Day 41 & 42 in New Delhi – 8th & 9th August 09

We just laze in the room on Saturday till about noon time, got up went for lunch at Sam’s café just across the road. I had chicken fried rice and Ramli had the butter chicken with rice.. Mine was normal and Ramli’s was good at first but too much of it just makes it taste so jelak.. Finished our lunch walked over to the train ticker reservation centre to have our tickets to Jaipur changed as we made mistake on the date..

Got there as usual have to wrestle with the locals over the queue.. Not sure why they like to stay so close to you in the queue. As if the closer they are the faster they can get to the counter.. Sigh… Anyways we got it settled about 40mins later and headed back to the hotel to start our uploading and updating of the blogs.. We sat from 1530hrs till 2300hrs uploading and updating and managed to chat with our dearest Izar and Irma for a few mins…

Morning came real fast today… 9^th Aug… It is Singapore’s National Day!!! Happy Birthday to you… After only 42 days away from home and experiencing the life outside of our comfort zone it finally made us both realize how proud we are to be a Singaporean!! We finally really appreciates and LOVE LOVE LOVE our Singapore!!

India Gate

Kids having fun in the green algae water

The students from Kerala

Ladies doing Henna

the beggar kids..

Lady in orange have the same pose as me

Yeah!

We got ready and went downstairs to have breakfast and left for Old Delhi to visit the sights which are all mostly at this area.. in the Red Fort. Took a autorickshaw and when we arrived the driver told us it was close? We like huh sure? We asked him to stop at the entrance and we saw a sign “Close from 8^th till 15^th Aug” My goodness, the driver said should be due to the Independence Day parade preparation.. Not our Luck!! So we asked the driver to go to Gandhi Memorial Museum which was in Old Delhi but he drove and drove till we almost arrived at Gandhi Smirti which we already went on Friday so asked him to turn back to Delhi Gate which was the only place we could go..

Got down the rickshaw and was anxious to know what price we have to pay? He asked for Rp200!!! Blood sucker!! No choice had to pay and walked over to the India gate, this is a war memorial constructed to remember the soldiers that died during the Afghan War.. Took some pictures and rested a while nearby.. Took pictures of the locals and headed to Connaught place to have lunch.. And guess what’s for lunch??? KFC of course!! Wahahahah we are having a Chicken Frenzy !!

Finished our lunch headed back to the hotel to rest as there wasn’t much we could do already…

Went down to the café and continued to upload pictures and update our blogs … Had dinner and rested for the day and await tomorrow to go for our interview at the Pakistan Embassy… *cross fingers all goes well..

Day 40 New Delhi – 7th Aug 09

I awoke at about 0333hrs and was in a dazed and confuse.. My inflated pillow was deflated flat with the stopper pulled out… Hmmm did I do it in my dreams? Before I checked the watch I wasn’t sure if it was already morning or still midnight cause the light from the corridor shone into the room from the top window make it seems like it is already daylight…

Finally woke up about 0745hrs to pack up and check out of this lousy hotel and check in to the long awaited Ajay Guesthouse with the aircon…Walked over to the hotel got a AC room even though not the same one we saw yesterday but it is almost the same so we took it and it is only on the 2nd floor. As we need to go and submit our visa application at the Pakistan Embassy we enjoyed the room for like 10mins then went down to have the tasty breakfast and headed to the embassy.

Took the autorickshaw and arrived at about 1000hrs, submitted the docs and got a manual recipt to return on Monday for the interview than the visa should be ready by 12th… Since we have not don’t any sight seeing in Delhi yet.. We decided to go to any interesting nearest to the area. Checked the LP book and found that the Indira Gandhi museum is just round the corner..









MM Lee with Indira Gandhi

We followed the map printed in 2007 to find our way, after 2 wrong turns we finally found it and went in.. We thought Indira Gandhi was the mum of Mahatma Gandhi but checked again and got the facts right. Indira Gandhi is the daughter of the first prime minister when India became independent.. And when his dad was assassinated she was voted the 2nd prime minister but shortly after she was also assassinated and his Son Rajiv Gandhi became the 3rd prime minister. But was killed in a suicide bomb attack.. Seems the Indian politicians couldn’t stay very long on the post.. That’s what me and Ramli gathered after visiting this museum. Was a very well kept, air-conditioned and free museum. While we were inside many of the local tourists was also there and they were just shuffling and pushing thru, we weren’t sure if they were even looking.




place where Gandhi was shot


Local tourists



After we went to Smiriti Gandhi, museum about Mahatma Gandhi. The garden of the museum wasn’t that impressive but did show the final foot steps that Gandhi took before he was assassinated. After we went into the main building not expecting so much. But after we went to the 2nd level we were very very impress. It is a interactive museum, they had different rooms displaying the thoughts, the life, the philosophies and sorts of Gandhi and to view there is something that you have to do to be able to view. Things like turning the wheels etc.. We still did not know much of Gandhi even after the visit as we weren’t really concentrating but just wowed by the advance displays they have…Wahahhaha


Pizza!!

It was about 1300hrs when we finished the second so Ramli decided it was time for lunch, so what else back to Connaught Place. Not for KFC but for Pizza this time.. Waited for our seat and ordered a family pizza, ceasar salad, chicken n tomato tortillas and a pitcher of lemonade… Think we are spending a bit too much on the lunches in Delhi… Enjoyed our tasty lunch and slowly headed back to the hotel to take a rest and enjoy the aircon!!!

