Driving Mrs Davies

Hello. Sarah here, sorry that its me again folks, Andrew was due to write blog but has passed the buck, but don't worry he will be writing the next one.
Andrew's mum, Jane, arrived at the tail end of the January where we enjoyed a few good days of Goan sun, sea and cocktails however the main purpose of Jane coming across was to enjoy a 3 week trip to Rajastan and Uttar Pradesh.

Through friends in Goa (thanks Kath & Phil) we had been put in touch with a professional driver called Michael who has a White Ambassador car to drive you everywhere and anywhere in India. Michael picks you up at the airport and then sorts out absolutely everything for you - hotels, resturants, guides etc. Honestly, you dont have to worry about a thing and all for a very reasonable cost (if anyone is interested please contact michael on ddtours_travels@yahoo.com he comes highly recommended - thats the plug done Michael - hope it is okay?).

As you can imagine this type of trip suited us all down to the ground and it allowed me and Andrew a rest from the norm of planning our travels. We had given Michael a loose idea of the places we wanted to visit along with budget and the type of things we liked doing and then he went away and developed an itinerary for us, picked us up at Jaipur airport and away we were gone.

Over a 3 week period we are visiting (hold your breath); Jaipur, Madogargh, Agra (Taj Mahal & Fatephur Sikri), Rathambore, Bundi, Udaipur, Rakapur, Kumbalgarh, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner and then back to Jaipur! We had a hectic 3 weeks planned and we were due to cover well over a thousand Kilometers seeing varying and changing landscapes and enviroments.

The first stop was to Fort Madogargh and Michael had arranged for us to stay in a Palace where the Maharaja used to live, which was approx. 45km from Jaipur.


This is a picture of Fort Madogargh taking from the car as we drove up in the Ambassador

















This was our traditional greeting as we entered the Fort, we were given a bindi to wear on our foreheads



















Andrew and Jane sitting in the Fort overlooking the beautiful countryside


















Andrew and me donning our bindis as we explored the Fort


















This is Michael's car, the White Ambassdor which he uses to drive us around, this is parked outside Fort Madogargh





















Jane watching the sunset at Fort Madogargh

















The staff dressed Andrew in traditional Maharaja headgear, as you can see from the photo is he is taking to the role quite well (he was born to be a king)



















The Maharaja Andrew and his mother

















Ha ha, Maharaja Andrew got up to do a traditional dance with the staff of the Fort (he had only drank one beer!)
















This is our bedroom in the Fort which according to the website has been frequented by the Maharaja himself!

















Andrew and Jane having a giggle at the top of the Fort whilst having breakfast













We had a lovely time at the Fort and as we were the only guests there it made it very special for us all, Michael even cooked us a beautiful curry in the evening whilst enjoying the traditional music and dance. We weren't sure how we could top the experience but yet we were only at the beginning of our journey.


The next stop was to Agra where the Taj Mahal is situated, which was approx. 5 hour drive from Fort Madogargh through Rajastan and across its border, into the next state of Uttar Pradesh. We had been previously advised by friends and family that Agra itself leaves a lot to be desired so we had a inkling that it may not the cleanest of places. On the way to Agra we stopped at Fatephur Sikri, a huge Palace complex built by the Emperor Akbar at the height of the Mughal dynastay (that quote is helped by Andrew as if you couldnt tell!).
We arrived in Agra to be greeted with a sign of "Green Agra, Clean Agra" however this could not have been further from the truth, it was full of rubbish and litter everywhere, it was the dirtiest city we had visited anywhere in India - it was quite a shock, especially as it has one of the biggest tourist attractions in the world.

Michael had sorted us out a really great hotel as we had decided to up the budget whilst in Agra. We dumped our bags, went to get some food and then headed back to the hotel where we went to the top of our hotel building to get our first glimpse of the Taj Mahal! This beautiful building is situated slap bang in the middle of the city, which I hadnt expected, so we were all looking forward to seeing it up close and in person the following morning (even if it did mean a 5am wake up call!).

We were due to watch the sunrise at the Taj however the gates didnt open in time and there was a bit of security to go through however it was all worth it when we walked through gateway entrance - we were all blown away, it was truly amazing and words cant really describe it. Going early in the morning had meant that we had avoided most of the beggars and touts which swarm the Taj in the day. We wandered around the grounds, took photos and went inside the building itself and soaked up the atmosphere.












