Travel Life

21 juli 2016 - Agra, India

Time flies and so do the destinations we pass. By now I'm on the train to Delhi from Agra, this means we've yet to discuss Jaiselmer, Jodhpur, Jaipur and Agra. Here we go! Since its a lot, I would advice to read it in the parts as suggested. Let me know what you think!

Jodhpur (Part 1)
What I mostly liked about this place was the fort on top of the hill. It watches over the city and is the signature image of Jodhpur. It's impressive, huge and old. The first day we hiked to the top of the hill on which this fort rest and went inside to see the beauty of the palace and the views over the city. The way to the entry led us through a small market with a clock tower. The salesmen sold all kinds of things, from spices to vegetables and souvenirs to hashes. Everything you (don't) need can be found there somewhere. All the salesmen try to pitch there store and products within three seconds, shouting loud and trying to get your attention. Most probably compared to a Turkish Bazaar. You can't move without having 10 salesmen offering you stuff and many rikshaws willing to take you anywhere. This business can be seen as annoying, though it becomes part of the daily routine living and traveling here. You either ignore them or tell them friendly you're not interested and then ignore. After the market we passed some quiet and small streets leading to the entry way of the fort.

Ones we climbed to the top - and were soaked in sweat - we entered the fort and were hungry. Admission fee to the fort was raised to duble the usual amount, but we had to suck it. Inside we went to the small restaurant which offered fixed Indian meals. The food is good, though very touristic, meaning not too spicy and on the save side. The gravies were accompanied with rice and roti's. After our lunch break we went to explore the palace, which is too big to go into details, with lots if small alleys, big rooms and other chambers. Overseeing the city from the fort and palace shows the clear view of why Jodhpur is called the Blue city. From the top the glance of the city has a blue atmosphere, which is true to its name.

Refreshed at the hotel after our sweaty day we were ready for dinner. Maded an educated decision based on our intelectual statistics of TripAdvisor we went for a rooftop restaurant with a view on the fort. The food was nice and cold Kingfisher(Beer) fitted the occasion. During dinner we made our plan for day two: risk our lives in Indian traffic.

Second day: survival. After the breakfast we went out, a place near the train station was our destination. It rented out scooters, we were lucky they had two left, a more or less decent one (not based on facts) and mine... The acceleration of it was good, speeds up to 80 and the indicators worked, but, the breaks weren't too good, and in India you need those. All save and sound were went off to the rock park for a hike, driving there was again through some small streets with lots of traffic this time. We reached the rock park and joked around with the guard for a few moments. The park surrounds the fort and is a big part of the walls surrounding the old city. We hiked around for about two hours and had some nice views, I would advise to go there most definitely if you're in Jodhpur or India. After the Park we rushed around on our scooters, it's like GTA but then in real life, so crashing is not allowed. We reached speeds of 80 km/H which even amazed the rental guys. We drove to a lake and got a lot of attention of the local Indians, which screened to us followed on scooters and bikes. It was a fun day!

Jaiselmer Real Desert Safari. (Part 2)

Like last year I was exited to get to this place. It's in the thar desert next to Pakistan, which is a good friend of India. We went with the same safari guys as the last time when I was there (real desert man Safari), but took a different safari. Everything was arranged well, they picked us up from the train station and even hold a sign 'Welcome Maurice'. After a quick fresh up at the hotel, some lunch and a bit of wondering around, we went to the desert by Jeep surpassing some monumental sights. I took a shot at driving the jeep at an empty piece of land, most probably reached a speed of 10 km/h and drove 100 meters, but is was fun. If you ask enough in India everything is available and possible. After the jeep drive we arrived at a small village, where our beasts were weating. They were saddled up and waiting to show us around in their natural habitat. These camels were sweet, though I missed Mr. Lalu (my camel last time), but I've to admit that Mango was a good replacement. We spotted some deer, gekkos and insects during the camel back ride to the camp were we would spend the night.

