2 Up Adventures

Wednesday 7th October.

After crunching out 465km in seven hours yesterday in our ride from Agra to Allahabad and with only an additional 130km between here and Varanasi, the plan was to have to have a rest & recreation day in Allahabad today.

Trip Advisor gave us a few suggestions on things to see in Allahabad – the number #1 suggestion is to visit the Triveni Sangam – the confluence of three holy rivers – the Ganges, Yamuna, and the mystical Saraswati River. Another top-ranking suggestion was to visit Anand Bhavan – the residence of the Nehru family, India’s first prime minister.

Our kind hosts at Kunjpur Guest House arranged for Deepu – a local tuk-tuk driver – to take us out on our sightseeing adventure, and so after a late breakfast we climbed aboard our electric tuk-tuk about 10:00am, bound for Sangam.

The drive to Sangam was nothing short of an adventure in its own right. Driving here in India is absolutely manic, and Allahabad is right up there in terms of craziness.

As we approached Sangam a number of guys on the side of the street kept on calling out to Deepu but he just responded with what sounded like ‘locals’ and kept on driving. We dropped down to the river flat and passed by a small tent city, perhaps temporary home to some of the pilgrims who had travelled to Allahabad to visit this holy place. Many pilgrims were sitting on the side of the track that led down to the beach, empty food bowls placed on the ground in front of them.

Deepu brought the tuk-tuk to a stop and we got out, and were instantly swamped by people selling offerings and other momentos. Deepu shooed them away, and introduced us to a boat operator who initially requested 1500INR for the row-boat out to the confluence. Our hosts had recommended we pay no more than 500INR and after a few rounds of bargaining the operator eventually agreed to the 500.

Another man – Sameed – led us to a wooden boat, and with a lightweight covering arched over the deck to provide some shade from the hot sun, and jostled and pushed the boat out between a throng of other boats tied up to each other, and out into the river. Sameed rowed us out towards the confluence, easily 500m away from the shore, and after a while I was invited to take one oar and join him in the rowing, which I did.

There were a lot of boats tied up together and forming an arc along the confluence of the rivers – the green Yamuna and clear Ganges. We bumped into one of the boats and tied up to it, and then crossed over to the larger boat. We were offered some form of coconut (perhaps) to eat, but we’d been advised to decline any offers of goods lest we get stung with an unreasonable cost. Sameed went in for a dip in the water – it’s been said that Hindu’s have a bath here to flush away all of one’s sins and free themselves from the cycle of rebirth.

It was hot in the sun out on the water and I couldn’t resist the temptation to flush away my sins so I stripped down to my jocks (thank goodness I was wearing some today) and climbed over the side of the boat and into the water. To my surprise I found myself standing on a submerged platform that had been stung between two boats, providing some safety as the Ganges flows very quickly, and the Yamuna is very deep – about forty feet at this point. Sameed gestured for me to hold onto a short rope and then immerse fully into the water which I did. Karen was watching all the time and quickly decided to join us in the water, dunking and all! It was a great experience and we felt very privileged to have had the opportunity to visit this holy place and participate in some of the rites.

On the way back to shore it was Karen’s turn to help Sameed with the rowing for a while, and she put in a sterling effort. Sameed only spoke a little English but we gathered that he was just an employee of the boat operator, so we tipped him separately for his contribution to our wonderful trip out on the river, and then once back on dry land I paid the operator the 500INR as previously agreed.

We walked up the sandy river bank back to our tuk-tuk and a young boy approached Karen holding a round tin. He opened the lid and revealed the contents – initially Karen thought it was a large bangle but she soon realised that it was a snake, coiled up inside the tin. She jumped away from it and quickly climbed onto the tuk-tuk, eager to get away from the snake. A short distance later we were passing a stationary bus full of pilgrims and another boy was walking past the bus holding up his tin which had a cobra sitting up in it with its flared hood, showing it to the bus passengers. Karen was horrified when she made the connection that the snake in the tin had also been a cobra. I can see I have some work to do before I can convince her to come and visit Chhota Poshla with me – the snake village in north-east India that has 3,000 people and 6,000 cobras living in it.

We made our way from Sangam to Anand Bhavan, stopping for an ice cream outside this historic house before going into the grounds, but once inside we realised that the house was closed for lunch between 12:45 and 1:30pm, so we went back to see Deepu, who took us to visit a local park and then ‘Eat-On’ – a very popular street side food stall that sold nothing but simple and tasty plates of biryani, either chicken or mutton. The three of us took our trays of biryani and stood in the shade of the trees along with all the other diners, enjoying our lunch.

Returning to Anand Bhavan, Karen and I enjoyed browsing through this stately home and looking at the historical artefacts on display. After a while Deepu joined us and led us to a seperate building that I hadn’t taken much notice of before, but which contained a small but fascinating collection of photographs taken of Nehru.

Upon returning to our guest house we were met at the gate by one of the staff members who announced that two of our friends had arrived – the father and son – and when we stepped inside we were pleased to see Aad and Mike, who had just arrived from Agra having left there earlier today. In conversation with the guys they had actually booked to stay at the Raka Inn on an adjacent street – but when they arrived there no one could speak English and they were turned away and directed towards our guest house. When the arrived at the Kunjpur they looked through the gates and they could see the big BMW parked outside so they figured out that they had found us 🙂

Now it’s just a bit past 5:00pm and we’ve arranged to have dinner with Aad and Mike at 7:00pm. I’ve finished my blogging for today and Karen is working hard as usual on her photos – that’s a big job that consumes a lot of her off-bike time. Tomorrow we’ll head off to Varanasi and experience more of ‘Incredible India’. I’ve heard some people say that you will either love India or hate it – it’s such a crazy, vibrant, noisy, fascinating place that you can’t help but fall in love with it – despite all of its contradictions and challenges. “Varanasi – we’re coming for you!!!”

465km. 7 hours (inc 1 x 20 minute drink stop + 1 x refuelling stop). 1 bump.

Today was intended to be a stretch goal and it pretty much worked out that way. Looking at our maps yesterday Kanpur – at a distance of 280km east of Agra – seemed to be a reasonable goal for the day, but I wanted to put in a big day on the bike and do some big miles, so Allahabad at 460km from Agra seemed like the place to aim for. I’d tracked down what looked like a decent guest house in Allahabad- the Kunjpur Guest House – 2,300INR/night for two nights and featuring our number one requirement – secure parking for the bike.

We were up at 6:45am and ready to go by 7:30am. Aad and Mike are staying in Agra another day so Mike can see the doctor about his poisonous spider bite, and Claire and Emiel were having a late start to the day, so by 7:50am we were waving goodbye to our hosts Anil and Sanjdha.

