Slow...slow...slow... train to Shimla

Heading out of the smog of Delhi once more we caught the train at 5.55am up to Kalka.Bleary eyed and having condensed our baggage to one case- talk about travelling light- we stuffed the ubiquitous omeletes and wiled away the hours rapidly moving into the foothills of the Himalayas. After 6 hours of occupying each other we then frantically made a dash for the toy train- a narrow guage railway in order to wend our way Northwards. The scenery was absolutely awesome but a further 8 hours to travel 96 km pushed all bounds of tolerance- particularly when needing to share our prebooked seats with up to 5 other people- in all sharing a compartment for 10 people with 26!! This is the most 'Indian' train journey we have ever done- even more scary than the rickshaw hurtling through the backstreets of Delhi- and certainly one we're not bothered about repeating! Tired and grouchy having not eaten since breakfast we entered the amazing world that is Himachal, 'land of the gods.' Shimla is incredibly high up and the views are breathtaking.
We can see right down the valley and across the higher Himalayas and everywhere is so...built up amazingly. There are porters everywhere carrying all sorts of goods and immense numbers of steps due to the almost vertical inclines everywhere. Can't believe we're here in the Himalayas. Steve will tell you more about the Highest YMCA in the world which we had a great time at...but for now we'll sign off...must head for the bazaar- too many bargains to miss! Lots of love The Clays

Wowed by the Taj Mahal

Our tour of the 'Golden Triangle' was coming to a close and our final day was spent in Agra to visit the jewel in the crown for tourists ... The Taj Mahal. It really is breathtaking and easily earns its place as the worlds greatest building. Ruth quite fancied having a photo taken 'a la' the famous Princess Diana pose - unfortunately she couldn't get the 2000+ visitors to move out of the way for the perfect shot (how did Di manage to do it??). Agra is one of the most polluted places in India and the dust can really stick to the back of your throat. A less comforting sight (in the Taj Mahal itself) was the rolling LED display showing today's level of pollution - several times the 'safe level' - after hundreds of years built from impenitrable marble, modern pollution creating sulphuric acid is slowly eroding the surface of the stone. A final visit to a local marble works to buy a piece to remember the occasion and it's back to Delhi for a night stop-over before we say bye to Wendy (till next week) and set off in the early hours of Saturday morning to Shimla. No rest for the wicked!!

A tiger's tale...

Well...we bumped and jolted and hung on for dear life as we off-roaded through Indian jungles.The terrain spread out into what seemed more like African scenery and then towering above us were incredible cliffs with caves and vultures circling.We were shown all sorts of animals and birds but came back utterly exhauseted and without seeing a single tiger...though we were shown a couple of 'official' tiger and leopard prints in the sand (yeah, right, we ain't gonna fall for that one!!)However after a shower and lunch we headed back into the bushes for another expedition.This time it was worth all the bumps,bruises and bites ( come back Sanjay, all is forgiven!) as we discovered our own crocodiles, monkeys,chipmunks,antelopes,blue bulls,gazeles and even a cobra slithering its way across our path. Finally to add icing to the cake a tiger appeared.Great stuff- warm winds, the sun on your face, tigers in the grass...what more could a gal want?(Let's not go there, Auntie Wendy-ji!) Finally after a long hard day site--seeing we slunk off past our hotel's eaterie and off up the road with a disgruntled Sanjay( our driver) to a better hotel, to try out our folk dancing moves, experiment on an old fashioned sort of piano acccordion and stuff our faces with wonderful food.This is the life..the following day we had another incredibly long drawn out journey as we headed for Agra- but that's another tale. All in all we're fine, coping with all the scams, the heat, the bites and constant celebrity status. ( Why don't the men take a picture, it would last longer...)Trust all's well back home.Love to all..The Clay clan and Auntie-Wendy-Ji.( Incidentally if strange men from Rajasthan ever ask you if Wendy is my daughter...tell them, "of course, can't they see the family resemblance?".

Hunting for Tigers

Ranthambore National Park is famous for one thing ... Tigers. We arrived at our Hotel (The Raj Palace, nice setting - abysmal service) on Tuesday afternoon and spent most of the remainder of the afternoon/early evening swimming in the pool and preparing for the 'safari day' on Wednesday, with a very early start planned we all retired for an early . At 5am the alarms woke us and reluctantly we arose and awaited our transport. When you know your expecting to see Tigers it's quite a relief to find that your transport is a little higher up than some of the smaller jeeps others were getting into - it was still open top though ... and how come the ranger didn't have a gun with him!!

