Hi everyone,
Since the last post we have been quite a few more places. As mentioned at the end of the last post, we did a two day camel safari through the desert of Jailsamer which was fantastic. We got to sleep out under the stars which you can see from the photos we posted. It was pretty darn hot though which meant we had to spend the majority of the middle of the day under a tree relaxing and drinking chai, such a hard task. :)
From there we headed east to Jaipur, which was really just a stop off on the way to Agra and the Taj Mahal. Jaipur is known as the pink city as when the sun sets, all the walls turn pink. We wandered around seeing a few sites before heading to the Raj Mandir Cinema (the number one Hindi cinema in India) to watch the latest Bollywood hit “Drona”. It was interesting to say the least. We were expecting a big song and dance spectalcular, instead we we given a part fantasy, part action, part something we never wish to see again!
Next up was Agra. The draw card here is the Taj Mahal, but we spent 3 days exploring further out and were rewarded with some other impressive sights as well. Fetehpur Sikri was 40km away and included one of the more impressive mosques we’ve seen. We also checked out the Agra fort which gave some nice distance views of the Taj. The Taj Mahal was every bit as amazing as we were expecting and it will definetly be hard for India to top it.
From Agra we went to a small village town called Orchha, which is more temples but in a jungle setting. We were able to get up close and personal with some at one point climbing through a pitch black staircase to get to the roof of a temple. The views were great, even if we were being watched by hungry vultures.
After a quick stay in Orchha we headed to Khajuraho which is famous for erotic carvings all over the dozens of temples in the area. The detail that was put into the carvings made the (out of the way) trip worth while.
Currently we are in Varanasi waiting a few hours for a train towards Nepal. We are not looking forward to it, as we have just seen that our waiting list tickets have been tranferred to 1 seat for both of us. That will be an interesting over night train if we can’t get something sorted out. Varanasi has been a pretty big culture shock, but a rewarding one none the less. We have spent our days wandering around the countless Ghats people watching. We have also taken a sunrise and sunset boat ride along the Ganges River. There are two Ghats (steps leading to the water) that are used for public cremations, which isn’t exactly a tourist attraction, but an interesting experience all the same.
I’ll leave it there for now and when we post again, it will be from Nepal. Below are some photos to keep you going until then!
All the best,
Glen and Robyn
The Palace of the winds, Jaipur.
A view of the Taj from the roof-top resteraunt of our hotel, Agra.
Fatehpur Sikri
Glen with his samosas, mmmmm!!!
The money shot of the Taj.
The view of the Taj from the other side of the river.
The sun setting in view of the Taj.
A local fisherman casting his line in Orchha.
A temple, as seen from the palace in Orchha.
A lady carrying a load on her head, Orchha.
Robyn buying some bananas, her new favourite fruit!
The colours of the local market, Orchha.
The temples of Khajuraho.
One of the erotic panels on the temples of Khajuraho.
Our mode of transport around Khajuraho.
The colours of one of the ghats along the Ganges River, Varanasi
The sunrise on the Ganges River.
A view of how many ghats line the Ganges in Varanasi.
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The places you have visited sounds fascinating. What a fantastic experience. You have some great pictures, I love the colours. Robyn, I thought you did not like bananas!!
niquita - Monday, Oct 27, 2008 14:07:31