DAY 4
DAY 4
We went on safari today around the National Park. We choose to do an afternoon safari which starts at 2pm (or 3pm “Indian time”)! The jeep which takes you is opened-top, so I advise wearing a short sleeved T-shirt!
We were sharing our jeep with 15 people including a bunch of Germans! One of the German’s decided to buy a new safari hat, and was sporting the new look when a Monkey decided it was good enough to wee on!!!! The look of thunder as it rained down on her suggested she was not that at home with nature yet!!!!
The safari lasted three hours, the drive itself being an adventure in itself!
We weren’t lucky enough to see a Tiger or a Leopard (although every other jeep that went from our hotel did – apparently a monkey weeing on you is not that good luck). However we did see antelopes, monkeys, crocodiles and many other animals – it is definitely worth doing, although after three hours of bumping around you feel like a vibrating toothbrush when you eventually get off!
Around Ranthambhore National Park there is nothing but hotels – so we ate in the hotel and played cards during the evening! Our dinner costing us around 70 Rs each (1 pound).
Day 5
Sooooo, we were meant to setting off to Jaipur first thing, with our “happy and accommodating” driver. However unfortunately the car broke down and we had to laze around the pool side all day. After several versions of the truth, the driver eventually admitted the car would be fixed at 4.30pm – although his mate had shown up by the point, so he still tried to persuade us that it would be better to stay here, regardless that no rooms were available!
We left at 5pm and arrived in Jaipur at 9pm, after an extremely bumpy and hot journey! By the time we arrived at the hotel ( Jaipur Darbar) we were knackered and hot and longing for a cold shower. Our train tickets we had previously booked had been delivered to the hotel – but surprise, surprise they were wrong!
Not only had they booked our train from Delhi not Jaipur, meaning a 6hour drive back to Delhi and only one day in Jaipur, they had also booked our Mumbai to Goa tickets on the wrong day giving us only one night in Mumbai! Voices were raised and our driver sulkingly admitted he had known this all along after promising us repeatedly our tickets were sorted!
Day 6 – Jaipur
We set off in the morning on a walking tour around the old city – we followed the route suggested in the Lonely planet which takes you through numerous Bazaars and to all the sights. We were told by the locals not to go to the Palace as it was overpriced and there was nothing really inside – instead we were taken to the rooftops (for free) where we were able to watch the city from above – it is definitely worth doing! The view overwhelmed Charlie so much she proceeded to faint (twice)!
We then went on to Amber fort. After a week of site-seeing we decided just to walk up to the fort but not to actually go inside.
In the evening, we went to Hotel Pearl Palace which has the Peacock Canopy Restaurant above. This overlooks the whole city and the food is fantastic! A thali here only cost 80Rs.
Day 7
We travelled back to Delhi in order to catch the train to Mumbai. We visited the tourist office we booked our package through and were able to get 1500 Rs back for the mistakes they had made – never mess with a lawyer!
We caught the 16.55 train to Mumbai. We had book second class accommodation on the sleeper train. This consisted of six beds and a curtain for a door! However the train was surprisingly pleasant. They provide three meals, 2 bottles of water and tea or coffee! The food was great and we still yet to get Delhi Belly! We even shared a carriage with a guru who read our palms – Fiona is going to find momentary fame (Big Brother maybe), Charlie will be married by 27 and I should get a job which involves speaking!!!
Day 8
We arrived in Mumbai at 10pm and were taking to Calabo (the main area) for 100Rs (they tried charging us 400Rs but our “Guru” had pre-warned us).
The hotels are expensive here but we eventually found a centrally located one (Hotel Volga 2) for 1200 Rs – however it had a shared bathroom and 2 rock solid beds but on the plus side it had a window!
We are going to hit the town tonight and attempt to find a bar (apparently they exist in Mumbai)
So speak soon
xxxxx
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