HOME for CHRISTMAS!!!

Just to let everyone who has been following our journey know that we are home safely in the UK and now in the midst of Christmas, unpacking and settling back into our UK lives. The end of the journey will be updated soon! 

Day 174 15 Dec Thur AGRA fort to JAIPUR

Ok... so Agra has the Taj Mahal, but it also has one of the finest Mughal forts in India - and Shah Jahan also had a hand in this one. The building, also on the banks of the Yamuna River, was initiated by Emperor Akbar in 1565 and gradually added to by the generations which followed - particularly by his grandson Shah Jahan who transformed it into a palace - mostly with white marble. The fort was primarily a military structure and ironically when he was overthrown by his son eight years later Shah Jahan was imprisoned here until he died twelve years later.

So it is here that we spend our last hours in Agra, exploring the grounds and maze of buildings, a city within a city.

 

 

The Taj Mahal just visible on the horizon through the mist and murk!

We are all tired though, a bit "palaced, templed and forted" out and our appetite for tours and new place is dwindling with each day that passes. Sadly the majority of the fort complex is off limits and one courtyard begins to look like the next and the next. We have a bus to catch to take us to Jaipur and so call time on the fort and promptly get stuck in a traffic jam "Indian style" as a herd of cattle is driven down the street stopping traffic for some time.

We finally arrive in Jaipur and, because we are travel weary and craving comfort, have blown the daily budget and booked a half decent hotel for the next two nights.Or so we think. A comfortable, clean, warm room with hot water and a few luxury touches are the order of the day - but the pick up from the bus station in a tuk tuk with a driver giving us the hard sell for his "tour" of the city the following day is just a taste of what is to greet us. The hotel is not as we had hoped, it is no better than we have been staying in throughout our time in India and yet it is more than three times the price. We all lose our sense of humour, cool and temper and after some protracted discussions we call our "reserve" hotel who send a driver to collect us. Ironically we would never have seen the spectacle of this wedding party weaving and dancing through the backstreets on their way to the wedding reception venue and the very loud fireworks which went with them, had it not been for he issues we had with the hotel. Every cloud has a silver lining!

 

  

We finally reach our much improved hotel 2 hours later than planned at 8.30pm.

Day 173 14 Dec Wed AGRA

We arrive in Agra at a ridiculous time and share a farcical taxi ride with some fellow travellers (our first Portuguese in 6 months). Having assured us that he knew the Hotel Sheela at the East Gate of the Taj Mahal - we pass the hour from 2.30 AM touring the back streets of Agra in the vain hope of stumbling across the right place. In the end the driver wakes a sleeping doorman of another hotel and gets directions - moaning bitterly for most of the journey. We all fall into bed, bleary eyed and cold, but grateful to have finally reached the hotel!

We are in Agra for one reason - and one reason only - the same reason as most of the other annual 2 million visitors through its; gates - The Taj Mahal. In truth there is really nothing else to see in Agra (with the exception of the Red Fort) and here, as in Khajuraho, we are beseiged by touts almost as soon as we have stepped out of our hotel room door- bizarrely they seem to be doing a very hard sell on fridge magnets!! We manage to resist the urge to stock up and locate the ticket office (a kilometre away from the gate) and board the electric golf cart which shuttles us to the entrance. Only non polluting vehicles are allowed within a few hundred metres of the building since the restoration project of 2002.

 

The Taj Mahal complex is bounded on three sides by crenellated red sandstone walls, with the river-facing side left open and we enter through the main gateway, a monumental structure some 30m high, its' archways mirroring the shape of the tomb's archways, and its pishtaq arches incorporating the calligraphy from the Qu'ran that decorates the main tomb. It is through this arch that we get our first sight of the magnificent  and truly breathtaking wonder of the world that is the Taj Mahal - glistening against the beautiful clear blue sky and reflected in the watercourse which stretches along the length of the formal garden in front.

The Taj Mahal is widely recognized as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage."  The truly breathtaking white marble mausoleum built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal who died giving birth to his 14th child. Legend has it that he was so heartbroken that his hair turned grey overnight.  In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While the white domed marble mausoleum is the most familiar component of the Taj Mahal, it is actually an integrated complex of structures. The construction began around 1632 and was completed around 1653, employing  around 20,000 artisans and craftsmen.

