An Indian Adventure

7th  – 28th November 2017

It was ten years since we had last travelled in India and the pressure to go back had been building for some time. When Megan came up with a list of relatively unknown places she wanted to visit in Central India we had the reason to plan a trip. Adrian augmented the itinerary by throwing in more palaces, forts, and tigers. Then with the help of our Indian travel agent, Nivalink, our adventure was conceived. This diary documents three weeks wandering off the well beaten track;  and enjoying the unique experiences that India offers.

Getting There

We took two days to get to India, with daytime flights to Singapore, and then on to New Delhi. The first leg was comfortable flying Singapore Airlines, stopping overnight in Singapore in a hotel we knew. The adventure started the next day when we boarded a vintage 737-800 for a Jet Airways flight to Delhi.  The cramped flight was uncomfortable enough, but then we hit a delay caused by smog and maintenance at Delhi.  We landed late, and our connecting flight to Jaipur was delayed several times before we boarded at midnight.

Tuesday 7^th – Sydney – Singapore

The trip out to Singapore was our usual routine; bus to Circular Quay; train to the airport; and a comfortable day time flight with Singapore Airlines.  We had paid for preferred seating on the top deck of the Singapore Airlines A380 – but as our leg room turned out to be a cross aisle gangway we couldn’t really stretch out. Entertainment was the usual mixture of duff Hollywood films and a few gems. Our favourite was watching The Trip to Spain with Rob Brydon. in fact we watched it again on the flight home!

In Singapore we used the same stop-over hotel as the previous year, the Village Hotel Changi, but we skipped their intermittent slow free shuttle and just jumped in a taxi from the airport.  As soon as our overnight bag was unpacked we headed across the road to the food hall to sample some hawker fare.

Wednesday 8^th – Singapore – Jaipur
Breakfast was included in our special room rate, so we made time to enjoy it before catching a taxi back to T3. One of the interesting dishes on offer was NgoH Hiang Noodles – which you cooked and prepared yourself (a deconstructed breakfast).

We always seem to have one hick-up with airport security – this time it was because Megan had left an unused bottle of water in her bag.  But the bigger shock was seeing the Jet Airways 737-800 we were going to spend the next 6 hours on to Delhi. It was so old it had tiny fixed seat back displays – which didn’t work.  The inflight magazine’s advice column was fun but that was about all the entertainment. It was long and uncomfortable with just two toilets at the rear of the cabin. If one had to identify anything good – it would be the tasty food complete with Indian bread. Also the rum and coke Megan was served was half rum (out of a decanter) which did help the time pass!

We were very late arriving in Delhi due to the airport having closed one runway for maintenance, and the smog reducing visibility and creating a backlog of planes to land. After flying in circles for an eternity, the Captain announced that he would have to divert to Jaipur if we didn’t get clearance to land.  Soon afterwards we started our descent to the relief of everyone on board.

The air in the terminal buildings was hazy; the view out the windows was just of thick brown fog. Whilst transferring to Domestic within the same terminal we had planned to get some cash (most of the ATMs didn’t work), and getting a free visitor SIM card (turns out they didn’t have any supplies to hand out). Welcome to India!

Luckily we had paid in advance for lounge access, which although it wasn’t a patch on a Business Class Lounge it did have comfortable seating as our 8:25pm flight to Jaipur was pushed back first to 9:45 and then 10:20. We boarded the flight – but as we hadn’t got clearance the crew served the snack whilst we waited at the gate.  When we took off at midnight the crew was so busy packing up they forgot to give a safety briefing.

At Jaipur Airport our hotel driver was still waiting for us, and we finally got to our hotel (and bed) for the night in Alsisar Haveli at 1:15am.

Rajasthan

Rajasthan is one of the most visited states in India. But instead of doing the normal tourist triangle we left Jaipur for the less spoilt town of Bundi famous for its miniature paintings and step wells. From Bundi our route headed south into a little visited extension of Rajasthan, probably because the road was shocking – more pothole than surface.  In Jhalawar the main attraction was visiting the largely unrestored Gagron Fort picturesquely situated on a confluence of two rivers. But in fact it was our stay in the Prithvi Villas palace that formed one of the highlights of our trip. We were lucky that the Maharaja of Jhalawar was staying in the palace at the same time as us, and we were his only two guests. This meant for a day we lived like royalty with the Maharaja, and soaked up all the history of this unique homestay.  Leaving Jhalawar we visited the temples of Jhalrapatan then crossed the border south into Madhya Pradesh.

Thursday 9^th – Jaipur – Bundi

We woke to our first day in India with the sun shining, the sounds of breakfast on the terrace below, and Indian music drifting up to our 1^st floor bedroom. The Alsisar Havelii was built in 1892 as a nobleman’s town house, and has been restored to perfection.  It is isolated somewhat from the noise of the city by high stone walls providing an oasis of tranquillity – just what we needed after the trip out from Sydney.

After breakfast we rested for the morning; Megan even found time for a dip in the nicely landscaped pool, whilst Adrian fielded a succession of phone calls from the ground agents trying to determine when we wanted our driver to turn up (it was written in the official itinerary).

Our driver Sanjay turned up (with his boss) at 1pm and we headed off on our adventure. The car (an Indian built Toyota Innova) was spacious in the back, but had rather hard suspension for the bumpy Indian roads.  Sanjay had only a limited understanding of English, so although he had the flowery Itinerary written by Nivalink he couldn’t understand it. He had been driving for 20 years but this was the first long distance hire he had done, and as soon as we left Jaipur behind us he was lost! Like all Indian drivers he didn’t have a map and relied on asking locals for directions – this had varying degrees of success. Luckily Adrian came to the rescue with Google maps which were pretty reliable on the open road.  We found it amusing that whilst we always wore our seat belts (if you have seen Indian driving you would understand why) but Sanjay would only fasten his when he was in a large town and saw a police man!

Our first stop on the way to Bundi was Tonk.

TONK

Tonk is a Muslim town and was only just having main drainage installed – probably no coincidence as religious division in India is still prevalent. 

Tonk was like the old India we knew – cattle and pigs roaming the streets, deep potholes, and no road signs. We used the GPS to find the Jama Masjid mosque (1279) in the centre of town. The locals were clearly not used to seeing fair skinned tourists and happily showed us round! Finding the second ‘attraction’ in town was more difficult.  We asked locals where to find Sunheri Kothi  (early 20th Century hall) and got  contradictory directions. The building, hidden down a small lane was being ‘restored’ (rebuilding the wall) so the gate was open. The caretaker was however adamant that there was no access possible to the upper floor with decorated mirror tiles.

Leaving Tonk the road followed the irrigated Banas river valley for an hour before climbing into the Aravalli Range. We dropped into Bundi from above following a winding valley.  The lake (Nawal Sagar) above the town was low as monsoon rains had not been good. Sanjay tried to get the car to our Haveli in the old town but the road was not made for cars. In the end we gave up and walked the last few yards to Dev Nivas.

The hotel was a delightful merchant’s house built in 1684. We had a large room on 1^st floor (actually 3 rooms) up steep steps with doors opening onto the central courtyard.  After unpacking we walked up another steep flight of steps to the restaurant which had stunning views over the rooftops to the palace and fort.  We watched the sunset whilst sipping their excellent ginger Masala Chai.

Outside of the calm of the hotel the Main Street (or Bazaar) was narrow, noisy with motor bikes, and followed the stream downhill.  Apparently during the monsoon rains the lake overflows and the entire street turns into a river. This explains why all the shops were built high up off the road.