Experiences in Jaipur

We spent a thoroughly exhausting two-days in Jaipur, the Western corner of India's 'Golden Triangle' and overdosed on sights sounds (and smells..). The Amber Fort was a truly impressive sight. Amber was the capital of Kuchwaha for almost 700 years until 1728. It looks more like a film set from a distance, and the view keeps impressing as you get nearer. We originally planned to ride elephants from the village up the hill to the Fort; but the tourist queue first thing in the morning made the 2 hour wait (without guarantee of a ride) rather off putting - so we drove up and walked the rest of the way. The scenery and 17th Century architecture on arriving was worth the visit (see previous blog with photo's).
Later we found a local 'elephant house' (as you do, down a back street) and arranged a slightly longer elephant ride through the village streets. From below Callum thought the elephants were 'scary', to be honest, so did Dad ... but he wasn't letting on to the kids!! In fairness the elephant ride was a little bumper than other local transport, but considering the traffic congestion was perhaps faster! (would you argue with an elephant?).
The evening of our 2nd day in Jaipur we had a tuc-tuc ride to remember for a life time. Remember the scene with James Bond in a tuc-tuc going full pelt through back streets?? True we didn't have anyone shooting at us, but we hurtled through streets no four-wheeled transport would dare to attempt. Five of us crammed in the back (Wendy was having a lie down). We saw parts of Jaipur that Tourists wouldn't usually venture into .. visited a manufacturer of silverware (ask Ruth to show you the results) .. and a distributor of wood calved ornaments ... and past what seemed an Indian version of the stock market, 7:30pm crammed into the backstreets with hundreds of men (with scooters/motorbikes) all trading precious stones.
Definitely glad to have visited this incredible city, but two-days is enough, ready to move on to Ranthambore now.

Mighty Acts of God

Every year for the past 25 years or so, the New Delhi YMCA hosts an Easter extravaganza performance called 'The Mighty Acts of God' - part of its extensive Christian Emphasis programme. The show involves around 100-200 actors and backstage workers from small children to adults. The show is performed in English (Good Friday) and Hindi (Easter Saturday). Although the performance we saw was in Hindi it was still an impressive show and well worth the effort to attend (despite spending large amounts of time entertaining a boisterous Callum outside). Over the years many people have been involved in the productions - including (for about 18 years) our taxi driver!! The show is a clear Christian witness in a city where only 2% of the population is Christian and is enjoyed by people of other faiths also.

Shots from the 'Pink City'

Left to Right in decending order:

1. Inside the City Palace

2. Wendy by the City Palace 'reception rooms'

3. Steve & Hannah about to be escorted off by the Palace Guards (unless they all get 10Rs for the photo!!)

4. Joe & Ruth returning from an elephant ride - it's a long way up..

5. Camels filling up?

6. Snake Charming on top of the stronghold of Amber

7. Callum going Native

8. The Palace inside Amber Fort

Journey to Jaipur...

Well as is becoming our custom, we've kind of deviated off track and decided to go for a tour of the Golden Triangle while we're 'in the area!'That meant an approx 3-400km drive today midst the camels, elephants, rickshaws, motorbikes, big lorries and vans cram-packed with people hanging off every possible bit!You quickly(?) adjust to the chaotic traffic and mad blaring of horns everywhere as everyone jostles for space. The landscape slowly changed as we came down through Rajasthan getting more desert-y and ye retaining very green bits along the way. As we came through the first of the 7 gates of Jaipur the site was really awesome- this incredibly large fortified area with yelow/pink buildings everywhere with tiny windows and shops selling dolls in the local Rajasthani garb of brilliant colours and tiny mirror tiles inlaid. Our hotel - when the driver found it ( no address or tel. no.- just asking around !!) is 2 years old and appears almost middle Eastern with arched windows.. and strange waiters who believe that being English we're entitled to 'special attention' ( Wendy to explain when she gets home.) Joe wants everyone to know that tomorrow we're going to have an elephant ride up to the old fort...hmmm...now how on earth are we going to keep Callum sat down up on one of those...everyone's well by the way having now fended off the mozzy bites and the kids having been bribed by lots of goodies imported by Ms WGJ!Keep with us we'll try and keep blogging whenever we can..and all your messages are SOOOO appreciated and welcome! Happy Birthday to Mom, Andy, Giffers,Sue, Paul Skin.,and anyone else whose celebrating without us!Lotsa love from Wendy and the mad Clay clan xx

