Rob & Penny’s Passage to India
March 2010
For some inexplicable reason, I have always wanted to go to India and see the sights; however, the problem was convincing Penny who felt that she did not want to cope with all the beggars. I chanced upon an advertisement in the “Independent” newspaper which offered a grand tour of the key sites and with accommodation in 4 and 5 star hotels and this looked like a good solution with which I could encourage Penny to come to India. Penny did quite a lot of research on the internet checking the hotels and then agreed that we should go.
We chose to go in early March as the temperature would be more favourable (in the mid to high 20s) and so the scene was set for us to visit Delhi, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Jaipur, Ranthambore National Park, Mandawa and then finish with a few days at Shimla near the foothills of the Himalayas.
Our flight was overnight with Virgin Atlantic and we upgraded to have extra leg room, we were not impressed with the airline in terms of service and comfort and we spent a fitful night trying to get some sleep. We arrived at Indra Ghandi Airport mid morning and, after changing some money, boarded a coach to take us to our hotel. The journey to the centre of Delhi was full of contrasts (which we later acknowledged as the norm in India) massive civil engineering works being carried out in preparation for the Commonwealth Games (being held in India in October 2010) most of which still unfinished and no signs of urgency, alongside, small encampments of people living in what seemed like canvas shelters and a considerable degree of filth. There was a distinct haze/mist over the city which apparently is common at this time of year.


Our hotel, the Lalit, was excellent, and after what was to become the customary greeting of receiving a floral necklace and a fruit drink, we retired to our sumptuous bedroom. The afternoon excursion to the “Old Delhi” did not inspire us as we were very, very tired so we opted to stay in our room and catch up on some sleep. Next morning, we had a tour of New Delhi taking in the sights of India Gate, the Parliament buildings and the Qutub Minaret which is the tallest tower in India at 72.5 metres and was completed in 1386.



After lunch we boarded our coach and set off on the 250 km journey to Agra arriving in the evening at our 5 star hotel the Jaypee Palace. Another floral necklace and fruit drink and then off to bed after a very nice meal in the restaurant. In the morning we set off for what is perhaps the most famous landmark in India, the Taj Mahal. To see photos of this magnificent building does not do the same justice as standing within its grounds and admiring the craftsmanship it its structure.



Reluctantly we left the Taj and headed for Agra Fort which was the headquarters of the Moghul Empire. First mentioned in the year 1080 it was captured by the Moghuls around 1528 and within found the famous diamond Koh-I-Noor



This “fort” is more of a walled palace and was completed by the moghul “Akbar” in 1573. It is amazing to see the quality and complexity of work carried out almost 450 years ago, before B&Q!





The following day we set off for the abandoned city of Fatehpur Sikri built by Moghul Akbar in 1571 it was abandoned after only 14 years as the water supply was not sufficient to sustain the population. The city was never ravaged and lay abandoned; today it is protected as a World Heritage Site.



After a pleasant lunch at the Laxmi Niwas heritage hotel we headed for the train station to catch our train to Ranthambore National Park. We were fortunate to have reserved “chair class” tickets which meant we did not have to perch on the roof or hang out of the doors of the train!



We arrived safely at our hotel The Ranthambore Regency and again had the traditional greeting then off for dinner. It was at this stage when Penny (and several others in the group) had a serious attack of “Delhi Belly” and this truly knocked her out. I contacted the hotel doctor who prescribed some tablets and rehydration powder and suggested that Penny remain in bed for a while. Indeed, during our 2 night stay, Penny rarely saw the outside of the hotel bedroom.
Ranthambore National Park is famous for its wildlife and in particular the tigers which roam freely, unfortunately, despite two game drives of over 4 hours each we failed to spot any tigers! There were lots of deer, monkeys, kites, boar, crocodiles and birdlife, but no tigers. Here is what we missed:

I know we cannot expect nature to be at our beck and call but……………………

We eventually left Ranthambore and headed deep into the desert like state of Rajasthan to the Pink City of Jaipur (actually the city is pink because that is the colour they painted it)!


