Rajasthan & Varanasi

One of the joys of being a self-proclaimed, seasoned traveller, is that you get to sit in judgement of those who make rooky errors. Favourites include, watching people get their luggage allowance wrong necessitating a public repack, being told that they can’t take their Swiss Army Knife in their hand luggage, or arriving too late to navigate sceurity. I can only imagine therefore how much fun anyone watching us arrive at the check-in counter at Hanoi would have had…

We hand over our passports and I haul our luggage on the scales. We’re old hands at this now. Like clockwork. The lady then asks to see our Indian visas. I look at Jenn expectantly. She however, replies confidently that we don’t need visas…

The lady looks at her as if she’s mad… my heart sinks.

We’ve been to India before, so we know full well you need a visa. We also know that it’s a painful process.

I break out into a cold sweat as I furiously rack my memory to recall whether I was allocated this task. If so, my life will not be worth living. I look around desperately for any obvious escape routes. As my panic subsides, I feel pretty confident that this is not on me, although I retreat to a safe distance, just in case. Jenn’s dejected look is enough to confirm that this is a collective miss. I will live to fight another day.

It was in Jenn’s master spreadsheet. We just a completely missed it. What a pair of clowns!

More through hope than expectation, we drag ourselves out of the queue, and sit to try and secure an e-visa in real-time on the airport’s patchy wifi. It takes a while to even submit the request. But it is clear that we are going nowhere today. After submitting our requests to an emergency service in the UK, we head back the way we came, with our tail between our legs, for an impromptu night in Hanoi.

Fortunately, the travel Gods smile upon us, and we receive our visas next morning. Game on! It does however mean that our hotels are now out of synch. Takes me nearly 5 hours of texts, phone calls, and every trick I know, to convince our first hotel in India to shift our room to the right by a day without charging us a fortune.

We land in Mumbai where memories of previous trips to India come flooding back. Arranging a taxi is a bit of a mission and it’s late by the time we arrive at our airport hotel. As ever, it’s hot, sweaty, and utterly chaotic.

After a night in an airport hotel, we fly to Udaipur where we meet our driver for the next week. Really lovely guy called Pankaj, who has been recommended by some friends. He lives in Delhi but has made the nearly 700 km journey to pick us up. The life of a driver in India is tough, and work is hard to come by.

Udaipur immediately feels very different to anywhere we’ve visited in India before. Sky is blue, it’s warm but not roasting, and everything looks very green. The roads are excellent, and if it weren’t for the intermittent cows crossing, you could almost forget where you were.

We’ve accumulated enough loyalty points over the last 9 months to earn ourselves a splurge. So we use our tokens for two nights in the Raffles. It’s a new hotel, and largely focused on weddings. Weddings are a big deal in Udaipur, with hosts booking entire venues and spending vast amounts of money. Fortunately for us wedding season doesn’t properly kick off for a couple of weeks and so the hotel is quiet. It’s set on an enormous man-made lake and like many hotels in India, built in a palatial fashion.

Spend the afternoon wandering around the grounds. It’s a great place to photograph water birds (and a very cute spotted owl). The food is also awesome. As much as we’d enjoyed Vietnamese food, we are both itching for some proper spice. It doesn’t disappoint.

Following day, we hit the sites of Udaipur. For the Bond fans amongst you – most of Octopussy was set in the magnificent palaces and forts in the area. We visit Taj Lake Palace (home to Octopussy herself), City Palace, and Monsoon Palace (home to Kamal Khan). This particular area is known as the Venice of India and it’s easy to see why.

We are somewhat reluctant to leave Udaipur next day and make the three hour journey to Narlai. Originally we were due to be there for two nights, but owing to our minor clerical error, we elect to reduce our stay to one night and put ourselves back on schedule. Visit the spectacular Ranakpur Jain Temple dating from the 15^th century en route. Just stunning.

Our hotel is a converted 17^th century palace in a rural location in the middle of nowhere. Given that Jenn isn’t feeling great, I head out for a hike up the impressively steep hill that stands in front of our balcony. Feel very safe, and get almost no hassle as I walk through the village. It’s a really interesting place. Walk past a group of lads playing cricket. I’m invited to play, but politely decline. Firstly, I’ve left Jenn at the hotel, and secondly, I’m not entirely sure what role the cow is intended to play, and I don’t want to look like an amateur!