But before that we had to go to the Railway reservation counter to get our train tickets to Jaipur on Wednesday. Bought our AC chair tickets for the 4.5hrs ride and costs us Rp930… Seems the train tickets is getting more and more expensive … We have got to start stinging a little the next few days..

Got back to the room lepak all the way.. Watch movies on the LCD tv .. ate chips and drank tea and honey room made… Nothing much happened today and guess would be the same tomorrow… Just going to lepak in the room and enjoy the aircon…..

Day 39 New Delhi – 6th Aug 09

I woke up in the middle of the night not able to open my eyes… My goodness my eyes are sealed with the dried up mucus (apologize if anyone feel disgusted)… and both sides.. I had to slowly split open my eyes without getting my eyelash all off.. My body must be burning inside from the heat… Tried to go back to sleep …

Awoke about 0830hrs even with my right eye swollen and red still got up to get ready to get to the Pakistan Embassy… After haggling with 2 auto rickshaw drivers we got up paying Rp80 for a 7km journey.. Went to queue at the Visa enquiry counter outside the embassy. Got our forms to fill in and got to know we need a letter from Singapore Embassy before they could process our application.. My goodness what is this man!!.. we went into the queue again to ask if we really need the letter as it would be difficult for us to get a letter from Singapore when we are in India right!! He explained again we still need the letter but from the Singapore Embassy in Delhi which was just nearby … But he said that the embassy will close at 1130 hrs and if we need to submit application it will be tomorrow only… And said Singapore Embassy also close the same time.. I asked if we successfully submit by tomorrow when will we get our visa.. He said Tuesday… Alamak they really work “fast”…

Sigh no choice.. By now Ramli is a little agitated… and commented if we can don’t go to Pakistan.. But I told him if we don’t go there we cant cross into China and even if we take a flight, not sure if they fly direct into Xinjiang…

We got to get our application typed out at the makeshift tables with a old typewriter tended by middle aged man. Got our letters typed out at Rp50 each… The first man asked us to wait while he had someone with him… Actually there is another 2 other man just nearby.. When we wanted to walk to the other man he “OI” and asked to wait… while he was finishing the letter for a Dutch man… another Indian local came and he typed his letter first… Hmmm I was curious but Ramli got Furious!! He just took our passports and letter and wanted to go off, the man put his hand on the docs and tried to stopped. But Ramli just repeated Nononono and we walk off … hehehehhe

Anyway after we tried our luck at the Singapore Embassy even it is already 1140hrs… Got there and screened by the security and was escorted to the Visa application office.. The aircon here is all crisp and clean… We told the person what we need, he took our passports and asked us to wait… After about 5mins he ushered us into a interview room.. I was thinking like okay do we need to get interviewed? Sat and enjoyed the aircon about 5 mins later the Indian man walked out with our letter!!! Whoa… I even commented that was fast!! Checked the details on the letter and left… This is how Singaporean work!! Fast and Efficient and don’t have to pay for such minor things like somewhere we know…

We were glad and the next thing we got to do is to get to Standard Chartered to deposit the Rp600/each for visa fee to the Pakistan High Commission then we are done and ready to submit our docs tomorrow… We arrived at the bank and was surprised!! They do not have carbonized bank in slips!! You have to use the blue carbon paper not to size of the slip and Ramli had to fill in another one caused the copy didn’t get carbonized…… Alamak … okay.. Irma if you are reading, please feedback… Kekekkekeke

Anyway got it all done and time for head for lunch… Ramli wanted to have KFC again… Hehehehhe I guess we really hungry for some meat!! Headed to Connaught place KFC… I orderd a Zinger meal that comes with 1 pc chicken and 3 pc hot wings to share with Ramli.. when he got to the seat I saw there is 4 pcs of chicken, 2 zinger and the hot wings… He is really hungry he said so he ordered another 2 pc of chicken.. Whoa that is a lot of chicken for 2 days… Anyway enjoyed our lunch and slowly headed back to Paharganj area to find a decent hotel as the one we are staying is too hot and the toilet leaks water to the room… And the floors and bed linens is dirty…

Walked to a few recommended by LP and was thinking of Rak International Hotel which costs Rp750 a night as their rooms are clean with AC and had a round bed… Wahahahha but when we check out the room at Ajay Guest House!! We were convinced to stay there the next few days that we will be stuck here!! Their rooms and toilets are spotless and they have a 20” LCD TV and the room with aircon!! Costs Rp700 a night but we think it is more worth while to pay for this room than the one at White Empire Guesthouse which costs Rp400 with Fan and filthy sheets and toilet, not forgetting the toilet that leaks water to the room, flaking ceiling paints falling on to the bed, floor and everywhere… We

confirmed with the reception to reserve a room for us… I just cant wait to check in here!!

My Choc cake and coke

We recee the lobby and was even convinced, they have a small café selling pastries and cakes and also other meals for lunch/dinner.. with internet service at the café table if you have your own laptop or you can use the CPU in the internet café… Have stalls inside the lobby and most important it is airconditoned… wahahahahahha we sat there for 3 hrs to update our blogs and pictures finally!!

Left about 1830hrs to head back to our hotel for Solat and rest for the night.. . I am so looking forward to tomorrow night!!! Aircon !!! WAHAHAHAHHHAHA with a big grin on my face!!!

