3: A road trip to the pink city of Jaipur

 

Only thumbs down of the day - for small servings - this was a double

Location:  New Delhi - Jaipur

On a mission this morning to be up, dressed, packed and fed in time for the 8:00 am meetup in the foyer. Managed that easily, including fashioning some running repairs on the suitcase handle, with ease.

Checked out,  loaded onto the bus and made our way into that morning crawl of traffic and headed towards Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan and affectiinately known as the "pink city" because of the facades of the buildings in the Old City. Historically, this was the home of royalty. It all evoked visions of beauty and wealth (... emit quiet chuckle here - the creative written des riptors dont quite match the reality ... so far)

This was a little "repositioning cruise" of some 265 kms (estimated driving time of 5 to 6 hours) that would take us from the urbanness of Delhi, through sprawling flat countryside of agricultural India, through a mountain pass and tunnel and pop us out  into the historically well fortified Amer City (written everywhere as Amber) and then to Jaipur. It was interspersed with two comfort stops and again it was our very own "on the bus" wide screen view of a real world documentary hosted by @Vishal. The kms just disappeared.

He interspersed the trip with commentary and was always open to questions. He told the big stories at the microphone, then made himself available through the bus for a "sit and chat" to address personal queries or clarify details he had shared. It was a perfect balance of tuning in, chatting and quiet contemplation.

Back of the bus and loving it

We did a little swap around in seating positions and I was very happy to score the back seat all to myself with perfect views down the aisle out the front windscreen. It was a straight backed bench and @Mac opted for the head rest layback option in front of me. And of course we were able to swap and change, stretch out and share as we needed.

TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS

Some views from the bus windows - just random short notes to promot the memory in the future  of some of the thongs we spotted and chqtted about ...

- nothing had changed miraculously in  the streets overnight to improve the daily challenges for the locals - although there was a major difference in the weather - blue skies and sunshine
- largest prison complex in the Northern region of India
- the Military Precinct - block after block of installations all ringed by clean, clear roadways, in a "honk free" zone ( lots of people with straw brooms out sweeping - such a contrast where gardens and footpaths are maintained and are litter free with very few people outside) NO photographs permitted in this area
-  traffic merged with the freeway, at a snail's pace, and 5 (really 3 marked lanes) became 8 (really 5) and frequently there were cars pulled over to pick up passengers.  6 to 7 people joined a driver and were jumping in to be crammed in for the ride. We could see a passenger stretched across the back dash!
- amazing absence of graffiti everywhere so far in India
- life size statues of Gods and Goddesses and towering forms  at various points which appear quite randomly along the journey
- @Liz and @Ross need to buy a ssrvice station over here. Service stations are six lanes wide and they always have queues out onto the road trying to access fuel - all the advertising banners are blank though and don't display prices - must ask
- agricultural India soooo different from the city - large expanses of green, heavily farmed land, lots of workers in the fields, very little machinery. Diverse range of crops including rice, wheat, barley, lentils and all sorts of vegetables.  No traffic - smooth  ordered four lane divided  tollway with no beeping
- noted cricket games in progress in breaks in the field
- the country drive was a wide valley lined on one side by a low even mountain stretch and we could see its partner on the other side in the distance
-livestock in small tended herds were cattle or goats (apparently India exports cattle)
- countryside beautiful and green and lush under the influence of the monsoon

lush and green

- went from blue sky to torrential rain and back to blue sky within 10 minutes
- highway speed was dampened by intermittent, irregularly spaced speed humps - that kept you awake and played havoc with the step count of the watch

Not much traffic out here

- the closer we edged towards Jaipur- more cows, rubbish and industry began to appear - especially brick works and stone associated industry .... headstones and carved statues
-  beeping of horns, traffic and litter returned
- encountered a large group of people walking in procession along the side of the road - yes, mostly on foot with a few on wagons and on tractors - decorated vehicles, music blaring, people dancing - a religious pilgrimage - apparently very common
-  cliffs tops play host to temples and shrines for people to find solitude and practice religion
- many large/expansive (and by comparison to the increasingly urban landscape - quite opulent) banquet halls to host weddings

Different views in the city

Vishal's detailed lessons

Two interrelated topics were explored in detail on the journey today - the caste system and then arranged marriages.

Perhaps the most interesting thing is in the contrast in acceptance - from @Vishal's perspective all very normal and for the Australians on board - so far removed from what we know and understand. @Vishal spoke for about 45 minutes attempting to bring these concepts into focus for us and ended with his personal story. 

This doesn't scratch the surface of the detail he shared but basically the caste system was created by the Gods themselves and divides Hindus into four main ranked categories - Brahmins (the keepers of knowledge and performers of rituals), Kshatriyas (the warriors keeping country safe from wothin and without) Vaishyas  (the business people, traders and producers) and the Shudras (the cleaners.)

