India - Day 7 - Thursday 10th November

Our alarm goes at 05.30, again! We are up and having a cup of tea and a muffin by 6.15, then it's on to the cantor for our first safari of the day. The cantor is an open topped, 22 seater truck, but has surprisingly comfy seats, all covered in Indian army khaki fabric. The National Park is run by the government, and has strict limits on when tourists can go in, and where they can travel.

We are allocated to zone four, and set off with our guide and driver, through about three security checks, into the park.

It's wonderful to be out in the open air, even though it is extremely cold. We all huddle in blankets and jumpers on slightly damp seats. Out first spotting is, appropriately, spotted deer. We also see sambu deer, many birds, wild bore, monkeys (mainly on the road out), a jacket and a crocodile, but no tigers!!

Our return trip is delayed by a stone which has decided to get wedged between two rear trees. We limp back, and eventually find other drivers and guides who help to remove the offending item. It's nearly 11 before we get back out hotel for breakfast, so some opt for a good breakfast and light lunch at 1 o'clock; others for the reverse. 

There's time for a quick walk round the hotel grounds where we are delighted to see the fruit bats are more active than we expected and are all rousting in trees just outside the entrance. It's now beautifully hot, and there are people on the pool and sitting on the lawns reading.

We leave again after lunch for our second safari. This time we are sent to zone two, a hilly area below the ruins of the Ranthambore Fort. Considering the park is 1700 sq. kms., and there are only 65 tigers in it, who are each very territorial, the chances of us seeing a tiger are small, but we do!! A quick glimpse of a tiger walking into the undergrowth, then we play spot the tiger for the next hour or so. You can play your own version with the photo below.

The guides know there is no point looking elsewhere for another tiger, so they hope this one (a female called Arrowhead) will start moving around again. She decides to spend the afternoon sleeping, so eventually we move on and see more sambu deer and monkeys. There's a moment of excitement as we take the return route when animal alarm calls are heard near a rocky cliff area. It's suggested that there might be a leopard around, but we fail to see one!

By the time we get back to the hotel at 6.30 it's cold and dark, and there's just time for a very hot shower before our evening talk about tigers. The talk is good and accompanied by some excellent photos and videos.  We learn that makes have territories of around 60 sq kms, and females about 8. The tigers are identified by their paw prints and their facial markings, and there are currently over 65 tigers as three females have recently been seen with cubs. They don't use chips or radio collars as there would be a risk that poachers could also locate the animals.

We have dinner, and are in bed just gone 9pm ready for our next day.

India - Day 6 - Wednesday 9th November

We wake in the morning to the news that the Indian prime minister withdrew 500 and 1000 rupee notes from circulation last night, with no prior notice. It is apparently an attempt to counter the black economy and money laundering, and is probably a good idea. In the meantime it has caused total and utter confusion. 

We depart for the Taj Mahal as scheduled, but with no idea if we will be able to visit or not. At the tickets counters there is a long queue, and the local Kuoni rep is #1 in the queue, but after over half an hour it is apparent no one is going to be able to buy tickets today. Not only can no one accept the most common notes, but all banks and ATMs are closed for two days.

Eventually Dilip suddenly beckons to us, and leads us to the entrance gate. We wait for a few minutes, then Dilip is handed 14 tickets and we are in. We later discover they are from a friend who had 30 tickets from last week, which were never used. Our group and one other Kuoni group get in, the five groups fail!

The Taj Mahal is all everyone says it is. Beautiful, amazing and fantastic. We take numerous pictures, then enter the inner area where no photos are a.lowed. A local man shows us how the colours of the inlaid semi-precious stones light up when illuminated with a torch. We watch the sun come up, then head back to the hotel for breakfast.

More confusion when we go to check out. The hotel won't take cash, and we all have to pay with credit cards. They won't even take the cash they gave us last night!

Dilip explains the situation at the ruined city of Fatehpur Sikriwith will be the same, and this time he has no local contacts. We all agree to bypass this, which turns out to be a wise decision. Along our long route to Ranthambore National Park there are about five toll stations. At each there is more confusion as no one has the money to pay. It's not helped by the Indian driving which dictates that if your road is blocked then you drive the wrong way down the opposite carriageway as long as possible before trying to cut back into the correct lane. The first toll takes about 90 minutes, the second over an hour. Our expected driving time of six hours goes up to nine hours! We do stop for a late lunch, and I'm delighted to find a genuine can of diet coke and a packet of Pringles, while mick has freshly cooked vegetable samosas.

More disasterous news as we travel, Trump has won the election!! 2016 is proving to be the year the stupids won.

We get to our hotel at 19.30, and discover we are in an old hunting lodge built in the 1920s. All our rooms are in a bungalow built round lawns with shaded verandas outside. We eat quickly and retire to bed - it's an early start in the morning!

