India - 20 Oct to 4 Nov 2008 ( GR1 first 2 weeks)

Introduction

Namaste to the planets most multidimensional country with an eclectic melange of ethnic groups that have emerged from great civilisations which gave birth to major religions and a positively seductive smorgasbord. It has a bamboozling symphony of sights, sounds, tastes and smells and although the crush of humanity and poverty is confronting, this extraordinary country inspired, frustrated, thrilled and confounded us all at once.

Background and History

The first known civilisation in the subcontinent was in the Indus Valley. Around 3500BC these nomadic tribes grew into an urban culture which was known as the Harappan period and flourished for more than 1000 years until Aryan tribes arrived from Central Asia in 1500BC. They spread across the Ganges plains in Northern India in the ensuing centuries and out of which arose the Nanda Dynasty in the 4 th century BC. The Hindu scriptures (the Vedas) were written during this period (1200BC) and Buddhism and Jainism also were born around 500BC. The great Buddhist Mauryan Empire seized the throne from the Nandas, reaching its peak under Ashoka in the 3rd century BC with numerous short lived empires following, until the Guptas emerged from one of the kingdoms around the 4 th – 6 th centuries AD when the Huns ended their era. Southern India had its unique history insulated by distance with numerous powerful Hindu kingdoms ruling, notably the Cholas who controlled most of the south by the 9th century and who were responsible for fine Dravidian architecture. From the 11th century North India was consumed by Muslim armies from Afghanistan with the Ghur Empire controlling most of the land until the 14th century when Tamerlane raided the north and the south was split between the Islamic Bahmani and the Hindu Viyayanagar empires. Two centuries later the great Mughal empire, who were descendants of both Genghas Khan and Tamerlane, marched into the subcontinent from Kabul and ruled until the Indian uprising of 1857 when the British formally took control after numerous battles and trading here over the preceding 200 years. The bloody road to independence spearheaded by the Congress Party and Gandhi became a reality in 1947 with the formation of India and Pakistan at the cost of ½ million lives as 10 million Muslims and Hindis exchanged countries.

Our Experience

The border crossing into India gave us a taste of these tensions in the subcontinent with the grandiose rivalry at the border closing ceremony where we spent the night before exploring the state of Punjab with its turban clad people. After a 30km ride on the 21 October, we arrived in Amritsar and the poverty, filth and pollution- especially air and noise, with constant senseless honking and general mayhem, engulfed us. We actually needed to use the air-con in the van, not because of the heat but due to the stench of decaying rubbish and effluent everywhere. Driving in India is an experience in itself and one's senses are assaulted with these distasteful encounters throughout the country as one searches for an oasis or sights of religions, architectural or cultural wonder – many unfortunately only vestiges of history! Amritsar , founded in 1577 is home to Sikhism's holiest shrine, the Golden Temple . This gold plated gurdwara glitters in the middle of its holy pool as pilgrims bathe in its sacred waters. With our shoes removed and all our heads covered, the spiritual atmosphere was something to behold. Particularly captivating was the walk across the Guru Bridge to the 2 storey marble temple with its golden dome representing an inverted lotus flower (Sikhism's symbol of living a pure life) and witness devotees worshipping as priests chant from the holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib. The adjacent museum was rather grisly, with photographs and paintings of those martyred by the Mughals and British and even sacrificing themselves as their gurus looked on. But we really immersed ourselves in the culture on dining in the Guru-Ka-Langar, a free community dining area where we were served dhal, rice, chapattis and curried cauliflower (a traditional thali) with the masses, eating on the floor. This feature of all Sikh temples is a mark of unity among all religions, creeds and nationalities. Made famous by the movie Gandhi, we then visited Jallianwala Garden where the British killed and wounded 2000 Indians without warning in 1919 – some bullet marks are still visible as is the well into which hundreds leapt.

With the pressure of our tyre problems we were forced to head towards Delhi and we did a stressful 220km to Chandigarh , Punjab 's capital. This is apparently India 's greenest and cleanest city and was a welcome break from the chaos, with its geometric non-traditional layout. We arrived at night (as 200km takes 5 hours) and checked out a number of accommodation options before being led to a pleasant 2 night stay at a family's B&B, who also serve gorgeous food. We took this window of sanity to service the vehicles ( Toyota providing a thali style lunch too!) and to visit Nek Chand's Fantasy Rock Garden – a recycling work of art. He used the waste generated as villages were cleared for this new capital after partition, to mould a maize of rock walkways and valleys with waterfalls and figures made of china shards, glass and colourful bangles appear around every corner.

