Daveywavey70

So a stop on the way to Agra today was at Fatehpur Sikri, a 16th century Fort built by the Moghul Emporor Akbar. I Think he was quite a politician, he had a Muslim wife, a Hindu one and a Christian one and a secret passage from his room to visit each of them. Sounds like he was a bit of a crowd Pleaser. The fort is a fascinating mixture of Muslim and Hindu styles. His Hindu wife came up with the goods though and gave him 3 sons hence her Palace was quite literally 100 times the size of the Muslim wife’s which you would be disappointed in if you were offered it as a guest room. Arrived in Agra and all I can see from the window of my Taj view room is an awful lot of fog! Off to see it close up in the morning.

Trust you. 😂

I Apologise whilst not apologising to my friends in the other place for duplications. I Got Lazy, it’s been such a whirlwind that I’ve started just copying and pasting between the 2. Some of the posts on here have taken over an hour, 5/6 attempts and I’m buggered if I know what a gateway is anyway, other than this fabulous gateway below. I’m not wasting my precious moments here fighting t’internet.

Jaipur S1 Ep3 So this evening was a trip to Disneysthan, sorry Chandi Chowk village, an experience of a typical Rajasthani village at night. Imagine Goofy in a turban and you’re heading in the right direction. The most authentic part of the experience was the power cuts. I Don’t mean to be unkind, I had a great time. It’s full of free “diversions” such as magicians, singers, dancers, an animatronic fella with a twitch and a stutter and a plastic dinosaur. I didn’t hang about to see what the snake girl was going to do, I Narrowly escaped a show like that once before. The “experience” (£11) includes a tradional Thali, which I’d been warned was super spicy but didn’t hold a lighter to the devils testicals of my Chinese from the night before, was lovely. It’s 20p to ride a camel or take an ox cart ride, 50p for 6 rolls of a coconut at 4 pin bowling or 50p to ride an elephant around a mini roundabout. It’s 25p to try your luck against a cob of corn which I politely recycled at the earliest opportunity. All in all it was fun. It’s clearly aimed at the residents of Jaipur as a fun family evening out. That rounds off my incredible 12 hours around Jaipur. Off to Agra in the morning and we all know what happens there! IMG_0622.MOV

Lola my lovely, I don’t think there’s any better qualification xxx

Jaipur S1 Ep2 So this afternoon I went on a date with a beautiful 22 year old. She was a little bit hairy but she had lovely brown eyes. Her name is Muskan which is Hindi for Smile. It certainly suited her. Trust me to get the cheeky one. Our date involved me feeding her lots of doughnuts followed by a hundredweight of sugar cane, taking her for a drink, doing a bit of body painting (I gave her a sleeve), going for a nice long walk together before rubbing her down with a scrubbing brush. I'm not sure purple is really her colour but I did my best. Ive been promised a second date but we'll have to check our schedules. Trim1.mp4 Trim2.mp4 Trim3.mp4

To make it quicker for the Deliveroo drivers to get to the Palace of course. Sometimes I wonder TTS. (Rolls eyes dramatically)

Well today was even more incredible than yesterdays incredible day. I'm Just back from 12 hours sightseeing so I'll have to break it up a bit. Jaipur - S1 Ep1 The Pink City. Founded in 1727 the city was painted pink for a visit by Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) in 1876 and it's been repainted every few years since. I Started the day with a trip to Hawa Malal, The Palace of Winds, a place Ive wanted to visit for as long as I can remember. It is, as the old saying goes as beautiful on the inside as it is on the out. I'll let the pictures do the talking. Next was a walk to Jantar Mantar, completed in 1734, it is an astrological masterpiece. It has 19 "instruments" including the worlds largest sundial, accurate to within 2 seconds. Try getting a builder these days that could manage that! Onwards to the Royal Palace and Museum, and then onto the Amer Stepwell, this amazing piece of 16th century technology is remarkable. Next was the magnificent Amber Fort, the highlight of which are the Maharajas chambers which the walls and ceilings are encrusted with Mirrors. Time for a spot of lunch and then on to the afternoons activities.

Apparently every day other than today QSS. It was a bit tricky to read the sundial but made the Fort walls Very atmospheric.

So another incredible day. A 5.30 start and off on two Tiger Safaris. I Didn't get to see the Tigers unfortunately but got to witness nature at its finest. A Somewhat less adept animal displaying what happens to you when you open a bag of crisps right in front of a troop of Monkeys. We got to see Deer, Antelope, Gazelle, Buffalo, Mongoose, Kingfisher, Parrot, Peacock, amazing views and a whole lot more. I Took mostly video unfortunately so a few pics is all I can manage for now. Now chilling in not too shabby a suite in Jaipur after attempting a "Zero Spice" Chinese that left my eyeballs trying to climb out of my ears. At least there are cakes in my Suite. Another long day tomorrow/today. I Get to see the Palace of Winds that I have longed to see since I was a kid. A Tour of Jaipur and I get to spend the afternoon at the Elephant Sanctuary, washing and feeding them and then taking them for a swim. Just like the old days. Rajasthan's answer to Disneyworld is a maybe for tomorrow night, Chokhi Dhani. We'll see. DJI_0139.MP4

Glad you’re enjoying it, the place is utterly incredible. I’m off to 'Ranthambore Tiger Reserve tomorrow. Terry just do it!

