Bouncing on a Bullock Cart in Barli

After we finally made it to Fort Barli we decided to bring forward our village safari from tomorrow morning till this afternoon as it often rains in the morning and the sun was out when we arrived.

So after a quick change we mounted the bullock cart at the Fort and then headed off with our guide to see Barli ‘Village’.

Chauffeur driven Bullock Cart

We rather foolishly thought this might have been a nice gentle trip round the village but after we raced through the first pot hole and Mrs M nearly got bounced out into a big cow pat we decided more attention in holding on was required.  Not sure if bullock cart injury is covered in our travel insurance!

Barli also isn’t really a village as there are more than 5000 people here, but without any metaled roads it has a very village feel. 

Rush hour - Downtown Barli

Everyone we meet is incredibly friendly and we get a good look round the Hanuman temple, Mausoleums, and all the little shops that are open. We also see an artisan making clay pots by hand on a hand spun wheel.

65yr old Artisan Potter

As we traveled through the village everyone came out of their houses to wave - all the people we have meet on our Indian adventures have been so friendly and welcoming - we are really enjoying it all so far!

Mr M

Monsoon – ‘Bad Rain’

Today is another driving day where we have to get from Jaipur to Barli (approx. 170km, expected around four hours).

As we head out for Mrs M’s marmite toast breakfast the heavens open with even more torrential rain than yesterday.  Even Mr M is alarmed by how heavy this rain is.

All through breakfast the rain continues, and only breaks as we meet Mr Khan an hour later.  This is apparently ‘bad rain’ today!

We carefully make our way out from the Haveli through water about a foot deep.  Mr Khan exclaims ‘My God’ – his usual phrase for when things look a little dicey – over and over and over.  Mrs M begins to look a little nervous.

As we continue through Jaipur the flood water gets deeper and deeper, and the ‘My Gods’ come faster and faster…

We eventually get through what we think is the worst of it, but this is only a short respite around the government buildings that clearly have better drains!

On approaching highway out of Jaipur we come across a large pile up of pedestrians, bikes, rickshaws, tuk tuks, taxis, motorcycles, cars, buses and lorries.  Even the water buffalo don’t fancy what’s ahead.  What ensues next is 30 minutes of pure comedy gold, where we lead the charge of tourists through the back streets of Jaipur trying to find a safe exit, stopping at every corner to ask directions.  This is both nerve-wracking and exciting as nobody in our car knows where we are, or how to get out of this part of Jaipur.  The car directly behind checked out of the same hotel with us and is clearly trusting our navigational ability.

Eventually we make it back onto the highway, past the big flood, and pointing in the direction of intended travel.  Big smiles all round.  It has just taken us 90 minutes to get out of Jaipur rather than the expected 15.

The rest of the journey passes fairly uneventfully until we get to Barli where we have to contend with cow rush hour getting into the small village, but we will cover animals and roads in another blog.

Total journey time 6½ hours.

Mr & Mrs M

Monsoon – ‘Good Rain’

Later start this morning as we have a quick visit to the markets of the Pink City and then off out to the Rambagh Palace for Sunday Lunch.

As we are relaxing in the veranda waiting for Mr Khan to arrive we have a little monsoon rain, or rather a 15 minute downpour of epic proportions!  Luckily being Scottish Mr M is not fazed by a little rain and whips out the emergency ‘Team GB’ umbrella.

As we make our way gingerly through the puddles to the car Mr Khan proclaims that we have had some ‘good rain’ this morning.  On leaving the hotel we then have to battle through the flooded streets of Jaipur and take a rain-check on shopping and head to the Albert Hall for some pre-lunch sightseeing instead.

Jaipur - Albert Hall

 

Although this is an impressive big building in the middle of Jaipur, Mrs M renames it ‘Pigeon Poo Palace’ as it is covered in thousands of pigeons all intent on making their mark on Mrs M…  As most of you know Mrs M hates pigeons and luckily survived unscathed.

Sunday Lunch at the Rambagh Palace is a real treat and we are most impressed with the local Rajasthani specialities of Papad ki Sabza and a delicious Biryiani.  The chef even comes out for a chat to see if we are enjoying our meal, which has been our best in India so far.

Mrs & Mr M

Mr Khan's Rules of Driving ! ! !

From some of your comments and e-mails it appears that the video of the Ambassador taxi ride was of interest.  Following on from this we thought we should share some more of our experiences on the roads in India.

We have had the same driver - Mr Khan - through most of our time in India, and early on he was keen to share some advice for Indian driving.  Driving in India is apparently 'very easy' and you only need three things:

1. Good horn
2. Good brakes
3. Good luck

So far we can vouch for the good horn and good brakes, and Mr Khan seems to be a lucky man...

Mr & Mrs M

5771 of 35151 miles completed

I thought it was time we sent out an update on our progress round the world so far.   I know that at least Mike F (or the Excelwallah as he should be known as we are in India...) will be interested.

So from the UK, via Delhi, Agra to Jaipur I make it that we have completed around 5771miles so far.  Not bad for only 5 days on the road.

I also recon we have seen 6 different forts or palaces so far (average of 1.2 forts or palaces a day).  We have also traveled on a plane, a train, a variety of different cars and a cycle rickshaw.  We just need to do the water buffalo cart ride and the Tuk Tuk to get pretty much the full set.

More blogs on methods of transport to follow.

Mr M