Friday 10^th – Exploring Bundi

GARH PALACE – BUNDI
The Garh Palace was built in the 17th and 18th century in pure Rajput style.  The entrance to the main palace is through an impressive Elephant Gate (Hathiapol ) from where you climb up to the Audience Room (Ratan Mahal). 

A small doorway then leads into the private part of the palace (Chhatar Mahal) with views over the town through stone lattice windows.  A couple of rooms in this part of the palace had wall and ceiling paintings well preserved in the dark (but we had to use our torch to see them).

Exiting through the Elephant Gate we climbed a bit higher up the hill and entered the 18th century Chitrasala Palace which is partially built on top of the older palace. The palace was reached through a well maintained hanging garden with an attractive splash of colour from a Bougainvillea tree. Only one room is open to the public (most of the palace is quite empty and just full of bats) but that room was decorated from floor to ceiling with detailed paintings.

Breakfast in the rooftop restaurant was relaxing with the soft morning light on the palace, and monkeys scampering over the rooftops.  There were two espresso machines in Bundi, and we headed to one, just up the street from the hotel, for a morning caffeine hit (masala chai just doesn’t hit the spot).  Whilst we waited for our coffees we watched a cow being fed by a shop keeper across the road. Refreshed we headed up to look at the Garh Palace.

Back in town, as we walked towards the lake, we passed a painter’s shop and looked at his miniature paintings on old paper.  Adrian was taken with elephant constructed out of ladies (navanari kunjara). After negotiating a ‘best price’ we left to think it over. Lunch was a couple of Rajistan Thalis in a garden café by the smelly lake.  On the way back to the hotel we bought the painting as a Christmas present to ourselves.

STEP WELLS – BUNDI
Just outside the old city walls, through Chogan Gate we found the two matching step wells, Nagar Sagar Kund, surrounded by the chaos of a local market.  The wells, constructed in the 1870’s were much deeper than we were expecting but were completely dry. Further South was the 46m deep Raniji-ki-Baori (Queen’s Step Well). The well was built in 1757 and is very ornate. It has been nicely restored and is kept clean (so attracts an entrance fee).
Pushing on further south down a much less desirable street we reached Dhabhai ka Kund behind a high wall. Initially it appeared to be closed, but then we noticed that the padlock was not actually through the gate.  This well had particularly well planned geometric steps – but once again it was dry after a poor monsoon.

Later in the afternoon we headed out to explore Bundi’s step wells. The main street was blocked by a Muslim Friday procession – lots of noise and flimsy foil covered floats.  It took ages to get through the crowds to the Chogan Gate and leave the old city.

Saturday 11^th – Bundi – Jhalawar

The Dev Nivas hotel transported us and our bags in a buggy up to the palace car park where we met up with our driver.  We first drove to see the Sukh Sagar lake where we chatted to some men who were trying to clear away the lotus plants that clogged the water – they seemed reasonably happy even though the enormity of the task ahead of them would have been daunting. Finally, as we were heading out of town towards Kota we stopped to look at the 84-Pillared Cenotaph (1683).  Although admission required a ticket you could see the structure quite well looking over a low wall.

The road to Kota was fast, passing over a flat and arid plain with the underlying flat rock visible. But heading south from Kota to Jhalawar the old road was being ‘improved’ which made for numerous diversions round road works and even more pot holes. By lunch time we eventually reached the orchards of Jhalawar.  Finding our homestay, the Prithvi Villas Palace, was a challenge as the locals apparently know the palace by another name, and Google maps couldn’t tell which of the approach roads lead to the main entrance. We tried the North driveway which lead to an impressive gate. Unfortunately there was a big hole in the road where a cattle grid was being installed, but the car was able to squeeze through the pedestrian gate.

We were greeted on arrival at the visitor’s entrance by the Maharaja himself, and some of his 15 staff. His housekeeper welcomed us with a garland of flowers and a red bindi. Although we had paid for a room in the annex we were upgraded to a spacious set of rooms on the ground floor of the palace.

In the early 20^th century the Maharaja’s family moved from the city palace in the centre of town as it was too noisy. They built a hunting lodge just out of town which was completely refurbished in the 1920’s and 1930’s. Most of the furnishings came from this period.

Our bathroom was original. It had a marble floor and marble sink, high ceilings and a toilet on a pedestal. Our room opened out into the central hall which was full of hunting trophies – tiger, panther, birds, hare, different kinds of deer, and a tiger rug on the floor complete with head!

After freshening up we had lunch with the Maharaja (Chandra Singh) in the Dining Room next door. The staff hovered at the door serving food and clearing away.  In the afternoon we were lent the palace security guard to be a guide for our planned trip to Gagron Fort. Having a guide meant that instead of approaching the impressive fortifications from the city side we went a more circuitous route and approached from the river over a causeway.  Gagron dates from the 7^th to 14 century and is unusual in India in that it is protected on three sides by water. 

We explored the extensive ruins of the fort, but none of the buildings were labelled. The fortifications at the confluence of two rivers were most impressive.

On the route back through the town we passed by the City Palace (which the previous Maharaja had sold to the government). It was closed for repairs so we were unable to see much.

We were greeted back at the palace with afternoon tea. The palace was set in gardens surrounded by fields where peacocks could be seen and heard. The light was fading so Megan rushed off into the distance across a field to go swimming in the pool that the Maharaja was rather proud of. When Adrian later visited the pool to see its setting, the security guard unlocked the upstairs room and showed him the contemporary portraits of the family.

After dressing for dinner we relaxed in the drawing room full of interesting things collected by the Maharaja’s great-grandfather on two world trips by sea, in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The ship even visited Australia & Tasmania. The memorabilia included a cabinet full of ivory carvings, Chinese vases, Persian carpets, full sets of crockery bought in England, porcelain coffee sets, ink-wells made from elephants feet, and inlaid furniture. Adrian caught up on the diary writing in comfort, whilst Megan sipped a cool beer and posed for photos.

The Maharaja came down and showed us round his grandfather’s office – including a larger than life-size portrait of his grandfather in full ceremonial dress as the King of Jhalawah. We were taken by the photograph on the wall showing the Chamber of Princes.  It was a popular time for weddings in November, and many evenings we could hear the sounds of celebrations nearby. The Maharaja had a local wedding to make an appearance at, so we ate dinner on our own with the undivided attention of the staff.

Sunday 12^th – Jhalawar – Ujjain

Megan was not feeling to well at breakfast so Adrian had to eat for two!  She put on a brave face as the Maharaja showed us round the upstairs apartments filled with beautiful things, including family portraits, and hand-painted photos of Maharajas from the 1930s.

From Jhalawar it was a short drive south to the walled city of Jhalrapatan (City of Temple Bells).  The main attraction here was the 11^th century Surya (Sun) Temple in the busy heart of the town.  The temple is one of the oldest in Rajasthan but is architecturally unique because it is a mixture of a Southern Indian style decorated tower with the addition in the 19^th century of Rhajistan style cupulas.    Outside the old town, in a small park by the river were a collection of even earlier temples including the 7^th century Chandrabhaga Temple.

Madhya Pradesh

Leaving Rajasthan we said goodbye to inbound tourists. The attention we received as foreigners from now on was both fun and at times tiring – we started to realise how celebrities feel about the paparazzi! Our experiences in Madhya Pradesh were varied and interesting. They ranged from the abandoned city of Mandu, to prehistoric cave art at Bhimbetka and seeing wild tigers at Bandhavgarh.

