Agra

We managed various trips to the Taj Mahal and a trip to Fatehpur Sikri,

Fatehpur Sikri was a city built out of rock and stone and abandoned soon after it was finished in the 16th century because of an uncertain water supply. The mosque and complex is beautiful. An extreme example of man's folly from centuries ago. The children scaled the massive bed of the maharaja which was situated overlooking the site where 300 concubines  would recline by the poolside. Jo says; 'Perhaps it is a  little bit like going to an exclusive restaurant and choosing your fish from the fishtank and having it served up nicely on a plate.'

The children all enjoyed the story of the Taj Mahal, a testamant to "love" and adoration. Or perhaps a demonstration to the excesses of a tyrant. Whatever was the motive for the building itself, the result is stunning.

The children all found wonderful details in the marble carvings and we all had a go at drawing the taj mahal from a restaurant roof top.

Our stay in Agra was longer than planned because Peter caught Dengue Fever and had to be admitted to hospital for a few days for rehydration. The first 24 hours were quite worrying as we watched to see how the disease would develop; luckily there were no complications. Jo's sister was ready to fly out at a moment's notice with the backing of the Foreign Office in case any of the rest of the family had been infected as well. We were lucky to be staying in a homestay whose owners would not hear of us moving out, but allowed us to extend our stay until Peter was discharged. Shiron and his mother had taken quite a shine to the children, and they were offered extended periods in front of their new 3D TV. One of us becoming ill had been our worst fear before leaving the UK, but having a family who knew the ropes looking out for us, gave us the extra stability we needed to feel safe in a strange country. Our homestay was a stones' throw away from the hospital, pizza hut, costa coffee and a swimming pool, so we got through it all remarkably easily!

Orcha

"An example of harmonious imagination and organised execution."
This is how one of the magnificent monuments in Orcha was described.
Not a bad philosophy for life;  and especially 'harmonious imagination' is a theme we will continue to meditate on.

We stayed with a family in a homestay, organised by the Friends of Orcha, providing income generation opportunities for families in a village called Ganj nearby . The families in the project were lent money to build a guest room attached to their own home, the money they get from visitors like us enables them to pay back the loan, and earn a fair income for their family. Anu and Mukesh and their  3 children, aged 11, 7 and 4 made us very welcome. We ate breakfast and dinner with them in their kitchen every day.  We would sit next to Anu on the floor made with cow-dung, and see her cook chapattis and delicious curries in the cow-dung fuelled clay fire.

Because of Diwali, their children had school holiday, so Sophia Benjamin and Helena were able to play with them every day. We celebrated Diwali with the family which involved fire works and sweets, singing and dancing. The air was filled with the noises of  home-made explosives.

In the day time we would wander around abandoned monuments, imagine the lives of princes and princesses from centuries ago. In the evenings we saw beautiful sunsets  with vultures and green parakeets circling the ruins.

It was a wonderful experience to stay with such a gracious family, and to be invited to observe and share in their day to day experience.

Varanasi haircut

Benjamin and I decided to have a haircut in Varanassi. Our wonderful home stay host had identified a suitable barber at the 'Cut and Curl saloon'. The barber's lack of English was no problem as we could identify our cut of choice by pointing at a photo card. We started by watching a few cuts and shaves before we had the courage to join the queue. My turn was first. All went well and my cut resembled the picture on the card so we were all feeling confident. The TV was switched on now and one of the Matrix films was providing a backdrop to the events. Things developed quickly, no doubt inspired by the action in the film and fueled by the effects of paan which was consumed by both our barbers. Benjamin's haircut did not go as planned as more hair was cut off than intended. Events in the barber shop were now resembling more and more the scenes from the Matrix film. My chair was suddenly flung back and without warning I had an orange face pack applied. Apparently I had opted for the full treatment which includes a full facial neck shoulder arm and back massage, not just a cut and shave. My face and shoulders were massaged with the help of some electric tool, a mixture between a stick blender and black and decker power drill. Jo was now actively trying to stop Benjamin's barber from removing any more hair. My barber was called over who did balance things out a bit for Benjamin whilst continuing my massage at the same time. Benjamin got treated to a mini massage before Jo finally managed to get him out of the chair and quickly left the shop. My 'treatment' continued for another hour. A cup of chai tea for me and some hair gel for Benjamin had us both restored to normality in no time.

