Tag Archives: travel advice

17 Sep 2011 · 8:16 AM

One Night in Vegas

After Yosemite, it was a straight shoot through the beautiful Sierra Nevada and on to Las Vegas. The scenes were something out of Jurassic Park with massive plains of desert, where it seemed that dinosaurs might once have roamed. Even though there was desert everywhere, in the background were the large snowy mountains of the breathtaking Sierra Nevada mountains.

A long road to Vegas

We arrived in Las Vegas and hit the rush hour traffic. From the freeway we started to see the outline of the monstrous casinos and hotels of the Las Vegas Strip. We were so exhausted from the long drive from Lee Vining that morning that after we eventually found a RV park right on the strip, we went straight to sleep for a power nap. When we woke up a couple of hours later, it was dusk and we were starving, so we made some dinner in our handy RV kitchen and then headed out to paint the town red! :)

Welcome to Vegas

We started our walk down the strip starting from the RV park at Circus Circus Casino where we were parked. It was a decidedly warm night, probably about 30 degree Celcius even at 8pm. From the minute we started walking down the strip, we were overwhelmed by the towering buildings, bright lights and the sound of a non-stop party. We were amazed at the detail of each of the themed hotels on the strip…The Venetian, with its gondolas and a mini St. Mark’s Campanile, Treasure Island, with its pirate ship and even Paris casino, with a mini Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomph! We walked through the casinos and watched all the different people gambling and enjoying themselves. There were a few different types of people: the bachelor/bachelorette and their party who were crazily celebrating their last night of ‘freedom’ before the wedding; the tourists like us who looked like deers in the headlights while we wandered around open-mouthed; the seasoned gamblers, who sat for hours at the same machines smoking and drinking away while they gambled, and the American families, some gambling, others just enjoying the festivities.

We took a walk through the Venetian wandering through the ‘allyways’ with their fake sky ceilings and old-looking buildings just like the real Venice and we were glad that we had been to italy to see it for real. The casino even has a river running through it, with gondolas and singing gondoliers to set the tone.

Outside the Venetian with a mini St Mark's Calamine

After the Venetian, we hot-footed it over to the Bellagio to see the world-famous fountain show. It was spectacular, to the tune of Elvis’ Viva Las Vegas!

Next we headed over to Treasure Island to see the Pirate Show, a musical skit with fireworks and special effects to entertain the whole family, and down the strip a little further to the mini Eiffel Tower!

Treasure Island Pirate Ship

Eiffel Tower in Vegas!

We had to say that we gambled in Vegas but managed to do it budget style by starting with a dollar in the penny slots and trying to make up as much as possible… lets just say that these casino’s will even take you for your dollar… sneaky buggers! It was great fun though, going from Casino to casino, watching the shows and seeing all of the interesting characters that frequent Sin City.

Gambling our $1 at Casino Royale

Much later, we stumbled home on aching feet and crawled into bed at 3am completely knackered. Who said you couldn’t do Vegas in a day? Well it would’ve been fun to have some more time! Another place to return to then!

The next morning we were up fairly early again to take the RV back to the rental company and got a shuttle back to the strip to wait at the Excalibur for our bus to Phoenix!

The Excalibur Hotel and Casino

It has been a lazy few days in Phoenix and we’re enjoying catching up with Bret and MJ as well as our sleep :)

On the Bus to Phoenix

D x

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15 Sep 2011 · 9:54 AM

RV ready or RV not?

The title of this post will come as no surprise to anybody who has been following either Dom’s or my Facebook entries over the past calendar week. So now is the time to tell you all about it!

The pickup point was El Monte RV, a grand bunch of people who were very cordial and helpful in directing us to their premises in Dublin, a fair way East of San Francisco proper. Nothing however could have prepared us for what was to come. We should have realised that something was awry when the friendly sales guy told us that we would have to bring our belongings “out back” because the RV was too big to be parked in the substantial space in front of the building.

Dom in for perspective!

Regardless, we left our inhibitions in one of the many storage trunks under the vehicle and set off in the direction of Frisco to the Great Ocean Highway and a parking lot where we were supposed to be able to spend the night before the long drive to Yosemite.

The drive up Van Ness Street in the middle of rush hour traffic in Frisco was quite hair raising for us and mildly life threatening for anybody who was unfortunate enough to be driving anywhere near us at the time but we made it and finally pulled up over about five parking bays in the lot which was right on the beach. A great place to “set up camp” we thought, the authorities had a different idea though.

To summarise: Comfortable. Sleepy. Lights and sirens. Loudspeaker. Police Officer. Possible Fine…

We awoke to the distorted sound of “All vee-hicles must vacate the beach area and any remaining after 11pm will be subject to a fine and possible arrest.” The officer behind the loudspeaker was quite cordial when I asked where we could spend the night and he kindly offered to ignore all 40 feet of our RV if we parked up one of the side streets. He did however add that this was NOT legal and we may be woken up at any time in the morning by another cop who may not be so lenient. Thus we spent the whole night wide-awake and terrified of being arrested for inhabiting a parking space. What we did do was drive back down to the beach, which reopened again at 5am, and slept sweetly until we left at 8.

