North India Tour - Day 6

Welcome to Day 6. The drive from Jaipur to Jodhpur.  We are told it is 300 km but on investigation it seems to be more like 351 km.  Not a big deal - except in India.  There are a lot of new toll roads being built and about half of our journey will be on 4 lane divided roads.  The open speed limit is 90 km/hr so half the journey should take 2 hrs leaving 170 km on 2 lane Indian roads at approx 40 km/hr.  Allowing a stop along the way and we are looking at a 7 hour trip.

Today is also the hottest day we have encountered.  When we get picked up Ram tells us that it is 45 degrees.  Thank goodness for the 'cocoon of cool'.  We get under way and crawl through the traffic out of Jaipur and are soon on the toll road.  As you look out the window the country side is dry and bare, small trees scattered here and there.  It is not unlike the Australian countryside really.

We seem to be making reasonable time.  Ram is a 'conservative' driver who is still discovering what the gear stick is for.  Its main purpose seems to be to get the car moving then get into 4th as soon as possible regardless of what speed you are travelling.  This is not pleasant in city driving but we are now used to it and on the open road it works a treat for him.

About two hours into our trip it starts to get hotter and hotter, Ram drives on, he is in 4th gear and happy.  I wonder if I should try and introduce him to 5th but decide it is best left alone.  The air conditioning is not working and the 'cocoon of cool' soon turns into the 'sauna on wheels'. We start to wind down the windows to get some air.  Well air we get.  It is a beautiful Indian breeze, about 55 degrees, blowing over the sandy landscape.  Why pay for exfoliation when you can get it so easily here.

Ram stops and lifts the bonnet.  He employs the 'If I look hard enough at it, it may fix itself'' technique.  He hops back in and shakes his head.  His hard looking failed to fix the problem.

Ram stops every half hour or so for another look but his looking has no more power than mine.  At about 2:00 pm he pulls in to what is best described as 'a Mexican Cantina' from 'the Good the Bad and the Ugly' film set.  With what is happening in the world I begin to wonder if the 'Swine Flu' is waiting for us inside.

We go inside and are greeted by a young Indian boy who offers us the lunch menu.  We sit and look out the window to witness Ram pouring a bucket of water over the engine.  At this stage I doubted the logic of his actions, the bucket of water poured over my head made some sense!  We decline the food offer but buy a couple of drinks from 'the fridge'.  In India the purpose of the fridge seems to be to keep things at normal room temperature.  ie not to cool but to stop contents from getting too hot.  The drinks are wet but not refreshing.

We rejoin Ram and drive off into the sun.  Gee I hope this has a better ending than some of the movies I have seen.  The heat seems to be having an effect on a lot of cars with numerous pulled off the road.  Here we encounter the Indian warning cone.  Rather than carrying some safety cones with them (how can you when you have twenty people in the car) they use their natural resources.  What is in abundance? Large rocks of course.

When a car or truck stops for any length of time, the driver collects large rocks (that is LARGE ROCKS, not stones) and places them about 1 metre out from the car/truck.  It should be noted that with the wind blowing the dust over the road distinguishing the LARGE brown rock from the brown road is not that easy.  Needless to say Ram manages to avoid these warning devices and we arrive in Jodhpur.

We check in and rush to the room to cool down but alas as we enter all power goes off.  It is a VERY hot day in North India.  Turns out that it was 45 degrees.  Luckily the power outage is only the normal five minute interruption and soon the fan and air conditioning are purring away.  Yes, we are spoilt.  We have an hour break while Ram tries to find someone who can look at the a/c fault.  It is Sunday and we pray the he finds someone who can do more than 'look at it'.

Ram picks us up at the alloted time and he is a happy man.  The 'cocoon of cool' has returned.  We head off to see the Mehrangarh Fort and the Jaswant Thada.

Mehrangarh Fort is one hundred feet high and is built on a perpendicular cliff, four hundred feet above the sky line of Jodhpur. Again we ask the question "How did they build this?"  It is magnificent. The best quote we have found is from Rudyard Kipling, who called it “the work of giants”. Today, it is acknowledged as the finest living example of a Hindu fortress.

