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Live the adventures of Dan Walker's travels through reading his travel journal. The travel journals are listed below in descending order of date. To search the travel journals, use the keyword search at the bottom of the page.

Journal Entry:

Wednesday, March 08, 2006 06:13:42

Africa & India 2006: 14 - Chittaurgarh to Cochin, India

Sunday, March 5, 2006 (Continued)

En route to Chittaurgarh someone threw a flat rock at our saloon carriage. It penetrated the safety glass in the door half way, and was stuck there. There was no follow up by a general assault on the train, so all was well. With the number of bombings in India one never knows!

At Chittaurgarh we were welcomed by uniformed spear-carriers on horseback. Our buses, which have driven the whole route to be there each time the train arrived, were in position as always, and ferried us through town to Chittaurgarh Fort. It was originally built by Buddhists in the 5th century and expanded into one of the largest forts in Asia. It is situated on a fish shaped mesa with steep sides, 500 feet above the surrounding countryside. High, fortified walls augment the natural defences, eventually enclosing the entire 13 sq. km. of the plateau. Currently there are some 500 homes and 13 temples within the walls.

A high wall on the outside of the road defends the switchback road up the cliff, and seven very narrow gates that the bus was barely able to crawl through control traffic. Thick wood doors at each gate have foot long spikes from near the ground to about 10 feet up to prevent attack elephants being used to push through the doors. It was necessary to jockey the bus back and forth a number of times for a gate situated immediately after a switchback - the approach must be straight on.

Inside the fort we visited the 120 ft (37 metre) high Vijay Stambh, or Victory Tower. It was built to celebrate a military victory over the neighbouring kingdoms in 1440, and is ornately carved all the way to the top, where columned openings provide a great view, or so I'm told. We declined the steep 157-stair climb to find out. When we explored the adjoining Shiva Temple the swarms of languor monkeys usually ignored us, but some were quite aggressive, lunging and showing their pointed dentures. There is a road around the inside of the massive fortress, so we mounted the buses again to drive past Rana Kumbha's temple, the largest monument in the fortress, but now in ruins, to stop at the Padmini Palace. Along the way we passed a number of reservoirs, some for rainwater and some spring fed, which ensured that when under siege there was never a shortage of water. The section of the palace still remaining looks out on a small lake, also a reservoir. The story is that when the fortress was taken in a siege that the princess and her servants threw themselves into a large fire rather than be taken by the enemy.

Before working our way through the gates again we stopped at the former main entrance to the fortress on the opposite side of the plateau from where we entered, and then visited another temple with a tower similar to the Victory Tower but not as high.

Monday, March 6, 2006

We had a motionless sleep for most of the night, as the train did not leave for Udaipur until 4 AM. Our buses met us for the final time, driving us around this relatively clean city. The city was founded in 1553, and is called the City of Lakes due to the number of large man made lakes. The city of 400,000 caters to over a million tourists per year, and is the centre of a state that is rich in silver and nickel. Opium is grown legally, and is taken with sugar & water at weddings and special occasions. According to the guide it is also smuggled into Pakistan. Local people are also noted for the tequila they make. The area was ruled by a maharana, similar to a maharaja but according to the guide, one step further up the ladder.

Our first stop was the fountain gardens, given to the city by the maharana. Although the lakes are fairly full now, three years ago there was a drought that drained them, so the fountains are generally no longer on. They did, however, turn them on for our visit. The gardens are beautifully kept; full of shady trees, bright flowers and a number of fountains.

The guide was telling us that all marriages in Rajasthan are arranged, and that the wedding ceremonies are often joint affairs with numbers of young girls being wedded at the same time to save money. Often the girls will return to their parent's home until they are 16 or 17 years old, then they will move in with their husband. The dowry is payable when the girl leaves home to join her husband. One caste may not marry someone from another caste, and if for some reason that happens the higher caste person will be shunned by others of their caste, but will be accepted in the caste below. It is not possible to move upwards regardless of position or wealth.

The guide, a high caste Brahmin, was fully in favour of the caste system, and when asked how one could identify people of different castes he replied that low caste people are ugly. When explaining the education system, he said in India it is not free. It is necessary to pay for books, uniforms and school fees. He did not feel that those who could not afford education should receive it, as they are likely of a lower caste and would be more suitable for menial tasks requiring little education. He also did not feel that women should be educated, as they would be married to someone suitable if the family could come up with an adequate dowry and would not be in the work force. That comment got Marilynn going, and a spirited discussion ensued!

Statistically 70% of Indian males, and 48% of females are literate. An article in the newspaper today said that India has one third of the world's illiterate people - 260 million of them. 68% of that figure are women. There are about 1,080,265,000 Indians.

We went to visit the site of the residence of the current maharana, located in a section of a palace that has been turned into a hotel. The guide says he owns a chain of hotels. We first visited the City Palace, started by the maharana of the time in 1559. It is an enormous building with a maze of passageways. When informed that the tour would involve 300 steps, to the disgust of our guide about half of our group decided to pass, choosing a shorter tour to cover the highlights. The person assigned to guide the short tour turned out to be totally useless - he simply gestured to the exit and that was that! A group of us headed for a snack area to sip cold drinks and talk.

When the high-energy tour group returned, we walked to a small dock where motorboats ferried us out to the Lake Palace, a beautifully designed white structure covering an entire island, built in 1794 as the summer palace of the maharana. It is now the Lake Palace Hotel, and is deluxe beyond deluxe. After a superb lunch and a couple of beer I got an update away on the internet while the others explored the lavish property. This time we thoroughly enjoyed the extended lunch period! Anil, one of the train staff who accompany is on tours, told me that Taj Hotels administers the Lake Palace, in spite of it being owned by the maharana. The service in his own hotels is not up to standard, so he brought in the professionals.

