The morning was spent jumping in hired rickshaws and roaming the streets of Mumbai for sports equipment for the schools we plan to visit. Thankfully, a helpful young school girl directed us to the perfect place to get started on our collection of sports gear. Our first purchase was but what else a bunch of cricket bats and tennis balls. With 2pm creepy around quickly we headed back to the hotel to meet up for our first official drive on the streets! The only way to do this in the end was to forgot carpark drills and get straight onto the roads - it was only a matter of time till we had to do it so why not just jump in head first and do it straight away. Tired of the numerous rocks, where ever bump was causing havoc on my lower intestine, I drove out from our security blanket area and down the road into reality. Well, actually only 200m where I then U-turned and returned back to the car park and let the girls have a turn. However at this point one of the local taxi drivers Gihan, who had been helping us yesterday decided to give us that extra bit of encouragement. He jumped on his motorbike and indicated for us to follow him... With a personal guide we jumped at the chance! As we weaved on and through the backstreets the look of people's faces were a mixture of 'What the...' and laughter. Passengers in rickshaws were poking there heads out, curious, smiling and waving. Some tuk tuk drivers would drive up beside us, eyeing our vehicle but as soon as we made eye contact their faces would break into a big smile. At a set of lights a group of homeless kids wanted to come for a ride even after Pia stalled and it took her a good 8 times to restart the engine.
Now we knew we could actually drive a rickshaw we were ready to take on the first challenge Aravind had set for us! Off we drove to fill up our tank at the local petrol station. The perfect mix for our little machines is 1 Litre of petrol to 50ml of oil. All went without a hitch. Next to the Marriott Hotel - the reason we were sent here is because rickshaws are seen as the lowest of low of the driving foodchain in India and Aravind was curious to see what the employees reactions would be. To no surprise to us, the majority were happy, smiling and more than cooperative. As Ruth ran in to get a napkin to prove we'd been, Pia and I parked our rickshaw behind the 2 other teams who had arrived. At this point, Ruth returned and we jumped back in to complete the next challenge but about 6 photographers came running out from inside the hotel lobby and started taking photos - The Indian paparazzi had found us!
My engine starting skills weren't yet mastered and having cameras itches away from my face and flashes going off wasn't anymore helpful. Although we did feel like we were Bollywood stars. In our travels we bumped into Gihan again and he kindly showed us a bottle shop for the next challenge and a better stocked toy store. All in all it was a much more pleasant experience than we anticipated. Time to relax and get prepped for the real thing!!!
Tuesday 31 July 2012
Rickshaw challenge orientation!
By 11am we entered the hotels meeting room with a feeling of excitement and curiosity. Who were we going to meet and what had we got ourselves into. We were greeted by Princely and Aravind the founders of the Rickshaw challenge. First priority, signing the last of the paperwork, collecting team & group T's and meeting the fellow competitors... Oops I mean teams.
Team 1 - Little Miss Rickshaws! Whoop whoop!
Team 2 - Team Shanti - Danish couple, Christian & Irene
Team 3 - Thermo's India Xpress - German boys, Erik & Thomas
Team 4 - Valle Kulla - Danish couple, David & Laura
Team 5 - Team Sunshine - Danish couple, Soren & Eva
Team 6 - Hit the road:India - Documentary makers, Richard & Keith.
Immediately after the debriefing we headed to the carpark to see our rickshaw. Peeking inbetween the 6 rickshaws was a little pink number!! Our tuk tuk for the next 2 weeks. Enthusiastically we surveyed the other vehicles and decided where to put out last minute decorations.
At 3pm we rendezvoused for an afternoon behind the wheel or should I say handles of our rickshaw. Everyone huddled around Princely as he demonstrated how to drive a rickshaw. After a handful of steps being repeated, Pia bravely took the plunge and volunteered to take us on our first car park test drive.
Rickshaw on - check! Outta gear - check! Start engine and rev- check! Clutch down and place into first gear-check! Slowly release clutch and continue revving - check! Rickshaw in motion... Woooo!
Of course, bunny hops and stalling was part of the deal. Just the thought of driving in a muddy, rocky car park with at least 20 Indian spectators made us nervous... How were we going to cope on the real roads of India?!?! Eek!
