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Tasty tea, amazing animals and a birthday bash in Darjeeling!

3

Jan

January 3, 2013 by Karen

Tasty tea, amazing animals and a birthday bash in Darjeeling!

We finally arrived in Darjeeling after a delayed plane and a few road blocks.

It was a relief to arrive at our beautiful hotel, The Mayfair .

Our first morning in Darjeeling was spent at the zoo.

Some visitors were more interested in us than the animals!

After the zoo we headed for the plaza and main street to have a look around.

Some of the gorgeous locals sunning themselves in the plaza.

Waiting for Our dinner at The Park

Our second day was Leslie’s birthday.

Les celebrated his birthday in style with lots of hand shakes and a Khata from the staff. I am sure you can guess who gave him the glasses!

Is that Burt Newton or Dame Edna?

We spent the birthday morning walking down to ‘The Happy Valley Tea Estate ‘ where we had an amazing free tour.

Saw this for you Cal!

Tasting some great Darjeeling tea!

The birthday boy seems pleased with his cup of tea.

We needed a rest on the way back up the hill. It was a good excuse to take some photos.

The birthday boy was a little concerned when he saw where his surprise birthday activity would take place!!

More birthday greetings and another Khata.

Les relaxed after we told him we were going to do a momo cooking course.

We were given the comments books to read while we drank tea and waited for the course to begin.

This was my favourite.

Les and Nick with Rumba before he set off to the pub!

A special apron for the birthday boy.

Lily, our patient and encouraging teacher!

The finished product, our vegetable momos ready to be steamed!

Ready to be eaten!

Sampling the local homemade millet beer!

Back at the hotel a cake was waiting for us!

The mist finally cleared up for us on our final morning. It was great to be able to enjoy the spectacular view of Khangchendzonga, the third highest mountain in the world.

No roof rack so some one had to sit in the back of the car with the luggage!

I love Indian traffic signs and saw one of my best ones ever on the way back down to the Bagdogra airport. Unfortunately I did not get a photo of it.

Hurry Burry

Spoils the curry!

We sadly left Danielle in Kolkata where she waited for her flight to Phuket. Next stop for the four of us was Varanasi….

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The Condon Clan’s ten day tour…Kolkata

28

Dec

December 28, 2012 by Karen

“Simultaneously noble and squalid, cultured and desperate, Kolkata is a daily festival of human existence. And it’s all played out before your very eyes on teeming streets where not an inch of space is wasted.”

Lonely Planet Kolkata

Nick's mum and dad, and his sister Danielle decided to come to India to see us. It was Danielle's first visit to India and we tried to ease her in gently to a big Indian city by choosing Kolkata. Hopefully it worked!

Waiting at the airport for the big arrival.

One of the few times rules were actually observed in India was only putting four people into a local taxis. At least it gave us a chance to get photos of each other!

Les looked happy to have arrived in Kolkata!

Someone had to have the death seat in the front!

Danielle was happy to make it to the hotel in one piece.

Our first day we spent on a full day city tour, booked through Calcutta walks.

On our way to our first stop we passed this hearse, advertising air conditioned comfort for the coffin!

Our first stop was The Pareshnath-Jain Temple, also known as the Jewel Box of Kolkata.

Back out on the street, this man making a drink from sugar cane was enjoying the attention.

Activities on the pavement were varied!

The highlight of the tour was the flower market!

Everybody was so friendly and did not mind having their photo taken. I asked one guy, “How are you?”

He replied, “I am very kind! Do you like my Kolkata?”

We visited Saint John's church and the most interesting thing about it was the picture of the last super. The painter substituted Judas for the then police chief following a difference of opinion. Imagine his surprise at the unveiling!

Next stop was the Victoria monument.

Nick was no longer the flavour of the month. Everyone wanted their photo taken with his gorgeous younger sister.

'Uncle' Les did not miss out on the action either!

The final destination for the day was Mother Teresa's house. A very moving experience.

We set off on Day two to do a walking tour with Let's Meet Up Tours called 'See the Shops'. It was Dann's turn for the death seat!

The last supper for the goat!

Chicken feet!!!

Trying on a couple of very over priced shirts! Some starting prices were 1200 rupees! He ended up buying them for 175!

Stopping for a chai tea at a roadside stand.

We finally found a store in Sudder street that did not quote ridiculous prices. Thank you Sunshine

Human rickshaws in India are only available in Kolkata. This guy might struggle with the five of us in the back!

On Park street listening intently to our guide. Apparently Nick doesn't believe him!

Team t-shirt photo! Not sure why I am sticking my chest out???

'Uncle' Les was the star again. Being videoed here about what he thought of the tour!

Trying to close the bag before setting off to the airport. Hand luggage size seemed like such a good idea when we bought our packs!

Delayed but still smiling at the airport in Kolkata! The flight to Bagdogra had been cancelled the day before and we had been warned ours may be cancelled too!

Next destination on the tour……Darjeeling.