Yesterday I’d shifted one ram mount for the GoPro from the left hand side crash bars high up near the tank to a spot near the right hand cylinder head to get some low-down video and the GoPro was running when we left the guest house, and whilst I got some photos that showed the potential of that new location the camera stopped operating soon after we got on the road and so unfortunately we didn’t capture any video of our ride, which was about 90% easy-going (if you can describe riding on India’s highways as ‘easy’, and 10% freaking manic – half of which was like trying to ride through Perth’s annual Christmas Pageant. More on that later. 

Our early start helped us get through Agra’s streets without any great hassles, but I was a bit cautious when passing factory we’d seen a couple of days ago that’s now been over-run with monkeys, and sure enough a monkey shot across the street just behind us as we rode past.

We needed to refuel to get to Allahabad so I planned for a refuelling stop somewhere between 100-120km into the ride, and somewhere within that range we pulled over at a deserted petrol station to fill up. Within seconds we had a small crowd gathering around us, so we were pleased to get the 18 litres of fuel onboard and get back onto the four-lane highway. 

Most of the scenery consisted of rural settings – flat, cultivated land with a smattering of farm buildings here and there. The highway was generally separated from the towns and villages we passed through by the service roads that ran parallel to the highway and which kept the local traffic off the main road. These towns and villages were a shambolic collection of old buildings, tent-villages and humpties, all with cows and water buffaloes and goats and dogs wandering around in the dust and the rubbish on the sides of the road. 

In Auriya there was no such service road system and the highway entered the town, with the highway branching left and the GPS telling me to continue down the right-hand fork to stay on the NH2. I peeled off right and within a short distance we entered a very narrow and congested road that was overflowing with people and bicycles and trolley carts loaded with brightly-coloured bangles for sale. I clipped one trolley with a pannier whilst dodging oncoming traffic and that gave the kid sitting on the empty trolley a bit of a start, but I wasn’t going to stop and chat about it so we pushed on deeper and deeper into the mass of people and obstacles. I was hoping to get some good video footage of the shoulder-to-shoulder riding conditions we were in as it was quite insane, but once again and again when I most wanted to get some footage the GoPro has cracked the sads and stopped working. Bad GoPro 🙁

The roadside opened up a fraction and we found ourselves riding through a market place dedicated purely to the buying and selling of colourful bangles. The street was lined with trolleys packed high with bangles, in every colour imaginable. We bounced along the rough dusty track that the road had deteriorated into, squeezing between the bangle buyers and sellers, and dodging the scooters and motorbikes riding straight for us.

The little road eventually rejoined the highway and we got back up to a decent riding speed and chipped away through the miles towards Allahabad. About 40km out of our destination the GPS again told us to veer right, and again the road narrowed and became congested, this time with trucks and buses and cars and erratic tuk-tuks. Our GPS route took us towards the High Court which must have just adjourned for the day as the road outside was full of penguins carrying briefcases and riding two-up on scooters back to their offices. We turned north and quickly entered a quiet residential area, and soon afterwards pulled up at where our guest house was marked on the GPS, but we couldn’t see it. A man on the side of the road offered us his help and was able to point out the Kunjpur Guest House just 100m further down the quiet road, so we were both grateful that we’d found our accommodation after the gruelling ride through the town.

The guest house was a three storey mansion, with balconies overlooking the immaculate gardens out the front, surrounded by a high wall and gates that separated us from the street. Our room on the first floor overlooked the gardens, and from our balcony we could look down onto the bike parked below.

We showered and then went downstairs for a late lunch – a delicious thali. We met our host – Dr Nigam, and Sharmila – the lady who has just started to manage the guest house for Dr Nigam. We sat with Sharmila over lunch and chatted about our ride and our experiences, and she offered us a copy of ‘The Stoning of Sharia” – a movie she had watched recently and which she’d found quite forceful.

The late afternoon was spent trying to research accommodation options in Varanasi and look for touristic things to do in Allahabad as we are here for another night and we are both keen to explore this town and learn more about it.india is fascinating – the more you dig the more you uncover about the place and its people.

We had a late dinner and then it was bed time as I was exhausted from the day. We did try and watch the latest edition of “On Any Sunday” – kindly offered to us by Mike a few days ago – but the volume was so low we couldn’t hear the commentary, so we’ll try and sort that out another time.

The six of us set off early around 7.00am from Delhi to try and avoid the manic traffic as best we could. Aad (Art) and Mike set off at their own pace and would catch up at our Home Stay. The 4×4 went in convoy with the ANIMAL. We had the pleasure of seeing the sunrise over India…..despite the dense pollution haze everywhere…..surprisingly there was still quite a lot of traffic on the road even at the early hour. We had about 6 or 7 toll booths to go through and this took a little time to get through. We managed to work out how to pay for our trip and that we just had to show the receipt at subsequent toll booths – initially we thought we might have to pay at each station.

Whenever we had to stop and wait the ANIMAL caused great interest from locals and a few people wanted us to stay for photos etc…..but we had to keep up with our convoy…. so where we could we obliged but when we had to go….we had to go. At one point we found ourselves engulfed by about 40 motorbikes…..very cool…..people waving, giving the thumbs up etc. A way further down we had a sports bike rider try to get us to pull over on the expressway for photos….but we had to keep up with the 4×4 ahead as Claire and Emiel were relying on our GPS when we got to Agra …so we couldn’t let them down……and let’s face it pulling up on an expressway is not safe! We later got a bit of a telling off by email from the rider concerned (he must have got our address from our stickers on the panniers) but hey you can’t please everyone all the time. I think people forget that although they are just one person and its just one photo…..that we have a whole day of it and we can’t just stop our own schedule to suit a photo that they want….nor will we do something that is dangerous like stopping unnecessarily on an expressway. So sorry to disappoint….we are friendly and try to accommodate where we can…..but that’s just life.

We had a little bit of trouble navigating through to our Indian Home Stay – Sri Radha Krishna Kunj 73 Sector 2 Vibhav Nagar, Agra and a one point the GPS took us into some very narrow streets, where we were completely surrounded by locals – literally about 8 deep…..I was so worried that Vince may run over a child as they kept crowding in and when we were riding they would run along side the bike shouting excitedly. The 4×4 got some “local help” to end up reversed into an open sewer…..not much fun….but thankfully what they thought was tyre tred falling off was just a black plastic bag stuck to the wheel…Phew! In another attempt to find our accommodation, we found ourselves only about 500m from away….but we could not find it. Eventually a helpful Tuk Tuk driver let us follow him (for 200INR) and led us to the right place….where we were welcomed with open arms by our Hindu hosts, Anil and his wife (Sunjay?).