Leaving Jhalrapatan we passed over into Madhya Pradesh. The driver had to pay tax for every day of our intended stay in MP and needed to borrow cash from us! Over the border the road degraded from poor to appalling with potholes slowing the traffic down to a crawl.

Despite the slow progress we arrived in Ujjain as planned in time for lunch. Ujjain is one of Hinduism’s seven sacred cities and life revolves around the central Mahakaleshwar Temple.  Our driver dropped us of close to the pedestrian precinct, and we navigated to an upstairs restaurant that served unlimited thalis. It was tricky to find as it didn’t have a sign outside in English! Sadly only Adrian was able to enjoy the thali as Megan was restricted to a diet of curd and rice. Unfortunately her bad luck didn’t stop there as she lost a dental crown munching on rice.  The presence of two western tourists in the restaurant created quite a stir with the staff and the waiters wanted to take endless selfies with Adrian.

The  Mahakaleshwar Temple is the site of the Simhastha every 12 years and is surrounded by crowd control barriers. We were not willing to join the long lines or to pay to see the temple so we contented ourselves with a rounding, on the roads.  Sinhasan Battisi on an island in the Rudra Sagar was a completely O.T.T. garden of modern religious statues, but did provide some respite from the crowds of pilgrims. 

We rendezvoused with our driver and headed for a modern business hotel in the southern suburbs. After staying in heritage character hotels our room in the Hotel Anjushree was characterless, but it was comfortable!  We seemed to be the only tourists staying there.  The architecture of the hotel was inexplicably unusual. The restaurant was completely open to the elements as was the swimming pool next to it. It was the only hotel that checked incoming cars with a mirror – but as long as you didn’t plant your bomb on the nearside under the radiator you would have got through.   

At sunset Adrian went back into the city to look at the bathing Ghats. There was a lot of activity as it got dark, with candles being floated in the river and loud music.

Monday 13^th –  Exploring Mandu

We made an early start for a day trip to Mandu. It was quite an experience having breakfast when the temperature outside (and in the restaurant) was 14 degrees!  We had estimated it would take 3 hours driving there and 3 hours back, so unfortunately our time in Mandu was going to be a bit rushed.

Not unsurprisingly our driver had no idea where Mandu was, but luckily Google did! There was a good road south to Indore but we missed the informal city centre bypass and ended up in heavy traffic. They were widening the room, by bulldozing away the front of illegally built houses that were in the way and leaving the rest dangling. Once we escaped out of the city the roads were excellent – except for the occasional half-finished bridge.

We tried to squeeze in all our sightseeing before a late lunch. In the end we managed to see most of the important sites but we didn’t get to explore all the many other ruins scattered over the plateau. The scale of the old city couldn’t fail to impress, wherever you looked there would be the towers of a temple or palace poking through the trees. What was also noteworthy is that the old buildings had not been looted for building materials in the years after the city fell into neglect – maybe because so many edifices from the Moslem period contain tombs.

DAY TRIP TO MANDU
The ancient city of Mandu is on a large flat plateau rising from the valley below, and connected to the highland to the north by a narrow, easily defended neck of land. Mandu gained prominence in 10th and 11th centuries but most of the remaining buildings date back to its golden years in the 15th century.

Like Hampi, the site has a lot of buildings scattered over a wide area.  Only a few of the bigger ruins are fenced off and subject to an admission charge.  As we had limited time we started straight away by buying a ticket for the Palace Group set in well maintained gardens.  The two main palaces are very different in style; Hindola Mahal (late 15th cent) is a solidly built hall with elegant arches whilst the Jahaz Mahal (mid 15th cent) intended for the female consorts is ornate and breezy.  We also explored the smaller Jal Mahal palace set in a lake and surrounded by pleasure grounds. The engineering to provide water features in the palaces was impressive, catching monsoon rains falling on the terraces, and storing water in deep tanks.

The next ticketed entrance was to the Village Group. This gave admission into the imposing Jama Masjid mosque (1454) and the marble Hoshang Shah tomb behind it (1440). Unfortunately the marble tomb was covered in scaffolding.

Our final stop was at end of the road winding to the southern edge of the plateau.  We climbed up to the Roopmati Pavilion, probably envisioned as a military lookout into the valley below and then later enlarged to include a large cistern. The hazy views down into the valley were not as picturesque as the views back over the plateau to Baz Bahadur’s Palace. We grabbed lunch in a ‘fast food’ thali restaurant in the modern village before heading home.  The trip back to Ujjain was quicker because our driver knew the road, and we found the illusive Indore bypass.

Tuesday 14^th –  Ujjain – Sanchi – Bhopal

The trip from Ujjain to Bhopal was one of the shorter drives in our itinerary and felt even shorter because of the excellent four-lane dual carriageway. It cost a lot in tolls though! After having skirted round Bhopal on the ring road we headed up to Sanchi on a far less improved road.

SANCHI (visited en-route to Bhopal)
Entrance to the Buddhist stupas at Sanchi was expensive ;  Rs 500/- each ($10) for foreigners. But at least we could drive the car to the top of the hill and park.  The site was swarming with school parties – who were fascinated by us and wanted to take pictures with us. After a while it all got very tiring as it slowed down our sightseeing.  Megan had visited Sanchi before in her youth and found it spiritual. Now that everything has been nicely restored and set in manicured gardens, it had lost that feeling. 

The main stupa dates back to 262BC and has four well preserved gateways (or Toranas) covered with carvings. These date from an early period where Buddha was never actually pictured but was alluded to through symbols such as a lotus, a Bodhi tree, and a wheel.

Lying in fragments outside Stupa 1 was an Ashoka pillar with carvings from 300BC. The impressive top capital was on display in the museum.  We wandered round the rest of site which includes many temples, monasteries and even more stupas.

For lunch we ate in the MP Tourism Gateway Cafeteria. There was the typical lack of service from a government run business – but the food was good.  The restaurant was set up only with large tables which meant that a few small groups (like us) could occupy the entire restaurant and leave others waiting for a table. The museum at Sanchi was in nice grounds and the exhibits were well labelled. We were however flushed out by a power cut followed by a noisy school party coming through.

On our return to Bhopal we skipped the ring road and headed directly for our hotel which was over on the south side in the leafy Shymala Hills district. This meant we had to traverse across the old city which was squalid and congested.  Once again we noticed that an underdeveloped area was predominately Moslem. In contrast, the Jehan Numa Palace was in a green oasis.

This was the most luxurious hotel on our trip – though we certainly didn’t have the best room. The highlight of the hotel was its swimming pool which was attractive by day and by night. The old palace had been tastefully restored to accommodate the hotel function rooms and restaurants.  It had a horse racing theme (and indeed race horses could be seen being walked past the end of the swimming pool). 

We celebrated our arrival with cocktails in the Tottenham Corner bar, and then had an Italian meal (as a break from Indian food).  Food and drink was expensive compared to what we had become accustomed to in India, but was still a bargain compared to Sydney prices.

Wednesday 15^th – Bhopal

The next morning our driver was late. We suspected he had got lost trying to find his way back to the hotel from the “guest house” where he was staying.  Using Google we found the main road out of Bhopal to Bhimbetka – passing through an altogether nicer part of town with wide roads. For much of the way out of the city there was a central reservation reserved for a mass transit bus route.