Unfortunately we then had to drive again and did the next 240km to India 's capital, first popping in en route to Kurukshetra in the state of Haryana. Although rather unimposing now, it is the birthplace of man and the universe (by Brahma) and the spot where good triumphed over evil when Krishna fought the epic 18 day Mahabharata battle. Chaotic again, but the Sri Krishna museum introduced us to some fascinating ancient and modern Hindu art as we learnt of Krishna and Vishnu. As a result we arrived in Delhi at night amidst the crush of mechanical and human traffic. Rather challenging to somehow find our way past Old Delhi (Islamic India's capital) to New Delhi (the imperial British design) and our free home for the next week in Nehru Park – on the advice of a French traveller in Cairo over 1 year ago! This must be the only decent place in India to wild camp – even with toilets and showers a few meters away! We settled in while waiting for the new tyres to arrive from South Africa and seeing the sights. At least 8 known cities have been founded here from 500 years BC. We decided that the best way to see the sprawling city was on an organised tour which although rather rushed, took us to the Lakshmi Narayan Temple and the Bahai house of worship known as the Lotus Temple , one of several international houses inviting all faiths to worship the creator in peace and without prejudice. Gandhi Smritis memorial where he was shot in 1948 was quite moving with his personal items on display and an impressive multimedia exhibition of his life. Then passing India Gate which pays tribute to the 90 000 Indians who died in WWI, we visited the Qutb Minar complex which dates from the onset of Islamic rule in the 12 th century with fine Afghan architecture – especially the soaring 5 storey victory tower, the first mosque built in India and numerous tombs and palace ruins. After a quick traditional lunch we were rushed through Old Delhi's massive 17 th century Red Fort, a testament to the mighty Mughals with typical impressive entry gates, halls for private and public audiences and grand palaces. Our tour ended with a visit to Raj Ghat where a black marble platform marks the spot where Gandhi was cremated, and finally on to Humayun's Tomb, a brilliant example of early 16 th century Mughal extravagance set in formal gardens – a massive structure just to house a tomb for the 2 nd Mughal emperor and the prototype for the Taj. Between having a look at the colourful markets we also attended a cultural performance at ‘Dances for India ' with displays of different colourful regional dances. But the real joy was meeting Kishore Raga and family from PE, who had just arrived and were on a whirlwind Indian experience!

Our most important reason for visiting Delhi was for a much needed tyre swop as GR3 had another flat en route to the city and we were completely out of spares, driving on a prayer! This ordeal took 2 days at Indira Gandhi International airport – from trying to locate the Qatar airways and being shuttled through incredible bureaucracy of customs with an array of paperwork and pleading, that had us cursing every Indian and eventually sleeping outside the customs area on Diwali! At least we spent the evening celebrating with our friends Chris and Julia from Germany whom we had met in Turkey . GR3 just made it for their flight to Varanasi for 2 nights and GR1 spent the next day replacing a wheel stud that a roadside tyre repair shop damaged in their haste to receive the free ‘old' tyres and rims! To find the authorized Toyota dealer took us through Delhi 's more chaotic filthy areas – a complete contrast to the ‘New' centre with its manicured parks, palatial homesteads and wide streets with ‘correctly' flowing traffic. Amidst all this Gary had to have the unpleasant experience of a root canal on a tooth that lost its filling months ago! Thankfully a friendly Sanjay, who we had met at our ‘ Nehru Park home', recommended a dentist group with all the facilities and they did an excellent job. On the 31 st October we spent our final night wild-camping at the park, happy that all maintenance (both van and teeth) was done for the rest of our Indian experience, but wishing we were home to celebrate with our pillar of a mother on her 70 th birthday. It is reassuring to know that one's parents (despite their ages) and family (especially Dominic and Eleanor) are there whenever they are ‘called to duty' when a crisis hits or when an occasion needs to be celebrated. From expediting carnets in Iran to tyre swops in India , they've made the Globeriders move along through this journey, strengthened by their love and support.

What a fitting city to then be in, after a further 200km and 5 hours of ‘aggressive' driving – Agra, home of the world's finest monument to love. En route to Agra we had lunch at Akbar's Mausoleum in Sikandra which was about 10km north of the city. We decided to spoil ourselves for 2 nights staying at the Mayur Tourist complex which is cottage style accommodation with a playground, pool and manicured gardens for $60 a night after roughing it in Delhi . The next morning we were up before dawn to view India 's most ogled icon, but even at 6h30 am we had to join the queue. The Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan as a memorial to his wife Mumtaz Mahal who died giving birth to their 14 th child in 1631. This breathtaking symmetrical white marble structure carved with flowers and inlaid with semi-precious stones is topped off by 4 domes surrounding the massive central dome and graced by 4 decorative minarets at each corner on a raised marble platform – it seems suspended in the sky and kept us staring from all angles for nearly 4 hours! Greedy for more we had brunch with Zsolt Magyari, a Hungarian traveller, at a rooftop restaurant with views of this world heritage wonder of the world. A visit to Agra would however not be complete without visiting the Agra Fort where Shah Jahan was imprisoned by his usurping son, Aurangzeb in 1658. He spent the last 8 years of his life in the fort that he had transformed into a palace, looking out over the Yamuna River at his creation until he joined his beloved there in 1666. Besides his octagonal marble prison tower, the imposing fort had the usual Mughal structures – halls of public and private audiences, mosques, mirror palace and Jehangir's (Jahan's father) huge red sandstone palace. The Mughals must be turning in their mausoleums with disgust as on leaving these magnificent sights, we ventured into the old town and Kinari Bazar near the Jama Masjid – the present locals were going about their business around these marvels in absolute filth with street food vendors setting up shop next to and sometimes on waste dumps ,garbage and sewerage. Our ears were ringing with the persistent senseless honking as we side-stepped, trying to avoid tramping into something ‘unpleasant'. The air was so thick with pungent smells and pollution that we had to use wet ones as masks, kindly provided by Zsolt! Even Jade who loves the sights and exploring insisted that we return to our ‘safe' haven. That evening we met up with GR3 for a parting dinner of gorgeous Indian cuisine. They were off to the South for the next month before flying home via Thailand . We were continuing east and north to Nepal first before venturing to the South of India. So with sad goodbyes that evening we adjusted to the idea that GR1 would be the only vehicle to try and complete the journey. We would miss the support, companionship and sharing so much with GR3.