Wendy Arrives! ... Happy Holi

It's around 11am on Saturday having arrived safely back in Delhi and staying at the YWCA Family Hostel. Wendy (our friend from home & also West Bromwich & District YMCA Board member) has just joined us for breakfast, glad to have made it to the YWCA through the confusion of Delhi International Arrivals. Fortunately the taxi ride cost her 1/6 of the cost the first taxi tout tried to con her with!! (A little local knowledge is very helpful). Today is 'Holi' (AKA 'The festival of colours') - one of the biggest and most famous of Indian festivals, particularly in the north but also now in most parts of India in one form or another. The festival is a mixture of welcoming spring combined with historical and Hindu religious influences. People paint each other with colours from head to toe - a sort of mass paint ball party .. everywhere. As westerners we're keeping a low profile, especially with the kids. At the best of times we draw attention on the streets of Delhi - today would not be a good day for being the centre of attention. Much of the powder paint used is synthetic containing lead and very bad for the kids skin (which it dyes for 3-5 days). We plan to venture out later this afternoon when most of the excitement will have calmed down ... and allowing Wendy to readjust to the timezone.

Sad Goodbye to Goa

We've all had a super time in Goa and after six 'experience packed' days we're sad to be saying goodbye. If you're thinking of going to Goa and don't want the commercial or party beaches then we certainly recommend Bogmalo Beachm - it's small & non-westernised and very close to the Goa Airport. The 'Raj Rasorts' Guesthouse was a real hit with the kids. Hannah & Joe loved the Pool and Callum kept the staff busy playing football and 100 other tricks and antics. The personal service provided by Vivek (our host) would be difficult to beat and his local knowledge helped us make the most of our visit.

Officially a local Goan?

Having sampled a few days of a/c private taxi service to see some of the sights we thought we'd try our hand at going native and travelling around the way the locals do - it's surprising just how far 25p will take you using the local bus transport, and if you want to feel the pulse of local life it's hard to beat ... although rather bumpy if you sit at the back (guess where we sat!!).
On Goan buses you can expect to share a seat with chickens, pigs, goats, and also people - our journeys only involved the latter though! On Thursday we travelled to Vasco and then onto the capital Panjim. The changeover at Vasco was beside a fabulous fish market with all the local catches on display for sale. Joe and Steve thought the stingray were most impressive. With no other westerners around for miles, we were as much a cause of curiosity for the locals as the fish market was to us. At Panjim we had lunch at a great backstreet resturant 'Viva Panjim' in a downtown area known as Fontainhas - Matt Damon fans would recognise it as the location of the chase sequence in the opening scenes of 'The Bourne Supremacy', which was filmed in three areas of Goa. A short 'tuc-tuc' ride away we visited the YMCA of Goa. The general Secretary 'Godwin' gave us a tour of his relatively newly build 'guesthouse', ideal for tourists on a budget who arevisiting Goa / Panjim. The Guesthouse will in future generate income which will be used to support the fledgling social action work of the YMCA in the area. We probably travelled around 80-100km, the whole family for around a fiver, using buses, taxi, and tuc-tuc's - very tiring but well worth the effort.

A few snaps

Ruth with flowers in her hair!












