After five days in Delhi we were both feeling burnt out and in need of a holiday - but undaunted, we booked a domestic flight to Jodhpur and are now living it up in the hot desert wilderness of India's western frontier - 35c - 40c sun beating down, not a cloud in sight!
We are currently staying in a guesthouse in Jodhpur which has amazing views of the famous 'Blue City', and the awesome Mehrengeh's fort which dominates the skyline. On arriving we both spent a couple of hours taking in the views and watching the sunset - we were both finally pleased to be somewhere a little more relaxing than Delhi.
Delhi was good to experience but in all honesty it's not somewhere I'd recommend going unless you're prepared for the strange sights, smells and sounds that make up the place. Also, there are people everywhere, doing everything you can imagine, and some you can't.
For example, when we arrived in the hot pitch black night on Monday - and bearing in mind there are no street lights and it's not compulsary to actually turn on your headlights when driving in the dark - I was greeted by the sight of a one-legged man sitting in the middle of a busy road begging. He seemed quite happy and beamed a smile at me as he shuffled over in the hope of a few rupees - I couldn't quite believe it and told the driver to floor it.
On Thursday we decided to get out of Delhi and head to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. We had both hoped that maybe this would be a little different to the chaos of the capital but the four hour journey there was just as hectic and filled with similar scenes of desolation and insanity - rubbish everywhere, every pool of water filled with sewage, fires burning on the ground, cows and dogs wandering onto the motorway, people trying to rip you off at every turn...not really what we'd been hoping for in the first week of our trip!
The Taj was amazing, but as usual it was hassle trying to do anything. Annoyingly an 'official' guide attached himself to us after we'd got the tickets and it took ages to tell him we didn't really want a guide and 'no' he was not getting a tip.
Anyway, we are slowly getting to see a different side to India - we have just come from lunch with an Indian family we met yesterday, their hospitality was amazing and they kept offering us food!
The streets are still hectic, cows still wander around in a zen-like state eating out of rubbish tips, and dogs still look a little unsure of exactly what's going on, but everyone is friendly and says hello - although you get just as many stares.
Our plan now is to make the most of our fantastic guesthouse for the next few days, relax a little, then head to Udaipur's Lake Palace, Goa and finally Kerala - where Angela assures me it is a lot quieter (I hope so! But if not at least there are beaches!!!).
More pix soon!
We are currently staying in a guesthouse in Jodhpur which has amazing views of the famous 'Blue City', and the awesome Mehrengeh's fort which dominates the skyline. On arriving we both spent a couple of hours taking in the views and watching the sunset - we were both finally pleased to be somewhere a little more relaxing than Delhi.
Delhi was good to experience but in all honesty it's not somewhere I'd recommend going unless you're prepared for the strange sights, smells and sounds that make up the place. Also, there are people everywhere, doing everything you can imagine, and some you can't.
For example, when we arrived in the hot pitch black night on Monday - and bearing in mind there are no street lights and it's not compulsary to actually turn on your headlights when driving in the dark - I was greeted by the sight of a one-legged man sitting in the middle of a busy road begging. He seemed quite happy and beamed a smile at me as he shuffled over in the hope of a few rupees - I couldn't quite believe it and told the driver to floor it.
On Thursday we decided to get out of Delhi and head to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. We had both hoped that maybe this would be a little different to the chaos of the capital but the four hour journey there was just as hectic and filled with similar scenes of desolation and insanity - rubbish everywhere, every pool of water filled with sewage, fires burning on the ground, cows and dogs wandering onto the motorway, people trying to rip you off at every turn...not really what we'd been hoping for in the first week of our trip!
The Taj was amazing, but as usual it was hassle trying to do anything. Annoyingly an 'official' guide attached himself to us after we'd got the tickets and it took ages to tell him we didn't really want a guide and 'no' he was not getting a tip.
Anyway, we are slowly getting to see a different side to India - we have just come from lunch with an Indian family we met yesterday, their hospitality was amazing and they kept offering us food!
The streets are still hectic, cows still wander around in a zen-like state eating out of rubbish tips, and dogs still look a little unsure of exactly what's going on, but everyone is friendly and says hello - although you get just as many stares.
Our plan now is to make the most of our fantastic guesthouse for the next few days, relax a little, then head to Udaipur's Lake Palace, Goa and finally Kerala - where Angela assures me it is a lot quieter (I hope so! But if not at least there are beaches!!!).
More pix soon!
1 comment:
I knew it would not be long before you were running over one legged beggars ( tight wad ) went to the match today Boro v Chelsea and we got gubbed 5 nil.Have a nice time and keep your wits about you , talk to you soon xx Kev.
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