On 3rd Oct, I booked a tour for Vince and I (the others didn’t want to come due to expense)….this time checking that the details advertised were indeed accurate. It wasn’t cheap (4800INR each) but that included the driver, parking, fuel, car hire, Guide, entrance fees (750INR for Taj most other places 250INR or 300INR if you go on the same day) and lunch…..so we were ok with that. We got collected at 6.00am to see the sunrise over the Taj Mahal. Vince had been moved when he first saw it alone a few years ago and was eager to share it with me on our honeymoon…….a very special day and a dream come true for us both. The line was very long….and basically 4 lines, 2 women and 2 men. The men’s line moved exceedingly fast and I saw Marino (one of the Italian 4×4 drivers from Pakistan) pass me….along with Emiel, Aad (Art) and Mike…. who all came long after me. The other line was for local women and it moved slower than both men’s lines but also much faster than the foreigner women’s line I was in…….always good to know your place! I waited in the heat and confined space for at least 50min (I didn’t start timing straight away) but had the opportunity to watch the antics of the monkeys who entertained us by running up and down the tarpaulin awning above our heads.

Vince and our Guide, Fazian (23yrs), had a long wait inside for me…..but eventually I got to security and once the Guard realised that my lip balm was not a lighter…I was finally reunited. I have to admit the wait was so worth it…..it was quite an emotional moment for me seeing the Taj Mahal for the very first time….even if we had missed the sunrise due to my delay…the peace and tranquility was evident despite the massive crows of people. Our Guide was very informative and we had a photo taken on the famous seat where Princess Diana sat for that iconic photo.

Shahabuddin Muhammad Shah Jahan (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), also called Emperor Shah Jahan (r.1628-58) built the Taj Mahal in memory of his favourite and third wife, Arjumand Banu Begum (also called Queen Mumtaz Mahal) upon her death in 1631. Constructed of brick and faced in India’s finest marble, quarried at Makrana near Jodhpur, it took 12 years to build involving 20,000 craftsmen from all over Asia. No slaves were used to build it as the Emperor Shah Jahan wanted only love in each piece. The tomb and other buildings are set around a garden divided into four by raised walkways with central water channels. The domed white marble mausoleum stands on a plinth with tapering outward tilted minarets on each corner. There is a high recessed arch or ‘pishtaq’ at the centre of each of the building’s four facades; each central niche is flanked by small double arches.  It’s harmonious and symmetrical proportions and high quality of its craftsmanship have made the Taj Mahal one of the most famous and most photographed buildings in the world. It was truly breathtakingly beautiful to behold.

Fazian explained all about the symmetry and the meanings for the inlay designs, such as the double hearts in the actual tomb. He also explained that what we were seeing was really a copy of the tombs, the real ones are underneath in a lower chamber and in fact the bodies are buried in graves below that. The actual tomb is only opened once a year. He said that “Taj” means pearl facing the sky and it is made entirely of translucent white marble that changes colour in different light. Its walls are decorated with exquisite pietra dura (stone inlay) work…..this involves many small pieces of gemstones such as carnelian, lapis lazuli, turquoise and malachite (and others I can’t remember) arranged in complex floral designs hand set into the marble…Fazian explained that the gems come from 7 different countries (but I can’t remember which). We saw the foundations of the Black Taj Mahal across the river….white being the purity and love and black being the sadness and dispair that followed the death of his wife. He was Muslim and she was his third wife, but the only one he married for love, the others were for political advantage. She bore him 14 children in 18 years of marriage…..but only 6 survived, 4 boys and 2 girls. One of the boys killed his 3 brothers and imprisoned his father…..not very nice! Fazian told us that linage goes Emperor Akbar (3rd Mughal Emperor),  Emperor Jahangir (4th Mughal Emperor), Emperor Shah Jahan (5th Mughal Emperor) and his cruel son, Emperor Abdul Mjzaffar Muhi-ud-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb (14 October 1618 – 20 February 1707), commonly known as Aurangzeb Alamgir (6th Mughal Emperor). It really was quite fascinating to make the connections. The Taj Mahal is everything they say it is…..a very special experience I will treasure always and shared with my husband. Vince said he would to build me a Taj Mahal……I said but “do I have to die first?”……he replied “Oh….we can leave that part out”…..glad about that one!

We stopped off at Costa Coffee and grabbed a drink and a muffin – as we had not eaten…and our Guide shared photos of his motorbike and also his girlfriend (of 2 years), who is a fashion design student of very short shorts….Vince said if that was his daughter he would not let her out of the house in those shorts! Then we set off for the next attraction, enroute our Guide stopped off to show us a local family who despite their poverty and live on the street, do not beg….they make pots to sell…..and even the potters wheel is moved by hand….true craftsman handed down from generation to generation…..our guide gave them a 100INR gift….and they insisted on giving us a small pot as a gift…..we have little space but I will find some room for this little treasure!

Next we travelled 46km out to the East to see the Fatehpur Sikri, or Ghost City. It was the palace of Emperor Akbar for a time….as he wanted to be near the Religious Man who blessed him….he had four wives but only one was married for love and she gave him a son. She was Hindu, and her palace was the biggest in the complex….right next to his. We saw his KING sized bed and the bats that are responsible for the noised in the Ghost City at night. It was very hot outside but inside the palaces was very cool. Fabian explained the water cooling system to us. He also told us about Akbar’s favourite elephant, that he bought for 4600 horses. When the elephant died he build a monument tower to it and buried it beneath…..I found it a bit confusing because the tower is decorated with elephant ivory tusks sticking out…..a bit bizarre to me if you loved elephants. Fabian gave us good advice about avoiding the many hawkers around, and arranged for us to be picked up from our bus (cars are not allowed at the top of hill so we had to take a mini bus) at an alternative point to avoid the tourist throng.

We then went to the “office” to pay for our tour….and met Mr Amin, the owner. I did look and have a feel of some of the pashminas he had in his shop….as Fazian had told me the real ones come only from the beard of the goat….but at 2500INR (A$50) I didn’t buy one. Next it was off for lunch and we could choose from the full range on the menu, including drinks at Indiana’s. Before we knew it, it was back to our hotel for a little break until the evening. Back at the homestay both Faizan (Guide) and Shahid (Driver) had a photo with the ANIMAL.