BHIMBETKA

Bhimbetka is on a low rocky plateau a short distance off the main road over a busy level crossing. It is a World Heritage archaeological site dating back to the Paleolithic period, and exhibiting the earliest traces of human life on the Indian Subcontinent. For such an important site it’s somewhat under visited – which we enjoyed! A cluster of sandstone monoliths feature a number of rock shelters, many of which have prehistoric and later artworks. There is a well labelled walk on good paths visiting the shelters that are open to the public. The first artwork in Cave 1 was easy to spot (it was probably ‘enhanced’ ) but it didn’t give any clue what one should actually be looking for in other caves. We visited the 10 sites and gradually our eyes started to see the markings – particularly the early stick figures (Upper Palaeolithic).  Others rushed past missing the detail, but we used a torch and telephoto lens to explore the rock faces carefully. At the end we returned to Cave 2 which at the start we had dismissed as just a plain rock shelter and were surprised to see so many drawings on re-inspection. We really enjoyed our voyage of discovery.

Back at the hotel we had a casual (i.e. cheaper) lunch in the café and then spent some time in the sun round the lovely pool.  Because the air was so hazy the sun lost a lot of its heat as it started to sink in the sky, so soon it had cooled down enough to think of exercise. 

We set out from the hotel intending to walk down to the lake side – but the walking routes identified by Google turned out to be on private property and it would have been a rough scramble down the hillside. So we contented ourselves with the hazy water views from the ridge top.

We had dinner in our hotel in the best restaurant in town – a BBQ (Tandoor) in Under The Mango Tree.  The highlight for us was a type of potato croquet stuffed with cottage cheese, grilled in a Tandoor, and served with a mint/coriander sauce.  
Returning to our room it was time for amateur dentistry but we failed in two attempts to re-seat Megan’s crown using our emergency dental kit.

Thursday 16^th  Bhopal – Jabapur

This was a long day’s drive east to an overnight stop near Jabalpur. Soon after leaving Bhopal we drove through Raisen which was dominated by a fort with remarkably intact walls. Eventually we left the busy roads behind us and wound our way through the forests of Dehgaon Barnon Range. In the hills the agriculture was less developed and we saw our first bullock carts. Without any trucks the road was narrow but better surfaced. We stopped for a break by a dry river and a group of villagers walked past in a religious procession to a nearby temple.

On a route through rural India we were lucky to find lunch in Gadarwara – Megan spotted a hotel with a large sign advertising its restaurant in English. They were surprised to see two inbound tourists – but served a good Indian lunch. The manager of the hotel was Nepalese and spoke reasonably good English. Heading east in the afternoon took us through a large sugar growing area, and we diverted through Narsinghpur to avoid road works on the direct road to Jabalpur.

We stopped for the night in the Marble Rocks Motel, run by the MP Government. Our room had a balcony with a view of the river heading up past the marble cliffs to the waterfalls. It was still light when we finished the bureaucratic process of checking in to a government hotel, so we were able to walk along the concrete path out to a couple of viewpoints looking down into the gorge. Boats full of Indians were being rowed by two men and given a loud running commentary we couldn’t understand….”On your left is a marble rock; on your right is  a marble rock…”

We were the only guests for dinner and with the lack of smiles it was hard to determine if we were welcome or not. We ordered too much rather bland food (after a quite spicy lunch) and had trouble eating it all. How quickly your taste buds acclimatise to spice!

Our thoughts that night turned to a comment our driver had made; “Government jobs are the only ones in India with security and a pension”. Obviously when you score such a job you don’t have to do anything other than collect your pay cheque.

Friday 17^th –  Jabalpur – Bandhavgarh National Park

The motel managed to serve a standard breakfast offered without the hint of a smile. It was time to leave!

We took an interesting route bypassing Jabalpur to the south and passing the old cantonment area with abandoned buildings and large army bases.  As the road climbed into the hills the usual smog cleared to a sunny morning.

We arrived at the Wildflower Resort in time for lunch which was served as soon as we had freshened up. It turned out that we were the only guests that day, though an extended Indian family arrived the following day.

Safaris in the National Park have to be booked well in advance, and we had reservations for two– one in the afternoon of our arrival, and the other early the following morning. On both safaris we saw Indian Tigers but the adventure would have been worthwhile without that bonus.  

 Just after 2pm a Toyota Gypsy (Jeep) came to pick us up for our afternoon safari. There was open elevated seating in the back for 4 or so guests but we had the vehicle to ourselves. It was a very bouncy 15 minute trip into Tala town to the park headquarters. The afternoon safari was a relaxed introduction to the area as there weren’t too many animals visible in the lush vegetation and the heat of the day.

In the evening the hotel set up a dinner by candle light for us on the lawn. This was much nicer than eating on our own in the main restaurant. They served Chinese food in a very Indian style.

AFTERNOON SAFARI – BANDHAVGARH

In Tala we were issued with a guide/ranger (to ensure we followed the rules) and issued with an outbound route (D). The park is very well organised to stop jeeps leaving the tracks, or congregating en-masse where tigers had been seen.  The gypsy then queued up at the Tala park gates, our passports were checked, and we waited for the gates to be opened. The first impressions of Bandhavgarh were of the lush vegetation, such a contrast from the arid flat land of Rajasthan.  Our driver’s expression told us that our allocated route was not good for spotting wildlife, but we soon came across the delightful red spotted deer that are everywhere in the park (and provide meals for the larger cats). At the center of the park zone is a rocky plateau where the ruins of  Bandhavgarh fort can be seen. All the safari routes appeared to go round the fort clockwise though initially they took different roads.

The monkeys and the deer have a close relationship in the park. When monkeys are up the trees they can spot danger such as tigers and make loud warning sounds. When the monkeys are feeding on the ground, the deer who have good hearing alert the monkeys to danger. When monkeys are feeding high up in the trees, they drop seeds & hard casings which the deer eat from the ground. We heard a distress call (from monkeys) when we were close to the buffer zone fence. Apparently a mother tiger and her two 18 month old cubs were known to be in the area.  Turning down a side track we met a cluster of jeeps (this is not supposed to happen!) who had sighted a tiger a long way off in the undergrowth. Eventually the tiger headed off up a stream giving us only a fleeting glance. Just a short distance further down the track was a stand of bamboo by the side of the road and we could make out a cub standing behind it. It was so close to us, but photographs weren’t possible. Eventually the cub moved away and was seen in the distance walking up a track closed to traffic. It was a strange feeling having been only a few meters from a wild tiger with no protection. After that excitement we had to make up time. We had a fast run continuing clockwise round the craggy outcrop. We got to the gates just as it got dark and started to turn cold.

Saturday 18^th –  Bandhavgarh National Park

It was an early start for us without breakfast – up at 5:15am to get to the park gates in the dark. The hotel gave us thick blankets which were welcome as our summer clothes struggled to keep out the pre-dawn chill.  The inconvenience of getting up early was rewarded by seeing a lot more animals and birds.

