{"id":131,"date":"2017-11-07T07:24:25","date_gmt":"2017-11-07T07:24:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/?p=131"},"modified":"2018-12-08T22:44:56","modified_gmt":"2018-12-08T22:44:56","slug":"2018-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/2017\/11\/07\/2018-india\/","title":{"rendered":"2017 India"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2>An Indian Adventure<br><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<a data-flickr-embed=\"true\" data-header=\"true\" data-footer=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/161278951@N05\/albums\/72157700769200631\" title=\"2017 India Highlights\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1963\/44538331754_bc7748aa12_z.jpg\" alt=\"2017 India Highlights\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\"><\/a><script async=\"\" src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>7th&nbsp; &#8211; 28th November 2017 <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<table class=\"wp-block-table\"><tbody><tr><td>\n    \n    It was ten years since we had last\n    travelled in India and the pressure to go back had been building for some\n    time. When Megan came up with a list of relatively unknown places she\n    wanted to visit in Central India we had the reason to plan a trip. Adrian augmented\n    the itinerary by throwing in more palaces, forts, and tigers. Then with the\n    help of our Indian travel agent, Nivalink, our adventure was conceived.\n    This diary documents three weeks wandering off the well beaten track;&nbsp; and enjoying the unique experiences that\n    India offers.<em><\/em>\n    \n    <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"558\" height=\"407\" src=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image002.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-140\" srcset=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image002.jpg 558w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image002-300x219.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 558px) 100vw, 558px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3>Getting There<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>\nWe took two days to get to India, with daytime flights to Singapore, and\n then on to New Delhi. The first leg was comfortable flying Singapore \nAirlines, stopping overnight in Singapore in a hotel we knew. The \nadventure started the next day when we boarded a vintage 737-800 for a \nJet Airways flight to Delhi.&nbsp; The cramped flight was uncomfortable \nenough, but then we hit a delay caused by smog and maintenance at \nDelhi.&nbsp; We landed late, and our connecting flight to Jaipur was delayed \nseveral times before we boarded at midnight.\n\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><strong>Tuesday 7<sup>th<\/sup> &#8211; Sydney \u2013 Singapore<\/strong><br><br>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. &nbsp;We had paid for preferred seating on the top deck of the Singapore Airlines A380 \u2013 but as our leg room turned out to be a cross aisle gangway we couldn\u2019t really stretch out. Entertainment was the usual mixture of duff Hollywood films and a few gems. Our favourite was watching <em>The Trip to Spain<\/em> with Rob Brydon. in fact we watched it again on the flight home!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">\n \n \nIn Singapore we used the same stop-over hotel as the previous year,\nthe Village Hotel Changi, but we skipped their intermittent slow free shuttle\nand just jumped in a taxi from the airport.&nbsp;\nAs soon as our overnight bag was unpacked we headed across the road to\nthe food hall to sample some hawker fare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><strong>Wednesday 8<sup>th<\/sup> &#8211; Singapore \u2013 Jaipur<\/strong><br>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 \u2013 which you cooked and prepared yourself (a deconstructed breakfast).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We always seem to have one hick-up with airport security \u2013\nthis time it was because Megan had left an unused bottle of water in her\nbag.&nbsp; But the bigger shock was seeing the\nJet Airways 737-800 we were going to spend the next 6 hours on to Delhi. It was\nso old it had tiny fixed seat back displays \u2013 which didn\u2019t work.&nbsp; The inflight magazine\u2019s advice column was fun\nbut that was about all the entertainment. It was long and uncomfortable with\njust two toilets at the rear of the cabin. If one had to identify anything good\n\u2013 it would be the tasty food complete with Indian bread. Also the rum and coke\nMegan was served was half rum (out of a decanter) which did help the time pass!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We were very late arriving in Delhi due to the airport\nhaving closed one runway for maintenance, and the smog reducing visibility and\ncreating a backlog of planes to land. After flying in circles for an eternity,\nthe Captain announced that he would have to divert to Jaipur if we didn\u2019t get\nclearance to land.&nbsp; Soon afterwards we\nstarted our descent to the relief of everyone on board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The air in the terminal buildings was hazy; the view out the\nwindows was just of thick brown fog. Whilst transferring to Domestic within the\nsame terminal we had planned to get some cash (most of the ATMs didn\u2019t work),\nand getting a free visitor SIM card (turns out they didn\u2019t have any supplies to\nhand out). Welcome to India!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Luckily we had paid in advance for lounge access, which\nalthough it wasn\u2019t a patch on a Business Class Lounge it did have comfortable\nseating as our 8:25pm flight to Jaipur was pushed back first to 9:45 and then\n10:20. We boarded the flight \u2013 but as we hadn\u2019t got clearance the crew served\nthe snack whilst we waited at the gate.&nbsp;\nWhen we took off at midnight the crew was so busy packing up they forgot\nto give a safety briefing.<br>\n<br>\nAt Jaipur Airport our hotel driver was still waiting for us, and we finally got\nto our hotel (and bed) for the night in Alsisar Haveli at 1:15am.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Rajasthan<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>\nRajasthan is one of the most visited states in India. But instead of \ndoing the normal tourist triangle we left Jaipur for the less spoilt \ntown of Bundi famous for its miniature paintings and step wells. From \nBundi our route headed south into a little visited extension of \nRajasthan, probably because the road was shocking \u2013 more pothole than \nsurface.&nbsp; In Jhalawar the main attraction was visiting the largely \nunrestored Gagron Fort picturesquely situated on a confluence of two \nrivers. But in fact it was our stay in the Prithvi Villas palace that \nformed one of the highlights of our trip. We were lucky that the \nMaharaja of Jhalawar was staying in the palace at the same time as us, \nand we were his only two guests. This meant for a day we lived like \nroyalty with the Maharaja, and soaked up all the history of this unique \nhomestay.&nbsp; Leaving Jhalawar we visited the temples of Jhalrapatan then crossed the border south into Madhya Pradesh.\n\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"625\" height=\"442\" src=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image006.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-142\" srcset=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image006.jpg 625w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image006-300x212.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><strong>Thursday 9<sup>th<\/sup> &#8211; Jaipur \u2013 Bundi<\/strong><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We woke to our first day in India with the sun shining, the\nsounds of breakfast on the terrace below, and Indian music drifting up to our 1<sup>st<\/sup>\nfloor bedroom. The Alsisar Havelii was built in 1892 as a nobleman&#8217;s town\nhouse, and has been restored to perfection.&nbsp;\nIt is isolated somewhat from the noise of the city by high stone walls\nproviding an oasis of tranquillity \u2013 just what we needed after the trip out\nfrom Sydney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">After breakfast we rested for the morning; Megan even found\ntime for a dip in the nicely landscaped pool, whilst Adrian fielded a\nsuccession of phone calls from the ground agents trying to determine when we\nwanted our driver to turn up (it was written in the official itinerary).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Our driver Sanjay turned up (with his boss) at 1pm and we\nheaded off on our adventure. The car (an Indian built Toyota Innova) was\nspacious in the back, but had rather hard suspension for the bumpy Indian\nroads.&nbsp; Sanjay had only a limited\nunderstanding of English, so although he had the flowery Itinerary written by\nNivalink he couldn\u2019t understand it. He had been driving for 20 years but this\nwas the first long distance hire he had done, and as soon as we left Jaipur\nbehind us he was lost! Like all Indian drivers he didn\u2019t have a map and relied\non asking locals for directions \u2013 this had varying degrees of success. Luckily\nAdrian came to the rescue with Google maps which were pretty reliable on the\nopen road.&nbsp; We found it amusing that\nwhilst we always wore our seat belts (if you have seen Indian driving you would\nunderstand why) but Sanjay would only fasten his when he was in a large town\nand saw a police man!