India at last!

6^th December Sydney - Singapore - Delhi

Finally made it to the airport after a very long day spent packing. There’s a lot to be said about early morning flights. It’s amazing to think it took us almost the whole day just to get ready to leave Australia, not to mention the hundreds of hours on the internet looking at hotels and travel advice, and probably three months worth of lunch times wandering around the CBD looking for stuff, visiting travel agents and the useless Indian Tourist Board (who even told me that all the hotels in India are already booked out for December!), changing money, getting prices, clothes, travel goods etc So finally we’re at the airport, ready to embark and the most ambitious of our family trips so far, 5 weeks in India with the whole family. The trip I’ve been waiting 19 years to do!

After checking in, which had the slight hitch of Merrill not being linked to our booking because of our agent, which meant we couldn’t get seats together, we collected our GST refund, the poor substitute for duty free, and discovered our flight had already been delayed about 45 minutes. The flight itself was the usual drag, wish they’d hurry up with those teleporters. Tried to keep amused, asleep, or to read, all with little effect. Anyway, landed in Singapore with a few hours to kill until our flight. Luckily this is Changi airport, so there’s lots to keep us occupied while we wait, including watching a live Champions League match. Changi is like a mini city, and you could quite easily stay there for weeks before anyone noticed you. Still can’t believe we’re on our way to India.

7^th December Delhi

Boarded our Indian Airlines flight, one of the most boring flights ever, crappy old plane and no entertainment, though at least the food was good and there were Indian papers to read, which are still highly amusing. Whizzed through Delhi immigration and customs in remarkable speed, must be a record anywhere. I guess its because we were on a local Singapore Delhi non-tourist flight, and we were one of only a few non-Indians on the flight. The next surprise was nobody outside the airport, not even a tout to hassle us, only our prearranged pickup from the Hotel Southern. The crowds reappeared on the road, and we had an exhilarating, tiring, dusty and sometimes scary drive to our hotel in Karol Bagh. The Southern Hotel was very unlike its website, but the rooms were reasonable with very basic bathrooms. Set in a street of car spare parts shops, but handy to transport. We were on different floors, so Tara, Dylan and Mez shared one and Aidan and I the other room. Also of course the room rates varied from our original quotes, but this was a bit hard to explain. Walked up to the main street of Karol Bagh, Ajmal Khan Road, which was busy, and very typically Indian, and crowded with sari shops. Checked out the Metro for tomorrow, ate at Raffles Restaurant, fast food setup but typically north Indian, delicious food. Bought sweets at Punjab Sweets, on the corner of Ajmal Khan and Arya Samaj Rd, who also had yummy looking paneer kebabs. Only 160 Rs for a kilo of barfi! Checked out the amazing new Metro. Walk back was a bit of a disaster, walked back down Pusa Road which had horrendous traffic, nasty beggars that actually grabbed onto you and pushed us around, dangerous buses and an unbelievably pesky balloon boy. Not really the best start to easing the kids into India, but it was the last time anything this "bad" happened to us on the trip. When we got back we were amused by the sweeper who was still washing the lobby and did so pretty well continuously for the 3 days we were there.

8^th December Delhi

Had a nice buffet South Indian breakfast at the hotel, kids loved the all you can eat idlis and vadas. Talked to a Canadian woman that was a bit stressed out by India and was on her way to surprise surprise see Sai baba and his ash producing magic show. Walked up to the metro station and caught one to Secretariat station on Rajpath. Metro really modern and efficient, with clever token system instead of tickets, but the security was a bit slack, but then in Sydney there's none at all. After looking at the houses of parliament, and the other impressive buildings of the New Delhi secretariat, and even having to stand aside for the arrival of the Prime Minister of India, and seeing our first monkeys crossing Rajpath, we walked up to the Jantar Mantar (observatory) but realizing it was too far got the Metro to the nearest station. Discovered that under 15s got in for free to the monument, and this rule applied across India. Began to notice though that Delhi seems to have got dirtier and scruffier than the last time we were there, with lots of rubbish every where, and the new scourge of plastic containers,  and even saw a guy peeing on the walls of parliament, though I suppose that’s not such a bad thing.