Next morning we are up early for a leopard safari. This is the principal reason for visiting the area. After two hours and some near misses we end up drawing a blank. Dejected, we head back to the hotel for breakfast. Just as I’m finishing a delicious local delicacy, the manager invites us to check out late, and to go on the evening safari as his guests. Given that it’s a stunning day, and the pool looks inviting, it feels rude to decline.

The evening safari is far more successful. We see one female leopard, and an enormous male. We both absolutely love leopards, so we are delighted to see them. It is however, very apparent that there is a problem. The proximity of the leopards to the villagers is ridiculous. The leopards live literally next to the local houses. In fact, the main staple of the very well-fed cats, is stray village dogs. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that the leopards will not fare well out of this arrangement in the longer term.

On the way home our guide confesses that the only reason we’d been offered the free trip, is because of my camera. They want the photos! Happy to oblige, although they are not the greatest given the time of day and the fact that leopards are amazingly well camouflaged. The fact that the leopards are always flanked by peacocks makes us both smile. Still not quite sure what that is all about – looked pretty perilous from where I was standing.

With that it’s a three hour drive to Pali. Our hotel is a former hunting lodge dating back to the 18th century. Although it’s dark when we arrive, we wake in the morning to find the lodge is set around a large lake that is teeming with wild peacocks.  

We try our hands at pottery, with our tutor making it look ridiculously easy. He offers Jenn admiring utterances in the early stages of her first effort. ‘He’s impressed’ – another lodge worker translates. The praise seems to go to Jenn’s head, and within seconds she has managed to collapse her pot and created a decidedly abstract object of questionable aesthetic merit! Great fun though.

I wander around with my camera in the afternoon and find the blackface langurs particularly entertaining. For the large part my presence barely bothers them – but they do offer some pretty comical facial expressions.

In the evening we go for a nature walk around the property with other guests. We meet a lovely couple from the UK, Barbara and Brian, and share a beer on the terrace as the sun sets.

Following day it’s off to Jodphur, a two-and-a-half-hour drive. Again, we are staying in the grounds of a converted palace. The grounds are immense, and whilst we are staying in the converted stables, the palace itself on the edge of another huge lake is pretty impressive. We can only imagine what this part of India must have been like in its heyday.

We visit Mehrangarh Fort to watch the sunset. The fort is magnificent. If you’ve watched Batman Returns, you may recognise the fort in the background as Bruce Wayne escapes from Bane’s prison. I happened to be watching Netflix the following day, and recognised it, completely by chance.     

Before we head home that evening we visit the old town. Utter chaos. People everywhere, but really interesting stroll that culminates in a drink overlooking the city’s stepwell.

We start the following day by visiting the fort museum. Again, the scale and grandeur of the place makes one yearn to see it in its prime. End up buying yet more paintings from the museum shop. I really have no idea what I’m going to do with them, but hand-painted Gods on old Indian government bonds, were hard to pass up. As was the obligatory camel photo…

Amazingly given the size of the city, we bump into Barbara and Brian, who we’d met at our last hotel. Small world.

Visit Jaswant Thada, which is a very picturesque mausoleum, before heading back into the old town to have lunch with Pankaj. We are after all saying goodbye tomorrow.

Incredibly, as we walk into one of the myriad of restaurants in Jodhpur, we see Brian and Barbara! What are the odds? Clearly karmic forces have decided that we should be friends, and we decide to have lunch together. Great company and fabulous food, what more could one ask? Looking forward to meeting up with them again when we are back in Blighty…

Following day, we say a fond farewell to Pankaj at the airport. We are flying to Varanasi, he is driving back to Delhi. He hopes to pick up a fare on the way home. We’ve really enjoyed having him navigate us through Rajasthan, added a lot of colour to what we’ve seen and experienced.

Absolutely loved our time in Rajasthan and we both slightly regret not having had more time here. By far our favourite part of India to date. Steeped in history and simply stunning. People are friendly and the food is fabulous. Far more accessible for tourists than many would imagine.

Our next destination in Varanasi is a bit of a ball ache to get to. Originally we were due to fly through Delhi, but Indigo (budget Indian airline), had other ideas and unilaterally decided that we should fly through Ahmedabad and arrive two hours later than originally intended.

An hours car journey on the other side finds us on the shores of the fabled Ganges river. Utter mayhem. Feel very glad to be quickly whisked away on a boat without too much delay. This part of India is not for the faint hearted. Varanasi is regarded as the spiritual capital of India, and one of the world’s oldest continually inhabited cities.