Aravind had us practice 9 second starts and transitions. Even though we had to go first, thankfully we managed to achieve top marks. A reassuring feeling indeed. After 2 hours of car park mayhem and already a few close calls, we were ready to pack up for the day and recuperate before our evening meal.
Already we had a sense of our strengths and weaknesses.
Areas to work on: Alisha - spatial
awareness, Pia: smooth gear changes, Ruth: making sure the rickshaw is on when reversing!
Team 1 - Little Miss Rickshaws! Whoop whoop!
Team 2 - Team Shanti - Danish couple, Christian & Irene
Team 3 - Thermo's India Xpress - German boys, Erik & Thomas
Team 4 - Valle Kulla - Danish couple, David & Laura
Team 5 - Team Sunshine - Danish couple, Soren & Eva
Team 6 - Hit the road:India - Documentary makers, Richard & Keith.
Immediately after the debriefing we headed to the carpark to see our rickshaw. Peeking inbetween the 6 rickshaws was a little pink number!! Our tuk tuk for the next 2 weeks. Enthusiastically we surveyed the other vehicles and decided where to put out last minute decorations.
At 3pm we rendezvoused for an afternoon behind the wheel or should I say handles of our rickshaw. Everyone huddled around Princely as he demonstrated how to drive a rickshaw. After a handful of steps being repeated, Pia bravely took the plunge and volunteered to take us on our first car park test drive.
Rickshaw on - check! Outta gear - check! Start engine and rev- check! Clutch down and place into first gear-check! Slowly release clutch and continue revving - check! Rickshaw in motion... Woooo!
Of course, bunny hops and stalling was part of the deal. Just the thought of driving in a muddy, rocky car park with at least 20 Indian spectators made us nervous... How were we going to cope on the real roads of India?!?! Eek!
Aravind had us practice 9 second starts and transitions. Even though we had to go first, thankfully we managed to achieve top marks. A reassuring feeling indeed. After 2 hours of car park mayhem and already a few close calls, we were ready to pack up for the day and recuperate before our evening meal.
Already we had a sense of our strengths and weaknesses.
Areas to work on: Alisha - spatial
awareness, Pia: smooth gear changes, Ruth: making sure the rickshaw is on when reversing!
Man down!
Five days in and Delhi belly had reared its ugly head. Ruth had endured amazingly, trooping through the sights, stopping occasionally to hug a porcelain bowl or two, but a day of R&R was required.
Pia and I tucked Ruth in for the morning and headed to the Amber Fort. Mr Singh, kindly knew the 'secret back street' which saved us a steep uphill walk. The fort took on resemblance of a mini Great Wall of China with the surrounding wall weaving through the hilly ranges of Jaipur. Inside the fort there were so many nooks and hidden passage ways. So many that it took us a good 20 minutes on figuring out how to exit the facilities. Not the most reassuring for the necessary navigation skills needed in the days to come.
Next we made our way to a factory that makes, exports and locally sells textiles. The owner took us upstairs into a room no bigger than 40m squared where about 10 men were working on the sewing machines with a handful of women sitting on the floor embroidering. Certainly puts working conditions into perspective and this was probably rated more in the top end for Indian standards. Pia and I managed to spend the next hour umming and arrring all the different materials, patterns and designs for our Indian style costumes. In the end we made a mini investment and purchased beautiful, vibrant coloured saris.
After shopping up a store we knocked off some more of the local sightseeing places off the list, Hawa Mahal and Jantar Mantar. This left the rest of the afternoon free to enjoy a leisurely elephant ride through the backstreets of Jaipur. By this time Ruth had decided to join us on our adventure, which we thought was a little way away but was literally around the corner from our hotel. Obviously the window views from the hotel of a little boy camped out on the street pant less, also suffering from Delhi belly wasn't the most pleasurable sight for 6 hours.
We learnt the elephants that take tourists up to Amber fort work in the morning or the afternoon. Only doing 2 trips up a day. In total there are around 400 elephants that live in the surrounding area. This is very noticeable when driving around the neighbourhood. Often during our 2 day stay we would have to dodge and weave around the enormous, grey mammals. Only 2 adults were allowed on the elephant so Pia and I cautiously went aboard and enjoyed a leisurely walk around the backstreets. Upon our journey we encountered many children and quite a few who liked pegging rocks at our living vehicle. The elephant driver was not impressed, he even managed to catch one of the stones and peg it back at the little boy, priceless!