We drove North and over the Golden Gate bridge in the mist and headed towards the Napa Valley. A great surprise was to come across the Infineon Raceway and to watch some Lotus Cup action for a while. Since we were driving, wine tasting wasn’t an option but there were certainly more than a few opportunities where I really could have stopped for a small sip or five!

All we got to see of the GGB!

 

Driving through the wine country!

Our route took us in a big circle and back past Dublin where we fetched the RV, it was great to see just how much we’d adapted in the short day that we’d had the vehicle.

We arrived at the gates of Yosemite a bit later that evening with a vag9ue plan to ask about RV sites that would fit our monstrosity. This wasn’t to be because the reservations office had closed so we retraced our steps a few miles (yes, we say miles now…) down the road to Yosemite Lakes and set up our camp!

The day that followed in the park was something we’ll remember for the rest of our lives. We drove up to the gates again at 8am and went straight up to the Merced Grove of Sequoias, these giants are ancient and completely overwhelming, living for thousands of years and growing to heights in excess of one hundred meters tall. And it’s the same with everything else in this park, the views are incredible, the air crisp and clean, it is definitely one of the most beautiful and magical places in the world. The pictures give you a good idea idea, but to actually be there was certainly one of the highlights of this whole trip.

!!!

The trunks were much wider than the gap between them!

Ancient Giant

Our route took us from the Merced Grove down South and into Yosemite Valley, we had originally planned to visit the largest grove of Sequoias that is right down at the Southern end of the park but we were advised otherwise by a (far more experienced) park ranger who was more realistic about the time that it would take to haul the RV down the smaller roads. After lunch we visited another, larger, grove of Giants and about halfway in, the heavens opened. Undeterred we carried on down the path which had, by this time, turned into more of a river than a forest track. With torrents of rain and thunder as loud a freight train we reconsidered carrying on for a while but eventually made the decision to continue.  Knowing what we do now, the decision we made was the right one because the trees in this grove dwarfed those in Merced in size and age. The living ones thought to be close to 2500 years old and the largest diameter (unfortunately dead) trunk was close to 4600 years old. Large enough to drive a car through underneath it and completely awe inspiring. Unfortunately, due to an early start the next day and a very long drive to Vegas almost upon us, we had to leave the park after driving along the Tioga Road and ended up in Lee Vining for the night, population 387, no jokes! The pass that took us there wasn’t unlike Zoji La in India, except with perfectly surfaced roads and no enormous trucks fighting for space. It was, however, just as breath taking.

We had pulled over, blocking a bit of the road, to take some shots over the valley.

Well worth it!

The views of the mountains were almost as impressive as the Giant Sequoias and just as beautiful.

Some of the trees grow directly out of soil caught in the crevices in the granite.

Tioga Road

Tenaya Lake in all of its glory, just before sunset when the light is just right!

Monday morning we were up with the birds to get an early start on the drive to Vegas, and D even drove some of the way while I navigated. We drove through more beautiful misty forests and a few one-horse towns, saw tumbleweeds and cool-looking Joshua Trees. As the snowy mountains of the Sierra Nevada changed to cacti filled desert, we hit Las Vegas rush-hour. For the rest of our night in Las Vegas, you’ll have to wait for the next post :)

Long straight roads and blue skies!

Vegas BABY!!!!

The result of rental/relocation is a cheap way to travel on your own steam but it really limited us in time, and we could have spent a week out there in the “bush” because it was truly magical. Our next mission is to drive up to Page, Arizona and to the Grand Canyon. For the meantime, Bret and MJ are looking after us in Phoenix!

Later Gang!

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24 Aug 2011 · 10:33 AM

Walking Tour of Brisbane

Yesterday we got in to the city before lunch to try and see as much of the city as we could. The plan was to go on a free walking tour of the city, which leaves daily from King George Square at 11am. However, as we arrived on the square at 11:05am and clearly missed the tour…we decided to go it on our own and do a bit of a walking tour ourselves. Here is a glimpse of what we saw, let the pictures speak for themselves (Click on the picture to enlarge it).

D x

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20 Jul 2011 · 4:05 AM

Howling at the Moon

It’s far easier to reflect on past experiences when sitting in luxury at a family friend’s condo in Surin Beach than on a train or other form of relatively uncomfortable transport between places. So as I look out at the ocean and enjoy the peacefulness of it all I’m reminded that we are both so fortunate to be in a position to travel like this and are also super thankful to all of those who made it possible!

Some of the most fun you can have on a small island off the coast of Thailand is to rent a scooter for 24 hours and mission about to all of the sights. It gives such a rush of exhilarating independence and it really beats having to fork out hundreds of baht for tuk-tuks/taxis everywhere.

Hiring scooters for the day, definitely value for money!

We decided to visit one of the larger waterfalls on the island, about a twenty minute ride from where we were staying in Baan Kai, and another 25 minute hike up a super steep, rooted path. It was all worth it though for the view over the island from the high point above the falls and also for the refreshing mountain pool that we were able to dip in before beginning the trek down again.