India - Day 5 - Tuesday 8th November

We leave the hotel at 8am for the long drive to Agra. We pass through the Delhi suburbs, some of which are very pleasant, then pick up the highway to Agra and enter the state of Uttar Pradesh. Dilip tells us this is mainly a farming area where traditionally families are very large. It is also one of the most densely populated areas of India. Despite state education being free (and that includes uniforms, books and a free lunch) the rate of literacy is one of the lowest in the country. Families are now smaller, only generally eight children, but hopefully as the literacy goes up people will have even smaller families. We see miles upon miles of fields, plus several small brick factories.

On arrival in Agra we fight through traffic and get to the Agra Fort at about 12.30. Built in the early 1600s in red sandstone, Shah Jahne later added several buildings in white marble. We, and the crowds of other visitors, see the courtyards where the public audiences were held, and the private quarters of the Shah, his wives, daughters and concubines, plus the tower and courtyard where he was held for the last eight years of his life by the son (who had previously murdered his three brothers). The carvings are magnificent again, and we get our first view of the Taj Mahal through the slight murk.

 After checking into our hotel it's back into the coach at 3.30 for an optional visit to the Itimad-ud-Daulah, the tomb built by Shah Jahne's second wife for her parents.  Built out of white marble, and with inserts of coloured stones, it became the inspiration for Jahne's tomb for his first wife, the Taj Mahal.

We then drove to a garden directly opposite the Taj Mahal itself, and stood there watching the Taj as the sun set.  Best thing was the kingfisher who posed in front of the Taj, worst thing was the mosquitos that came out.  Well worth the visit though.

Tonight we are going to have the buffet in the hotel; we leave at 6am to see the Taj before too many tourists arrive!

India - Day 4 - Monday 7th November

A full day of sightseeing in Delhi, but we start off with two of our company missing. Andy had indigestion in the night and so they decided to rest for the day. The traffic is much better today, so first stop was the Jama Masjid mosque, in old Delhi. The mosque was large and mainly outdoors.the ladies had to wear strange hairdresser type gowns, and we had to be bare foot, but didn't need to cover our heads. There were many pigeons and black kites around the mosque and a very beautiful pair of minarets. Sadly the smog was so bad that there was no point climbing to get a view. The smog is such that the government has closed schools for thre days, and stopped construction for five. After our visit Dilip allows a few traders to show us their goods, at a price he has already agreed. I bought an embroidered bag and a peacock feather fan.

We then drive round a bit of Old Delhi, but don't stop again until we reach the Raj Ghat, the place were Gandhi was cremated after his assassination. Normally Hindus are cremated and their ashes thrown in a river, but Gandhi's followers wanted a place to remember him so the memorial was created.

From there we drove to Humayun's Tomb, a forerunner of the Taj Mahal, built by a grieving wife who thought the people were beginning to forget her late husband. Quite wonderful, and huge, with water channels running through the grounds, originally filled from a tank kept topped up by soldiers. It's a world heritage site, and has recently had a lot of restoration work, especially the replacement of the finial on the top of the dome. 

Next stop was a Kashmir craft centre where we were provided with refreshments while they tried, and failed, to sell us carpets, jewellery, pashmina scarves and saris. Then throug New Delhi, and past the presidential palace. No body is allowed to stop there so the tourist buses all drive slowly twice round the roundabout. We get held up again, probably by a cavalcade of cars for May, but do mange to drive past India Gate, even though we can't stop.

Our tour was now officially over, but it was only 2.30 so we persuaded our guide to take us to the Qutb Minar complex. This is the site of a tall brick built minaret in a ruined mosque. Beautiful carvings in red sandstone, and a iron column dating from the 9th century with a finial that is on all indian banknotes.

Back to the hotel and a short rest before meeting John and Judith for a quick visit to the mall and a meal.

India - Day 3 - Sunday 6th November

The alarm goes at 3.15am, and we are up and in the lobby at just before 4. After checking out, and getting our packed breakfast, the cars leave for the trip to the railway station. We say goodbye to our drivers, leave them a tip, then board the train for the journey to Delhi. Very dark when we set off, but as the sky gets lighter all we can see is fog and the ocassional tree. We are given a cup of tea, then doze, read, review photos etc as we go.

It's a long journey, though we are supplied with tea and breakfast en route, plus we have our packed breakfasts from the hotel, and more water!! By the end of the day we seem to have about 4 bottles each.

We arrive at New Delhi station at 12.30 and Dilip haggles with three porters for the transfer of our luggage to our coach. They hoist two suitcases each on their heads, plus one in each hand, and set off. It's a long walk to the coach, so even though we feel rather sorry for our porters, especially the older one, we are glad we are not carrying our own cases.

A long slow trip to the hotel which we later discover is due to Theresa May's visit. All roads round the Gandhi memorial were closed for over 3 hours, and when they opened it was chaos. We don't get to our hotel until 3pm, so Dilip cancels our afternoon tour and arranges to extend the tour tomorrow.