With a population of around 6 million this is a bustling city and our hotel, (Fortune Select Metropolitan) was right in the city centre opposite a MacDonalds!!! (As the majority of Indians are Hindu, they do not eat beef and 80% are vegetarian, so at MacDonalds, you get curried potato burger!!!!
With Penny still suffering a little I went to see the Royal Observatory (yawn) and the City Palace (on the way I was head-butted by one of the many cows wandering about the streets and the horn smashed my wristwatch, In view of the reverence these animals hold I was unable to get my own back)!




The next day we set off to visit the Amber Fort near Jaipur and our coach took us part way then we had to get taxis. There was an option to go by elephant but the queues were so long that time did not allow.




We continued our tour deep into rural Rajasthan to our next stop, Mandawa where our hotel was the Castle Mandawa Hotel. This was an old fort which is still being converted into a hotel whilst retaining most of the original features of the original building. It reminded us of a Spanish Parador but the quality of accommodation was far superior as was the overall interesting architecture. Mandawa was a stopping point on the “old silk road” and the town had many merchant houses which we visited. Although now no longer used as a route it was interesting to see the buildings and how they cleverly made fun of the English with paintings depicting the Merchants as passengers whilst the “snooty” English did the driving.


Next day we once again set off to return to Delhi and the Lalit Hotel travelling through the countryside it was noticeable that most of the work in the fields was carried out by women and in the main by hand. Crops were cut with hand scythes and bundles of wheat carted off to be threshed again by hand. I presume that automation in the form of combine harvesters would only add to the unemployment problem. I read in a local paper (no I don’t understand Hindi, the papers were in English) that the new minimum wage set by the government were:
Unskilled 203 rupees per day (£3)
Semi skilled 225 rupees
Skilled 248 rupees
Whereas, Clerical and Non Technical Supervisory staff earned:
Non-Graduates 225 rupees
Graduates 270 rupees
After an overnight at the Lalit, we set off early for the main train station in Delhi, to catch our train to Kalka. Again this was “chair class” and relatively comfortable but we were warned to only take a small hand luggage as our next train was the famous “Toy Train” to Shimla. After about 4 hours we arrived at Kalka and transferred to the toy train (it turned out to be a disappointment as we expected an old steam train or something similar but in fact it was a diesel locomotive)! The seating was cramped and quite hard (and after 5 hours became the proverbial “pain in the …..” We arrived very late in the evening tired and sore but the hotel The Oberoi Cecil was a delight and by far the best of all. We opted to have dinner served in our room and the room service duly arrived with a dinner trolley and a lovely meal for two.
In the morning, Penny rebelled and declared that she wanted rest and relaxation and would not be going on any more tours but rather have massage, manicure and facial treats. I had great sympathy with her decision as we had travelled some 1500kms in the past two weeks and never had a chance to unpack!
As I do not need such beauty treatment! I joined the group and went to see the Viceragal Lodge where Lord Mountbatten, Nehru (Hindu) Jinnah Azad (Muslim) and Ghandi signed the partition of India in 1947 leading to among other states, the creation of Pakistan and resulted in over 7million Hindus being forcibly removed from that area back to what is now India and a similar number if Muslims being moved to what is now Pakistan. (Worth noting that in the transition over 1million lost their lives in conflicts and squabbles).


Next we visited the Monkey Temple where we were told to remove our spectacles and were given a wooden stick (monkeys apparently like specs and the stick was needed to chase them away)! It should have been a white stick as without my spectacles it was difficult to see (well read actually).



The air in Shimla was very clean and fresh and a contrast to what we were breathing in Delhi, I suppose it was because we were near the foothills of the Himalayas and at some 2000metres above sea level. Indeed, from a vantage point we could see the snow capped Himalayas in the distance. We concluded the tour with a visit to “The Mall” where we visited the Gaiety Theatre and Town Hall both of which were very “English” in construction. One of the best things about Shimla is the total absence of litter and begging/hawking is strictly forbidden, this helped make the stay restful and very pleasant.