Me and Andrew sitting outside the Taj Mahal



















After finishing at Agra we made our way to Rathambore National Park (a Tiger Reserve) where we were due to undertake a Safari with the hope of spotting some tigers in the wild! Me and Andrew were really looking forward to it but were a tad sceptical as we had undertaken a Jeep Safari in Nepal and had only spotted some pigs and a peacock! Also to add to our fears my Mum and Dad had been to the same Park with their friends, Keith and Sheelagh, and they had only spotted a wooden owl! We were hoping to be lucky this time round, fingers crossed.

The resort we were staying at couldnt get us a Jeep as only a limited number are allowed in the Park each day and they had all been booked, which meant that we had to go on a canter which held 20 people.

Andrew and Jane in the canter














The Safari was due to last 3 hrs and there is various routes which the driver can take, however the best routes are saved for the really high end hotels which meant that our chances of spotting a tiger were 50-50 according to someone on our tour. After about 1hr the canter pulled up and the driver at spotted a tiger in the undergrowth (god knows how). It took me about ten minutes to find the female tiger hidden amongst the greeniery plus the fact that everyone was clambering to get a look (someone stood really hard on my foot! arghh!) but luckily Andrew has a good camera so was able to get a great shot of it for you all to see (and so you all know that we didnt make it up). After about 20 minutes of watching the Tiger, she decided to get up and move and so she walked passed our canter onto another spot to sit down and chill, everyone was really happy and we carried on with the Safari elated. We did the first leg of the trip and saw various deer and blackfaced monkeys, then we spun round and headed back for the hotel as it was getting dark. On the way back, the canter halted as there was a couple of Jeeps ahead which had stopped, waiting to see what the problem was we all had a look.... there was a male tiger (actually the son of the tiger we had saw on the way in) fast asleep in the middle of the road - we werent moving anywhere. We all looked on in amazement, it was so close it was unbelievable, after about 15 minutes the tiger got up and started to move, we thought it was going to go back into the forest, but no, it just moved to another spot in the road and started lying on its back. This tiger was going nowhere, it moved about another 2-3 times before eventually one of the Jeeps drove up to it to move it out of the way. We had been there for about 45 mins - 1hr and it was getting dark as well as being prime mozzie time so we had to move on, I am not sure that people normally got to National Park and actually wish that the tiger would disappear!

We were so lucky to see them - there are only 1411 wild tigers remaining in the whole of India so to see 2 on one day was incredible.


The tiger which halted our journey home




















Andrews Nan, Dilly, had very kindly given Jane some money for us to do something nice so after a very successful day tiger hunting we decided to treat ourselves to a lovely meal at the Oberoi Vanyavilas in Ranthambore. We had a grand arrival to the entrance in the Ambassador and then sat in the courtyard where we indulged in some fine dining and fine wine whilst being served by Maharaja dressed waiters and listened to traditional music. It was a wonderful experience and topped off a perfect day for us all. (Thanks very much Nan/Dilly xx)

Sarah and Jane at the entrance to the Oberoi Vanyavilas in Rathambore National Park

















Andrew and Jane sitting in courtyard of Oberoi












Well thats about it for that section of the blog, hope you enjoyed reading what we have been up to the. Andrew will be filling you on the next part of our journey which includes Bundi and Udaipur. Take care everyone. Sarah & Andrew x









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Fish n Kids and a side portion of Mum

Hello everyone. Its been a month since we lasted updated you all so we thought that we had better get round to writing up the next chapter, where does time go?
We thought that January had been a pretty quiet month for us but as I write this I realise that actually we have achieved alot.
Andrew was back to full health which meant that we could go and visit an orphanage in Goa which had been one of our main aims whilst being in India. Through speaking to friends we had met in Goa, we were kindly put in touch with a organisation called Mother Theresa's Roses, a orphanage in Parra, Goa.
We popped in to introduce ourselves and to see if there was anything we can do to help. We met the Sisters who run the orphanage and they advised us we could spend a couple of hours with the children at the weekend, as during the week they were busy with their studies so they just wanted us to have some fun with them. The children are aged between 4 - 13 and there are about 27 kids in total. We spent the next week thinking about all the games we could play, dances we could however we realised that the best plan is to have no plan espescially with that many kids! 27 kids in one room = chaos! We turned up on our first day to find the orphanage in carnage with kids jumping and playing everywhere, a very kind couple had arrived on their hols and had bought the kids a huge suitcase of dressing up clothes and toys so we had spiderman, a sailor and barbie dolls bouncing off the walls.
The kids were amazing; we had a mini disco, played games, sang nursery rhymes and just had a bit of fun with them. We loved spending time with them however we soon realised how tiring it is to keep 27 kids occupied and we were both knackered after only spending just couple of hours with them. The people who do it full time really do deserve a medal, it is very hard work.
It was really rewarding though to see about 15 of the kids doing 'Saturday Night' by Whigfield (its the only thing that I can remember the dance too!) whilst the others sat watching and giggling. I took my itouch to play the music, as the Sisters had said the kids loved music and dancing - which turned out to be a bad idea as the boys became obsessed by touching the screen, and then started arguing about being the one who put the next song on that they began fighting with each other!
I had put a selection of songs on which I thought they would like but all they were interested in was listening and dancing to 'Jai Ho' from the Slumdog soundtrack, we must have had it on about 50 times! The next time we went all they kept on saying to me was 'put Jai Ho on'! They just loved it! I was a bit disappointed that they didnt take so well to Cleopatra's 'Cleopatra's Coming Atcha!' Moss Side's finest.
We will go back and spend a bit more time in the orphanage when we get back to Goa.


