I reckon I could have done ok at this Maharaja job. They seemed to have led a pretty sybaritic lifestyle and certainly knew how to splash the cash. Today we took a tour around the palaces of Udaipur to see what they got up to. Here's one of his four palaces.
And then we couldn't resist a little boat trip to the Pleasure Palace.
Last night, the Major(rtd), our host at the Guest House was up at the palace with the current Maharana at a full moon bash. Here he is with the Memsahib, on his way out - no she didn't wangle an invite.
For the first time in India we got to drive along a dual carriage way from Bijaipur to Udaipur. No potholes for a change but still a multitude of cows and dogs to be avoided and a number of bullock carts, motorbikes, tractors and a few cars which didn't seem to understand the concept, and randomly appeared coming towards us. Also, of course, it was fair game to just beep the horn and overtake either side when a small gap appeared. On the car dashboard Prince Harry, our driver, has a small statue of Ganesh, the elephant god, to which we do our daily "puja" to keep our journey safe.
For extra insurance, on the way today, we stopped off to pray at a Jain temple.
There were some interesting pictures adorning the temple, including this one which seems to be a warning of the dangers of playing with knifes!
We arrived at Devra House, a modern but beautifully designed home stay in the countryside just outside Udaipur. On a walk through the local village we met these lads who were keen to show us their pet rat- just like the one Sam had in California!
We moved on from the stunning fort at Bhainsrogarh to another at Bijaipur- this one thankfully didn't have crocs swimming in the water below! Relaxed for a couple of nights here. Sue quickly shook off the first touch of Delhi Belly, so we notched up our third massage of the trip and headed out to a local wildlife sanctuary last night for a night safari. They opened the place just for us. No tigers here, but we did see a civet cat, a bluebull (India's largest antelope), a family of wild boar, a jackal, a nightjar, a frog and a few bunny rabbits- ok, some not so exciting- in fact mostly it was a couple of eyes staring back at us, so we only have our guide's word what they actually were. Great fun none-the-less.
In the morning we went to see the nearby Bharoli temples, dating back to the 10th century.
Back to the fort for lunch and another croc spotted in the river below. The fort is in a village (5,000 inhabitants), and today was a local festival- so Sue and I joined in the parade through the village to the Fort- and had to shake hands and wave a bit like royalty- everyone wanted their picture taken.
In the Hindu religion, weddings are only allowed at certain times, and Friday night in Bundi was the start of the season. We got dragged into several wedding processions as we strolled around town.
Saturday morning we drove 3 hrs to Bhainsrorgarh to stay at the amazing Fort there.
Our room is underneath the corner dome. This is the view from the balcony.
Had lunch on the roof looking out over the crocs swimming in the river below.
Later, we went for a row on the river.
Throw in great food and a friendly host, whose relatives built the place in 1742 , and I think we've found heaven- did I mention we are the only guests staying here?
After good Indian fayre at the hotel last night, we set out for a stroll around town, hoping to find a bar with wifi. The "stroll" turned out to be a bit more frenetic than we had hoped because of the need to dodge a large number of motorbikes hurtling though the narrow streets with hooters blazing. It also turns out that Bundi is pretty much a dry town. Apparently the town has a large Brahmin ( top Hindu caste) population which don't permit alcohol- however, we did manage to find a couple of bottles of Kingfisher and smuggled them back to our room.
Bundi by night. Today we climbed up to the spectacular old palace and fort in Bundi.
There are some well preserved paintings about 400 years old- this one shows the Maharaja taking a crafty peek at the ladies in the shower.
In typical Indian style, right at the top of the fort was a mobile phone mast-those Maharajas certainly knew a thing or two about communications!
Great news from home -just got an email from Nancy to say its a girl!!
Jackal, monkeys, camels, bats, peacocks, cows, oxen, dogs, goats, egrets, pigs, mongoose, deer, water buffalo, chickens, sheep, horses, but not a single cat, big or small- no, we're not back on safari, these are the animals we saw on our long drive from Gwalior to Bundi today- most of them being in the middle of the road or pulling something along it quite slowly. Our driver, Harry, who we've christened Prince, did a great job missing most of the animals.
Before setting off from Gwalior, we had a personal tour of the wonderful Usha Kiran Palace hotel grounds by the head chef.
We've just arrived at Bundi in another fabulous hotel in the walls of the ancient Bundi castle, and have the whole day tomorrow to explore.
Surely another 5.00 am start would catch out those elusive tigers, so armed with our blanket a hot water bottle and a can of Whiskers, we set off. But alas to no avail - we drew another blank. If it wasn't for that poo, I'd think the tigers were extinct already. We headed back to Jungle Mantra for omelette and pancakes (amazing food here) and then had a quick butchers at the local school. Very basic, no electricity and not many teachers, but perhaps typical of an Indian village school.