We got picked up at 4.30pm to visit the Agra Fort from where the Mughal Emperor governed the whole country. The fort has 3 gates, the one we entered through (West) a river gate which is now blocked off, and an East Gate that is only used by the military. Only 25% of the site is open to the public ….the rest is military. Fazian showed us the Shish-Mahal (Glass Palace) built from 1631-40 AD, where the queen would bathe. It has beautiful glass (mirror) mosaic and only Eunuchs and women would be allowed in. It is not open to the public. We also saw the Muthamman Burj (Sha-Burj & Jharokha – 1632-4- AD) where Shah Jehan could have a full view to the East of the Taj Mahal during the 8 years of his imprisonment (1658-1656) there, and where he died. His body as later taken by boat to the Taj Mahal to join his beloved wife. The crypt is the only asymmetrical place in the Taj Mahal….as the Queen is the centre given that the palace was initially only built for her. Emperor Akbar (Emperor from Fatehpur Sikri (Ghost City) and Shah Jahan’s grandfather) originally built it from red stone and used it for Darshan and sun worship everyday at sunrise. Emperor Jehangir (Shah Jahan’s father) also used it as Jharokha. He also added his Adl-i-zanjir (chain of justice) on its south side. The name Muthamman-Burj is due to the octagonal shaped towers. Vince and I were reminded of the beautiful palaces we had seen in Esfahan and Shiraz, in Iran. We also saw Emperor Jahangir’s Hauz, a circular bowl shaped monolithic tank, 5ft high, 8ft in diameter and 25ft circumference. It was made in 1610 for 4th Mughal Emperor Jahangir to use as a bath and could be moved around for the Harem.

We then went to Mehtab Bagh (Full Moon Gardens) on the river opposite the Taj Mahal) to take some sunset photos…..I have included a number at the end of the photo strip….one has had a special effect applied…..can you guess which one?

We asked Faizan to stop off and get some “Petha” – a melon and syrup desert unique to Agra, that he told us about…..so that we could take it back to the homestay for everyone. They also stopped and got us some beer and breezers. We gave both our Guide, Faizan, and our Driver, Shahid, a 500INR tip each – as after our Delhi experience it was lovely to have such good service in a very comfortable car with a careful and thoughtful driver.

There are a few other attractions in Agra that it would be great to experience – such as Akbar’s Tomb (Sikandra), Etimad-ud-Daula, The Baby Taj, Jama Mosque, Kinari Bazaar and a live Show “Mohabbat the Taj” at Kalakriti Cultural & Convention Centre. But somehow I don’t think we will have the time for those….who knows! It had been a great day sight seeing!

The 4th and 5th were really chill out and chore days….route planning, washing, catching up on emails, downloading and sorting photos and videos……the work of a traveller never ends! On the evening of the 4th Vince and I watched Gandi on our laptop computer….a very moving film and I recognised places we have been to now. Earlier that day, we had a knock on the door and it was Aad (Art) asking for me to come and have a look at young Mike – he was bitten by something last Thursday and the antihistamine I had given him on Friday was not really helping much…..after looking at it through his beard, and seeing the photos his dad took of what had already been expressed….I advised he needed to see a doctor and quickly…..Vince suggested I go with them in his words “She’s good with Doctors”…….and I was bit worried they might try to fob him off with just some antibiotics….so all 4 of us headed down to the local Hospital – at least it wasn’t for me for a change! Just as I predicted the doctor had to operate and clean out the sinus in his chin, remove part of what he thought was a poisonous spider, remove the necrotic tissue and stitch Mike up. 10,000INR later he was back at the Home Stay.

Once Mike moved to surgery, Vince and I had left and gone back to the Home Stay only to find a wedding preparation party going on next door…..this was most colourful with music, a loud speaker and brass band…..a highly decorated horse for the Groom and fireworks! We sat out front and watched. The bride’s brother came out and spoke us and we wished them all well for their future…..he ended up inviting us to the party but I said I had nothing to wear…..he said the Home Stay host can loan you a Shari…and she confirmed she had many……but not wanting to intrude I took it no further. I did however accept the beckoning when the street dancing began and my Home Stay host told me I did very well. I’m not so sure about that…..but it was all good fun. Many of the street urchin children came up and wanted to shake hands….which I willingly did until one of then wanted money in return…….Hmmmmmmm? I soon discovered that with the departure of the Groom, the Bride’s Brother was throwing money out and the children were scurrying to collect it. It was a big privilege of us to see this….our Home Stay hosts (who are Hindu) explained this goes on for 3 days in a Muslim Wedding. We might get to see the Bride at some point.

The morning of the 5th we all eagerly awaited the appearance of Claire, who was celebrating her 34th Birthday…..her husband, via the Home Stay hosts, had organised balloons as well as a birthday cake for her. She had gifts of jewellery, including from our Home Stay hosts, and Vince and I had given her an Ayurvetic 6 Piece Facial Kit we had bought for her at the Chandigarh Mall. We all had a quiet day with plans for a celebration dinner of Claire’s choice tonight.

We are still trying to plan our route but think we will leave tomorrow for Darjiling enroute to Sikkim. Aad (Art) and Mike will stay on at least an extra day as Mike has to go back to the hospital for check up. Not sure what Claire and Emiel are thinking ……..but we will all see each other again at the border I’m sure ready for Myanmar.

Aad (Art) and Mike seemed to have traction on the Visa situation so we decided that we would head off early on the morning for Delhi to meet them at the Embassy at 10.00am. There were 8 of us meeting the First Secretary there, (6 Aussies and Linda and Harry from Port Elizabeth, South Africa who are on the group after us). We were on the road by 5.00am after the usual chaotic throng of interest in us packing the bike and photos being taken….it was further complicated by a newspaper van that chose to “share” our parking space… so we couldn’t get to pack the bike….the driver was less than receptive to a nice request to moving his vehicle ….so a more assertive approach was employed…..with him eventually only moving his vehicle a few inches over…..but at least we could actually get to the bike to pack things on ….however cramped. Sometimes Indians are not so friendly…….I’m actually quite puzzled as to why he could not move up to a vacant space…….language difficulties failed to explain.