Ram drops us at the entrance and we purchase our tickets.  One of the tips we got here was that for 15 Rupees (about 50 cents) you could get an elevator to the top and then explore as you walk down.  We did this and by the time we were completed and finally reached the bottom we realised there was no way Lynn could have climbed all the stairs to the top and then enjoy the place.  The extent of the climb or the availability of the elevator are not prominent near the ticket booth so we were glad for the tip.

From the top there were spectacular views of Jodhpur with its blue buildings.  Whereas Jaipur is known as the "pink city" because the Maharajah commanded that all buildings in the old city be painted pink, Jodhpur is know as the "blue city".  The reason the houses are blue is that they have a terrible termite problem and the only way to get rid of them was to add Copper Sulphate to the whitewash.  Over time this changed to blue.

The Fort was fascinating with a good display of things to look at and overall was quite well preserved.  It took us about an hour to walk down.  We then proceeded by car to Jaswant Thada which is about 200 metres down the hill.  

It is a white marble memorial built by Sardar Singh in 1899 in memory of Maharja Jaswant Singh II. The monument, in its entirety, is built out of intricately carved sheets of marble.  Within this cenotaph, there are also two more tombs. The Jaswant Thada is a traditional cremation ground of Jodhpur rulers. The grounds are also comprised of exquisitely carved gazebos, a beautiful multi-tiered garden, and a small lake.

Jaswant Thada

 External carved marble Cenopath

 More Jodhpur Rulers

It is only small so after a look and a few photos we jump back into the cocoon to head back to our hotel for a well earned rest.

North India Tour - Day 5

We stayed overnight at a Hotel called the Jaipur Palace.  Over the years we have found hotel names to be quite deceiving so it is always an interesting experience after seeing the web presentation of the hotel to actually arrive at the front door and see it for yourself.  Much like meeting people really.  The accommodation was great and they had a great restaurant plus a 24 hour Coffee Shop.  Lynn was delighted.

This was our first two night City so we were looking forward to having a bit more time to get out and see some of the normal things of the City.  Today's planned itinerary was a visit to Amber Palace and Jaigarh Fort (above) then back into Jaipur to see some of the tourist sites (City Palace, Astronomical Observatory).

Jaigarh Fort  and the Palace are 11 kms from Jaipur and look magnificent, perched on the hill top.  The guide book told us it was a great blend of Hindu and Muslim architecture, built in 16th century by Raja Man Singh.  The Old Palace lies at the base of the Jaigarh Fort. This area was the original Amber before Man Singh I came along and went on a building spree.

Imagine yourself in the starting gate for the Tour de India Elephant Time Trial.  We started at 20 second intervals and the course was downright treacherous.  All uphill with hairpin bends.  These Indians are crazy setting an elephant time trial course like this.

Funnily enough our elephant's name is Cadel and he looks fresh and in good shape.  He was carrying a bit of flab, but who isn't.  Before the first elephant started we noticed a couple of them gathered in the corner apparently chewing on some 'grass'.  Time will tell if it will assist them this close to the start.

We were about fifth to leave and started at what could be described as 'a good steady plod'.  We tried not to get Cadel too excited as we didn't want him to 'hit the wall' as the walls on this place look pretty solid.  It was a race of concentration with lots of distractions - photographers all over us, people wanting to sell Gary a turban, and what about a nice piece of cloth or yet another carved elephant.  Are these people serious! Don't they know there is an elephant race going on.

After five minutes we passed the elephant in front of us - unfortunately his rider got distracted by someone selling caps.  We pressed on around a dangerous hairpin bend where many an elephant has lost his footing.  Cadel beautifully changed his stride pattern to short rhythmic thumps and took the corner easily and in the process made valuable ground on a Russian elephant named Menchov.

