, through the wholesale spice market on Bazaar Street with the most wonderful smells.  On the way we stopped to have a look at the displays at Pepper House, using our Biennale ticket.  We carried on walking and arrived at the Dutch Palace where it cost us 5 rupees (5p) each to enter. 

More walking brought us to Jew Town where we were hoping to visit the Jewish Synagogue but sadly this was closed and will have to be done another day.  Carol bought some funny trousers (ali baba style)!  

We decided, sensibly to take an Indian Ferrari (tuk- tuk) back home.   The tuk- tuk driver gave us his card in case we want to use him again for some ‘sight scene’.

We have noticed an absence of cows in Cochin and a predominance of goats, they are everywhere!   Apparently all the goats have owners, they are milked in the morning & the milk given to the schoolchildren.  They are then let loose during the day to do whatever goats like to do, maybe a bit of ‘sight scene’ and then in the evening they all make their way home again by themselves, clever eh?!

In the evening before dinner we went to see a Kathakali show at the local theatre.  This is a 2.5 hour long performance, there are 3 main performers, all men and if you get there early, you can see them applying their make-up on stage.  Their costumes are stunning!  The story was the ‘killing of Kichaca’ which involved the attempted seduction and beating up of the wife of the hero, her telling her husband and him killing the bad guy with what looked like a big wooden spoon, well you would wouldn’t you!  But seriously it was a stunning performance of a distinct art form.

 

Basilica

 

 

New funny trousers!

 

 

Cochin first day

11 Feb 2013

We arrived in Cochin last night after a flight which was delayed by 1.5 hours and then had an hour’s drive to our hotel, The Old Harbour.  Our driver advised us to fly with anyone but Air India as their flights are always delayed!   The flight had lots of families & tourists on it.  Security at the airport was a bit over the top, we had to show our passports at every turn and that was for an internal flight.

The Old Harbour Hotel is right by the seafront in Cochin.  The hotel was fully booked when we made our reservation so we are staying at their refurbished heritage house called ‘The Dreamz House’ a couple of streets away.  It has some interesting features such as an open-air shower room and the whole place is tastefully decorated with bronzes and interesting pieces of modern art around the place.     To save electricity there is a 1 hour power cut in the morning and another one in the evening!

Cochin is very different from the other places we have visited in India, there isn’t as much poverty or begging, not too much hassling and everyone seems to be genuinely friendly.  It feels safe to walk around.  It’s also incredibly hot and humid, making the best time to sight see first thing in the morning or late afternoon.  There are a lot of Christians in Kerala and many churches.  We visited some today including the church of St Francis, built in 1503 and the oldest European church in India.  Vasco De Gama died in Cochin in 1525 and his body was originally buried her before being moved to Lisbon. We also had a walk along the seafront and watched the Chinese fishing nets.

The first ever Indian Art Biennale is being held in Kerala until March.  We bought a ticket for 100 rupees (£1) which allows both of us entry to all the exhibitions of contemporary art and today we visited the Aspinwall Centre.

We had dinner at the Old Harbour Hotel, fantastic seafood as everyone told us there would be.   We’ve noticed that although you can buy beer and wine here, spirits are not available, we think it has something to do with the cost of the licence.  John is missing his whisky (purely for medicinal purposes), as he has had a nasty cough for 3 weeks now and a tot now and then does seem to help!

 

Old Harbour Hotel

 

St Francis Church

 

Chinese Fishing Nets

 

 

 

9th Feb Bangkok to Delhi (aka the flight from hell)!

9^th Feb Bangkok to Delhi (aka the flight from hell)!

No announcements at Bangkok Airport, so we only just made it to check in and were bussed to the plane which was a long way off, it seemed as though we were driving to Delhi,  lots of pushing to get onto the plane, not much in the way of chivalry.

The flight was full, mainly Indian men returning from a works outing, well an international sales conference actually, with a handful of ladies.  Ours were the only white (well slightly tanned) faces.  Everyone was milling around, only sitting down just before plane took off.  Our seats were full of someone’s hand luggage, so we had to wait for it to be moved, there was not enough room in the overhead lockers.  People were constantly changing seats, seats were in the upright position for take-off and tray tables were put away (but only until the stewardess’ back was turned then back went the seats, out came the tables)!  Lots of ears being cleaned, noses picked, belching etc!  The food was pretty good but strangely we didn’t feel much like eating.   

