India has it all: deserts, jungles, snow capped mountains, sprawling cities, many religions and cultures, an immense historical legacy and wonderful wildlife. We set off in October 2009 to explore the some of the culture and history of the sub-continent, by travelling from Kolkata in the East to Amritsar near the Pakistan border, visiting Delhi, Agra, Varanasi and Shimla in the foothills of the Himalaya on the way. Most of the intercity travelling was done by train and most sightseeing was done by local transport – mainly cycle rickshaws and tuk-tuks.
This is the tale of our wonderful adventure.
Days 1-2 Getting There
The sooner they invent beaming up technology or discover stargates, the better as far as I am concerned! Why do all long distance journeys have to start and end with sleepless nights and no showers? Things have not been made any better with the recent limits on hand luggage. In the past, it was at least possible to have a good wash and change your clothes during transfers. Nowadays, that is a lot more difficult and my trusty green bag which accompanied me on my travels round the world is no longer allowed as hand luggage and lies unused and neglected in the bottom of the wardrobe.
Because it is so difficult to put on without help, I kept my heavy rucksack on my back all through the long tube journey to Heathrow and regretted that for at least the first week of the holiday. Perched on the seat and leaning forward to make room for the rucksack, meant that I was putting all my weight on my left big toe. During the middle of the flight to India, I was suddenly struck by a terrible pain in the toe which did not disappear for several days.
At Heathrow, I was able to check in early and checked that they had me down for a vegetarian meal. They had not done this on my previous trip to Transylvania and I had over 10 hours before being able to eat so I had learnt my lesson. I was very pleased when the check in person said that, for Jet Airways, you had to put in a special request if you wanted meat. That is one of the many good things about India – it is so easy to be a vegetarian.
Not having eaten all day, I went for a meal in the airport and chatted to a friendly Canadian who was in transit. Then I set off in search of an alarm clock. The terminal was under refurbishment so there were not many shops. Those that were open sold a wide range of travel items which were largely useless, but it was not until I got to the branch of WHSmiths at the far end that I found an alarm clock and bought an extra book, just to make sure I had enough to read.
The air hostesses wore lovely golden yellow jackets with black skirts and black pillbox hats. They looked very smart. I watched Star Trek XI again and enjoyed the curry dinner. When I filled in my customs entry form, I had to get out my itinerary and Jude, who was sitting just behind me across the aisle introduced herself. I was very pleased to have met someone else on the tour because the worst thing about the journey was the very long stop over in Mumbai and it meant that I would not be alone. Amazingly, I managed to sleep a bit during the flight.
The first hurdle on reaching Mumbai was the SARS screening. I was worried about getting a dose of hayfever and being put in quarantine. Luckily, they seemed happy with my form, stamped it and waved me through. By now my toe was really hurting so I was pleased to see my rucksack on the conveyor and changed my shoes before going through customs and the baggage check for the next flight.
I found Jude again when I got on the bus to the domestic terminal and she was not alone. It turned out that Ken, who had sat next to me on the flight, and Bob who sat next to him were also on the trip. Jude had also found Mark. Our first job was to change some money. We pooled our sterling to cut down on transaction charges and then headed for a coffee in the upstairs bar. It was very expensive and we later found much nicer coffees much cheaper in the Café Happy Day downstairs. It took only a few minutes to look round the terminal and we all regretted the change to our flights as the call went out for the flight to Kolkata which we were originally booked on. Still, everyone seemed very nice and at least we had other people to talk to.
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| Sue, Jude, Rafeeq, Chris, Jill |
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| Lucy, Mark, Mike, Bob, Ken |
After several iced coffees, our flight was finally called and we got on a bus which took a very long route to our plane and then stopped for ages before we were let off as they waited for it to be ready. It was so hot. We did not realise that internal flights do not have free meals and you have to pay for refreshments. Worse, there was no change so Bob ended up buying us sandwiches which were not very nice at all. When we got through baggage claim, we met Rafeeq, our guide, and also Jill, Chris and Lucy. So there were eight of us, but two more were arriving separately.
Our drive through Kolkata was in a large air-conditioned bus. It was already dark, but the city was alive with celebrations. This was the final day of Divali, with New Year being the next day. The high buildings were covered in waterfalls of small white lights and more lights covered the lamp posts and telegraph posts. The side streets were decorated with lights of all colours. As we slowly drove through the city, we were often held up by parties in trucks carrying statues of Kali, a goddess of particular importance to Kolkata – hence the name – and whose festival it was. There were also temporary temples to the goddess in the streets. There was a lot of music everywhere and people seemed to be having a good time. We waved to one of the trucks and the people on board waved back.
The celebrations had disappeared by the time we reached our hotel. There were stalls across the road and people were sleeping there. This all seemed completely normal and no one else seemed to notice.
Our hotel, the Lytton, was old but very nice, with real character and rooms scattered at random along corridors and by several stairwells. Mike and Sue, who were yet to join us, had paid single room supplements and Chris and Lucy were sharing as father and daughter. That left three single girls and three single boys for the shared rooms. I got lucky and was the first to have the single room. Jill, Ken, Jude, Mark and I met up in the restaurant for our first curry. I discovered lime juice with added soda, which was a very refreshing drink, with the added bonus of being the cheapest on the menu. It is normally served with either lots of syrup or salt, but I took it neat and stuck to that throughout the trip. My curry was really nice and we all had a good chat getting to know each other. Then back to my room, where I had a much needed shower and then read until midnight.