This was where Cadel needed some encouragement so Gary leaned over and whispered in Cadel's rather large right ear.   Out of professional courtesy we cannot mention what was said but it was not long before Menchov felt the power of Cadel as he glided past him on a steep uphill section.  We arrived at the top with Cadel puffing slightly but in good spirits.  As we did a lap of honour around the quadrangle Cadel held his trunk aloft as a sign of his great time and assured victory.

Now back to the Fort and the Palace.  As we alighted from the elephant we were accosted by the 'official' tour guides.  We stuck to our script of wanting to view the place in silence and were soon left alone.  As usual we marvelled at how these places were built.  We are sure a lot of people would have lost their lives in its construction.

It was a great place, with spectacular views over the valley.  We spent an hour or so wandering the hallways and enjoying our time together.

India is a different place with different customs that most of the time seem so strange to us yet each day we understand a bit more about ourselves and how we treat others and how our viewpoint is sometimes so narrow that we are blinded to the things around us.

When we completed our time at the top we made our way down the steps to the car park to rejoin Ram to return to Jaipur to visit the Astronomical Observatory and the City Palace.  The Observatory was good with lots of different devices used (from 1728) for measuring star positions etc.  The maharajah was an astronomer and as the Observatory was close to the palace he used to carry out many observations there.  We were totally amazed by the things they invented back then to assist us today.  We are content that we don't know how they work.  

As we took the short walk from the Observatory to the City Palace we both realised that we are ready for a rest so headed instead for the car park where Ram drove us back to the Hotel.  When we first started travelling overseas in 2000 we made a pact that we did not have to see everything and if we felt like a rest then we would have one.  This was one of those occasions.  We have missed touring Jaipur City Palace forever but we did get a sneak peak through the large entry doorway in the wall.  From the outside it looked like most of the other palaces we have seen.  We don't think our missing it will change the world that much.

We arranged for Ram to pick us up again at 5:00 pm and drop us down to the Market area so we could see a bit of the local colour before our departure in the morning.  

North India Tour - Day 4

Ram picked us up after breakfast for a leisurely 180 km to Jaipur, capital of Rajasthan.  We are stopping along the way to visit another deserted city.  The countryside is dotted with these once great places that have been abandoned as ancient rulers decided that they would move on and build a new residence.

The history of the North is one of power and war with the strongest surviving.  This place was no exception - a temple surrounded by residences and courts all laid out to give the best vantage points against those who would attack you.

It was worth the visit but like most  cultural things we have seen so far, with the exception of the Taj Mahal, it was in a dreadful state of disrepair and management.

The Hindu Temple here is devoted to Hanuman, the Hindu Monkey God so obviously the place was full of monkeys.

Again, they do as they like and move around doing what the please.

Even in its current state of disrepair it is spectacular.  Built into a ravine with hundreds of steps to climb.  Halfway up there is a pool with lots of kids swimming in it.  It does not look inviting at all but they are having a ball.

We spent quite a bit of time looking, then headed back down to meet Ram and head off to Jaipur.

It was a good trip with the usual sights of overcrowded transport vehicles, camels and the constant noise of horns as cars neared each other.

Jaipur is a lovely city - about the same size as Brisbane. Quite busy and the young people dress in modern clothes. We had a long walk from our hotel up the road.  It is clean, full of mango sellers and others eking out a living somehow.  We walk for about 2 km then catch an auto home.

North India Tour - Day 3

We left Agra early for the 260 km journey to Ranthambhore National Park.  A short journey by Australian standards but as we have come to know, this distance by road in India is an elongated time warp that could take forever.  For us 6.5 hours with a 20 min stop at the 'tourist shop' where you can buy overpriced anything but especially carved elephants, camels, turtles and extremely overpriced textiles.

We now know that the average speed for any trip of length regardless of the quality of the road is 40km/hr.

We were deposited at the Ranthambhore Safari Lodge at 1:30 pm in time for a rest before we embarked on our 3:00 pm Tiger Safari.  Ranthambhore Safari Lodge is the famous place mentioned in 'The Pub With No Beer'.  I have pondered this oddity for a couple of days now and wondered how this scenario would play out in Queensland if in the off-season they stopped serving all meat and salad dishes and only served Chinese and Indian food.