Unlike most flights where there tends to be an element of peace around, people reading watching films etc. on this one it was continual hubbub with groups of people wandering about, getting in the way of the flight attendants whilst they were trying to serve drinks and food and generally not being considerate to anyone.  Finally when it came to disembarking, one mad rush, no point in trying to get your luggage out of the overhead lockers because no one would let you out of your seat, Delhi traffic all over again.    

We had booked a one night’s stay at the Radisson which is just by the airport (or so we thought) and a car duly picked us up, but after several miles we realised that something was wrong.  We had booked the wrong Radisson by mistake and 30 minutes later arrived at the Radisson in Dwarka! Still there is always tomorrow.

Thai Blog

29^th Jan to 9^th Feb

 

The small hotel is just over a path from the beach which shelves very gently so it provides safe swimming.  Our room is on the first floor but we have a roof terrace which is some 6 metres above the ground, sitting up there you seem to be distanced from everything below, you might even think safe.  That is until you realise that when the Tsunami struck 8 years ago it was 10 metres high and it is only when you are sitting at 6 metres you realise how terrifying that must have been.  This resort was virtually wiped out and has since been rebuilt.  However given the building standards you can’t really tell as much of it already looks very worn.   At least the tsunami escape route are well marked although no-one has said how you know if one is on its way!

The hotel is run by Muslims and the service is exceptional.  While the service here is generally very good it can be a little “in your face”, however the staff at the hotel seem more discrete and polite.  On reflection I think the word I am looking for is subtle!  Given that it is Islamic there is no pork products for breakfast and no alcohol sold on the premises.  But there are bars to the right, bars to the left and bars behind so we are not feeling deprived.   The ladies who serve breakfast ‘sing’ the breakfast order as they serve it….…..  Orange juuuuuice, pineapple juuuuuuice,  fresh fruuuuuit!    

This has been the lazy part of the trip and so we have done very little except relax, eat and drink.  The whole purpose of coming here of course was to meet up with Dan and Kym and Kym’s Australian family and friends.  This has meant long lunches, long dinners on beach while hi-jacking the music system and long intellectual academic debates over the merits of the different Thai beers.  The Australian party consist of Kym’s two sisters, her father Ian and step-mother Marion, her mother Marianne (yes it’s complicated keep up) and Matt & Tom, a young gay couple.  All but ourselves and Marion and Ian are in a large villa just in the hills at Nakka, a twenty five minute walk, up a very steep hill, it is not called Nakka for nothing.   We have all decided that it a taxi up and the stagger back.   

We went mob handed to the local version of Disney.  To see the attractions and take in the Circus, the show was OK but it’s strange how distasteful it now seems to see performing animals.  A visit was also made to Patong to see the bar scene, the show was alright but it’s strange how distasteful it now seems to see performing females!

The food here has been wonderful, lots of seafood and good veggie dishes for Carol, this makes her a really cheap date as on average a veggie meal works out at about £4.  We have however treated ourselves to two better meals, one at a seafood restaurant and another at a really good Thai.   Spaghetti with a Thai seafood sauce is a must, while Carol’s rice and vegetables served in a hollowed out pineapple was one of the best looking dishes you could see or taste.  We both got used to vegetarian food whilst in India and Carol is finding herself continuing to choose the veggie option.

Drinks are also very cheap, it’s possible to get a cocktail for 99 baht (£2), but wine is quite expensive and often costs more than the meal.  You can get a full body massage for 300 baht and laundry is ‘dirt’ cheap at 50 baht per kilogram!  Our washing today cost 140 baht, the same as one ice-cream!   

There is very little hassle on the streets, here at least they take no for an answer.  That is except for the tailors who are not convinced at all by the argument that now I have retired I don’t want three suits and a dozen shirts.    

9th Feb    We are currently waiting in Bangkok Airport for our flight to Delhi where we are staying for one night and then it's onto Kochin in Kerala tomorrow to begin the third leg of our trip.  We feel as though we have been away for ages!  Our indian visa was regarded with some suspician at Phuket airport earlier today so we are hoping that they will let us back into India otherwise we will be home sooner than expected!!   Will post some Thai photos asap.

