Golden Moments

The soldiers seemed to be saying "Look at me with my big muscles, shiny braiding, ridiculously huge hat, and look, look how high I can kick my legs!" We weren't quite sure what to make of the flag lowering ceremony at Wagah border between Pakistan and India near Amritsar but it certainly was entertaining. It wasn't just us that thought so, 3000-4000 Indians thought so and so did about 1000 Pakistanis. The extra tall soldiers looked like a cross between posturing schoolboys in the playground and proud peacocks. Their red and gold turbans were crowned by fans of starched cloth, so ridiculously tall they defied the laws of physics. Their uniforms bristled with gold braid and colourful medals. Their trousers were cropped mid-shin so that their pristine white spats could be properly admired. Immaculately groomed and dashing, they certainly caught the eye. I wouldn't want to mess with them though as they are members of the highly trained Border Security Force. They might be highly trained in combat but it was their impressive crowd-control skills that had to be used to marshall the masses through several security checks. Splitting the men and women for security searches, they were constantly blowing whistles and patiently reorganising the queues into military precision, a difficult task given the usual Indian crowd involves lots of pushing and shoving. We got there a couple of hours early to make sure we got a seat, while waiting we watched the tiny trickle of normal cross border traffic. Indian porters bringing people's luggage and placing in it directly on the line dividing the two hostile countries, then the Pakistani porters picking the bags up and taking them on. At no time did anyone but the travellers stray across the white line painted on the road. Around the sides of the border both countries have built stadium seating for people coming to see the flag lowering ceremony. It's so popular India is building even more seating, foreigners had their own seating area behind the VIPs. The soldiers in the Border Security Force are so tall that Lucy only came up to one of their waists. The event started, as soon as the border crossing closed, with a compere whipping up the crowds by getting a group of women and children from the crowds flag waving and Bollywood dancing. Lucy joined in the dancing from our stand. The Pakistanis, just metres away from us, had their own "show" with a competing sound system. The whole atmosphere was carnival like, we felt that there was no aggressiveness between the crowds. People had come to have a good afternoon out and be entertained. First out came two scary looking special forces soldiers with body armour, machine gun and mirrored sunglasses. Marching up to the gate to eyeball their matching Pakistani counterparts just metres away on the other side of the line. Then came the red turbaned unit, including 2 female soldiers. With perfect choreography they marched up to the gate in pairs, with a variety of moves culminating in the most amazing high kicks, almost high enough to kick their turbans off. They were so enthusiastic with their moves that both sides had to straighten their turbans in the middle of their manoeuvres. Then the gates were flung open for more high kicks and some comically aggressive fist waving. All to a soundtrack of both sides competing to have the longest end-syllable of a command, there was lots of applause for the side that had the greatest amount of puff. Before the gate was yet again slammed shut with a bang. The Indian theatricals were perfectly mirrored on the the Pakistani side, their magnificent turbans were dark green and silver with a long tail. After 40 minutes of military dramatics, it ended with both flags being lowered in perfect unison before both gates were dramatically slammed shut. Pakistan shaking its fist at India - and India shaking it right back. It was a fascinating spectacle, I'm still not sure what to make of it. The two countries are still engaged in active aggression, especially in disputed territories like Kashmir. Yet they have this almost comical stand off every night, which ends in a quiet handshake between the guards. I was pleased to read that the border forces exchange sweets at Divali, Eid and National days. But yet it isn't all fun and games, the ceremony was closed for a short while during recent hostilities in October last year. The week started with an extra special arrival, my Mum game out to Delhi to join us for a week. It was wonderful for us all to see her again. As she has been to India several times, it took the pressure off of sightseeing and meant we could just enjoy each other's company. She is such a seasoned traveller it didn't phase her in the least, when after arriving on the efficient and logical airport express station at New Delhi, we got completely lost in the completely illogical train station above it. We knew we were within 500m of our hotel but couldn't find a way to get there. Even after an overnight flight