After boating back to the dock we entered the Fatah Prakash Palace, which is adjacent to the City Palace and where the current maharana uses about half for his residence. There is an amazing display of crystal in the palace, including a crystal bed, dining room tables, various other tables and chairs, the crystal peacock throne from Iran and other astonishing crystal creations.

After tea in the palace we returned by bus to the train, which left promptly for Bharatpur.

Monday, March 6, 2006

Keith had early coffee and tea ready for us before we walked across the railway overpass to waiting buses for transport to Keoladeo Ghana National Park, a 29 sq. km. wildlife sanctuary. The drive through Bharatpur was uninspiring. It is a filthy city with no visible redeeming characteristics in spite of being the capital of Maharaja Suraj Mai. Mind you, the pink railway station was interesting!

The park has only 11 sq. km. that is not covered by water, so it is teeming with all kinds of birds - some 375 species. Roger and Simon would have been in their glory! There are also animals in the park - antelope, deer, jackals and so on. We were there shortly after sunrise, so Marilynn got some tremendous reflection shots of birds standing in the still water and animals wading through the shallow lakes.

Our transportation in the park was by bicycle rickshaw. This was a marvellous vehicle for quick stops, or from which to take photos.

Upon our return Keith served breakfast as the train rolled towards Agra, a major communications centre with 7 railway stations and a large airport. Agra was the capital of the Mogul empire from around 1573 and currently has a population of two million.

Our first stop was at Agra Fort, commonly known as the Red Fort due to the colour of the stone used to build it. It took 4,000 workers from 1565 until 1573 to build it. The army still uses 75% of the fort; the other 25% is open to the public. An impressive palace is located inside the fort, which is in very good condition.

All monuments, national parks and game reserves in India have a fee for cameras, usually between $2 and $5. For video cameras it is between $5 and $10 at each location. Our Palace on Wheels price included entrances and fees for still cameras, but those wanting to use video cameras had to pay each time.

Lunch was an extravagant buffet at the luxurious Jaypee Hotel on the outskirts of the city. After the allotted two hours we were transported to the Taj Mahal, where motor vehicles are not permitted within one kilometre of the famous structure to cut down on pollution. We boarded electric vehicles that took us to the main gate.

Although this is the second time Marilynn and I have been here, it was no less impressive. The Muslim Mogul emperor started it in 1631 as a mausoleum for his dead wife. The 73-meter (240 ft) structure was completed by 20,000 builders, labourers and artists over the next 22 years. It is constructed of fine white marble, with inlaid design work of coloured semi-precious stones. The main building is flanked by two impressive mosques, which were started in 1635.

Agra, being the major tourist attraction it is, also has the most persistently annoying beggars and hawkers we have seen to date. Someone is continually pulling at clothing, blocking the way or pushing unwanted items in your face. There were far more crippled beggars than elsewhere. Their condition is often created by themselves or their parents as a career move.

We were delighted to escape to the sanctuary of the train. Dinner was fun - a couple from England, Marc & Pippa sat with us and J.C & Janna, the Canadians who live in Brussels, sat adjacent with John, the Australian. Once we finished dinner Marilynn decided to get the whole car singing, but while she received enthusiastic support from our group and one Australian couple, the others just looked on incredulously, and then fled. When the waiters made it clear that we needed to move out of the dining car we headed for the bar and carried on there. All in all, it was a good night.

Wednesday, March 8, 2006

After a last breakfast in the lounge with our new friends we finished packing and were escorted to the station exit, where a driver from Travelmasti was waiting to take us to the airport. This will be the first time we have flown with Kingfisher Airlines, a ten-month-old economy class only airline. I was under the impression that they were one of the no frills discounters, but in reality they do a great job. We were met at the curb by a uniformed airline employee who took our baggage, got it through the scanners, assisted us with check in and took our carry on bags to the security checkpoint for us.

Terminal 1A, the Delhi domestic terminal, was dirty, but the departure area seats were comfortable and the washrooms relatively clean. Kingfisher boarded on time, using buses to ferry passengers to the plane. Instead of cramming everyone into one bus, they used three and filled each half way for comfort.

The Airbus 320 was spotlessly clean and well maintained. Each passenger was given a kit similar to those given out in first class, containing earphones, a pen, candies, flight schedules and a menu for the coming meal. Those of us in the exit row were given a thorough briefing on emergency procedures, something that I have seen only on Air Niugini. The food on board was great. Hot meals were served with metal cutlery on the 2-hour flight from Delhi to Bangalore, where we stopped briefly, and another on the 45-minute Bangalore to Cochin segment. All in all, I would say they well deserve the award they won for the best start up airline of 2005!

The airport at Cochin is very efficient, and spotlessly clean, with polish marble floors. We are staying at the Abad Airport Hotel, which has a booth in the airport. Their people quickly had a vehicle at the airport for the two-minute transfer to the hotel. Once checked in we took a stroll down a couple of blocks of small shops, finding that very few people spoke English and that Marilynn is out of luck in finding diet Coke or Pepsi.

It is steaming hot out, so when we got back we hit the hotel pool, where staff quickly arrived with chairs and towels. After swimming, while turning the knob for the outdoor shower, I got a big surprise as a huge black beetle drove his stinger into the palm of my hand. He had taken up residence in the hollow centre of the knob!

Our permits and vouchers for tomorrow's trip to Agatti, in the Lakshadweep Islands, were delivered to the hotel, where we will leave some luggage to meet the 10 kg per person baggage weight. Tonight we'll have dinner in the hotel and I'll get this away.