India 2024

We thought we were leaving the train early, at about eight o’clock, but found that virtually all our fellow passengers had already departed. But our faithful guide for the agency was there to meet us, with a car, and take us to the Taj Ambassador hotel, where we will be staying the night.

Since our room was not ready — quite understandably at that hour — we set off with a local guide, Vivek, to explore both New Delhi and Old Delhi. The new is an open, green, leafy colonial town, with lots of elegant government buildings and homes for government employees. Designed by Lutyens in the early part of the last century, it is dominated by the India Gate, and the massive Viceroy’s Palace, now the Presidential Palace.

It was a public holiday, end of a nine-day fast, so there were plenty of families enjoying a picnic. As we headed for Old Delhi, we also passed many stands where, to celebrate the end of the fast, people provide free food for their friends and neighbours. Some had attracted long queues.

We went through a garishly decorated road tunnel to get to the old town. Once there, we transferred from car to bicycle rickshaw, for a scary tour through the crowded and bustling streets that are a dramatic contrast to the colonial new town.

We coughed and sneezed in the spice market section, and stopped to buy.

We also found a hole-in-the-wall ATM, enjoyed the smells of tiny open front restaurants, and the vivid colours of shawls, scarves and saris.

The old town is an assault on all the senses, and seemed quintessentially Indian, with its chaotic and noisy mixture of rickshaws, tuk-tuks, scooters and pedestrians. An appropriate way to wind up our intense introduction to this extraordinary country.

We had to be up early in the morning to get to the airport for our flight back to London, which went smoothly enough. The connection to catch the flight back to Marseille also worked — no cancellation this time — and after a mild panic about locating the car in the long-stay car park, we were on our way home, where we arrived about midnight. A long day.

We also found our internet out of action — the fibre optic cable broken in the house somehow. So this post has been delayed while we obtained and set up a dongle to connect us pending the arrival of a technician next week to fix things.

That has given us time to reflect on our Indian adventure. It exposed us to a culture and history that neither of us was familiar with. The train tour was a good way to cram a great deal into a short time, but it was also physically exhausting for both of us, and we certainly slept well at the end of each day! I’m afraid we didn’t greatly take to Indian cuisine, but perhaps because we were super-cautious about not sampling street food, however wonderful the aromas were.

THE END (till next year – perhaps)

Actually it started as something completely different — a wetland bird reserve at Bharatpur. That meant another early call — 5.30 — since apparently the birds, like the tigers we didn’t see, are early risers.

The other thing about birds, is that they are extremely good at blending into the background. A good defence not only against predators, I suppose, but also against twitching photographers.

Our super-enthusiastic guide, who took us round in a battery-powered rickshaw, is a farmer when not working at the reserve. He clearly adored his birds, and was adept at spotting and identifying them.

We saw lots of white egrets, herons and storks, yellow-footed pigeons and — I can’t remember the rest. But there were also deer and antelope.

It was a wonderfully peaceful interlude after the hectic din of the towns and cities – and also free of the mounds of rubbish that disfigure much of the Indian landscape.

All good things must come to an end, however, so it was back to the train for a late breakfast, and then to Agra.

Our first stop, as a kind of aperitif, was the massive Red Fort, built by the fifth Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan.

As well as the emperor and his three wives and many children, the fort has accommodation for more than 300 concubines. They really knew how to live, those emperors!

But the view across the plain explains why this place is a magnet for so many visitors, Indian and foreign.

After the Red Fort, it was time for another good lunch at a luxury hotel, then we finally approached the climax of our tour, the monument to the wife the emperor really loved, Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal itself.

Everybody tries to find the right spot to take the perfect photo of what must be one of the most photographed buildings in the world. Diana did a good job.

And it has to be said that as you get closer, it does not disappoint, despite the blazing heat and the heaving crowds. We tried to identify the famous Diana Bench, and indeed sat on a bench in the sun for a while, but there was no romantic solitude and it was probably the wrong bench anyway.

We queued up to go inside, and found it rather surprisingly small. Just the two elaborate tombs of wife – in pride of place – and husband. It was rather cool inside, and one would have liked to linger, but that was not permitted, and we were soon out in the sunshine again.

It was a long, hot walk back to the bus, then back to the train for packing and a final dinner. We have a day in Delhi before flying home on Thursday.

The lack of cows wandering around the streets was our immediate first impression of Jodhpur, and that seemed connected to the fact that this is a wealthier, more middle-class city than others we have visited. The city authorities have banished cattle to beyond city limits.