Unfortunately, time ran out and we had to return to Delhi however this time we were transported to Kalka by taxi and then completed the journey by the train.
Once again an overnight at the Lalit and then off to the airport to take us back from a stifling Delhi at 39 degrees to London at 8 degrees!
The individual sites which we visited were indeed wondrous and to actually stand within, was an uplifting experience, we were not aware that the travelling time between each location was so vast and time consuming/tiring and this did take the edge off the trip. We were surprised at the amount of filth which grew exponentially with the number of people, even in modern cities like Delhi. Apart from a few, most people lived in what to the western eye would be squalor and also most of the buildings (now used by the ministries) seemed to be much the same as what was left by the British in 1947. Admittedly, some new development was taking place and high rise building starting to dominate the landscape in Delhi but India remains in our minds, as a very poor and unsanitary nation.


We are glad to have visited this vast sub-continent but we shall not return in the foreseeable future.

Ramblings in Retirement
March 2010
Home at last!
We set off to the UK on the 6th March and the following day (Sunday) we had a lovely day with the family. We all met together for lunch and caught up with all the news. It was a joy to spend time with Millie and Daisy again and see just how much they have grown in such a short time.
The following day we visited our old! Neighbours to our house in Gildersome and again got all the gossip. It would appear that our tenants are OK and no trouble at all, so we hope they will renew the contract for rental in June.
Later we drove down to Heathrow to start our India Adventure.
We arranged to upgrade to “extra leg room” which was a small blessing as the normal seats looked not much better than Ryanair! Despite being an overnight flight, we slept only fitfully, Penny and I were not particularly impressed with Virgin Atlantic in terms of comfort, service and communication.
Arriving in Delhi we were transported to our hotel (The Lalit) which was first class in all departments. It would take some time to fully describe our holiday so I will make a special supplement in which I can cover all the sights and experiences, so, in this edition of the blog, I will give only a brief outline. As we were dog tired from all the travel we opted out of the organised tour of the “old” city of Delhi and crashed out instead. The following day we visited the New city including India Gate and the Red Fort.

Our next stage was the Taj Mahal
It was truly wondrous, and soon after we visited the Agra Fort. Next day we set off for Fahtepur Sikri which is an abandoned city, spooky but nice, then, boarding a train, we set off for Ranthambore National Park to see the tigers. It was at this stage Penny fell foul of “Delhi Belly” and was confined to the loo/bed. She did not miss much; despite being on two game drives I saw nothing better than I would have seen at Woburn! Our next destination was the pink city of Jaipur (it was just painted pink)! We saw the Amber Fort which was perched high on a hill but we were unable to get an elephant to take us up to it as time did not allow Mind you they were smelly!
We then set off deep into rural Rajasthan to our hotel, Castle Mandawa, this was an old fortress on the “silk road” and the current owner was converting it into a 5 star hotel. We had a delightful evening in very comfortable surroundings and a chance to see some of the old merchant houses. Next stop, back to Delhi overnight and an early morning start to the train station to board the train to Kalka, only 4 hours! Boy, British Rail despite all its faults, is fantastic in comparison; the station was filthy, people sleeping/eating everywhere. Fortunately, we were in “Chair Class” where we had reasonably comfortable seats and air conditioning.
At Kalka we got on to what is known as the “toy train” where space was at a premium and the seats hard. A five hour journey took us to Shimla near the foothills of the Himalayas where the air was very clean and the temperature in the high 20s (unlike Delhi Agra and Jaipur where mid 30s was the norm).
When we arrived at Shimla we went to the Oberoi Cecil Hotel which was truly magnificent and at this point Penny rebelled saying that she did not want any more travelling but rather would like to have some pampering. Massage, facial and manicure were on the agenda while I went off to see the sights. Shimla is the summer capital of India and the whole administration of the government move there. It is also where the partition of India was signed by Lord Mountbatten and I visited the Viceregal Lodge where all this took place. A trip to the Monkey Temple and then to the “famous” mall in Shimla was quite enough for me.
We returned to Delhi once again for an overnight before boarding the plane to return to the UK.

Our return to Spain was marred by a 3 hour delay but thankfully we arrived safe, if not completely exhausted. Our next two days were spent doing absolutely nothing.
The new steps into the pool have been done by our builder and he has made a good job including cleaning of the grout in the tiles. We now are finishing off with painting the surround and then we’ll fill the pool ready for summer.

Within the next week I’ll write a supplement blog all about our experiences in India in some detail, look out for it.