On the 3rd November we set forth through more chaotic towns to Lucknow , Uttar Pradesh's capital. The drive though stressful negotiating the ridiculous traffic, was captivating with the myriad of sights and sounds of life in Northern India . Lucknow was just a one night stop over and again tested our metal as darkness and more chaos surrounded us as we tried to find a place to lay our weary heads – anywhere that's safe for the vehicle and descent enough for us to sleep in. At our wits end we somehow stumbled upon the Royal Inn which also served the tastiest Mughlai cuisine – biryanis in clay pots, egg aloo curry and dhal, with service fit for royalty. We also met up with a local engineer Anugiah Ranjan the next morning, who contacted us through the website on seeing the vehicle in town that night. He thankfully guided us to the proper diesel filling station and out of the chaos, towards Gorakhpur . Again, 6hrs and 250km of hectic driving to this non descript way station to Nepal and we had to settle for a very noisy night in the van at a filling station – thanks to the kindness of the owner. It was here that we also discovered that we had another living creature in the van – our safe enclave was breached! A mouse, that Jade and Dane named ‘Basil' was spotted which really freaked us out. Gary immediately bought rat poison and searched every small roadside shop for a trap as we'd never sleep a wink knowing ‘Basil' was still at large! But first we had to make it north to Sunauli and the most chaotic, crazy border crossing ever with traffic jams and people everywhere, to get into Nepal . So with feet raised we braved the journey to the border.

We will return to tour the rest of the Southern India after a stint in Nepal 's mountains, hopefully with renewed vigour!

Namaste.

India 2nd leg - 20 Nov to 20 Dec 2008 (GR1's next 4 weeks)

Namaste to our 2nd leg of India ! After an easy early morning border crossing we headed south via Gorakphur's chaos and just made the 300km to Varanasi as the sun set. The old city's narrow streets were just too hectic for our big vehicle so we stayed 5km from the action at an excellent Hotel Surya for 2 nights. The hotel was also the venue for a lavish wedding that overflowed into the streets with ‘fast-pace' dancing as the ‘lower castes' carried decorative lights on their heads, powered by a cycle rickshaw pulling a generator! Jo-Anne and I soon found ourselves in the thick of things as we joined the procession and were swept along for a few kilometres – quite an experience!

At 5h30 the next morning we were on a pre-dawn rowing boat ride to view the Ghats (steps leading into the river) and former palaces that lines the sacred Ganges River . This ancient city is the heart of the Hindu universe and the Ganges is a river of salvation where pilgrims come to wash away a lifetime of sins or cremate their loved ones. Dying here also offers Moksha, which is the liberation from the cycle of birth and death. Seeing these living religious traditions unfold in the early morning light with pilgrims bathing and performing puja is one of India 's most absorbing experiences. Of all the numerous Ghats lining the river, the burning Ghats were the most mind-blowing - this is where corpses are cremated on piles of wood in public.

Our tour with a honeymoon couple from Argentina continued to the subcontinents largest university called Benaras and houses the New Vishwanath Temple . Here our guide enlightened us on Hinduism and ‘Ohm' (the divine God) and then also showed us the Tulsi Manas Temple which is engraved with verses from the Ramayana. At the end of the tour we elected to go back and walk the length of the Ghats to get close to the bathing, burning, washing of self, clothes and cattle with all types of sewerage and litter visible everywhere. Only a sacred river could possibly handle such abuse and somehow not harm or kill anyone who comes into contact with a drop of its toxic waters – and yet all this was amazingly picturesque! Leaving behind all this people watching, the madness of the narrow old streets was just too overwhelming for the kids and we had to take an auto rickshaw back to the hotel for some peace. With the kids enjoying the pool we had the ultimate in relaxation, an Ayurvedic full body oil massage that included being soaped and washed down after the massage - all while totally starkers!!

Continuing west on the 22 nd November we negotiated our way via Allahabad and south into Madhya Pradesh. The heavy going through villages and towns with every conceivable animal, cycle, ox-drawn cart, tractor, rickshaw, truck and bus resulted in us just making it past Rewa and having to wild camp at a filling station on the road to Panna. A local newspaper and TV journalist invited us the next morning to see Panna after offering us a samoosa breakfast and chai. We were interviewed about our trip and feelings about India that echoed their concern about the environment and the country's historical assets which is exemplified by Panna's derelict palace that is now a dirty government office and an ancient Mausoleum that squatters and animals occupy.