 

View from our room

 

Having 40 winks on the balcony

 

Our rooftop terrace

 

 

The team!

 

The James Bond Villa Naka Hills

 

 

 

 

On Indian Driving

To say we had never seen anything like it would be an understatement.  The volume of traffic is unbelievable and lane discipline non-existent.   Lorries and buses change lanes constantly and instantly.  Tuk-Tuks weave in and out at the same time while taxis look for every opportunity to gain their passengers a yard.  All this is done to the constant sounding of horns and the wanderings of animals.

The most amazing thing is that despite this we saw no accidents, it was as if there was a one centimetre force field around all the vehicles.  The drivers seemed to be able to judge space and distance to the millimetre. 

Our worst journey was the last, from Jaipur to Delhi, 250 km of dual carriage way that they were converting to a six lane motorway – all at once!  250 km of traffic jams with short moments of madness in-between.  Lane changes every two minutes as the driver tried to make ground, lorries trying to do the same while the traffic was four vehicles wide covering two lanes of road.  Oh and interspersed with all this the occasional camel cart.   The highlight image of all this was however a coach which had forced its way across the central reservation, then through two lanes of speeding traffic,-  yes the traffic coming in the opposite direction was running freely, doesn’t it always?-  it  then  continued its journey on the hard shoulder against the oncoming traffic. 

The police were completely absent during all of this, and then as we finally entered Delhi our coach was pulled over, the driver had let his front wheel stray into a lane that he shouldn’t have and was given a 500 r fine.  Ain’t it the same the whole world over!!

 

January 28th Jaipur back to Delhi

We can’t say that anyone was looking forward to the 5 hour coach trip back to Delhi.  Not much to report about it except to say that, due to road works and a van catching fire, the journey took 9 hours!  Still, we arrived back at the lovely Taj Palace hotel by 5.30pm and checked into our room on the 8^th floor.  Being on this floor meant we had a club room and were entitled to a butler, access to the club lounge, free drinks, canapés & afternoon tea etc!   We weren’t sure what we had done to deserve this, but it was very nice especially after the long and boring journey.   Had a farewell dinner and said goodbye to our travelling companions.  Tomorrow we fly to Phuket via Bangkok to start the second, more relaxing leg of our trip.   

Jaipur – Amber Fort 27th January

 

Today we left the hotel at 8am to visit Amber Fort.  The coach dropped us at the car park and we were to make the final climb to the fort by elephant, which we were very excited about.  The queue to ‘board’ the elephants was pretty long despite the early hour and we were harassed by hawkers constantly while we waited.  They were selling everything from colourful turbans, jewellery, wooden elephants, puppets, pictures etc.  People were buying just to get rid of them.

It’s a very strange feeling riding on an elephant, a little like sitting on a see-saw.  Our elephant was called Bobby and walked very slowly so that all the other elephants overtook us and we came in last!  This might have had something to do with our driver talking throughout the journey on his mobile phone.  We certainly got our money’s worth as the journey took twice as long as everyone else’s!

The Fort was yet another example of a city within a city, gardens, and reception areas, harems and yes they really did have eunuchs.  This maharaja only had four wives so to maintain his same moderate way of living restricted himself to merely having 400 concubines.

The ladies view of the world was restricted to what they could see from a specially constructed viewing gallery with latticework windows overlooking the main reception hall where the maharajah received his visitors.  Also in the harem was an area where disputes between the ladies were heard and resolved.  400 ladies one man Judge Judy would have had a heyday.      

We had the ‘opportunity’ to visit another carpet/textile outlet which we declined and we returned to the hotel where we spent a very pleasant afternoon sitting by the pool soaking up the sunshine.

 

 

Ladies view of life. 

 

Jaipur 26th January

Jaipur 26^th January

Today is a ‘dry day’ so it is illegal to buy or sell alcohol on this day.  Fortunately for John, this applies to Indian nationals and not to us.