MORNING SAFARI – BANDHAVGARH

This time we were allocated Route C which took us over 3 sandstone ridges before dropping down to the buffer zone fence. The driver pointed out fresh tiger footprints on the road so we knew we were getting ‘hot’. As we dropped down of the last ridge there was another Gypsy stopped ahead of us and the monkeys were making distress calls. A tiger was in the undergrowth quite close to the track cleaning its paws. The dominant male then got up and calmly walked past the back of our jeep just a few meters away from us. No need for a telephoto lens, but it was hard to hold the camera still with the excitement. By all accounts we were very lucky to have seen a tiger on the road that close to us. On the longer morning safari there was a break at a central point with vendors serving food and drink (for Indians). The toilets were appalling and we satisfied our hunger with muesli bars. After the break we continued clockwise with a diversion up the mountain to see the Sheshshalya carving by a mountain spring.  The statue depicted Lord Shiva reclining on the seven hooded serpent Sheshnaag. The cliffs of the fort are home to vultures (a protected species in India) and we saw a venue of vultures on the grass by a lake. As guns are not allowed in the park, workers are only armed with a long handled small axe, and the ability to climb trees quickly!

When the safari finished it was only mid-morning, so we headed back to the hotel expecting to be served breakfast or lunch, or perhaps brunch. Instead were fobbed off with several pots of chai (they appeared to be waiting for the new guests to arrive).  After lunch was eventually served we spent the afternoon relaxing round the resort.

There was a power cut before dinner but luckily it didn’t affect the food preparation. We were both ready for a good meal after having only had a light lunch and a few muesli bars all day.

We had very little alcohol on the holiday as it isn’t common in conservative India. Instead we had the ritual of presenting the unopened bottle of (mineral) water at the table. The waiter always asked if you wanted him to break the seal – as opened bottles of water are worthless and can’t be sold to others.

Sunday 19^th – Bandhavgarh – Basari

After our deprivations the day before we were looking forward to breakfast! The hotel provided a lovely start to the day with stuffed paratha, fruit salad and a masala omelette.  Most hotels had a ‘tick the box’ survey they would ask us to complete on departure – tick excellent in all the boxes and we are out of here! The Wild Flower Resort just handed us a blank sheet of paper – so much harder – like writing TripAdvisor reviews! And they also asked to take some photos of us with the entire staff!

To the north of Tala the road traversed some less visited zones of the national park. Then it passed over a vast reservoir powering Bansagar Hydro.  

As we descended the air quality got worse. Maihar was a very unattractive town dominated by the dust from cement works. And the bypass for Satna appeared to be a dirt track so we pressed on and got caught up in another city which was dry, dusty, and polluted. It was all a bit of contrast from the clean, green jungle.

For the first time on our holiday it started to rain, and by the time we had climbed to Panna, we were in low cloud. Once again it fell to us to find a restaurant for lunch in a very Indian town. Eventually we saw an English sign for the Hotel Rajlaxmi which was hidden away up an alleyway in the old town.  The hotel was surprised to see us (an understatement), but the restaurant on the third floor with views over the old town served a good lunch. Once again the staff all wanted pictures with us.

Panna appeared to be an interesting town, so we drove around hoping for closer views of the temples and palace but they were all down lanes too narrow for the car. There were lots of other smart old buildings in town dating back to when it was a princely state.

It was a quick trip onwards to the village of Basari – making a 6 hour journey including lunch.

The main door to the Arya Hammeer Garhi palace was open so we just breezed in. There was no reception; there was just a strong smell of varnish. When the manager (?) appeared he seemed genuinely surprised by our arrival and rushed to get a room ready for us.  This was tricky as everything wooden in the hotel seemed to have fresh coat of varnish on it! They also rushed to remove all the washing that was hanging on the bushes in the garden! The accommodation we were offered was a lot more rudimentary than the web site made out. In the room there was no Tea/Coffee Maker, Wi-Fi Internet, In-room menu, or any hot water. Add to that the sheets were paper thin and torn (we had to ask for extra sheets). The bathroom may have had the advertised shower/bathtub (cold) but there were no towel rails or hooks to hang things on.

After unpacking the “one night stand” bag we set out to explore the village.  First stop was the lakeside to see the temple in the middle. This was not as romantic as the publicity photos implied as there was a lot of rubbish around.  Boating on the lake was even less than attractive given the decrepit state of the two pedalos.  We then wandered up the main street to the amusement of the villagers. Women were still drawing water from the village well, and many of the older houses had thick adobe walls and overhanging roofs.  We were also free to explore the palace, including climbing up onto the roof to enjoy the views.

When it came to dinner time we sat down and were handed a menu to choose from even though it appeared we were the only two guests. The food was surprisingly good but there was the expected altercation afterwards because they didn’t know about the deposit we had paid in advance. Communicating with the staff was difficult as they had very little English.

Bundelkhand

The region of Bundelkhand straddles the borders between Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. It is named after the Bundela Rajputs who ruled the region from the 16^th century. Countless forts, palaces and monuments litter the landscape including the architectural treasures of Gwalior, the medieval town of Orchha, and the hilltop temples of Sonagiri

Monday 20^th – Basari – Orchha

We woke to a lovely morning, though the nights were getting noticeably colder. The smell of varnish had weakened and the door to our room was no long tacky. Breakfast included a fruit bowl which was a nice touch.

We took another walk round the village. It was noticeable how happy the villagers were even though it was a very poor place.  Up on the roof of the hotel Adrian took some telephoto shots of activity on the street.

It was an easy drive to Orchha – in fact we only got lost once in some roadworks where a large flyover was being built over the railway line (to remove the crossing). Just before the turn off to Orchha we crossed the wide Betwa River.

It was too early to check-in at our hotel so we had lunch in Laxmi Betwa Tarong restaurant. Like many restaurants in Orchha this was on the roof so it had views of the fort. We both had Thalis; Adrian ordered a superior selection that included a delicious Gujia for desert. He added Gujia to the list of dishes to make when we get home.

Our hotel was part of the palace complex inside Orchha fort. We drove over the fort bridge and through a very narrow gateway to reach the Sheesh Mahal. The hotel was in accommodation built by the Raja of Orchha in the late 19^th century presumably to get some Victorian comforts that his old palaces lacked.  We were given a choice of rooms and selected Room 7 up a steep narrow external staircase. Our room was spacious and overlooked the parking area between the two main palaces.

After unpacking we took an hour wandering round the (free) parts of the fort, exploring a ruined haveli inhabited only by monkeys, and then taking pictures at the lookout over the river. Just before sunset our car arrived and we drove down to the riverside to look at the Chhatris (memorials to the rulers of Orchha). The views were enhanced by the soft late afternoon light. We drove across the causeway to an island nature reserve and watched as the sun dropped behind the Chhatris. The causeway was too narrow to safely walk over as it was barely wide enough for a coach. But vehicles didn’t have it all their way; a cow decided to wander across and all the trucks could do was hoot and wait.

On the way back to the room in the dark Adrian inadvertently turned off all the power to the room whilst trying to find the light switch for the staircase. After sitting for a while in the dark we started to wonder why everywhere else in the palace had electricity but not us! The hotel was obviously familiar with this occurrence and came out quickly to switch our power back on.

We had dinner at the hotel but had to wait for a nasty Russian tour group to finish and leave – they were all grumbles and complaints – not the way to get the best out of India or Indians. We had a nice waiter who explained how difficult it was being at the bottom of the hotel pecking order (and who had never travelled further afield than Jhansi, 20km away).

Tuesday 21^st – Exploring Orchha

ORCHHA FORT

There are two main palaces within Orchha Fort, Raja Mahal built in the 15th century and Jehangir Mahal from the 17th century.

Raja Mahal is a maze of staircases and rooms within an austere square exterior. Inside, the courtyard was split across the middle dividing the building into royal and public sections. It was great fun exploring each level of the five story interior though some of the unprotected drops were pretty frightening. Like the entrance to our hotel room all the staircases were steep and had right angle bends in them.  Just as we concluded that we must have somehow missed the rooms with elaborate wall paintings we noticed an entrance on the ground floor we hadn’t explored.  We needed a torch to see the drawings as the room was dark (presumably aiding the preservation of the artwork).