By day 5, another one of the team fell victim to the dreaded Delhi belly. Not the most pleasant experiencing especially when a flight is scheduled for that afternoon. With medication consumed and the last toilet stop for who knows how long we headed off to Albert Hall museum to be cultured minded. Hmmm... Thirty minutes later we were back in the car. With time still to kill and Ruth and Mr Singh both still feeling vomitus, Ruth suggested a medical centre. Little did we know we would be taken to Jaipur's largest hospital where hundreds of Indians were filtering in through the gate and not a single tourist was in sight. It took less than a minute for us to decide maybe this wasn't the best option as we quickly U turned out. From there we were dropped at the airport 3 hours before check in - whoop dee doo!
6 hours later we landed in Mumbai to be greeted by a tropical coastal city, which was much cleaner then the other cities we had visited in India. Before we knew it we drove into the Sun 'n' Sand hotel, which was 50 years old and used to be a hit amongst Bollywood stars. Perhaps this was due to having the first pool in India.
Pia and I tucked Ruth in for the morning and headed to the Amber Fort. Mr Singh, kindly knew the 'secret back street' which saved us a steep uphill walk. The fort took on resemblance of a mini Great Wall of China with the surrounding wall weaving through the hilly ranges of Jaipur. Inside the fort there were so many nooks and hidden passage ways. So many that it took us a good 20 minutes on figuring out how to exit the facilities. Not the most reassuring for the necessary navigation skills needed in the days to come.
Next we made our way to a factory that makes, exports and locally sells textiles. The owner took us upstairs into a room no bigger than 40m squared where about 10 men were working on the sewing machines with a handful of women sitting on the floor embroidering. Certainly puts working conditions into perspective and this was probably rated more in the top end for Indian standards. Pia and I managed to spend the next hour umming and arrring all the different materials, patterns and designs for our Indian style costumes. In the end we made a mini investment and purchased beautiful, vibrant coloured saris.
After shopping up a store we knocked off some more of the local sightseeing places off the list, Hawa Mahal and Jantar Mantar. This left the rest of the afternoon free to enjoy a leisurely elephant ride through the backstreets of Jaipur. By this time Ruth had decided to join us on our adventure, which we thought was a little way away but was literally around the corner from our hotel. Obviously the window views from the hotel of a little boy camped out on the street pant less, also suffering from Delhi belly wasn't the most pleasurable sight for 6 hours.
We learnt the elephants that take tourists up to Amber fort work in the morning or the afternoon. Only doing 2 trips up a day. In total there are around 400 elephants that live in the surrounding area. This is very noticeable when driving around the neighbourhood. Often during our 2 day stay we would have to dodge and weave around the enormous, grey mammals. Only 2 adults were allowed on the elephant so Pia and I cautiously went aboard and enjoyed a leisurely walk around the backstreets. Upon our journey we encountered many children and quite a few who liked pegging rocks at our living vehicle. The elephant driver was not impressed, he even managed to catch one of the stones and peg it back at the little boy, priceless!
By day 5, another one of the team fell victim to the dreaded Delhi belly. Not the most pleasant experiencing especially when a flight is scheduled for that afternoon. With medication consumed and the last toilet stop for who knows how long we headed off to Albert Hall museum to be cultured minded. Hmmm... Thirty minutes later we were back in the car. With time still to kill and Ruth and Mr Singh both still feeling vomitus, Ruth suggested a medical centre. Little did we know we would be taken to Jaipur's largest hospital where hundreds of Indians were filtering in through the gate and not a single tourist was in sight. It took less than a minute for us to decide maybe this wasn't the best option as we quickly U turned out. From there we were dropped at the airport 3 hours before check in - whoop dee doo!
6 hours later we landed in Mumbai to be greeted by a tropical coastal city, which was much cleaner then the other cities we had visited in India. Before we knew it we drove into the Sun 'n' Sand hotel, which was 50 years old and used to be a hit amongst Bollywood stars. Perhaps this was due to having the first pool in India.