A free late afternoon, and we pick our way through the streets to a shopping mall behind the hotel. More western shops, plus the standard security to get in, but many more customers and a more lively atmosphere inside. There are also a few indian style clothes shops, but I see nothing that I want to buy, and they are all quite expensive. Mick finds an identical pair of sandals in Clarks to the ones he is wearing, and the price is the same as the UK.

Back to the hotel and we check out the restaurants there. A quick meal in the hotel, then to bed very early as we are very tired.

India - Day 2 - Saturday 5th November

A relatively leisurely start as we have to meet our guide at 9am, so we have time for a good breakfast in the hotel. Then back into the cars for the trip to the temple area. Traffic is worse than ever, but we arrive safely and walk towards the temple. Dilip takes us to a small shop where the men all get turbines, and the ladies an orange temple headscarf. The turbans prove a great success, and all the men (especially Will who is very tall) are in demand for selfies with other visitors.

The temple is amazing!! A huge area surrounded by white marble buldings, with a big lake/tank in the centre. In the middle of the lake stands the golden temple. Originally in white marble, it is now covered in a thick layer of gold. The gold was a gift from a ruler to feed the farmers in times of need, and it was deemed the safest place to store the gold was on the outside of the building. It has never yet been needed for the farmers, who are apparently very well off in this area (the Punjab). 

We took numerous pictures, then visied the kitchens where all visitors can eat a free meal. All food and labour is provided by volunteers, and they feed around 100,000 people every day (up to 250,000 on festival days). We saw the dining areas, then the food preparation areas, where we joined in with the chapatti making.

Finally we all queue up to visit the actual temple (no photos allowed).

Next visit is to the martyr's garden where hundreds were massacred on the orders of a British general in 1919. Back to our rendezvous with our guide, sadly with no time for shopping, the its back through even more chaotic traffic to the hotel.

Just time for a quick lunch (we opt for the hotel pastry shop) then it's off again to the border post. As foreign visitors we are one up from the general visitors, and, after going through strict security, get an area of our own to watch the ceremony. It's a strange mix of a ceremonial beating of the retreat, and a pissing match between two nations, with lots of orchestrated shouting and fist waving on both sides. The Pakistani side of the border is an exact mirror image of the Indian side, and both groups know all the prompts and timings (apparently the ceremony has been going since 1959). The rabble rouser on our side even tells the crowd when to be quiet so the other side can yell their challenges across the border.

Much exaggerated marching, then the gates between the two countries are opened, and more fist waving goes on. Eventually the two flags are lowered, the gates are firmly closed again, and the two sides go home. It would be a fine thing to watch if you didn't know the strife is real, and young soldiers on each side get killed every day along the border. Good thing the security is good, apparently there used to be the occasional potshot across the gates, and a suicide bomber in Pakistan killed 16 in an attack during the ceremony about six years ago.

Back to the hotel, and only four of us opted for the optional trip to see the book being put to bed. (The book is the 11th guru, written when the 10th guru couldn't find a worthy successor, and is considered as a living person, who needs to sleep at night). We get a quick meal in the food court in the shopping mall in the same complex as the hotel, then travel back, through much less traffic, to the temple. The trip is worth it so see the temple at night, but it is hard to see the palanquin used to transport the book from its daytime position in the temple to its bedroom. Many Sikhs try to touch the book, or the palanquin, or even it's carriers as it goes past! Journey back to the hotel is remarkably fast due to the low traffic levels, then it's off to bed ready for an early start in the morning.

India - Day 1 - Friday 4th November

Our flight left Heathrow yesterday, and the trip to Delhi was uneventful. Seat pitch was pretty bad, so we only got a couple of hours sleep! Transfer in Delhi was chaotic. We found the correct queues for e-visa holders, and filled in an immigration form, then joined the queue. Progress was slow, but hastened when several people in front of us discovered they hadn't filled in the right form and had to go back. Passports and visas were scrutinised, finger prints taken, and eventually our passports were stamped and we were in. Then it was a rush to find our luggage, get it to the domestic transfer check-in desk, then find our boarding gate for the flight to Amritsar. All done in just under two hours!

There are 14 on our tour, six couples and two ladies travelling together. We all gathered outside the Amritsar airport where we met our guide for the compete tour, Dilip. Then it was into big white Toyota cars for the trip to the hotel. Traffic was as chaotic as I had been warned about, and why there weren't accidents every few minutes is still a marvel.

The hotel is very security conscious, all cars are checked every time they enter the complex, and all bags are searched and guests put through a metal detector every time we return. We find our rooms, have about an hours rest, then meet Dilip for our first visit into Amritsar. Same cars, same traffic, then we park and depart on foot towards the temple area. 100,000 to 300,000 people visit the temple everyday, and there is now a large pedestrian area in the streets of the temple district. We wander around absorbing the atmosphere and watching the crowds, then it's back to the hotel.

Dinner is provided, a wonderful buffet in the hotel restaurant, then it's off to bed for a well deserved 10 hour sleep.