Return to India

Humayuns Tomb

After a refreshing 5 weeks back in the UK Spring weather and greeting the birth of our latest grandson Oliver, we returned to India, spending a few days in an incredibly hot Delhi. With temperatures reaching 45 degrees in the mid afternoons we spent a couple of mornings visiting some of the magnificent Mughal monuments in Delhi. First the beautiful Humayun's Tomb, a huge, and beautifully proportioned sandstone and marble mausoleum set on a plinth similar to the Taj Mahal, but constructed 40 years earlier.

Narrow alleys of Nazuraddin town

Qutub Minar

In the large area of parkland around the mausoleum are dozens of smaller Mughal tombs scattered amongst the trees, some beautifully decorated and lots of more modest structures - too many to visit on a hot day. Across the main road from these mausolea is one of the oldest muslim parts of Delhi consisting of narrow twisting alleys housing lots of small stores and workshops.


Collonade around ruined mosque

The other main site we visited was Qutub Minar - a spectacular masonry tower, constructed on a much older site of a 4th century iron pillar, to celebrate the founding of the Delhi Sultanate in the 12th century. Surrounding the tower are the remains of more Mughal tombs and a mosque with beautifully carved pillars. By early afternoon it was too hot to continue so we retired to the cool of our apartment.


Crossing to India

Warwick Estate

View to Indian Plains

Our return journey to the van, parked in Nepal took us back on the 12 hour train ride to Banbasa, and then via tuk tuk and local bus to Wild Trak Adventures, where the van was as we left it. With the weather now very hot John assured us the tigers in the park were regularly bathing in the rivers to cool off and there was a good chance of a sighting, so we joined him for one more walking safari, but an early thunderstorm cooled the air and once again we were tigerless.
With the monsoon heading north and the temperatures increasing we decided to head north west to the Himalaya, where the monsoon arrives later, and in the far north west of India the mountains lie in the rain shadow so are not affected by the rains.

Nainital Lake

Wandering Holy Man

Temple set in the mountains

Terraces prepared for the rainy season rice

Having cleared India bureaucracy at the border we first crossed the extremely narrow barrage across the Mahakali River to Banbasa and headed to the nearest hills, and the closest summer hill station to Delhi at Nainital. In fact it is so popular the police were stopping cars reaching the town as it was "full". An interesting family - Major Warwick - has an estate near Nainital and by happenstance we met a family who lived close to the estate and managed to organise a guide to take us there. It is a rambling, semi derelict building set on a hillside with magnificent views across the valley and was home to Major Warwick in the early 20th century. The Major was actually a woman who dressed as a man to claim his pension but performed well remembered charitable work amongst the locals.

Meandering road - a direct distance of 10 kms
can be 50kms by road

Maximising rural transport

Tiger Falls

Driving north and west from Nainital the mountains become progressively higher, with small towns built either in the deep valleys by a river crossing, or high on the hills where the land flattens out. Between are some fantastic twisting roads clinging to the mountainsides, passing through valleys dotted with farmsteads set amongst increasingly stoop terraced fields, used for rice in the wet season and wheat in the dry. The narrow twisting roads, climbing up and down the mountains restrict travel to around 25 km per hour but provide fantastic views. Uttarkahand province is home to beautiful scenery but also has some very holy Buddhist sites and holy men are frequently seen walking the roads with their few belongings heading for the next monastery.

Road cut into cliff face

Note the road on the left of the valley

Skirting to the north of Shimla, as it is school holidays and is also packed with tourists escaping the heat of Delhi. Heading to the Spiti valley loop a road near the Tibetan border through high peaks and described as one of the most challenging and beautiful roads in India the scenery becomes increasigny dramatic with the first sight of snow capped peaks. The people become more Tibetan in their appearance and clothing and the road frequently cut into the sheer cliffs faces of the steep valley sides. We have been told the 4500m Kunzum La pass at the northern end should be opened in a few days. here's hoping.

Spectacular camping

 

Temple and Ashram

 



Traditional house perched on mountainside

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nepal - Pokhra to Bardia and home.

Bandipur centre

Climbing from the plains round Chitwan we soon felt the relief of the cooler temperatures as we headed towards Pokhara. The main road follows a large river valley then joins the busy Kathmandu to Pokhara road. Bandipur high above this road offered an elevated location where we could camp, as well as the potential for views of Annapurna. Climbing up the steep road we had to stop for some major roadworks where they are widening the road. A digger was pushing spoil down onto the road, where it was being scooped into lorries. Every 20 minutes or so they stopped, roughly levelled the spoil on the road and let vehicles pass.