Thursday 26 July 2012
Pushka to Jaipur
From Agra we headed 400km west to a small town called Pushka. During this part of the trip we discovered who Mr Singh's favourite passenger was... The multi-Skilled Ruth who was very competent at decoding what the heck Mr Singh was talking about. However, by this time Mr Singh thought Ruth's name was Pia and none of us had the heart to correct him. So Ruth is known as Pia and Pia is currently nameless, but for how long!
During the long 8 hour drive we encountered many road tolls, driving into oncoming traffic, a variety of road kill, a Hindu process, runaway camels and a massacred truck. 'This is India!' stated Mr Singh.
Upon arrival in Pushka all three of us thought - Where the heck are we? And what on earth are we doing here... It felt like we had driven into a dirty version of a hippy commune, mixed with a heap of cows, pigs and monkeys. Pia aka Charlie Champion (as named by Mr Singh) felt at home with her dreadlocked, Indian fellas.
From Hippyville we made our way east to Jaipur. Back onto the ever eventful roads of India. Today more of the focus was on cars malfunctioning. Firstly an overloaded truck burst a tyre and nearly toppled into the neighbouring vehicles... Don't be alarmed, no rickshaws were harmed. Then our reliable Tata, took a turn for the worse and majorly overheated in town, giving us our first experience of local mechanics. I hope they charge us only 6dhs to repair a non-functioning car. On arrival we headed to the Sun Temple which was mainly riddled with monkeys and very cute Monkeylets (What are baby monkeys called?) At the top of the temple we admired a panoramic view of Jaipur and the highlight would be when 2 cows blocked our pathway and Pia kindly took a headbutt to the hip!
During the long 8 hour drive we encountered many road tolls, driving into oncoming traffic, a variety of road kill, a Hindu process, runaway camels and a massacred truck. 'This is India!' stated Mr Singh.
Upon arrival in Pushka all three of us thought - Where the heck are we? And what on earth are we doing here... It felt like we had driven into a dirty version of a hippy commune, mixed with a heap of cows, pigs and monkeys. Pia aka Charlie Champion (as named by Mr Singh) felt at home with her dreadlocked, Indian fellas.
From Hippyville we made our way east to Jaipur. Back onto the ever eventful roads of India. Today more of the focus was on cars malfunctioning. Firstly an overloaded truck burst a tyre and nearly toppled into the neighbouring vehicles... Don't be alarmed, no rickshaws were harmed. Then our reliable Tata, took a turn for the worse and majorly overheated in town, giving us our first experience of local mechanics. I hope they charge us only 6dhs to repair a non-functioning car. On arrival we headed to the Sun Temple which was mainly riddled with monkeys and very cute Monkeylets (What are baby monkeys called?) At the top of the temple we admired a panoramic view of Jaipur and the highlight would be when 2 cows blocked our pathway and Pia kindly took a headbutt to the hip!
Wednesday 25 July 2012
Hello India
Rise and shine... New Delhi is waiting. First port of call - breakfast! There was no wasting time with Pia, straight into the Indian style brekkyfest... You go girl!! Hopefully it doesn't lead to an immediate intestinal cleansing. ;)
Next on the agenda was to brave the streets and head to the local train station. As soon as we stepped out from the comfort of our hotel lobby (which still smelled questionable) we were greeted by the Sunday morning lull of Delhi. Many stores were closed, however, the roads were in full force with a colorful array of rickshaws, bicycles, cars, buses and a fair share of pedestrians thrown into the mix. Even through the film of funkiness ( meaning dirt and poverty) covering the city there is an intriguing energy pulsing through the streets, that niggles at you, making you want to discover more about this culturally enriched nation.
After a mere 300 metres later we arrived at the train station where there was a constant flow of bodies. Obviously, looking like foreigners we were kindly pointed in the right direction for train ticket purchases. This lead to us taking our first rickshaw ride to the local tourist info office. We were kindly hand delivered to our tuk tuk driver with the fixed price of 30 rupees... A whopping 2AED! Ruth, Pia and I squeezed into the back, quite comfortably. You know we had prepared for the worst when we all looked at eachother and said 'Wow, there is going to be heaps of space for 2 of us back here!'
From our breezy rickshaw ride we were escorted into the local tourist office to organize our 5 day 'Cultural adjustment period' prior to our off road adventure. We were given the unfortunate news that all trains to Agra were booked, overbooked in some cases by... Aww, you know, just 60 or so people!!