By late morning we were back on the road via the Panna National Park , but it was too expensive for the 2 hour drive through with just a remote chance of spotting a tiger. We continued south via Sagar and although the villages and traffic along the way had the same lack of planning and road rules, there was an increasing blue sky as the pollution and sewerage decreased allowing one to breathe easier. The roads however were in a terrible state – a major highway is often a single badly potholed lane. By dark we just made it to a little village called Banda where we wild camped at another filling station. As we travelled further south people were also friendlier and the night staff even offered us chai and biscuits. The next morning the owner, Ankit Jain showed us around his bindi business (home made cigarettes), Jain Temple and insisted we have a traditional rice breakfast and sweets at his home with his family. Quite an eye opener to see the life style of a middle class extended family in rural India .

Continuing west we then made it to Sanchi, with enough time to visit India 's oldest Buddhist structures before the sun set. The Mauryan Emperor Ashoka built stupas here as penance for his invading atrocities in the 3 rd century BC, but the hilltop sight was forgotten until 1818. The main 37m diameter stupa (solid hemisphere toped with a spire) has 4 entrances with gateways of the finest Buddhist art carved in stone, mostly symbols from the various lives of Buddha. The site also has ruins of numerous temples and monasteries scattered around. We spent the night at the rather over priced Gateway Lodge - $35!

Early the next morning we were on our way to the state capital, Bhopal , where we stocked up on supplies at the only half decent supermarket we could find. Although fresh produce is readily available along the streets in India , products such as dairy, canned food, cereal and bread are incredibly difficult to find and comparatively expensive. We could never find any shopping centres thus far and when lucky, we would stumble across fresh milk that's usually from a domesticated buffalo that Jo-Anne just cannot stomach! So reasonably stocked, we continued to Indore when the first puncture with our new set of tyres had us grind to a sudden stop. Soon very pleasant locals appeared on the scene and helped with the repair, despite their lack of English. Surprisingly though, we've not found many people fluent in English, they only understand a few basic words or just none at all.

Again after sunset and a full day of aggressive driving we did just 260km and had to camp yet again at a filling station after bypassing Indore . The 26 th November, after a rough track of road to Mandu which is perched on a plateau overlooking the plains, we were thoroughly impressed with fine Afghan architecture - from obscure ruins scattered all around to well preserved enclaves. The Rewa Kund group comprised of the Baz Bahaduras Palace , the last independent ruler of Mandu who fled in 1561 to escape Agbar's troops, resulting in India 's ‘Romeo and Juliet' tale. His love Rupmati, for whom he built the pavilion, then apparently poisoned herself. The royal enclave ruins had us wishing we were back in the 15 th century to really appreciate the grandeur of the Ship Palace with its lookouts, scalloped arches and beautifully shaped pools that were used for ‘grand entertainment' – Sultan Ghiyas-ud-din constructed it for his harem of 15000 maidens! This immaculate site also included ruins of a mosque, the Swing Palace and a massive volted hamman with hot and cold water and even a sauna. All this opulence was a stark contrast to the present day poverty of barely clothed children and the villages' mud dwellings where life still centres on thousands of years old practices.

With a few hours left in the day we went on to the holy city of Maheshwar that sits on the banks of the holy Narmada River . Here we stayed at the Narmada Retreat for 2 nights. A sunset boat ride introduced us to the ancient Ghats , the towering fort that enclosed several tiered temples and a small but important Shiva temple in the middle of the river – complete with the symbolic ‘lingam in yoni' which represents creation. It was only during the latter part of the next day after the usual washing and teaching duties that we got a better look at the magnificent sculptures on the temples and the enormous amount of references to Shiva, many built during the golden age in the 18 th century under the Holkar Queen Ahilyabai. But the culture and religion in action as pilgrims performed ‘puja' at the Ghats, sending candles floating down the sacred river into the setting sun and then walking through the ‘lost world' village atmosphere that felt as if we were back in medieval times, is what really fuels one's desire to continue travelling.

Early the next morning we set forth on the 300km trip south to Ellora caves (34) a world heritage listed temple site where generations of monks carved Buddhist, Hindu and then Jain artistic wonders into a 2km long escarpment over 500 years. The masterpiece is the breathtaking 8 th century Kailasa Temple , the world's largest monolithic rock-hewn sculpture and dedicated to Shiva to represent his Himalayan home. We spent the night in the parking lot of Hotel Kailas and set forth to Aurangabad the afternoon just to catch up on internet mail and continued west towards Mumbai. En route we ended up wild camping at a restaurants parking lot along the road in a tiny town called Loni. The drive continued via Nasik and south to the increasing busy and chaotic Mumbai.