It sits on a raised marble platform with its back to the Yamuna River and 40 m high (purely decorative) minarets grace each corner. After three centuries they are not quite perpendicular, but may have been designed to lean slightly outwards so that in the event of an earthquake they would fall away from the precious Taj.

We cant resist taking this photo! 

As we walk towards the main structure we notice these chaps mowing the lawn - not quite sure why the mower needed pushing and pulling... but they seemed to be making heavy work of it!

 

The main structure is made of semi translucent white marble which actually sparkles in the sunlight, carved with flowers and inlaid with thousands of semi precious stones in beautiful patterns. The perfectly symmetrical building, there are four identical faces, featuring vaulted arches with verses from the Qu'ran in inlaid jasper and topped with four small domes surrounding the famous central dome.

 

It is a truly breathtaking and awesome place and another "Handley Adventure WOW moment"! 

We reluctantly say our goodbyes to this marvellous place, take one last look back and then enjoy the sunset and a rooftop beer overlooking the Taj complex.

 

Travelling doesnt get much better than this...

Day 172 13 Dec Tues KHAJARAHO TO AGRA

 Our last morning in Khajuraho is spent enjoying a late (if chilly) brunch in the rooftop restaurant which has fed us during our stay here- the Agrasen. It overlooks out hotel and gives us a good vantage point from which to watch all the comings and goings on the street below. 

 

The only real excitement was on a quick stroll to the ATM where we came across this gorgeous litter of piglets living on a rubbish pile. One of the things which has kept the girls interested throughout our trip has been the wildlife we have encountered - yes - even garbage hogs!

Abed Khan collects us mid afternoon and we squeeze into his little car and are delivered safely to the station to catch our last train in India, overnight to Agra.

Day 171 12 Dec Mon KHAJURAHO

Khajuraho is about 620 kilometres southeast of New Delhi, and one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. is known for its world famous temples and their exquisite architecture and sculpture.
The temple town of Khajuraho is very different from any other temple city of India.

It is not about religion and worshipping and deities but  is known for its world famous temples and their exquisite architecture and sculpture. The10th-11th century temples of Khajuraho are instead famous for the eroticism etched on its walls in the form of sculptures. It is said that in a fit of passion and lust, the Moon God seduced and ravaged a beautiful Brahmin girls known as Hemvati, resulting in the birth of Chandravarman (the founder of the Chandela dynasty). Later, Chandravarman had a dream where his mother requested him to make a temple, which would reveal all aspects of the treasure of passion and erotic fantasy to the world. The Khajuraho Group of Monuments has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is considered to be one of the "seven wonders" of India.


The city was the cultural capital of Chandela Rajputs, a Hindu dynasty that ruled this part of India from the 10-12th centuries. The political capital of the Chandelas was Kalinjar. The Khajuraho temples were built over a span of 200 years, from 950 to 1150. The Chandela capital was moved to Mahoba after this time, but Khajuraho continued to flourish for some time. Khajuraho has no forts because the Chandel Kings never lived in their cultural capital.

The whole area was enclosed by a wall with eight gates, each flanked by two golden palm trees. There were originally over 80 Hindu temples, of which only 25 now stand in a reasonable state of preservation, scattered over an area of about 20 square kilometres (8 sq mi). Today, the temples serve as fine examples of Indian architectural styles that have gained popularity due to their explicit depiction of sexual life during medieval times.

We start our visit with an argument about our small hand held tripod which is apparently a security risk. In the end we are allowed to enter but are followed all the way round by a security guard and approached several times to be told we are not allowed tripods in the heritage site.
We spend a fantastic afternoon (with our shadow!) just wandering and exploring the Western Temples. The walled site is beautifully kept, manicured lawns and perfect flower beds and relatively quiet. The weather is glorious and we all enjoy the peace and space away from the madness of the touts outside. 

 

  

We have obviously been around the Chinese too long and the bizarre "v sign in photo" phenomenon has rubbed off on us!