Soon our decision was made very easy for us, a private driver... Why not! A time to learn some private driving tips from a local before race day.
Before we knew it money had been exchanged, an itinery planned and hotels booked. Moments later we were introduced to our driver, tour guide and driving mentor... The very best... Mr Singh!
Straight away, we went to explore the sights of Dehli. First to the presidential buildings, followed by the India Gate, Humayun's Tomb, Lotus Temple and Ghandi's tomb. We even managed to be stuck in a political rally. All in all an eventful day roaming the streets of Dehli.
To finish off the evening we found a rooftop terrace where we munched into a delicious array of Indian cuisine. Nom, nom, nom!!
Next on the agenda was to brave the streets and head to the local train station. As soon as we stepped out from the comfort of our hotel lobby (which still smelled questionable) we were greeted by the Sunday morning lull of Delhi. Many stores were closed, however, the roads were in full force with a colorful array of rickshaws, bicycles, cars, buses and a fair share of pedestrians thrown into the mix. Even through the film of funkiness ( meaning dirt and poverty) covering the city there is an intriguing energy pulsing through the streets, that niggles at you, making you want to discover more about this culturally enriched nation.
After a mere 300 metres later we arrived at the train station where there was a constant flow of bodies. Obviously, looking like foreigners we were kindly pointed in the right direction for train ticket purchases. This lead to us taking our first rickshaw ride to the local tourist info office. We were kindly hand delivered to our tuk tuk driver with the fixed price of 30 rupees... A whopping 2AED! Ruth, Pia and I squeezed into the back, quite comfortably. You know we had prepared for the worst when we all looked at eachother and said 'Wow, there is going to be heaps of space for 2 of us back here!'
From our breezy rickshaw ride we were escorted into the local tourist office to organize our 5 day 'Cultural adjustment period' prior to our off road adventure. We were given the unfortunate news that all trains to Agra were booked, overbooked in some cases by... Aww, you know, just 60 or so people!!
Soon our decision was made very easy for us, a private driver... Why not! A time to learn some private driving tips from a local before race day.
Before we knew it money had been exchanged, an itinery planned and hotels booked. Moments later we were introduced to our driver, tour guide and driving mentor... The very best... Mr Singh!
Straight away, we went to explore the sights of Dehli. First to the presidential buildings, followed by the India Gate, Humayun's Tomb, Lotus Temple and Ghandi's tomb. We even managed to be stuck in a political rally. All in all an eventful day roaming the streets of Dehli.
To finish off the evening we found a rooftop terrace where we munched into a delicious array of Indian cuisine. Nom, nom, nom!!
Admiring the wonders of the world
Up at the crack of dawn ready for our early departure to Agra. What Indian breakfast dish was waiting for us this morning... Pakora or what I would like to call it ' deep fried, battered vegetable sandwich' Tasty!! With bags packed and the hotel room paid for we drove out into the Monday morning rush hour. All was going smoothly until an emergency pit stop was needed... When you gotta go, you gotta go! We managed to cause a mini traffic jam since obviously it's not everyday you see one white girl running into the bushes, with two others following behind with baby wipes and sarongs. With spontaneous toilet stops out of the way we headed onward.
The remainder of the 4 hour journey was quite uneventful, apart from spotting a mother breastfeeding her baby on a moped and when our driver nearly ran over a family of 3.
Once we arrived in Agra, we just thought we were in another small village, but low and behold a seventh wonder of the world was somewhere within walking range. There were certainly no signs... Hmmm this could be a problem once we are driving our rickshaw.
There are two tourist attractions in Agra and as we set off to see the first one - the fort of Agra, we picked up our local tour guide. The surrounding walls of the fort are an intense reddy, orange colour, but once you walk into the heart of the fort the living quarters are made of smooth, white marble. Within the fort there is a mixture of architecture due to the emperor being Muslim and his favourite wife was Hindu. The emperor did not try to force his beliefs on his favourite wife, hence the combination of religions is evident in the fort with temples and mosques sharing the same grounds. Although I'm sure the 300 mistresses helped alleviate any martial tension. One of the emperors favourite games was Indian chess. To play, the mistresses would find their places on the human sized board game and were used as the playing pieces. Good play, Mr Hugh Hefner of the 1600's.