Varanassi

Our first full day in Varanassi was a Monday, which is traditionally Shiva's day. Varanassi is Shiva's city and Monday is very busy. We were dropped off by tuc tuc on the outside of the old city. We had to cross two round-abouts. The noise of the trafic and the horns was overwhelming. The smell of the roads, the cows, the poo, the rubbish - it was a complete assault. We did not recognize many things; was this the Varanassi that we had visited before? We felt lost and overwhelmed, wondering why on earth we had brought our family here. We found a roof top terrace and got our bearings. We headed for the ghats. The nearest ghat happened to be the main burning ghat. There was no hiding from what was going on. Bodies are wrapped in cloth, and taken by boat to be washed in the Ganges after which they are burned in public. There are about 300 cremations a day that happen at the Ghats in Varanassi. It is quite an industry. About 200 kg of wood is needed to burn one body. This is stored by the river side and constantly shipped in. The family attending the cremation look happy; this is so that the soul of the departed is not disturbed. After the cremation the ashes are spread in the river. We headed upstream. We had decided to go for pizza on the other side of town. We took a boat ride to get there. After about 10 minutes, the body of a baby floated past our boat. Babies, pregnant women, Saddhus (holy men), people who suffer with leprosy  or small pox are all not cremated, instead they are burried in the Ganges river. Again, there was no hiding from what we saw. If there was any doubt, the boat man made sure that we knew what we were looking at. We arrived at Assi Ghat. Surprisingly we made the transition from wood burning bodies to wood burning pizzas remarkably easily. Varanassi itself somehow helps visitors to cope and come to terms with what is on display.

The evening was magical on the river as we hired a boat to watch the evening puja, or worship ceremony, to the Ganges river. Candles are lit and placed on the river as loved ones, alive and departed are remembered. We joined in, remembering family and friends from home, as one at a time, we let the candles and marigolds float downstream.

During our stay in Varanassi, we kept going back to the old city, drawn by its rich tapestry and caleidoscope of life; at once often utterly incomprehensible yet complete; intense and overwhelming but leaving you wanting more; with everything on display but with many layers of hidden meanings.

The children drew quite a crowd and we met many kind and interesting people. In Sarnath, the place of Buddha's first sermon, an Indian elderly gentleman, a Buddhist teacher, sat down with us and explained the essence of Buddhism to us 5.  We met many children from all walks of life, often bumping into them several times. Rickshaw drivers would recognize us from the previous day and say hello. We had all come to love the city by the time we left and I think we will return again one day.

101 things to do with an elephant

We washed them and swam with them.

We made them candies and fed them .

We climbed them and decorated them with colourful chalks, trunk included.

We rode them and went on safari.

We felt rather fond and familiar of the elephants by the time that we left Chitwan.

The Ugly Duckling - Nepali style

We were entertained during our last day at Sapana lodge in Chitwan to see a peacock chasing a chicken around the grounds. The peacock was quite beautiful, but we were perplexed as to it's preoccupation with the chicken. Durgar, the manager of the lodge explained the story: it is a more exotic version of the tale of the ugly duckling. A large abandoned peacock egg was found on a jungle walk one day, and brought back to the lodge by the guide. This egg was added to a batch of chicken's eggs in a nest. In time the egg hatched, along with all the chicks. The peacock hasn't yet had the epiphany that the swan had in Hans Christian Anderson's tale, but surely it must only be a matter of time....

Feet off the ground

During the last couple of weeks that we were in Nepal, we saw many huge bamboo swings erected, and being enjoyed by children everywhere. Our garden rope swing was puny compared with the swing that could be achieved on these impressive structures.

The swings are put up for a month every year to celebrate the Darshan festival, where gifts are exchanged, families get together, and goats are sacrificed. We had wondered why the swings were erected as part of the festival, and were told by someone more familiar with the customs that there was a belief that everybody should get their feet off the ground at least once a year; children and adults included.

Well, amen to that. (Jo, hurtling free fall down a natural waterslide whilst canyoning).