Will send it to her in a bit. Sorry Wi-Fi been a bit patchy this evening.

If you’re stuck I can ask my Scottish friend.

2 across cockaleekie?

Green grow the rashes is one of his songs, no idea how you'd eat it though! No 4 is the address to the Haggis.

I Forgot to mention that picture no 7 above was a first for me. Elephant parking spaces. I'm sure the restrictions are intended for the motorbikes though.

Udaipur.The day started with a visit to Saheliyon Ki Bari, a small ornamental garden built on the banks of the Fateh Sagar Lake, It was built from 1710 to 1734 by Maharana Sangram Singh for the royal ladies. A Visit to the Royal Palace was next and a wander around the streets of Old Udaipur, it took 22 Maharajas over 400 years to build the palace, I'm sure they had help though. Another incredible place that shows the majesty of these lands. Next was a real treat, a boat trip out to visit Jagmandir Island, an exquisite palace that looks like a floating Palace in the middle of the Jagmandir Lake. Some of the buildings around the lake and a more modern bridge at one end do have a whiff of Venice about them. I Then got to watch an incredible Sunset from my Hotel Terrace. The Hotel is a converted Palace where the Prince of Wales often Stayed, Not the Current one, but the one we don't talk about (Edward VIII)!

Kumbhalgarh.A Fascinating drive through the Aravali Mountains to visit Kumbhalgarh fort. A Long tailed Monkey landed on the car as we were driving through the Forest, the first of many to be seen that day. Driving through the mountains is like the land that time forgot. People washing on the roadside from hand pumps and even bulls turning water wheels. Approaching the Fort is incredible. I Kept asking the driver are we there yet?, not to be annoying but despite it having a view for many, many miles it is surrounded by 13 mountains so you only see it as you right next to it. These 15th century town planners knew what they were doing. Sitting at 1100m above sea level, the intact 22 mile long wall is second in the world only to the Great Wall of China. The complex contains over 70 Hindu and Jain Temples and has been the scene for many battles and sieges over the years.

There are only a few bits I would change around slightly doing it again but on the whole it’s been superb so far and still a whole week of this magnificent adventure left. My driver is a beautiful soul, a very quiet man who looks out for me constantly but seems to always anticipate my next question. The people of India on the whole are truly incredible. The working people couldn’t be warmer or kinder. My one bugbear is the people that seem to look down their noses at their fellow countrymen. It’s very hard to explain unless you’ve seen it but I’m sure it harks back to the Caste system. The way that they look at the waiters and speak to them like scum. It breaks my heart that these magnificent people are treated this way. Also the way the senior waiters treat the “serving boys” I Watch closely and every underling has discreetly been passed 500 Rupees in a handshake whilst the head waiters receive nothing more than a warm smile and a Namaste from me. I Think Mr Luxury has been reading my mind at the Temples but I armed myself with some woolly socks on certain days and 2 pairs at Deshnok.

I’m not sure I’m allowed to post full details as my CruiseCritic stalker will find some way of reporting me again. Can I just say though that GOLDEN TRIANGLE TOURS INDIA with a full stop and an abbreviation of commerce might lead you their way. I Took an off the peg tour but amended it to suit. If you need any assistance then I couldn’t possibly give my email out here but my name is DAVID and I live at MAENANABBEY with a full stop and it’s a CO mpany with a full stop in the UK. Hope that helps xxx

I Knew the chicken sausages were good for something TTS😉

Looked like you had a fab time Lois. I Can't wait to try the new ships. I Was hoping to be embarking in HK tomorrow but gave up going around in circles with SS so came here instead. I Must admit the place has really got under my skin. The one thing I don't miss about cruising is that lack of immersion in a place, a culture and a people. There are several things I do miss though such as the Champagne, Caviar and a decent Butler. I'm such a hypocrite. The other thing that really strikes me is the lack of Westerners out here right now. Im often the only Westerner in a hotel each night. There are many domestic tourists but they don't bring nearly the revenue that we are able to. The entire tourism industry has been hit so hard by "the Nasty" and they so desperately need the income to return. I'd urge everybody that has ever dreamed of experiencing this magical place to just do it.

Glad you're enjoying it Lola. There is so much to see everywhere but obviously not everything is so pretty, the amount of litter here is staggering for one. You have to sometimes point your camera a certain way to capture a beautiful monument built with so much love whilst not capturing the pile of rubbish next to it. The poverty that you see makes you ever more grateful for what you have. Some towns and cities are obviously much richer than others. The most beautiful sight of all though is seeing somebody who obviously has nothing share her meagre breakfast with a passing stray dog. We could all learn a lot more from those with a lot less.

So a Mid afternoon arrival to the village of Ranakpur and straight to the Jain Temple. A Fascinating religion with the most magnificent Temples. This one has the foothills of the Aravelli range as a backdrop. I Was approached by the son of the high priest who offered to pray for me for a small donation.. I Know that's not how it works but I humoured him. I Could have spent hours there. Off to the hotel for a butty and a G&T by the pool and then a Bacardi and coke on my balcony as I watched the reflection of the Sunset across the hills. This place becomes more magical by the day. All caught up now!