The Jantar mantar was fun, in a nice little garden with lots of squirrels that are extremely cute. Walked up to Connaught Circle via a street market off Janpath, which mostly sold crappy clothes, but nearer Janpath had souvenirs, and a great little kiosk with all the latest Indian books. Picked up a copy of Shantaram, the lengthy autobiographical novel of Greg Roberts, escaped criminal who got involved in the Bombay mafia amongst many other unbelievable adventures. Went off in search of a bank, tried a few ATMs before locating one that took our cards (our cards were St George Bank Visa cards, the Deutsche Bank was the only one that gave larger notes than 100Rs) , and then ate at the Banana Leaf restaurant, which was a bustling, touristy place but reasonable South Indian food. Headed off to the Palika market in the very centre of Connaught Circle, and saw where Mez and I stayed last time. Sadly Nirula’s ice cream shop has gone, or that's what everyone kept telling us. The Palika Market had lots of good stuff including some hip clothes, but haggling was difficult. Dylan and I haggled some 3500Rs sunglasses down to 700 Rs  which seemed like a victory, but was still probably too much. Also went to Uttaranchal tourism regarding Corbett but they were very unhelpful. Metro home, Dinner at the Shudh Restaurant, a sort of food hall in the Swati Hotel, Gurudwara Rd, which featured incredibly noisy children and ordinary food, but at least it was all vegetarian.

9^th December

Early start, catching the metro to Kashmir gate in Old Delhi. The gate itself was in poor condition, which was a pity as it was quite stylish. Looked in St James church, built by Skinner of the East India Company. Had a graveyard and a mutiny memorial. Streets in this old colonial part of Delhi were atrociously dirty, and the walk to the Red Fort wasn’t any better. The Fort itself was very peaceful, the gardens are still nice but the buildings are all showing signs of deterioration since our last visit. After a pleasant walk around looking at views, squirrels and parrots we crossed over into the bedlam of Chandni Chowk, which was as exciting as ever, and surprisingly we weren’t hassled at all as we were at the beginning of the street. Had some great samosas, bhaturas and hot jalebis straight out of the pan. Took the lane at the jalebi shop that led to the Jami Masjid, a nice street with many gold and silver jewellery shops and a great shop selling very cheap statues almost opposite the mosque. In the mosque itself, which still retains its aura, we climbed the minaret for a spectacular view of old Delhi. Unfortunately Dylan and Tara didn’t like the dark staircase and turned back. Walked along Chowri Bazar to the metro along a street that was almost all paper wedding invitation shops unitl it became a bathroom supplies street. Raffles for dinner again, followed by delicious sweets from Bikanerwallahs in Gurudwara rd.

10^th December

Once again off early for our very first train trip to Amritsar. Everything went smoothly, found our carriage easily enough despite a very long walk along the platform (at least a kilometre) and the fare included food, water, tea and drinks. Sadly this was the only one that did. Merrill and the kids almost got left behind at Ambala when the train started moving off while they were off the train. This became one of our favourite train rituals, one shared by many Indians, hopping off trains at each stop to check out food and the local scene (and usually the local beggars). Trip spoilt at the end by a very nasty train guard demanding tips. Greeted at the station by a welcome party of drummers but unfortunately it was for a visiting politician and not for us. Wondered why so many foreigners got off at Beas, must look into this. Got a room at Grand Hotel which had nice big rooms but in hindsight was very overpriced for what we got. Had an nice garden and a very weirdly decorated pub. Walked up to Ram Bagh, a very pretty garden in the centre of town, the Ranjitsingh museum with its impressive Diorama and then had dinner at Surjits restaurant, which was very nice but a bit expensive too. Nice cheese pakoras. Got a rickshaw back to our hotel and had a draught beer at the pub.  