she listened happily to a child chatting in each ear, as we explored almost every corner of both stations trying to work out how to get over to the right sides of the tracks. My old backpacking haunt of Pahar Ganj, the crazy phrenetic Main Bazar, hadn't changed much in 20 years. But we chose a nicer hotel just outside, compared to the flea pit I brought my parents to when they visited me when I was 20. Mum reminded me of some of the more colourful parts I'd exposed them to back then. The Mughal Red Fort was just as impressive as I remember. On our loop around northern India there was one place we really wanted to visit but it was a 450km each way side trip, with that in mind we decided to take the train. With the truck still out at the garage outside Delhi getting its new windscreen, it made perfect sense. We were up at the crack of dawn, stepping around the homeless people sleeping outside the station. Even so, compared to when I was here 15 years ago the place had been really smartened up. The first 2 hours of the 6 hour express train was a food fest: tea, biscuits, juice, water, vegies cutlets, bread and jam, more tea all included in the ticket price. The women of India are always gorgeously dressed but I think the ladies of the Punjab are the most glamorous with their beautifully embroidered and bejewelled salwar kameezes of every colour of the rainbow. Alisha wanted to buy some simple fabric to sew, so we saw in the shops how each outfit starts out as 3 pieces of cloth. The decorated and elegant top part, brightly coloured trousers and the gossamer light dupatta scarf twinkling with embellishments and embroidery. All ready to be taken to the tailor and made up in a size and style of your choosing. I just wished I had the style to carry off such a beautiful outfit. The "jewel in the crown" of Amritsar is of course the Golden Temple, the most holy place for Sikhs. As a building, with its golden domes and gleaming white marble decorated with precious stones reflected in the surrounding Pool of Nectar, the place is stunning. But it is the spiritual peace of the whole complex that really impressed me. Sikhs come from all over the world as pilgrims to pray and come together as a community. What particularly moving was when we were queuing up to cross the bridge into the actual temple itself we listened to the songs from the Guru Granth Sahib (the Sikh holy book) being broadcast from the inside of the temple, suddenly there was a particular part of the prayer and the hundreds of people all around us joined in. The actual temple was tiny but the friendly queue patiently waited to enter for a short while. It was less busy in the top 2 floors of the temple, where people found a quiet corner to read or pray. We went back at night to admire it all over again in the dark. The actual temple is just a small part of it, the kitchen feeds between 60,000-80,000 people a day for free whatever religion. It is all organised and funded by the Sikh community and by donations, we had wanted to join them for lunch but unfortunately Mum and Alisha had picked up a bug and weren't feeling up to it. We loved the city of Amritsar, leading up to the Golden Temple were newly constructed boulevards that were thronged with people promenading in the evening. Our hotel was close on the edge of the bustling bazar, we walked through the narrow streets to find the Hindu Sri Durgiana Temple. Similar in design to the Golden temple but smaller, it is dedicated to the goddess Durga. Arriving back in Delhi on Sunday afternoon, we joined the throngs enjoying a stroll through the park's of colonial Delhi. Mum and I took the girls off to spend the pocket money that's been burning a hole in their pockets since we arrived. Despite loving the beautiful things on offer all over the country the over-enthusiast salesmen in almost every shop has put them off buying anything. So they spent a peaceful hour browsing through the Central Cottage Emporium, it might have been more expensive but it was far less stressful. Steve on the other hand couldn't face shopping so instead walked around colonial Delhi. The following morning, Steve and I marched off on a mission to apply for our Chinese Visas. Our plan is to enter China from Northern Myanmar then drive west for an epic road trip across the Tibetan plateau before exiting to Kyrgyzstan. A great plan, now comes the complete headache of all the paperwork. We had thought that because we have to engage a guide to accompany us across the country and to get us all the necessary permits that the visa would be relatively easy to get. However the visa agency weren't at all happy that we didn't have prebooked hotels, even though we had a letter of invitation, so submitted our passports to the Chinese Embassy with the warning that we may get rejected. We will find out on Thursday. Picking up the girls and Mum we jumped on the metro (another new pleasant change to Delhi) out to the satellite city of Gurgeon, where more good things awaited us.