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><br>\nOur first stop on the way to Bundi was Tonk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>TONK<\/strong> <\/p><p>Tonk is a Muslim town and was only just having main drainage installed \u2013 probably no coincidence as religious division in India is still prevalent.&nbsp; <\/p><p>Tonk was like the old India we knew \u2013 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 \u2018attraction\u2019 in town was more difficult.&nbsp; We asked locals where to find Sunheri Kothi&nbsp; (early 20th Century hall) and got&nbsp; contradictory directions. The building, hidden down a small lane was being \u2018restored\u2019 (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.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">\n  \n \nLeaving Tonk the road followed the irrigated Banas river valley for\nan hour before climbing into the Aravalli Range. We dropped into Bundi from\nabove following a winding valley.&nbsp; The\nlake (Nawal Sagar) above the town was low as monsoon rains had not been good. Sanjay\ntried to get the car to our Haveli in the old town but the road was not made\nfor cars. In the end we gave up and walked the last few yards to Dev Nivas.\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The hotel was a delightful merchant\u2019s house built in 1684.\nWe had a large room on 1<sup>st<\/sup> floor (actually 3 rooms) up steep steps\nwith doors opening onto the central courtyard. &nbsp;After unpacking we walked up another steep\nflight of steps to the restaurant which had stunning views over the rooftops to\nthe palace and fort.&nbsp; We watched the\nsunset whilst sipping their excellent ginger Masala Chai. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Outside of the calm of the hotel the Main Street (or Bazaar)\nwas narrow, noisy with motor bikes, and followed the stream downhill.&nbsp; Apparently during the monsoon rains the lake\noverflows and the entire street turns into a river. This explains why all the\nshops were built high up off the road. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Friday 10<sup>th<\/sup> &#8211; Exploring Bundi<\/strong><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>GARH PALACE &#8211; BUNDI<\/strong><br>The\n Garh Palace was built in the 17th and 18th century in pure Rajput \nstyle.&nbsp; The entrance to the main palace is through an impressive \nElephant Gate (Hathiapol ) from where you climb up to the Audience Room \n(Ratan Mahal).&nbsp; <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>A small doorway then leads into the private part\n of the palace (Chhatar Mahal) with views over the town through stone \nlattice windows.&nbsp; A couple of rooms in this part of the palace had wall \nand ceiling paintings well preserved in the dark (but we had to use our \ntorch to see them). <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>Exiting through the Elephant Gate we climbed\n a bit higher up the hill and entered the 18th century Chitrasala Palace\n which is partially built on top of the older palace. The palace was \nreached through a well maintained hanging garden with an attractive \nsplash of colour from a Bougainvillea tree. Only one room is open to the\n public (most of the palace is quite empty and just full of bats) but \nthat room was decorated from floor to ceiling with detailed paintings.\n\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">\n  \n \nBreakfast in the rooftop restaurant was relaxing with the soft morning\nlight on the palace, and monkeys scampering over the rooftops.&nbsp; There were two espresso machines in Bundi,\nand we headed to one, just up the street from the hotel, for a morning caffeine\nhit (masala chai just doesn\u2019t hit the spot). &nbsp;Whilst we waited for our coffees we watched a\ncow being fed by a shop keeper across the road. Refreshed we headed up to look at the Garh Palace.\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Back in town, as we walked towards the lake, we passed a painter\u2019s\nshop and looked at his miniature paintings on old paper.&nbsp; Adrian was taken with elephant constructed\nout of ladies (navanari kunjara). After negotiating a \u2018best price\u2019 we left to think\nit over. Lunch was a couple of Rajistan Thalis in a garden caf\u00e9 by the smelly\nlake.&nbsp; On the way back to the hotel we\nbought the painting as a Christmas present to ourselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>STEP WELLS &#8211; BUNDI<\/strong><br>Just\n outside the old city walls, through Chogan Gate we found the two \nmatching step wells, Nagar Sagar Kund, surrounded by the chaos of a \nlocal market.&nbsp; The wells, constructed in the 1870\u2019s were much deeper \nthan we were expecting but were completely dry. Further South was the \n46m deep Raniji-ki-Baori (Queen\u2019s Step Well). The well was built in 1757\n and is very ornate. It has been nicely restored and is kept clean (so \nattracts an entrance fee). <br>Pushing on further south down a much less\n desirable street we reached Dhabhai ka Kund behind a high wall. \nInitially it appeared to be closed, but then we noticed that the padlock\n was not actually through the gate.&nbsp; This well had particularly well \nplanned geometric steps \u2013 but once again it was dry after a poor \nmonsoon.\n\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">\n  \n \nLater in the afternoon we headed out to explore Bundi\u2019s step wells.\nThe main street was blocked by a Muslim Friday procession \u2013 lots of noise and\nflimsy foil covered floats. &nbsp;It took ages\nto get through the crowds to the Chogan Gate and leave the old city.\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><strong>Saturday 11<sup>th<\/sup> &#8211; Bundi \u2013 Jhalawar<\/strong><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The Dev Nivas hotel\ntransported us and our bags in a buggy up to the palace car park where we met\nup with our driver.&nbsp; We first drove to\nsee the Sukh Sagar lake where we chatted to some men who were trying to clear\naway the lotus plants that clogged the water \u2013 they seemed reasonably happy\neven though the enormity of the task ahead of them would have been daunting.\nFinally, as we were heading out of town towards Kota we stopped to look at the\n84-Pillared Cenotaph (1683).&nbsp; Although\nadmission required a ticket you could see the structure quite well looking over\na low wall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The road to Kota was fast, passing over a flat and arid\nplain with the underlying flat rock visible. But heading south from Kota to\nJhalawar the old road was being \u2018improved\u2019 which made for numerous diversions round\nroad works and even more pot holes. By lunch time we eventually reached the\norchards of Jhalawar. &nbsp;Finding our\nhomestay, the Prithvi Villas Palace, was a challenge as the locals apparently\nknow the palace by another name, and Google maps couldn\u2019t tell which of the\napproach roads lead to the main entrance. We tried the North driveway which\nlead to an impressive gate. Unfortunately there was a big hole in the road\nwhere a cattle grid was being installed, but the car was able to squeeze\nthrough the pedestrian gate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We were greeted on arrival at the visitor\u2019s entrance by the\nMaharaja himself, and some of his 15 staff. His housekeeper welcomed us with a\ngarland of flowers and a red bindi. Although we had paid for a room in the\nannex we were upgraded to a spacious set of rooms on the ground floor of the\npalace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">In the early 20<sup>th<\/sup> century the Maharaja\u2019s family\nmoved from the city palace in the centre of town as it was too noisy. They\nbuilt a hunting lodge just out of town which was completely refurbished in the\n1920&#8217;s and 1930&#8217;s. Most of the furnishings came from this period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Our bathroom was original. It had a marble floor and marble\nsink, high ceilings and a toilet on a pedestal. Our room opened out into the\ncentral hall which was full of hunting trophies &#8211; tiger, panther, birds, hare,\ndifferent kinds of deer, and a tiger rug on the floor complete with head!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">After freshening up we had lunch with the Maharaja (Chandra\nSingh) in the Dining Room next door. The staff hovered at the door serving food\nand clearing away.&nbsp; In the afternoon we were\nlent the palace security guard to be a guide for our planned trip to Gagron\nFort. Having a guide meant that instead of approaching the impressive\nfortifications from the city side we went a more circuitous route and\napproached from the river over a causeway.&nbsp;\nGagron dates from the 7<sup>th<\/sup> to 14 century and is unusual in\nIndia in that it is protected on three sides by water.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We explored the extensive ruins of the fort, but none of the\nbuildings were labelled. The fortifications at the confluence of two rivers\nwere most impressive.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">On the route back through the town we passed by the City\nPalace (which the previous Maharaja had sold to the government). It was closed\nfor repairs so we were unable to see much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We were greeted back at the palace with afternoon tea. The\npalace was set in gardens surrounded by fields where peacocks could be seen and\nheard. The light was fading so Megan rushed off into the distance across a\nfield to go swimming in the pool that the Maharaja was rather proud of. When\nAdrian later visited the pool to see its setting, the security guard unlocked\nthe upstairs room and showed him the contemporary portraits of the family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">After dressing for dinner we relaxed in the drawing room\nfull of interesting things collected by the Maharaja\u2019s great-grandfather on two\nworld trips by sea, in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The ship even visited\nAustralia &amp; Tasmania. The memorabilia included a cabinet full of ivory\ncarvings, Chinese vases, Persian carpets, full sets of crockery bought in\nEngland, porcelain coffee sets, ink-wells made from elephants feet, and inlaid\nfurniture. Adrian caught up on the diary writing in comfort, whilst Megan\nsipped a cool beer and posed for photos. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The Maharaja came down and showed us round his grandfather\u2019s\noffice \u2013 including a larger than life-size portrait of his grandfather in full\nceremonial dress as the King of Jhalawah. We were taken by the photograph on\nthe wall showing the Chamber of Princes. &nbsp;It was a popular time for weddings in November,\nand many evenings we could hear the sounds of celebrations nearby. The Maharaja\nhad a local wedding to make an appearance at, so we ate dinner on our own with\nthe undivided attention of the staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"625\" height=\"442\" src=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image010.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-133\" srcset=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image010.jpg 625w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image010-300x212.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sunday 12<sup>th<\/sup> &#8211; Jhalawar \u2013 Ujjain<\/strong><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Megan was not\nfeeling to well at breakfast so Adrian had to eat for two!&nbsp; She put on a brave face as the Maharaja\nshowed us round the upstairs apartments filled with beautiful things, including\nfamily portraits, and hand-painted photos of Maharajas from the 1930s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">From Jhalawar it\nwas a short drive south to the walled city of Jhalrapatan (City of\nTemple Bells).&nbsp; The main attraction here\nwas the 11<sup>th<\/sup> century Surya (Sun) Temple in the busy heart of the\ntown.&nbsp; The temple is one of the oldest in\nRajasthan but is architecturally unique because it is a mixture of a Southern\nIndian style decorated tower with the addition in the 19<sup>th<\/sup> century\nof Rhajistan style cupulas.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Outside\nthe old town, in a small park by the river were a collection of even earlier\ntemples including the 7<sup>th<\/sup> century Chandrabhaga Temple.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Madhya Pradesh<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>\nLeaving Rajasthan we said goodbye to inbound tourists. The attention we \nreceived as foreigners from now on was both fun and at times tiring \u2013 we\n started to realise how celebrities feel about the paparazzi! Our \nexperiences in Madhya Pradesh were varied and interesting. They ranged \nfrom the abandoned city of Mandu, to prehistoric cave art at Bhimbetka \nand seeing wild tigers at Bandhavgarh.\n\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"625\" height=\"442\" src=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image012.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-134\" srcset=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image012.jpg 625w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image012-300x212.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Leaving Jhalrapatan we passed over into Madhya Pradesh. The\ndriver had to pay tax for every day of our intended stay in MP and needed to\nborrow cash from us! Over the border the road degraded from poor to appalling\nwith potholes slowing the traffic down to a crawl. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Despite the slow progress we arrived in Ujjain as planned in\ntime for lunch. Ujjain is one of Hinduism\u2019s seven sacred cities and life\nrevolves around the central Mahakaleshwar Temple.&nbsp; Our driver dropped us of close to the\npedestrian precinct, and we navigated to an upstairs restaurant that served\nunlimited thalis. It was tricky to find as it didn\u2019t have a sign outside in\nEnglish! Sadly only Adrian was able to enjoy the thali as Megan was restricted\nto a diet of curd and rice. Unfortunately her bad luck didn\u2019t stop there as she\nlost a dental crown munching on rice.&nbsp;\nThe presence of two western tourists in the restaurant created quite a\nstir with the staff and the waiters wanted to take endless selfies with Adrian.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The&nbsp; Mahakaleshwar\nTemple is the site of the Simhastha every 12 years and is surrounded by crowd\ncontrol barriers. We were not willing to join the long lines or to pay to see\nthe temple so we contented ourselves with a rounding, on the roads.&nbsp; Sinhasan Battisi on an island in the Rudra\nSagar was a completely O.T.T. garden of modern religious statues, but did\nprovide some respite from the crowds of pilgrims.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We rendezvoused with our driver and headed for a modern\nbusiness hotel in the southern suburbs. After staying in heritage character\nhotels our room in the Hotel Anjushree was characterless, but it was\ncomfortable!&nbsp; We seemed to be the only\ntourists staying there. &nbsp;The architecture\nof the hotel was inexplicably unusual. The restaurant was completely open to\nthe elements as was the swimming pool next to it. It was the only hotel that\nchecked incoming cars with a mirror \u2013 but as long as you didn\u2019t plant your bomb\non the nearside under the radiator you would have got through.&nbsp; &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">At sunset Adrian went back into the city to look at the\nbathing Ghats. There was a lot of activity as it got dark, with candles being\nfloated in the river and loud music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Monday 13<sup>th<\/sup> &#8211;&nbsp; Exploring Mandu<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We made an early start for a\nday trip to Mandu. It was quite an experience having breakfast when the\ntemperature outside (and in the restaurant) was 14 degrees!&nbsp; We had estimated it would take 3 hours\ndriving there and 3 hours back, so unfortunately our time in Mandu was going to\nbe a bit rushed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Not unsurprisingly our driver\nhad no idea where Mandu was, but luckily Google did! There was a good road\nsouth to Indore but we missed the informal city centre bypass and ended up in\nheavy traffic. They were widening the room, by bulldozing away the front of\nillegally built houses that were in the way and leaving the rest dangling. Once\nwe escaped out of the city the roads were excellent \u2013 except for the occasional\nhalf-finished bridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">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\u2019t get to explore all the many other ruins scattered over the plateau. The scale of the old city couldn\u2019t 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 \u2013 maybe because so many edifices from the Moslem  period contain tombs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>DAY TRIP TO MANDU<\/strong><br>The\n ancient city of Mandu is on a large flat plateau rising from the valley\n below, and connected to the highland to the north by a narrow, easily \ndefended neck of land. Mandu gained prominence in 10th and 11th \ncenturies but most of the remaining buildings date back to its golden \nyears in the 15th century. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>Like Hampi, the site has a lot of \nbuildings scattered over a wide area.&nbsp; Only a few of the bigger ruins \nare fenced off and subject to an admission charge.&nbsp; As we had limited \ntime we started straight away by buying a ticket for the Palace Group \nset in well maintained gardens.&nbsp; The two main palaces are very different\n in style; Hindola Mahal (late 15th cent) is a solidly built hall with \nelegant arches whilst the Jahaz Mahal (mid 15th cent) intended for the \nfemale consorts is ornate and breezy.&nbsp; We also explored the smaller Jal \nMahal palace set in a lake and surrounded by pleasure grounds. The \nengineering to provide water features in the palaces was impressive, \ncatching monsoon rains falling on the terraces, and storing water in \ndeep tanks. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>The next ticketed entrance was to the Village Group.\n This gave admission into the imposing Jama Masjid mosque (1454) and the\n marble Hoshang Shah tomb behind it (1440). Unfortunately the marble \ntomb was covered in scaffolding. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>Our final stop was at end of \nthe road winding to the southern edge of the plateau.&nbsp; We climbed up to \nthe Roopmati Pavilion, probably envisioned as a military lookout into \nthe valley below and then later enlarged to include a large cistern. The\n hazy views down into the valley were not as picturesque as the views \nback over the plateau to Baz Bahadur\u2019s Palace. We grabbed lunch in a \n\u2018fast food\u2019 thali restaurant in the modern village before heading home.&nbsp;\n The trip back to Ujjain was quicker because our driver knew the road, \nand we found the illusive Indore bypass.