Day 38 Agra to Delhi – 5th Aug 2009

The night before the power went off once and came back after a while… Phew otherwise we will be sweating in a pool of our own sweat… Got up at 0400hrs to shower and pack up to head to the train station to catch our train…

We left the hotel about 0515hrs and when we pass Joney’s place we saw that it is already opened.. Haiya miss the chance to have another breakfast there… We are just so impress that they could whipped up a good meal in such a small and constrain space and plus the food is good enough…

Headed to the platform once arrived at the station… We could hear from the announcement that the train has already arrived and it is only about 0535hrs… we walked to the train and find the cabin for our seats.. Deeply hoping that this AC Chair train ride for 4 hrs will be worth it… Found the cabin went in and was please as the cabin is clean with no funny smells… And the seats are individual chairs with seat rests, but me and Ramli got to sit separately divided by the aisle… First feel of the AC Cabin for Ramli wasn’t good.. He felt that it is just the fan that is keeping it cold.. For me is good enough..

The train left about 0615hrs but the cabin wasn’t full.. We thought of changing places but just sat and see if anyone gets up at the next train station. So true enough people start filling up the seats… With experience in the sleeper class you could see the difference in the people… it is exactly like how they are separated by casts… The passengers in the Ac Cabin seems to be all well to do and spoke English.. All dress nicely and “looked civilize” enough.. Compared to the sleeper class it is totally of a different world.. Finally we could be able to keep a little of the sanity left in us…

I was sitting beside this Indian man who just cant stop fidgeting … I tried to sleep and he just kept hitting me with his arms that is trying to rest on the arm rest.. or otherwise with his leg which is trying to open as big as he can !! So annoying… that is why I mentioned above they “looked civilized”… Trying to take a nap but was kept awake by his idiotic movements.. otherwise he kept walking out to get to the toilet.. And since he is sitting inside I had to shift and let him out… Ramli was lucky a mum and her 2 kids were sitting beside him and his seat was not blocked by any thing in front so he could sit with a peace of mind…

I’m still recovering from my minor diarrhoea and had to go twice during the train ride… Luckily the toilet is much more cleaner and with no stench and sufficient water supply… Time pass quickly and it was about 1000hrs and seems the train will be arriving in Delhi on time… Was just looking around the train and I heared someone fart!!! And guess what it is the man sitting beside me, when he farted I turned around to look and he is with his most ignorant face looking at his ass cause he was sitting with his legs cross and body tilted to the side… Whoa!! Seems to me like he had to shift his butt to fart and did it without any remorse or anything.. and he had to shift his butt facing me… What the F)*&!! Is wrong with all these Indians!!!!! So Damn uncivilized!!! DISGUSTING!! I was so damn disgusted I gave him a look and walk over to another sit infront of Ramli… Bloody Idiot!!! Sigh…

The train finally pull into the station at about 1015hrs, the station is cleaned if compared to the rests that we went… But the station is very packed with people… The stairs to the platform are so packed like sardines.. We slowly make our way to the main building to get outside to take a rickshaw to the Paharganj area as stated on the lonely planet it is a backpackers hangout with loads of cheap accommodation… we knew that the place was very near to the station so will expect the auto rickshaw to costs very cheap..

We walked towards the auto pay booth and as per normal we are surrounded by the touts… so many offered prices to us.. The first one offered Rp150 and later reduced to Rp100 but we wasn’t interested at all.. Is too much!! And lonely planet did warn about all the cheats and conmens… So another offered only Rp10.. so we thought okay maybe this guy is genuine.. We went with him and told him to bring us to Rak International Hotel also recommended by LP.. We got in and he kept telling us no I bring you to another hotel we talked to him a good 5 mins insisting that he just bring us to the hotel we wanted and he kept refusing… when he finally relented he asked us to pay him Rp100 for the ride.. We were so damn frustrated by then!! Must be another conmen who is trying to get commission from the hotel that he is going to bring us… We we furious and told him forget it we will not take his rickshaw and tried to get down… He was furious the same and got down and hit his rickshaw and complaining to a fellow rickshaw driver nearby.. We couldn’t be bothered and even said he is a dishonest man and walk off…

Just few steps later another man who was in the crowd earlier came towards us and asked if we were going to the Pakistan Embassy which we asked before.. But we said no no no no in a very rude and frustrated tone!! Paharganj we said.. and he said ok please follow me… we just kept saying NO NO NO … cause we just “classified” him as another conmen… he got a little furious and said 1 MINUTE! You walk straight turn right and cross the road there is Paharganj… Oops when he finished we were quite embarrassed as we mistaken his kindness… I thank him and tapped on his arms and said he is a honest man… he said ok no problem.. I am honest man with a grin and pointed to the earlier driver who is also following us that he is conmen and cheat.. I just said it out loud without thinking of the consequences, YES HE IS CHEATER!! And I shake hands with the honest man and we walked on…

Merely just 2 mins from the station we could see a big sign “Paharganj Main Bazaar” … So it is really so near and to think the rickshaw drivers wanted to charge Rp150… We were now just really disgusted with how the rickshaw drivers are operating… Dishonest conmen!! And we swear never to trust anyone again … Luckily we bought the 2nd hand LP India guide book in Varanasi… Otherwise we might just get conned BIG TIME!!


Paharganj, Main Bazaar







Walking into the bazaar, all dusty and noisy… Also harassed by the touts of the hotels… I just ignored them and walked as fast.. One guy caught Ramli’s attention and offered a reasonable price of Rp400 for a non aircon room, he kept asking us to go view the room first no charge.. so we went climb up 4 storeys and got to the room. I guess by this time we are already exhausted with the touts and the heat we saw the room which is decent enough and decided to stay… Put our bags and went down to get to the Pakistan Embassy…Ramli went down to check in and when I came down later we only knew today is a Hindu holiday and the Embassy is closed. Sigh miss one day…

It was about 1100hrs already so we just headed out to look for internet to check on the Pakistan Embassy details… After we went to Connaught Place ( a shopping area in Delhi) to look for KFC after checking with a tourist information .. we walked as told is just near…After 15mins we arrived in Connaught place after asking the way a few times..