The later Jehangir Mahal palace is an assault course of steep staircases and precipitous walkways that represents a zenith of Indo-Islamic architecture. It was less fun to explore, mainly because the stairs were regular and symmetrical. But there was an attraction in the way the slender walls were perforated with stone lattice windows and topped with cupulas. Unlike the Raja Mahal little of the original decoration had survived. Exiting Jehangir Mahal through the original main entrance we came to a building described as the camel stables. It wasn’t clear wandering around just how the camels would have fitted in – and the position outside the main doorway with a good view was probably more suited to a pleasure pavilion. Dropping down the hillside we looked inside the elaborate vaulted  baths Khana Hammam, and then the pavilion built for a 16th century courtesan Rai Praveen Mahal  which had a Mughal garden and well preserved wall paintings.

We had an early wakeup by the two ceiling fans coming on at full speed and nearly blowing us out of bed; there must have been a power cut that upset the controller.   After breakfast we put on our walking shoes then bought our Orchha palace tickets which included entrance to all the historic attractions in town. Our plan was to tackle the palaces in the Orchha Fort first.

Unfortunately whilst we were resting between palaces Adrian dropped the zoom camera on the ground, and although it was turned off the grit broke the lens protector.

ORCHHA TOWN

In the center of the town, the Ram Rata temple was surrounded by food stalls, bangle shops, and holy men begging. There was a festival on (in India every day seemed to be a festival day somewhere in the town) and there was loud amplified music playing in the square in front of the temple. It was all a bit overpowering. The spires of the 16th century Chaturbhuj Temple are a feature of the Orchha skyline. Inside, the building is lofty and plain – very unlike a normal Indian temple. The temple was built to hold the relic in the Ram Rata temple but was never used, and so it has a feeling of a disused gothic cathedral. We couldn’t face climbing any more steps and so didn’t pay the youth to climb up for a town view (and presumably plenty of exposure to unfenced drops). On the other side of the markets surrounding the Ram Rata temple was the Phool Bagh Persian garden. It wasn’t very well kept and was crowded with locals. To escape the crowds we walked 600m out of town to the 17th century Lakshmi Narayan Temple. This was an interesting structure with some 19th century murals depicting the English (not in an entirely flattering way). There were good views over the town from the 1st floor.  It was nice to see this temple being actively restored.

After returning briefly to our room for a rest, we got changed, and then headed off for an afternoon exploring the town. Lunch was in an upstairs restaurant near the car park with the grand title Cerveceria Mediterraneo. As a change from thalis we had pizza and pasta whilst enjoying their unusually fast internet access. The food was all created in a tiny kitchen (which was best not looked at too closely)

After walking round the town we were exhausted and headed home for chai and relaxation in the strangely furnished hotel lounge. Megan found some fascinating local history and architecture books in the hotel library whilst Adrian worked on the internet sorting out seating on our homebound flights. 

As we got ready for dinner (in the hotel) there was a knock at the door and housekeeping came to clean the room! Better late than never I suppose; but it was eccentric experiences like this that served to remind you that you were, after all, in a government run establishment.

Wednesday 22nd – Orchha – Gwalior

It was a slow departure, as the power went off and the hotel couldn’t print our bill, and then they got it wrong!
The first stop of the day was Jhansi just a short distance up the main road to Gwalior. We rounded the impressive fort grabbing glimpses of the walls, and then got stuck in a market area on tiny lanes trying to get back out to the main road.  Asking locals for directions produced conflicting answers, Google was no help at all, and when we did escape through the gates of the old city we were heading in completely the wrong direction!

Datia was the next stop, to look at the under visited Bir Singh palace which we sighted from the town bypass. Actually getting to the palace entrance was a lot more difficult; we had to abandon the car and proceed on foot when the going got too narrow. This is a site that isn’t going to be attracting tourist coaches in the near future! 

SONAGIRI
There are over a hundred Jain temples in Sonagiri even though the town itself is predominately Hindu. Sonagiri is located a short distance from the main road down a narrow lane going under a busy railway line with a new underpass.  We had been told that the  temples would be closed till 3pm so we just tried to climb steps near the locked main gate to get a better look inside.  We were approached by a guide who had a story that all unaccompanied foreign visitors now needed a guide as there had been some problems in the past. He offered to give us a private tour for Rs375/- which we accepted. The gate was unlocked for us and the guide gave us a relaxed tour with plenty of information about the Jain faith. It was worth the $8 just to have the site to ourselves.

BIR SINGH PALACE – DATIA Built in 1620 Bir Singh Deo’s palace is a seven storied structure. It has survived well because it is built entirely of brick and stone with no cement or iron to hold it together.  Entrance to the palace was free but we paid a guide as we could find no information on the place (and he probably didn’t get many visitors).  Unusually the bottom floors were a fort (for soldiers and prisoners) and the top floors a palace. On the top floor there were 4 pavilions for the queens and 4 for the concubines. The story is that the palace was only used for “one night” – it certainly wasn’t used by Bir Singh for long as he died in 1626.

The MP Tourism hotel on the other side of the lake from the palace made us very welcome for lunch. We asked for the food to be very spicy and this time it was with perhaps too many green chillies. There were nice photo opportunities from the hotel lawn.

Sonagiri, famous for its low hill capped with rows of sparkling white Jain temples, was just a short distance away.

Heading north again the main road became very busy with delays caused by a number of nasty truck accidents. The road was bad, but not much worse than usual, so it was unclear why the trucks had run into each other.  Once again the road was an unfinished dual carriage way even though there was obviously good reasons for improvements to be completed.

Reaching Gwalior we had to navigate from the south to the west side without any obvious ring road. Google gave several choices (always an ominous sign) and we chose the one that looked simplest to navigate. Soon we found ourselves in one big snarled up traffic jam. It must happen all the time as the drivers and pedestrians seemed to be taking the delay in their stride without getting upset.

Our hotel for the next two nights was Deo Bagh. The history of Deo Bagh goes back to 1500 when the Mughals used to live here in a summer house. Deo Bagh advertises itself as a non-hotel and it certainly didn’t have the feel of a hotel.

On arrival we were shown to our room which was a single story cottage looking out onto the central gardens. Although the accommodation wings were modern they had been built in a style that closely matched the original buildings. In exploring where all the light switches were Megan managed to turn the hot water off which came as a surprise later when we wanted a shower.

The hotel was beautifully flood lit at night, and by day the extensive gardens invited exploration. A 36-pillared pavilion stands on the other side of the central gardens, but behind it are a row of family temples dating back to the 17th century. Meals are taken in the 17th century Zenana wing. The food was tasty and fresh, though perhaps a little bit expensive by Indian standards. The breakfast buffet was particularly good.  Because there were only two guests having dinner on the first night we had waiter service and a fixed menu.

Thursday 23^rd -Exploring Gwalior

In the early morning sunshine the non-hotel gardens looked at their best with Gwalior Fort rising in the hazy distance. After a buffet breakfast we entered the fort through the 13^th century Urwahi Gate. There is single track operation between two gatehouses on the road as it ascends to the fort – sadly the old railway signals are no longer used. Before heading up to the top we took a look at the well preserved Jain rock carvings from the 15^th century by the side of the road.