According to Hindu mythology, Varanasi was founded by Shiva, and said to be home to one of Brahma’s decapitated heads (courtesy of the ferocity of the aforementioned founder). As a consequence, Varanasi is a pilgrimage site and venerated throughout the country. Every day some 400-500 bodies are cremated on the river banks amongst the Ghats. As we float past, the fires are burning, the sound of the local Ganga Aarti ceremony rings in our ears, the air is thick with lace wings, and the sheer volume of people makes for sensory overload.

We decide to save ourselves for the following day.

First thing, we head out for a walk along the riverbanks. It’s pretty special. Everywhere one looks there are people bathing in the river water, traders selling incense and offerings, and a myriad of other sights too innumerable to try and cover.

As we walk, a gaggle of young girls, beautifully dressed, and armed with paint, approach us. Jenn is quick to agree to a bindi (decorative mark on the forehead). I follow suit. Jenn then promptly takes a picture of me surrounded by my young entourage, before disappearing quicker than I would have imagined possible…

I knew I would have to pay for the aforementioned photo and decoration, but dear lord! Small hands grab me from all directions. I feel like I’m dispensing money in a never ending 360 degree arc. Children emerge from everywhere as if by magic. Slowly as my pile of cash depletes, they disappear back into the city.

I catch up with my unabashed wife, with one young girl persistently following me. She was one of the unlucky ones, who didn’t manage to grab a note.

Rather than ask for her rightful share from her friends, she decides that persistence is her greatest ally. ‘Money for paint and photo’ – is her mantra. I try saying ‘no – I’ve already paid.’ Her counter is simply, ‘no, no, money.’ It soon becomes apparent that Jenn isn’t going to help, and that my new found shadow can keep this up all day. Disappears as soon as a note is proffered.

By now we have reached the Manikarnika Ghat (the main cremation site). A helpful local attaches himself to us. He works with the temple of behalf of the homeless – apparently. Begins to explain what we are watching. Families come from all over India to cremate their loved ones in this spot. The bodies are bathed in the waters, and left to dry, before making their final journey to the pyres. The pyres burn 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The ashes and somewhat gnarly remains are subsequently fed into the river. Fire is believed to purify the souls of the deceased.

There are exceptions to the rule. Children below the age of ten, pregnant women, lepers, and victims of snake bites, amongst others, are not cremated. These bodies are weighted down with heavy rocks and dropped directly in the river!

Knowing what’s in the water, I’m amazed at peoples willingness to bathe, swim, and play in the water.  

We are walked around the pyres by our guide. Literally within a few feet of the bodies and flames. The smell is not as bad as one would imagine. It is also not as hard to witness as I had feared. There is an almost matter-of-factness to the proceedings. Devout Hindus do not fear death, believing in reincarnation, and there is nothing like the sombre air that I associate with funerals in the West.

We are shown the eternal fire. The spark that lights all the pyres, and which has burned according to our guide for over three and a half thousand years.

We end our brief tour in front of a local priest, who offers us a blessing, and collects our donation for the poor. He explains that there is no set amount. It is all about letting our conscience guide us and balancing our karma. I make my offering, roughly half the remaining money I have with me. I then make to give him the other half on behalf of Jenn. He refuses to take the money from me. Insisting instead that Jenn must make the donation, as it is her karma that is at stake.

Been out for half an hour and have no money left! Our auras however, must be glowing!

We wander around the old streets. Utterly crazy, but we feel perfectly safe. That is, until I stop to have a picture with a snake charmer who promptly proceeds to wrap his serpent around my neck (not a euphemism). Not quite what I was expecting.

The streets are fascinating, and every so often, a dead body is paraded past on its way to the river. It’s all a tad surreal.  

In the afternoon we elect to take a boat down the river to view the city from the water during daylight. It’s full of history and a real spectacle.

Over high-tea I have my fortune told by a palm reader. Jenn refuses. Who knew that she was superstitious about such things.

In the evening we head by boat to watch the Aarti ceremony (expression of deep devotion, love, and reverence to God). Thousands of people line the river and steps. Ceremony is interesting, but the people watching is by far the most entertaining element. The funeral pyres at night look particularly macabre and somewhat dystopian.

Two days in Varanasi feels sufficient to get a feel for it. What a place! An assault on the senses, but what an experience. Would highly recommend to those with a curious mind and a love of culture. So glad we made the effort to travel here. Will live long in the memory.  

With that it is time to head north. We are off to Ladakh. At 4500 metres it is the highest place we have visited to date. Law requires that we spend two days acclimatising in Leh. After that, assuming we adjust sufficiently to the altitude, it’s off to find snow leopards. Wish us luck!