\n\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Tuesday 14<sup>th<\/sup> &#8211;&nbsp; Ujjain \u2013 Sanchi \u2013 Bhopal<\/strong><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>SANCHI (visited en-route to Bhopal)<\/strong><br>Entrance\n to the Buddhist stupas at Sanchi was expensive ;&nbsp; Rs 500\/- each ($10) \nfor foreigners. But at least we could drive the car to the top of the \nhill and park.&nbsp; The site was swarming with school parties \u2013 who were \nfascinated by us and wanted to take pictures with us. After a while it \nall got very tiring as it slowed down our sightseeing.&nbsp; Megan had \nvisited Sanchi before in her youth and found it spiritual. Now that \neverything has been nicely restored and set in manicured gardens, it had\n lost that feeling.&nbsp; <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The main stupa dates back to 262BC and has \nfour well preserved gateways (or Toranas) covered with carvings. These \ndate from an early period where Buddha was never actually pictured but \nwas alluded to through symbols such as a lotus, a Bodhi tree, and a \nwheel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lying in fragments outside Stupa 1 was an Ashoka pillar \nwith carvings from 300BC. The impressive top capital was on display in \nthe museum.&nbsp; We wandered round the rest of site which includes many \ntemples, monasteries and even more stupas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For lunch we ate in \nthe MP Tourism Gateway Cafeteria. There was the typical lack of service \nfrom a government run business \u2013 but the food was good.&nbsp; The restaurant \nwas set up only with large tables which meant that a few small groups \n(like us) could occupy the entire restaurant and leave others waiting \nfor a table. The museum at Sanchi was in nice grounds and the exhibits \nwere well labelled. We were however flushed out by a power cut followed \nby a noisy school party coming through.\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">\n  \n \nOn our return to Bhopal we skipped the ring road and headed directly\nfor our hotel which was over on the south side in the leafy Shymala Hills district. This meant we had to traverse\nacross the old city which was squalid and congested.&nbsp; Once again we noticed that an underdeveloped\narea was predominately Moslem. In contrast, the Jehan Numa Palace was in\na green oasis. \n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">This was the most luxurious hotel on our trip \u2013 though we\ncertainly didn\u2019t have the best room. The highlight of the hotel was its\nswimming pool which was attractive by day and by night. The old palace had been\ntastefully restored to accommodate the hotel function rooms and\nrestaurants.&nbsp; It had a horse racing theme\n(and indeed race horses could be seen being walked past the end of the swimming\npool).&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We celebrated our arrival with cocktails in the Tottenham\nCorner bar, and then had an Italian meal (as a break from Indian food).&nbsp; Food and drink was expensive compared to what\nwe had become accustomed to in India, but was still a bargain compared to\nSydney prices. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Wednesday 15<sup>th<\/sup> &#8211; Bhopal<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The next morning our driver was late. We suspected he had got lost trying to find his way back to the hotel from the \u201cguest house\u201d where he was staying. &nbsp;Using Google we found the main road out of Bhopal to Bhimbetka \u2013 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. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>BHIMBETKA <\/strong><\/p><p>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\u2019s somewhat under visited \u2013 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 \u2018enhanced\u2019 ) but it didn\u2019t 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 &#8211; particularly the early stick figures (Upper Palaeolithic).&nbsp; 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.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Back at the hotel we had a casual (i.e. cheaper) lunch in\nthe caf\u00e9 and then spent some time in the sun round the lovely pool.&nbsp; Because the air was so hazy the sun lost a\nlot of its heat as it started to sink in the sky, so soon it had cooled down\nenough to think of exercise.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We set out from the hotel intending to walk down to the lake\nside \u2013 but the walking routes identified by Google turned out to be on private\nproperty and it would have been a rough scramble down the hillside. So we\ncontented ourselves with the hazy water views from the ridge top. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We had dinner in our hotel in the best restaurant in town \u2013\na BBQ (Tandoor) in Under The Mango Tree.&nbsp;\nThe highlight for us was a type of potato croquet stuffed with cottage\ncheese, grilled in a Tandoor, and served with a mint\/coriander sauce. &nbsp;<br>\nReturning to our room it was time for amateur dentistry but we failed in two\nattempts to re-seat Megan\u2019s crown using our emergency dental kit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Thursday 16<sup>th<\/sup>&nbsp; Bhopal \u2013 Jabapur<\/strong><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">This was a long day\u2019s drive east to an overnight stop near\nJabalpur. Soon after leaving Bhopal we drove through Raisen which was dominated\nby a fort with remarkably intact walls. Eventually we left the busy roads\nbehind us and wound our way through the forests of Dehgaon Barnon Range. In the\nhills the agriculture was less developed and we saw our first bullock carts.\nWithout any trucks the road was narrow but better surfaced. We stopped for a\nbreak by a dry river and a group of villagers walked past in a religious\nprocession to a nearby temple. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">On a route through rural India we were lucky to find lunch\nin Gadarwara \u2013 Megan spotted a hotel with a large sign advertising its\nrestaurant in English. They were surprised to see two inbound tourists \u2013 but\nserved a good Indian lunch. The manager of the hotel was Nepalese and spoke\nreasonably good English. Heading east in the afternoon took us through a large\nsugar growing area, and we diverted through Narsinghpur to avoid road works on\nthe direct road to Jabalpur. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We stopped for the night in the Marble Rocks Motel, run by\nthe MP Government. Our room had a balcony with a view of the river heading up\npast the marble cliffs to the waterfalls. It was still light when we finished\nthe bureaucratic process of checking in to a government hotel, so we were able\nto walk along the concrete path out to a couple of viewpoints looking down into\nthe gorge. Boats full of Indians were being rowed by two men and given a loud\nrunning commentary we couldn\u2019t understand\u2026.\u201d<em>On your left is a marble rock; on your\nright is&nbsp; a marble rock\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We were the only guests for dinner and with the lack of\nsmiles it was hard to determine if we were welcome or not. We ordered too much\nrather bland food (after a quite spicy lunch) and had trouble eating it all.\nHow quickly your taste buds acclimatise to spice!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>Our thoughts that night turned to a comment our driver had\nmade; \u201cGovernment jobs are the only ones in India with security and a pension\u201d.\nObviously when you score such a job you don\u2019t have to do anything other than\ncollect your pay cheque.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Friday 17<sup>th<\/sup> &#8211; &nbsp;Jabalpur &#8211; Bandhavgarh National Park<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The motel managed to serve a standard breakfast offered without the hint of a smile. It was time to leave!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We took an interesting route bypassing Jabalpur to the south\nand passing the old cantonment area with abandoned buildings and large army\nbases. &nbsp;As the road climbed into the\nhills the usual smog cleared to a sunny morning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We arrived at the Wildflower Resort in time for lunch which\nwas served as soon as we had freshened up. It turned out that we were the only\nguests that day, though an extended Indian family arrived the following day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Safaris in the National Park have to be booked well in\nadvance, and we had reservations for two\u2013 one in the afternoon of our arrival,\nand the other early the following morning. On both safaris we saw Indian Tigers\nbut the adventure would have been worthwhile without that bonus.&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">&nbsp;Just after 2pm a Toyota Gypsy (Jeep) came\nto pick us up for our afternoon safari. There was open elevated seating in the\nback for 4 or so guests but we had the vehicle to ourselves. It was a very\nbouncy 15 minute trip into Tala town to the park headquarters. The afternoon\nsafari was a relaxed introduction to the area as there weren\u2019t too many animals\nvisible in the lush vegetation and the heat of the day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">In the evening the hotel set up a dinner by candle light for\nus on the lawn. This was much nicer than eating on our own in the main\nrestaurant. They served Chinese food in a very Indian style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>AFTERNOON SAFARI &#8211; BANDHAVGARH<\/strong> <\/p><p>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.