11th December

Early start, looked for local brekky but everything was closed, so had to eat overpriced eggs at the hotel. Auto to the Golden Temple, where we bought a groovy orange scarf to wear. Took our shoes off, through the "automatic" foot washing trough and into a haven of peace, tolerance and serenity. Despite it being an oasis free of hassles it has a turbulent history of warfare, conquest that runs as recently as the 1980s. The temple itself is a blend of gold, inlaid marble, carpets, artworks and sound, as music and singing run continuously. Many people fed the fish in the lake, which explains the presence of a brown kingfisher, and collected water in little bottles. After some time taking in all its beauty, we headed off to Jallianwallah Bagh, scene of yet another disaster in British colonial relations. Serene memorial set in nicely planned garden. Had a funny conversation with a lovely old farmer visiting from a Punjab town, he was astounded that Australia is larger than India and yet only has 20 million people. Which is astounding. Went around the corner for a delicious lunch at the New Punjab Rasoi, a lovely old restaurant with interesting wood decor. Went back to the hotel to link up for our trip to Wagah, the famous border town for the flag lowering ceremony. Got their very quickly thanks to our speed demon driver, perhaps making the most of driving a powerful  

and comfy Chevrolet 4WD. The border was a madhouse of patriotism, bugles, barking orders, silly walks and cheering crowds on both sides. Pakistanis tried to outshout the Indians, who responded with flag waving and spontaneous dance. Had a quick dinner of tikki burgers ten headed back after a photo session with the gallant and very tall Indian border guards. Dylan and i were still hungry so got a very spicy rajma at the Dhaba next door to the hotel. Picked up a bottle of Golden Eagle beer for Rs 40 but it was crap but handy having a bottle shop next door!

12th December

Crossed the road to the station to get the early train to Haridwar. Although it was another Shatabdi train, there was no freebies this time, in fact very little food at all. Slow trip with many unscheduled stoppages but actually arrived only 20 minutes late at frantic Haridwar station. Checked out buses for Ramnagar, but could only find one bus that left really early. Caught rickshaws to Hotel Teerth, which because it is right on the ghat near Har-ki-pauri, meant we were dropped off across the river and had to walk through a rather impoverished village to get to the bridge. The hotel itself was excellent, the people at reception were really friendly and gave us a great family room on the top floor overlooking the Ganges. The room was huge and fitted 3 beds and 2 mattresses on the floor, and still had room for couch and telly. The view was great, looking down on the activity below, with shops, cows, beggars all interacting with the many pilgrims. Near sunset we walked to Har-ki-pauri, the famous ghat dedicated to Ganga that has been in existence for thousands of years. A very friendly guide got us a beautiful family "boat" with flowers and candles in a leaf basket that we launched after all the appropriate prayers were said by the guide and garbled back by me. Of course no moment like this is complete without someone asking for cash and this time the boys in the river that prodded our boat into the current demanded money, but they were soon outdone by the priest at one of the shrines that gave us red dots on our forehead, conned us into another boat and then got all shitty and insulted because we wouldn't give him large quantities of rupees. I think he muttered a few curses about Ganga being unhappy but I'm sure she's alright with it! Oh religion, is there any which doesn't fleece its members? All this was soon forgotten by the spectacular Aarti ceremony, with flames, incense, bells, chants, gongs and the stunning symphony of the timeless flowing river, darkness and fire. Had a really nice dinner at Hoshiyar Puri in the bazaar. The bazaar was irresistable, didn't even haggle as everything was so cheap, and regret now not buying more there. Back to our room to admire the night skies.

