From: "Philip Merryman" <phil_merryman@hotmail.com>

Date: Sun Feb 03, 2002 01:11:57 PM Etc/GMT

Subject: India

Hi everyone,

It's Sunday Feb 3rd, day 11 (I think, I have lost count already!!)

My first impression of arriving in India, apart from it being dusty, is that there are two rules of traffic: 1) don't stop, 2) hoot constantly.!! The traffic here is amazing everything from trucks and busses to cycle rickshaws, camel carts, cows, etc. all on the streets at her same time, all trying to be in the same space at the same time, and all the time the 3 wheel auto rickshaws (tuk-tuks) buzzing in and out like insects! Meanwhile people are living on, and in (!), the streets selling and buying to each other. The busy parts of Delhi, and especially Jaipur are like ants nests: lots of people doing something in a small space!

Also like a plague are the hawkers trying to force wothless trinkets, potscards, films on you and asking rediculous prices and trying to haggle all the time. Thy descend upon a bus of western tourists like locusts!! The only way to deal with them is to ignore them as any other communication is considered a negotiation!! With the drop off in western tourism lately they are even more desperate than ever! After all they are only trying to make a living. However, once you have run the gauntlet of these hawkers from bus to monument, park, etc, the rewards are amazing.

The Taj Mahal is even more impressive than in the pictures. This is for two main reasons: firstly it is bigger than the photos appear. As you go through the entrance gate it is actually quite close. Obviously a wide angle lens is used for the publicity photos. Secondly, and much more impressive, is the level of detail in the decoration. It is all achieved by small semi-precious stones inlaid in the marble. The details are in places only 1 or 2 mm across!!!! And it is covered with these intricate floral designs all over inside and out! It took 20,000 people 22 years to construct!!

There are many many forts and palaces of incredible scale in some cases, covering large areas with many spectacualr buildings and in some equally spectacular locations. These too are often covered with intricate carvings over much of the structure. Hundreds of rooms were one lavishly decorated. It is hard to imagine what they must have really been like in their heyday. It would take days to just explore on eof these and there are hundreds of them. It seems every hill has a fort of some form or another.

Equally impressive are the parliament and government buildings here in New Delhi constructed by the British between 1911 and 1922. I couldn't get a close look at these when I arived as it was Republic Day and it was all closed of for the Grand Parade. Unfortunately due to the heightened security in these parts you needed tickets to get to see it and no bags allowed. So I ended up seeing part of it on the Hotel TV even though it was onle a couple of streets away! I hope to get a close look at them in the next couple of days before I leave.

The wildlife here is also amazing. We had a visit to a bird sanctuary with many water birds, but also eagles, kites and other large birds. Furthermore they do no feel threatened so you can get a really good look at them with even modest binoculars, or even none at all. The next day we went to a Tiger reserve. There were lost of interesting animals about: deer, antelope, warthogs, monkeys, jackals, mongooses, more birds (vultures) but we were really hoping to see a Tiger. There are 24 of them in the reserve, also leopards and panthers.

Early on we found a small deer which the ranger said was a Tiger kill (characteristic wound) but was just lying untouched by the track! This meant that the Tiger could not be far away, especially as no other animal or bird had come near it! However no sign of the tiger. Just as it was getting dark werewere in a different part of the reserve when the rangers called our jeeps up the road. The driver put his foot down and went for it around the winding road with us hanging on in the back! They were open jeeps so hanging on was the operative word. In the end we got to the relevnant spot to just see two leopards reach the tp of the ridge amongs the trees abov ethe road. A bit hard to see inthe failaing light at a distance through the trees, but they were on the skyline and with the telephoto lens I could just about see the spots. The excitemnt was that they were first seen waling along the road and had climbed up the ridge from there. So even though no tiger it was a good note to end the day.

The next morning 4 of us hired a jeep again to have another go at lookng for the Tiger. This time the kill we had seen yesterday had gone, with drag marks on the ground! We explored further up that particular valley and our ranger spotted fresh tiger footprints! There were many of them all along that track, so we followed them. In one spot you could see where he had sat down (it was male from the size of the footprints) and later on there was a second smaller set with them indicating that a female had joined him. We continued to follow the tracks hoping to see the tiger over the brow of each next hill but no luck each time. However we can't hav ebeen too far away from them and it would not surprise me if, on both days, he could see us even though we could not see him!!!

Yesterday we were in Jaipur lookling at all the amazing buildings there and this included an elephant ride up to one of them!! There were 4 of us per elephant, two on each side facing outwards, and it was a bit like being on a choppy lake in a small boat! Later in the afternoon we had an unexpected bonus as we got to see an exhibition polo match at Jaipur Polo Club!! This was very pleasant and it was a good game the result was 3-1 with several near misses as well. The horses really do run flat out. However it took a bit of time to get used to who was who as they change ends after each goal!! The match is divided into 4 periods (chukkas) and during each interval we were entertained with a pipe band. This was free to just walk in and sit in the stand, and they even brought cups of tea round to all the spectators. Very civilised and something I could definiely get used to!!

I do not know when the next mail will be as I am on the move to Perth next and then I will be on the trains a lot until I get to Alice Springs.

So I'll say cheerio for now and looking forward to writing the nrxr installment from down under!

Cheers

Phil