We walked pass shops and saw a pastry shop Wenger’s which was recommended on LP, we were looking at the pastries, sandwiches the cakes from outside and we are “mesmerized” wahhahha just like kids seeing lollipops!! We decided to take a look, 2 security opened the door for us… Walked in and I was amazed , seems we are in another part of the world.. England.. The displays and the white coats that the servers was wearing … Whoa it looks like a bakery that Mr Bean went in one of the episodes on TV… Wahahahhahaha I got a mushroom quiche and Ramli got a vege puff… They packed it in a box and we left.. Ramli tasted the puff and was impressed … Tasty!!

A few shops later we saw KFC!!! We hurried in again with a security opening the door for us.. The staffs greeted us loudly with a smile.. and of course we had to ask the most important question, is the chicken Halal? And without doubt or much thinking she replied yes sure..Okay got our confirmation…. Ordered the chicken meals and headed upstairs to indulge in the crispy looking chicken!! You could not imagine the looks on our faces when we first tasted it… It is soooooooo tasty and crunchy!!! We finished and clean up our plates… we never ate KFC so clean before in Singapore. When I mean clean I really mean clean… the bones are all stripped off the flesh and the plates all cleared of any crumbs from the chicken… Good LUNCH!!! Sitting in the KFC eating just makes me feel like home… hehehe clean with aircon … the décor is just like the KFC in Singapore…

After we just walked around the area spotting Pizza hut at first and went in just to check out the menu and if we are able to eat there… And was confirmed we could eat the Chicken pizzas as it is halal as they have a separate area to prepare vege, non vege and halal pizzas!! We were like kids in a wonderland!!! Wahahahah after we saw MAC!! But too bad they aren’t halal but they don’t serve pork and beef.. So if we wanted to we could have Filet O fish or the vege burgers which didn’t interest us since we had KFC and Pizza hut!! Yahooo!! We already planning what to eat the next day..

We walked pass a shop and a T-shirt at a shop window caught Ramli’s eye.. The shirt had the picture of Taj Mahal and written something like “Via Agra – The best thing erected for a woman” hehehe true!

We continued walking and seems we went off the track and landed somewhere quite far away… A rickshaw driver stopped and asked if we need help to get somewhere.. He showed us a map of Delhi and said he could bring us to the Tourism office for enquiry.. We said is ok you just bring us to Connaught Place.. he okok and we hopped on, next thing we know he dropped us outside a Govt of India Tourist Information, I feel something was wrong as when we told him we didn’t need any information or hotel or tour… He kept insisting we can just go in and get a free map.. I said no no need and walked away… Ramli was still listening to the man out of courtesy then a guy came out from the office and started talking to Ramli and kept saying just come in sir you don’t wan a free map… I called out to Ramli to just go … he finally walked away and I told him this should be another scam… As I read on LP the only real and genuine tourist information is India Tourism Delhi which has only 2 branches…

Walked across and went into a local Fast food joint to have a drink and ice cream and also to enjoy the aircon..Wahahahha asked the staffs how to get back to connaught place.. It is about 15mins away… Haiz kena conned by the rickshaw driver trying to bring us there.. Damn!!

Found our way back to Paharganj, went back into the “oven” room to rests… Having Maggie for tonight… Before we know it is already 1000hrs, Ramli cooked Maggie ate and tried to rest… I had difficulty in breathing and my right eye was swollen and kept discharging mucus… Sigh guess its from the heat and my flu have not recovered… Got some pills from the pharmacists and hope it works…

Day 37 Agra 4th August 09

Today we will see the Taj Mahal. Wohoo!! The night went without any unwanted events. Alhamdullilah. We woke up got our stuffs together and got ready to get off the train.

The train finally reached AGRA CANTT Station at 0630hrs, after almost 13hours on the train. We went outside looking for a taxi and at the same time ignoring the usual touts and got to this old man to take his autorickshaw. As per normal we have outrages offers. This guy offered 150Rs for his taxi and when Ramli said no he lowered his price to 100Rs after a while but having a rough idea on how much I should be paying I just ignored him. Oh yeah the old man that I was saying above offered at 50Rs. I know it should be around 30Rs to the hotel but I was in no mood to haggle over 20Rs. Especially not in the morning.

We wanted to try hotel on the outskirts of Taj Mahal but the driver said why not go to Shanti Lodge, its very near to the Taj Mahal and he said its quite cheap. So we thought why not we just try at the most we can go to another if we don’t like. It is also mentioned in the lonely planet book that all this drivers get a certain commission if they bring guests to certain hotels.

The hotel is really close to Taj Mahal. We asked for a room the reception guy said that its full but he said guests usually check out very early and asked us to wait a while. We thought why not just try another one. The driver said there’s one more around the corner, its called SAII PALACE so we tried there and there was one room available. It was going for 350Rs a night with Shower attached and fan. Oh yeah we can also see the Taj from the rooftop restaurant. Great!! We confirmed with the hotel guy. Luckily we got there in time cause 1 min later another group of girls came asking for a room. Phew….

We paid the Taxi guy 50Rs for the ride and asked him how much for a whole day fee. He said 500Rs but Ramli offered 300Rs. After 5 mins haggling we got it for 350Rs. So we told him what time to pick us up and went into the room to freshen up and rest for a bit.

