Down but far from out !!!!

Ok ... this entry finds me typing from the free internet access on the 20th floor of the 5 Star Meridien where we have checked in after being slightly beaten by the last 9 days travel ... but I guess it's hardly surprising when you consider that in that time we have been in 5 different cities and 7 different hotels and managed two flights, two overnight train journeys (13 hrs and 15.5 hrs ) and two 6 hour drives (only 200 km but when your motorways are crammed with cows, camels, half of the traffic going the wrong way to save time and various tractors that's no surprise)

to give a rough idea ... this is our recent itinerary which might be more manageable if not travelling with a three year old (any of you who have tried long journeys with a toddler will definitely be sympathising - with Toby as much as us !!!!)

9/12 - up at 5:30 for early flight from chiang mai to bangkok where we leave all our bags at the airport to save time and head straight out of Bangkok to chatachak market

10/12 - quiet(ish) day in bangkok visting fair trade exhibiton organised by the Salmons who are kindly putting us up in bangkok for the second time in a month !!!!!

11/12 - up at 5:45 for early flight to kolkatta

13/12 - 8pm train from Kolkatta to Varanassi .... 13 hrs on not the most comfortable (or so we thought ... in hindsight it was luxury !!!!) train ever !!!

14/12 - arrive varanassi hotel at around midday

15/12 - up at 5 am (on my bday !!!!!) to see sunrise on the ganges
8:30 pm train to delhi

16/12 - arrive delhi at around midday

17/12 - 6hr evening drive to agra (home of Taj Mahal for the more ignorant among you !!!)

18 / 12 - After sightseeing in Agra 6hrs back to Delhi (different hotel ... we thought the first was bad but this was the worst yet ... no windows in the room, forgotten room service and second order served witn no cutlery etc . give an idea !)

19 / 12 ... admit defeat and check into Le Meredien to regroup before flight tomorrow to Ahmedabad for 3 days of Indian Wedding !

Thats the bones of the last 10 days but in there have been some of the most incredible experiences ... both positive and negative !!!

Ok .. so here are the highlights since the last post .!

The last day in Kolkatta was a bit quieter as we kept away from the main streets and headed to a shopping mall with a play centre for TJ ... although even here the attention he is getting was amazing .. at one point an entire lift full of people had their mobile phones out taking pictures of him ... a theme that is continuing at every place we go. People are now regularly asking to have pictures with him at tourist sites ... Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Humayuns Tomb etc all seem to be better (according to Indians) if you have a photo in front of them holding my son ?? Its like being with a celbrity at times as you are walking and people are walking backwards in front of you taking photos .. or asking him to join in family snaps (I have some I will post shortly !! )

At the train station that night Kate went to buy some food and a whole crowd (maybe thirty people) gathered around Toby and I sitting with our bags to stare at us and snap away ... which was actually a good thing as I found having our whole life in bags on a crowded platform quite scary and the crowd at least felt safe.

The train journey itself went well .. we had bunks not next to each other but there were two aussie guys who happily swapped and were good company (one was a roaming sheep-shearer) so that Kate and Toby could be above me in one bed, and further down the carriage were some young South african Missionaries who loved Toby which meant he could burn som energy running up and down the carriage relatively safely. Fortunately enough he managed to sleep from about 10pm - 6am which meant that even if we didn't sleep much ourselves the journey itself was nowhere near as bad as we had feared.

Our Hotel in Varanassi was great ... about $15gbp and clean, friendly and a good middle eastern restaurant and we felt really comfortable there .. shame it was only for one night !!! The day we arrived we took a walk along the ganges from the bottom ghat - definitely one of the most amazing things I have ever done. As an exercise in people watching there can't be anywhere better in the world ... where to start with the things going on along that river bank ... Laundry, Men having their heads shaved, cricket games, buffalo being washed, cows wandering around, boats being fixed, people washing themselves in the river, goats, monkeys, market stalls, various items being hawked to us at regular intervals, massage, palmistry, fortune telling - the list is endless - and of course bodies being burned by the side of the river. Afterwards we had a walk into the town centre (past elephants, parades etc.) for some food and Kate managed to find Marmite inb a tiny corner shop ... the absolutely perfect birthday present for me !!!

The following morning we got up at 5 to do take a boat ride along the river and see sunrise ... even at this time the activity was just as frenetic as the evening before but the view and the atnosphere was magical. After a quick kip to recuperate we got a rickshaw through the town itself to see some more before one more walk back to the hotel along the river .... gutted to have to leave that nigh but we need o get to ahmedabad for the wedding and plenty to do along the way !!!

