Sri Lanka: Week 1

Arriving in Sri Lanka at 4am meant that our only concern was to get to a bed ASAP. Unfortunately, we were given a taxi driver who spoke about 4 words of English and who didn't have the faintest idea of how to get us to the hostel that Lauren was already checked into.

After a while of aimlessly driving around, Imy's screeches of "stop" were finally rewarded and we were able to ask for directions. This is when we experienced our first bout of Sri Lanken hospitality, as the guy hopped on his motorbike and led our driver to the guesthouse - what a star!

After a quick kip, we were back on the road and heading to Kandy. We set off on our 5 hour bus journey...only to Arrive in Kandy 6 and a half hours later. That just seems to be the Sri Lanken way. With only 10 minutes to spare, we headed straight out to a local Kandy dance show. We were a little dubious when we arrived at a run-down school hall but the plate spinning and backflips, in addition to their vajazzled outfits, impressed immensely.

Plate perfection

The golden oldie

With such a short amount of time and so much to see, we hired a rickshaw to take us around. We stopped off at a tea factory and had a guided tour of the tea process that takes it from leaf to cup..the free cup of tea at the end was a result! 

Tea glorious tea

Ooohh fancy

Then we headed to a spice garden and swotted up on our natural remedies. We weren't expecting the back massage, head massage and cup of tea (a special dazzarea treatment for Kat) to be thrown in for free. Thank God Lauren splashed out on some ointments otherwise we'd have felt well guilty! 

Tut

Impromptu head massage

Finally, we got to the elephant orphanage just in time for the baby ellies to be bottle fed. They absolutely guzzled it down. We also saw bathing time and were in the perfect spot to see the herd of elephants making their way down to the river. We grabbed a bite to eat beside the river, with our eyes transfixed on the elephants frolicking in the water. What made the day even better was the fact that Kat and Imy had their first serving of beef in 6 weeks! It was a meaty heaven in a burger bun.

Stroking ellie

Baby bath

View from the restaurant

BEEF

To finish off one of our favourite days, we checked out the giant Buddha, which we climbed for a fantastic view over kandy.

Big Buddha

The next day we headed to Ella and experienced one of the most beautiful train journeys we have ever been on. There were rolling hills of tea plantations, huge waterfalls and adorable kids playing and waving as we passed. Ella in no way disappointed. It's a quaint little town surrouded by mountains, with a really relaxed atmosphere. We went to see the Ella Rawena falls - a big waterfall surrounded by monkies. We didn't do the hike up Little Adam's Peak because we knew that soon enough we would be doing the whopper itself.

Tea plantations

Ella Rawena

Adam's Peak was our next destination. It is an infamous "mountain" and home to the rock on which Buddha/Adam/Shiva (depending on your faith) first stepped down from heave. Hundreds of Sri Lankens make the pilgrimage around this time of year, with the aim of getting to the top in time to see the sun rise. With this in mind, we set off from Ella in the evening with the moronic idea of doing the hike that night. By the time we got to Hatton though, we realised this was a stupid idea and after a bit of a kafuffle locating a room, we checked into the biggest dive imaginable. We're talking a cockroach infested, pube-ridden hell hole!

We checked out pronto the next morning and caught the bus to delhouse - a tourist pitstop at the base of Adam's peak. Again, the bus ride was absolutely stunning, as we made our way around a beautiful turquoise lake. 

Not too shabby

An early night was in order, so we could start the hike at 1am. So after about 2 hours of sleep we found ourselves hiking up a mountain. A 7km hike might not sound too bad but when it is going up about 6000 steep steps, you can really feel the burn. We didn't have to look too far for motivation though, as hiking alongside us were 80 year old women and dads carrying their children. Most inspirational of all was the old lady we saw hobbling up on just one leg and a crutch!! It didn't make the climb any easier though, and it was a massive relief when we made it to the top, where we huddled in an attempt to keep warm. 

Bit nippy at the top

Ding dong

The sunrise was an absolute beaut and made it all worthwhile. However, what goes up must come down! So with absolute jelly legs we started the descent. It took a while for us to get back down because our legs were on the verge of seizing up and we seemed to have lost a lot of our coordination. 

Peekaboo

Finally the sun makes an appearance

Struggling

The peak that almost defeated us

After the hike, we had some brekki and grabbed our stuff so we could head south to the beaches, feeling like we well and truly deserved a bit of a beach break after our physical exertion. It's a tough life!