The 1947 push for independence really highlighted the difference between the first three and the lower Caste- who had no rights and very few opportunities. Attempts have been made to change this highlighted by the fact that the last two Prime Ministers have been from the Sudra class.

The details were elaborate but basically the discourse on the Caste system was shared to bring us to an understanding of the present day where marriages are still arranged and are made between individuals who are in the same caste.

The marriage system had so many steps and stages, that really begins with your registration at birth. Legal age for marriage is 21 for men and 18 for women and, in today's India, 98% of marriages are still "arranged." Note here, this does not mean "forced." Rather, parents and families are active participants and involved in the selection process and provide the tick of approval.

Most couples today are marrying between the ages of 25 and 30 and again, this is a uniting of two families rather than just two people.

At birth, the time and date is precisely noted and provided to the Priests. This information provides the details of your astrological chart which is an important point of comparison in the selection of your partner. There are 36 pointers which are used in selecting a partner - at least 21 should be matched in that final selection for an "appropriate" match.

It is all a bit like using a dating APP! Your "resume" is created (crazy detail including your earnings) and then your can be "advertised" in the weekly Sunday paper insert called "Matrimonials." @Vishal got a big laugh here when he joked at how great Indians had become at using Photoshop to create the pictures that were shared as the first "look."  Parents can "search" and pick potential partners, arrange a meeting of the family (not the the prospective bride and groom), submit the astrological charts to the Priests and if they match, arrange a meeting for the couple.

And so it progresses, until the wedding is completed (parents are making the guest list and celebrations), the Priest determines the date and time, the dowry settled and after the wedding, the bride moves into the groom's family. Gifts at the wedding are usually money - and they are carefully recorded in a maintained family ledger - for generations!

So that's done - and the couple lives happily ever after and according to @Vishal, love grows and  India has a very low divorce rate. (Fact check pending.)

All of this is within your "caste" ensures tjat - by marrying someone who understands all the expectations and rituals and customs associates with your station in life - the pairing is more "compatible."
.
Ah ... and then .... there was @Vishal's personal experience with marrying. Of course you knew it was coming. He married outside of his Caste (he is Brahmin and his wife Kshatriya - the  warriors) and they met while studying at a monastery. His parents were very "liberal" and supported him, his wife's parents not so much and it was a little bit of a challenge but he turned on the " charm offensive" and broke through the barriers. Hilariously, one of the major stumbling blocks was their paltry match of 10.5 on the charts - but some smooth talking and "gifts" from his parents smoothed out those wrinkles with the priests.

They celebrated their union over 9 days with 750 guests and have been happily married for 12 years and have two children.

The moral of this story ... money talks in any language.

We made two comfort stops on our journey and the second was for lunch. Some hurdles, including the language, no pictures on the menu, no change for what we think are small note denominations, card systems that are down, wrong orders and wrong pricing and full  vegetarian options or KFC . I went vegetarian, @Mac went KFC and somehow we paid! But it was all completed in good spirit - and worked out in the end.

Best we could do in the food court

Getting started in Rajasthan

Arrived just south of Jaipur through a tunnel around 2:45 - we were about 10 kms soth of our final destination in the city of Amer. Several forts and temples were built in this area including Jadha/Amer Fort and Palace and the ruling Maharajahs over time had great connections with the Mughals, the British and even the British royal family. It was a peaceful environment and many arts and skills developed - which are showcased in the precinct of these walls.

The mountains surrounding Jaipur are famous for red, black and yellow sandstones and there are prolific quarries for precious stones. It is a centre for arts and crafts (gems, inlay, gold leaf, textile printing, paper production) and all of that sounds fancy -  but the visual reality is absolute squalor. More intense than Delhi. Piled, discarded evidence of human habitation - and here on a different scale - I am so far not seeing "pink" but rather a bus graveyard. Abandoned and dumped vehicles piled and lined up everywhere. It could be described as one huge rubbish tip that stretches across all the city blocks (except the military zone) , with people scratching our some sort of existence amongst the shambles.

If I were an Indian, I'd never leave the beauty and freedom of the countryside!

Amer Court and Palace

Ended our day with a visit to the Amer Fort which we accessed in a series of Jeeps which took us through the narrow alleyways to the top of the mountain to reach the Fort. The city wall here looked a little like the "Great Wall of China" with the wall and its strategically placed towers snaking across the ridge of the mountain and looking down onto the Fort.