We spent 3 hours driving past Mumbai's colonial area – The CST/Victoria Station, High Court, University and along Marine Drive to polluted Chowpati beach but then decided to head out of the craziness even though the recent terrorist activity had subsided. We missed the highway south to Goa and ended up spending the night in the hills at a filling station in a little village called Pali. The next day we found our way back to the highway and a relaxed scenic drive followed through green hills and increasing tropical vegetation to the Konkan Coast , where we spent the night at remote Ganpatipule.

After months of being inland it was refreshing to be at the coast again, this time in the warm waters of the Arabian Sea and a basic beach hut right on the sand surrounded by tall palm trees. But the allure of Goa soon had us driving through an increasing clean India with far less traffic and human activity and unspoilt natural vegetation, to its less touristy northern beaches. Arambol beach was an idyllic spot for the next 5 days to just relax on fine white sands and spend hours in bath-like waters as perfect sunsets ended each blissful day. Our really basic beach hut at Horizon Residenz was perfectly positioned as close to the sea as possible. This beach has a hippie atmosphere with people doing yoga, meditating and juggling as the day ends – all dressed in local clothes and dreadlocks! The alternate lifestyle also made for interesting jamming sessions around the small town and we joined in a ‘bhajan' which is a devotional chanting session around a fire accompanied by guitar and drumming. Jade and Dane even attended a kids yoga session! This little place has a great shopping strip with hidden make-shift restaurants and gorgeous beach shacks serving tasty Goan seafood and curries, all with perfect views across the Arabian Sea as local fishermen pull in massive nets filled with fish. It had just the right mix to set up camp and take out the camping chairs and hammock, read, enjoy the sumptuous food, and when you desire, seek some action. Needless to say the kids were in heaven with Dane on the beach before sunrise most days – often chatting up women in their 20's! They also had a chance to spend time with other kids as quite a few families spend months here. But we've got used to being on the move and on the 7 th December we explored all of Northern Goa's beaches passing old Portuguese villages from Querim in the far north to Morjim where we eventually wild camped along the Chapora River for 3 days beside one of the many catholic churches in Goa . After a bit of schooling each day (yes, we've started 2009 schoolwork already!!!), we would just laze on this very laid back beach and take sunset walks before heading back to our wild camp.

Skirting the river and coastline, we continued the drive in this rather relaxed mode past Vagator with its cove beaches below steep cliffs and settled just 15km later in Anjuna with its alluring stretch of fine sand and quiet surf. The first night we camped right beside Anjuna's legendary Wednesday Flea Market after browsing for souvenirs among a blend of Tibetan and Kashmiri trades, colourful Damani tribal women and of course Western blessed out hippies! But this market isn't just for shopping or people watching, it's packed with food stalls and live entertaining bands on the beach. We were hooked and found a cosy, clean little guest house with hammocks on the shady ‘stoep', situated just a few meters from the beach – here we stayed for the next 6 days after having to negotiate the narrow tracks and taking down a home's power line in the process! More lazy days at a coconut fringed beach with sari-clad local women selling tropical fruit to scantly clad travellers chilling on loungers to background Goan trance music and the ever-present cows weaving in between them for scraps. After the intense orange-red sun set, our routine was for gorgeous food and a double feature movie at one of the restaurants. Before we were completely swallowed in by this holiday vibe we continued the trip south past the more touristy Baga and Calangute beaches to the capital of Goa , Panaji. Nearby, the fallen city of Old Goa had a few imposing churches that remained from the golden age of the Portuguese in the 1500's. The Basilica of Bom Jesus was especially interesting as it contains the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier. But by late afternoon the lure of the coast had us driving further south and we spent the night at the rather noisy, dirty beach of Colva . Despite the miles of powdery white sand, this wasn't what we were looking for and the search continued further for a perfect spot to spend the remaining days of 2008.

Thirty kilometres later after scouting on narrow secondary roads over lush hills through little villages, we discovered ‘our spot', the gem of Goa at Agonda beach. This quiet cove had the perfect setting - huge granite boulders cradling the crescent shaped beach and a backdrop of indigenous forests cascading at one end with coconut palms bordering warm waters lapping onto white sands. All the stereotype adjectives and poetic metaphors find justification here. We found our spot right on the sand amongst the rest of the overlanders, with views across the vast expanse of water. Needless to say, all our camping gear came out – hammock, chairs, awning and we even put up the tent for kids to sleep in! Best of all is that this perfect site has no mosquitoes or flies – all this for a measly R80 (400 rupees) a WEEK! Just a 15 minute walk along the beach and we could buy the freshest produce and fish in the tiny clean village or spoil ourselves at one of the beach-shack restaurants. In no time we had made friends with most of our European neighbours and learnt that some of them had set up camp here for months and some for years. A perfect place to celebrate our 19 th wedding anniversary on the 18 th December 2008. We couldn't possibly tear ourselves away from this beauty to explore any other place!

Namaste and Merry Christmas!!

