My first stop in India was Karol Bagh, New Delhi. Even though it was a whopping 35 degrees at 1 o'clock in the morning, I was never more happy to have 20 kg on my back with my feet firmly on the ground. My flight from Dubai to Delhi was a little traumatic to say the least. Due to stormy weather we circled the airport for over 1 hour, making 3 turbulent attempts to land. After listening to 60 minutes (it felt like a lifetime!) of most of the cabin screaming for their lives, the captain calmly informed us to brace ourselves as we were about to attempt yet another "safe" landing. Only after we finally touched ground did I truly know the meaning of the all too familiar phrase "I wanted to kiss the ground!!!"
Once that feeling and the terrible fear of flying had worn off, I caught a Kingfisher flight north to Srinagar in Kashmir. Kashmir's scenery and landscapes just took my breath away, it's heaven on Earth. My accommodation for the first few days was a houseboat on the Dal lake, where I befriended a charming Kashmir family, owners of many houseboats and other touristic establishments around India. The days were spent chilling on the roof with fellow backpackers and watching locals and tourists pass by in what they call Shikaras. It was amazing how many species of birds we spotted, especially birds of prey (Scott, you would have loved it!!), circling over head in search of dinner. I loved Dal lake with it's lotus flowers, water lillies, it's floating vegetable garden and many little islands where you can stop off for a picnic. I took a trip or 2 in and around Srinagar to see the 14th century Shah Hamadan Mosque (made entirely of wood) and the many surrounding colourful Mughal gardens.
After lounging around doing hardly anything for a few days I felt impelled to do something active so I signed up for a week's trekking in the Himalayas. The first night at base camp was with most of the backpackers from the houseboat, sitting around the fire playing cards and watching shooting stars. On the 2nd day I set off by myself with 2 young guides, 2 horses carrying all our gear and Abdul my chef for the week. This incredible man really made an impression on me. An elderly gentleman full of energy, able to function on 2 hours sleep a night, stamina of a young mountain goat skipping his way up the side of steep mountain faces (whilst chain smoking the entire time), and being able to cook a mean Kashmiri curry on just a tiny hob fueled by kerosene. Whilst trekking I froze when out of the blue, from no where a black bear appeared and walked straight across my path! Another incredible sight to see, I think my heart and lungs stopped functioning until it had scrambled out of our view. Some people do these treks for months on end, a week out in the wilderness and being cut off from the world was more than enough for me. This is something I would recommend anyone to do, the beauty and experience itself is mind blowing! Not only does it challenge your physical fitness, your mental strength is also put to the test.
I returned to Karol Bagh, New Delhi to see some of the sights but more to savour being back in civilization again. During those few days I found a good drinking buddy (coffee as well as beer) named Hannah and I also met another fellow traveler named Guillaume. Most evenings were spent in the QBA on Connught Place where we made good use of their Happy hour. One evening we had the opportunity to gatecrash a promotional party in a 5 star Hotel! What can I say but I could not pass on an opportunity to drink free vodka and orange by a pool and talk to drunk rich people for a whole night.
Once the recuperation process was once again complete I set off to Rajasthan (Including Agra) for 10 days with my own personal driver called Sunil. Sunil became another good friend along my journey. 2 nights were spent in Jaipur with a lovely Chilian lady called Sol, we done the City Palace and Amber Fort and we also had the opportunity to experience a true Indian Wedding and watch our 1st Bollywood movie (Taskan, recommend watching it, if only for the random burst of song in between some great action shots) in the local cinema. Next was Udaipur, a fairytale city full of marble palaces and lakes surrounded by hills. It has the largest City Palace in Rajasthan, built and added on by 22 different Maharanas. I also took a stroll through the Saheliyan Ki Bari, an 18th century queen's garden full of roses and lotus pools.
Then it was on to Pushkar, a pilgrim town of lakes and 400 temples where I got some henna done on my hand and then my final Rajasthan stop was Ranthambhore National Park where I done 2 safari's and saw a Tiger in the flesh from about 300m, give or take a few metres!
Because of the Gujjar situation going on in Rajasthan, Sunil and I had to turn back (while making our way to Agra) and stay an extra night in Ranthambhore. Our first attempt to escape was unsuccessful due to a burning truck in the middle of the road. Whilst hanging back (from a fair distance) to see if it would clear we befriended yet more local people looking for a free cigarette. Sunil & I made the most of the situation and took a spin back to the nearest town to grab a beer and past the time until the road cleared...we were out of luck that day...it didn't! Our second attempt the following day was a 200km detour on mostly dirt roads. Sunil was on a mission, he would not let me leave India without seeing the Taj Mahal..bless him! With Sunil's expertise is blind corner overtaking and playing chicken with on coming traffic, I think I had my fingernails in the car dashboard for most of the 10 days. The amount of funny stuff I seen on the roads...Indian buses with bodies hanging off everywhere, one hand hanging on for dear life and the other used to talk on a mobile phone, The Indian Spidermen as Sunil called them. Traffic going the wrong direction on motorways, cyclists catching a free ride off the back of speeding trucks and I even saw a guy on the back of a motorbike sitting on a huge milk drum...just comical! The detour was well worth the adventure and stress as I got to see India's most admired masterpiece, another thing struck off my list!
On my return to Delhi Sunil invited me back to meet his family and have some homemade food...again I could not resist! I found his family (To be honest my experience with all Indian people) to be so welcoming and warm, the wedding album was even taken out at one stage and I was given a full rundown of the Happy couple's special day.
Last stop was a trip to Bangalore to see my good friend Jose and his wife Carrie. I was pampered a little and even got my laundry done. It was so great to see them again and to see them happy with their move to India. No sight seeing was done apart from going to the Leela Hotel for their cheap (massive) buffet and of course I took the opportunity to catch up on some sleep. I was sad to leave India after a month of madness, I was very tempted to extend my stay but my schedule is tight as it is..best to leave on a good note and on to discover new people and cultures.
To see just a few of the thousands of pictures I took you can click on the link below:
Incredible India AlbumHope you enjoy...I certainly did! :-)
Dubai I experienced thanks to a very hospitable friend named Sara, who drove me around this crazily rich place which could also be described as an entire construction site. Imagine my horror when I was told that you had to have a license to buy alcohol, I soon calmed down after my friend informed me that she lived right next door to The Irish Village where alcohol was easily purchasable and plentiful. We drove out on one of the 3 man-made Palm Islands, a huge project to be finish within the next 10-15 years. A spin was taken down Sheikh Zayed Road and several strolls along Jumeirah beach admiring the many huge and expensive properties, only in my wildest dreams could I imagine myself living here!