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; Our driver\u2019s 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&nbsp; Bandhavgarh fort can be seen. All the safari routes appeared to go round the fort clockwise though initially they took different roads.<br><br>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 &amp; 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.&nbsp; 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\u2019t 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. <br><br><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><br><strong>Saturday 18<sup>th<\/sup> &#8211;&nbsp; Bandhavgarh National Park<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">It was an early start for us without breakfast \u2013 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.&nbsp; The inconvenience of getting up early was rewarded by seeing a lot more animals and birds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>MORNING SAFARI &#8211; BANDHAVGARH<\/strong> <\/p><p>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 \u2018hot\u2019. 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.&nbsp; 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!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">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).&nbsp; After lunch was eventually served we spent the afternoon relaxing round the resort. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"271\" height=\"203\" src=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image019.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-136\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"305\" height=\"451\" src=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image018.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-135\" srcset=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image018.png 305w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image018-203x300.png 203w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 305px) 100vw, 305px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">There was a power cut before dinner but luckily it didn\u2019t\naffect the food preparation. We were both ready for a good meal after having\nonly had a light lunch and a few muesli bars all day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We had very little alcohol on the holiday as it isn\u2019t common\nin conservative India. Instead we had the ritual of presenting the unopened\nbottle of (mineral) water at the table. The waiter always asked if you wanted\nhim to break the seal \u2013 as opened bottles of water are worthless and can\u2019t be\nsold to others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><strong>Sunday 19<sup>th<\/sup> &#8211; Bandhavgarh \u2013 Basari<\/strong><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">After our deprivations the day before we were looking\nforward to breakfast! The hotel provided a lovely start to the day with stuffed\nparatha, fruit salad and a masala omelette.&nbsp;\nMost hotels had a \u2018tick the box\u2019 survey they would ask us to complete on\ndeparture \u2013 tick excellent in all the boxes and we are out of here! The Wild\nFlower Resort just handed us a blank sheet of paper \u2013 so much harder \u2013 like\nwriting TripAdvisor reviews! And they also asked to take some photos of us with\nthe entire staff!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">To the north of Tala the road traversed some less visited\nzones of the national park. Then it passed over a vast reservoir powering Bansagar\nHydro. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">As we descended the air quality got worse. Maihar was a very\nunattractive town dominated by the dust from cement works. And the bypass for\nSatna appeared to be a dirt track so we pressed on and got caught up in another\ncity which was dry, dusty, and polluted. It was all a bit of contrast from the\nclean, green jungle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">For the first time on our holiday it started to rain, and by\nthe time we had climbed to Panna, we were in low cloud. Once again it fell to\nus to find a restaurant for lunch in a very Indian town. Eventually we saw an\nEnglish sign for the Hotel Rajlaxmi which was hidden away up an alleyway in the\nold town.&nbsp; The hotel was surprised to see\nus (an understatement), but the restaurant on the third floor with views over\nthe old town served a good lunch. Once again the staff all wanted pictures with\nus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Panna appeared to be an interesting town, so we drove around\nhoping for closer views of the temples and palace but they were all down lanes\ntoo narrow for the car. There were lots of other smart old buildings in town\ndating back to when it was a princely state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">It was a quick trip onwards to the village of Basari \u2013 making\na 6 hour journey including lunch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The main door to the Arya Hammeer Garhi palace was open so\nwe just breezed in. There was no reception; there was just a strong smell of\nvarnish. When the manager (?) appeared he seemed genuinely surprised by our\narrival and rushed to get a room ready for us. &nbsp;This was tricky as everything wooden in the\nhotel seemed to have fresh coat of varnish on it! They also rushed to remove\nall the washing that was hanging on the bushes in the garden! The accommodation\nwe were offered was a lot more rudimentary than the web site made out. In the\nroom there was no Tea\/Coffee Maker, Wi-Fi Internet, In-room menu, or any hot\nwater. Add to that the sheets were paper thin and torn (we had to ask for extra\nsheets). The bathroom may have had the advertised shower\/bathtub (cold) but\nthere were no towel rails or hooks to hang things on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">After unpacking the \u201cone night stand\u201d bag we set out to\nexplore the village.&nbsp; First stop was the lakeside\nto see the temple in the middle. This was not as romantic as the publicity\nphotos implied as there was a lot of rubbish around.&nbsp; Boating on the lake was even less than\nattractive given the decrepit state of the two pedalos.&nbsp; We then wandered up the main street to the\namusement of the villagers. Women were still drawing water from the village\nwell, and many of the older houses had thick adobe walls and overhanging\nroofs.&nbsp; We were also free to explore the\npalace, including climbing up onto the roof to enjoy the views. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">When it came to dinner time we sat down and were handed a\nmenu to choose from even though it appeared we were the only two guests. The\nfood was surprisingly good but there was the expected altercation afterwards\nbecause they didn\u2019t know about the deposit we had paid in advance. Communicating\nwith the staff was difficult as they had very little English.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Bundelkhand <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p> <br>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<sup>th<\/sup> 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 <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"625\" height=\"442\" src=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image021.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-137\" srcset=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image021.jpg 625w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image021-300x212.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Monday 20<sup>th<\/sup> &#8211; Basari \u2013 Orchha<\/strong><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We woke to a lovely morning, though the nights were getting noticeably\ncolder. The smell of varnish had weakened and the door to our room was no long\ntacky. Breakfast included a fruit bowl which was a nice touch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We took another walk round the village. It was noticeable\nhow happy the villagers were even though it was a very poor place.&nbsp; Up on the roof of the hotel Adrian took some\ntelephoto shots of activity on the street. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">It was an easy drive to Orchha \u2013 in fact we only got lost\nonce in some roadworks where a large flyover was being built over the railway\nline (to remove the crossing). Just before the turn off to Orchha we crossed\nthe wide Betwa River.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">It was too early to check-in at our hotel so we had lunch in\nLaxmi Betwa Tarong restaurant. Like many restaurants in Orchha this was on the\nroof so it had views of the fort. We both had Thalis; Adrian ordered a superior\nselection that included a delicious Gujia for desert. He added Gujia to the\nlist of dishes to make when we get home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Our hotel was part of the palace complex inside Orchha fort.\nWe drove over the fort bridge and through a very narrow gateway to reach the\nSheesh Mahal. The hotel was in accommodation built by the Raja of Orchha in the\nlate 19<sup>th<\/sup> century presumably to get some Victorian comforts that his\nold palaces lacked.&nbsp; We were given a\nchoice of rooms and selected Room 7 up a steep narrow external staircase. Our\nroom was spacious and overlooked the parking area between the two main palaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">After unpacking we took an hour wandering round the (free)\nparts of the fort, exploring a ruined haveli inhabited only by monkeys, and\nthen taking pictures at the lookout over the river. Just before sunset our car\narrived and we drove down to the riverside to look at the Chhatris (memorials\nto the rulers of Orchha). The views were enhanced by the soft late afternoon\nlight. We drove across the causeway to an island nature reserve and watched as\nthe sun dropped behind the Chhatris. The causeway was too narrow to safely walk\nover as it was barely wide enough for a coach. But vehicles didn\u2019t have it all\ntheir way; a cow decided to wander across and all the trucks could do was hoot\nand wait. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">On the way back to the room in the dark Adrian inadvertently\nturned off all the power to the room whilst trying to find the light switch for\nthe staircase. After sitting for a while in the dark we started to wonder why\neverywhere else in the palace had electricity but not us! The hotel was obviously\nfamiliar with this occurrence and came out quickly to switch our power back on.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We had dinner at the hotel but had to wait for a nasty\nRussian tour group to finish and leave \u2013 they were all grumbles and complaints\n\u2013 not the way to get the best out of India or Indians. We had a nice waiter who\nexplained how difficult it was being at the bottom of the hotel pecking order\n(and who had never travelled further afield than Jhansi, 20km away). <strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Tuesday 21<sup>st<\/sup> &#8211; Exploring Orchha<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>ORCHHA FORT<\/strong> <\/p><p>There are two main palaces within Orchha Fort, Raja Mahal built in the 15th century and Jehangir Mahal from the 17th century. <\/p><p>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.&nbsp; 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\u2019t explored.&nbsp; We needed a torch to see the drawings as the room was dark (presumably aiding the preservation of the artwork). <\/p><p>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\u2019t clear wandering around just how the camels would have fitted in \u2013 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&nbsp; baths Khana Hammam, and then the pavilion built for a 16th century courtesan Rai Praveen Mahal&nbsp; which had a Mughal garden and well preserved wall paintings.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">\n  \n \nWe had an early wakeup by the two ceiling fans coming on at full\nspeed and nearly blowing us out of bed; there must have been a power cut that\nupset the controller.&nbsp;&nbsp; After breakfast\nwe put on our walking shoes then bought our Orchha palace tickets which\nincluded entrance to all the historic attractions in town. Our plan was to\ntackle the palaces in the Orchha Fort first.\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Unfortunately whilst we were\nresting between palaces Adrian dropped the zoom camera on the ground, and\nalthough it was turned off the grit broke the lens protector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>ORCHHA TOWN<\/strong> <\/p><p>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 \u2013 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\u2019t face climbing any more steps and so didn\u2019t 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\u2019t 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.&nbsp; It was nice to see this temple being actively restored.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">\n  \n \nAfter returning briefly to our room for a rest, we got changed, and\nthen headed off for an afternoon exploring the town. Lunch was in an upstairs\nrestaurant near the car park with the grand title Cerveceria Mediterraneo. As a\nchange from thalis we had pizza and pasta whilst enjoying their unusually fast\ninternet access. The food was all created in a tiny kitchen (which was best not\nlooked at too closely)\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">After walking round the town we were exhausted and headed\nhome for chai and relaxation in the strangely furnished hotel lounge. Megan\nfound some fascinating local history and architecture books in the hotel\nlibrary whilst Adrian worked on the internet sorting out seating on our\nhomebound flights.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">As we got ready for dinner (in the hotel) there was a knock\nat the door and housekeeping came to clean the room! Better late than never I\nsuppose; but it was eccentric experiences like this that served to remind you\nthat you were, after all, in a government run establishment.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Wednesday 22nd &#8211; Orchha \u2013 Gwalior<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">It was a slow departure, as the power went off and the hotel\ncouldn\u2019t print our bill, and then they got it wrong! <br>\nThe first stop of the day was Jhansi just a short distance up the main road to\nGwalior. We rounded the impressive fort grabbing glimpses of the walls, and\nthen got stuck in a market area on tiny lanes trying to get back out to the\nmain road.&nbsp; Asking locals for directions\nproduced conflicting answers, Google was no help at all, and when we did escape\nthrough the gates of the old city we were heading in completely the wrong\ndirection! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Datia was the next stop, to look at the under visited Bir\nSingh palace which we sighted from the town bypass. Actually getting to the\npalace entrance was a lot more difficult; we had to abandon the car and proceed\non foot when the going got too narrow. This is a site that isn\u2019t going to be\nattracting tourist coaches in the near future!&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>SONAGIRI<\/strong> <br>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.&nbsp; We had been told that the&nbsp; temples would be closed till 3pm so we just tried to climb steps near the locked main gate to get a better look inside.&nbsp; 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.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>BIR SINGH PALACE &#8211; DATIA <\/strong>\n Built in 1620 Bir Singh Deo\u2019s palace is a seven storied structure. It \nhas survived well because it is built entirely of brick and stone with \nno cement or iron to hold it together.&nbsp; Entrance to the palace was free \nbut we paid a guide as we could find no information on the place (and he\n probably didn\u2019t get many visitors).&nbsp; Unusually the bottom floors were a\n fort (for soldiers and prisoners) and the top floors a palace. On the \ntop floor there were 4 pavilions for the queens and 4 for the \nconcubines. The story is that the palace was only used for \u201cone night\u201d \u2013\n it certainly wasn\u2019t used by Bir Singh for long as he died in 1626.\n\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">\n  \n \nThe MP Tourism hotel on the other side of the lake from the palace made us very\nwelcome for lunch. We asked for the food to be very spicy and this time it was\nwith perhaps too many green chillies. There were nice photo opportunities from\nthe hotel lawn. \n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Sonagiri, famous for its low hill capped with rows of\nsparkling white Jain temples, was just a short distance away. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Heading north again the main road became very busy with\ndelays caused by a number of nasty truck accidents. The road was bad, but not\nmuch worse than usual, so it was unclear why the trucks had run into each\nother.&nbsp; Once again the road was an\nunfinished dual carriage way even though there was obviously good reasons for\nimprovements to be completed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Reaching Gwalior we had to navigate from the south to the\nwest side without any obvious ring road. Google gave several choices (always an\nominous sign) and we chose the one that looked simplest to navigate. Soon we\nfound ourselves in one big snarled up traffic jam. It must happen all the time\nas the drivers and pedestrians seemed to be taking the delay in their stride without\ngetting upset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Our hotel for the next two nights was Deo Bagh. The history\nof Deo Bagh goes back to 1500 when the Mughals used to live here in a summer\nhouse. Deo Bagh advertises itself as a non-hotel and it certainly didn\u2019t have\nthe feel of a hotel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">On arrival we were shown to our room which was a single\nstory cottage looking out onto the central gardens. Although the accommodation\nwings were modern they had been built in a style that closely matched the\noriginal buildings. In exploring where all the light switches were Megan\nmanaged to turn the hot water off which came as a surprise later when we wanted\na shower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The hotel was beautifully flood lit at night, and by day the\nextensive gardens invited exploration. A 36-pillared pavilion stands on the\nother side of the central gardens, but behind it are a row of family temples\ndating back to the 17th century. Meals are taken in the 17th century Zenana\nwing. The food was tasty and fresh, though perhaps a little bit expensive by\nIndian standards. The breakfast buffet was particularly good.&nbsp; Because there were only two guests having\ndinner on the first night we had waiter service and a fixed menu. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Thursday 23<sup>rd<\/sup> -Exploring Gwalior<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">In the early morning sunshine the non-hotel gardens looked\nat their best with Gwalior Fort rising in the hazy distance. After a buffet\nbreakfast we entered the fort through the 13<sup>th<\/sup> century Urwahi Gate. There\nis single track operation between two gatehouses on the road as it ascends to\nthe fort \u2013 sadly the old railway signals are no longer used. Before heading up\nto the top we took a look at the well preserved Jain rock carvings from the 15<sup>th<\/sup>\ncentury by the side of the road. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>GWALIOR FORT<\/strong> <\/p><p>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. <\/p><p>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\u2019s most invincible fortresses. <\/p><p>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. <\/p><p>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. <\/p><p>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 \u2018The Uprising\u2019 (or as the Indians prefer to say \u2018The First War of Independence\u2019).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">\n  \n \nAt lunch time we headed off towards the station in the modern part of\ntown to try an \u201call you can eat\u201d Thali that Adrian had read about. &nbsp;Panchavati Gaurav was a smart restaurant in a\nmodern complex but the gourmet vegetarian Thali only cost Rs250\/- ($5). It was\none of the best meals of the holiday \u2013 with many different tastes and excellent\nservice.&nbsp; We excelled ourselves by eating\nwith our hand \u2013 and a waiter came round with an ornate brass jug and bowl so we\ncould clean up afterwards. We had to wait afterwards for our driver who had\ngone off to get a prescription for glasses (for reading not for driving!)\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The second attraction we wanted to see in Gwalior was the\nJai Vilas Palace, the opulent residence of the Maharaja built in 1870 using\nprison labour. Finding the entrance to the palace was tricky (perhaps we should\nhave read our Lonely Planet Guide first). We tried the Southern back entrance,\nthen the Northern main gate, and finally got in down a narrow road from the\nWest.&nbsp; Entrance was a steep Rs800\/- for\nforeigners, clearly still funding the Maharaja\u2019s lavish style. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">One wing of the old palace was devoted to a collection of\nthe Maharajas personal belongings which demonstrated what a complete lack of\ntaste he and his wives had. Describing the museum as bizarre would be an\nunderstatement. The Durbar Hall was poorly lit and completely inappropriately\nfurnished in the style of a hotel lounge!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<table class=\"wp-block-table\"><tbody><tr><td><em>Snippets from the Indian News<\/em> <br>Each day over 370 people are killed on the roads in India, that is about 16 per hour. Only 25% of people wear seatbelts. &nbsp; <br>At an unmanned railway crossing 4 people from the same family were killed, 2 others survived. &nbsp; <br>Man trampled to death while taking a photograph of an elephant &nbsp; <br>Two brothers were drowned in the village well. The second went to save his younger brother. &nbsp; <br>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.<br>Man stabbed to death on a train (by Hindus?), as he was wearing the Muslim skull cap, scarf &amp; religious garments &nbsp; <br>A dog was caught carrying a still-born baby out of a hospital, despite the doormen &amp; security guards &nbsp; <br>A teenage girl hung herself because her parents had paid so much for her education &amp; could not afford to pay for the completion of her studies. They had already sacrificed so much for her. &nbsp; <br>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 &nbsp; <br>There is much controversy over girls wearing the headscarf. It is banned in schools that are not Islamic. &nbsp; <br>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<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">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. <br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Uttar Pradesh<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>\nLeaving Gwalior we passed into the state of Uttar Pradesh which was \npreparing to hold an election that weekend.&nbsp; We had two full days to \nexplore Lucknow, and were impressed by the grand buildings dating from \nthe 18<sup>th<\/sup> and 19<sup>th<\/sup> centuries. By Indian standards it was a clean city and we enjoyed walking round and discovering it for ourselves.\n\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"625\" height=\"442\" src=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image030.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-139\" srcset=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image030.jpg 625w, http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/image030-300x212.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h1>\n \n<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Friday 24<sup>th<\/sup> &#8211; Gwalior \u2013 Lucknow<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">After waiting for the driver to collect his new glasses we\nset off on a long drive to Lucknow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We stopped for lunch in Etawah where we found a modern hotel\nadvertising its restaurant. The hotel was busy setting up for a wedding in the\nhall next door.&nbsp;&nbsp; We ordered dosas hoping\nthat kitchen was cleaner than the tables and chairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">After lunch we joined the Agra-Lucknow Expressway. It was a brand\nnew road and they hadn\u2019t built the on-ramp toll booths \u2013 or even the on ramp \u2013\nso we used a dirt off-ramp to join the road. What followed was two hours of\nvery boring motoring. The interest in travelling in India is going slowly &nbsp;through all the villages and seeing so much on\nroute. If the expressway is the way of the future, then touring in India will\nlose much of its attraction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">On one section of the expressway the military have a runway\npainted on the road for use in the case of war. The lack of lane markings or\ncentral reservation isn\u2019t something that would greatly concern most Indian\ndrivers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>To ease the boredom there were signs by the road side with\nsnippets of wisdom such as &#8211;<br>\n<em>Hug your kids at home but belt them in\nthe car<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Of course, when we turned off the expressway into Lucknow\u2019s\nrush hour traffic we slowed down to Indian pace, then got stuck in a traffic\njam for about 45 minutes! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Our hotel had the wrong name on the NivaLink voucher which\ncaused some confusion arriving after dark. The La Place Park Inn is now La\nPlace Sarovar Portico!&nbsp; The hotel is\nconveniently located close to one of the main shopping areas but pedestrian\nmovement was greatly hampered by a metro being constructed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">After dark we wandered round the nearby shopping streets,\nmany of the small shops were hidden in arcades off the main road. We had dinner\nin a busy restaurant serving Chaat (Indian snacks) downstairs.&nbsp; One dish we ordered was particularly nice, a\ndry Paneer called Paneer K Mirch on the menu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1>Saturday 25<sup>th<\/sup> &#8211; Exploring Lucknow<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>It was now &nbsp;Adrian\u2019s\nturn to not to feel too good. But the show has to go on!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We started our Lucknow sightseeing by looking at two\nImambaras \u2013 Moslem meeting halls. We arrived early enough to beat the crowds\nfor a short while. &nbsp;Then the sun came out\nand the school children arrived in droves. On the other side of a ceremonial\ngateway a wide avenue led to the second &nbsp;Imambara.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>IMAMBARAS &#8211; LUCKNOW<\/strong><strong>Bara Imambara<br><\/strong>Construction\n of Bara Imambara was started in 1785, a year of a devastating famine, \nand one of [Asaf-ud-Daula]&#8217;s objectives in embarking on this grandiose \nproject was to provide employment for people in the region for almost a \ndecade while the famine lasted.&nbsp; The vast central hall is one of the \nlargest arched constructions in the world. Unfortunately the contents of\n the hall, a number of tacky replicas of a tomb in Iraq, detracted from \nthe grandeur of the building. Above the ceilings are three levels of \nlabyrinth, small passages with identical doors and few windows. We posed\n as \u201cfriends\u201d because opposite sex couples are required to pay for a \nguide before entering the maze to ensure nothing untoward happens.&nbsp; The \ndarkest passageways in the labyrinth were on the lowest level (we had a \ngood torch) and it was unnerving that many doorways opened onto a \nlargely unprotected drop into the hall below.&nbsp; The Bara Imambara complex\n also includes a mosque (which we didn\u2019t visit) and a nice step well \n(Baori).<br>Outside the Bara there is a grand ceremonial gateway \u2013the Rumi Darwaza \u2013 which still has the city traffic going through it.<strong>Chota Imambara<\/strong>On\n the other side of the gateway is a clock tower that would be more at \nhome in London, and the Chota Imambara (1832), another congregation hall\n for Shia Moslems. Entry here was included in the ticket we bought at \nthe Bara Imambara. This complex includes the mausoleum of a Nawab and so\n the wearing of headscarves was required. The water features and garden \nin the courtyard were nice, but once again the Imambara itself contained\n a collection of OTT kitsch.