The creator of modern Jodhpur was a Maharajah who combined service in the Royal Air Force, playing polo with Prince (now King) Charles, and building a massive modern palace, which is still occupied by his descendants.

But first things first: we were welcomed at the station by the local brass band giving a spirited, if unseasonal, rendering of Jingle Bells — 1 a bit strange in that heat, but meant well, I’m sure.

Jodhpur’s historic fort and palace sits on a hill, which was some distance from the station. We took a short detour to a rather handsome marble mausoleum.

Although it looks impregnable, we were able to drive most of the way up, round the back, and then take an elevator after a short walk. The palace was impressive.

It would be impossible to explain all the pix without going into the same exhaustive, and sometimes exhausting, detail as our guide. But I think the message gets across: this is not really a ruin, but an impressive historic pile.

From the fort we drove across town – still no cows to be seen – to the new palace, only a small part of which is open to the public.

We had hoped to put a few more pix in here, but tedious technical problems have prevented that, as well as making this post much later than intended. After lunchng in Jodhpur, at a luxurious hotel owned by the Maharajah, we set off in the train for Agra, and the climax of our tour, the Taj Mahal.

Only the Anthony Powell devotees among our readers will get that reference, but camels were indeed an important part of the day.

Our first stop, in fact, was the Jaisalmer lake. This town is on the far west of Rajasthan, on the edge of the great Indian desert, and the scrubby, arid landscape all around attests to that.

All the same, it was an important stop on the old Silk Road, and became a wealthy trading centre. The artificial lake was important for rituls and boasts several temples and pavilions on the shore.

We moved on to the upper town, which is located in the old fort. It was steep climb that we cunningy avoided by grabbing a passing tuk-tuk.

It was worth getting up to the top, however, for the magnificent royal palace, and also features such as the Jain temple.

As everywhere, selling goods and services is what life is all about, and one very persistent genleman was difficult to shake off, insisting on polishing my suede shoes.

We resorted to another tuk-tuk to get back down the hill, but found ourselves in another carpet emporium, where it proved impossible to resist adding to our stock of pashminas.

After lunch back on the train, we headed out again, west into the desert for guess what? Yes, a camel ride. Here we are precariously aboard Lucky.

It is certainly not the most comfortable means of transport, but we enjoyed it nonetheless.

After the camel ride, and with no tombs in sight, we returned to the train and decided to skip the dinner out at a hotel. It is a tiring business, all this sightseeing.

Tomorrow we will explore Jodhpur, after a long overnight train ride.

They were clearly happy to see us in Uiadaipur a city that became famous back in the last century thanks to a James Bond film featuring its beautiful lake palace.

But first we did a tour of the city, and very handsome it is with five artificial lakes created by daming the river centuries ago.

We progressed to a most attractive garden, with dozens of fountains fed with water from the lakes. Very green and peaceful.

From the garden we moved on to the royal palace, where there was much to see. An imposing pile, where the family still live: the current Maharana is the 76th generation. Quite a line!

Diana valiantly took the full tour, up many flights of stairs, while I’m afraid I found the lure of an air-conditioned bar in the courtyard irresistable. The beer was cold too.

From the palace, we walked down to the lake to take a boat out to one of the islands for lunch.

Apart from the elephants, there was a distinct feel of the Venice lagoon about this place. The heat too was more than Italian – by mid-afternoon it was very oppressive, and we were happy to get back to our cool cabin on the train, which soon set off for a long run to Jaisalmeer

Indian railroads are not silky smooth, to put it mildly, which makes typing this blog quite a challenge. But we persevere!

Apparently tigers prefer to be observed early in the day, so we had a call at 5.30 and after a quick coffee boarded our open-top safari car and headed off for the wildlife reserve.

It was actually a fun visit, including a rare black bear, plenty of monkeys, and a selection of exotic birds, including lots of peacocks (one beng eaten by a crocodile for his breakfast). However, there is a temple in the park, and plenty of devotees were heading there. The local practice is also to take a 10-mile, mostly barefoot, walk around the reserve afterwards. Not good for attracting wildlife.

Our expectation of spotting tigers was anyway low, so we were not surprised that we failed to see any. However, disappointment was sharpened when we heard that the second group of our train passengers, in another safari car, did spot a group of five. Life can be very unfair.

Soon after we returned for a well-earned breakfast, the train set off at a good pace for the city of Chittorgarh. The main feature of this city is the ruined ancient fortress town on the hill overlooking the modern town. After lunching on the train, we arrived mid-afternoon and immediately set off to see the sights.