From the Sublime to the Ridiculous

However the photos below are only of the sublime. India is an assault on your senses in every way. Vibrant colours, the smell of spices and amazing things to see. The country is alive and all life occurs on the street in front of you. It's also chaotic, crazy and stressful. We have heard other travellers describe India as a "marmite" country, you either love it or hate it. I don't think this is quite accurate, I think you can both love it and hate it and you can move between these emotions many times in the space of a day. One thing there is no avoiding it. In India you learn to expect the unexpected. Hearing a trumpeting sound we looked out of our window to see, as you would expect, an elephant wandering down the city street. In a traffic jam the camels jostle with the trucks for space, just as you would expect. Clearly there is nothing unusual with men walking naked down the road fanning themselves with a peacock fan, just another pilgrim. Traffic driving the wrong way down the dual carriage way flashing their lights, oh yes that means get out of the way I am coming through. And as for the cows they are everywhere in the streets, we are so used to them now that we also feed them our banana skins and vegetable peels. I could add many more examples but you would start to think I was making it up. It's all just another day in India. But we are getting used to it and whilst we get stressed at times are appreciating the lovely things to see and do. We have met many people who have been delightful, helpful and interesting to talk to, yes there are those that are just trying to sell us things or rip us off but I think I have the measure to an extent of them. I know the going price for a kilo of bananas and have learnt to just walk away when quoted a crazy foreigner price. We really enjoyed the solitude of the desert and whilst Pushkar was only a small town we were back in the hustle and bustle of India. This ramped up another notch as we approached Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan , with a population of over 3 million. The traffic got heavier and heavier and at each junction on the highway where there were traffic lights there were 6 lanes of traffic squeezed into 3 lanes. Space is just such a crime it has to be filled! The inevitable happened a car overtaking us swerved in too early and hit the front corner of the truck. Fortunately we only had minor damage, our headlight protective grille had been knocked off. His damage was a bit more significant, a badly dented rear wing, well you shouldn't pick a fight with a 10 tonne truck. Amazingly he was proclaiming his innocence. It's at times like this that you just lose it. After Gilly gave him a good talking too, I leapt out told him to move his ******* car out of my way or I would drive over it. He leapt back into his car and sped off. As sure an admission of guilt as any, as normally it's always the foreigners fault and they have to pay. After the ridiculous crash we spent the next day exploring some of the sublime sights of Jaipur, the Pink City. Jaipur was founded in the 17th century when Jai Singh II moved the capital of his state from Amber (more about that later) to Jaipur. As a rich state a grand city was built and we spent the day visiting it's beautiful sights as well as wandering through the crowded maze of streets and alleyways. The Hawa Mahal (Palace of the Winds) is Jaipur's most distinctive landmark and it looked as though it had been cleaned up a lot since Gilly and I were last there in 1999. From there we headed to the Jantar Mantar which is an ancient observatory used to view the planets and the stars. We were impressed that the massive sundial correctly showed the time to the minute. From there we headed to the Royal Palace a complex of gardens and courtyards and reception rooms. The current "Maharaja" still lives in a part of the impressive grand palace. We finished a lovely day enjoying the sublime sights with a superb Indian meal. As we returned to our hotel it was time to move back to the ridiculous. As we entered our hotel smoke was billowing in the corridors. On investigation we found that some of the staff had decided to light a fire indoors (it's a little cool in the evening) to cook on. As the fire was only just starting smoke was billowing around, even in our third floor corridor the smoke was acrid. Gilly went down to tell them to stop and to move the fire out of the building. Despite been very apologetic it transpired they only moved the fire further from where we could see but still inside, as smoke was still pouring out. We decided enough was enough, packed our stuff, demanded a refund for the night and moved back into the truck parked by the side of the busy road. It might have been noisy but it felt a lot safer and anyway we are much happier sleeping in the truck. The following morning we were up early and drove the short distance to Amber, time to enjoy another sublime palace. Amber is a stunning fort/palace which was the former State capital before it moved to Jaipur. The setting is magnificent and the palace is dramatic against the hillside. Inside it is no less impressive with some amazing gateways and buildings built from marble. Immediately above it set on the ridge of the hill was the large Jaigarh fort. As we need to exercise before heading to Nepal to hike we walked up the steep slope before wandering around the fort and enjoying the view. It was an easy drive along good roads to Fatephur Sikri, the short lived capital of the Mughal Empire during the reign of Emperor Akbar. The palace and pavilions are a World Heritage Site and we spent a wonderful afternoon wandering around and admiring the magnificent monument and the intricate carvings on the buildings. Unfortunately the capital was short lived due to water shortages and it was only used for about 15 years but it was magnificently preserved. Right next door is the massive Jama Masijd, an immense mosque. We arrived on the massive courtyard just as the late afternoon call to prayer was resonating from the minarets. It was a very relaxed atmosphere in the square with a mixture of worshippers and sightseers and locals just hanging out. We exited the square through the spectacular 54 metre high Victory Gate. From Fatephur Sikri it's only a short drive to Agra, home to one of the most sublime monuments of all. First we had to battle through the traffic and again expect the unexpected. The main road marked on the map turns out to run right through the market. With people shaking their heads as we eased through we slowly found our way to a hotel that allowed overlanders to camp. Little did we know that we should have come by some of the roads that on the map looked like minor roads but led around the more congested parts. It was good to get there though and have a base for a few days to enjoy the city. Of course there is ONE main reason to come to Agra so that evening we headed to a rooftop restaurant where with beer in hand, some curry and nan bread we could gaze over the sublime Taj Mahal. Whilst we wanted to see it much closer that would have to wait, it's closed on a Friday. So with a day to kill we instead headed to the mighty Mughal fort at Agra. From here we got to enjoy some more great views of the Taj as well as the magnificent walled city of Agra Fort, another World Heritage site. Dinner that evening was much more simple. A humble kebab stall but that description does not do justice to the most succulent chicken tandoori and chicken tikka that we feasted on together with butter roti fresh from the tandoor oven. Mmm. The next morning we were up before dawn in the forlorn hope of beating the crowds to see what many people consider as the most beautiful building in the world. When we arrived there were already crowds queuing up but the girls (ladies queue separately) from men were quickly through. There peering out of the mist was the Taj Mahal. Lots of far better writers have described it than me ("a teardrop on the cheek of eternity" or Kipling wrote "the embodiment of all things pure") but it is something special and lives up to the hype. We spent hours looking at it from different angles and admiring the intricate marble work, the carvings and the flowers inlaid with precious stones. Inside the mausoleum are the tombs of Mumatz Mahal who it was built for and her husband Emperor Shah Jahan who ordered its construction. The ultimate memorial to love. Although I happened to mention to Gilly that she wouldn't be getting something so grand. I will leave the description to the photos. Definitely the most sublime of sights. From Agra we headed to about 50kms south of Delhi. The truck has an appointment with the MAN garage there. Nothing urgent but a number of bits of work that could do with doing. Let's hope the work is also sublime and does not lend itself to the ridiculous.