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Bumpy Buses and Our Buddies in Bangalore……

24

Dec

December 24, 2012 by Karen

Bumpy Buses and Our Buddies in Bangalore……

We loved seeing this sign in the reservations hall at the railway station in Hospet. Especially after we had been told by two different travel agents in Hampi the exact price the bribe would cost us if they arranged the tourist quota train tickets for us. In the end we decided to book the train ourselves.

We had our first 1A (first class air conditioned) overnight train trip when we went from Hospet to Bangalore. Every other train we had travelled on had served food but we always had our own. We decided to give the train food a try and boarded the train empty handed. Of course there was no food on offer! Thankfully the gorgeous Indian family who shared our cabin took pity on us and gave us a banana each and some of their rice. We arrived in Bangalore without an onward ticket but had no trouble getting into chair class for our two hour journey to Mysore. There was food on this train.

Check out this label!

We had a quick overnight stop in Mysore to see the Palace in lights. Rather inconviently an ex prime minister had just died and they were keeping the palace in darkness as a sign of mourning. It was Nick's fourth time to Mysore and he is yet to see the Palace lights switched on! We enjoyed chance to wander the streets despite our disappointment.

We caught a local bus for three and a half hours from Mysore to Madikeri for the total cost of $1.85 each. It was our first bus ride this time in India and we remembered why we did not take buses that often.

This photo was taken before the bus filled up!

View out the window of the bus…

The town of Madikeri was not that beautiful but we enjoyed wandering around for a while.

We were there long enough to make friends with a policeman. Check out his great white cowboy hat!

Coffee is what the area is known for and we enjoyed this sign!

I'll have ten Caffe Latte Regulars please!

Seems Fosters is just as popular here as coffee.

We escaped Madikeri and headed for the hills. Coffee Mountain was the location of our two night homestay and it was so peaceful and beautiful.

Australia vs. India in the cricket!

It was definitely a case of six and out!

India and Australia vs. India in the Soccer!

We could not believe this comment from an Indian guest in the guest book! I'm livin' in the 70's (1870's that is) It was a home stay for goodness sake!

We hired a taxi for the trip back to Mysore so we could stop off and see the Golden temple in the Tibetan village.

We caught the local bus from Mysore back to Bangalore and quickly realised why the back seat is not popular. We copied one of the locals and used their suspension system every time we went over a speed bump! And there were many!

” Welcome a Guest. Send Back a Friend.”

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Independent India’s 1st Prime Minister

The highlight of this part of our trip was a three night stay with Ravi and his family in Bangalore. Nick and Ravi worked together in India and Ravi was in Melbourne for a few months with work as well. Ravi, Pavitra and Khushi welcomed us into their home with open arms, treating us to the most amazing Indian food and hospitality. I left feeling like I had three new friends for life!

Ravi took us to a local safari park and zoo. Here we are on the bus.

Could not read what this sign said but it left nothing to the imagination.

We could not resist this photo in a local shopping centre.

We loved these signs in the food court.

Making himself right at home!

Meet Khushi, the amazing artist!

The girls had fun dressing me up on our last night!

With the gorgeous lady who helps Pavitra around the house for a few hours a day. Can you believe she has four children and is already a grandma?

Nick did not miss out on the fun either!

In my gorgeous new Indian outfit given to me by Ravi, Pavitra and Khushi!

Thank you so much for everything Ravi, Pavitra and Kushi. We will never forget our time with you in Bangalore. We hope to see you in our home one day in Australia. X

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At Hampi the past comes alive….

17

Dec

December 17, 2012 by Karen

“At Hampi, the past comes alive. Whispering winds, magnificient ruins, traces and scents of a bygone era all linger fresh here. And they virtually transport you to a world of kings, battles and long forgotten marvels. “

http://www.bellary.nic.in/Hampi.htm

We arrived at Hospet train station to a sea of touts and colourful rickshaws. Here are two of our favourites rickshaws.

It was about half an hour to Hampi and we immediately loved having a new location to explore.

Virupaksha Temple

The temple had its very own elephant!

And cow.

On our second morning we crossed the river and soent half a day exploring the other side.

We picked up a local boy who offered to be our guide. His English was practically non-existent but he showed us three temples we may not of found by ourselves. Nick got the job of transporting him between the temples.

We climbed the many stairs to reach the monkey temple.

We saw a lot of monkeys.

This one was particularly hairy!

The beautiful views from the top.

This tourist looked familiar!

It was an interesting ride between the temples.

In Hampi foreigners are the subject of a lot of attention. We had so many people taking photos of us and asking to be in photos with us. Whole groups would run over to shake our hands. Many of these people were tourists themselves, from small villages where they have only ever seen foreigners on television.

Check out the paparatzi as we entered this temple.

Nick and his fans

They just couldn't get enough of him.

Must be the hair!

Nick was not the only one they wanted. This lady clearly had good taste in foreigners!

Couples hang rocks in colourful bags on this particular type of tree. They believe the number of rocks they hang will equal the number of children they will be blessed with.