13th December

Amazingly beautiful dawn scene, with religious music. Headed off to Mansa Devi temple by cable car. Great views from the temple walls, even snow capped Himalayas. Haridwar was shrouded in mist so couldn't see much of the town or river. Temple itself is pretty ugly, lots of concrete and inhabited with the usual demanding Brahmins. Went back down, got prices for car to Ramnagar. Did some Xmas shopping in the markets whilst the kids got themselves home, the brave things. Amazingly, one shop keeper asked where the children had gone! It's certainly something we wouldn't have done in Delhi. Had a nice lunch at Sindh restaurant, very tasty stuff. Also did sweets, including a delicious saffron flavoured rasmalai. Also got to try the Punjabi specialty of makki de roti and sarson da saag. Saag nice but the rotis were very sour. Merrill had a nice banana pancake while the kids pigged out on sweets. Back to our room, then off at sunset for the aarti and another round of conflict with temple authorities. This time they wanted us to pay entry to the ghat opposite the aarti, and another rival group also wanted us to pay until we showed them receipts. Sorry Ganga, but you've just got to do something about your temple officials. After the aarti we outran a large gathering of beggars and had a sensational dinner at Moti Wallah Bhog. Was very proud of myself translating the whole hindi menu so we could order!

14th December

Up early, really thick fog over the river. Driver arrived early, settled up, loaded bag onto rickshaws to the main road. Drove along very quiet road and stopped for excellent pakoras and chai at a roadside stall and dhaba. Interesting drive to Ramnagar, great contrasts in road quality as we went from Uttaranchal to UP and then Uttaranchal again. UP roads shocking of course. Arrived in Ramnagar a sprawling, crowded messy town and were dropped off at ranger headquarters. After hassling around and finally organizing something with the elusive Uttaranchal parks people (at least 20 emails and 10 phone calls and a visit to the Delhi office) for a one night stay at Corbett for a lot of money. "Too bloody expensive" said the man from Delhi I met searching for a loo (unsuccessfully, did it in the bushes which turned out to be the fence of a primary school!). In the end though it turned out worth the money (just). Our appointed guide was Puran, a local tribal guy with an excellent knowledge of wildlife, especially birds.  Off we went in a open top jeep through beautiful forest to Dhikala, which took almost 2 hours. Saw sambar deer, a jackal, langurs, barking and spotted deer and some wild boar on the way up. Dhikala was really nice, up on a ridge above the crocodile infested Ramganga river. Dark came quickly, and we retired to our lovely little bungalow after a nice dinner in the cheap restaurant (as opposed to the fancy ripoff buffet restaurant where most of the foreigners went). Visited the nice little library but unfortunately the librarian turfed us out after less than an hour. Didn't sleep that well as Tara shared the bed with us.

15th December - Tiger!

Up early to a foggy morning to see tigers, we hope. Acquired another guide, for another Rs 200. After about 30 minutes of nothing but mist, another jeep had found a tiger, so we joined the trail. We saw it ahead of us on the track, and were able to follow quietly behind it for ages. See here for video footage. At one stage it jumped for a bird but missed. It sat down down for a while then evetually headed off into the high grass. Later we saw spotted deer, woodpeckers and many other birds. But everyone was happy, including Puran, who told everyone he saw, for our long sighting of a tiger. Hopefully it won't be our last chance ever to see these beautiful endangered beasts. Paid our guides, had brekky and then headed back into Ramnagar, seeing some more wild boar on the way. Arrived at the Ramnagar bus station to total chaos, with buses everyone, and queues for tickets and no one could really tell us which bus went to Nainital until we eventually found someone who directed us to the main street outside the bus station. Hopped onto the Nainital bus with our bananas and boiled eggs, for which I 'd suffer later as the eggs were fine but the plastic bag they were in had dirty water in it.  The bus was Rs 40 a ticket, and took 3 hours to do 60km, but it was a truly spectacular ride up and up on narrow winding roads. The driver really deserved a medal and would put rally drivers to shame the way he flung such a rigid old bus up such steep climbing curves. Great views all the way up too. Arrived in Nainital late afternoon and opted for the expensive Hotel Alka because it had heating, which in the end was too bloody hot and the weather was actually warmer than Haridwar or Corbett.  The Hotel is really nice, with wood panelled rooms and even special pavillions for honeymooners, for which Nainital is a major destination. The eccentric old guys running it were amusing too. Nice views of the lake from the balcony too. Had dinner next door in a little cafe that was OK.