We returned to Thong Sala for dinner and a wander around the night market. Cocktails and beer on the beach at the Highway Bar (a must visit) just made the experience all the sweeter. The poor 100cc bike that we hired really struggled up some of those hills though!

But now, on to the crux of the matter! The calm evening of the 16th brought the first bit of sun we had seen on the island since we’d arrived a couple of days before so the girls were up and heeding the call of Vitamin D and Marion swore blind that she wasn’t going home without a tan. We used up the last of our scooter rental by going into Thong Sala to buy an extra ticket for the ferry/bus to Phuket for Jade and then made our way swiftly to the beach.

Needless to say, the afternoon came and went and we all had various degrees of sunburn (some desired and some not so much). But time was running out and we had a party to get to. So for those of you who don’t know about the famous, or possibly infamous, Full Moon party hosted by Haad Rin “Sunrise” Beach, here’s the low down.

Held once a month, these parties rival most if all trance parties that Cape Town has to offer and host between ten and fifteen thousand people on an average month and this number rises in excess of thirty thousand for New Years Eve. Now this may not impress some but when you consider that it’s held on a spit of sand thirty meters by 800 meters it gets pretty crowded. There are bars, clubs and restaurants lining the beach, with revellers, dressed from head to toe in lumo clothes and paint, listening to music that varies from commercial to psy-trance and there’s even a DnB venue for the coolest kids :) The drink of choice here is “The Bucket”, a mixture of your choice of soda, a local Thai Red Bull and… wait for it… 250ml of local Thai rum. The bucket gives Tipo Tinto (from Mozambique) a good run for it’s money and after a couple, many of the revellers are reduced to slurring, stumbling cretins.

Painted and ready for the party :)

We planned to meet our friends at Mr. K’s fried chicken (a GREAT place for a midnight snack) on the main street in Haad Rin at 11pm so we chilled out in our bungalow and had a good Thai meal up at our restaurant whilst playing cards and watching the sunset. We taxi’d to Haad Rin with a bunch of boys who were clearly on a mission to have a great night and despite our best efforts only made it to the chicken spot at 11:30pm and thus missed Jade and Lindsay and co. We were to meet them later under interesting circumstances but that’s a story for another time.

Watching the sunset at the hotel before the party

What an epic party though, one and all were having a decent jam to the music of their choice and far too many buckets were being consumed! Judging by the state of some that we saw, faaaaaar too many buckets!

T and D enjoying a warm-up bucket a few nights before the party

At 5:30 we really needed to make our way back to the Resort to fetch our bags because we had a 7am ferry to catch back to Surat Thani and on to Phuket by bus and this also turned out to be a story on it’s own.

We boarded the ferry with minutes to spare and immediately passed out for the duration of the trip between Phangan and the mainland. We had to endure another 90 minute bus transfer with blaring Thai pop music between the pier and Surat Thani town that would have been a big fat party had we not all been in some state of unconsciousness/hung-over. And then our reality from about 11:30 was a couple of transfers by local taxi and a looooooong wait only to be shuffled on to a local bus, not our booked minibus, and sent off in the direction of Phuket at breakneck speed.

The fact that we were still on the outskirts of Surat Thani an hour later should have told us something, just like the extra thirty people sitting in the isles and on the stairs of the bus should have. What really got us worked up and what finally ended our trip on local transport was when the driver cooked the brakes on the bus going down a steep hill far too fast, that resulted in the rear end of the passenger compartment full of smoke and the acrid smell of burning brakepads. This was far too much for us, and our newly made Aussie friends (and one American), and we exited quickly while being screamed at in Thai by the conductor. Fun times!

So there we were, at a bus stop about 180km from Phuket, and we realised that we were in a bit of a dilemma. The biggest problem was the language barrier but we managed after about an hour to organise ourselves a minibus down to Phuket that would not break the bank and more importantly leave us with our lives intact. So more thanks go to our CHAMPION Aussie friends who not only saved the day but also made the wait and the rest of the trip a good laugh!

Waiting for a taxi in the middle of nowhere, and this walks past...

Arriving in Surin Beach we did a happy dance when we saw the white-sheeted, air-conditioned, infinity-pooled Surin Beach Condos and did what all over-tired and underfed people do…ate, and went straight to sleep. No skaam, no worries, just incredible horizontal-ness!

Our view from the apartment! :)

The four of us enjoying a cocktail on Surin Beach

Phi Phi today! Whoop!

T, D, M and J! Party’s getting fuller!

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14 Jul 2011 · 4:24 PM

The Long Road to Paradise

After our fantastic adventure with the elephants on Monday, we spend the last day in Chiang Mai sampling more local food and fruit smoothies at

Fried goodies for sale in Chiang Mai

the market and packed up all of our goodies. We even hired a scooter and took turns riding it around the old town, T doing most of the riding and M and I catching a lift on the back :) After that it was time to start the long journey Southwards to Koh Phangan. We got to the Chiang Mai Railway Station, a very nice, clean place, in plenty of time, and boarded the Special Express to Bangkok. It was an overnight sleeper train, with a little too much AC (you can’t win), but it was comfortable enough and we all had a good few hours of sleep. We arrived in Bangkok before 7am, and had 12 hours to kill before our bus to the South. Luckily we could store our bags at the train station, with the tour company that we bought our bus tickets from, V.C Travel and Tours, a very reputable company if you’re looking to tour around Thailand.