Joe 'Tarzan' Clay, climbing a Betel Nut Tree

























Hannah and a pineapple plant






















An excited Callum waiting for the Mumbai-Goa 'sleeper' train


















Steve & Joe with the boys from the Juhu Centre (a Bombay YMCA project)











Hannah with children from a Bombay YMCA 'kindergarten'

Especially for Mrs Haigh's class

Hi everyone
We are having a fantastic time here in India. There have been so many new things to see, hear, smell and explore. There are fantastic beaches, rice fields with water buffalo and people always trying to sell you things everywhere you go. We've seen monkeys and parrots and a lizard in Joe's bathroom! There are mango and cashew nut trees and Joe did really well climbing up a betel nut tree.Did you know pineapples grow in the ground? It's been so exciting here in Goa and on Friday we head up North on another plane for Easter in Delhi...and onto the Taj Mahal etc.Wow! See you all after Easter.Love Joe & family

Dawn over the paddy fields

As dawn arrived, there were beautiful views as we very slowly chugged through the fields and over the rivers of Goa.The pink sky and red earth along with fantastically green palm trees and paddy fields were so beautiful...there are water buffalo and cows everywhere...as part compensation for booking our room to some subcontractors for the Indian navy we got a great airconditioned 4 by4 pick us from the station and take us down to Bogmalo where we're staying in a guesthouse.Vivec our host is utterly charming and full of local knowledge which has taken us to all sorts of amazing places.Don't believe all the negative publicity about Goa at the moment its far larger than we imagined and as long as you are wise where you go and what you do it's really safe and so.... worth the visit. Hopefully we'll try and attach some photos now...lots of love The Clays x

Slow train to Goa

Well we've now done the 'Indian sleeper train experience'...definitely interesting in our little curtained off compartments- the kids 6 foot up, Steve across the gangway with an elderly couple and me sharing with Callum- except he told me catagorically that it was his bed and I couldn't be there as well!Having waited for him to sleep I then had a wonderful dose of Delhi belly all night but hey at least I didn't get stuck in the loo like the old lady opposite.These squat loos are very undignified and with the movement of the train etc she couldn't get up , bless her!

Proud to be YMCA

Thursday 13th was Bombay YMCA day, and a day which made me proud to be part of such a fantastic vibrant movement. Bombay YMCA has almost zero reliance on government funding, generating the funds needed for it's extensive social programme through the profits of it's tourist (and other) hostels, giftS and donations. The Board of West Bromwich & District YMCA provided us with a small gift of 40,000Rs to give to Bombay YMCA which will go towards the establishment of an outdoor pursuits centre (similar to Lakside in the UK).
We visited a vocational training centre and kindergarden, which trained disadvantaged young people (particularly women) in skills such as needlework, computing, embroidery and hair and beauty - enabling them to gain work and earn an income. The 30 plus kindergarden classes operate across the sprawling city for children from slum areas. The class we saw had very scant resources but a dedicated staff team and very happy children. Later in the day we visited a boys childrens home or children whose families were too poor to ba able to support them. The YMCA provided a home, schooling and on going family contact all the way until they boys achieve skills which will enable them to gain employment. The Juhu centre was a type of long term 'night shelter' for older children who were homeless - but ironically it's location is on one of Mumbais most prestigeous beaches, with realestate prices soaring as the 'jetset' move in. During the day time the young people find work or sell items to tourists on the local beach. The welcome from Jacob and colleagues was fantastic - and plans for jint working and exchanges between West Bromwich YMCA and Bombay are a real possibility....

Bombay and beyond...

Hi guys!After an intense couple of days in Delhi we arrived at the Domestic airport and were pleasantly surprised. The flight was delayed but the airport had good services and we happily stuffed our samosas, sandwiches and European-style chocolate to keep us going.Flying down to Mumbai went well- people are very tolerant of Callum in particular as he hurls his things around, sings and argues! I'm constantly amazed at how well the kids are coping.As we flew in over Mumbai which juts out into the sea, there is an incredible sprawl of miles and miles of buildings and 'shanty town' type areas. The area around the airport is very poverty stricken and as we got off the plane we were struck by very polluted air again and a very different level of humididty- I think we sweated more in the first few minutes of being in Mumbai than the whole time in hot dry Delhi! We went by a very small taxi ( 5 of us crammed in the back seat) and headed up to the YMCA. Met 'Gideons' who then introduced us to a Board Member of the Y - Jacob Abraham who has since taken us under his wing. Great to have a familiar face to touch base with.
He upgraded our room & put us in a lovely spacious family size room ( considerably easier than the two smaller rooms and 4 beds between the 5 of us in Delhi- though Joe had great fun sleeping on the luggage shelf and making it home!).We're 4 floors up but next door to a mosque where we can hear the preaching on the loud .However we're just up the road from an American-style icecream parlour which will come in useful when it comes to bribing the kids! Spent the first day in Colaba- where a vast array of experiences greeted us. We spoiled ourselves on a dead posh breakfast which then lasted us all day as we walked ourselves fit!Colaba feels more like London on the main streets but the back streets are full of amazing differences. We are constantly stared at, begged from and generally offered products from mangoes to toys and balloons. Steve's bought a local style suit- can't wait for him to don it in public!! We did a lot of walking , ending up at a Jain temple on Malbar Hill which is meant to be a prestigious area but didn't feel like one! The temple was a strange place but worth seeing first hand.So much more to tell...but Hannah's desperate to MSN her friends so that's it for now- The Clay gang x