Anyway, the Lodge accommodation was terrific.  Great staff, great grounds and terribly embarrassed that they could not serve us Indian food.  

We were to do our Safari in a Jeep fitted with two rows of bench seats.  It duly arrived with a young couple from London already aboard in the first seat.  This left IW and I to somehow scale the side of the Jeep into the back bench seat.  For a normal athletic couple this would have been no trouble but to two people who now have trouble remembering how to spell 'athletic' it presented more of a problem.  Needless to say, there were no photos taken and we made it into the back seat.

Off we went - a whole afternoon of adventure in front of us - or so we thought.  We had about a 5km drive to the entrance and to our surprise just before arriving we veered off the road and into another accommodation venue.  There we picked up another English couple, the husband leapt into the front bench seat leaving his wife to scale the side to join us in the back.

There have been many stories written about the width of 'Wallis hips' so trying to fit both of us plus a 'not so small' lady on one bench seat is silly beyond belief anywhere in the world except India.  This is what you do here.  On our 6.5 hour drive here we passed countless jeeps without two specially fitted bench seats that had at least twenty occupants. 

We entered the park to be greeted by at least 100 monkeys playing and crawling over everything - so used to the people and traffic that there was nothing you could do to dissuade them.  This was their area and they did as they pleased.

After the driver had registered, off we went into the scrub in search of one of the thirty Tigers that lived there along with Sambhar Deer, Spotted Deer, Leopard Jackal, Sloth Bear, Crocodiles, Hyena plus a fantastic array of bird life.  Despite the discomfort of playing 'Sardine Charades' along the way we had a lot of fun.

We screeched to a halt at one point because the driver saw a Tiger footprint in the dust at the side of the road.  We were puzzled at how a Tiger could leave just one paw print but having witnessed several great circus acts over the years we were sure Tigers could hop on one leg to avoid detection by a group of people who had never seen one before.

We witnessed many beautiful sights and animals during the first hour and then it happened!  As we drove alongside a small water course where Sambhar Deer were having a bit to eat and a drink, our attention was drawn to a dark shape alongside a deserted brick hut on the side of the hill.

What followed was spectacular as nature unfolded before us.  The deer eating and drinking in a small dip in the land, the Tiger taking an inordinate amount of time to creep into position and us perched in our Jeep on the other side - barely thirty metres away and desperately trying to be quiet.  Some wanted to shout and warn the deer, others wanted the Tiger to win.

The patience of the Tiger was endless, for fifteen minutes we watched as she crouched behind a bush and inched forward toward the deer which were enjoying their day.  One deer slowly walked to where the Tiger was hiding.  This is the end we thought.  There was one small bush separating them.  Then all of a sudden the deer let out a high pitched squeal and ran up to the top of the hill.

The ones down below scattered and the one at the top continued to sound the alarm - the Tiger did not move.  It was all over in a flash - the deer lovers cheered, the Tiger lovers were devastated.  The Tiger slowly crept back to the side of the building where we first saw her.  The guide said the reason it did not attack was that the deer wasn't in the right position so the Tiger was not assured of a kill.  They will not attack until they have all the odds in their favour.

Just then a large carrier that transports about twenty people arrived.  It was full of American tourists.  The atmosphere soon disintegrated as the noise level rose as they screamed their delight at seeing the Tiger.  We were glad the carrier did not arrive any sooner.  The Tiger fans in our Jeep wanted to drag a deer up to the Tiger then from the mouth of a quietly spoken English tourist came the words "Don't hurt the deer, lets drag an American tourist up."  With apologies to our American friends, but yes we did laugh as it was a very fitting comment at the time.