India 2 nd leg cont - 21 Dec 2008 to 7 February 2009

Welcome back to the final episode of our sojourn through this colourful country. Agonda beach's blissful existence had to end sometime and on the 5 January 2009, we eventually tore ourselves away after nearly 3 weeks of ‘real' holidaying. We'd miss having warm fresh bread and cookies or coconut cakes delivered to our camper at 9am and the odd fisherwoman's passing with king prawns or freshly caught line fish – which we grilled on the fire at sunset. Sometimes, spicy veg. manchurian, prawn masala, palak paneer or just dhal fry with garlic nan from one of the beachfront shack-restaurants would be the perfect companion as the sun set over the Arabian Sea . But the days, often lazy spent reading or walking the 3km bay and body surfing with the kids when the flat waters turned to surf as the tide came in, are what holidays are all about. Mix in there a hop on the rocks or a slight jungle excursion with Dane to collect firewood, and this simple life is what dreams are made of. We were also going to miss Julian, Sam & Becky from England and Debbie & Bennie from Holland who would always provide an interesting chat or ‘party'. The kids wanted a month more to spend hours in the water, do art with Julian and Joe, visit the Dutch couples dogs- Padtjie, Schoole and Angel or just play with Timor from Germany and Isaac from England. They met so many nationalities and tuned in to so many interesting discussions from philosophy to economics with Uwe, Dani, Gregori from Germany and Luciana from Brazil around. Jo-Anne even learnt to bake typical German bread from Timor 's mum, Tina. Christmas eve was a joyous occasion as we all got together for a braai on the beach as the sun set. On old years night we partied up a storm at Debbie and Bennie's camper and even the security guards could not resist joining in with the dancing and singing! It was truly a great place to celebrate into 2009!

We hardly managed to do 10km when we were at Palolem, another coconut-fringed crescent bay. After some shopping, we did an hour boat trip on the river spotting numerous kingfishers, brown eagles and local fishermen going about their daily chores. But this lovely beach was just too busy and we wild-camped the night 2km south at Patnem beach. After spending the morning here, we managed to drive 100km further down the coast to Gokarna with its dirty beach and mass of Hindu pilgrims. Luckily we bumped into Steve that we had met in Agonda who led us to the isolated Paradise beach - but we had to climb and negotiate some forest for about 2km to get there! By nightfall we just made it back to where Tipperdee was parked and spent the night in a local's driveway. We were in the state of Karnataka now and just had to head inland to Hampi to visit the 15 th century ruins of the Viyayanagar Empire, set amidst giant gravity-defying boulders. We also needed to do some van maintenance and washing and Lakshmi golden resort was our home for the next two nights – after having to do a 50km detour from Hampi bazaar to Virupapur Gaddi which was just across the river, as there were no bridges! We also had to negotiate masses in numerous small villages who were celebrating the Muharram festival, where the main attraction is barefoot coal walking to some hectic drumming (most of the crowd seemed drugged out of their minds- scary stuff)! This world heritage site has multiple scattered ruins spread over a huge area, so between an auto rickshaw ride, a coracle crossing of the river and hiking, we took in Virupatisha temple, the picturesque elephant stables and Lotus Mahal, and the masterpiece- the Vittala Temple. Most of this period's architecture is of a Hindu Islamic style with incredible sculptured detail hewn out of the local granite.

On the 10 th January we were back in the swing of over-landing and did 400km after being lucky to find fuel with the nationwide fuel and truck strike. We drove south via Chitradurga and Tumkur to Sravanabelagola, home to the world's tallest monolithic statue. This 17.5m high naked statue of the Jain deity Gomateshvara was carved in 981AD and is only accessible via 614 rock-cut steps up a hill- barefoot! We wild camped in the noisy area around the local Jain organizations guesthouse and tackled the climb early the next morning. The impressive old temples and statue at the top really came alive with the chanting and puja offerings of the faithful in their colourful attire. With our legs still shaky from the descent, we continued the drive 70km further south via small rural villages surrounded by rice paddies and banana or coconut plantations to Mysore , the historic seat the Wodeyar Maharajas. Their dynasty was founded in 1399 and they ruled until independence in 1947 from the royal palace, our main sight in a surprisingly well designed, clean city with huge traffic circles and even traffic lights! Although the palace has a fantastic profile, the interior was over the top with gaudy colours and a kaleidoscope of stained glass, mirrors and intricate wooden carved doors. Unfortunately, like many major sights in India , the last rupee is squeezed from the tourist with entrance fees 10 times the locals, a fee for shoes as you have to enter barefoot, a camera fee and a separate exorbitant fee to enter the residential quarters!

By late afternoon we were moving again, south-west through Bandipur N.P., settling for the night just off the main road near the little village of Vythiri . We had arrived in Kerala and the lush tropical vegetation, better infrastructure and hospitality was inviting, especially after diving into the gorgeous Keralan food like pollichathu (marinated fish grilled in banana leaf) and snacks like tapioca(a root from africa!) and unnakkaya(banana with a sweet coconut filling) ! Monday, 12 January 2009 and schooling started for the new year before we descended the western ghats from about 750m to the coast at Calicut. Continuing south, we spoiled ourselves for the next two nights in Fort Cochin at the three- star Fort Queen hotel with great service and air-con which had us room-bound just relaxing and catching up with some T.V. On our departure we took in the sights of this colonial trading post - St Francis Church with Vasco de Gama's tombstone for 14 years, before his remains were removed to Lisbon and the fascinating cantilevered Chinese fishing nets (massive spider-like contraptions of traders from Kubla Khan's era in the 14 th century).