16th December

Lazy morning to catch up on sleep in a cosy bed. Changed money then took cable car up to Snow Point lookout. Were stunned by the views of the Himalayas, especially of Nanda Devi, highest mountain inside India's borders. Nanda Devi is over 7000m high, and the surrounding mountains weren't far off either. Nice little spot at the top, apart from the weird shooting range set up at the lookout and the amusement park on the hill top too (fun dodgem cars all to ourselves though). Back down and into the Bara Bazaar where we had superb street food in the main street. Delicious momos, sizzling samosas and a selection of pakoras sold by weight. Walked around upper end of the lake past a lakeside cricket match to the Tibetan Market where we had more fantastic steamed momos, and bought lots of things in the little stalls there. More delicious restaurants there too, but too full to eat more. Hopped on the fixed price rickshaw to look at Tallital at the southern end of the lake to see what was there and to find out about buses to Lalkuan. Not much there and it was getting cool so walked back to hotel. Nice dinner at the Bawarchi restaurant.

17th December 

Off for our prearranged horse ride. As is usual, the agreed price isn't the agreed price, and first we have to pay for the taxi to the starting point, and then they want more to go to all the points, even though we agreed the day before that the price included all the points. Oh well, they are all just young lads on the take, so good luck to them. So we did 3 "points", meaning stopping places, although the 2nd point is just a bend in the track. From on top of our pretty and surprisingly well kept horses we saw the village where the movie Koi mil gaya was filmed and then onto the Lands End lookout with views of another lake. We also saw a hog deer, meaning we got to see all the the major deer of Uttaranchal. We were dumped about half way back down the hill after a very pleasurable ride, took some photos and then headed off down the hill via the tibetan markets and snack street where we picked up takeaways for all. Kids and Mez went to play minigolf at Tallital, while I took the opportunity to look for Xmas presents and found a lovely wool rug. for Mez, then read my book for a while then read the paper over a nice chai in the Cafe next door. In the evening went to an Internet cafe where the kids booked a concert in Sydney (hasn't internet changed everything!) and we booked some train tickets, which is also a wonder. Ate at the pure veg Purohit restaurant on the Mall, which was very nice though I wish it was busier so the staff had other things to do than to watch us. I love Nainital, it's such a relaxed place.

18th December - 19th December

This time we all went off for a horse ride, usual transport scam to get us there too of course. Really quiet in Nainital this morning. Did the six "points'", with Dorothy's Seat being the highlight with a spectacular view back towards Nanda Devi. Much steeper decent going down. Dylan didn't really share our enjoyment about riding and slipped off his horse at one stage trying to get on. Wandered back through the Tibetan market again, and had lunch and cake at Sakley's restaurant. In the afternoon got our car to Lalkuan, which started with a windy, amazing drive down to the plains. Saw monkeys along the road and also a blue magpie, a funny bird with a long tail.  Once the landscape levelled off it was pretty yuck,  just a long dusty, dirty road with endless industrial sites, smoke and trucks. Haldwani eventually blended into Lalkuan (this was after our driver had had enough and palmed us off onto a local driver) which was a polluted, filthy shithole dominated by a belching factory. God knows what it was pumping out, but it covered everything and the shopkeepers had to dust off everything before they gave it to you. The station was only made tolerable by the numerous cows, many of which hung around the ticket office like they were waiting for standby tickets. Aidan and I were amused by a pig that barged past us and sprinted across the road and miraculously wasn;t squashed by the endless stream of Tatas.  The train was equally as bad, no bedding for the sleepers, stunk of piss and freezing cold. I'd ended up in a different compartment, which the occupants bolted so even if I had wanted to sleep there I couldn't.  Arrived in Mathura cold and sleepless at about 5am, and abamdoned our plan of getting out to its famous Krishna monuments as we were too stuffed and wanted to just get on the next train to Agra. This arrived at 6am,  and was equally as freezing, but both at Mathura and on the train everyone was friendly.  Got off at Agra Cantt station and into the bedlam surrounding the taxi stand, where we organized a taxi to our hotle from the very handy prepaid booth. Went to Hotel Ashish Palace (Fatehabad Rd), which was an excellent little hotel with very helpful staff and had a lovely big family room. Of course out on the street it was the same old Agra, with its dust, smoke and infuriatingly annoying people. Our hotel was only a short walk through a nice park to the Taj, but we were hassled almost the whole way there.Had comical lunch near the Taj at the Natraj restaurant, on a rooftop that didn,t even look over the Taj. The food took ages, and was pretty crap when it did arrive on filthy plates. In fact all the restaurants around the Taj looked crap. After all, Merrill and I have been here 3 times before and have never had a decent feed yet. 