We stayed on to see what would happen.  Other Jeeps came and went but for some reason our drivers wanted to stay and watch.  At this stage the Tiger was only visible through high powered binoculars.  Despite several hints we stayed there for a further 45 minutes looking at the undergrowth and what to the naked eye looked like a small rock which we were told was the Tiger's head.

Eventually we headed back to the entrance, said goodbye to all the monkeys and checked out. We were then driven back to our respective hotels to relive  the adventure of the afternoon.

 

North India Tour - Day 2

One thing that puzzled us was Ram's statement that by leaving at 8:00 am we would miss the traffic.  We were in a city of 17 million people.  Missing the traffic here would be like ordering a Big Mac and not being asked 'Do you want fries with that?'

One thing about the driving is that there is always something to look at.  Most businesses do not start work until 10:00 am (some 11:00 am) but there are people and cars going everywhere.  It is tough driving but Ram is happy that we have missed peak hour and we have many things to see, comment on, and ponder over.  Life is different.

Agra is about 204 km from Delhi so on a reasonable road you would expect we could average at least 70km/hr and be there in under 3 hours.  We left at 8:00 am and at 9:30 we passed a sign that said Agra 160 km.  Ummm 44 km in 90 minutes.  Ram was happy that we missed the traffic and said that we were making good progress.

We kept expecting to leave the city and hit the country roads but it never happened.  Ram would announce that we were leaving the Delhi city limits and entering some other municipality but nothing changed, just more people and cars and buses and trucks cooperating with each other to reach their destination.

About 12 km before we reached Agra we arrived at a place called Sikandra where we were to stop and visit Akbar's Tomb.  This puzzled Gary as he had never met Akbar so why would he want to see where he was buried.  IW then informed him of the cultural and historic significance of some of the places we were visiting.

Sikandra is the former capital of Lodi dynasty and was named after the Afghan ruler Sikander Lodi.  It houses the tomb of Mughul Emperor Akbar. The design and construction of the tomb was started by Akbar himself and subsequently completed by his son Jehangir.

The shape of the tomb is a truncated pyramid with five storeys. The first four storeys were constructed with red sandstone and the fifth one with white marble. The white marble storey comprises a false tomb of Emperor Akbar. The real tomb of Akbar is located in a crypt right below the false tomb.

Sikandra will live in our memories forever because of what happened there.  All these great places teem with peddlars and false/real tour guides and you are made aware of them and told to ignore them.  Sometimes this is easy and other times almost impossible.

We managed to get past the group of people selling stuff and entered the general precincts.  We managed to fob off the false tour guides.  At these places we like to look in silence, just take it all in.  We read about it beforehand and re-read about it after the visit.

As we casually strolled into the main building, removing our shoes beforehand and leaving them to one side of the doorway, we were engaged in conversation by a man who started to tell us about the tomb.  We immediately said we would not pay for a guide.  With much head nodding and waving of hands he informed us that he was not a guide but a paid employee of the tomb.  It annoyed Gary greatly as wherever we went, "paid employee" followed with his commentary.  Gary's tolerance levels were broken fairly quickly and he moved on to explore by himself.  IW stayed with "paid employee" to be polite.

Eventually we emerged and were dissapointed when he asked for money for his services and we imformed him that we told him there would be no payment which seemed to upset him.  Then his mate had our shoes (which we had placed no where near him) and requested payment because he was looking after them for us.  At this stage we were both quite irate at the proceedings and demands being made.  It had nothing to do with the money, but more that they paid no heed to our request to be left alone.  Those of you who know us would by now know what our two reactions were.  Gary just walked off and IW cried.

It appears that IW's response was the best one for this situation as the two Indian gentlemen stood at the entrance and watched us depart without saying another word.  The trip into Agra was very sombre as we explained to Ram what had happened.  Ram did not have much to offer as this is just the Indian way and we had to work out how we were going to deal with it.

We made it to our hotel and agreed to have an hour's break before heading off to see the Taj Mahal.

We were in no mood to face this as we had been told by many people that what we would experience at other monuments would be ten fold at the Taj.  We talked about not letting these people rob us of the joy and excitement of what we were experiencing.  We could not change their ways and did not need to be rude to them but to firmly state our position to view in silence.