First stop was Lumphini Park, an easy three Metro stops from Hua Lamphong Railway Station. Here we wandered around, in an early morning daze, watching the Thai people enjoy their morning in the park. We found that there is a whole section of weights and gym equipment that the public exercise on for free, there were a few people doing Thai Chi classes, a group or two of older people singing together, and people some just walking through the park to work.

Watching the Monitor Lizzards in the river

Next we decided to visit the Dusit Zoo. It was a fair distance from Lumphini so we took the bus to the Victory Monument and from there we walked, and we walked, and we walked, until we eventually found the zoo! What fun we had, looking at all the different animals. There were deer and binturong, bears and sharks, chimpanzees and lions, panthers and snakes, elephants and birds and monkeys of all shapes and sizes.

Albino Golden Thai Python

Hippo showing us her teeth!

We spent hours and hours looking at all the animals, and eventually, when we were starving and tired, stopped for lunch and headed back to the station by bus. Luckily, after such a long, hot, sweaty day, there were nice cold showers at the station that we could, and did, use. By that time, it was almost 5pm and we could relax with our books until the bus trip.

We had originally been told to be very careful with all of our valuables and belongings, as the buses going down South were known to be dodgy with the baggage. Some people have told us that someone sat in the bottom “cargo hold” of their bus with all of their bags and picked the locks and went through them looking for anything useful or valuable to steal. We were extra paranoid about getting our valuables stolen, and spent a good while securing all of our bags properly. Then we boarded the bus at 7pm and hoped for the best. Thailand also seems to be one of those places, like India, were you are shoved around from place to place and no one tells you exactly what is happening. On one of these unexplained moments, and there were many along the way, we sat for an hour on the side of the road, waiting for some unexplained thing to happen, whether it did or not we will never know, but we eventually made it to Surat Thani at around 6am. Well, I say we made it to Surat Thani, but to be honest, I can’t say for sure where we were dumped, as there were no signs or names in sight. We were dumped on the side of the road at a cafe, where another 30 people lay sleeping, clearly having already been dumped earlier that morning, and waited for the next instructions. We were each given a sticker with the name of our destination on it. Every so often a “mini-bus” would pull up and call a destination, and those people would scurry to get their bags and off they went to their island of choice. Eventually, after about 2 long hours of waiting, the ‘Koh Phangan bus’ arrived and we got on, hoping for a quick bus ride to the ferry pier. The bus stopped yet another three or four times before getting going but after about half an hour, we were on the open road, wind howling through the open windows and a very loud, skipping Linkin’ Park song playing on the stereo speakers. At about 9:30am we arrived at the pier, looking like we’d been dragged through a bush backwards, in two-day old clothes. No matter, a quick bowl of fried noodles for breakfast and a toilet stop and we were on our way to the ferry to the island.

Waiting on the side of the road in Surat Thani

A quick aside about the people on this ferry… In Leh we explained that there were lots of tourists, but the good kind, see this post on Leh to read it again. However, this ferry was FULL of tourists, like us, between the ages of 20 and 25, but not the good kind. I should have expected it, considering we are arriving on the island of the Full Moon Party (click here to read about what the full moon party is), but these young people seem really arrogant, rich and demanding. A far cry from the happy-go-lucky, tree-loving tourists in Leh.

The ferry took little over 2 hours, plus a good 45 minutes of waiting on the boat before we left, so by the time we got the beautiful island, it was lunchtime. Swarms of taxis waited on the pier to round up the tourists heading to the different beaches, and we headed through them, into the town of Thong Sala to find some lunch and plan our next move. After a healthy bowl of noodle soup and a fruit smoothie, we were ready to trawl the beaches for a place to stay. We took a taxi to Baan Kai, 80 Baht each, and started our walk up the beach asking at every bungalow for an available room. Not long after we started, and a short distance up the sunset beach, we found a little piece of heaven with an available bungalow at the Golden Beach Resort. Its not a luxury hotel, just 3 beds and a bathroom but our view is spectacular and beach is a few metres from our balcony. Paradise? I think so.

View from our room at the Golden Beach Resort

D x

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11 Jul 2011 · 6:00 PM

Elephant mahout, a humbling experience

When we came to Chiang Mai, all I wanted to do was see an elephant, but it can be pricey and our budget isn’t what you would call lenient. However, when my parents offered to pay for us to go on the elephant mahout day trip, we jumped at the opportunity. Little did we know that we would not only see the elephants but feed them, learn to ride them, and bath with them in the river. The experience was nothing less than incredible and the money WELL worth it, (even though we didn’t have to pay for it ourselves). The camp that we went to was called the Baan Chang Elephant Camp and is really well-run by Woody, a guy who has grown up with the elephants and trained them from a young age. The fees (upwards of 2400 Baht per person) are used exclusively to buy food (and elephants eat a lot!!) for the 8 or so elephants who live on the camp, and to pay their handlers who care for them day and night (interestingly, elephants only sleep for approximately 3 hours each night).