Noise, Dust, Dirt, Hospitality - Lingering Impressions

Our experience of Delhi leaves a lingering impression of Noise, Dust, Dirt and so much poverty alongside new state of the art buildings. As westerners we become instant magnets for beggars, touts and auto rickshaw drivers looking for their next fare - you quickly learn ways to be dismissive. On our first venture out from the YMCA we were approached about 20 times in 30 minutes. The children are coping very well, although the attention can at times be overwhelming. Hannah is missing her mates, Joe's misses his computer, and Callum is missing Toby and still adjusting to the routine - especially at night (we have very patient neighbours!). Yet in spite of the relative hardship, all Indian people we have met are incredibly gracious and hospitable .. we in the West have much to learn from them.

Delhi Delight - friends in far off places

Our first experience of Delhi has passed quickly, a constant bombardment of new experiences and culture. We have visited two local families who are connected to friends of ours in the UK. Queenie and Shami's house is in the West Patel district of Delhi. Their hospitality was wonderful. they gave us a beautiful wall hanging as a gift, the kids tried potato paratha for breakfast. Later that day we visited Lt Colonel Kumar (retired) and his wife, who live in Sun City, Gorgaon, a very new area outside Delhi undergoing lots of new prestigious building development. They spoilt us with local delicacies - and put up with Callum 'inspecting' their beautiful china and glass ornaments!

We've Arrived!

Exactly why do they tell you to check in 3 hours before for international flights? Seems everyone else knew you should ignore this as we idled away the early hours of the morning at Birmingham airport .. us and the security guards. Callums first flying experience was less fraught than expected, having wowed at the sight of being above the clouds, he then slept some of the journey to India - who said prayer doesn't work!!

So far we've had a fantastic 24hours in Delhi and we have to say its' everything we expected. Hannah and Joe have been amazingly flexible about everything and Callum has already made friends with half of the local population.

Hiring a car with a local driver was the best decision we've made so far - allowing someone else to navgate the India 'SAS' version of the Highway Code (who dares wins..), crazy crazy traffic. We've started to tan already although the air pollution is high and the haze convinces you that the sun's not really as hot as it is. The Red Fort is a hugely impressive monument in the old part of the City. A 'ghostly vestige of Moghul splendour' according to the guidebook - it lives up to the billing, and just 1.60GBP for all five of us to go in.

In central New Delhi is the Roal Mall 'Rajpath' with the palatial Rashtrapati Bhavan (the prime ministers residence and state buildings) as one end and the 'marble arch' style India Gate at the other. Wild chipmunks, parrots, monkeys. A truely magical experience in the cool of the early evening.

All tired out now! Can't wait till tomorrow ...

T minus 19 hrs and counting ...

No matter how much planning we seem to have done in the last 12 months, with hours to go we're still running round like headless chickens! Steve's gone down with a 24hr bug, Callums twice as excitable as normal (help!) .. and where did we put those passports? ....

The Clay's

It's my first time as well!! Hope you all have a fantastic time (crazy Clay's). Sorry you'll miss the party Steve (oops didn't mean to tell you that). Have a safe journey.

starter for 10

Hi Ruth et al

I am ready to blog! (Never done it before but eh never too old to learn!!)

Wend

Hi all ...We've 6 days to go and are just checking out how this blogging thing works.If you are reading this, please have a go even if it takes 10 minutes to work it out!Thanks
The gang!

The Journey Begins ...

Hi there to all our family, friends and colleagues who are following the adventures of the intrepid Clay family as we journey through India. (… well it’s an adventure to us ... we’ve planned it all ourselves … so who knows where we’ll end up!?) Enjoy!!