Delhi to Jaipur - The desert trail

Sham - our driver, turns up with a six seater people carrier bang on time outside the Imperial. Its a great car for the long distances, reclining seats, air-con, and a thoroughly lovely driver who has good English. We start a fairly uneventful drive from Delhi to Jaipur along a surprisingly well made road. As we leave Delhi we see a huge statue of Shiva. Once we leave the outskirts and have passed through the industrial town of Gurgaon there is mostly arable land with tractors, camels and women hard at work in the fields. Camels pull all the waggons here, no horses or bullock carts. It takes about 5 and a half hours to get to Jaipur and the landscape is fairly dull, desert scrub land, the hotel is not in the centre of Jaipur but about 8ks outside so we head straight there, dismiss Sham for the day and check out our next two nights home.

The entrance is certainly grand and we walk up a waterfall lined staircase (picture left) and through a huge wooden door where we are welcomed with a tika on our forehead and a seat. We are shown the facilities on our walk to our tent (yes, tent), the bar, shops, dinning areas (indoor and out), through another huge wooden door and into the main grounds (picutre right). Wow. There is a huge garden, the air is perfumed with mogra (like jasmine) and peacocks strut around the immaculate lawns. We view the pool, complete with stone elephant water jets and the Temple to Lord Shiva which sits in its own lilly pond. And then we see our tented villa - solid walls with a canvas roof entered via french doors. The floor is solid teak and the air con makes it cool. The front area contains a large bed, desk, tv and dvd cabinet, two chairs and two tables - all in teak. Through a curtained partition is the bathroom - freestanding bath, separate shower, toilet, 2 wash hand basins and a door to our back veranda, complete with

2 chaise lounges. All around the bedroom are french doors - beautiful cream blinds embroidered with gold elephants cover them. Look up and the canvas is embroidered with gold, red and tiny mirrors in Rajistani patterns. Outside the bedroom is a dining area and small flower filled garden.

Before dinner we take a turn around the grounds. Taking it slowly as it was still madly hot we looked at mango trees, bottle brushes, peacocks, monkeys and lots of birds and squirrels. We visit the temple and the priest says a pooja and marks our foreheads. We then head to the library bar for cocktails and a look at the books. It was a splendid room (picture left) filled with heavy furniture and wood paneling, lots of old books and board games (Keith refused a game of Scrabble). Keith had a whisky sour and I tried a drink with Gin, lime and a local herbal syrup called Khos, made from a root. Very interesting. Dinner was good. Served in the courtyard, incense wafting over the balcony, live Indian music playing. Keith started with soft shell crab cakes and then had lamb cooked in yoghurt - a very Rajisthani dish, they rely heavily on dairy and chickpeas here in Rajistan. I couldn't decide so went for the Rajistani Thali. First up was chicken cooked in the Tandoor; succulent and spicy, then rice, Rajistani bread (made with gram flour), Chicken with sweetcorn, a sour and citris fish dish, sun dried berries and bark and a sumptuous 5 lentil dhal. My Gulab Jamon with fresh fruit was donated to Keith for want of tummy space. There was a short burst of Rajistani dancing (girl spun like a whirling dervish with bells on) and then we succumbed

to the heated and headed back to our tent. We had the historic city of Jaipur to explore tomorrow and poured over our rough Guide to check out the best spots. We figured we would start early at the Amber (you pronounce it Amer) Fort and beat the crowds. So another early night. What a couple of party animals!

Delhi - Imperial Dreams

The Imperial Hotel - We checked into the Imperial Hotel in the centre of Delhi and explained the sorry story of the stolen bag. Not sure if it was as a result of this or just coincidence but they had upgraded us to an Imperial room. Lovely big room, huge bed, sofa, arm chairs, massive bathroom and all filled with lovely heavy wood furniture. The hotel itself is stunning, all the corridors are lined with pictures from the 1800's, mostly battle scenes and Indian history, chandeliers hung everywhere and at each corridor junction was a large round table with flowers and candles. There was just a general air of opulence about the place but there was no snobbery in the staff, they were all lovely.

Tired and sweaty after our trip we decided to head to the pool after we had sorted out the credit cards and other necessities. Lovely pool surrounded by palm trees and teaming with the little stripey squirrels you get here. We shared a burger and a shandy and generally relaxed for a while. After a few hours we headed up and got changed and then just wandered around the hotel corridors for a while, looking at the art, the arc deco furniture and then having afternoon tea. It really is a show piece hotel and just wandering around was a nice way to spend a peaceful afternoon.

Day 2 - The Great Ticket Hunt - Up early for breakfast on the terrace, we had a car booked and wanted to make the best of it. First of all though we had to sort out the missing train tickets, the concierge had given us an address we needed to go to so we headed there first. We couldn't find it and we asked a chap, "you need to go to the main station", so we did. We went to the main ticket hall (where before you can buy a ticket you need a requisition form, honestly) and joined the queue for window 1 "lost tickets" - quickly to be told that as Foreigners we needed to go to the Foreign ticket bureau round the corner in the main station. Off we headed, but as we attempted to get into it we were told it was closed and to go to window 1. We explained we had already been there and they had sent us here - "but it is closed for refurbishment and will not open till next week" a young chap told us - bloody hell . All this chasing around was wasting the time we had in Delhi and still no new tickets. The young chap told us to go to a travel agent of Connaught Place and even got us a tuc tuc to take us (for a good price), so off we headed again. At last, when we arrived we found sanity - the people there were organised, knowledgeable and gave us cold Pepsi - hurray! The travel agent suggests we hire a car to take us to Jaipur and Agra, we would see more and could stop on the road. The 6 day trip, fuel, driver, insurance and everything - 300 hundred pounds - we couldn't say no. The train tickets, well we had PRN numbers and the tickets had been reconfirmed so we would have no problems even without tickets - perfect. We have our driver come fetch us and head off to the Red Fort.