At least one thing was still great and thats the Taj Mahal. I never get tired of being in its presence, its just superb and the Greatest Building in the World. Gardens too seemed lovelier than last time, and we spent quite a bit of time admiring the building, and the river, and just sitting about. Took a rickshaw to Agra Fort, which seems to have been restored and had more rooms open to view, and it is really much better than the Delhi one. Had dinner at Temptations restaurant next to the hotel, and amazingly it was really nice, so you can get decent food in Agra after all! Early night nedded desperately by all.

20th December 

Breakfast at Temptations and then Mez and the kids disappeared off shopping. Organized car to Fatehpur Sikri after much hassling and problems when the car arrived. A strike in the middle of the road stopped us getting to Fatehpur Sikri, so went on to Bharatpur instead. Tried for the Birders Inn, but sadly it was booked out, which was a pity as it looked nice, but found instead the Hotel Park Regency across the road which turned out to be a great find. The staff didn't have much English, but were very attentive and helpful. The man at the Birders Inn looked after the kids  while we went looking for hotels. Organized a guide and rickshaw for the bird sactuary for the next day, and they took us to a local fair up the road. We were probably the main attraction there, but it had food stalls, products, farming stuff and rides just like any country fair at home. The guide also pointed out some eagle owls nesting near our hotel. Had buffet dinner at the Birders which was a bit expensive but interesting food with lots of Rajasthani specialities.

21st December

Early start for our birdwatching safari. Saw a baby nilgai antelope which has been raised by staff at the sanctuary. Other mammals that day included a jackal, spotted deer and a large mongoose (never knew there were 2 types). Our guide was very good at finding birds and identifying them, including 2 species of owls, but also very good at timewasting and stuffing around. As the day warmed up there were more tourists around. Distances aren't that far so you'd really be better doing it yourself on foot or bicycle. FOr list of words keep an eye out at bottom of page. The entry fee is a ripoff too! The strangest thing though was the total lack of water in the "wetlands" as the monsoon hadn't arrived this year. Last time I was here there were water birds perched in every tree above the wetlands, but no there was only a few large pools of water in the whole park.  After brekky back at the hotel we got an autorickshaw to Fatehpur Sikri. Slow trip, with probably the least assertive A/r driver in India. At Fatehpur Sikri we visited the mosque first. Now the last time we were here in 1987 I don't remember the mosque being in use, but this time it was and was patrolled by some very obnoxious officialsand some very demanding and rude touts.  The palace and city itself however was very peaceful and remarkably free of visitors given the crowds at the mosque. Still a beatiful and mysterious place to visit, with lovely views and architecture. A scary ride back to the hotel, delciious dinner at our hotel's Shivam restaurant. One of the best meals we had anywhere.

 22nd December

Early start, this time a cold, slow rickshaw ride to Bharatpur station. Long wait for train, but kept entertained by two funny street kids. Taught them the Aussie Aussie Aussie chant which kept them and us amused. Arrived 1 hour late at Nizamuddin station, Delhi, a very busy and crowded little station. Got a taxi to our hotel at Mahapalpur, our little discovery near the airport.  Stayed at International Inn, a nice friendly hotel in amongst several good quality hotels, so remember this if you have an early flight out of Delhi. Rooms a little bit small though. Got a taxi out to the Qutab Minar, still very interesting and the tower is a work of art that is often overlooked by visitors. Nice gardens too. Rickshaw back to sweet shop near hotel, and dinner at the Bawarchi restaurant in the hotel next door to ours (very nice). 