Below are some photos of our day at the camp!

Elephant Chair

Learning the commands from up top

"Yuut" to stop, "Baai" to go

Time for us to try out all of the commands we have learned on our own on a walk in the jungle!

Stopping for a short break in the jungle

Time for a dip in the river

Bath time-scrubbing the elephants clean!

Having fun in the river

Lots of fun!

The elephants and our group

Big strong elephant

Time to say Goodbye

If you would like to know more about the camp or book it for yourself (they also do 2 or more day camps) visit Woody’s blog on www.woodyelephanttraining.com and check out the photo gallery page in the next few days to see more photos of us in action! :)

D, T and M x

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06 Jul 2011 · 6:29 PM

Delhi Belly to Bangkok

On Monday when we jumped on the plane in Delhi we were full of excitement. Not because we were happy to leave India, it has been a spectacular time, full of colour, mountains, people and smells (some good, some not so good), but rather because were were traveling again. It is such a buzz knowing that you are on your way to another different place! Bangkok hasn’t let us down!

One thing that was very clear when we alighted was that we were not getting away from the heat or the humidity… not on your life! It has been a consistent 30+ degrees celcius since we arrived, broken only by small, heavenly stops in air-conditioned airports, trains and hostel lobbies. You are acutely aware of this novelty once you have been traveling in India for a few weeks. For those who have been in Bangkok before you probably think it’s a fairly grimy city, but once you have been to Mumbai, Delhi, Agra and Kolkata you gain a bit of perspective and Bangkok becomes a shimmering pearl of a city on the banks of the Chao Phraya! Please don’t misinterpret this as me saying that Indian cities aren’t beautiful, they are some of the most beautiful I have seen in my limited travels, but they aren’t exactly hygienic and it’s pretty awesome to not worry about falling ill when sampling the local fare.

Local fruit and veg

This has led on well, the food here is to die for. Dom and I both enjoy Thai food and often eat from the local Thai restaurant back home in Cape Town. This place has really blown me away though because whatever I was dreaming and wishing it would be, it is better! Thai prawns and sweet and sour veg for lunch, spicy pork with noodles for dinner, battered and fried banana slices for snacks and fresh fruit like you have never (ever) seen before! And the greatest thing… it’s ridiculously inexpensive and filling food! Too much for me…. Oh, the beer and “soda-in-a-bag” are great too!

Soda-in-a-bag

A small excited feeling has been growing in us over the past week because my sister is joining us in Thailand for two weeks from tomorrow!!! So the URT increases to three Saffas tomorrow, fun huh? And before we forget, our great friend Jade is also planning to pop over so we are going to be having a fun-friend-filled time in T minus 12 hours, yippee!

Patpong Road

More on the sights and sounds and smells tomorrow. For now, sleep… we must catch the 6am train to the airport to meet a no-doubt tired Marion (sans her luggage after ACSA left it in Cape Town) and this is troublesome for our holiday accustomed bodies! Nighty night!

Trist out!

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05 Jul 2011 · 5:49 PM

The things that I love, and love to hate, about India

Over the past three weeks we have been shocked and surprised and downright disgusted, but recently we have learnt that some of those things that are ridiculous about India, are also quite endearing. Those things, I will miss as we leave this place for our next destination, and then there are some things I will definitely not miss… Here are some things about India that I will never forget:

The song of the Chai Wallas as you walk past them on a street or in the corridor of a train, singing: Chai chai chai chai chai chai in a monotone, and then they stop and say it once more in a higher pitched question to make sure you didn’t miss out.

The Good Day “Rich Butter Cookies,” a staple snack for Westerners and Indians alike.

The colours of the clothes that the Indian women wear. No matter who it is, from young to old, they wear the brightest and most ornate saris and cloths…and they look beautiful in them, something I could not pull off without looking like a Christmas tree.

Beautiful bright coloured Saris

The animals, from cows to ponies to donkeys to camels to every kind of mutt you can think of, the animals rule the streets and they never cease to amaze me.

A camel-cart in Agra

The way the Indian people set up camp in the railway stations and bus stations: they arrive, lay out some blankets, sit/lie down in the middle of the platform, pull out their food and drinks and settle in for the long wait…and there will be a long wait, no matter what time you arrive.

The endless stares from everybody, wherever we go, whatever we do, they stare. From the tiniest two-year-old to the oldest grandmother, men, women, they indignantly stare right into your eyes, and then turn around to have another look, as if you’re an animal in the zoo.

The way many people come up to us and ask for a photograph and then thrust a baby into your arms and say, “smile.” And its not over yet, then its one with the aunty and one with the uncle and one with the little children too.

The plea of the shopkeepers, “Looking is free, no buy, just come inside and look” and then once you step inside and look around (if you dare), they start to bargain, “only Rs100, how much you pay, Rs80, cheap price, no expensive.”