After the ride it was time for what matters most and goes before everything in India: Chai. The safari guys made a fire and cooked some sweet chai which we enjoyed with the view of a desert sunset in the dunes. After chai time we went with the jeep to a small resort for dinner and a local dance. We enjoyed some beers (Bullet) and ate the thaly. Together with another 15/20 white people's who were there. After it was time to find our beds, the driver bought us back to the desert were we had some matresses and sheets to spend the night being sand blasted by desert winds. Around six we woke up to a wonderful sunset, which was followed by a light breakfast, before our guide went looking for the camels.

After a while one camel was found, the three camels wondered of in different direction. The guy quickly after found the other two as well after wich we packed all the stuff and went back to the village. This day we would explore jaiselmer a little more. We walked around in the fortress and had breakfast nr 2 on a rooftop with the view on the desert. It's interesting to see how many people have squeezed themselves inside this place. When the sightseeing and playing a tourist was done we went for food with an Hungarian couple at a place above the fort entrance, an Italian restaurant. We had met them in the desert during the safari and would later come acres them again in Jaipur and Agra.

Pink city (part 3)
Jaipur was a wrap up if Rajahastan, the Pink City as it's also known for. (Jodhpur is the Blue city and Udaipur the white). Jaipur is one of the more interesting place where there's a lot to do, even my third time visiting this city showed me some new sights. We arrived just past 5 a.m. with the train and slept a few hours before we pushed our sightseeing trip. First of to the Hawa Mahal, a palace build for the ladies so they could witness the city life without being seen. It's one of the most famous palaces from India and might be better know as the palace of winds. The inside was full with small hidden chambers and small alleys. Viewing the streets from the palace was not too special, but that might be because we're used to the street sight. Next up was the Amber Fort, they say it's in the top 10 of most beautiful fortresses in the world. We wanted to take a riskshaw but ended up getting a local bus. It wasn't too crowded, but we did get a lot of people looking at us. Thom and me had a small conversation, he was at the other side of the bus, and all heads of the other passengers turned to the one speaking each and every time.

After a short and cheap bus ride we entered the main gate of the Amber fort and Palace. Here you encounter huge elephants to pedal you up and down the fort, Jeeps to drive you there and a long stairway. Arriving at the top by feet a guide offered us his services for just 100rs, therefor we agreed, history and fact junkies as we are. The guide was a small shy guy, with a soft voice and some not too clear English, though we could understand him. He showed us the palace, told some history and took us to some not open for public places, I would advice to take a guide since you're able to ask questions and you will learn about the sight your seeing.

Cafe coffee a day, the saver of our day, we needed more caffeine, so we took it. At this Indian Starbucks replica the service was good and the coffee freshly roasted. It ensured we had the spirit and motivation to walk up the mountain to the next fort: Jaigarh Fort. I assume we lost about a liter of sweat going up there, because we made this stupid bet for 10rs, first one on top would have to pay it to the other. On were the races. At top we were soaked, nice detail right? :) this second forts' soles purpose was for the army. It was just massive, big and huge. It was build to last and win sieges, a fort meant to destroy anything trying to encounter it. You could oversee the whole region, city and amber fort. (Photos come with better Internet...) The size and ideas behind this fort amazed me and the tunnel to the amber fort to support it was another smart thing. The fort is also home to one of the largest and heaviest canons ever build, which is believed to be capable of firing about 35 km.

Relaxing isn't something that's on the travellers list too often. So we were happy when we got the invitation to join our Hungarian friends in their hotel at the pool and, to make it even better, with cold beer. For the first time in India we felt fresh and clean after taking a dive in this walhalla. We hade some good chats, talked about the India experiences and shared some gravies for dinner. It was a good day.

Next up would be Agra, which is too famous and a bit too touristic. More on this is for the next blog. I'll try to post photos when there's better Internet, but so far is has been disappointing.

Let me know which places in India in the North you would like to go!

Ge kunt de groeten krijgen!

Maurice

Foto’s

1 Reactie

  1. Nico:
    21 juli 2016
    Great stories, Maurice; a lot of fun to read !
    I would visit Varanassi in the north, but it's not included in your plans, is it ?
    Can't believe I'm writing in English to my son...