Day 33 - 34: Delhi. The long road home.

We leave Dehradun and drive to Delhi – this is a drive that would take 2.5 hours in Europe and takes about 7 in India. The countryside is beautiful and it’s immediately obvious why India is the second largest grower of sugarcane in the world – the stuff is everywhere. As well as growing sugarcane we see it being harvested and taken for processing. This might sound simple and industrial but…… remember where we are! The Sugar Cane is grown by every farmer and smallholder, it is then cut by hand and loaded onto small farm trailers pulled by Oxen, then transported to the local processing factory. There are Ox carts everywhere, going at Ox pace! And you know when you are approaching a cane-processing site as there are Ox and Cart traffic jams that are the longest and most orderly queues in India.

As we arrive into Delhi we pass some of the notorious land-fill areas. These are heralded some distance away by the sulphurous smell of decay and by the cloud of thousands of buzzards in the sky looking for their next meal. There are so many, that from a distance these raptors look like tealeaves swirling in a glass cup.

After we get to our hotel we decide to get ahead on our Christmas shopping and head to Delhi Haat for retail therapy and get some lovely and unique gifts for people at home. Then we have dinner in a great Biryani restaurant. The place is tucked away under a flyover and shakes every time a car passes overhead. The food is fantastic and the restaurant is rightly famed for its specialism. Following dinner we book a taxi for the next morning to take us to the airport and then home.

So five weeks, many thousands of miles, countless experiences and many different India’s visited we have time to reflect on our trip. India is a vibrant and colourful country, rich in history, sights and experiences. It is not always the easiest of places to experience or understand, but with a little effort you can reap great rewards. With the exception of a few, the people we met were warm, generous and fascinating to talk to. Many of the sights left us in awe and the mix of desert, mountains, rivers and ocean landscapes make it a diverse and rich country to visit. The food we tasted tantalised our taste buds and going for a curry will never be the same again.

Day 28 - 32: Dehradun, Mussoorie and Rishikesh.

Following our change of schedule and excursion to south India we now return to our original plan. Having sacrificed visits to Agra and Varanasi for Kerala we now have to get from Kochi to Dehradun – the only way is to do the bulk of the journey by air and then take a train. We fly from Kochi to Delhi airport and then head across town in a ‘pre-paid’ taxi (no seatbelt, doors that only just shut, no lights, a driver with a speed addiction and a point to prove to all the other Delhi drivers etc) to get to Nizamudin Station in Delhi.

We have booked a night train from Delhi to Dehradun (a town about five hours north east of Delhi) and a gateway to the Himalayas. Waiting at the station is an experience in itself – all of life is here, but it has a real buzz and feels fun despite being almost midnight. Jemima – caught up in the buzzy atmosphere decides she must try a ‘speak your weight’ machine’, which tells you your fortune and personality based on how many Domino’s Pizzas you’ve eaten. It was surprisingly accurate…

With that piece of fun complete, we decide to find the platform and look for the reservations sheet. Looking for the first class waiting room – that Phil is convinced is here somewhere – we find a sign, which is pointing towards the scene of recent demolition activity. We make our way to our platform. The first guy to approach us is selling padlocks and chains, in an instant we realise that this is to lock your luggage to the luggage rack so you can sleep without being robbed – our bags are definitely staying with us!

30mins before the train arrives the sheets of reservations get posted on a board. Takes ages to find our names but eventually, and with the help of another, more experienced passenger, we find we have a 2 berth cabin. Coupe D in the carriage behind the engines – sounds POSH. The train pulls into the station from the direction opposite that our experienced helper tells us and we leg-it to our carriage and find our cabin. We board just before midnight.

It’s not exactly the Orient Express, but actually, our little cabin is really quite cool – though made cool from the fact that it is an experience rather than anything else. Out of the five hour journey the net total hours slept is about three! Ages spent looking at the dimly lit scenery through the window is not time wasted as we ‘speed’ through the night. Arriving into Dehradun we are met by Vivek and his lovely mum, how great to be met by friends at 5:30am! Vivek drives us to his family’s house 10 minutes from the station where we get a truly warm welcome on a chilly morning.