They way the people latch onto English words and use them endlessly. For example:

“German Bakery”: A place that sells croissants and cakes, of any kind.
“English Beer and Wine shop”: If you’re lucky it will sell beer, sometimes only whiskey, and never wine.
“Share Jeep”: Any type of SUV or just a car that you can buy a seat in to travel from one city to another, mostly in the mountains. Note, middle seats are pricier and if you want to have a back seat to yourself, you pay a premium.

The "liquor" store in India

How we are pushed aside and pushed in front of in any queue. Whether you’re at the bank, or the airport, don’t bother standing in a queue because some one will just walk in front of you and ignore you.

The way the officials have a system, that they probably don’t understand, but they do it anyway, because it has always been done that way. The worst part is that they won’t tell you what the process is, or why. They will just take your passport (and you later find out  that they went to the next door shop to photocopy it), while you stand there mouth gaping, wondering if you should go after them or if they will ever give your passport back.

Lastly, but certainly not least, the one thing I will always remember about India are the smells. From the sweet, cinnamon smell of chai being brewed on the street; to the smell of incense wafting out of a roadside shrine; to the stench of  sewerage water running down the gutter…India has the most complex mix of smells of any country I have visited before.

If you start to build a picture of India in your mind from these idiosyncrasies, then I hope that this makes you intrigued enough to visit the place one day. Although a tough place to visit, India has taught us so much about ourselves and the world, an experience we wouldn’t pass up for all the Chai in India :)

This is where all the action happens :)

The past couple of days we have been on the move, getting ready for our next move to Thailand. We flew from New Delhi (out of a beautifully clean and sparkly airport) to Kolkata (a not so beautiful and not at all clean airport) and this morning we left Kolkata again to arrive in a pristine clean (well, compared to India anyway) Bangkok this evening. We were sad to leave India after all, but ready to experience a whole new culture in Thailand.

D x

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02 Jul 2011 · 9:19 PM

Trading in our Sleep Sacks for Silk Sheets

The 18-hour bus trip from Manali to Delhi on Tuesday/Wednesday was uncomfortable and uneventful. Once we arrived in Delhi, and felt a bit more confident this time than the last, we had a cup of chai and found an internet café to plan our next move. We had decided that it made sense to head straight to Agra rather than try to find accommodation in Delhi for one night. We soon discovered that there were many trains to Agra each day, but

Busy Delhi

we had to use the Foreign Tourist Office at the station to book tickets, as all the local seats were apparently already sold. So off we went to this little piece of A/C heaven in the New Delhi Train Station, first floor to be exact. It was a simple task, fill out a form detailing where and when you would like to go, and wait in a queue to speak to a consultant. About an hour later, we had a ticket to Agra and were on our way to find a spot of lunch. The Connaught Place area of Delhi is vibey and full of shops selling everything from bracelets to mangoes. We found a good, clean restaurant and even had our hands hennaed while we waited for our food. Outside the glass doors of the restaurant we watched massive bulls pulling carts full of all sorts of goodies trundle by. By just after 5:30pm we were ready to board the train, and after a brief panic seeing the condition of the train, we found our 2nd class A/C cabin and settled in for the 4-hour journey.

We arrived in Agra around 10pm, and found a taxi to take us straight to the Taj Plaza Hotel. Look out for the prepaid taxis, they have certification and can give you a fixed price according to where you are going. According to Solomon, our taxi driver, in Agra there’s “No hurry, no worry, no chicken curry” and in order to drive, what you need is a good horn, good brakes and a bit of good luck. This is definitely the theme throughout India, where you hoot to say you’re passing somebody, you hoot to say you’re behind someone, you hoot to say you’re in front of someone…you get the point. Solomon also informed us that we had come to Agra at the perfect time, as the Taj Mahal was free to enter all day (normally Rs750/$17/R115 each) on Thursday to commemorate the death day of the the commissioner of the palace, Shar Jehan. Once we got there, the Taj Plaza Hotel was pretty clean, and the staff were friendly, average by our backpacker standards. We couldn’t expect much for Rs400 per night ($9/R60). We even had a view of the Taj from the terrace upstairs, considering the hotel was only 600m from the East Gate, we were quite happy with our online booking, even if it was only available for the first two nights of our stay in Agra.

The view of the Taj from the Taj Plaza hotel...not bad for Rs400 per night!

The following morning we woke up at 5:30am to head to the Taj Mahal when we were told there would be minimal people. Already by 6am, there were rickshaw wallas milling around the streets trying to get us to take a ride down the road to the East Gate. It was a fresh morning, a light sprinkle of rain, and we were excited to see the Taj so we took a brisk walk to wake ourselves up. We arrived at the first gate to be searched and then walked through the courtyard to the main gate. There we had our first sight of the spectacular marble building through the archways of red sandstone.