GWALIOR FORT

he fort area is large; so large that it now includes a prestigious private school and a large Sikh temple. We parked near the pedestrian section of the fort that includes the main palace and museum. After paying for entrance tickets we started our tour at the Elephant Gate.

The original entrance to the fort, before the modern road was constructed, was through the Elephant Gate. There was a stunning view of the palace with its blue tilework, the fort walls towering above the city, and the eastern approach winding up the hill through 5 gates. It was easy to see why in the past Gwalior was considered one of India’s most invincible fortresses.

The Man Singh palace is the only surviving intact palace from pre-Moghul times. It was built between 1486 and 1516 and has colourful exterior tilework. Inside we were disappointed to find that only the lower three levels were accessible. In the basement there were circular rooms whose purpose seems to be unclear.

We baulked at buying another expensive ticket to see the temples at the north end of the fort, so instead we walked down the east wall till we reached the Saas Bahu Temples which were included in our ticket. These two temples with great views over the city were in a South Indian style that is familiar to us. They date from the 11th century.

Our feet were getting tired so we back-tracked to the car and drove further south to see the Teli Ka Mandir temple. This temple was a significant amalgamation of the styles of north and south Indian temples and was even older, dating from the 9th century. The British used the temple as a soda factory after ‘The Uprising’ (or as the Indians prefer to say ‘The First War of Independence’).

At lunch time we headed off towards the station in the modern part of town to try an “all you can eat” Thali that Adrian had read about.  Panchavati Gaurav was a smart restaurant in a modern complex but the gourmet vegetarian Thali only cost Rs250/- ($5). It was one of the best meals of the holiday – with many different tastes and excellent service.  We excelled ourselves by eating with our hand – and a waiter came round with an ornate brass jug and bowl so we could clean up afterwards. We had to wait afterwards for our driver who had gone off to get a prescription for glasses (for reading not for driving!)

The second attraction we wanted to see in Gwalior was the Jai Vilas Palace, the opulent residence of the Maharaja built in 1870 using prison labour. Finding the entrance to the palace was tricky (perhaps we should have read our Lonely Planet Guide first). We tried the Southern back entrance, then the Northern main gate, and finally got in down a narrow road from the West.  Entrance was a steep Rs800/- for foreigners, clearly still funding the Maharaja’s lavish style.

One wing of the old palace was devoted to a collection of the Maharajas personal belongings which demonstrated what a complete lack of taste he and his wives had. Describing the museum as bizarre would be an understatement. The Durbar Hall was poorly lit and completely inappropriately furnished in the style of a hotel lounge!

Snippets from the Indian News Each day over 370 people are killed on the roads in India, that is about 16 per hour. Only 25% of people wear seatbelts.   At an unmanned railway crossing 4 people from the same family were killed, 2 others survived.   Man trampled to death while taking a photograph of an elephant   Two brothers were drowned in the village well. The second went to save his younger brother.   In Assam last year 15 elephants were killed on railway tracks. Authorities are researching the use of bee sounds, as elephants are petrified of bees. Man stabbed to death on a train (by Hindus?), as he was wearing the Muslim skull cap, scarf & religious garments   A dog was caught carrying a still-born baby out of a hospital, despite the doormen & security guards   A teenage girl hung herself because her parents had paid so much for her education & could not afford to pay for the completion of her studies. They had already sacrificed so much for her.   There is an active Cow Protection Society to ensure that cows are not slaughtered for meat by non-Hindus. The cow is sacred to the Hindu religion   There is much controversy over girls wearing the headscarf. It is banned in schools that are not Islamic.   Four schoolgirls commit suicide by jumping into a well. They had been criticised for poor work in a government secondary school. A threat was made to call in the parents which led to the suicide

Back at the hotel we explored the family temples in the garden before having a buffet dinner. It was a noisy night as weddings were being held all round us with loud music and fireworks.

Uttar Pradesh

Leaving Gwalior we passed into the state of Uttar Pradesh which was preparing to hold an election that weekend.  We had two full days to explore Lucknow, and were impressed by the grand buildings dating from the 18^th and 19^th centuries. By Indian standards it was a clean city and we enjoyed walking round and discovering it for ourselves.

Friday 24^th – Gwalior – Lucknow

After waiting for the driver to collect his new glasses we set off on a long drive to Lucknow.

We stopped for lunch in Etawah where we found a modern hotel advertising its restaurant. The hotel was busy setting up for a wedding in the hall next door.   We ordered dosas hoping that kitchen was cleaner than the tables and chairs.

After lunch we joined the Agra-Lucknow Expressway. It was a brand new road and they hadn’t built the on-ramp toll booths – or even the on ramp – so we used a dirt off-ramp to join the road. What followed was two hours of very boring motoring. The interest in travelling in India is going slowly  through all the villages and seeing so much on route. If the expressway is the way of the future, then touring in India will lose much of its attraction.

On one section of the expressway the military have a runway painted on the road for use in the case of war. The lack of lane markings or central reservation isn’t something that would greatly concern most Indian drivers.

To ease the boredom there were signs by the road side with snippets of wisdom such as –
Hug your kids at home but belt them in the car

Of course, when we turned off the expressway into Lucknow’s rush hour traffic we slowed down to Indian pace, then got stuck in a traffic jam for about 45 minutes!

Our hotel had the wrong name on the NivaLink voucher which caused some confusion arriving after dark. The La Place Park Inn is now La Place Sarovar Portico!  The hotel is conveniently located close to one of the main shopping areas but pedestrian movement was greatly hampered by a metro being constructed.

After dark we wandered round the nearby shopping streets, many of the small shops were hidden in arcades off the main road. We had dinner in a busy restaurant serving Chaat (Indian snacks) downstairs.  One dish we ordered was particularly nice, a dry Paneer called Paneer K Mirch on the menu.

Saturday 25^th – Exploring Lucknow

It was now  Adrian’s turn to not to feel too good. But the show has to go on!

We started our Lucknow sightseeing by looking at two Imambaras – Moslem meeting halls. We arrived early enough to beat the crowds for a short while.  Then the sun came out and the school children arrived in droves. On the other side of a ceremonial gateway a wide avenue led to the second  Imambara.

IMAMBARAS – LUCKNOWBara Imambara
Construction of Bara Imambara was started in 1785, a year of a devastating famine, and one of [Asaf-ud-Daula]’s objectives in embarking on this grandiose project was to provide employment for people in the region for almost a decade while the famine lasted.  The vast central hall is one of the largest arched constructions in the world. Unfortunately the contents of the hall, a number of tacky replicas of a tomb in Iraq, detracted from the grandeur of the building. Above the ceilings are three levels of labyrinth, small passages with identical doors and few windows. We posed as “friends” because opposite sex couples are required to pay for a guide before entering the maze to ensure nothing untoward happens.  The darkest passageways in the labyrinth were on the lowest level (we had a good torch) and it was unnerving that many doorways opened onto a largely unprotected drop into the hall below.  The Bara Imambara complex also includes a mosque (which we didn’t visit) and a nice step well (Baori).
Outside the Bara there is a grand ceremonial gateway –the Rumi Darwaza – which still has the city traffic going through it.Chota ImambaraOn the other side of the gateway is a clock tower that would be more at home in London, and the Chota Imambara (1832), another congregation hall for Shia Moslems. Entry here was included in the ticket we bought at the Bara Imambara. This complex includes the mausoleum of a Nawab and so the wearing of headscarves was required. The water features and garden in the courtyard were nice, but once again the Imambara itself contained a collection of OTT kitsch.