After our coach driver had negoitated the steep climb and seven gates, many very narrow, we explored several of the extraordinary ruined palaces and temples on the hill.

I hope these photos convey something of the extraordinary nature of Chittorgarh, which was abandoned by its Hindu rulers after defeat by the Mughals several centuries ago.

The dramatic, romantic and tragic history of the palace and its occupants was presented dramatically in a son et lumiere show in the evening as the sun set.

Then it was back to the train, after a nightmare drive down the hill, to be greeted by our friendly and attentive butler.

Tomorrow the city of lakes, Uidaipur.

This post should have appeared last night, but after I had written it and carefully inserted the photos, I managed inadvertently to delete it. And we have been unable to recover the deleted daft: such is life, and computers.

Anyway, we arrived in Delhi shortly after midnight on Wednesday, and were kindly met by the agency people and taken to a comfortable hotel not far from the airport. In the morning, there was a car and driver to whiz us down to Jaipur to catch up with the train, By the way, here is a map of our route.

The drive down showed us sides of life in India that we would otherwise have missed – not least the driving style, which is certainly no incentive to self-drive car rental. Trucks etc travel in what we think of as the fast or overtaking lane, and people overtake on both sides, with much hooting. An additional hazard is the cows, which wander where they will, including all over the highway

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We reached Jaipur in time to join up with the rest of the group from the train for lunch at the City Palace, which is the historic residence of the Maharajahs of Jaipur, known as the pink city for the prevailing colour of its stone and stucco.

After lunch we had an interesting tour of the palace exterior, with a knowledgeable guide. We were not allowed into the imposing seven-story building where the current (Former) Maharajah and his family live;

Outside, the streets were bustling despite the afternoon heat. The traffic was, as usual, intense: a maelstrom of overloaded tuk-tuks and scooters, cars and lorries, all hooting at once. Surprisingly, no-one seems to get hurt, despite a notable lack of helmets.

There were quite a few animals to be seen too, quite apart from cows. Camels, or rather dromedaries, some pulling carts, horses, and even an elephant.

We retuned to the train by way of a carpet and textile shop: we resisted the carpets, but not Pashminas, silk scarves and cotton shirts. Retail therapy!

Then it was time to settle into our cozy cabin on the train — twin-beds and ensuite bathroom — and check out the Wifi, which seems to be working OK. Then mootch along to dinner.

The next post will include our tiger-hunting safari, and the Cittorgarh citadel, but this is quite enough for now.

I’m writing this in the early hours of Wednesday morning in the cold, drafty departure hall of Heathrow Terminal 5. We should be winging our way to romantic New Delhi by now, but, sadly, not.

it all started early, after making coffee and checking emails before finishing our packing. There it was: an email from British Airways cancelling our flight to London. They offered a replacement but arriving too late. After half an hour waiting to speak to a human being on the phone, we were eventually rebooked on Lufthansa via Munich.

That should have been ok, though the connection was very tight, but in fact it got us to terminal 2 rather late, and by the time we had found our bags and trudged through endless tunnels to catch a train to terminal 5, it was too late. We got there half an hour before takeoff, but the flight was closed and no amount of pleading helped.

So the credit card took a four figure hit for a replacement flight this morning. We fear we may miss our train’s departure, and certainly the first night dinner, but at least we should climb aboard eventually. And, I hope, have better news with our next post.

The countdown has really begun: tickets bought, insurance arranged, vaccinations suffered, itinerary sorted. So, where are we going this year? To India. Not, however, student gap-year back-pack style, or even self-drive road trip. No, this time we are going by train.

Not just any old train, of course. This one is rather different and has a name: Palace on Wheels. You can check it out on YouTube, and will agree, I think, that it looks rather special. As we go along, we’ll report on just how special.

For a week we will be treated like royalty – they say – eating and sleeping on the train as we trundle round Rajasthan. Starting in Delhi, we are due to visit Jaipur, Ranthanbore, Sawai Madhopur, Chittorgarh, Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodpur, Bharatpur and finally Agra, for the Taj Mahal. Rides on elephants and camels are also included. The blurb says that this is a “truly epic journey that will enrich your soul and mind with serenity and benevolence”. Does benevolence imply large tips? Or is that too cynical.

We leave in a couple of weeks, and hope that we will find the on-board WiFi reliable enough for daily posts. Otherwise maybe phone hotspots will do.