Nov 13: INDIA - here we come!...

We have had our injections, we've got the visas stamped in our passports, the malaria tablets are ready to be started a couple of days before we go.  So INDIA here we come!...

This is the route of our trip - we start and finish in Delhi...

We will be travelling with Intrepid tours - they specialise in small group travel and we used them when we went to China so we know how they operate - the group will be no bigger than 12 and we will be travelling with a local guide.  

Our accommodation will range from a basic tent at the side of the river Ganges, a deluxe tent, an overnight sleeper compartment on a train, a jungle resort (don't know what that is but it's in a National Park where we will be on a safari looking for tigers!), guest house (Indian style!) and various small hotels.

And our transport will be by metro (chaotic!), train (even more chaotic!), cycle rickshaw (frightening!), tuk tuk (motorised rickshaw - still frightening!), boat, jeep and minibus.

Grandad Mike and I went to India about 14 years ago to visit Aunty Louise and Uncle Hitesh (your mum and dad Uma and Arun!) who were out there studying hard to be doctors. 

As you can see - none of us have changed a bit!

Can you spot the one thing that Uncle H carried around everywhere with him in his rucksack while he was in India? Gr M and I had to take more supplies out for him when we went too!  Ketchup!!  I can think of several grandchildren who also like ketchup!!

We went in the middle of the rainy (monsoon) season in August so it was very, very wet! 

As we are going later in the year the rains should be over and the temperature and humidity should be more bearable. Probably about 30 degrees with very little rain so it should not be so humid - and although it will be hot it won't be as hot as last time!

We will use these cycle rickshaws while we are there - probably with our eyes closed like last time - as everyone just seems to drive/cycle/ride with no regard for other traffic or people and it's mad!  

But if a cow is walking in the road (as they often are) or even lying in the road then they will go round them carefully as cows are sacred!

We did lots of bartering in the markets and we made Momos (like the ones on the sign at the Ramsbottom festival last year Molly!) - don't think I'll have time for the cookery this time but I'll probably manage a bit of bartering!!  I don't think that I'll be able to get anything as cheap as the tiny carved elephants that Aunty L and I bought last time - for ONE RUPEE each!!

Don't think that we will get to any posh palaces to play these board games either - but you never know!

And I'm not sure if there are any elephants involved - but we are hoping to see tigers in the wild!

But these are two places that we are DEFINITELY going back to visit again - and both of them are in Agra.  The first place of course is the famous Taj Mahal.  

And Joney's Place was a little bar/hut nearby which did the best banana lassi and fried foods ever - even if you did have to eat it with your feet raised when you saw a mouse scurrying across the floor!  

Hope it's still there and we can find it again!

We will soon have to start packing our bags.  It is advised that you don't pack more than 10kg of luggage as you have to carry your own bags and we will be moving around a lot.  That's about the size of half a holiday suitcase or a bit bigger than a Trunki! (I might have a trial pack and try to get everything in your Gruffalo Lola!)

But it is cheap to get your washing done - or to buy new clothes so I'm sure that we will manage - as long as we aren't camping when we need things!

As we will have lots of room in our luggage we are hoping to take an extra case full of school uniforms, clothes, books etc that we can leave in Delhi to be passed on to school children and families in small villages out there.

We have got loads of stuff to take (thanks family and Liz!) but it doesn't seem to be fitting into one suitcase though!..

We've got children's clothes, shoes, books, stationery, uniform, lunch boxes, bags and some adult clothes, shoes and pairs of glasses.  We've probably also got lots of other stuff that I've forgotten!  

So a big THANK YOU to everyone for your contributions.

We have eventually managed to get nearly everything into two old suitcases (so old I had to dust them!) which we can leave out there.  

They are very heavy!!  The weight will be no problem to take though as we are both allowed two pieces of luggage at 23kg each as well as hand luggage at 10kg.

The Indian currency is the rupee.  The rate of exchange is about 99 rupees to the pound so it's a nice, easy conversion of about 1rupee = 1p - so Grandad should have no problem with it this time!!

We can't get any rupees until we get to India as it is a closed currency which means that we can only use them while we are in India and we can't take them out of the country when we come home.

(Actually we have now managed to get a few from a local travel exchange place - don't know where they got them from, didn't ask... - but our little mathematicians should be able to work out very easily how much these notes are worth!)

So we are now packed and ready to go and we have started taking our malaria tablets.  Our bags seem very light - well Grandad's does, but I've got the first aid kit and lots of books...  

Gr M has his super duper new phone so he has most of his reading stuff (and everything else!) on there.  I don't want to take my Kindle so I will just leave a trail of books round India when I have finished reading them!

We will be setting off from Manchester and flying to London.  We then get a direct flight overnight to New Delhi and then the fun will begin...

So India here we come!...

This is our itinerary for the trip...