First view of the Taj

My first impression of the Taj was just as you would expect, it took my breath away.  From the sweeping gardens in front, to the long thin ponds reflecting the Taj in their surfaces, the sight is one to behold. Even the many pictures I have seen of this icon throughout my life cannot convey the beauty of it in real life. There were already people there by the time we got in, and joined by the many tour guides and people willing to take your photo on the bench where Lady Di sat (for a fee), the crowd was growing, even at this early hour. We wandered around the gardens, having a look and a photo from every angle, and even had few (obligatory) photos with the locals. From up close, the translucent white marble of the tomb is

The jewel encrusted entrance to the Taj Mahal

encrusted with millions of semi-precious stones arranged in flower decorations (called Pachi Kari) over the doorways and around the walls. Inside, although pretty dark at this time of the morning, you can run your fingers over the walls and feel the stones under your fingers. Marble latticed (called Jaali) screens surround the two replica coffin-shaped structures, one smaller, for Mumtaz Mahal and one larger, for Shar Jehan himself. Whereas downstairs, lie the actual cenotaphs (coffins) sweating with condensation from the heat of the summer. After a good few hours, we left the Taj, ready for breakfast and to catch up on some much needed sleep.

We awoke that afternoon to the sound of a parade winding its way to the Taj, so we headed out to join the celebrations. Loudspeakers filled the air with singing and young children held reams of coloured material above their heads forming a multi-coloured line snaking along the road. Heading back into the East Gate, we were this time surrounded by thousands of people in stark contrast to the peacefulness of the early morning, but just as enjoyable. The Taj itself had changed colour only slightly to match the midday haze, but the bright colours of the womens saris filled the gardens and made the sight even more spectacular than before. However, before long we had had enough of being jostled around, and T, having had a baby thrust into his arms to have a photograph taken, was ready to leave!

Taj Mahal

The Taj during the festival

On the way back to the hotel, we popped into the Oberoi Amarvilas Hotel which was right next door to ours, to see if we could say hi to the GM and his wife, who are long lost family of mine.  We managed to chat to them for a few minutes but they were, of course, busy so we left our number and headed back to our hotel. After watching the most spectacular storm roll in, we showered and had dinner in the restaurant downstairs. After dinner we got a call from Ali, to ask if we would like to join her for breakfast and catch up. Of course, we accepted and the next morning, headed next door to the Amarvilas to a hearty English breakfast and some freshly squeezed orange juice…heavenly! After a quick tour of the Amarvilas, it was time to go as we had to check out of our hotel and take a rickshaw down to the next hotel we had booked. We settled into the Sai Palace Hotel, this one even closer to the Taj, and organised a tour to Agra Fort for the late afternoon. While we were waiting and enjoying a cold drink in our room, we got another call from Ali this time explaining that their spare room had become available and would we please come and stay with them for the next two nights.

The Oberoi Amarvilas

I was so taken aback at their generosity that at first I said that we would stay at the Sai Palace that night as we had already paid and that if it was okay we would come to them the following evening. However, after coming to my senses I realised that this was an opportunity not to be missed, so I phoned Ali back and accepted their kind invitation. Soon after that we got in an auto-rickshaw headed for the Agra Fort.

The auto-rickshaw bound for Agra Fort

The fort is located on a site that has been occupied by some form of fortification since the mid 12th century but when King Babar conquered the existing ruler he built an extension to the fortifications. Eventually when his son Akbar took over the throne of the Mughal Empire in he 1500s he started construction of the red sandstone fort that is located on the banks of the Yamuna today. It is really more of a walled city than a military fort and contains all of the imperial residences as well as the Hareem and various other important buildings like the treasury. It is the detail that really catches the eye though and it is something to behold, every wall has detailing on top of it and every pillar and internal area is carved with patterns and murals that makes this place one of the most impressive we have seen in India.

Detailed sculpture at the Agra Fort

After the fort, we picked up our bags again and headed back to the Amarvilas. We were met at every door by welcoming, friendly staff and cool, air-conned rooms, a far cut above our previous standard of living, and a welcome break from the budget lifestyle of the previous month. We spent the evening catching up with Ali over drinks, and eating divine food, all while admiring the Taj from above. After dinner I relaxed in a hot bubble bath – my indulgence – and T watched the Wimbledon while sipping a whiskey.

   

The bathroom at the Sai Palace

The bathroom at the Oberoi Amarvilas

Today was another fantastic day… From the delicious room-service breakfast this morning, to a visit to Fatehpur Sikri, to an afternoon lazing by the pool. We are being thoroughly spoilt, so much so that I worry that going back to living on a budget will be harder than before! Getting used to this kind of luxury is pretty easy! :)

Club Sandwich for lunch...yummy!

Trist chilling in the pool

Fatehpur Sikri was built by the Mughal King Akbar in 1571, when he moved the capital of his empire to a new walled city just outside of Agra. It is an incredible architectural wonder, with enormous public spaces, beautifully carved private areas and enormous imposing walls and gateways. It is certainly worth a visit!