The Taj Mahal was something we had wanted to see forever and wondered if we would be disappointed.  We remembered our excitement when we first saw the Grand Canyon in USA.  Having seen thousands of pictures of it, to actually stand on the edge and see it was incredible.  Well Taj Mahal here we come.

Ram did his job.  Cars are not allowed within 2 km of the site and there is a large carpark where pedal-powered rickshaws, autos, or battery powered buses (depending on choice), ferry tourists to the Taj entry.  Ram advised that the bus would be a few rupees and the other two would drop you there and wait then deliver you back for 100 Rupees (approx $3).  

As we pull up drivers invade the car.   It is almost impossible to get the door open but we put our plan into action.  Gary catches the eye of a young rickshaw driver and indicated to him that we will ride with him.  A victory - he is now on our side, shouting at the others to move away.  We exit the car and hop in the very cosy seat and off we go.

It was a good ride and conversation but we noted that it was mostly downhill and wondered how he was going to cope with the two km uphill ride home.  He was definitely not Lance Armstrong on the Alpe d'Huez.  He was on a 30 year old bike with no gears and a wobbling front wheel which hit the mud guard at every turn.  To complete this little scenario, on our ride back he put in a sterling effort but twice had to dismount to push.  

It was a herculian effort (given our combined weight), with minimal conversation except Gary's urging him on with 'It only hurts in your mind'.  On arrival at the car park, he turned and smiled and we gave him 200 rupees for his effort.  He laughed and shook Gary's hand.

Back to the entrance of the Taj.

No real hassles here.  We bought our tickets, avoided the hawkers and tour guides and went through security into the forecourt.  One amazing thing about the Taj Mahal is that it can be seen for miles as you approach but once you enter the forecourt it disappears completely.  Part of the design is that this spectacular red sandstone gateway completely hides your view and once you advance through the gate the Taj just magically appears in front of you.  

It truly is magnificent.  It is one of the few monuments that is breathtaking and does not disappoint.  We spent the next couple of hours wandering around the beautiful grounds and through the Taj with 5,000 of our close and personal friends.   Because of the impact this building has it seemed irrelevant that there were so many people.  We were free to wander and view and take everything in as if we were the only ones there.  We think this is one of the beauties of the place.   Mind you we have been told that this is "low season".  

The grounds are beautifully kept with flowering trees, green lawns (not often seen in Southern India), paths and water features.  It completely washed away the disappointment we felt at Sikandra and exceeded all our expectations.

"Lance" was faithfully waiting for us at the exit gate for the punishing ride up "Alpe d'Huez" and back to the carpark where Ram was waiting.

It was a great day with all the highs and lows we have come to expect in India.

  Wall panel inside tomb

Grounds looking from Taj Mahal towards gateway 

 Ceiling of Gateway

 Western facade of Taj Mahal

North India Tour - Day 1 (Cont)

We left you after our seamless transition through check in and security at Delhi airport.

The plane was about 30 minutes late leaving but we settle down in the lounge with a nice coffee.  The 2.5 hour flight to Delhi was remarkably enjoyable  as we didn't particularly enjoy the trip from Singapore via Air India.  We arrived, collected our luggage and headed out to find our driver.  Pretty easy, someone holding up a sign with your name on.  Well Delhi has a population of a bit over 17,000,000, or to put it another way, 68% of Australia lives here.  Guess what, they had all booked a driver at the airport.  We have never seen as many people holding up signs in our life.  They were about six deep and stretched for at least 40 metres.  Taking into account the lack of AAPS, that is about ..... Oh forget it , it is just way too many people.

It was then that we realised that we were, once again, the only white people there so we did not need to find him.  It would be easier for him to find us.  We relaxed and strolled along admiring the chaos when a man leapt from the crowd brandishing a crumpled piece of paper with our name on it.