In the afternoon we head for Mussoorie with Vivek and Neha – the town itself is just above 6000ft in the first part of the Himalayan foothills. The view is breathtaking.

The town is small and friendly and totally different from anything we have encountered so far. Lunch is in a Tibetan restaurant – more on this later – and we spend the afternoon walking around and exploring this small town.

Next morning three of us are feeling slightly unwell. Jemima is fine, Phil is at the opposite end of the spectrum and looking for something to blame (what did we have for dinner, did Phil drink any water/eat any ice, can you get altitude sickness at 6000ft????).

We press on with the plan, which is to drive to a spot where we can climb to a temple that sits on the tallest peak around without going much further into the Himalayas, the temple sits at 9995ft so there is some uphill walking to be done!

Driving the twisty roads becomes too much for the already unwell Phil who ends up sitting on the edge of a precipitous drop, 8000ft from the valley floor, being sick on the scenery; very dignified.

We finally reach our intended spot and climb (slowly) to 9995ft and are bowled over by the view. The air is cold and thin up here but we can see the snow-capped peaks of the nearest real mountains, we can see China and the no-mans-land that remains disputed from the India-China conflict of the early 1960s. For perspective we are taking it slow at 9995ft feeling the air a bit thin, Everest climbs to 29,035ft (though I’m not the one with the tape measure)

Given the collective health of the climbing team we enquire about a shorter route back to Dehradun and are impressed to find out that whilst we took a couple of hours to do the 85Kms up here there is a shorter route down! We seize the chance to take the shortcut. It takes forever to get down as the road is narrow and made of switchbacks and hairpins for the whole of out 75Km drive to descend 9000ft. life lesson – when you ask about shorter the next question should also be about quicker! The upside for Vivek and Phil at least was seeing a Mountain Leopard on the way down. These are rare animals. Don’t know which way the girls were looking.

Next day we head for Rishikesh. This is one of the most spiritually important places in India being the first flat area the Ganges hits on its way from its source in the Himalayas. We drive to Rishikesh crossing many dried seasonal riverbeds. Arriving we find a busy town and head into some quiet streets close to the Ganges. We have an appointment with a Hindu Saint called Swami Gee who Vivek has known for many years. We ring the doorbell and wait – fearing we have missed our appointment. After a short wait we see Swami Gee at the top of his stairs. Wrapped in Saffron robes, and in wooden slippers – descending the stairs he apologies for the delay answering the door; he was glued to the TV watching the cricket!

We enter Swami Gee’s house/Ashram and sit for a few minutes before being told that we should go for a boat trip on ‘Mother Ganga’ with Swami Gee.

We have no idea what to expect and watch amazed while preparations are made. The result is that four of us plus this Hindu Saint go for a boat ride in a five-man inflatable dingy with Swami Gee doing all the work.

There is truly no way to describe the experience of being paddled around a sacred river by a 70 year old saint with friends and loved ones sitting in the bottom of a small blow-up boat. Unique…and a little surreal.

For the rest of the afternoon we explore Rishikesh, criss-crossing the river on the many foot bridges, looking at the shops and Vivek having his shoes stolen while we attend a prayer service on the banks of the river Ganges.

Driving back to Dehradun Phil and Vivek spot a wild Elephant heading off into the jungle – where were the girls looking this time!!

More on the Tibetan Restaurant. It took us a little while to work out, but we have finally concluded that the tummy related issues of primarily Phil and then Vivek were caused by the Momo’s at the Tibetan Restaurant. Momo’s are like steamed Dim sums and the only person to dodge them was the only one untouched by what is now to be known as Mussoorie Misery! Long story short Phil ended up going to the doctor in Dehradun and was given anti-bactirial and anti-amoebic drugs and sleeping for 15hours. You’re nobody until you’ve had Amoebic Dysentry! Especially up in the Himalayas!!

