India 2007

I’ve really enjoyed traveling on the Dragoman truck. I’ve seen a lot of India in a short space of time with the minimum of hassles. Everyone has worked well as a team, and the crew are fantastic. But, I am looking forward to a change.

I want to be back in the driving seat of my trip. I’d like to spend more time in certain places. I’m looking forward to staying in hotels, walking around and chatting with people.

I’m sure that there will be moments when I wish I was back on the truck, but I hope I can easily buy a motorbike in Jaipur. Without a motorbike I’ll be using buses and trains, which will provide an equally good experience, but I know I’ll miss gems of opportunities along the way.

A couple of hours outside of Orchha we pull over the truck for lunch. Within a few minutes the local goat farmers come over and stand behind us. They watch in fascination as we quickly setup the tables, food and cleaning gear.

Whilst we are eating two interesting people approach us.

The first is an Indian journalist who took photos of us at the palaces in Orchha this morning. He asks if he can take more photos of us, we agree. He is from Bombay and I think he has himself an interesting story today. He says that Indian people can learn a lot from us, referring to our impromptu roadside picnic. I wonder what most Indian people think of us.

The second visitor is an inquisitive young Indian chap, well dressed and sporting a large orange bindi. He has many questions. He is curious of what we think of India, what attracts us to India and he wants to know about our class system. We talk briefly about Shakespeare and other writers. He says he thinks we are all from the higher class of our societies, which we are not. His biggest surprise comes when he asks about our poor people. We tell him that our governments give them money for food and shelter. He is amazed. It is easy to assume that different cultures understand simples aspects of our societies, when they do not.

It was a very interesting stop.

Everywhere I turn in India I am fascinated by what I see. People going about their mysterious business or quite often sitting around. There seems to be limited western influence in India. There are many motorised vehicles, but they are all Indian or Japanese. Brands such as Coca Cola, Cadburys and Marlboro are available in tourist areas. But the core of India goes about it’s day in the India way, at the Indian pace.

I hope Indian maintains its cultural independence as its economy and world presence increase.

India is a fascinating country to be in, and I highly recommend visiting to those with a little travel experience and curiosity. But be prepared, India is often a challenge, and normally a rewarding one.

I have a late start, the first in days. After breakfast we head into the town of Khajuarho, home to some of the world’s finest temples.

We park up the truck and fend off the army of touts. We make our way to Raja’s cafe for refreshments before heading over to the temples with out guide.

The temples are spectacular. Featuring some very erotic art, the temples originate from the 10th century. Soon after construction all but one were damaged by invaders. Today they are monuments, with the exception of the one intact temple, situated outside of the park, to allow for prayers.

The park area is beautifully kept, with no random buildings in between them. Our guide mentions that shoes are removed before entering the monuments, even though they are no longer holy buildings, as the illiterate may not be aware the monuments are no longer temples.

We reconvene at Raja’s cafe for lunch. We are paired into cooking teams, me being with Libby. I’m quite happy about this, as Libby is a nice, wise lady. We head into the alien market place to buy our groceries for shopping. Libby and I settle on a vegetable stir fry, followed by fruit salad with yogurt. We get everything we need fairly easily for INR220, which turns out to be much less than the other groups.

I also buys a pair of Indian trousers. I have only bought one pair with me, which I constantly wear, having anticipated warmer weather. Shorts are not acceptable in most of India.

We all meet up and head back to the lodges. We eat daal curry and sink a few drinks, along with chocolate cake, as it’s Ali’s birthday.

We arrive at the lodge park in good time. Today we have covered 410km, on varying road conditions. There is still a little sunlight when we get shown to our lodges. This is a very remote region.

We all settle for drinks and chicken Tandoori. The group discusses what to do with the extra day we have gained by today’s long drive. We agree to spend the extra night here in the lodges. This gives us a much needed late start tomorrow.

I am currently on a Dragoman Overland trip from Kathmandu to Delhi, and I am really enjoying it. The destinations and time within them has been perfect. The group and crew are great people, all getting along very well.

Zoe and Hugo, the crew, have been faultless. They are always thinking ahead, happy & helpful, unflappable and constantly solving problems.

I’ve loved sitting in the back of the truck and watching the world go by, even on the days when we are on the move for more than 14 hours.

If I went on this truck I would be traveling on the buses and trains, which would offer a different and equally rewarding experience. But, public transport involves many more hassles.

I do intend to travel by public transport in the south of India, and am looking forward to those experiences.

There were a few murmurings at the start of the Dragoman trip where bad pictures were painted of very bad roads in India. But, the roads have been OK. Certainly not good compared to western standards, but better than suggested.

This is Hugo’s first trip to India, and Zoe has not been here for many years. I think Zoe may just be a little out of date with the road conditions. I am sure she was just trying to prepare everyone for what to expect.