Our next stop, Alleppy known as the Venice of the east, was where we experienced one of the highlights of our 3 months in India – a luxury overnight cruise in a kettuvallam (houseboat based on an old rice barge) on Kerala's backwaters, a spindly network of rivers, canals and lagoons that nourish rice paddies and coconut groves. Peaceful, beautiful and a joy to be pampered as you observe traditional life of villages along the way. After this meandering, we were back to Tipperdee exploring Alleppy town and ventured further south via Kollam to Varkala, a beach destination fringed by red cliffs. Here we spent 2 nights on the cliff edge with views over the Arabian Sea . We drew a lot of attention from tourists and locals that resulted in us meeting the hospitable Ahad. He invited us to his home where we enjoyed Keralan fish curry cooked in coconut sauce (molee) and learnt more about Islamic Keralan traditions. We spent the night in the van at his home and he took us to a local restaurant that served a variety of spicy vegetarian courses from buckets that you enjoy with your right hand! Quite an experience. A further introduction to life here was attending his relatives Islamic wedding where we where warmly welcomed and fed mutton biryani and spicy fried chicken that was cooked in huge cauldrons over wood fires. Just north of Varkala, Ahad helped us find a secluded spot right on Kappil beach where we wild camped amidst coconut palms for the next three nights. The water was crystal clear with a warm gulley and the setting just perfect with scattered small traditional fishing boats and friendly inquisitive locals that would offer us sweet water! This area is mainly subsistence fishing and each morning we would watch 8m long wooden canoe-shaped boats being rowed ashore and the drama of unloading and drying tons of coir nets. The highlight of our stay was grilling huge tiger prawns over the coals, enjoying the absence of tourists and the closeness that such isolated beauty kindles.

On the 21 st January 2009 time again forced us further south, driving the back roads along the coast to Kovalam where we spent the night in the parking lot right on the beach. Although a pretty natural setting, package tourists and the many locals gave it a rather grubby look and the next day we were off to Padmanabhapuram in Tamil Nadu. This complex of 14 palaces dates back to the 16 th century and is the largest wooden palace complex in Asia . It was once the seat of the rulers of Travandcore, a magnificent example of traditional Keralan architecture. By sunset we arrived at the southernmost tip of another continent at Kanyakumari, also known as Cape Comorin . Famous for being one of the few spots in the world where one can see sunrise and sunset. It is an important Hindu pilgrimage site where the goddess Devi Kanya conquered demons, securing freedom for the world. It was quite an eyeful observing the devoted giving offerings at the 2000 year old Devi Kumari Temple . We also visited the nearby Ghandi memorial which houses some of Mahatma's ashes. After 2 comfortable nights at the Trisea Hotel and the obligatory photo at lands end with Vivekananda Memorial and the poet Thiruvalluvar's statue as a backdrop, we drove back up north to Madurai . Arriving around sunset, it was time to wild camp, but this was another crazy, chaotic city and hotels with parking space (Fortune Pandiyan) wanted $35 just to park, probably for a baksheesh! We eventually spent the night in the grounds of the Tamil Nadu Hotel chain for free and joined the devotees at the Sri Meenakshi Temple the next morning. This huge 16 th century complex is a riot of colourful Dravidian sculptures with gopurams (gateway towers) covered in a profusion of gods, animals and mythical figures. But the seething activity at the many shrines is what really captivated us - from people just touching an image in prayer to them prostrating themselves and rituals of numerous offerings of fruit as Brahmin priests chant while waving candles around. By midday we were back in the vehicle for a 150km stretch through rural southern India with its constant stream of ‘unkempt' towns (this sight always seemed to shock us even after 3 months in India!) to a wild camping spot alongside a filling station in Thanjavur. By 9am we were in the shabby Oriental Towers Hotel despite its ‘grandeur' appearance from the outside and huge marbled foyer. The day was spent teaching, watching South Africa thrash Australia at cricket while the kids enjoyed the pool. The next day we decided to take a rickshaw to see the sights and marvelled yet again at the Indian lifestyle. The girls adorned themselves with flowers in their hair as we wandered through this ancient site and we decided to have ourselves blessed for the first time with kumkum(red powder) on our foreheads. This city was once the ancient capital of the Chola kings a millennium ago and the 1010 world Heritage listed Brihadishwara temple, its crowning glory. It has several sculptured pillared halls and shrines with 250 linga enshrined along the outer walls and a huge Nandi (bull) facing the inner sanctum containing a 7m diameter lingam – all symbolic of Shiva. After visiting the site we continued north to Pondicherry, arriving after sunset and just surviving the plethora of hooting, the swerving mix of all kinds of traffic that bear down with their brights on just in case you don't know they are there or some without any lights at all!! To top it all, after finding a safe place to park at a boating resort and being reassured that it was okay by the staff, we were awoken and moved by the police at 10pm as we didn't have written government approval. We were forced to spend the night at a terribly hot, noisy, stinky filling station and by 7am the next day morning we were told to leave and of course the hunt for the rupee was exploited irrespective of the horrendous condition and the fact that we used no facilities. After many derogatory remarks in Afrikaans (especially from Jo-Anne), we left scouting for a decent hotel in the city for the next 2 nights as the humidity here made the night in the van quite a sweaty affair resulting in the ‘no touching while sleeping' scenario! The Executive Inn and Beena Sureka's kindness was a godsend, especially with their buffet breakfasts that included typical southern Indian fare like Pongal (a rice/dhal mixture with chilly and ginger), sambar (dhal), idly (rice cake) poha (rice flour). We were granted a free breakfast that morning which went down well after the tough night and decided to spend the day just chilling in the comforts of the room. Pondicherry was relatively peaceful with its seafront promenade and enduring pockets of French architecture and culture superimposed on a typical Indian background. That evening we were desperate for some western food and a pizza from ‘Pizza Hut' did the trick, with all the Indian varieties! This city was just the reprieve for a heritage walk along the treed grid-designed streets and a visit to Sri Aurobindo's Ashram where spiritualism unfolded as the devotees silently prayed along the flower adorned tombs of Sri Aurobindo and ‘The Mother'. Revitalized, we then did our last 150km of easy driving along the scenic east coast highway to Chennai. The wider streets, traffic lights and shops made this huge city one of the more pleasant metropolitans to negotiate. Our first duty was to organise the shipping of our vehicle and by some stroke of luck we bumped into the friendly Surya Raman of Onwater Logistics while searching for shipping agents around the port. He could see to the entire logistics at the most reasonable price and even invited us to his modest home where we had the pleasure of experiencing life in a suburban Indian household. We joined the family for delicious masala fish and chicken curry and learnt more about their culture, admiring the women of India for their tenacity, patience, strength and tolerance, especially towards the males! We eventually ended up sleeping in Tipperdee just outside Surya's home for 6 nights while we gritted through the cumbersome procedures to conclude the shipping.