All aboard the Jeeps for a mountain climb

@Vishal helped us navigate the avenue of (persistent) hawkers and then progressed us through the rooms, courtyards and gardens of the King's Palace. Incredible artistry, contrasts in colours of the sandstone and marble used to create the walls, floors, pillars and portals, secret passageways, public and private meeting halls, pools and courtyards - and although an empty shell today, @Vishal brought the past to life as we took a leisurely stroll through this maze.

Perched on top of the world - melting in the heat

Lots of stairs and corridors and unsurprisingly we lost a couple of team members every now and then and worth noting that as we shared the space with the locals, our skin colour was a novelty. I was the matriarchal centrepiece for one family of 15 - and I posed for endless pictures with the group and then the solos - the young and the old, the men, the women and the children. Crazy.

Drawing a crowd to pose with the family

All completed under the blazing sun and in stinkingly oppressive heat and humidity. All group members were boasting their own patterns of perspiration as clothes stuck to skin and rivulets poured and puddled on body ridges and then dripped onto the floor. The itinerary had been changed to take advantage of the "cooler"  afternoon opportunity - we were really supposed to do this "tomorrow." Everyone had dressed for "a day in the bus" so there were a few incorrect shoe choices. I certainly wouldn't have worn a dress to be climbing in an out of Jeeps!

 Oops.

Plenty of rooms and balconies to explore

Checked in for two days

What a contrast here at the #Park Ocean. We were greeted with a gold and pearl jewellery gift and cold drinks and ushered to our rooms which were sweet smelling, expansive, perfectly clean and had amenities that worked! Hot water, a roof that didn't leak, soap, towels, comfy bed, table, desk, chairs, storage. OMG, so good!

@Chris enjoying the comfort of the new foyer - all smiles

Plenty of dinner choices - but only one "meat" dish

Joined the group for our 7 pm buffet/banquet dinner, quenched our thirst (@Mac's order of a double was definitely not a "home pour") and recapped on another wonderful day. Laughed ourselves stupid at the notion of having a Turkish bath in water filled with pubic hairs and emerging as a circus ready genuine bearded lady (you had to be there) and finally pulled the shutters down on a super day.

PS Had a breakfast chat with @Maureen and @Barry this morning who have been on multiple Tripadeal adventures including through Vietnam and Cambodia. Their comment was that our Delhi venue was the worst accommodation they have ever experienced with this company. And seems this comment is validated for today at least - very comfortable here! Long may it continue.

Weather: 33 but the humidity (I'm going local tomorrow and packing a "sweat wiper off-erer in my handbag - everyone has one)

Steps: 14297 - not even close - the rough ride on the speed bumps boosted the total ... I'd guess around 8 000

Health Check:  although uncomfortable cramping in the legs (too little water, too much humidity and heat) and some blister/shoe rubs from the wrong shoes. Tummies absolutely perfect.

Accommodation: Hotel Park Ocean Jaipur - so good! Great hospitality, dining room and staff excellent, bathroom dream

On the MenuStraight from the itinerary:

After breakfast at the hotel, travel approximately 265 kilometres to Jaipur - the capital of Rajasthan, and on arrival check into the hotel, where you will also enjoy dinner this evening. Jaipur is instantly recognisable for its pink-washed buildings.

This evening, enjoy a short city tour to get your bearings followed by a Sari and Indian costume demonstration. 

2 Playing dress up and going barefoot in Delhi

 Location: New Delhi

Cleansing the barefeet and dressed up ready to explore at the Sikh house of worship🥰😍😘

I'm leading with this story to get it out of the way. I don't want this to be an "I'm so precious" whingey-whiney, moany-groany daily recap.

 But seriously, Room 503 has NOT been kind to us.

At 3:30 this morning I was jolted out of sleep by the rolling sound of thunder and absoluelty torrential rain. It sounded like someone was outside pouring out buckets of water. A definite match for what my imagination would conjour as monsoonal rain.

And I was choking - couldn't get my breath. There was a stench in the room that was simply overwhelming. It didn't smell like rotting food or off meat or a crusty old bin. It was just so very unique. It was heavy and putrid and just on a new level of stench. Had a drink of water to try and clear the "taste" of the smell. There was something off in Delhi! And for those thinking we were responsible for that smell - nope - this was bigger than us , it was literally DELHI.

Decided that because I was awake I might as well make a toilet stop. Was settled on the loo (here we go .. another toilet story) and I felt four streams of water dripping onto me from above - one clipping my shoulders, one dead centre on the top of my head and two into my lap. No joke, the roof of the bathroom was leaking. I convinced myself that the leak was emanating from the toilet which would have been above me on level six.

It was a mightmare - but even worse because I was awake and this was real!!!

I needed a good wash and some disinfectant and felt that deploying an umbrella might be a solution moving forward.