Luckily, Vivek’s family were saints themselves and looked after both of us in true India fashion. Phil being given plenty of green and cinnamon tea and allowed to sleep, while Jemima was absorbed into family life with trips to the temple for Yoga with Vivek’s mum and a wonderful amount of fabulous Indian home cooking.

Staying with Vivek’s family was a fantastic experience and allowed us to relax and see and do activities without being a tourist.

Day 25 - 27: Cochin, Backwaters and Munnar.

Today we travel further up the coast of Kerala to Fort Cochin, a historic trading port with a strong Portuguese and Dutch influence. Fort Cochin itself is very small and easy to walk around which makes it quite different to a number of places we’ve been to. In addition, it has a wonderful mixture of religions and the town is crammed full of Hindu temples, Jewish synagogues and catholic churches. As with most of Kerala there is a high proportion of literacy (approx. 95%) and with the lush surroundings and abundance of fishing the life of the people here seems so much easier and more enjoyable than Rajasthan.

We spend most of our first day strolling around the town, looking at the iconic Chinese fishing nets and exploring the churches and temples. Before dinner, we head off to watch a kathakali dance show.

Kathakali is an ancient dance/drama ritual, which depicts the stories of gods and demons. It’s almost like a pantomime with sign language when you consider how elaborate and expressive the productions are. There are no words, only a singer, some musicians and a handful of actors using every muscle, facial expression and eye movement to play out the amazing stories. The preparation is highly ritualised involving costume and make-up and the training to become a kathakali actor or musician takes around eight years. The dramas themselves last around eight hours (luckily ours was only a snapshot!) and you can truly imagine the performances taking place in front of a Maharaja and his entourage as they eat, drink and be merry.

The next day we’re up and off on a tour of the Keralan backwaters; a labyrinth of waterways made up of lakes, canals and rivers that connect thousands of islands and which are the source of life for much of rural Kerala. Gently cruising through the backwaters, spotting local wildlife and watching the villagers going about their daily lives is far more relaxing than we expected it to be.

The islands are covered in coconut trees (which are believed to be sacred by the keralan people) and the beauty of the areas is undeniable. It is so peaceful and so tranquil it is a thoroughly enjoyable way to spend the day. As the sun goes down we head back to our small hotel in Fort Cochin and pass the Santa Cruz Basilica (a Portuguese Catholic Church).

We are drawn closer by the sound of music and find that they are having an evening carol service. The grounds are full of locals of all ages holding candles and singing Christmas Carols. It is a fantastic sight and experience and we’re disappointed to realise that it’s nearing the end. This is our first sign of Christmas and truly gets us in the festive spirit.

Today we travel further up the coast of Kerala to Fort Cochin, a historic trading port with a strong Portuguese and Dutch influence. Fort Cochin itself is very small and easy to walk around which makes it quite different to a number of places we’ve been to. In addition, it has a wonderful mixture of religions and the town is crammed full of Hindu temples, Jewish synagogues and catholic churches. As with most of Kerala there is a high proportion of literacy (approx. 95%) and with the lush surroundings and abundance of fishing the life of the people here seems so much easier and more enjoyable than Rajasthan.

An early rise the next morning and we’re off for a daytrip to Munnar, a town high up in the hills surrounded by Tata tea plantations. This is well worth a visit. The journey up to Munnar takes a good few hours by car but the scenery is breathtaking. Rich, green tea plantations cover the hills as we head higher and higher up the mountain. A break in our journey allows us an unexpected elephant ride through a spice garden. We stop for lunch in Munnar itself, delicious biryani and curry…

For those with more time on their hands, Munnar is a fantastic place for hiking and exploring the surrounding scenery. For those like us who have only a day, the experience is limited to the views you have on the way up and down. However, these views are spectacular. So despite spending a long day in the car – this trip is well worth it.