23rd December

Woke up to worst fog I've ever seen, which despite being close to the airport, meant a hairraising taxi ride there. i think the driver drove their by memory, because you certainly couldn't see anything.  Ended up spending 6 hours waiting for our flight to Bangalore because of the fog. What made it worse was their was absolutely nothing to do in the crappy domestic terminal. Once on the plane waited another 30 minutes before finally taking off. The flight itself was very good and Kingfisher was an excellent airline, hope they can keep it up. Arrived at sprawling Bangalore, you could see all the new suburbs from the air spreading for miles. Taxi to Bangalore station across the city took an hour! Arrived at station and still had to get tickets, Mez did brilliantly using her gender to barge in to get a ticket to Mysore. The queues were huge! Even after all this the train was really late as well. Finally got to Mysore around midnight, found a taxi and surprise! Our hotel had never heard of us, but luckily the guy in charge found a record of our email. In the end we were given a brand new unit to stay in, complete with blocking up toilet. What a bloody day!

24th December 

Waited at unbelievaby busy hotel restaurant for a table, not sure why as the food was pretty ordinary South Indian. Waled into town, Mysore has a very laid back feel about it. Went to the Devaraj markets, lots of beautiful flowers, incense and coloured powders, and annoying scent touts.  Lots of fresh local produce too, veggies, fruit, spices and jaggery. Lunch at typical thali place, back to hotel and then to palace with huge holiday queues. Decorated hotel room for Xmas with the flowers we bought by the metre! Dinner at hotel's North indian restaurant which was excellent.

25th December Christmas in Mysore

Nice Christmas morning, breakfast in the restuarant then back to our room to open the presents. Dressed up in our new Indian clothes for a buffet at the Lalitha Mahal Palace hotel. Superb old building built by the maharaja for his visiting guests. Delicious and unusual lunch, mostly South Indian dishes but some western and north Indian too, enough for everyone.  I think we were there the longest of anyone! All this cost 450 rupees each (about $15). Evening walk followed by a dinner (still hungry?) at the slow and basic Rice Bowl.

26th December

Organized a taxi to take us to Srivanabelagola through the desk at our hotel. Long drive through coconut groves, sugar plantations and as we approached Srivana the landscape became dry and rocky and looked like a cross between Australia and Cappadocia. After leaving shoes at the office we climbed up the hundreds of stairs up a rock resembling Uluru, with a few shirnes and temples on the way to the main temple that houses the giant statue. The 1000 year old statue, of Gomateshvara, has a superhero look about it and is huge and imposing, with interesting carvings at the base. Nicely hassle free too! Lunch at Hotel Raghu of an ice thali, but some suspect bondas may have made Tara sick. Dinner at Pizza Corner, the usual overpriced, boring western food you get in India.

27th December

Started the day with a buffet breakfast around the corner at the Hotel Ramanashree, which was Ok,with a lot of choices. Went back for another attempt on the palace, and the queues were still long but got in. Scupotures and rooms very prettily decorated, one of the nicer palaces anywhere. Sadly Tara had to go to the toliet a few times, but still managed an elephant ride, although the grumpy mahout wanted money for photos.  Off to the zoo, very spread out with nice gardens and most enclosures were Ok until we got the tigers and bears, which were housed in appalling old concrete cages. very distrewssing to all of us, especially with locals chucking things at the tigers to get a response. theres no excuse for such dreadful conditions given the space available. Really nice dinner at our hotel's restaurant. Late visit to the chemis to find penicillin for Tara which worked wonders.