Of course in the day light hours, @Mac determined it was "only" the overhead vent leaking - which we duly reported to the Front Desk. We had water pooled on the tiled floor and the backup toilet rolls were thoroughly drenched. What an encore from 503.

TODAY'S HIGLIGHTS

Breakfast and getaway

Made it to breakfast and were able to put together sensible choices from the wide selection of Indian and Western offerings. Mind you , we had worked up a great appetite because the lift in the hotel was out of order (of course it was!) Made our way down the six flights of stairs and managed to chat with a few other visitors on a different #Tripadeal tour.

With tummies  loaded, and the lift thankfully working, we retrieved the backpack and joined the group for our day exploring the many different faces of Delhi, both old and new.

Our 50 minute peak hour traffic commute back onto the city was fascinating. The traffic chaos and side walk antics of the locals just going about their daily lives would easily have been enough- but combined with @Vishal's expert commentary that covered the history, development and emergence of an independent India - this was our very own five star documentary.

We had a time capsule lesson that included the influence of the Muslim Dynasty of the  Mughals in the 1500s, the importance of the Aryan Civilisation, the influence of the British and the subsequent fight for independence and the 7 time reconstruction of Delhi to bring us to a modern day India with a mind blowing population of 1.4 billion.

23 million of these reside  in Delhi and I think we encountered most of them today in our peak hour crawl. 

 Gosh, the streets were chaotic and quite frankly, perched in the privileged comfort of our 20 seater air conditioned luxury coach for our outer western suburb commute, they could be described as downright filthy. 

Rubbish and debris, housing/buildings complete and incomplete and stained with mould, markets and stalls operated from pristine shops or derelict makeshift lean toos,  electric rickshaws, buses, metro rail, motor cycles, push bikes and cars in every stage of disrepair, cows, monkeys, dogs, cats and squirrels and every other motorised moving thing or living thing was twisting and weaving and honking or just standing in or wading through pooled water on nearly flooded streets. It was mind blowing.And the marked lanes of the highway were really just a token gesture for funnelling the traffic - where there were two marked lanes at least three lanes of traffic formed.

Washing seemed to be hanging everywhere - on trees, on fences, out of windows. And there must have been al whole laundry progressive dance underway because there were bursts of rained alternated with periods of fine weather. On the Rickshaw Ride later in the morning we spotted one shop with three wash buckets outside and watched the team wash the dishes and cooking pots and the clothing by hand on the footpath. We think they were using separate buckets. Not sure

Today's Highlights

Some discussions to build understanding of the people of India by @Vishal while we were in the bus.

a. The mother tongue is Hindi although everyone we have come in contact with speaks English. Children learn both languages at school as the joint official languages. There are 272 regional languages and 1800 dialects. 

People folĺow Hinduism (1800 - 1500 BCE started by a nomadic tribe called Aryans.) They found land on banks of Indus River that was very fertile amd settled in the area (Indus Valley Civilisation.) Alexander the Great mentioned them in his his writings as the region of "Hindu Kush."

b. Understanding the home 

95% of India's population follow the Hindu  way of life - which is based on the idea of "doing the good deeds" towards the whole world. There is also a belief in rebirth (for humans) and reincarnation (for the Gods.)

 Every (traditional) home is based on an extended family. The elders of the household have a small shrine that has pictures of gods or deities and incense is burned to start the day. Each a fresh meal is prepared for everyone in the family amd the first portion of the meal is made as an offering to the Gods. If a cow or a beggar or a bird etc appears on your doorstep, a portion of the fresh meal is offered. During at least two meals a day the family members joins together to enjoy a meal together. This is a time to share all the highs and lows of the family's life.

c. A minority with significant influence

Sikhs started in the late 15th century as a blend of Islam and Hindi and found their roots in a "community kitchen " based on brotherhood, compassion and generosity. The Sikhs call their faith "The way of the guru."  Its origins started with 10 spiritual gurus - the last of the 10 gurus announced that he would be "the last." An incredibly fascinating history surrounds this highly respected minority group - a few more documentaries are needed.

 d. Pervasiveness of the man small in statue but big in humanity

@Vishal made constant and connected references to Mahatma Ghandi sometimes promoted by one of the impressive statues or by an event in the history of India's journey to modern day independence. His leadership of the civil rights movement through his non violent struggle for independence meant there were plenty of stories to tell.

@Vishnal's stories began with the 24 day day Salt March that Ghandi led in his attempt to abolish the stranglehold of British rule and ended with Ghandi's assassination. 

 Ghandi spent his last 144 days in Delhi before his assassination, and lead his local community in prayer each evening. On 30th January 1948 two people knelt in the prayer group with him, pulled out a gun and shot him.