Last stop in India: Delhi!

We headed straight to the main bazaar, which is like the traveller centre of Delhi and it reminded us of Khaosan Road in Bangkok. We took it easy the first day, as the next day was Holi and we had planned our whole trip around this colourful festival, so we wanted to be fully prepared. 


Holi:
From the moment we set foot on the main street we were mobbed by Indians and Westerners alike, throwing coloured powder and water at us and smearing it across our faces as they wished us a happy Holi. At times, people got a little rough (and gropey) but overall it was a whole lot of fun! By the time we were done, we were covered in paint from head to toe and not a scrap of skin was left uncoloured. Unfortunately for some (Lauren) the paint mixed  and the resulting colour was that of a stool sample. This was mainly due to the excessive amount of water that was continually thrown at us. 

Before...

After...

Group shot

Happy Holi

After all the excitement of the morning, we took refuge in our hotel room for the afternoon. A long shower and some heavy scrubbing later, blotchy rainbow hair still remained, accompanied by the fear that it may be permanent. 

Hibernating

The next day and some hardcore haggling later, we got a rickshaw to take us to see some sights for the morning. The first port of call was the Lotus temple, aptly named for its lotus flower shape. It reminded us a lot of the Sydney Opera House. The next stop was India Gate. This too was impressive but was rather similar to the Gateway to India in Mumbai! Finally, we visited the biggest Mosque in India and enjoyed the experience of watching them pray.

Lotus Temple

India Gate

Before we knew it, the Grandma of the group was turning 30! There was only one way to celebrate whilst in India...PAMPER DAY! We also ordered a dominoes and then headed out for some drinks in a swanky bar. There was live music from a chinese band that surpassed all of our expectations and they sang happy birthday to Lauren..much to her horror. 

Ooooohhh fancy

Turning 30 with multicoloured hair...seems a bit early for a midlife crisis!

With Kat stuck on the toilet yet again Imy and Lauren decided to explore a few more of Delhi's delights. We started with the Gandhi museum, which is where he was assassinated. It was a really beautiful and tranquil place. It all went a bit downhill after that, as we had to pay to go in the national museum so we opted out and some how ended up at a doll museum instead - freaky and not part of the plan. To calm ourselves down we resorted to some retail therapy.

Gandhi's last footsteps before being shot

After a fantastic, fast-paced and flabbergasting six weeks in India we are now moving on to the greener pastures of Sri Lanka.

Toodles!

Lots of Love Imy and Kat xx

Varanasi: GUEST POST BY LAUREN CLEREY

We arrived in Varanasi somewhat disheveled after our overnight ten hour taxi ride from Agra - flashpacker my arse! Nevertheless, Imy still had enough comic energy on arrival to "tickle" the taxi driver as he unloaded our bags...he loved it! 

Tickle tickle

We saddled up our backpacks and began our trek to the hostel through the heart of the city, but what unveiled itself was an instantly confronting urban experience that none of us were prepared for... a maze of narrow laneways, which encompassed trading, people, rubbish, motorbikes, cows, dogs, monkeys, their excrement and all within a metre or so wide space. The girls especially noted the 'unique' stench which is only possible from the combination of all those things!

We ate in the Monalisa..what were we thinking?

Poo-wee

Having dumped our things at the hostel, we walked down to the Ganges river to explore. Being the holiest place in India, Varanasi was quite confronting, and the religious gatherings on the river of men, who were sometimes dressed in nothing but paint, reminded me of something out of Indiana Jones! However, the architecture, the colour, the noise, the children playing in the water, the boats and the vastness of the river itself were all a pleasure to behold. 

First view of the Ganges

One of the Ghats that line the Ganges

Bathing in the holiest water around

As I have learnt quickly here, card playing and time out from India are sometimes a must and the guys quickly introduced me to their favourite game "Yanif", and their other forms of 'entertainment'...

The KImy show

We returned to the river in the evening to witness the burning of the bodies and the religious ceremonies that accompanied this. We bought some candles from the children on the riverbank and hired a boat which took us down stream. We lit our candles and set them on the river for good karma, before we reached the bodies being burned. It was sad, yet mesmerising, and I have a vivid memory of the noise and singing coming from the people on the riverbank. 

