We slept in a bit, went for breakfast and then packed for our long drive to Jaipur with one stop along the way to see the city of Fatehpur Sikri. Our faithful driver Ravinder was waiting and we picked up Ashish en route. An extensive red sandstone walled complex founded in 1569 by the Emperor Akbar and served as the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1571 to 1585. After his military victories over Chittor and Ranthambore, Akbar decided to shift his capital from Agra to a new location 23 miles (37 km) W.S.W on the… Read Article →
Early morning train 6am from New Delhi to Agra which takes 2 hours, but meant we had to get up at 4am to get to the station in good time. The train was an experience, the car was full of tourists and locals. The station was crowded and dirty but that’s India! On board the train it was not much better – I advise against using the bathrooms on the train! We were sitting backwards so changed our seat which seemed to upset the porters and we were not given any food or drink, although I don’t… Read Article →
Met our guide Arun and driver Ravinder, (nice Toyota van stocked with water and snacks) and set off at 11 after a late breakfast and a short but decent night’s sleep. First stop was Qutub Minar, a World Heritage Mosque and the largest stone tower in the world. 900 years old and 72 metres tall. Arun gave us lots of info about the mosque and also was quite knowledgeable about the local variety of trees! There is one everygreen called the ‘happy’ tree, as it’s always green and pleasing in shape – see pics, also… Read Article →
Leisurely morning with a chance to sleep in and then take our time over breakfast. John went to get the laundry that he’d dropped off the previous afternoon. Haven’t had to use hotel laundry yet, so far have managed to find local women who do a great job, quickly and cheaply. This one only cost $5 for 10lbs of dirty clothes – think extreme heat, red clay soil and schlepping around ancient monuments. Relaxed by the hotel pool which had a large group of pale Russians chatting up a storm in the pool. Then packed… Read Article →
Easy morning with a decent breakfast at the hotel. We met Savy for a 30 min drive to Banteay Srei – the citadel of women. An enchanting temple, small compared with the others we have seen but in pretty good shape considering all the war that has gone on in this area. Built of red sandstone in the 10th century and dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva. This is the most Indian of all the temples in Angkor. We continued on to Banteay Samre, built under Suryavarman II and Yasovarman II in the early 12th century, also a Hindu temple built in the Angkor… Read Article →
Started the day with breakfast in the hotel, pretty good western style food offered. Met our guide and driver at 8am to go to our first site of the day. Most of the temples we saw were in the same area, just a few miles from each other. This morning we visited the monumental and magnificent Angkor Thom, the last capital of the Khmers, with it’s Elephant Terrace, the Terrace of the Leper King and the stunning Bayon Temple. This 12th century masterpiece is at the center of Angkor Thom and is an archaeological marvel of symmetry and grandeur. We continued… Read Article →
Packed up, had brekkie and checked out. Chan took us to see two Buddhist temples – Wat Xieng Thong, and Wat Mai as well as the National Museum (formerly the Royal Palace) in Luang Prabang, . Neither of the Temples were spectacular, similar to the others with many golden Buddhas. Lunch followed at a local restaurant – with air conditioning, good local food. After the food market we were increasingly cautious about what we were eating! Short ride to the airport, no air conditioning and temperatures in excess of 100+F and no wifi. Arrived in Siem Reap… Read Article →
We started the day at 5am to see the local monks walk up the street to collect alms from the locals, mostly sticky rice (the monks also gave food to the poor). We had expected to see at least 100 monks as indicated on Trip Advisor but due to the morning thunderstorm we only saw about 15 of them! We walked up the street to the temple where the end of the lunar year festival was just ending and the washing of the borrowed Buddha was in full swing before it is returned to it’s own… Read Article →
Didn’t have to get up early so tried to sleep in a little but we were still up by 7am, then had a relaxing breakfast at the fab Melia Hotel Hanoi! Checked out of the hotel and met our guide Tony who had our laundry! We asked him yesterday if he knew where we could do laundry (hotel prices a tad high) and he told us he knew a woman who would wash it for us, so we gave him 2 big bags and she did for a grand total of 8 bucks! Awesome! We… Read Article →
The weather cleared up the next morning and we motored to the so called floating village (not quite a floating village more like pallets tied together floating on oil drums). Seemed totally staged and kinda lame, poor villagers – I think not – a good scam as they take your picture on your camera/phone etc., while rowing obviously expecting a good tip! Doing this all day for boatloads of tourists, no wonder they can afford to send their kids to boarding schools in Hanoi! Back in the van for the 3 hour ride back to Hanoi… Read Article →