In anticipation we made our way to one of the seven wonders of the world - the Taj Mahal. In the heat of the afternoon we made our way to the old VIP entrance, which wasn't nearly as full as we expected. Within a couple of minutes we had made it through the metal detectors and had our bags checked. The view from the main gateway was impressive and as we gradually walked through the entrance, more and more of the Taj was revealed until the temple and its 4 pillars could be seen. As the sun set and the light rays peeked through the cloud covered sky, the marble of the dome twinkled at us. One thing that surprised me was the marble wasn't as white as I expected, but more creamy. However, in reality how could I fault a seventh wonder of the world which had been built so intricately and with such precision over 400 years ago.
Our guide was not only informative but very skilled at taking the typical photo of tourists holding the Taj. This did lead into a mini photo shoot at multiple locations around the grounds. As we made our way into and around the Taj Mahal, from the other side of the river you could see the foundations of the black Taj Mahal the emperor intended to build opposite, for himself. However this never eventuated due to the price and limited availability of black marble many centuries ago.
It was at this point out guide gave us time to take pictures and enjoy the view of such a grand and majestically built architecture. However, this was the perfect time for the locals to approach us for photos... How could we resist a group of 5 little Indian ladies old enough to be our nannas, which then lead into uncles and aunties and finally the young boys bold and brave enough to join in. Next time we are charging rupees!! ;)
As the sun began to set on the horizon we made our way back to the entrance, where we turned back to give the Taj Mahal a final farewell. Now... Time to fill our bellies with more delicious Indian food. At our request the driver found us a restaurant the locals would eat in. When he drove us down a dark alley and parked the car in a badly lit construction site, we were a tad wary of where he was taking us, but within 30 paces we laid our eyes upon the greenest patch of grass and a cute little table and four chairs planted in the middle. Immediately a gorgeous little girl with a beaming smile came out of the restaurant asking how she could help us. Before we knew it we had reserved the only outdoor table and ordered an array of new Indian dishes to try. The overall review at the end of the meal was 2 thumbs up from all of us!! 👍👍
The remainder of the 4 hour journey was quite uneventful, apart from spotting a mother breastfeeding her baby on a moped and when our driver nearly ran over a family of 3.
Once we arrived in Agra, we just thought we were in another small village, but low and behold a seventh wonder of the world was somewhere within walking range. There were certainly no signs... Hmmm this could be a problem once we are driving our rickshaw.
There are two tourist attractions in Agra and as we set off to see the first one - the fort of Agra, we picked up our local tour guide. The surrounding walls of the fort are an intense reddy, orange colour, but once you walk into the heart of the fort the living quarters are made of smooth, white marble. Within the fort there is a mixture of architecture due to the emperor being Muslim and his favourite wife was Hindu. The emperor did not try to force his beliefs on his favourite wife, hence the combination of religions is evident in the fort with temples and mosques sharing the same grounds. Although I'm sure the 300 mistresses helped alleviate any martial tension. One of the emperors favourite games was Indian chess. To play, the mistresses would find their places on the human sized board game and were used as the playing pieces. Good play, Mr Hugh Hefner of the 1600's.
In anticipation we made our way to one of the seven wonders of the world - the Taj Mahal. In the heat of the afternoon we made our way to the old VIP entrance, which wasn't nearly as full as we expected. Within a couple of minutes we had made it through the metal detectors and had our bags checked. The view from the main gateway was impressive and as we gradually walked through the entrance, more and more of the Taj was revealed until the temple and its 4 pillars could be seen. As the sun set and the light rays peeked through the cloud covered sky, the marble of the dome twinkled at us. One thing that surprised me was the marble wasn't as white as I expected, but more creamy. However, in reality how could I fault a seventh wonder of the world which had been built so intricately and with such precision over 400 years ago.
Our guide was not only informative but very skilled at taking the typical photo of tourists holding the Taj. This did lead into a mini photo shoot at multiple locations around the grounds. As we made our way into and around the Taj Mahal, from the other side of the river you could see the foundations of the black Taj Mahal the emperor intended to build opposite, for himself. However this never eventuated due to the price and limited availability of black marble many centuries ago.