Day 170 11 Dec Sun KHAJURAHO

Oh my goodness... we only have days in single figures left!!!!

Our penultimate train journey - from Varanasi to Khajuraho - and the girls do their usual thing of stepping up and getting on with it. 

We arrive early and collected by Mr Abed Khan - he delivers us to the Hotel Surya and we once again settle in. We have been given a very big room but the internet doesnt get switched on until the "man" arrives as no one else knows the password. He is late - which infuriates David and the www access is patchy a best. We eat an early breakfast and then wander into the very small town of Khajuraho.

We have been warned about the touts and "English language practise" attempts and in the space of 50m must have been approached by every man and his dog with shouts of "Hello - What is your name? Twins? Your daughters? Hello baby (to the girls). Where are you from?" all of this a prelude to "Come and see my shop/tuk tuk/restaurant/cafe/souvenir stall!" This results in several of the most comedy conversations we have had on our travels. All take place as we walk along and most run along the lines of...
Them - "Hello - Where are you from?/Which country?"
Us "No thankyou."
Them - "Hello - Where are you from?/Which country?"(More persistantly)
Us - "England/Germany/Australia/Sweden/China/Greenland..." (our answers becoming more and more outlandish at every juncture.
Them - "Oh, nice place! - What is your name?" To the girls.
At first...
Us- "Tiegan."
Them - "Oh, Tiegan." (said slowly and emphatically)
Us - "Rowan"
Them - "Oh, Wo wen." (We have discovered that Rowan is a very hard name for them to say -which adds it's own comedy value!)

Then...

Us - "Lisa/Sarah/Josh/Fred/Fernando/Deckchair etc" (progressing more and more into the realms of implausability
Them - "Oh - nice name. How many languages can you speak?"
Us - "1/3/17/74..."
Them - "Me to. Where are you going?"
Us - Just walking.
Them - Come and see my shop/etc etc...

And so it goes on and on and on....all the time getting more and more ludicrous. It gets very tedious after a while!

We decide not to eat in this "crows nest" restaurant the Bamboori Treat... say it fast enough and you get an idea of the bizarre English signage we have seen... also a wine shop selling "Cold wine and Child Bear"...

In the end we go back to the hotel and recover from the journey in the peaceful "Zen Garden".

Day 168 and 169 9 and 10 Dec Fri VARANASI

 

 

Two very lazy days follow - largely due to the fact that we are all suffering from "end of journey" blues and also, for the girls at least, there is a limit to how many temples and ghats one can take in before reaching saturation - India is not short on either and we have certainly seen a huge number along the way! Our bedtimes have got later ( largely due to the enormously loud event which takes place at the ghat every night - although it does finish at the stroke of 10.30 or when there is (another) power cut.

Our mornings have also got shorter and we are almost eating breakfast at lunchtime at the rooftop restaurant in the hotel while the girls work on their journals.

  

 

We do venture out and try to absorb the local way of life, which for the most part is very basic. There is a cowshed across the courtyard from our hotel entrance and no shortage of cows, dogs and beggars! 

 

 

This continues to trouble Nicole and she finds it really difficult not to be affected by the poverty and desperation in the eyes of the children who approach holding out dirty hands and beg for whatever they can get.  

Our refuge is a "fairtrade" cafe and community sourced gift and textile shop  just around the corner - the coffee is excellent, the food fresh and tasty and the welcome supremely friendly. We have eaten here every day while we have been in Varanasi and the girls have become very friendly with the staff.  

 

The roads continue to be an education - we see some of the most spectacular near misses and are involved in the biggest Varanasi style traffic jam on our way to the station to catch our train to Khajuraho - although we have the best auto rickshaw driver who somehow navigates his way through the melee. 

 

 

 We are all ready for a change of scene again and are relieved when we arrive at the astronomically busy railway stationand finally board the train (again in the midst of a Varanasi power cut which plunges the busy station into total darkness) and we are in what appears to be the "tourist" carriage - full of western faces and English speakers! Poor local who had the misfortune to have booked his seat in the middle of the four of us and 2 Americans!