We made an early start on our tour of Jaipur and on the way we stopped outside the Palace of the Winds to take some photos.  Cue for the ever present street hawkers to descend upon us including a snake charmer who demanded 500 rupees from everyone who took his photo.  Having heard that the snakes have their mouths sewn up which means that they eventually die of starvation, we didn’t want to take any photos.  Our next stop was to visit Janta Manta, the Astronomical Observatory.  This was stunning, a series of astronomical structures build by Maharaja Jai Singh II in 1724.  Here amongst the structures were those designed to identify the position of constellations and moon at any time, others representing the astronomical symbols and a sun dial so large that it is accurate to 2 seconds.  It is an early example of a rich man’s collection of watches and chronometers.  We then walked to the City Palace which is adjacent.  This again is an immense palace complex built from pink and red sandstone, another self-contained city for the ruler.  

On the way back our coach dropped us off at the city market where we had 40 minutes to do some shopping, all the while being harassed by very persistent hawkers.   Some of our party visited a Craft Outlet but we decided to return to the hotel where we waited another 45 minutes for lunch before spending the afternoon sitting by the pool.

 

Sitar player at the Fairmont

 

Palace of the Winds

 

City Palace

 

Trumpeter to welcome us to the hotel!

                                                              Janta Manta Observatory
 

Agra to Jaipur 25th January

Agra to Jaipur 25^th January

A few people on our tour have been experiencing ‘tummy problems’ and one poor lady was so ill she had to have 2 injections and was too ill to travel to Jaipur today.

After breakfast, we travelled by road to Fatepur Sikri, a perfectly preserved sandstone city, this was built from scratch and then abandoned in the 16^th century, not long after it was built.  Watch out Milton Keynes!  After that we carried on to Bharatpur and had an open air lunch at The Bagh hotel.  The road which led to the hotel was little more than a dirt track with the worst pot holes we’ve ever seen.  After lunch we continued our journey and after an hour stopped for a comfort break.  At this point the dirt track road extracted its revenge.  Our coach had a punctured rear tyre which the driver had to change.  Most of the men on the trip stood round offering advice to the driver on how best to change the wheel!

We eventually set off to complete our journey to Jaipur and arrived at the Fairmont Hotel to a Maharaja & Maharani welcome, complete with an escort of 2 uniformed riders on white horses, 2 trumpeters, a gong and 2 concubines casting rose petals at our feet! 

The Fairmont is a new & very sumptuously decorated (over the top) hotel where no expense has been spared. However it was a pity that the service standards and detail didn’t stand up to the same scrutiny.  A forty five minute wait for lunch after ordering was considered a result and the dining room was so cold that you needed a fleece, while the outside temperature was in the 80s.  The water in the room was connected the wrong way round so that you got hot out of the cold tap.  But hey ho it all makes for a good story.

 

 

January 24th Delhi to Agra

January 24^th Delhi to Agra

A very early start today 4am!  Caught the 06.00 train to Agra and arrived on time at 08.05.  Delhi station wasn’t as manic as the previous Saturday but there were still a lot of people milling around even at that time.  Agra itself is not much to write home about.  We had high hopes of the Taj Gateway hotel but it was pretty average & a little tired, although the service was good.  We had a good breakfast there before starting our tour of the Red Fort.

The real problem with the hotel however was the shops in the hotel.  Now you would have thought that in a five star hotel you would have been able to browse the on-site shops as you wanted, but no, the shop keepers stood outside each one as if in a bazaar and harassed you all the time.  As a result we didn’t go in and didn’t buy anything.   In Agra we christened the street hawkers etc. as vations.   Agravations.  

The Red Fort was quite amazing and in the time we have here we could not hope to describe all the sites and views that it provides.  It was really a city on its own for the court of the 2^nd Murghal Emperor.

It was back to the hotel to check in and have lunch and then at 3pm we boarded our coach for a visit to the Taj Mahal.  Nothing you have read or seen regarding the Taj can prepare you for the reality, it is simply an awe inspiring sight.  However this was its quiet period and it was still manic.  When you go to look round the interior you get pushed around by the attendants who are inconsiderate beyond belief!  Nevertheless one of the greatest sights we have ever seen.

The traffic in and around Agra was a nightmare and we didn’t get back until 6.30pm, just enough time to get ready for dinner at 7.30pm.   Everyone was absolutely exhausted and we were looking forward to our bed.

 

23rd Jan Tour of Delhi – It was closed!

23^rd Jan Tour of Delhi – It was closed!