We had quite a few tolls to get through…but we eventually arrived in the complete madness of Dehli traffic (this is how we die!) and managed to navigate to the Myanmar Embassy by 9.35am, where we found young Mike already waiting for us. His Dad had gone to get the bank draft to pay for their Visas as the bank was closed when they went yesterday and only opens at 10.00am. We spoke to a guard who said we could park out front but needed to watch for traffic inspectors who come and clamp vehicles…..we took the risk! A quick streetside confab between the two couples and Emiel and Claire were on their way to the bank for us all….whilst Vince and I waited in line at the Embassy. Linda and Harry arrived and we filled them in on things….they were already all organised but as everyone was aware of the difficulties and wanted to keep things simple we all held off to put things through as a group. Time ticked on as the “Bank Crew” were having a lovely beauroctratic time at getting the money drafts…..but they made it back in time. Aad (Art) approached the window asking for the First Secretary whom he had been negotiating with and who had agreed in writing to issue visas to us today….but the guy was being obstructive….he told us that she had changed her mind and unless we had flight tickets he could not take our applications….we asked if he could call her but he refused…..UNBELIEVABLE! Aad (Art) had had problems with this guy before and went to see the security guard on the gate (as this is how he had managed to meet the First Secretary previously) but is was a different guard and no luck there. Things were looking very bleak and tempers were being frayed in all directions….the window was due to close in just a few minutes (only open from 10.00-11.00am) and it was looking like it was back to square one. Talk of trying to get help from the Australian Embassy was had….but most of us thought this was not really a situation they could assist with. In the end I gave it one last try with the “window guy” using my best “Teacher/Manager” voice….explaining that we had an undertaking in writing from the First Secretary, we had all followed her instructions in good faith, and if she had changed her mind it was only right and proper that she face us herself and on that basis I must insist on speaking directly with her. I told him it was highly inappropriate that he should have to do her dirty work……he agreed to send for her if we waited…..so we waited. When she arrived she was nothing short of milk and honey and said she had not changed her mind and took all of our documents and passports and told us to return at 4.00pm tomorrow to collect our Visas. In the “happiness” of this none of us through to ask for nor did we receive any receipt of any kind…..so I was not sure if that would be a problem for collection…..but that would be tomorrows fight! In reality it there was no need to stress…..all was in order…..I was nominated to go to the window and the guy just handed me all 8 passports….duely stamped! FANTASTIC! Myanmar we’re coming for you!

On that first day in Dehli after the Embassy, we headed off to our hotel, The Su Shree Continental (where Aad (Art) and Mike were staying) at just 1000 INR per night….bargain…..and lock up garage for the ANIMAL….fantastic! Not the best area….with open sewers, pickpockets (Vince and I were targeted at an ATM but we picked up on it and lost nothing) and the beggar situation …well….out of control really………I find it very difficult to ignore them…..especially children…..very sad……but hey it was only for a couple of nights.

On 1st October we arranged a tour ….only 400INR each….this should have tipped us off! We were promised an air conditioned car, drive and English Speaking Guide. Somehow that latter was omitted but even a phone call back to the hotel by Emiel was unhelpful. We just had to suck it up and do the best with what we had. Consequently, we are a little unclear on where we actually went and what it actually meant. My tummy trouble had started up again and being the “little one” stuck in the back of the car didn’t help my motion sickness……kindly, in the middle of the day, the others agreed to move and let me sit in the middle after our visit to Humayn’s Tomb….which was less of a problem….and Vince was in the front due to needing the leg room. 6 adult Aussies in a smallish car was quite squashy….. I felt sorry for the chivalrous boys in the back!

First we were dropped off at Shahi Jama Mosque built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in 1656……however when we got there you not only had to pay entry but you had to pay to take photographs…….discussion over this was heated and Claire and Emiel decided on no photos as did Aad and Mike. Vince and I decided we would pay, as our photos are the only souvenirs we have of our travels…..we were busily removing shoes and working out our money to pay whilst the others went in. However, it was short lived…..Aad (Art) was refused entry as he only had shorts and Claire and Emiel were physically harassed as they were carrying a camera in their backpack…….arguments and shouting started and we were told “All Tourists are Bastards” and to “Go back to your own country”. The guys were not impressed…..Vince and I just stood there astonished at what was going on. So with our four friends not going in ….we decided to move on……So Shahi Jama Mosque? We were there but saw nothing. These were the first unfriendly Muslims we have come across in our travels. This is when we spoke to our driver to ask about the Guide as we thought this may have helped……he was just the driver but he gave his phone to Emiel who tried to sort it out…..without luck…..we pressed on.

Next we went to the Red Fort…….about a Km walk from the car park…..where we had to pay almost 3 times the price (100INR instead of 40INR) to park because we were tourists. Entry to the Red Fort was pretty quick as there were not a lot people at the “Foreigners Window” where we paid 25 times the entrance fee of locals (250INR instead of 10INR)…..our friends were not happy about this either……but once inside the fort it proved very interesting……although again walking around not really understanding what your are looking at was difficult for Vince and I. Previously, we have either had a guide or at least and audio guide……these were available at the red fort for additional costs…..but to be honest we were starting to feel like dollar signs in India so gave it a miss. In hindsight that probably was a mistake….we should have just paid and got the audio guides…..something to be said for group pressure I guess.

We then went to the World Heritage Listed, Humayun’s Tomb where the inflated prices for foreigners was again evident. It was an amazing complex with several buildings but to be truthful I wasn’t really taking a lot in as I was feeling so unwell at the time. Will have to Google it and have another look. This is were they guys swapped places in the car for me.

We stopped off for some lunch (1000INR for the two of us)….and I just had a spring roll………it was all a bit of a blur by then….our next stop was at some kind of monument…..Claire and I went to the toilet where we again had to pay 20INR. When I came out Vince had bought our tickets but the other 4 had decided not to go in……..Vince went back to the window and returned our tickets and we all got back into the car without seeing anything.

We stopped off at a bar for a drink and to wait in the cool (it was sooooooo hot) until it was time to go back to the Embassy to pick up our passports and Visas. It cost us 1200INR for two drinks (a beer and a glass of Indian house red wine) due to all the taxes they add on to everything here (about 20% on top of your bill)…. I didn’t even drink much of the wine anyway.

The driver dropped us off around 3.35pm and the window didn’t open until 4.00pm so we waited. Harry and Linda arrived just after 4.00pm and we all had a bit of a catch up. It is always a treat to meet new people and hear their stories and adventures…..particularly motorbike riders….most enjoyable and it’s a shame we won’t be travelling with them as they seem really nice.

We caught two Tuk Tuks back to the hotel…..the “Oldies” in one and the “Young Ones” in the other (including drivers)……I must confess there was a bit of a “race” back……and it was neck and neck for a while, but in the end the “Oldies” won….it may have had something to to with the extra 50INR (150INR total) that Vince slipped the driver! All good fun!

We spent four nights in total in Chandigarh staying at the ZO Rooms Akashdeep in Sector 22B (1999 INR per night). We had initially anticipated only one night to allow us to get an oil change and rear brake pad change (and a wash) for the ANIMAL. But my medical appointment blew things out to three nights, as I had to go back to see the Surgeon on Monday.