Another little taster to tease interest in learning more!

Places visited

A. Jama Masjid - the mosque

First the Fort was constructed (currently under reconstruction and clised so we are not visiting) the the mosque was subsequently constructed as a place to pray with the people.  Built on a high rise for shelter from flooding it was built by the same Moghul who constructed the Taj Mahal and it is the largest mosque in India.

its familar layout with soaring minarets and decorative Arabic mottifs and designs has a courtyard that can hold 25 000 worshippers. Of course, we were making our visit in the a break between the five daily calls to prayer time in the public viewing times. 

And yes, dressing up was required. Shoes had to be removed which made for a very slippery traverse over both the red sandstone and marble tiles. Men had to cover their legs and ladies had to done the compulsory full length dress. @Mac opted to wrap his sarong over his man bag and elicited lots of chuckles for his "new look" midsection profile. 

This established the basic routine of the day - shoes off, layers on, a guided walk to give some insights and a little snippet of  "free time." 

The group - looks like graduation

@Mac's new profile

Knits in the bottom of the coverall to avoid it dragging for short people

Barefoot was a bonus

B. Rickshaw Ride through Chandni Chowk
This enabled a close up view of the ramshackle markets housed in the laneways and back streets. Yep, it was two on board and then a diminutive pedal person to provide the power to get that little vehicle through the gaps along the route. We received heavy warnings here about protecting our personal belongings and everyone in the group completed the activity without loss. There is no denying it was handwork for our diminutive drivers - on an incline we even offered to get out and push but he responded "Thank you - but I've got it." Many of the other group members had to get out of their carriages and walk a little.

Be safe 

There was a rhyme and reason to the disorganisation - each section of the market specialised in something - it might be electronics, car parts, books, jewellery, food, clothing. Yoy could see this specialisation but were constantly wondering how this worked. The streets were flooded and the locals were making vain attempts to divert the water and the apparent success of the overhead wiring in delivering electricity in such a tangle remains a mystery! At one stage we did have a little wonder about electricity and water not being friends and were sort of relieved we didn’t have to get out and stand in the water.

It was chaotic but the rain had stopped and we gasped our way through near misses, crazy swerving, unexpected braking stops. Loved the experience and only had one little bingle in our ride and with the tone of the exchange between pedal-er and the other driver we were relieved we didn't speak Hindi or one of its 1800 dialects.

C. Ghandi Gardens
Beautiful grounds that host thousands of visitors per day paying homage to Mahatma Ghandi. Lush carpets of green grass, walkways, shrubs and trees all lovongly tended. 

There were ladies pulling the weeds from the carpet of green - I definitely felt an affinity.

 The centre piece was a simple black platform, adorned with floral displays that are refreshed daily with a backdrop of an eternal flame. The walkway was lined with quotes from Ghandi. It was a simple, beautiful setting in perfect communion with nature absolutely reflective of the peaceful, yet powerful endeavours of Ghandi.

@Merrin and I both fancied ourselves working along the ladies in the background- therapeutics

@Mac thought he might leave his resume as well 🤔 

D. Sikh House and Community Kitchen

This one definitely involved dressing up and there was also washing of the feet at in the holy water on entry. All needed scarf head covering (I had my own) and men and women need their legs covered - I had long black pants on but @Mac had to don the "not quite long enough" little tartan number.

Whatever works

We were all in it together

We were visiting the Sikh House of worship and the community-operated free kitchen, housed within the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib – a historic Sikh house of worship in central Delhi – which runs 24/7, 365 days a year and feeds according to @Vishal  80,000 people every day.

Impressive and humbling. Dedicated worshippers were making their prayers and offerings, blessings were given and the voices of the musical intonations of the Sikhs singing the words of the Holy Book of the Guru flooded the courtyard.

A quiet walk through and then into the kitchen and food hall.

 Incredible. So much service, charity and compassion. You really wanted to pitch in and do a little something.

No photos permitted in the House of worship but some from inside the kitchen

It was then time for a leisurely lunch before returning to more footwork .

E Laxminarayan Temple

Again, dress up required and yes the removal of shoes and the photo restrictions. No worries, it is part of the routine now. A bit more serious here - our phones were confiscated - you couldn't even take them inside.

Built more than one hundred years ago by the Birla family, one of the most prominent industrialists in India, in the 1930s. It was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi,  on the condition that people of all castes and religions would be allowed to enter it. It is considered  a masterpiece of architecture, art, and culture and is dedicated to three Gods and one Goddess. This Hindu Temple was often visited by Ghandi for his morning prayers.