Just across the road from Surya's home we experienced the offering of Pooja to Lord Ayyappa at the home of Rajgopal and Priya. These gracious hosts invited us to a traditional lunch, where we sat on the floor with the rest of the guests, eating various Indian foods on banana leaves. The following day we set off to the beach with 10 people ‘squashed' into Tipperdee. En route to the beach, we visited Santhome Cathedral Basilica, home to the tomb of the apostle St. Thomas – referred to as ‘Doubting Thomas'. He was one of the 12 Apostles who came to India in 52AD to preach and died in this city 72AD. Apparently there are only 3 churches in the world built on the tombs of Apostles, the others are in Spain and Rome .

Chennai's beachfront is yet another over populated polluted site allowing no swimming due to the beach being ‘unsafe'. It is the second longest stretch of beach in the world. That evening, supper at Winnie and Vasanth's beautiful home proved to be an absolute delight. Winnie, a colleague of Thendral, had us ‘oooing' and ‘aaahing' at all the delicious Indian foods simmering in her well equipped kitchen. We even enjoyed our meal with some home made red wine! But our last highlight of our Indian experience would probably be seeing the movie ‘Slumdog Millionaire' at a modern theatre with Surya, Thendral, Maaike and Rein (from Holland ), and thereafter enjoying a wonderful meal at one of the more modern restaurants in the up-market area.

Summary

India has taken us on a rollercoaster ride jam-packed with experiences that will linger for a lifetime in our memories. It is only when one can freely explore, meet, live and interact with local people, and share in traditions and cultures, that you can truly say you have experienced a country. Despite experiencing her frustrating bureaucracy, maddening traffic, ‘hard-core' poverty, choking pollution, shocking living conditions, religious devotees who seem to contradict every possible religious principle, a nation crippled by a caste system and stuck in its blatant corruption and bribery, we have enjoyed our 3 month journey! It is only now that we can say we fully understand the slogan ‘Incredible India' – not to be confused with amazing!

We say an infinite thanks to the many families who so graciously hosted us in their modest homes, allowed us to share in their customs and traditions, served us with delicious Indian meals and entertained us with their excellent and heart rendering conversations. This is what makes traveling so worthwhile when one can see and experience a living example of what life here is all about.

With our van neatly packed, washing washed and backpacks organized for our wait in Singapore and Malaysia until the vehicle arrives, we hope to be out of India on the 7 th as Tipperdee ‘safely' crosses the ocean to Port Klang in Malaysia . Our vehicle will be taken into the customs area today (5 th ) for inspection and will be loaded onto a 40ft flat rack to be placed at the top area of the ship ready for sailing on the 9 th . Hopefully it will arrive in one piece!!

We look forward to the gems South East Asia has to offer!

Thank You India !!!

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