Sunset on Pokhara Lake

Bandipur village is being developed as a tourist destination and has a beautiful high street with stunning views in all directions and plenty of walks. Despite an overnight thunderstorm the morning broke cloudy with only brief glimpses of Annapurna and Manaslu. After a short drive to Pokhara we drove to the marked campsite right in the centre alongside the lake. Here a large field offers free camping and easy access to the shops as well as the beautiful lakeside walk where many bars have set up to enjoy the sunset.

Sunrise on Annapurna Range

Campsite with a view

We were up early to drive to the Sarangkot viewpoint for sunrise, but after winding up the narrow road found it was blocked, so joined several other visitors to watch sunrise from somewhat lower down. Still an awesome sight as the sun briefly caught the snow capped peaks around Annapurna. To get to Sarangkot viewpoint required a 30km detour along a road under construction with some serious muddy sections to be traversed. Not a problem for us, but some of the local cars and buses struggled. The mountains were still pretty clear with stunning panoramas from the peaks round to the plains.

Pokhara World Peace Stupa

Road south through the Himalaya foothills

Riverside campsite

Lumbini - the birthplace of Buddah

Pokhara offers a lot to see and do but we needed to be heading west so after visiting the World Peace stupa (one of 80 or so around the world) we headed south through the mountains, stopping at a beautiful camping location by a river before reaching Lumbini - the birthplace of Buddah. A huge tourist and spiritual site is being developed round the remains of the birthplace with a large canal and Buddhist temples and monasteries being constructed by Buddhist communities from countries all round the world including France and Austria as well as the expected South East Asian countries.

West of Lumbini the main road becomes pretty empty as it passes through hundreds of kms of the beautiful open Terai forest, dotted with small poor farming communities.


Terai Forest in Bardia NP

A few hours from the western border of Nepal lies the relatively undeveloped Bardia national park, home to 60 tigers as well as Rhino deer and numerous birds. We had been recommended to stay at Wild Trax Adventures a small "lodge" near the park entrance run by Johnny - a native of Yorkshire. 
Over a couple of days we went on a full day walking safari, followed by a full day jeep safari and saw rhino, 5 species of deer and many birds including the rare grey woodpecker, but sadly no tiger. While on safari our promised storage of the van in Delhi did not materialise and Johnny kindly offered to let the van stay there while we returned to the UK for 5 weeks.


Local Bus

So instead of driving to Delhi we had to make our way by public transport. First Johnny drove us to the main road where we caught a local bus for the 4 hour drive to the border. A tuk-tuk took us to the Nepalese border and on to the Indian side where we caught another tuk tuk into Banbasa, where we hoped to catch the aircon night bus, but it was not running. Instead we stayed overnight and caught the express train for the 12 hour (385km) journey to Delhi.


Train to Delhi

We had booked a flight with a 23 hour stopover in Dubai, where we stayed in the oldest hotel in the city and spent the afternoon exploring the spice and gold souk, and heading to see the Burj al Khalifa tower, before catching our "connecting" flight to London the next day.


Burj al Khalifa Tower

We have 5 weeks in the UK before returning to the van to continue our adventure.   

Gold Souk in Dubai

   
 

 

 

 

Deer in Bardia NP                                                                The rare Grey Woodpecker

 

 

 

 

 



         

Macaques                                                               Baby Langur

 

 

Village in west Nepal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

... and From the Plains to the Mountains

Victoria Monument Kolkata

Indian Road Hazard

Crossing from Bangladesh back to India we were immediately back into the hustle and bustle of Indian roads. Kolkata was our first destination which was noticeably hotter than Dhaka. The western sector of Kolkata is being developed as a new town with sleek dual carriageways and interchanges, a very long elevated metro system under development and lots of new shiny offices, housing and shopping facilities. It could be anywhere in the western developed world. Central Kolkata has some very impressive colonial era buildings including the cathedral and the huge and over the top Victoria memorial. A very grand castle like building (now a museum) in the centre of some very large and beautifully maintained gardens. We spent a day strolling round the centre of town which is surprisingly clear of litter, visiting the impressive Howrah Bridge over the Hooghly River, as well as trying to visit some of the older buildings like the beautifully maintained Armenian and Catholic churches and the old synagogue. Sadly they were all closed. The old Parsi fire temple was hidden in the middle of a bazaar and very run down despite being listed as an important historical building.


Bodhgaya Temple

A couple of hundred kilometers north west of Kolkata are some interesting historical sites, the first we visited being the location of Buddah's enlightenment. Bodhgaya has developed into a huge pilgrimage site with a large temple built on the site of the peepul tree, and dozens of monasteries from all the major branches of Buddhism. All very organised, but to my mind lacking in any sense of awe.