Fatehpur Sikri

This evening we were treated to another fantastic dinner, this time at the Trident hotel, a sister hotel to the Oberoi Amarvilas. I must just say a big thank you to Nigel and Ali Badminton who took us in and spoilt us rotten these past two days. Tomorrow its back to reality, a train to Delhi and a very budget backpackers…but that’s half the adventure right? ;)

D x

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24 Jun 2011 · 6:00 PM

A Gasp of Fresh Himalayan Air

From the very beginning of our planning to come to India, we had in our minds a picture of Lake Pangong that our friend Amandine had shown us. This is what drove us hundreds of kilometres North to Ladakh, and to the town of Leh. It has been quite a trek, from Delhi to Srinigar – a nice but quite unnecessary stop – and then the looong drive from Srinigar to Leh. The final stretch to Pangong Tso will be another 5-hour 4×4 trip tomorrow morning and then we start the whole journey back to Delhi on Sunday! In hindsight, it may have been wiser, and cheaper, to book a return flight to Leh from Delhi in advance. Saying that though, we wouldn’t change what we did for anything – we have seen places we didn’t even know existed, and travelled roads that we will never forget!! It has been quite the adventure, to say the least :)

A Buddhist gong

As much of a mission as it has been, it was worth it to see the town of Leh. If I had to describe the town in one word it would be to say it is “mellow.” The atmosphere here, although meteorologically thin and dry, is very peaceful and relaxed and the people are happy and friendly, maybe because of the large population of Buddhist Monks. Due to the town being virtually uninhabitable in the winter, the people migrate for the summer months

Some of the local women in the street

from all over India and also come from Tibet and Nepal. This makes the town contrast with the other Indian cities that we have visited and many of the people here have oriental features although still Indian by birth. The most notable thing is that there are a lot more European tourists here. Whether it is the cooler climate or the friendly people, there are more tourists here than anywhere we have seen in India (granted, we haven’t seen Goa/Kerala and the South of India yet). However, although most people would say that a lot of tourists is a bad thing, the tourists here are very different to those you may find on the beaches in the South. These tourists are here to blend in, not to be loud and demanding, but rather to meditate, go trekking and generally enjoy the local culture. In actual fact, we don’t fit in here at all!

Most people who come here from Europe and America spend a few weeks or months here in Ladakh and go trekking into the Himalayas for days or weeks at a time, before coming back to Leh to refuel. They all wear loose fitting colourful clothes, hippy style, and most have dreadlocks in their hair. Not unlike someone you would find frequenting the outdoor music festivals in Cape Town. And they definitely don’t carry their cameras around on their shoulders ready for an opportunity to jump out at them, like we do :)

This mixture of people makes the town quite modern and mostly caters to these trekkers. There are five types of shops:

-       Internet cafes: full of people like us, keeping in touch with home.

-       Souvenir shops: selling pashminas, Tibettan jewellery, sculptures and Kashmiri crafts.

-       Trekking/Tour agencies: organising treks and putting like-minded people together to fill tours.

-       Trekking equipment stores: making sure that you can get everything you need to go trekking right here in Leh.

-       Corner shops: selling everything from Pepsi to Maggi (any type of 2-minute noodles) to all types of beauty products. You name it, they have it.

Of course then, there are restaurants and guesthouses in between, but it is quite fascinating that these businesses survive considering how saturated the market is. Going back to my economics theory, supply definitely exceeds the demand here! Be that as it may, the people are not starving and we haven’t seen anyone here that doesn’t have a home to go to at the end of the day.

For that reason, and maybe a few others, Leh is really safe. The people are honest and very trusting, if you don’t have the correct change, don’t worry, just come back and pay later. In contrast to the big cities in India, here we can walk around freely at 10pm without worrying about crime or anything like that, just as long as you don’t mind dodging late night jeeps, wandering packs of dogs and the occasional cow.

A few of the donkeys taking a stroll down the main street...

It is a small town and we have actually seen most of it in just the few days that we have been here. For the first couple of days we took it really easy as just walking up a flight of stairs left us breathless, but after many slow walks up to the Main Bazaar, we slowly started to acclimatise to the very thin, 3500m high air. Eventually we were “fit” enough to walk ALL the way to the top of the town to the Leh palace, only about 2km from our guesthouse but on a hill, so quite a challenge. The palace is not what you would call beautiful, from the outside anyway, but the words majestic and fascinating definitely come to mind. From up close, it is massive, and it would certainly have been quite a feat to build up there on the hill in the 1600’s. The view from up there is fantastic, with the 6000m plus Stok Khangri mountain covered in snow in the background and the “colourful” town of Leh in the foreground, it makes for a very pretty picture.

Ruined Royal Palace built in the 1600's

The dusty but beautiful view from the palace

Surrounding the palace is the old town made up of little square mud-brick houses, which seem deserted at first, but with a closer look you find the old woman washing her clothes outside on the step, and another sitting in the doorway knitting thick socks to sell to trekkers. The doors and windows are only just tall enough for me to fit through, some even smaller, and the walls are crumbling in places giving them a charm that no decorator could plan. Coming down through little dusty passageways we found a massive tree, the Sacred Tree planted by a Guru many years ago “to bring greenery to highest deserts and into the hearts of the people.” It seems to have done its job well.

D x

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