We had tossed up where to apply for our Myanmar Visas, as some people are getting them in Nepal and others in India. Our friends, Claire and Emiel who are also with us at the moment, were planning on Dehli and we all want to go to Agra to see the Taj Mahal…..so although Vince ideally wanted to avoid the chaos of a big city it was looking like thats where we would head for. In the meantime our Dutch/Tassie friends, Aad (Art) and his son Mike (whom we met briefly in Pakistan on the road, and whom we recently discovered will be on the group to Myanmar ……we need a guide so have joined a group via Burma Senses), are already in Dehli trying to get Visas…..and are having a lot of problems with the Embassy. It smacked so much of our troubles with the Indian Embassy in Tehran that we decided to hold off going to Dehli and see how they got on first…so spent another night in Chandigarh. The alternative was to get our Visas in Kathmandu…..but the recent problems has seen the closure of borders between India and Nepal and a resulting fuel shortage….so that was not really an option any longer and affected our plans to visit Nepal. This may be a blessing in disguise as if we did leave India we would need to get another Indian Visa to transit through to get to Myanmar………memories of Tehran haunt us over and over in so many ways!

Whilst in Chandigarh we basically rested from my surgery, although we did go to the local mall (very flash) to get a few things…….including trying to source a replacement Olympus TG-4 for me……without success. Vince even emailed Olympus to try to source one in either Chandigarh or Dehli (both big cities) but got not reply…..which is very disappointing as I really like their products….so I have had to buy the Nikon AW130 instead……….so lets see how the brand change for 2upadventures performs!

Vince and Emiel found and excellent local brewery/restaurant (Malt and Co) that was having a “soft opening” so we all went along to support it…..so much so we all ended up having dinner there a couple of times and Vince and I even frequented it for lunch and breakfast!

It is very hot here and there is a dichotomy of wealth evident……complete squaller through to modern chic………the haves and the have not’s are very evident here alongside one another…….it really is quite incredible to see. There are far more beggars here and children will perform in the street at traffic lights to get money instead of being at school. Many people, including street urchin children will follow you asking for money…..it really is very sad to see the poverty. I wish there was more we could do to help….I’m not sure what the answer is ….these things are never simple.

Ok…I have now had three “tours” of International Hospitals (Scotland, Iran and now India) …..that’s enough! On top of everything else, about a month or so ago (whilst in Pakistan) I discovered a lump in my left breast.

From Shimla, a few days ago, I made an appointment to see a specialist (Dr Atul Joshi) in Chandigarh at Fortis Private Hospital. He is a renowned Breast Cancer surgeon in India and because of my family history, and the fact I am travelling, he was so kind and thoughtful and managed to speed up things for me. In fact everything was done in just one day on Saturday 26th Sept…..Consultation and examination(500INR) Bilateral Mammogram & Bilateral Ultrasound (2000 INR) Reporting and Results, Surgery to fully excise the Lesion (12500 INR) and send off to histology (1600INR)….now we wait!

Vince dropped me off at the hospital around 12.30pm, as he had to take the ANIMAL for some pre booked servicing at 1.00pm…..so Claire, our Aussie 4×4 friend, kindly offered to come with me for moral support. She was a big help and I was thankful of the company. She is the only Western Woman I have seen and chatted to in months. I was in the OT prep area and looking suitably glamorous in a very fetching hospital gown and hair net when Vince finally arrived (things took longer than expected at the bike shop but he came as soon as he could)…. interestingly he had to also give signed content for my operation (this also happened in Iran)…..minutes after he arrived I was quickly whisked away into the OR and the operation took about an hour.

During surgery I was able to be awake and the Surgeon told me it doesn’t look sinister……so we are very hopeful it is benign. He was quite chatty…as he has been to Australia (Sydney) recently ….he thinks I am very brave….and asked me if people were more hospitable in Pakistan or India (rivalry is evident between the two) ….I answered that that was a difficult question …but as he was the one holding the knife…I guessed it would have to be “India”…..he laughed and thought my sense of humour under such adverse conditions was impressive….so much so that he told Vince about it back in the recovery room…..we all laughed again. We were both shown the removed lesion and a round of photos was in order ……including on the Surgeon’s phone. I was discharged around 7.45pm with some tablets for pain if needed…..all the staff were very professional and kind. Getting back on the bike was a bit difficult with stitches but I eventually managed and in about half an hour we were at our hotel…. ZO Rooms Akashdeep Sector 22B (1999 INR per night). Staff helped Vince carry our luggage up as I could not really lift much with only one hand….although I did manage to carry the tank bag.

I went back to see the Surgeon again for follow up and to check my wound on Monday 28th and we should get the results in 5 – 7 days online…he will also be in contact via email with me when the results come through. So we extended our stay in Chandigarh for three nights instead of just one….and we will get the results on the road….probably in New Deli or Agra. On my Monday visit, the media and administration section asked me if they could do an article on our experience at the hospital, and after being assured my medical privacy would be intact we agreed, as it may help other foreigners who need medical attention on the road.

They say things come in threes …..so hopefully this is it…….although the care and treatment I have received each time has been nothing short of exceptional…..I really don’t want to have to visit any more hospitals!!!!

We spent 22nd -25th Sept in Shimla at the Cedar Grand Hotel…..both for a bit of R&R after 6 months of travelling on the road…..often in very poor accommodation conditions…and moving on each day…….sometimes doing very, very long days on the bike, as well as time for me to recuperate from my ongoing tummy problems which have been getting progressively worse. I finally gave up letting “nature take its course” and went to see a local chemist and the antibiotics he gave me along with the medication Claire and Emiel shared with me (they too are having problems) seems to have done the trick. Vince is the only one with a cast iron stomach!

We spent the days exploring the village on foot and one day (23rd) Claire and I went and had our hair and nails done (my feet were beginning to resemble Shrek)……at an exorbitant cost of only 850 INR (A$17.50).

Whilst I was taking a photo of one of the many monkeys around Shimla (there is a Monkey Temple here), Vince thought it was funny to come up behind me and grab me…..scared me senseless and made me scream. This provided much amusement to ta local policeman who commended “Very Funny” with a sweeping grin…..Claire and Emiel also laughed. But Karma is alive and well in India…..and just a few minutes later, a monkey sitting on a railing lashed out aggressively at Vince and tried to grab him…..luckily it missed….although they all look healthy enough we did not want to have direct contact with any animals as a precaution against rabies etc. The actual Monkey Temple is called Jakhu/Jakhoo Temple and is dedicated to the Hindu god Hanuman. It is situated on Jakhoo Hill, 2.5 km /1.3 miles east from the Ridge in Shimla. It has a height of 2,455 m (8,000 feet) above sea level. It is the highest peak in Shimla and offers a panoramic view of the Shivalik Ranges and the town of Sanjauli. Every year the festival of Dushera is held there. Visitors can access the temple by either a steep climb on foot, on horseback or by taxi.

We are all quite fascinated by the mist that rolls in here on a regular basis…..our hotel has a terrific view over the town and mountain….but sometimes it is shrouded in nothing but white. We have had a couple of rainy days….but that allowed us to just relax in the hotel watching movies or reading books. We have been able to get some much needed washing done….always a challenge on the road as well.