Ram Singh entered our lives.  He is to be our driver for the next nine days.  He introduces himself, grabs the IW's luggage and heads off to the car park with us trotting along behind him.

The car is a small 4 seater which suits our needs well.  It is air-conditioned and Ram's english is pretty good.  We head off to the hotel through traffic that is thick but a lot better behaved than Chennai.  There are horns, but nowhere near the decibel level of Chennai.  The roads are wide and the place seems quite clean.  (This is in complete contrast to our trip from Chennai airport). There are massive roadmorks going on - constuction of an overhead train link form the Airport to the City and continued construction for an underground metro system.

All this is supposed to be completed by the 2010 Commonwealth Games but that does not seem possible from what we saw.  Ram assures us that it will get done in time.  Indian optimism is a wonderful thing.

We arrive at our Hotel, three porters rush out to carry our bags. They seem disappointed that we don't have three bags, so they have to fight over the two we have.  Checking in is all manual.  A huge Ledger Book is produced and you have to record your name, home address, all passport details (which are checked), what city you came from, where you are going, and your length of stay then sign at the far right hand end of the page which is about three paces away.

The room is nice and clean, with a fridge, Cable TV and nice bathroom.  We unpack a few things then have about 30 minutes before Ram will pick us up for a tour of Old and New Delhi. We head out the fromt door for a short stroll around the neighbourhood.

First impressions.  You can walk on the footpaths - there are not great piles of garbage lying around.  The traffic is endless so crossing the road is still a two person task.  We stroll to the corner, cross the road and head off.  Shops are still the same - two metre wide style, crammed with things, with the owner generally sitting outside beckoning you to 'come inside for a look'.  We walk down one side, negotiate the crossing and head back to meet Ram.

We are tired from being up since 3:00 am but only have today here so head off on a four hour Readers Digest tour of Delhi looking at all the major attractions.  We had time to stop at some and walk through them but others just did a drive by.

Our first stop was to see Humayun's Tomb.  The outside is red sandstone inlaid with white marble.  Quite beautiful building and gardens.  It was built in 1570 and is of particular cultural significance because it was the first garden-tomb on the Indian subcontinent.  It inspired several major architectural innovations, culminating in the construction of the Taj Mahal.  We were very pleased that it has been heritage listed and renovations have commenced. 

Part of the tour was the invitation from RAM to 'let's stop here for lunch'.  It was a beautiful Indian meal that was at least three times more expensive than anything we have had so far.  A 'special' place for tourists.  We enjoy the meal but inform Ram we do not want any more 'special lunches' as they are too expensive.  He nods but whether he understands or not we have yet to find out.

The Parliament House and wide esplanade looking off into the distance to the India Gate is very impressive, akin to the Champs Elysees in Paris.  The Red Fort is imposing and the site that was most memorable for us was the Rajghat Samadhi.

The Rajghat is the last resting place of Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation. . The memorial stone of Mahatma Gandhi placed there is a simple square platform made of black marble, with the words "Hey Ram" inscribed near it. As homage to the Mahatma, an eternal flame, in a copper urn, keeps on burning there. Enclosing the memorial is a low wall, simple with no ornamentation.  This is set amid a beautiful park of rolling green hills.  It is good to take off your shoes and walk on some grass again, it is so much better than dirt.

It is after 6:00 pm and we head back to the hotel for a sleep.  No evening meal because to quote one of my daughters, "We ate enough at lunch to feed a small African nation".

Ram says he will pick us up at 8:00 am tomorrow for an early start so that we can miss the traffic.  Tomorrow is the trip to Agra and the Taj Mahal.

The Pub With No Beer

Our experience of the moment.

Just spent 3.5 hours bouncing around the forest in search of tigers.  Finally back at the Safari Lodge and head off to dinner for some nice Indian cuisine.  WRONG!!!

After several occasions of trying to order and being told that the particular item was not available the waiter finally told us that it was off season and there was no Indian food available.

Could we please order something off the Continental menu.  WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT!!

PS When in Rome sometimes you can't do what the Romans do