Historic Delhi - We park the car in a car park and get into a cycle rickshaw which takes us to the Red Fort, pay for our foreigner price ticket and head past the machine gun posts at the Lahore gate and enter the main fort. We pass through the Chatta Chowk (covered bazaar) once holding the shops which sold to the royal household, now selling tourist tatt, and emerge into the first open area of the fort. We turn left and head to the museum, but it is poorly stocked and dingy so we don't stay long. Through a further set of gates is the Diwan-i-am (hall of pubic audience), a marble panelled thrown on a red dais where the emperor would meet his subjects. Behind this is the living quarters, the bath house (hammam), a mosque, a private audience hall and a private work area. Much is in marble and once would have been inlaid with precious stone - however many of the intricately carved panels are rotting and the barracks once used by the British soldiers are no more than crumbling shells. They really need to do something about it quickly before it all rots and they have nothing left to protect. Its a real shame. Its getting hot now and we head back to our cycle rickshaw and speed off for a look around the Chandi Chowk - the shopping bazaar of old Delhi. Typical of all India it is packed with all areas of life, hole in the wall shops, eating, barbers, Hindu temples, mosques, Sikh temples, even a church. The lanes are tight - sometimes only wide enough for our rickshaw and slung between the buildings are hundreds of electric and telephone wires, blocking the light. It smells great, fruit juice, spices being ground, pav vada frying, every one smiled and waved at us, it felt like "real" India, lol.

The Mosque (Jama Masjid) was closed for prayers so we headed up to Hamayun's tomb.

It was built in the 16th Century by a senior wife of a Moghul emperor and is pretty sensational. We walk around the minor tombs (the emperor's barber got one) before visiting the main tomb, which is set in lovely gardens full of birds and squirrels. The heat by now was blistering and it felt like the water was being sucked straight from your body - 2 litres of water and still I didn't need to pee! I discovered later that it was the first day of the year it hit 40.

We headed back to the Jama Masjid and this time could get in. The red stone burnt our bare feet, it was busy and we were tired so we didn't linger long. Back to the hotel where we leapt into the pool to cool off, a short relax and then up to get changed for dinner. we had two very nice cocktails in the 1911 bar and Keith checked out the display of medals they have in there. Dinner at the "Conde Naste Awarded" Spice Route restaurant was disappointing and we didn't linger late. We had an early start as tomorrow we were driving to Jaipur.

The Rajdani Express - Mumbai to Delhi

The Rajdani Express is one of the "modern" trains on the Indian railways, brought into service in the 1960's (no joke) and is a massive train which covers the huge distant from Mumbai on the West coast to Delhi in the North in about 11 hours.

4pm - Mumbai, We were sharing a compartment with a man travelling only a few stops North and a chap going all the way to Delhi. Bit anoid it wasn't a two berth but there we go. We fold down the top bunk and chuck our luggage on it - its actually quite a comfy and clean train. Air con, free bottles of water, mango juice, tea - in a pot with china cups and saucers served up alongside a pasty, cup cake and choccie biscuit - shaping up well and we've only been going 50 mins.
We pass out of the Mumbai urban sprawl and into areas of salt flats, land reclamation and thin forest. Still lots of people inhabit shacks by the lines but now there is also fields (with grass) of goats, sheep and cows.

7pm - We pass into Gujarat and a number of textile and paper mills appear. The land is thick with mango trees, which starts Keith pining for Oz, and the houses scarce. The women in Saris carry bundles on their heads. Random sections of bridge lie by the railside - like someones lost mechano bits. Wild peacocks run around the dusty fields and banana palms fade into the rapid twilight.

8:15pm - My table has been laid with flower pattern china and real cuttlery. Curd, pickle and ketchup appear to be accompanying tonight's dinner. I have promised Keith I will only eat the food if it is pipping hot - not worth Delhi Belly on a train. One of our travellers has been replaced by an elderly gentleman, he sits like a hairy eared Bhuda, crossed legged on the bottom bunk. Dinner will also be accompanied by the tones of phlegm clearance - Indian style - I don't each much...

4am - (The Unpleasantness) - I awake and discover that my bag and our fellow top bunk passenger has gone. At 3:40am, when we stopped at Kota he hopped the train with my bag. Camera, purse, phone, train tickets and electric toothbrush all gone. I swore, woke Keith and then got the carriage attendant. Much discussion ensued and then I eventually wrote out (in duplicate of course) a stolen goods form. Not much else could be done so we headed back to bed and I awaited sun rise - cursing myself for being so stupid and trusting with my things. I had become comfortable and complacent in the country and lost my valuables because of it.

9am - Delhi, On arrival we went to, what turned out to be an army post, they sent us to the RPF building and the RPF sent us to the GPR office (only in India). Once there, amongst morning parade, we were seen by a toothless detective pretty quickly. I had to write out a complaint form in long hand, addressed to the cops, outlining the incident. This done it was taken off - no idea where. Meanwhile we were given Chai Masala (Spicy sweet tea), watched the Ghekos and ants run around the walls and listened to the screams of some bloke chained up by the neck in the cells. Eventually our tec and letter returned. The complaint was then copied, longhand into the ledger, my name, my fathers name, occupation, inside leg measurement (not really) was taken, copied in quadruplicate, signed by the commanding officer and then stamped (of course) before two copies were handed to me. Then there was a receipt form, yet more carbon. At no point did anyone even glace in the direction of the computer sitting at the back of the office. Receipt in one hand, a gifted cucumber in the other we left, with profuse thanks and headed off to find a tuc tuc to the Imperial. What a start to the holiday!