It was at this point out guide gave us time to take pictures and enjoy the view of such a grand and majestically built architecture. However, this was the perfect time for the locals to approach us for photos... How could we resist a group of 5 little Indian ladies old enough to be our nannas, which then lead into uncles and aunties and finally the young boys bold and brave enough to join in. Next time we are charging rupees!! ;)
As the sun began to set on the horizon we made our way back to the entrance, where we turned back to give the Taj Mahal a final farewell. Now... Time to fill our bellies with more delicious Indian food. At our request the driver found us a restaurant the locals would eat in. When he drove us down a dark alley and parked the car in a badly lit construction site, we were a tad wary of where he was taking us, but within 30 paces we laid our eyes upon the greenest patch of grass and a cute little table and four chairs planted in the middle. Immediately a gorgeous little girl with a beaming smile came out of the restaurant asking how she could help us. Before we knew it we had reserved the only outdoor table and ordered an array of new Indian dishes to try. The overall review at the end of the meal was 2 thumbs up from all of us!! 👍👍
Sunday 22 July 2012
To India we go!
At 10pm, 21st of July there was no turning back! Ruth, Pia and I were buckled into our seats of flight GE 22 ready to embark on our adventure in India. If we could survive the monotonous Indigo flight theme song, which went for a whole 30 seconds before repeating continuously for 40 minutes before take off, then we could endure anything!!
As the wheels touched down on the tarmac in Dehli we all had a spring in our step, probably because we couldn't wait to get out of audio range of the Indigo jingle they had once again put back on for landing.
By 4am with backpacks on and suitcases in hand we were greeted by many smiling Indian faces as we scanned the arrival gate for our welcome sign. Thankfully our driver was there to take us to our first destination... The Pearl Hotel
of Dehli! I'm not sure what car we expected but the teeny tiny Tata he pointed to us for transport was a cute surprise. There was absolutely no chance of our luggage fitting inside, but the interior design was splendid, with colorful decorations and lighting. Finally, with our luggage successfully strapped on to the roof, off we went. Our young driver took great pride in his car and he couldn't wait to impress us with his sound system and taste of India's Top 40 tunes. Ruth was very good at answering all his questions, but when we told him why we were in India, which was to drive a rickshaw, he laughed and replied with 'No, you drive a rickshaw?' as Ruth sweetly stated 'Yes, us!' ... 'No (head bobble)'... Yes, No... Yes!
Upon arrival we were greeted by the India I remember... Stray dogs yapping at cars, various souls sleeping in the dusty, rubbish filled streets and the neon lights of various hotels through the main drag, inviting you to stay the night. Our hotel looked good from the inside, but the aroma of 'wee wee' filling the lobby was a tad concerning... However, thankfully the choice in air freshener downstairs didn't apply to our hotel room. Phew!!!
As the wheels touched down on the tarmac in Dehli we all had a spring in our step, probably because we couldn't wait to get out of audio range of the Indigo jingle they had once again put back on for landing.
By 4am with backpacks on and suitcases in hand we were greeted by many smiling Indian faces as we scanned the arrival gate for our welcome sign. Thankfully our driver was there to take us to our first destination... The Pearl Hotel
of Dehli! I'm not sure what car we expected but the teeny tiny Tata he pointed to us for transport was a cute surprise. There was absolutely no chance of our luggage fitting inside, but the interior design was splendid, with colorful decorations and lighting. Finally, with our luggage successfully strapped on to the roof, off we went. Our young driver took great pride in his car and he couldn't wait to impress us with his sound system and taste of India's Top 40 tunes. Ruth was very good at answering all his questions, but when we told him why we were in India, which was to drive a rickshaw, he laughed and replied with 'No, you drive a rickshaw?' as Ruth sweetly stated 'Yes, us!' ... 'No (head bobble)'... Yes, No... Yes!
Upon arrival we were greeted by the India I remember... Stray dogs yapping at cars, various souls sleeping in the dusty, rubbish filled streets and the neon lights of various hotels through the main drag, inviting you to stay the night. Our hotel looked good from the inside, but the aroma of 'wee wee' filling the lobby was a tad concerning... However, thankfully the choice in air freshener downstairs didn't apply to our hotel room. Phew!!!
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