In no time it was 0800hrs time to go out. So we met the driver who was waiting outside, asked to bring us to a Halal place for breakfast. The restaurant is called Joney’s Place. We saw Quranic verses on the wall. Yeay !! a Halal place that looks decent finally. We ordered Egg sandwich, French toast, scrambled eggs and of course, a small pot of black Tea. It was nice and all this we made fresh from a little stove top that is a kitchen.

After breakfast we went to Taj Mahal which was just 2 mins walking distance from where we ate. Bought tickets and paid 1500Rs for 2( SGD$ 45) Hope its worth the money we paid. Oh yeah you get a complimentary bottle of drink and a shoe cover with every ticket. So we proceeded in via the South Gate. There was a detailed security check at the entrance. They are very strict. Lighters and even biscuits not allowed in the compound. There was a locker service for the contrabands and items just beside the ticketing counter. We deposited some biscuits and a lighter that we accidently took from Hari when we went to his house the other time. Video cameras are also not allowed inside. But I feel it’s a bit stupid cause nowadays all digital cameras has video recording capabilities and I’m carrying a Full HD capable recording device. Hahaha.

Anyway after the checks we entered into a whole different world. It was very, very clean. It didn’t feel or look like India at all. And the first site of the Taj Mahal from a distance its really a sight you never will forget. What you see on every picture of Taj Mahal everywhere is exactly what I see in front of me! Really a very beautiful creation. Words cannot express how in awe I was. But instead of enjoying the beauty, Cindy had to go to the Toilet. Poor thing she also have diarrhea but not an extreme one but she said she had goosebumps not from the stomach but just looking at the Taj Mahal. sSo while waiting for her, I did the touristy thing, just kept on snapping pictures of everything there. 95% is of the Taj Mahal itself. We took our time there soaking up the views and atmosphere.

Stopping every few steps along the way to the Taj Mahal to take pictures. On the exterior of the building, there are Quranic verses on the walls. A beautiful mosque on its right and an identical looking building on the left which is built for symmetry. Once inside, we saw what seems to look like a Mausoleum. If I’m not wrong it’s the “show” tomb of Emperor Shah Jahan and second wife Mumtaz Mahal side by side. Most of the local tourists are throwing coins into the tomb area. Like what the heck for? Walked around the inside for a while and we exited at the other side. While we outside, I saw this lady with very nice eyes. Cindy went to ask her if it is ok if she took a picture with her. She was quite shy but I guess she agreed cause she posed with Cindy. Snapped one time then she suddenly disappeared before I could thank her. She disappeared into the crowds not into thin air just in case you guys are wondering…Hehehe. Then the family next to Cindy asked if she is ok to take picture with her. Now she’s like a celebrity every kid in that family taking turns to take picture with her. Then the ladies… Hehehe After that we walked around some more and I saw a group of Muslim guys sitting together so I asked to take picture with them. All in all we spent almost 2 ½ hours there. It was a good and memorable experience for us.

We left the place to go to the train station to buy tickets to Delhi for the next day. While we were there we met with this English guy who apparently totally damaged his ticket from sweating so much that his ticket became wet and looked like what you get when you put paper in your pants pocket through a washing machine. We chatted while waiting in queue for tickets. He’s a freelance vehicle designer. Hmm interesting job he has. He said he’s been travelling in Asia a lot and for this trip he flew in from Delhi the day before and am going to Nepal via Sonauli, where we came in from few days before. After an hour waiting for a queue that has barely 5 people in it we got our tickets. Paid 475Rs for a AC seats for Agra – Delhi. Well hope its gonna be good.

So we left the station and now its time for lunch. Asked the driver to bring us to a nice and halal place. He brought us to this place called Zorba The Buddha. It’s on lonely planet as one of the recommended places to eat. vegetarian food We ordered a set meal and it cost us 350Rs each. The meal includes Cold drink, Appetizers, Main course, desert and choice of a hot drink. The meal was good but a bit too pricy for our budget but we thought why just give it a try. So in the end we paid 830Rs. (SGD$23)

After lunch we went to the Agra Fort which hmmm, is basically a beautifully decorated red building. It was a very big compound. We walked around for about 1hr took pictures and couldn’t admire and appreciate this place after we have seen the Taj Mahal… As there is no comparison at all.. But still this fort is really a huge place with many different sections.. The stone carvings to the entrances is very intricate…Anyway we left and didn’t know where to go … Hmmm

We looked at the Taj Mahal tickets and saw there is a few places we could go to get discounted tickets.. So we asked the driver if we could go the other 3 places since it is only about 3pm. He pointed to 2 of the buildings and said it is very far away from city so we only left with 1 option the Baby Taj..

Suppose to pay Rp110 but since we visited Taj before so we get Rp10discount… First view of the building it really resembles the Taj… We walked in and like ermmm not so impress… Ramli was saying we should have went to the other sights and vist Taj the lasts so then we could appreciate the smaller ones.. But too bad we already went to the major one first so this is just for viewing only… We finished within 10mins but since we just arrived and paid the entrance fee… we just sat outside the mini Taj for a while to chat and after headed out.