Having negotiated the kolkatta - varanassi train quite comfortably a similar journey to delhi held no fears ... but this one was very different !!!

The first shock was getting in to a much dirtier carriage and where the first one had seemed spacious and not full ... evry seat was rammed on this one and best of all ... there were no lights and it was almost pitch black !!!!!!!! This sort of thing has made us realise how utterly trusting our children were as Toby showed absolutely no fear or surprise ... as far as he was concerned Mummy and Daddy had put him on the train so what could be wrong ???

I seriously considered getting off, bolting back to the hotel and flying the next day but we were there and reckoned we could manage ! Fortunately after about ten minutes the lights came on and we chained our bags to every available point and padlocked every pocket ... much to the amusement of the watching locals. Again .. our seats weren't together but a bit of sign language and pidgin english and some really kind people moved around to allow Kate above me again.Aat this point we also realised that where the previous train had sheets, pillows and blankets ... this had none !!! Large holes in the windows and what we later learnt was Delhis coldest night for god knows how long did not help matters. Everything we had went on toby and we are eternally indebted to the Indian man opposite us who produced two spare blankets from his bag ... one for each of us which although neither of us slept, just about staved off the frostbite.

Toby again slept till 6:30 (waking up to kiss Kate with a "Good morning mummy - I love you - you're my best friend") which seemd perfect as the train was due in at 8am so we got our bags together and got ready ... 9am, 10am 11am ... we still weren't there but at about 11:30 the movement all around us told us we had made it ... vowing no more long trains in India overnight (at least for a long time).

The last thing we needed was a horrible, overpriced room in and unfriendly hotel but that is exactly where we were headed !! For the capital city in what is supposed to be a booming country Delhi didn't make a great first impression ! We did find a really cute park which we thought might serve to help Toby release energy on Monday but no ... it is close Mondays !!! (why would you close a park ffs !!!)

Why relax we thought ... so booked a trip to Agra the following afternoon and the agent who arranged it found us a new hotel for our return to delhi as well as a hotel for the night in Delhi plus a guide and driver.

The hotel in Agra was lovely and a 7am start to see the Taj mahal was soooo worth it ... truly unbelievable (not as if I'm stating the obvious or anything). I have to confess huuuuuge ignorance here and admit I had no idea that all that was actually inside the building itself was one tiny room with two Tombs ... I had kind of assumed Palace, Art etc. but the building itself and the grounds were nothing short of breathtaking !

We also visited Agra Fort and a beautiful temple whose grounds were over-run with Monkeys and Deer where Toby got a much deserved chance to stretc his lega sn run around for an hour. The grounds in all of these places were stunning - green, clean and fresh air really helped recharge the batteries.

After a long drive back though the last thing we needed with all of us tired and moody was to find a grotty hotel, no windoe and shit service ... at this point Kate broke down and I booked the meridien for the following night and the next day until our flight in order to pick us up a bit - it is certainly working !!!!!!

Kate is in the bath (a luxury in itself) and I have free snacks in the internet cafe here from which to blog.

I have to confess to being shocked by much of Inida ... i expected so much more from the place and although the sires we have visite our stunning ... so little seems to be done to encourage tourism and there seems so little enterprise. I have hardly been able to find any internet access and where I have it has been in dark, dingy rooms. People here have not been friendlyand it is tiring being constantly aware that everyone - and I mean everyone- is trying to rip you off one way or another. today we visited the Red Fort ... The number one tourist attraction in the Capital city ... and thought we might eat at the restaurant / tea room. We were handed a crumbling torn menu that must have been 15 yrs old and only has 20 items on but amazingly enough when i then went to order i was told that none of the items were even available - all they had was a vegetrian sandwich and mountain dew to drink - surely there is a gap in the market there. I had to ask why I had been given a menu but the waiter just looked blankly ! that just about sums our experience up so far and although we love so much of what we have seen it is really hard work with Toby,

We are reconsidering our plans after the wedding ... distances here are just soooooo huge that we may not manage as much of Rajhastan as we wanted (maybe even none tragically - we will see) but we need to be fair to Toby who can't keep up the sort of punishing schedule of the last week. We are considering just bolting for the south and the beaches of Goa and Kerala although if we feel stronger may try at least Udaipur (and maybe Jodphur)

No idea where we will be for xmas but will definitely miss home and friends at that time so lvoely to har from any of you.

much love

M