 We then switched from being tourists to doing a bit of shopping, more specifically getting two of Megan’s necklaces repaired. Leaving the new city (replacing the area bulldozed by the British after the uprising) we hit the narrow streets of Aminabad.  Our driver was quite concerned that we were expecting a Western market, but we persevered, left the car somewhere it could be parked, and walked to the area where Google indicated where one might find jewellers. Luckily local markets in India are still grouped by trade, so all the jewellers’ shops would be found in one block of the market. We quickly found a man in an alcove who could repair jewellery– he didn’t have any English so we couldn’t negotiate a price. But there was no need. It took a while, chai was served to lubricate the transaction, and when he finished the bill was just Rs100/- ($2).

Adrian rested in the afternoon building energy for the evening’s culinary tour. Megan tried to go shopping but was so concerned about getting lost she didn’t get as far as the shops!

CULINARY TOUR – LUCKNOW The tour took us to places we wouldn’t normally think of going in an old market area.  “Close one’s eyes to the hygiene and just enjoy the tastes” was the tour guide’s advice. Some of the restaurants  had been trading in the Chouk for a very long time; Tunday Kababi for instance was started 109 years ago! The only thing we didn’t enjoy was the Paan (that’s ignoring the fact that it is also carcinogenic). Mubeen’s Pasanda Kebabs Sheermal Murg Awadhi Pulao   Tunday Kababi Galaouti Kebab Rahim’s Nihari Ghost and Gilafi Kulcha Rahmat Ali Halva Azhar Bhai   Paan

We left at 6:30 for the Culinary Tour we had booked which ambiguously was advertised as starting at the Akbari Gate, deep in the pedestrian only area of the old Chouk market. It was clear we couldn’t drive directly to the gate and instead went down a main road just outside the markets. The driver phoned the tour guide and was able to unite us just a bit further down the road where we also joined up with an extended Indian family. Like mother duck and her ducklings we wandered off into the Chouk to sample the delights of Awadhi cuisine (characterised by slow cooking and the matching of breads to dishes).

It was our last day with a car and driver so we farewelled our Sanjay back at the hotel and took pictures in the hotel foyer.

Sunday 26th – Exploring Lucknow

Everything was very quiet on Sunday morning as it was a state election day and a public holiday (also the sale of alcohol had been barred). So we had trouble finding a 3-wheeler to take us to the Residency where the Siege of Lucknow took place. For a short time it was a nice sunny morning but then the irritating smog came back making all the distant views hazy. The Residency was far larger and more interesting than we had supposed (there really isn’t much information available about it from the Indians as they were defeated by the British).  After exploring the historic compound we followed a self-guided historic guided walk that took us through the remains of the Kaiser Bagh Palace.

RESIDENCY AND KAISER BAGH PALACE  – LUCKNO

Residency
In 1857 the British were holed up in the Residency compound for 148 days during the Indian Uprising. I was expecting the Residency to be a single castle like structure, so was surprised to find that the compound consisted of a number of once elegant buildings none of which had been designed as a fortress. Only 6 of the 48 or so buildings remain today, and those still standing are in various states of ruin reflecting the destruction of months of incoming artillery fire. The feeling of history in the place was very moving. The Museum, located in part of the Main Residency building, was partially closed for renovations, but we were invited to watch an informative video (in English) being shown to some official guests. KaiserBagh Palace
The Kaiser Bagh Palace was built by the last Nawab of Lucknow in 1850, shortly before the Indian Uprising. After the Indians were defeated the British raised most of the palace to stop it being used again to support rebellion. We followed a walking tour published by Uttar Pradesh Tourism that uncovers some of the remaining historical buildings. Starting from the Residency we passed the Durbar Hall and a then a couple of buildings being actively restored.  It seems that the palace gateways were spared by the British; we passed through Neil Gate, Gol gate and Lakh Gate. The central part of the palace is now marked by Butler Park which is surrounded by fragments of the old palace buildings and tombs.

The streets were still deserted and all the shops closed so we abandoned hopes of grabbing lunch on the run. Instead we navigated the back streets to the hotel and ate in the hotel café.

The shops finally reopened in the evening, so we headed out for a final look (but bought nothing) and then had our last dosas of the holiday in a smart modern restaurant (The Curry Leaf).

As we had an early start the next morning we wanted to settle our account the night before. But this being India the system was manual and they couldn’t provide an account till the overnight manual ledger had been done.  When we returned to reception at 5am the next morning the desk was covered with bulging manila files. It’s nice to see that some things in India never change!

Getting Home

On our last day we flew out of Lucknow to New Delhi, Singapore and then home. The journey home very much retraced our journey out, except that we treated ourselves to a night of luxury in the Singapore Airport Crown Plaza hotel

Monday 27^th – Lucknow – Singapore

Our transfer to the airport at 5am was very fast – there was no other traffic on the roads.  That gave us, once again, time for a cup of coffee before our flight to Delhi departed.

The short domestic flight arrived late and so our connecting flight to Singapore was already boarding by the time we got to the transfer security screening.  We were whisked through and got a buggy transfer to the gate.

Although the plane was another cramped 737 it wasn’t quite as old as the plane we had on the trip out, and it wasn’t fully booked. Megan was able to move across the aisle so we both had a spare seat. There was no inflight entertainment so Adrian tried the Jet Airways app on his phone to watch a movie. Unfortunately the phone didn’t have enough charge for a full movie!

Arriving in Singapore was effortless, as was the transfer to our hotel which was this time the Crown Plaza on the land side of T3. This was an excellent hotel with lots of nice features, but astronomically expensive by Indian standards.  We rushed down to enjoy the lovely swimming pool before it closed for the night, and then had complementary drinks and a nice meal in the lobby café.

Tuesday 28^th – Singapore – Sydney

Another early start without breakfast, but we didn’t have far to go from the hotel to the departure gate.  Once again there was time for a cup of coffee before boarding our Singapore Airlines flight to Sydney.  It was a comfortable flight, only about 2/3 full, but again the preferred seating we paid for wasn’t worth the money. There were no queues on arrival in Sydney and soon we were on a bus heading across the Harbour Bridge.

Progress?
Changes we observed in India over the past 10 years.

Ten years ago every town was in chaos having mains drainage installed. Now those streets are free of trenches and India doesn’t smell any more.  

Ten years ago cash was hard to come by. Now ATMs are a common sight, there is more money in circulation and one didn’t have to collect and hold onto small denomination notes.  

Ten years ago, the main roads were narrow and unimproved. Now there are a few examples of completed dual carriageway highways, but the rest of the roads are in a worse state because of unfinished road works.  

Ten years ago you would have to rely on a driver to find the route to your destination. Now we have Google maps! However Google will have limitations whilst addresses remain imprecise – like this address for our hotel in Orchha: Dist Tikamgarh, Ram Raja Mandir Rd, Opp Betwa River  

There are still the cows wandering in the streets of towns & villages. But  they look much healthier & better fed than ten years ago.

Most people now ride motorcycles instead of bicycles. Cars are very common adding to the chaos. 

Many roads have signs of improvements being made like bridge building. Most appear to have been abandoned without being finished.

Very few bullock wagons remain. Only an isolated pair of bullocks were seen pulling enormous loads along country roads.  

Over the last 10 years refrigeration has become much more common in smaller restaurants. This means they can offer a wider choice on the menu, and the quality of fresh products like curd and paneer is better.