\n\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">&nbsp;We then switched from\nbeing tourists to doing a bit of shopping, more specifically getting two of\nMegan\u2019s necklaces repaired. Leaving the new city (replacing the area bulldozed\nby the British after the uprising) we hit the narrow streets of Aminabad.&nbsp; Our driver was quite concerned that we were\nexpecting a Western market, but we persevered, left the car somewhere it could\nbe parked, and walked to the area where Google indicated where one might find\njewellers. Luckily local markets in India are still grouped by trade, so all\nthe jewellers\u2019 shops would be found in one block of the market. We quickly found\na man in an alcove who could repair jewellery\u2013 he didn\u2019t have any English so we\ncouldn\u2019t negotiate a price. But there was no need. It took a while, chai was\nserved to lubricate the transaction, and when he finished the bill was just\nRs100\/- ($2). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Adrian rested in the afternoon building energy for the evening\u2019s\nculinary tour. Megan tried to go shopping but was so concerned about getting lost\nshe didn\u2019t get as far as the shops!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<table class=\"wp-block-table\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>CULINARY TOUR &#8211; LUCKNOW<\/strong> The tour took us to places we wouldn\u2019t normally think of going in an old market area.&nbsp; \u201cClose one\u2019s eyes to the hygiene and just enjoy the tastes\u201d was the tour guide\u2019s advice. Some of the restaurants&nbsp; 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\u2019t enjoy was the Paan (that\u2019s ignoring the fact that it is also carcinogenic). <strong>Mubeen\u2019s <\/strong> <strong>Pasanda Kebabs<\/strong> <strong><br>Sheermal<\/strong> <strong>Murg Awadhi Pulao<\/strong> <strong>&nbsp;<\/strong>   <strong><br>Tunday Kababi <br><\/strong> <strong>Galaouti Kebab<\/strong>  <strong>Rahim\u2019s <br><\/strong> <strong>Nihari Ghost and Gilafi Kulcha<\/strong>  <strong>Rahmat Ali<br><\/strong> <strong>Halva<\/strong>  <strong>Azhar Bhai<\/strong> <strong>&nbsp;<\/strong> <strong>Paan<\/strong> <strong>&nbsp;<\/strong>  <strong>&nbsp;<\/strong> <strong>&nbsp;<\/strong> &nbsp;  <strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">\n  \n \nWe left at 6:30 for the Culinary Tour we had booked which ambiguously\nwas advertised as starting at the Akbari Gate, deep in the pedestrian only area\nof the old Chouk market. It was clear we couldn\u2019t drive directly to the gate\nand instead went down a main road just outside the markets. The driver phoned\nthe tour guide and was able to unite us just a bit further down the road where\nwe also joined up with an extended Indian family. Like mother duck and her\nducklings we wandered off into the Chouk to sample the delights of Awadhi\ncuisine (characterised by slow cooking and the matching of breads to dishes).\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">It was our last day with a car and driver so we farewelled\nour Sanjay back at the hotel and took pictures in the hotel foyer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sunday 26th &#8211;\nExploring Lucknow<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\n  \n \nEverything was very quiet on Sunday morning as it was a state\nelection day and a public holiday (also the sale of alcohol had been barred).\nSo we had trouble finding a 3-wheeler to take us to the Residency where the\nSiege of Lucknow took place. For a short time it was a nice sunny morning but\nthen the irritating smog came back making all the distant views hazy. The\nResidency was far larger and more interesting than we had supposed (there\nreally isn\u2019t much information available about it from the Indians as they were\ndefeated by the British).&nbsp; After\nexploring the historic compound we followed a self-guided historic guided walk that\ntook us through the remains of the Kaiser Bagh Palace.\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>RESIDENCY AND KAISER BAGH PALACE&nbsp; &#8211; LUCKNO<\/strong><\/p><p><strong><\/strong><strong>Residency<br><\/strong>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. <strong>KaiserBagh Palace<br><\/strong>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.&nbsp; 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.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The streets were still deserted and all the shops closed so\nwe abandoned hopes of grabbing lunch on the run. Instead we navigated the back streets\nto the hotel and ate in the hotel caf\u00e9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The shops finally reopened in the evening, so we headed out\nfor a final look (but bought nothing) and then had our last dosas of the\nholiday in a smart modern restaurant (The Curry Leaf).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">As we had an early start the next morning we wanted to\nsettle our account the night before. But this being India the system was manual\nand they couldn\u2019t provide an account till the overnight manual ledger had been\ndone. &nbsp;When we returned to reception at\n5am the next morning the desk was covered with bulging manila files. It\u2019s nice\nto see that some things in India never change!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1>Getting Home<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>\nOn our last day we flew out of Lucknow to New Delhi, Singapore and then \nhome. The journey home very much retraced our journey out, except that \nwe treated ourselves to a night of luxury in the Singapore Airport Crown\n Plaza hotel\n\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Monday 27<sup>th<\/sup> &#8211; Lucknow \u2013 Singapore<\/strong><br><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Our transfer to the airport at 5am was very fast \u2013 there was\nno other traffic on the roads.&nbsp; That gave\nus, once again, time for a cup of coffee before our flight to Delhi departed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The short domestic flight arrived late and so our connecting\nflight to Singapore was already boarding by the time we got to the transfer\nsecurity screening. &nbsp;We were whisked\nthrough and got a buggy transfer to the gate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Although the plane was another cramped 737 it wasn\u2019t quite\nas old as the plane we had on the trip out, and it wasn\u2019t fully booked. Megan\nwas able to move across the aisle so we both had a spare seat. There was no\ninflight entertainment so Adrian tried the Jet Airways app on his phone to\nwatch a movie. Unfortunately the phone didn\u2019t have enough charge for a full\nmovie!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Arriving in Singapore was effortless, as was the transfer to\nour hotel which was this time the Crown Plaza on the land side of T3. This was\nan excellent hotel with lots of nice features, but astronomically expensive by\nIndian standards.&nbsp; We rushed down to\nenjoy the lovely swimming pool before it closed for the night, and then had\ncomplementary drinks and a nice meal in the lobby caf\u00e9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Tuesday 28<sup>th<\/sup> &#8211; Singapore \u2013 Sydney<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another early start without breakfast, but we didn\u2019t have\nfar to go from the hotel to the departure gate. &nbsp;Once again there was time for a cup of coffee\nbefore boarding our Singapore Airlines flight to Sydney.&nbsp; It was a comfortable flight, only about 2\/3\nfull, but again the preferred seating we paid for wasn\u2019t worth the money. There\nwere no queues on arrival in Sydney and soon we were on a bus heading across\nthe Harbour Bridge.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><em>Progress? <br>Changes we observed in India over the past 10 years.<\/em> <\/p><p>Ten years ago every town was in chaos having mains drainage installed. Now those streets are free of trenches and India doesn\u2019t smell any more. &nbsp; <\/p><p>Ten years ago cash was hard to come by. Now ATMs are a common sight, there is more money in circulation and one didn\u2019t have to collect and hold onto small denomination notes. &nbsp; <\/p><p>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. &nbsp; <\/p><p>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 \u2013 like this address for our hotel in Orchha: <strong><em>Dist Tikamgarh, Ram Raja Mandir Rd, Opp Betwa River<\/em><\/strong> &nbsp; <\/p><p>There are still the cows wandering in the streets of towns &amp; villages. But &nbsp;they look much healthier &amp; better fed than ten years ago. <\/p><p>Most people now ride motorcycles instead of bicycles. Cars are very common adding to the chaos.&nbsp; <\/p><p>Many roads have signs of improvements being made like bridge building. Most appear to have been abandoned without being finished. <\/p><p>Very few bullock wagons remain. Only an isolated pair of bullocks were seen pulling enormous loads along country roads. &nbsp; <\/p><p>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.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An Indian Adventure 7th&nbsp; &#8211; 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&#8230; <a class=\"tbreadmore\" href=\"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/2017\/11\/07\/2018-india\/\"> Continue Reading&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":152,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":216,"href":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131\/revisions\/216"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/21carter.cammeray.info\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}