Hmmm where to go now… the driver has no idea also… so we told him ok lets go back to hotel. It is about 4pm…on the way we could see Jama Masjid from far and asked him if we could just dropped by for a while… Arrived at the Masjid and a man guided us into the compound… This mosque is built by the daughter of Emperor Shah Jahan. We entered and actually is quite amazed with the condition of the prayer hall.. It is not as clean as you could imagine for a place for prayer… We saw a square pool at the centre of the compound and saw people taking ablution from there… We walked in and the man showed us a Quran which was also not well kept. Books and Qurans all stacked on a very dusty shelf.. Continued walking and entered the female prayer area, we saw a lady putting flowers at a corner which already have flowers and some incense placed there. The man told us which sounds like tomb for Shah Jahan’s daughter or something… we saw the lady praying towards that direction and is very curious what she was doing … Maybe praying for her or praying to her.. We aren’t sure too…

Walked outside and saw children sitting all together and seems to be learning about the religion… The man kept asking to take photos so Ramli obligatedly took some.. The teacher kept looking at us… hmmm So time to go after the mini tour the man ask for some donations so Ramli gave him Rp50. And when we were at the entrance to get our shoes another man asked to pay Rp10 each.. Ok fine…. Left and went back to the hotel..

Relax a little took a shower and went out to Joney’s place to have dinner… it is so warm and humid!! Looked at the menu and turned to the Chicken section immediately… I was interested in the Fried Chicken Whole… the guy said is very nice… So I ordered that and Ramli ordered Chicken Briyani.. Actually we were curious how is the man going to cook the chicken as the “window” kitchen only had 2 stoves and doesn’t look like he had any big wok for frying… So we guess they should be buying it from another place… we saw him starting to cook the briyani … after about 20mins we saw the young waiter came in with a newspaper doggy bag and when he poured out the content we could see the fried chicken… he tried to be discreet but we saw.. Kekekkeke so we were right… They serve our food and the fried chicken seriously looks tasty!! Ramli’s chicken briyani looks like fried rice… But tast good.. Not the typical briyani like in Singapore but good enough… I bite into the chicken and like Yummmmmmy!! Maybe it is because of the lack of meat for the pass days… But it is nice…

Completed our dinner with a banana and choclate pancake … Headed back to the hotel and tried to take the night photo of the Taj… couldn’t see as clearly as it wasn’t lighted.. But Ramli still got part of it… Retired to the room and rest for the night…

Day 36 Varansai - Agra 3rd August 09

Im tired...

Last night was a painful night for me. I had diarrhea again for second time. But this time it was worst. My stomache felt like it was squeezed from the inside. I spent almost an hour sitting in the toilet. Sweat was trickling down my whole body from trying to withstand the pain!! Then I suddenly felt nausea so I vomited what seems to look like dinner. It was quite an experience which I hope I never will have to go thru again.

I think I was so exhausted from the toilet episode that I almost instantly dozed off when I lay down on the bed. The next thing i know, the alarm went off time to wake up and get ready for the boat ride to catch the sunrise. My tummy is still not quite recovered as I still feel a little bit of discomfort and pain at times. But we’ve already promised the boatmen so I just endure the pain and we went out to meet him, as promised.

We tried to go out by the back gate but it was locked. The hotel guy was telling us to go by the front. No choice we had to walk on e round to the front. After all that, finally got to the boatmen who recognized us immediately and off we went to catch the hopefully
picture perfect sunrise.




His dreadlocks must be very long






Meditating



It was still quite dark when we went out. But slowly the sun came but unfortunately the cloud was covering it, well….. we tried. Devotees were scattered everywhere Along the river, bathing in the “holy river”. Women and men, going about doing it side by side. A bit disgusting to me cos the men were clad in just underwear or skimpy “speedos” which doesn’t really cover much and the women some wearing sari or see through garments as they get really transparent when they are wet. You get the picture right… Anyway the boatman paddled up river for a good hour at least then finally asked us if we want to turn back already. So he let boat just drift along back to where we started and past it we went to the cremation area again. While we were there, there was a cow eating a orange flower garland. The poor fellar was munching on it then some of it got stuck to its horns. Swinging its head up and down, left to right trying its best to eat the flowers that’s stucked there. Finally it did it… Hehehe it was cute…… Anyway there was a female body waiting to be burned but only after the son finish doing the rituals. It is custom that the son has to shave his hair and leave just a bit at the back of the head, wear all white and after the ritual he has to go stay at a place in the crematorium for 13 days.





Is this what the Sentence mean?

After that we headed back to our hotel area and the boatman dropped us off there. Paid him 450Rs, extra 50 for his efforts paddling up river earlier and also cos he was a nice man. We went back to the hotel room, rest for a few moments and went outside to get breakfast. Today it Ramli ate 6 slices of toast with butter and jam while cindy ate banana and honey pancake. And of course a small pot of black tea. Finished up, paid and then we headed out to find an ATM.

By the time we go back to the hotel, it was about 1100hrs so we went back into the room showered and packed up all the things and got ready to check out of the hotel. We took our bags and went to the reception to settle our bill. It was 1500Rs for 2 days. Very expensive and way over our budget but I guess its ok to have a little bit of luxury once in a while. We were waiting for 2pm cause that’s when the chart for the train is confirmed. Meanwhile we decided to eat lunch first. Ramli ordered Macaroni with cheese and white sauce while Cindy ordered Veg and mushroom chopsuey and a sweetcorn soup. The food was ok only, nothing fantastic but we just dread the thought of walking out into the streets of Varanasi packed with all the devotees who’s there for the festival.

After lunch we checked again for the confirmation of the train tickets on the net but still it showed the same message. Ramli decided to call the train customer support line instead. Called a number that was on the list, someone answered but Ramli couldn’t understand a single word the person on the other line said as he had a very thick Indian accent and the crappy phone wasn’t helping either. The only thing that Ramli could make out was “call the other number”. There was another number and it was one of those automated call service. Long story short according to the computer voice on the phone, we got the seats. Yeay!!