Our phones were "confiscated" on entry here and locked in a safe until exit - yes there was dress up and barefeet

  We quietly wandered the halls and gardens and shared the space with many worshippers giving and receiving offerings and blessings. We were most intrigued by the swastika - a very sacred symbol - and its meaning steeped in this religion and how its meaning in the West has been changed.

F. The drive bys

This was followed with a "drive by" of the Indian  Parliament and also the impressive monument to the military forces.

Not really our favourite thing today - especially in the rain, but with such a tight schedule you have to appreciate that not all things are possible. Maybe if we spent a few years here we could get up close and personal to many more things. But this is a whirlwind.

You do have to laugh - because long range moving views in the rain are "special." But full credit to @Vishal - the stories and insights he shared were just as compelling.m as if we were outside and inside the venues. He is good!

Got to live a good drive by

G. Bahai lotus temple
Last stop of the day before the battle through peak hour traffic to get home.

The Lotus Temple is an edifice of Bahai faith, resembling a lotus flower. It’s constructed purely with white marble and is open to all faiths and features a massive meditation hall. This centre piece provides followers with the opportunity to reach their God through quiet meditation.

The flower is surrounded by nine reflective pools and expansive lush green lawns. Beautiful.

We had 20 minutes here and literally ran along the pathways

Naively we thought if we bolted up to the Temple we could get back for a quick look at the Information Centre. 

#Fail.

We hadn't counted on having to queue for entry - this was the first time queuing had happened today at any venue.

Lots of commitment - but time beat us
 There was also a lengthy introduction in two languages which meant by the time we entered we had four minutes to complete the sprint back to the group meetup. At 4:58 we were admitted but at 5:00pm all exits were locked because there was a reading of the holy scriptures. @Mac tried to get us out of the exit doors but the keeper was "keeping" and wouldn't budge on letting us through and we did a skidding U-Turn to dash back to the entry and squiggle our way out through the oncoming queues. We did not in any way encapsulate the spirit of quiet meditation!

 On our dash back along the path, two of our group were aprroached to join some locals to be the "token white people" in the family snap.  We politely declined the invitation  and zoomed on by and @Mac put on the pace to get back to the meetup point.  He advised @Vishal we weren't too far behind. Definitely

 It was a hot and sweaty exit for the last stop of the day - we definitely didn't want to be the late stragglers.

The drive was the reverse of the morning's bumper to bumper, sensory overload adventure. So much to see and marvel at in what appears to be the ordinariness of people's daily existence. So very different from what we know.

Calling it a day

There was absolutely no interest from us in food - our lunch time bonanza was enough. But we were a bit partial to a cold drink (minus the ice of course) and settled in with the group for a rowdy evening of shared stories, incredible coincidences of shared connections and the creation of our "What'sAPP" group for stronger connections in the future through the obligatory sharing of photos.

 This photo sharing is very handy, perhaps best amplified by the following tow photos. I had begged @Mac to get me a photo at one of the road stops of the cow and calf dominating traffic. Exhibit A is his effort. Thank goodness for photo sharing in the app, because Exhibit B is the same cow, from the same intersection, at the same time from Sue who was seated in front of us.

Spot the "cow" from @Mac's angle - my begged for pic for the highlights reel

Sue to the rescue

A full day -  but a great day as our introduction to the incredible diversity and contrast that is India. Very appreciate of a great guide! A little less footwork tomorrow - it is a repositioning day.

Night views from the fifth floor

Weather: 33, early morning thunderstorms and intermittent rain clearing in the afternoon. Hot and steamy.

Steps: 14 217 in wet conditions - many in @Mac's dream of #barefeet

Health Check: continued perfection!

Accommodation: Hotel SK Premium Park, New Delhi - staff are great, breakfast and evening bar access hit the spot

Enjoying the bar with tthe Indian Trippers

On the Menu

Enjoyed an amazing lunch with spice choices, loads of breads, rice, condiments, a generous long Island iced tea for @Mac and a new beer for me. Glorious setting, incredible wait staff and delicious food.

Will need to remove the table below because it can't be edited on the phone - tried lots of local stuff today - here's hoping the probiotics are on guard!

✔	Biryani		Madras Curry		Rogan Josh		Chapati
	Butter Chicken		Mutter Paneer		Saag Paneer		Dal
	Chat	✔	Naan		Samosas		Keema
	Dosa		Papadum		Tandoori Chicken		Pakora
	Gulab Jamun		Paratha		Tikka Masala	✔	Pasanda
	Korma	✔	Raita		Vindaloo		Lassi

Straight from the itinerary:

After breakfast, enjoy a city tour of old and new Delhi. The tour will take in Raj Ghat (where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated), Red Fort (made famous by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan) and Jama Masjid (the largest mosque in India) which has three great gateways, four angled towers and two minarets constructed of alternating vertical strips of red sandstone and white marble. Also enjoy a rickshaw tour through Chandni Chowk, a colourful shopping bazaar in Old Delhi.