The kids in fancy dress!

















We decided to book ourselves on a sunset fishing trip as we had wanted to do some fishing since arriving in Goa but like most things in our life we just never got round to doing it. The tour picked us up and we set off for our little boat which was due to take us to various spots around Candolim Beach. We had a great time as we sat and fished and enjoyed a couple of local beers. I hadnt caught a fish since I as younger so was very excited when I caught two! A group and a Goan snapper. I wouldnt say you could have fed 5000 with it, or even half a sandwich but I was very proud. Andrew was rather disappointed as nothing was biting for him however in the end he managed to catch one (see the photographic evidence below)!



One of my fishies!

















Andrews little tiddler!

















Sunset on the boat at Candolim Beach - this man caught 6 fish!





Andrews mum, Jane, was due to arrive on the 27th January and the plan was that we would spend a few days chilling in North Goa, then head down to South Goa until we had to catch a plane to Jaipur for our 3 week trip to Rajastan. Jane is going to create her own version of events so we wont divulge too much information as we dont want to spoil her blog entry (plus it saves me having to write too much more!)

I dragged Jane down to the beauticians we we both enjoyed a lovely pedicure and manicure! It was nice to be pampered for a few hours.







Andrew and Jane in Honey's Restaurant



















We went down to Ingo's Saturday Night market where we enjoyed a few drinks and some food













We must say a HUGE thanks to Keith and Sheelagh, my Mum and Dad's good friends from back home who have a beautiful villa in Goa. They had sorted out so much for us for our arrival in Goa (back in October), they have bought some much needed stuff across from the UK from my mum and we have enjoyed some excellent nights out with in Goa, one of which resulted in a 2 day hangover, a severely grazed knee and me jumping in the pool fully clothed at 4am in the morning! Oops!

When Andrews mum Jane arrived they took us to the loveliest restaurant called 'Au Reverie' where we had a a beautiful meal in a gorgeous setting, we all loved it. Thank you for everything you two! XX

Keith and Sheelagh





Keith, Sheelagh, Dennis (Sheelagh's brother), Andrew, Sarah & Jane in Au Reverie













Andrew trying to take a sneaky shot of me in Honey's as I try and avoid the camera again - still not liking having my picture taken but Andrews says there are not enough pictures of me on blog so must put it on!






























Andrew and Sarah up the tree K.I.S.S.I.N.G. (Jane caught us out on Patnem Beach - who said romance is dead!)
















Patnem Beach - this was our second time here, we first visited it back in November, the bloke even remembered us in one of the bars. We stayed in a lovely hut on the beach
















This is our cottage in Agonda where we stayed for a couple of nights, Agonda is definitely one of our favourite places in Goa. This place only cost £10 per night and was a great little find, hope to go back again before we leave Goa as we love it so much




















'Lets Get Physical' is it Jane Fonda or Jane Davies... who knows!

















Sunset on Agonda Beach























Jane playing hide n seek on Patnem Beach

















Jane and Andrew chilling in Shanty on Agonda Beach watching the sunset










Well people, hope you enjoyed our latest blog entry. Thats about it for now. The next part will keep you updated on our trip to Rajastan and a much anticipated visit to the Taj Mahal.

Love to everyone back home, keep in touch, Sarah & Andrew xxx






Have a look at our new world food blog website The Food Atlas.com for world food recipes and stories.
Are you interested in food recipes from around the world? Have a look at www.thefoodatlas.com
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