So we grabbed our bags and headed out into the streets to find a taxi to take us to the station. Varanasi Junction Train Station. According to the hotel guy its around 45mins away. While walking, we were approached by this character who offered his taxi services for an outrages price of 200Rs. I told him 60Rs he say no not possible and kept saying the roads all blocked and very difficult. Ramli stood firm with 60Rs so he counter offered 150Rs. Ramli still insist on 60Rs then I 80Rs he still said not possible. And counter offered at 140,130 then he said final 120Rs. Ramli still said no. So by that time we already got to the main street. Another guy came and said train station 100Rs so just to piss that persistent guy off Ramli immediately said ok and at the same time turned to the guy and gave him that “Right ….. Not Possible” look and went on the taxi. Dumb Ass!!

The ride didn’t take as long as the hotel guy said it was gonna be. In fact it only took 15mins only. Anyway reached the station, it was as usual a mess and chaotic. Full of local people, scattered everywhere and a lot of them are actually lying on the floor and sleeping!! We walked around looking for a help counter, if it exists and stumbled on a Foreigner/Tourist help counter. WOW!! Bloody Amazing!! The feeling was like we a found a castle amongst the slum houses!! Hahaha.and they even have like this area where there was a big fan blowing reserved for Tourist and guarded by a few security guards who would shooo.. locals off if they tried to get into that area. I feel bad for them but who the hell cares!!. Hehehe I know its selfish thinking but at that point I really don’t mind it at all. So we approached the security guy and asked him for a ticketing office. He showed us where and we got our tickets sorted out. Phew what a relief cause we were still not sure if we got the seats or not. Anyway we went out to that area I said earlier which was reserved for tourist and sat down waiting for the train to arrive as the guard said he would inform us when the train arrives.

The train was an hour late but we don’t really care as long as we got on it. 2 days in Varanasi is too much for us that we couldn’t wait to leave. We got on the train checked the passenger list that pasted on the train and confirmed we have seats or rather beds as we chose the sleeper class again. We went in, settled down and Cindy was like a Alien to this guys as I can see from their faces and eyes that kept staring at her. Well that’s just say it wasn’t that comfortable and the story about the English couple we met in Chitwan park came to mind about the English girl’s breast groped or the “accidental” brush. Ramli was on guard all night ready to give hell to any one if that story above came to reality.

2 Stations later, this 2 old man and a little boy boarded the train and suddenly put his bag down on our bed and said something in his language rudely to Ramli. Like I F!#*ing understand what the hell you saying dumbass!! What I can make out from that is “this is my seat move!” WTF!! I was thinking to myself you do not want to piss me off you bloody stupid old man but kept my cool and decided to just slide over a little instead of attempting to reason with him. Then the local guys that was still staring at Cindy told the old man that his seats are over the other side. Well I would say the numbering system for the seats on the this train is damn stupid and don’t make any sense at all. Anyway at one of the train stops, Ramli went out and bought what seems to look like “KARIPAP” or those big triangle curry puffs we have in Singapore. It was very nice and crispy. So that was dinner. We ate and then time to prepare the beds. The beds are like bunks which we have to flip up and hook on to a latch above. Interesting! It was gonna be another 8 hour before we reached Agra so we rested awaiting for our arrival in the morning. All I can say is……….. INDIAAA….. INCREDIBLE INDIAAA…… Yep Incredibly S_______ ( I’ll let you fill in the blanks) all right…..

Day 35 Varanasi – 2nd Aug 09

As planned yesterday night, we will only wake up when we wake up.. No early curfews to wake up… Thought I will sleep in till about 1000 or 1100 as that night we slept about 0130hrs… Hmmm I woke up about 0800hrs !! That is too early, couldn’t go back to sleep.. Tried to on the tv but there wasn’t any channel available as the main power is cut off and if they use the generator for power they couldn’t get the cable it seems.. So turn on the laptop and update the blogs entries on words for 2 days ago.. As time goes on we seems to be getting lazier and shorter on our entries… Kekekekke

Before finishing the blog for yesterday, my stomach started growling and I had to wake Ramli up just to let him know if he isn’t hungry I will just go outside to order breakfast since the dining area is just outside our room.. But he asked to give him another 10mins and we will go together.. Headed out for breakfast after about 1000hrs… I had banana pancake and Ramli had banana porridge which is a little like oats but not.. But is tasty…

After we finish our breakfast we headed to the reception area to ask about our train tickets to Agra for 3^rd Aug, they guy said is too early only able to update at about 1230hrs.. So we headed back to our room to wait for the time than we will head out for some sight seeing.. Ramli was updating the pictures on the lap top and me just doze off… We only awoken about 1400hrs… Wahahahha got ready, went to the reception but still no news .. seems we have to ask someone else.. But this someone else was occupied with 2 Caucasian ladies arguing about a ticket that was promised 2 days ago which didn’t come… Hmm we were worried so headed to check on the internet for ourselves..