Next, travel to Laxminarayan Temple, a site dedicated to Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity and good fortune. You’ll also witness the India Gate, a 42-metre high war memorial and stone of triumph. The tour continues with a visit to Rashtrapati Bhavan, the palace-like building home to the President of India. Your remaining day is at leisure

1: Dashing to Delhi for a quick one

 Location:  Brisbane - Singapore - New Delhi

A few fresh flowers as a late night welcome to Delhi

TODAY'S HIGLIGHTS

I'm not sure we have ever been this low key - maybe because it is such a short sojourn we haven't been too bothered with the arrangements or with leaving "home." The research has been incidental - the preparations have been minimal - and really with just 15 days in total, what could possibly go wrong.

The only real prep we have done is to prepare the "gastro stop" options in preparation for "street food" encounters or accidental contact with less than fresh water. We've heard all the horror stories and I am convinced I am going to be living on beer, naan bread and butter chicken - without the chicken. Our Dr has advised - avoid non bottled water and any ice in drinks, stay away from salads, only eat fruit you can peel yourself and eat food that is served "hot."  Sounds simple. 💩

Anyway, we consider ourselves "set" - we've got a preplanned itinerary led by tour guides, have airline booking confirmation, our passports are current, secured one of the two visas requied (Sri Lanka is "apparently" on arrival)we've been vaxed to the max and we have cash and cards. The biggest surprise is that, packing just for "summer," we have light weight luggage and about 4 kgs in the backpack - most of that is taken up with medication (#%$^@) and electricals. And very unusual for us - even have room to add some purchases - if we are so inclined.

Low key - here we go - smiling and healthy - let's hope it's the same story in 15 days #Tripadeal

Morning preparation

Foggy start - only the weather not the driver 

The alarm reliably sounded to kick off the morning and with the last few jobs done and the showers complet it was time to welcome our "bag lady," (takes our last rubbish and food bits 😂), "house sitter," "plant saviour," "postal service" and "uber driver." Our tiny @Aunty Gail runs on energiser batteries! Wonder woman.

Waiting for pea soup fog to disappear

Easy checkin at the airport and passed through security with narry a beep! Unusual for us when machine, knees and even "residue" usually bobs up and causes a diversion to personal checks .

The pea soup fog dutifully disappeared and we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, reading messages (@Dick 😋 is definitely the winner) - mind you @Leah's 100+ photos from her #Wembley #Eras Tour concert was my personal favourite. Really only had an hour to kill before we were stockinged up and called to take up our position in the luxury of 66D and E.

Best message banter of the morning - I'll try to stay between the lines!

In the air

Love the orderly nature of boarding for #Singapore Airlines - you have a zone and are called to board from the back of the flight. We were in the first group to board and there was a staff member at the gate to ensure only the "right" people got on board. Made it all so easy and of course there was plenty of overhead storage.

Cramped quarters for the first leg

We were on the runway for a very long time and by the time we took off, the flight screen was showing a flight time of just 6 hours 50 minutes. Easy peasy.

On the down side - either we have grown, or seat space on #Singapore Airlines is a little tight. Unfortunately we both had "committed leaners" - they had put their seats back on the run way so it was very cramped trying to navigate toilet exits. Oh well, only 6 hours and 50 minutes - how many exits could we need? 

On the plus side, got lovely warm towels to start the trip "fresh," had plenty to eat and drink (including very irresponsible serves of red wine), had a quiet neighbour, the natural light from the windows was left flooding the cabin and there were so many staff. @Mac squeezed in three movies - I didn't even use the headsets. I am admitting that I was so excited in the cabin because AT LAST, I couldn't hear the crickets serenading constantly in my ears. Was such a respite, I just enjoyed the hubub of all the movement in the cabin and even the crying babies were a bonus.

We arrived unscathed in Singapore a whole 30 minutes earlier which was handy because we did have to navigate Terminal 3 to join the next flight.

Minimal time on the ground at #Changi

Second flight - shorter than the first 

What a dream #Changi Airport was - so calm and orderly and absolutely beautiful. We were only there for 90 minutes . We were so overfull from the food in flight that @Mac even gave all the coffee shops a miss - despite their glitz, glamour and pizazz. Wow.