The Deserted Desert

In the evening sun, honey coloured Jaisalmer Fort rises out of the surrounding desert plains like a giant's sandcastle. The town is clustered around the base of its ramparts in a maze of narrow lanes. We walked through the huge doors of the fort, with their rows of steel spikes 8 foot from the ground to stop any charging elephants, then climbed the steep path up into the fort. The road turning at 90 degrees several times as it climbed to the top, it's layout designed to stop any charging elephants from building up speed. Businesses, shops, restaurants, temples and about 3000 thousand people live within the forts, so we took some time wandering around. Finding a specific building inside its twisting narrow lanes is hard as the buildings are so tightly packed together in such a small place, even with directions from of lots of helpful locals. Eventually we found a beautiful Jain temple full of intricate carvings and spread across several buildings wedged together. Climbing up onto the high roof of a restaurant we could start to mentally piece together a map of what had been so confusing on the ground, as well as marvel at the wide empty desert just beyond the edge of town. The Maharaja's Palace was another maze of rooms with delicately carved screens for the ladies in purdah to peer through; and peaceful courtyards all with a fascinating history of battles won and lost. We thoroughly enjoyed exploring all the little nooks and crannies of Jaisalmer's fairy tale castle . Beyond the limits of Jaisalmer the wide open desert was calling us. 40 kilometres from town in the beautiful dunes of Sam Sam, you could live your Lawrence of Arabia fantasies on a colourfully bedecked camel. As its the middle of winter, the midday temperatures are a very manageable 25°C, perfect for playing in the dunes. With few other punters at that time of the day for their camel, tented camps, tea stalls and jeep safaris the touts even jumped out in front of the truck to get us to stop. It looked like it wouldn't be a relaxing afternoon, so we continued further along the road past some villages till we found some smaller dunes just for us to play on. We spent a very relaxing afternoon with just the odd tractor or jeep passing by, then returned to Sam for a sunset camel ride. That night we returned to the solitude of our earlier spot to admire the stars in the dark skies overhead. It was so lovely and peaceful that the following day we changed our minds about moving on and ventured a little further on where a helpful local jeep driver had told us that there were even bigger dunes. We could see tiny desert antelope on the tops of the dunes and we didn't see another human all day, the solitude was good for our souls. We heard later from someone we met that although we were still 40kms from the Pakistan border, that the army wouldn't want foreigners there but there was no sign and no one showed any sign of stopping us as we passed through the village of Sam several times. Leaving the dunes area the following day, Steve recognised an interesting looking truck from a Facebook picture. It turned out that it was built for specialised small overlanding trips in India, after sharing stories the owner gave us some good tips. So with his advice we changed our plans for our long day's drive to Pushkar and stopped early in the little village of Khichan. Demoiselle Cranes from Siberia make one of the hardest migrations in the world, over the Himilayas, to overwinter in the deserts of Rajasthan. The villagers from Kichan started feeding them in the 70's and now up 20,000 flock there. Great clouds of them could be seen flying in formation over the village and we found big groups of them hanging out at a couple of waterholes. The town of Pushkar is known for its annual camel fair but even outside that time the northern road was lined with cameleers with their brightly bedecked charges. No more camels for us though, we wanted to explore around the holy lake and its bathing ghats. India is a very spiritual country and we've been lucky to visit some of its holy sites, to be honest I was rather down on Pushkar finding the people far more interested in rupees rather than souls. But we had a good last evening eating over looking one of the lake's ghats where the girls enjoyed playing with a friend and things were more relaxed as the sun set.