We were a couple of cricket balls lighter as we set off by car for the 6 hr drive to Khajuradho. We met our tour host Rajak, who checked us in at the Taj hotel and took us off to a great Indian Dance show. Again a lot of hanky waving reminiscent of a rather up- market Morris dance, but great entertainment.
The next morning, we toured the great Hindu temples that the town is renowned for, built about 1000 ad, and remarkably preserved.
The carvings on the walls are also famous for being a bit naughty. I've never seen a horse ridden this way before!
At midday we set off to drive to Jhansi to catch the train to Gwalior. Driving in India is interesting to say the least. Our driver tells us you need 3 things: a good horn, good brakes and good luck... The Tuk-tuk's are amazing- we counted at least 15 people on one of them- even a couple standing on the roof!
Early morning wake up call at 5.00 am, and armed with a stout blanket and hot water bottle we were off with our host Shellin for the morning Safari
The beast, however remained elusive. On the afternoon run we came across fresh paw prints and were told we'd missed the tiger by five minutes- getting closer! However, back st our base, The Jungle Mantra Resort, our hosts had laid on our own private dance show from a group of local villagers- a bit like and Indian version of Morris Dancing
It's last chance saloon on the early shift tomorrow morning- surely getting up at 5.00 am has got to pay off?
We left the Colonel's Retreat at 6.15 am in plenty of time to catch our flight from Dehli to Jabalpur - until we got a puncture en route. However, the tyre was changed pretty quickly and we made the flight ok in the end. Deepak met us at the airport and invited us for tea at his home with his wife and daughter, before our 4 hr drive to The Jungle Mantra resort in Bandergargh Tiger Park. We arrived at the resort just in time to head straight out on our first safari drive hunting the eponymous tiger. Before long our excitement grew when we spotted tiger poo and some recent footprints.
Hope the tiger didn't get run over!! We did spot a few types of deer, wild boar and a jackal
We'll be off again at 5.30 tomorrow morning after that pesky tiger!
After a leisurely breakfast at Chapslee, our driver picked us up to head down the mountains to Chandigargh to catch the train back to Dehli. We had a couple of hours to look around Chandigargh, which was the first planned city in India, built by Le Corbusier in the 1950's. It's a bit like Milton Keynes but with more traffic. The 'must see' place is the Nek Chand Rock Garden which is weird and wonderful, if a little wacky.
We should arrive at about 10.30 pm back at the Colonels, Dehli tonight and have an early start tomorrow, flying off to Jabalpur at 8.00 am, and then proceeding by car to the Tiger Reserve at Bandhavgarh. I won't mention the cricket, which unfortunately is on everywhere we go!
At over 7,000 ft, Nalderha Golf Course is the highest in the world with grass greens.
It was opened by Lord Curzon in 1904 and many a Viceroy made the 18 mile trek from Simla to test their skills on the challenging slopes. Our good friend Ravan happens to be a member, and it was a real treat to play a short round with him, with the Memsahib spectating. I won't comment on my game how other than to say I was glad we had our caddy, Nickolas, to keep a sharp eye out for my ball!
Afterwards we retired to a local restaurant for lunch, caught a bit of the English being humiliated at cricket, before heading back to Shimla
We had another stroll along the Mall and were shown around the Gaeity Theatre, built in the Gothic style by John Irving in 1888, and recently restored to its original condition just 2 years ago.
Just had time to take in another stunning sunset over the Himilayas before heading back to Chapslee for a hot bath and dinner.
We bade a fond farewell to Ravan today. His local knowledge, friendship and generosity has made our trip to Shimla very special.
After a hearty breakfast, Ravan picked us up for a sight-seeing tour of Shimla. First up was the Viceroy's residence, where amongst other things, the Partition settlement between Monty, Ghandi, Nehru and others was agreed. Ravan managed the Clarkes hotel (the first Oberoi hotel) for 23 years and also developed The Cecil Oberoi in Shimla, and he gave us an insiders tour around these magnificent places.
Cecil hotel atrium
View from Clarkes hotel.
We also went to visit the Bishop Cotton school built around 1850, where both Ravan and Paddy were students- it was just like I imagine an English public school to have been like 50 years ago.
The Memsahib and Ravan in the school yard.
After lunch at the Amateur Dramatics Club, we strolled along the Mall in town- the first pedestrian shopping area of its kind.
Magnificent views from the mall over the valley as the sun goes down.
Back to Chapslee for dinner in the canteen!
Much anticipation for tomorrow as Ravan has promised to take me for a game of golf.