Flowers

Lighting candles on the Ganges

Burning Ghats

Ganga Pooja ceremony

The following day the three of us got up early, well at 7.30, to go and do a yoga class with a local master... this little guy made it look so easy, and made us realise how inflexible and unfocused on our bodies we were. He was also really entertaining and felt the need to explain his crazy sunnies - he had been bitten in the eye by a mozzie whilst on his moped! It was a great experience which we all really enjoyed... authentic India.

And stretch

We didn't realise how mini he was!

Sleeper train

Lunch and a few card games later, we were preparing to leave Varanasi on an overnight train, with a sense of sadness and relief! Next stop, rape capital of the world - Delhi.

Loz x

Agra: The Taj Mahal

We got a day bus and opted for the luxury of A/C, which even included a free bottle of "Fosters" water. It tasted a bit dodgy, so we chucked it.

Agra is a bit of a one trick pony, as people only really visit for the Taj Mahal. Lucky for us, our hotel was only 500m away from the iconic attraction and it was from here that we had our first glimpse, which really got our tastebuds tingling!

Giddy

We then had to get a wriggle on to Agra airport to pick up Lorun Cleeree (Imy's big sissy). On arrival, we had to go through three seperate armed gates, which was just a tad unnerving. An hour later than expected, Lauren rocked up!! We didn't mind the wait too much though because we made friends with all the other taxi drivers and they absolutely loved our homemade sign. We though we'd ease Lauren into Indian cuisine, so we opted for a Pizza Hut.

One of the locals

An early night was in order for our 5am start the following morning. We were buzzing with excitement as we made our way to the entrance gates. Kat and Imy split into two seperate queues to get in and once again Imy's was quicker...when will Kat learn?

The hundreds of pictures we had seen in no way compared to the breathtaking beauty of the rising sun on the Taj Mahal. It really was spectacular. We got a million  pics from every angle and loved every second of it.

Morning glory

Lads at Taj 2013

Lolz 'Kat we're touching the top of the Taj'

Family portrait

Taj frolick

A we weren't leaving till 9pm, and being the great tourists that we are, we also went to the red fort. It was a very fine fort and gave some more cracking views of the Taj. When we went to leave the fort, there was a group of about 50 school girls entering and they ran up to us shouting "hello" and wanting to shake all of our hands. For a brief two minutes we were like celebs...then they all ran off again.

Another day another fort

Katerina ballerina

Celeb

Next stop Varanasi: flashpacking it in a taxi all the way there!! (slash we're rubbish travellers and forgot to sort trains in time)

Jaipur

We were all a little groggy and had no idea where to start, but Sheikh (a rickshaw driver) and his pal saved the day by taking us to The Water Palace and on a shopping spree. 

Water Palace

They took us to a cloth factory where they dye and print fabric before transforming it into various items of clothing, which are then distributed throughout the whole of India. We bought some snazzy presents for our mums (you're welcome!) and Kat splashed out on some artwork that will probably end up gathering dust in a drawer.

Michael showed off his skills in a quick game of cricket with some local kids, but the fun came to an abrupt end when one of our drivers pelted the ball over a wall - don't worry, they gave the kids some money for a new one. 

Michael getting owned by the Indians

We also casually stopped off to pet some elephants who were tucking into their dinner.

Bricking it

Cool as ice

On the way back, Imy used her dimples to their ultimate effect and managed to wangle a quick driving lesson in the rickshaw. She took to it like a duck to water and is considering a career path in ripping off tourists.

On day two in Jaipur, we trundled off to the Amber Fort, stopping off at another temple along the way.

Templetastic

At some tombs

 As we got out of the rickshaw, a man ran up to us with a cobra in a basket and started tooting his flute as he charmed the snake. He obviously didn't toot too well though because the snake tried to make a run for it! Imy was a tad scared to say the least.

The snake escape

Loads of fat tourists get elephant rides up to the fort, but we felt a bit sorry for the ellies, so we opted for the climb up instead. Yet again, the cost for tourists was 10 times that of Indians, so on principle we refused to pay (slash the curse of being tight strikes again). Instead, we admired the view and had an impromptu photo shoot with a very large Indian family. Kat finally got to actually hold a baby - happy days!

Kat never happier than with an Indian child

Amber Fort with the gang

Next Stop: Agra and finally the Taj Mahal..