After making a good start from the hotel, it was discovered that due to rehearsals for Republic Day, the centres of both New & Old Delhi were sealed off.  The coach took us round and round for 2.5 hours before it eventually found somewhere for us to visit.  This was Humayun’s, the second Mughal Emperor’s tomb, a magnificent building constructed in the 16^th Century.  From there we went on to a Kashmiri craft store to see carpets and have a ‘free’ lunch.  At least there was beer!  Carol bought a shawl and we exercised restraint and didn’t buy a carpet.

 

The afternoon was more successful and we visited the Friday Jama Masjid Mosque, the largest in India.  It’s square can hold 20,000 people at prayer.  Following this, and the highlight of the day, was a rickshaw ride through the alleys of Old Delhi.  Total chaos.  People everywhere, shops selling everything from wedding saris to second hand car engines.  The rickshaws just plough through it all while tuc tucs and motorcycles continually try to force their way past while leaning on the horn.  The streets are about a quarter of the width of a UK street and as busy as Oxford St on the Saturday before Christmas! 

We ran over a little girl.  She stepped out in front of the rickshaw, it was quite a nasty impact but her father just picked her up, we didn’t even stop.  No blame culture here.  Our driver seemed quite ancient with a long white beard, Carol felt sorry for him.

From here we picked our way out of Old Delhi and made a final stop at a Ghat where Gandhi was cremated, now a memorial to him.   We returned to the hotel, driving past the India Gate, Parliament and the Presidential Palace.  Back at the hotel we had an early dinner and an early night to prepare for our 4am call and journey to Agra.

Shimla 21st & 22nd Jan

Shimla 21^st & 22^nd Jan

Today was a free day so we took things easy and simply walked up from the hotel into Shimla with the intention of visiting the Gaiety Theatre, it was closed.  However we did visit the church, despite it being Anglican, it was expected that we should take our shoes off as they do this for all places of worship.  From there we went to Scandal Point to look at the Himalayas and watched people taking horse rides up and down the square, just like donkey rides at Blackpool.

 From there we made our way back to the hotel carefully as it was still quite icy with plenty of snow on the ground.  The conditions did not however deter the monkeys, one of whom, having seen a mother buying her daughter an ice cream, leapt in front of them and snatched the cornet out of the child’s hand, obviously something it had done many times before.  Another monkey was reported as having come into one of our party’s open bedroom window and when she returned, she found it sitting in the bedroom eating her oranges! 

Before arriving back at the hotel, John bought half a bottle of whiskey for less than the price of a beer in the Delhi hotel.   

The next day we rejoined the Toy Train and given that 24 of our group had decided to travel back by car, we had plenty of space in the carriage which made the journey far more pleasant and comfortable.  The group met up again in Kalka and we returned to Delhi and the land of the £8 a bottle of beer!

 

Shimla 20th January 2013

We left to visit the Vice Regal Lodge at 10.00am and arrived to find we had a 300 yard walk up a hill to the entrance.  This would not normally have been a problem; however it was 300 yards of compacted snow and ice.  We and most of our travelling companions, having been told to travel light, had unsuitable footwear, which made it a bloody nightmare! However the lodge was very impressive with stunning views of the surrounding mountains.  As it is now a working college, there are few rooms open to the public however the interior was impressive none the less.  Following a slippery descent with our feet getting wetter and wetter, we boarded cars to take us to the Sankat Monchat temple. 

We passed on the opportunity to go inside the temple as this would have required us to remove our shoes and socks and walk barefoot in the snow.  Sno- way!  From there it was another car journey along slippery roads in very heavy traffic, how the vehicles found room to pass is a mystery known only to the skilled Indian drivers, they are amazing.  On disembarking from the cars to find a lift to take us from the lower to the upper town, we had to cross an area of sheet ice crowded with people and cars, it was a miracle we didn’t fall.  At the upper level, despite having been told the roads would have been cleared, they were just as treacherous and we slid our way to a late lunch at the Oberoi Clarkes hotel.

Given the state of the roads and our feet, we decided to return to the hotel after lunch by taxi rather than risk the late afternoon walking tour.  Hurray they have fixed the heating so we should get a good night’s sleep!  Hopefully our shoes will have dried out by tomorrow!