Log in Indian Rail to try book our tickets, yeah there is a train to Agra on 3^rd Aug at 1645hrs arriving about 0500hrs the next day.. We booked sleeper class again, arrange payment thru the net… And when we double checked to confirm the seats we realize we have actually bought 2 tickets that was on the waiting lists 17 and 18.. Alamak!!! Damn… What to do will try to check tomorrow morning if we have luck to get the tickets…

So we walked out to get some late lunch.. on the way here yesterday night we saw many Masjids and muslim men and women walking around so we thought we will get a big chance to get some Halal food here.. We walked thru the super smelly alleys which has cow dung and urine, human dung and urine to get to the main road.. I was holding my breath all the way and having the collar of my t-shirt up to cover my mouth and nose… It really stinks!! I don’t know how the locals could still tend to their shops in these small alleys… Yucks!! Finally after 10mins we got to the open, and it didn’t get better… Still you can smell the ammonia and dung and worst it is the road… and Road means HONKING!!!! Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

We just chose a direction and we walked and continued walking for about 15mins but only to see 90% of the shops closed… It is a Sunday so we guessed they are close for holiday… There was some festival going on as we could see many men in orange from top to toe carrying a nicely decorated bamboo walking around barefooted.. After another 10mins, we gave up and wanted to head back to where we started to try find some vegetarian restaurant instead.. While walking a rickshaw rider approach us and said Ganga? 10Rp … Since is so cheap we hopped on and told him we wanted to go to a restaurant… after 15mins of smooth cycling we came to a mini traffic jam. Jammed for about 5 mins and it cleared.. The driver was a old man maybe about 60yrs … but very strong, still able to cycle us around.. He kept smiling to us … He looks like a very nice man… after another 5 mins he dropped us off in front of a vegetarian restaurant.. So we headed upstairs..

Ramli ordered Special Dosa and Potato Paratha for me.. With 2 samosas and vegetable pakoda (like fritters).. The food came and it was tasty but too much for the 2 of us… wahahah as usual me and my craving for all kinds of food… The prayer procession was going on, they had loud music on trucks and the men in orange walking and shouting some prayer or something…

The oldest mosque on the right

Closer View

on the Ganga

We finished and headed towards Ganga River… While walking down the steps a few boat men approached us.. We just wave our hands and walked… A boy approached us asking the same so I just asked for the price .. He offered 300Rp I haggled for 150Rp.. He said no no now the river high tide is difficult.. I looked at the river and told him no is low tide cause I could see the shore at the other end.. He laughed… Ramli haggled with him for 100Rp… Wahahaha I think that is too low… after a while we gave in at 200Rp for 1 hr.. Walked towards the boat and saw a tourist is already waiting … hopped in and said hi to the guy who was on board… He is from ISREAL!! Young chap travelling for 7 mths already from Thailand, Laos, Nepal and India… He said he can’t wait to go home …

The boatman, Krishna started rowing the boat out where we could see the sun slowly setting. Than back near the shore towards the cremation section of the river.. there was already many tourists boats stopped there to view the burning of the bodies… Woa there is many bodies in queue.. Krishna said that this is the busiest time of the day here.. Before we stopped I happened to turn and look behind and guess what I saw !! I saw a boat about 100m away, a man was standing on the boat and I could see him holding a body and trying his bests to throw it into the river… the body was covered with a red and gold shiny cloth.. and I saw he threw the body head first then the legs… OH MY GOODNESS!! I didn’t just see that!! I still couldn’t believe it till now … We asked Krishna if I saw was really a body and yes it is!! He said should be a child as they don’t get burnt if they die.. Ish Ish Ish!!

We stopped near the shore to see the body in queue to be burnt.. Krishna told us that the colourful coverings is for female and male in white cloth only.. A while later a man hopped onto the boat with us supposedly working at the hospice for the aged just nearby… He explained to us about the burning procedures etc as the same as Pushipatinath guide… And told us that children, pregnant woman and holy men will not be burnt.. they will be thrown in to the river tied with a heavy stone to keep them down at the bottom.. I was like oh my goodness !! oh my goodness all the time!! To think that you are on a river with ashes and bones of dead people is bad enough.. But to think there are million of bodies below just makes me want to puke… Seeing the devotees bathing, brushing teeth, swimming, washing clothes in it… it is just incredible what the holy river means to them. Krishna told us for devotees to bath in the river it can remove 50% of the sins they have… So I guess for that no matter what they will do it..

The cremation area

Sunset

We moved on and pass a big tower adjoined with a bridge to a few small towers.. Ramli asked Krishna what is it for and he say is water filter… Dirty water from the Ganga filtered to provide clean water and dirty water from the land filtered and recycled into the river… Ermmm now I know where the hotel water comes from… Eewwwww!! Ramli just filled up a bottle of water yesterday night and dropped a water purifying tablet into it thinking to have it for drinking to save some money.. I already had doubts yesterday night about drinking but after what Krishna said I am just determined to spend money on bottled water instead…

The Ceremony going on

For Fun

We cruise a little more and 1 hour was up, Krishna asked if we want to continue for another hour to see the Puja bath or something… okay we went… saw some rituals being performed by a few men just at the stage near the river .. There was so many people on shore, so many people on boats waiting to see the ceremony… We don’t know what was this ceremony for so just sat and watch… after an hour everyone started moving off even the ceremony hadn’t finish yet… I guess to avoid the chaos later..

He dropped us off at the other side of the shore and asked if we wanted to go see sunrise on the boat tomorrow.. we agreed since we have nothing to do tomorrow and also we have not seen a good sunrise for a long time since our journey..

Walked back to the hotel, showered and solat…Then went outside to order dinner.. Vege and mushroom chowmein and a tomato salad as we were still quite full. Chowmein came was tasty but way too much oil.. I just wanted to use the serviettes to wipe the noodles.. wahahhaha.. when the tomato salad came we just looked at each other.. a small plate with sliced tomatos neatly placed on it.. and it is really literally tomato salad.. no greens or any sauces at all… hmmm okay now we know what their salad means..

Finished our dinner headed back to the room to rest and watch some tv on star movies…

Tomorrow will be a brand new day..