Hello all,
After visiting some incredible temples in Madurai and the surrounding area, we moved on to Delhi. The first stop was Humayun's Tomb, a beautiful building set in some magnificent gardens right in the centre of Delhi. Considering the chaos of the city that surrounds it, it's a surprising peaceful place. After that, and with the help of a friendly policeman who stopped the traffic so that Sarah could cross the road, we visited a nearby mosque and shrine (Hazrat Nizam-Ud-Din Dargah) where we were coaxed into making a very generous 'donation', something that we've found to be a pretty common practice at most of the shrines we've visited since. We probably won't be visiting many more shrines now, although all of our families and friends should expect much luck and divine favour over the coming months... We finished the day at a great restaurant that was featured on Channel 4 by Gordon Ramsey last year (Moti Mahal), famed for its butter chicken and dahl makhani - both of which were delicious.
The following day consisted of a visit to the National Gallery of Modern Art and a very exciting trip to Costa Coffee. We were driven back to the hotel by a very friendly autorickshaw driver who kept playing the theme from Mission Impossible at every opportunity, despite the fact that we spent most of the time either at a standstill, or travelling at about 5 mph.
Next stop: Varanasi, where there were thousands and thousands of pilgrims in town for a very important annual Hindu festival. Varanasi is one of the most holy cities in India, where Hindu pilgrims travel to bathe in the holy water of the Ganges, which is said to wash away all sins. It's a fascinating place, although nothing quite braces you for the sight of open cremations on the ghats that line the river. We were able to take a short boat ride up part of the river, but it was running very fast due to the monsoon, resulting in us abandoning ship at a nearby ghat halfway through the ride in fear. One evening we also had the chance to witness the ceremony of 'Ganga Aarti', which consists of a lot of dancing, singing and fire. We weren't 100% sure what was going on, but it was very impressive all the same.
Our departure from Varanasi was an interesting one. Unfortunately Sarah's stomach took a turn for the worse in the morning, which made the journey to the station a bit of a challenge. The biggest challenge of the day, however, was presented at the train station itself, where a collection of monkeys, cows and rats harassed Sarah for about two hours while our train was delayed. On boarding the train, a man advised Sarah to be brave and to stop crying, something Luke had been too afraid to say all day (although Sarah is keen to point out that she wasn't crying ALL day).
Agra was our next destination, for the obligatory visit to the Taj Mahal. We can safely say that this is not over-rated; the building is absolutely breathtaking. We had our photo taken by groups of Indian tourists many times, who at times seemed more interested in us than the Taj Mahal itself. We also met another friendly, although crazy, rickshaw driver who liked to stop, clap his hands and sing a song at regular intervals.
Finally, we visited Fatehpur Sikri, built by Emperor Akbar in the 16th century as the capital of the Mughal Empire. He had three wives - one Muslim, one Christian and one Hindu, who all had a separate part of the palace to occupy. We visited another shrine, made another generous donation, and then caved in and retreated to Pizza Hut... After three weeks, there's only so much curry we can take. Sarah is still suffering from some stomach issues, so a break from spicy food was very much welcomed.
Heading to Jaipur tonight - hopefully Sarah will fare better on this journey. If not, Luke hopes to enlist the help of another friendly fellow passenger to talk some sense into her.
Bye for now!
xxx
After visiting some incredible temples in Madurai and the surrounding area, we moved on to Delhi. The first stop was Humayun's Tomb, a beautiful building set in some magnificent gardens right in the centre of Delhi. Considering the chaos of the city that surrounds it, it's a surprising peaceful place. After that, and with the help of a friendly policeman who stopped the traffic so that Sarah could cross the road, we visited a nearby mosque and shrine (Hazrat Nizam-Ud-Din Dargah) where we were coaxed into making a very generous 'donation', something that we've found to be a pretty common practice at most of the shrines we've visited since. We probably won't be visiting many more shrines now, although all of our families and friends should expect much luck and divine favour over the coming months... We finished the day at a great restaurant that was featured on Channel 4 by Gordon Ramsey last year (Moti Mahal), famed for its butter chicken and dahl makhani - both of which were delicious.
The following day consisted of a visit to the National Gallery of Modern Art and a very exciting trip to Costa Coffee. We were driven back to the hotel by a very friendly autorickshaw driver who kept playing the theme from Mission Impossible at every opportunity, despite the fact that we spent most of the time either at a standstill, or travelling at about 5 mph.
Next stop: Varanasi, where there were thousands and thousands of pilgrims in town for a very important annual Hindu festival. Varanasi is one of the most holy cities in India, where Hindu pilgrims travel to bathe in the holy water of the Ganges, which is said to wash away all sins. It's a fascinating place, although nothing quite braces you for the sight of open cremations on the ghats that line the river. We were able to take a short boat ride up part of the river, but it was running very fast due to the monsoon, resulting in us abandoning ship at a nearby ghat halfway through the ride in fear. One evening we also had the chance to witness the ceremony of 'Ganga Aarti', which consists of a lot of dancing, singing and fire. We weren't 100% sure what was going on, but it was very impressive all the same.
Our departure from Varanasi was an interesting one. Unfortunately Sarah's stomach took a turn for the worse in the morning, which made the journey to the station a bit of a challenge. The biggest challenge of the day, however, was presented at the train station itself, where a collection of monkeys, cows and rats harassed Sarah for about two hours while our train was delayed. On boarding the train, a man advised Sarah to be brave and to stop crying, something Luke had been too afraid to say all day (although Sarah is keen to point out that she wasn't crying ALL day).
Agra was our next destination, for the obligatory visit to the Taj Mahal. We can safely say that this is not over-rated; the building is absolutely breathtaking. We had our photo taken by groups of Indian tourists many times, who at times seemed more interested in us than the Taj Mahal itself. We also met another friendly, although crazy, rickshaw driver who liked to stop, clap his hands and sing a song at regular intervals.
Finally, we visited Fatehpur Sikri, built by Emperor Akbar in the 16th century as the capital of the Mughal Empire. He had three wives - one Muslim, one Christian and one Hindu, who all had a separate part of the palace to occupy. We visited another shrine, made another generous donation, and then caved in and retreated to Pizza Hut... After three weeks, there's only so much curry we can take. Sarah is still suffering from some stomach issues, so a break from spicy food was very much welcomed.
Heading to Jaipur tonight - hopefully Sarah will fare better on this journey. If not, Luke hopes to enlist the help of another friendly fellow passenger to talk some sense into her.
Bye for now!
xxx
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