We are on the look out for another point and shoot camera as my trusty workhorse ,,,,,Olympus TG-3….. has finally reached the unreliability point…….our research tells us it has now been superseded by the TG-4 and I would be happy to get that (if we can find it in India). Looking local, they are trying to convince me that the Nikon Coolpix AW130 is the way to go…..but although its mostly comparable (and cheaper), I have checked the specs and I like the faster shutter speed (1/2000 instead of 1/1600) on the Olympus (critical for my back of bike style of photos) as well as the wider stop (f2.0 instead of f2.8). Vince also says the new Olympus has Night Live Composite….our TG-3 is crap a night shots….but this improvement takes several shots and extracts the light to build up a brighter picture…..so he is pretty excited about that….he has seen this technology before and it’s impressive. So I think I will give the Nikon a miss and try to source another Olympus.

We will head to Chandigarh on Saturday 26th as we have the bike booked in for an oil change and possible rear brake pad replacement (we have the BMW parts with us that we bought in Austria) so plan to spend the night there….on the road again!

Having not got to bed until after midnight, and being woken up at 2.30am getting eaten alive by something in our bed (?bedbugs or fleas) with tiny bites all over my legs and arms…..the two Phenergan I had let me sleep in. Vince and I woke up at 12.25pm! I quickly dressed and went down to explain to our travelling companions, Claire and Emiel, who had been up and about for a while and already had breakfast. They said they planned to give us until 1.00pm and would then have come to check we were still alive!

It only took a few minutes for us to pack the bike and be on the road again. We paid the owner his 1200 INR for the room (with no shower/towels) and the 220 INR for dinner last night, he tried to encourage us to stay but our minds were made up from the moment we arrived last night. The loose plan now was to travel to Shimla itself, try to find a cafe with wifi, to have breakfast…..I was starving…..and check out alternative accommodation.

It was pouring with rain and the roads back up the hill were treacherous, the broken surface just mud slide in areas…..Vince had to use all his concentration to keep us upright…..but he got us to the top without incident. We made our way into Shimla dodging the local traffic, animals (mostly cows who have free rein here in India) and people. We were both soaked to the skin as we had sent our wet weather gear home from Austria. Shimla is a strange and colourful place that is set into the hillside…..you have to take two lifts to get up to the various streets, and one street in particular, Mall Road, where the eating places are. So the vehicles had to be parked at the bottom and we walked a short distance uphill to the lift station where we parted with our 10INR each for one way tickets up.

We found a nice cafe… but no wifi. We had a bit of a wait for a table as the cafe was very popular…..always a good sign….and had a lovely “Lunch”. Reluctantly we left the warmth of the cafe to return to pouring rain outdoors and made our way back down the lifts to the vehicles. With no way to search for accommodation, Vince and I were not keen to keep wandering the wet, narrow, busy roads in the rain so we decided to backtrack along the road we had just come to the Cedar Grand Hotel and Spa… which we had spotted on the way in. Although expensive (5250INR per night), it provided sanctuary on this otherwise miserable day and allowed us to get a good hot shower which was desperately needed. Claire and I had a massage at the day spa (3800INR for both of us) and it was just what the doctor ordered after the hellish place last night…..we felt somewhat human again. Whilst us girls had a much needed pamper the boys had showers and went to the bar….where we met them later. Dinner was in the hotel restaurant and an early night was in order for us all……it was like being in another world!

355km. 12 hours (inc stops. Approx 10 hours riding time).

The plan today was to ride from Amritsar to Chandigarh, pop into the Triumph dealership there and arrange an oil change for the bike, and then continue on to Shimla and the Hotel Chadwick View, where we have booked seven nights accommodation.

Google Maps suggested that it would take 4.5 hours to cover the 240km from Amritsar to Chandigarh, and an additional 3.5 hours to cover the 115km from Chandigarh to Shimla. As it was we were on the road for about 12 hours and it was a long, long day.

Claire and Emiel are travelling up to Shimla as well, so we all had breakfast at 08:00am at Mrs Bhandari’s Guest House, and were on the road about 09:00am. After negotiating the crazy traffic in Amritsar we picked up NH1 and started to make good progress towards Chandigarh. This national highway was three lanes wide (six in total) and we cruised along behind the Landcruiser, sitting on 100kmh, getting a little damp in the morning rain.

About midday we had a short break for a drink, and then it was back on the bike for the run down to Ludhiana where our GPS told us to leave the highway for Route 95. The traffic in Ludhaina started to get a bit manic, roadworks had ripped up the road, and my GPS chose this moment to have a fit – first repeating over and over the name of the road we needed to take, and then refusing to update the visual map. I pulled over so I could reboot the GPS, and after a quick chat with Emiel we pushed on, trading the relative calmness of the NH1 for a bit of bump and grind as we worked our way through the traffic and out onto the dual carriageway Route 95.

Chandigarh is a big city and it took us some time to make our way through it – one major road had a series of roundabouts on it and it quickly became obvious that the locals here either don’t know or don’t care about how to handle them, but we managed to steer through them unscathed and located the Triumph dealership I was looking for shortly afterwards.

Krishna Automobiles in Chandigarh is an umbrella company for BMW automobiles and Triumph motorcycles, and we parked in the BMW car park – with our motorcycle and the big Landcruiser immediately attracting attention from the staff in the showroom. Karen and I have become accustomed to the professionalism and courtesy extended by the various BMW dealerships we’ve visited during our travels, and Krishna Automobiles were no exception.

All four of us were looking pretty worn and ragged when we waltzed into the showroom, but we were quickly reclining on their comfy sofas, having a coffee and some biscuits as I explained my requirements to the Vice President – After Sales. We took a walk to the lower floor to see the Triumph mechanics as they assembled new Thunderbirds and 800XC’s straight out of the box and talked oils for a while, before heading upstairs again.

The four of us wandered across the road to the ‘Big Bazaar’ – a large, multi-storey shopping mall equivalent to what you would find in Joondalup – but even better as on the ground floor we passed a clothing store with a few Royal are fields in the window, a Harley Davidson showroom, and a beer hall selling 25 different kinds of beer. The Triumph showroom was just across the courtyard – Karen and I will have a look inside when we come back here next week.

We went upstairs to the food court and had our first KFC Zinger Burgers ™ in ages. The shopping mall was very busy, KFC even more so – full of young Indians eager for a taste of western culture.

We sauntered back to our vehicles, mounted up and headed off in the drizzle, passing a shanty town of tarpaulins and raggedly-dressed children just a short distance away from the ritzy shopping mall – a stark contrast if ever we’ve seen one.