Nalanda Temple ruin

Rural Bihar

North of Bodhgaya we passed through Rajgir, claimed to be the oldest continuously inhabited town in India and was the capital of the local area in 500BC. It is an important location for Buddhists, Jains and Hindus so attracts many pilgrims. A few kms north are the ruins of Nalanda, founded in the 5th Century it became one of the main places for Buddhist learning, with three large temples and 14 monasteries on the site and some 10,000 monks and students living there. A hugely impressive and peaceful location. After an interesting drive along minor roads through rural Bihar we managed to find Barabar Cave, claimed to be the oldest man made cave in India it is actually three caves carved by hand into a large granite outcrop resembling a crocodile.

Barabar Cave

Inside Barabar Cave

The interior surfaces of each of the caves are highly polished giving them fantastic acoustics.

Rural Bihar

After enjoying the countryside we headed to the hectic city of Varanasiand famed for its position on the Ganges with its ghats for cremations and bathing, and sacred to Hindus. Bustling with tourists we enjoyed an evening walk along the ghats where we saw the burning ghat, a remarkably efficient traditional system of cremating bodies on wood pyres. each cremation uses 200kgs of wood which has to be brought into the city on huge barges, and with 300 cremations per day (24 hours a day 7 days a week) requires a constant supply. Sunrise in Varanasi from a rowing boat was very peaceful, with the light illuminating the ghats and the city slowly waking, before we walked back through the tiny twisting lanes.

Varanasi Ghats

With temperatures rapidly rising we headed north to Nepal. The roads to the border at Birgunj were awful, no more than muddy tracks in places, but clearly plans for new roads had been started, with various part completed bridges and bulldozed carriageways, but apparently abandoned some years previously. Evening thunderstorms were now a regular feature with spectacular lightning, and occasionally torrential rain, but it did cool the air.

Grey Langur

Across the border in Nepal was a huge change, traffic became less insistent, and less dense, with people giving way and a much more relaxed approach to life. Driving through the Terai forests on the way to Janakpur on empty roads was lovely even catching sight of some grey langurs browsing in the roadside trees. A brief stop in Janakpur to see the extravagant 1912 Baroque Mughal Hindu temple on the location where Rama found Sita also brought home the severity of the 2015 earthquake, with several damaged houses in the town centre.

Himalaya Foothills near Paphlu

Earthquake damage at Janakpur

As we headed north we started to climb the foothills of the Himalaya, with some breathtaking views of the mountains as we crossed some passes. Wanting to try and see Everest from Nepal we headed north and east to try and get as close to Everest as possible by road. The roads are amazing, carved into mountainsides and twisting and turning up and down valley sides and running along some fine ridges to connect the villages. Sadly at Phaplu the road was blocked, so we turned round and camped on a ridge to the south, being rewarded with some fine views of mountains, but sadly not Everest the following morning.

Durbar Square Bhaktapur

Bustling Kathmandu street

With limited time before we need to be in Delhi we headed back towards Kathmandu, stopping at Bhakatpur, one of the best preserved traditional Kathmandu town centres. Here many of the temples were damaged by the earthquake, though most have been repaired. The amazing 55 window palace survived relatively unscathed. Durbar square in Kathmandu has not been so fortunate with several temples completely destroyed by the earthquake, and the many of the main buildings still not repaired. The lanes and alleyways of central Kathmandu are fascinating, and in places clogged with tourists. To the south of Durbar Square it is much more relaxed and we wandered through the old streets and squares with their numerous, temples stupas, water tanks and small shrines, most of which are still maintained and part of everyday life. We had managed to be in Kathmandu for the New year 2076 and passing back through the square we surprised to see animal sacrifices taking place at some of the temples.


Damage at Durbar Square Kathmandu

From Kathmandu we headed south to Chitwan National Park near the border with India where the weather was much hotter. We headed to the sunset river view in the afternoon and were surprised to find hundreds of people watching a wild rhino grazing on the river bank just 10 metres from the path. We were even more surprised, as were the rangers when it decided to walk up onto the road and through the town to find some fresh greenery in one of the gardens. We were rewarded with more rhino sightings on a safari into the park, where we got caught in an afternoon thunderstorm and spent an hour in the back of a jeep holding a tarpaulin over our heads while the driver negotiated the flooded tracks.
After a few days of heat we are heading back up to Pokhara in the hope of seeing Annapurna.             

Traditional house Kathmandu

         

 

 

Rhino in Chitwan NP

 

Gharial in Chitwan NP

 

 

India wedding car

 

 

 

 

 

Distant Himalaya