Going on a tigger hunt - Ranthambore

Another drive, this time with half of Rajasthan coming in the opposite direction for a political rally, often partying on the bus rooftops! 

 

Believe it or not, this hotel is in the middle of scrubland! Also conveniently only a kilometre from entrance to the national park of Ranthambore, famous for its population of 48 tigers! This may seem like a lot, but since the park is 106 square miles, the tiggers are not always easy to spot. Luckily we managed to see four across three safari trips, as well as sambar deer, marsh crocodile, antelope, kingfishers, langurs and mongoose..we could go on!

We also had a fascinating afternoon exploring the thousand-year old Ranthambore Fort which overlooks the park. 

Jaipur- the orange city???

Time for a bit more 'vegging out' - both in terms of relaxing by the pool and enjoying vegetarian food (after a month, we are now finally getting to grips with indian menus..uttapam or dosa or idli anyone?!). On our first night we visited the equivalent of 'The Rex', an art deco cinema where we enjoyed 'Boss' - all in Hindi without subtitles but the audience reaction was the real entertainment (think pantomime!). 

We visited the City Palace within the 'Pink City' (which we would suggest is more of an orange or ochre!) and tramped the streets and bazaars (when we could fight our way through the traffic). 

The highlight for Lucy was walking up to the 'Monkey Temple' where we found 5000 (allegedly!) monkeys. Despite the fact that one of them attempted to mug her, it was still tricky to restrict her to two photos! 

Return to Delhi..again!

With a slight sense of deja vu, we returned to the Shanti Home. In our one day stopover before venturing into Rajasthan we managed to cram in Humayan's Tomb and the beautiful Lodi Gardens. 

The gardens were buzzing with local Sunday afternoon family picnics amongst the atmospheric 14th century tombs. 

Jaipur, here we come!

All that glitters - Amritsar

We travelled a long long way to get here and actually, there's not much else other than the Golden Temple to write home (or blog!) about but, WOW!! It was definitely worth the detour.  We loved it so much that we went three times, for sunrise, sunset and then again for a guided tour! 

What the photos can't express is the incredibly evocative atmosphere generated by the thousands of Sikh pilgrims, praying and chanting readings from their holy book and which are sung and broadcast throughout the complex. 

Sikhism is a very open religion, rejecting caste distinctions and offering a 'free kitchen' to all who attend to the temple (which is open 24 hours a day and is free of charge). It is also incidentally the no1 restaurant on Trip Advisor! We were told it serves up to 10,000 meals a day and after our tour of the kitchens we could believe it! 

It's pretty clear from the photo that we were just about the only tourists there. Most of the attention that this generated (and there was a LOT of it) was friendly and respectful but it's fair to say we have a lot more sympathy for Angelina now!

Manali and on the road again

Manali was the perfect place for us to have some well deserved R & R! A pleasant, laid back and affluent hill station which at times reminded us of both Switzerland and the Lake District. 

The old town was particularly interesting to explore and one day we hiked up to a nearby waterfall. Along the way we found lots of puppies, newborn calves and even a yak! 

 Perhaps more surprisingly, we also stumbled across Manali's version of the X factor - a three day event complete with judging panel! 

Then it was back on the road (though this time actually a road!) for 11 hours to Amritsar. Perhaps worringly, our driver stopped off shortly after we left at a local temple and proceeded to annoint not only his forehead, but also the bonnet and the steering wheel..probably a good thing given the speeds at which he drove!  

The Adventure: Leh to Manali

Despite the fact that this is the second highest road in the world, is 485km long and at this time of year is often impassable due to snow, rather than take the direct route we decided to take a three day jeep safari detouring to two spectacular though desolate lakes.

Very few of these 485km are on what we would consider 'road'. Problems included:

• the road being obliterated by a bulldozer (although it was then rebuilt for us!)

• boulders raining down on us from work being carried out on the road above us
• mud and streams up to the jeep's axles 

but the real hurdle came in the form of the first snow of the season. This coincided nicely with us needing to cross our highest pass at 5328m, which, at more than one point seemed almost impossible and we feared having to retrace our steps all the way to Leh! 

Luckily though, the weather did clear up sufficiently for us to cross the passes and to witness what is considered to be one of the most scenic roads in the world. 

Our accommodation was basic to say the least. No heating was expected, but no running water, no electricity and a 'toilet' (i.e. hole in the ground 50 yds away with no door) was rather more than we had bargained for! Our packet noodles and soup were served in style in the tent, at the chef's table:

After a gruelling 13 hours in the jeep on the last day we were finally rewarded with a hot shower at the Johnson Lodge in Manali. An exhilarating adventure, breathtaking scenery and an experience we will never forget!

'Juley' from Leh

About 15 minutes into the flight from sweltering Delhi we were over snow capped mountains. Just over an hour later we landed in Northern Ladakh, which borders China, Tibet and Pakistan. Leh is at over 3,500 metres and as we were flying straight there we took Diamox to avoid altitude sickness and luckily only experienced tingly hands and feet!

After acclimatising for a day and soaking up the amazing views, we explored the old town with the help of a very knowledgeable guide and were shown the excellent conservation work going on. 

On our final full day, we hired a jeep (and driver!) and spent the day visiting local monasteries and palaces.  Leh experiences a very tough climatic environment as for 8 months of the year the ground is frozen solid and there is heavy snow. For us this was hard to believe as we walked around in bright sunshine knowing that the snow will arrive in two weeks. But the evenings were very cold..... 

PS You will be pleased to know that we have mastered about 10 words in the regional language, including hello, goodbye and thank you. ….you may have guessed that 'Juley' covers them all!

Spending the kid's inheritance - back to Delhi

The Imperial was our taste of luxury, as 'the most stylish hotel in Delhi'. It was recommended to us by Carolyn's brother George who we met there for the weekend as he was there on business. It certainly did not disappoint! 

George arranged a packed itinerary for the Saturday (once we could drag ourselves away from the pool, spa and complimentary yoga classes!) including the Qutb Minar complex, Hauz Khas village and 14th century reservoir. 

On the Sunday we got cultural and enjoyed a visit to the National Gallery of Modern Art before another gastronomic treat at the Spice Route restaurant (featuring the biggest wine glasses Lucy had ever seen, which Nic thought were wasted on the Indian wine!)