28th December

After another reception stuff up (a pity as the Siddhartha is a lovely hotel) over charges, and then off to Mysore station for the train back to Bangalore. After a pleasant journey arrived in Bangalore with annoying taxi and rickshaw drivers which became more of a mess as we managed to lose each other in Bangalore. Wasted over an hour trying to find each other, missing out on eating and shopping time. Eventually found each other, had a ordinary lunch, then back to the station for our sleeper to Ernakulam. Really nice sleeper carriage, wth bedding, and I got to share with a friendly family. Slept OK.

29th December

Arrived early in Kochi, left Mez and Tara at the station while the boys and I went off to find a hotel. Struck gold with the Sunshine Residency in Nakrathara Road off MG Road. Aidan wasn't feeling well so the rest of us went to the Post Office, bank and tourist office to find a houseboat. Had breakfast at the New Buhari restaurant in the same street as hotel, a great find and it became our regular eating place while in Kochi. Had lunch in crappy food hall near the water and dinner at the excellent Hotel Sona on MG road.

When people think of travelling in India they usually imagine riding camels across the Rajasthan desert into an orange sunset, or yoga classes in an Himalayan ashram, or dining in an ornate Maharajah’s palace.These images are fine for adults, bringing out the lost hippy or decadent within. But after 3 weeks of temples, tigers and squat toilets, the teenage traveller in India needs something that they can relate too. So to satisfy Dylan, Aidan and Tara’s need for speed and action that an autorickshaw driver couldn’t provide, we headed for Veegaland, 22km outside the South Indian city of Kochi (Cochin) in the state of Kerala.

We discovered it on the Internet, a maze of water slides topped by an enormous battlement crowned with a ferris wheel,  that looked too high and imposing to be anything but a Photoshop makeover. Amazingly though, it was real, sitting atop a high hill overlooking classic Keralan scenery of green hills, endless coconut groves, and waterways dotted with flocks of white egrets.

Getting there wasn’t quite so easy. The state government had called a “hartal” or stop work protest against Saddam Hussein’s execution, creating a massive traffic jam. Luckily our autorickshaw driver, Biju, weaved us through red buses known locally as “Red Killers” and used his local knowledge to navigate us through back lanes to bypass the chaos. We also realized when we arrived that there was no local transport to get back to Cochin, so luckily Biju agreed to wait 5 hours for us, but for those visiting in the future be warned to organize return transport or book through a local travel agent.

We’ll had a fantastic time there, as the only non-Indian tourists on the day. After paying 450 rupees (about $14) per person (315Rs for children based on height) we changed into our swimming gear in the highly organized and clean change rooms. Shirtless however was not an option due to the modesty of the local people. However, wearing anything is an option, and we saw people on water slides in school uniforms, tracksuits, salwar kameez and even an army uniform! But no site will stick in my mind more than two very rotund middle aged ladies in saris mounting a rubber tyre to go down a waterslide.

The hours flew by; when not on a ride you could be entertained for hours watching as streams of happy, wet and uninhibited Keralans laughed, danced and let themselves go in a way not usually seen as a tourist. The waves arrived at the wave pool accompanied by a raucous brass band playing film tunes, dancing bathers and giggling ladies in the roped off women’s section. As well as the large water park, the castle on the hill hosted a multitude of rides, light shows, rollercoasters, discos and funfair amusements, none of which we even had time for.

One of the things I love about India is that you never know what might happen next. As we were leaving, Tara looked up her ticket on the list of lucky door prizes posted on a board at the exit. She was surprised to discover she’d won a microwave oven. As we didn’t fancy backpacking around India with a microwave, we asked that it be donated to a local charity. In an amazing display of urgency, we were quickly bundled off with 2 Veegaland staff to the nearby House of Providence orphanage in Thiruvalla, run by an order of nuns who look after over 600 orphaned children and disabled and mentally ill adults, many of whom were rescued from the streets.  After a chat with the young nuns in immaculate white habits, a visit to some of the heartbreakingly bed bound patients,  a photo session and a signing of the visitors book, we were off to our hotel in Biju’s autorickshaw, pondering the unpredictable end to our day of fun at Veegaland, and leaving the children with an example of the contrasts India throws at its visitors.