 Did have time to visit the toilets though and what luxury. How is it I always talk about toilets - but i just can't resist here ... because in flight was just so gross. On that first flight - we visited at the 6 hour mark for our one and only visit - and no exaggeration here, but pooled around the base of the pedestal on the floor, was a yellow vibrating puddle! How can you miss if YOU ARE SEATED! Need to be scrubbing the soles of these shoes. And have to say @Mac was an inordinate length of time in his cubicle - apparently he was confounded by the technology - had trouble finding the flush button, for some reason the water was reluctant to turn on over the basin and he had a little struggle accessing the paper towels. One visit was enough.

We were greeted once again with warm towels on this second flight and we won the lotto, had a spare seat next to us - loving that we could sprawl out without having to touch the neighbour. Topped that of with minimal leaners in front and plenty of leg room and we felt we had hit the jackpot.

Much happier - more room - and @Mac had his first curry

A few different movies as temptation for the just under 6 hour second leg and again plenty to eat and drink. These short little skips suit us nicely- nothing like those 16 hours from North America.

Were more than pleased to hear the Captain announce that we were approaching #Delhi even though we were landing in thunderstorm activity. Was a little disappointing that once we landed, we sat for about 5 minutes waiting for our turn to make the 10 minute run to the terminal. And in row 57 absolutely neededto be patient waiting to leave.

Welcome to India

First stop was a biometric registration station - self checkin type thing for photos, passport scanning and fingerprinting. It was a challenge and we somehow found ourselves first in the queue and stumbled our way through. Lots of expletives from the fellow travellers in the adjacent booths and a long queue was forming behind us. Lucky to survive actually because the exit featured a square raised platform about 10 cms high. Glad @Mac was leading the way and took the trip for the team and lucky he has been going to gym because he did a delicate little hop step and jump to regain his balance and earned the admiration and applause from those behind us in the queue.

Welcome to India - waiting for the group

Luggage was easy to spot and after making our customs declaration and passing through the tedious and labour intensive border security process it was a gift to be welcomed by a #Tripadeal representative. Unbelievable, but true, we were the first out and like everyone who followed we were told "Don't go outside and don't go with anyone else." No trouble following those instructions and as each group joined us, they shared they had re lived the same advice.

No joke, we both had very tender bots! Been a long day sitting - and the 40 minutes trip to the hotel was just a little more of the same butt hurt. But extremely comfortable and we had no trouble with space, there were only 6 travellers in our group on a bus that seats 20.

The bigger group at the airport, of about twenty, was heading to a different hotel and our late night sleuthing suggests that perhaps they are only doing 7 days. Our transport representative shared that there were 20 in our group and that he had picked up the other 14 passengers earlier today.

We took the bus not the tuk tuk 

Had a little blow out of the suitcase ALREADY - the top of the handle has come off - broken. I heard a little "cling cling" on the bitumen so might be shopping tomorrow!

First impressions of India - hot and wet. Made our way to the hotel in 10 pm traffic with roads full of cars, buses and tuk tuks, engulfed in a cacophony of incessantly chirping car horns. Oh. I forgot to mention THE COWS. On the side of the road, in the middle of the road and on the road.

Our welcome aboard the bus included a fresh flower garland (they were a little wilted, think they had a long day waiting for us) and our specially prepared personal itinerary pack. Includes a sheet with lots of hints and tips, with one targeting @Mac which advised to gently add the curries to your daily intake at just one a day and to ask them to cut down on the "heat." Not sure @Mac will be complying.

Settling in

Home for our first two nights

Welcomed to the #SK Premium with a cool drink while the #Tripadeal Rep handled all of the checkin and we were seamlessly on our way to the room.  Very keen to hit the showers (a shame it was lukewarm) and to settle in for a recuperative night's sleep. We had packed a cube with our first night essentials so no need to be rummaging through cases. Alarms set for an early rise and shine. That was a big day of travel - but a comfortable one. 21 hours door to door.

Weather: hot and humid on arrival on Delhi with thunderstorm

Steps: 5 895 airport transits

Health Check: We have left home in mint condition - no colds, bruise and scratch free and with absolutely no stomach troubles. Rock solid. 

Accommodation: Hotel SK Premium Park, New Delhi - hmmm, plenty of room/spacious, dubiously clean (old and run down with make do handy man adjustments

On the Menu

A day of airline food ! Two meals per flight!

	Biryani		Madras Curry		Rogan Josh		Chapati
	Butter Chicken	✔	Mutter Paneer		Saag Paneer		Dal
	Chat		Naan		Samosas		Keema
	Dosa		Papadum		Tandoori Chicken		Pakora
	Gulab Jamun		Paratha		Tikka Masala		Pasanda
	Korma		Raita		Vindaloo		Lassi

Straight from the itinerary:

Today depart for Delhi, India. Upon arrival, be met by a representative at the airport to be transferred to your hotel where you may enjoy the remainder of the day at leisure.