Dazed in Delhi

Normally the cheapest flights I've taken to Delhi are via the Middle East. So hurrah for jet airways, making direct travel to Asia affordable. Anyway my relief of actually getting to the airport to catch the plane was huge, but I was seated in the last row, so couldn't recline, hampering a great nights sleep. 

As we all experience the first day of travel is always weird, over tiredness, jet lag and over heating resulted in a lovely reunion moving on to shuffling round the dusty streets in search of suitable outfits. For this isn't just any old holiday, we're here for a wedding!! 

Nightmare on the M3 - fancy a lift?

Now that I live in far flung Falmouth, just getting to Heathrow is a huge logistical challenge, unlike before when I lived in London and it was 30 minutes away in a taxi. So yesterday I worked half a day, drove four hours to Winchester and stayed with a friend, inching ever near Heathrow. 

What was meant to be a relatively short coach journey to the airport turned sour when I was dropped off at the coach stop by my friend's husband and quickly got chatting to a woman who looked frozen cold. Turns out her 2pm coach to Heathrow was an hour and a half late and still no sign of arriving, so lordly knows where my 3.30pm coach was. Luckily her son-in-law drove up and they offered me a lift  -hurrah !!!! Turns out me and Angela are in the same flight to Delhi .... what a coincidence. So I've arrived here in style and celebrating with a cool pint of Guinness. Let the adventure begin. Cheers. 

It's not our place

 

One of the must see's in Varanasi is to go along the Ganges at dawn, to see all the devout start their day with a refreshing dip in the river. Given the high level of pollution there although I would love to have my sins washed away, however it's a health hazard, so I'll just watch from the boat. As the Prime Minister is from here there have been good improvements over the last few years and a new dawn arti is now performers at Assi Ghat, at the end of the ghats to the south. It was well worth leaving at 4am to take a boat along the river as the city slowly woke up, and then see sunrise behind the arti ceremony. I was on a shared boat with the hotel and when we went to sit down the German woman resisted sitting at the front, saying 'it's not our place'. It's so interesting meeting new people and sharing experiences and plans. I always love to sit near the action ( apart from stand up comedy, when you are more likely to be picked on!). So it's great to have someone's else's take on the situation. What did I do? I sat in the middle then got up to go to the side to take photos. 

Then afterwards I meet Sonu, our guide from the Sunderbans and we walk along the ghats back to Assi Ghat for much needed refreshments and shelter from the 40 degree heat. It's great to have friends in India! 

The best Lassi in Varanasi

It's my fourth time to visit Varanasi, some say never go back to places that you have already visited, but this place is like no where else on earth. It is full of life, death, spiritually and is an assault on all the senses. In the narrow street by the ghats you jostle with cows, monkeys, funeral prosessions and motorbikes, so you always need to keep your whits about you. There the most incredible lassi shop that's been passed on from generation to generation found in the backstreets. The Blue Lassi Shop takes the most care and attention to prepare your lassi, and it is well worth the wait. And the shop is on the route to the main burning ghat, so it not for the fainthearted, as the all male chanting processions carry the bodies on bamboo stretchers though these narrow passageways.

The inconvenience is deeply regretted

There's always quite a lot of confusion at train stations, last minute platform changes, where's your carriage going to be, as the air conditioned carriages are sometimes towards the front or back of the train. But the biggest issue is any delays, unless you are at the beginning of the route, these trains travel enormous distances, picking up delays along the way. The longest I've had to wait one night was three long hours, so there was nothing so bad this trip, but you are serenaded at every station by the same recorded woman's voice used to make the train announcements. Funny as women are seldom seen or heard at the forefront of things, so her calm tone of announcing a delay, but then following with 'the inconvenience is deeply regretted' makes it easier to bear. 

He's a dirty man

In India you are never alone, there's always someone who is starring at you, or begging, or trying to talk with you. When it gets difficult is when  the following and the starring takes on another level. At the Lucknow Residency famed for the siege of 1857, we too we under siege from a creepy guy who just followed us and was rubbing himself, so I reported it to the stewards, who through 'lost in translation' initially thought I was asking for directions to the toilet! We point out the guy and they take him away, and we carry on looking round. Then when we leave they get him to apologise to us, which I block, not so interested as he knows this is wrong, then the tourist police say he is a dirty man and will hand him over to the police. What will happen to him I don't know!  

Then hilariously they ask us to fill out the visitors book, to which I write 'a very interesting visit' 

Lucknow cuisine

Before I left I saw an episode of a Rick Stein in India, and a whole programme was dedicated to the cuisine of Lucknow. From the vegetarian options of previous destinations here you eat wonderful rich Narwab cuisine, and drink! So we treat ourselves and head to a roof top restaurant at Clarkes Hotel, and have our first taste of Lucknow kebab, and it just melts in your mouth, amazing! Then we have the wonder light desert, that is served on the streets and covered with edible silver paper. On the last night of our travels together we make a reservation and head to the Exquisite Taj hotel. We have a beautiful three course meal, mojitos and toast another wonderful trip.