It wasn’t long before we started up the Himalayan Highway – Route 22 towards Shimla. It was late in the afternoon when we left Chandigarh, and as soon as we started to climb up the foothills the going got much slower with the road shrinking to two lanes (total), and a lot of slow trucks ahead of us. The driving became quite frenetic along here in a dog-eat-dog style – if you weren’t prepared to risk your life and overtake the vehicle in front then you’d get eaten up by all the cars and buses and trucks coming from behind as they had no qualms about overtaking around blind bends and into oncoming traffic.

The wet and mud-slicked road surface didn’t help improve my disposition, and it was a battle of nerves to keep on pushing on, and the distance markers to Shimla ticked down painfully slowly. In Solan we pulled over to try and call the Hotel Chadwick View to tell them we were on our way – as the hotel had requested this – and to briefly chat with Emiel and Claire and see how they were going. It was almost dark at this stage and we still had about 46km to go – it was evident we were going to arrive quite late into Shimla.

The traffic lightened up a bit after Solan, but it just takes one erratic truck to ruin your day and I was constantly on tenterhooks, at times unable to see the edge of the road on my left through my rain-smeared visor, and being dazzled by the lights of oncoming vehicles. For most of the time I rode with my visor up, ingesting clouds of thick diesel smoke belched out by passing trucks.

Our hotel was a few km north of Shimla, and the road into it was broken and pot-holed. Emiel drove down the steep, twisting track first and I followed cautiously behind, tired from the long day and unable to fully sight the curve of the hairpin bends in the darkness as the lights of the bike just shone straight ahead. The track became even more broken up and it became a bit of a night-time off-road adventure ride in places.

I was relieved, and the others were as well I think, to finally arrive at the Hotel Chadwick View, but it wasn’t long before elation turned to gloom when we inspected our rooms and found out that the ‘deluxe rooms’ we’d reserved online lack basic things like showers. We managed to get upgraded to rooms that featured western toilets as the first rooms just had squat toilets, but even then the rooms were very primitive.

The hotel manager arrived in his zippy little car and he whizzed me back almost all the way back to Shimla so I could get some beer and water for the four of us as we all needed a drink, whilst his wife prepared some basic food for us. The drive back up the hill verged on the terrifying – Colin McCrae and his WRC driving buddies have nothing on an Indian in a hurry.

Emiel was asleep when I returned, struck down with the gut-rot he’d been battling with all day, so Claire came upstairs where Karen and I were, and we drank beer and chatted whilst we waited for dinner to be served and which arrived at 11:30pm.

We chatted a bit more after dinner and then it was time for bed, but not for sleep as first Karen got the heebie-jeebies from a big spider in our bedroom, so we shifted to another bed in another cubicle in our odd apartment, and there she got attacked by bed bugs or something, so it was after 02:30am before we finally settled down to sleep.

It had been a very long day, but I was pleased that we’d managed to get some things organised in Chandigarh for the bike. I would have preferred to have reached Shimla in daylight to have enjoyed the scenic view on the way and to have had a safer ride – this road features in the TV series “Ice Road Truckers – World’s Deadliest Roads – India” – and having ridden it in the wet and the dark I’m happy to tick the box and not do it again.

Tomorrow we’re going to relocate to another hotel – the Chadwick View isn’t turning out to be the relaxing locale we had anticipated, and none of us would survive a week here.

Up just after daybreak, Karen and I had a leisurely swim in the pool at Mrs Bhandari’s Guesthouse, and then it was time for breakfast with Claire & Emiel, all before 09:00am when our air conditioned van booked to take us on a sightseeing tour of Amritsar arrived.

We first stopped at Maharaja Ranjit Singh Panorama…..it was very interesting although a bit confusing at times. We saw exhibitions including the Golden Temple and the acquisition of the original Koh-I-Noor (1814). Fascinating to make the connections, even with Iran.

Next we were driven to Jallianwala Bagh memorial park – dedicated to the memory of the locals massacred by British troops in 1919. The massacre of hundreds of unarmed, defenceless Indians by British Brigadier General Reginald Edward Harry Dyer on 13th April 1919 at Jallinwala Bagh was a sad day. Under the court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Dyer deployed his riflemen near the entrance without warning or order to disperse, they opened fire for 20minutes. 1650 rounds of ammunition was fired and 379 officially killed with 1200 wounded in a crowd of around 20,000. The park is very popular with locals, and it was a somber experience walking through it – seeing first a plaque denoting where the troops fired from, and a couple of hundred metres away a brick wall pock-marked with bullet holes. Nearby was ‘Martyrs Well’ – in an effort to avoid the gunfire many people jumped into this deep well, and after the carnage 120 bodies were retrieved from the well – all people who had drowned.

From here we travelled a short distance to the Silver Temple, Shri Durgiana Tirath – a copy of Amritsar’s Golden Temple. Placed strategically in the middle of the city, pilgrims flock to this temple not only from India but also from abroad. Over the years, it has become an epicenter of Hindu renaissance and rejuvenation. The complex is popularly known as “the Durgiana” and derives its name from the Goddess Durga. This connection with Goddess Durga has a socio cultural references as she is normally invoked for protection and health while the soldiers go to war. The sacred city of the Amritsar which was founded by the fourth Sikh Guru Ram Dass ji has come to assume a special significance in Hindu cosmology because of various mythical and historical connections. Amritsar is particularly nearer and dearer to Hindus as it is believed that the Lov-Kush along with their mother Mata Sita spent their early childhood in the ashram of Bhagwan Maharishi Balmiki ji in the land of Amritsar.

Not finished with temples, we then visited a Hindu Temple that was so outlandish that I would struggle to describe it, (Mandriva Mata Lal Devi). Perhaps if you imagined a cross between Adventure World and a temple you may come close – but even that isn’t close enough. We climbed up stairs through the multi-level temple arcade, climbing through narrow gaps that simulated the internals of an animal (I think ….) and then through the gaping mouth of a larger-than-life lion. For those of you familiar with sideshow alley at the Perth Royal Show, it was like a trip through the Ghost Train, with something new and exciting around every corner.

Lunch was enjoyed at a nice restaurant – my rogan josh was spicy and brought up a sweat, and it’s good we checked our change as that was quite short, and in the afternoon we went looking at the “Bazzar”….which turned out to be more of a shop to shop affair by our driver who may or may not have got a kickback. In any case we did end up finding a cool and tropical “Kurta” for Karen….inspired by Claire. Back at our guest house we had a swim and a few alcoholic drinks which haven’t had for the last 3 months….a relaxing finish to the afternoon.

Tomorrow we will move on again – this time to Shimla, for what should be a rest for a week or so. We’re all looking forwards to that !!!