Dusty Delhi

And so the wrap-up post.

On my last day I had a look around the old hippy trail center of Delhi. Charitably it might be described as Delhi's Khao San Road (Bangkok). The road is called Main Bazar, Pahar Ganj. It is full of shops selling "Indian" handicfrafts from all over the subcontinent. A couple of drug-victim hippy types described the shops as selling "tourist rubbish" but to my eyes matched their clothes exactly! Actually all the westerners I saw on the road were wearing "Indian" patterns of some description. The road had rooms for rent by the month, but I have a feeling some had been there decades. I went to find this shop:

Which had essential oils, Tia will be pleased. Also my eldest son is called Stanley, so it felt right. Most of the road looks like this:

And the verdict:

On India as a destination, you have to choose wisely. Personally I wouldn't come back to Delhi unless I had to. All the other Koenig places have major advantages over Delhi: the mountains in Shimla & Dehradun (& the clean air!), the beach at Goa. 

The training (and everyone I have spoken to agrees) is absolutely top notch, and the class sizes never seem to exceed 2. 

Is it worth it? Absolutely although I cannot wait to get back to London. No car horns. No dust. 

And would I do it again? Yes, but I would try try try to avoid Delhi for as much of it as possible! Sorry to all those reading this in Delhi, I just haven't adapted well. I'm sure it's lovely really.

Thank you for reading.

Goodbye.

Simon Fisher

RHCE

Amazing Agra

I went to Agra. The journey was 4.5 hours by car from Delhi. When we got to Agra my nice taxi driver (Shiva) stopped to let a man in named Khallid. He was my guide apparently. I liked my taxi driver, but I wasn't too sure about Khallid. We'll see....

First stop was my terribly posh hotel to check in and attend to my toilet, as us upper class people say. Oh

my what a nice room. 

Then off to the Taj Mahal, which is unbelievably beautiful. No photo really does it justice. The first time you see it properly your heart skips a beat. My guide proved to be very knowledgeable about the place and went to great lengths to describe its total symmetry. It was built by the Shah Jahan in memory of his 3rd wife who died aged 39. The symmetry was spoilt by his son (who succeeded him by force, imprisoning him in Lal Qila for 8 years) when he had his father entombed alongside Mumtaz Mahal. Her tomb was dead centre. His is to the left as you enter. However if you ignore that, the symmetry is very precise. The gardens to the east match those to the west. On the west a mosque was built, so on the east side a replica building was created called the Royal Palace. The marble has precious stones inlaid and some crushed stones in the surface which makes it sparkle in the sun.

I found this little parrot hiding in a tree. This is not a crop, this is a 1000mm lens doing what it should do!

And here is what my hotel looked like by night. I chose to eat in the Rajastani restaurant where I had paneer tikka and Laal Maas. Very nice too. I then read a book in the bar with a couple of beers. This is the life!!

I was kind of hoping the guide would not bother coming along tomorrow as I wanted just a quiet stroll around the Red Fort on my own.

The next day: Red Fort (or Lal Qila). I think this is almost as impressive, but it is less easily photographed. I tried....(but first, a monkey). The guide DID show up.

This was where functions were held.

This is the open court yard where there was indeed a court. The ruler sat up on a stage and delivered verdicts on various scallywags who were being represented by the 17th century equivalents of defence lawyers.

And this. the fortified wall. 

After this my guide tried to sell me carpets and stone products etc by sending me to various handicraft stores. This is quite annoying. As if I am suddenly going to cough up £1000 for a table or a rug without my wife's permission!

There were 2 things I wanted: Essential Oils and Raw Silk. So I ask him to ring round to see if he can find any sellers. Whilst he is doing so I try to sneak off BUT he follows! Every shop I go into he follows me into as if to prove he took me there so he should get a cut of what I spend! I get annoyed and walk around the taxi 7 times. He follows me round 7 times. I give up.

Actually we do eventually find a silk shop but that is where I say goodbye to the guide: I am not sad to see Khallid go. On the way back to Delhi, Shiva and I listen to the first test match and talk cricket. 

Delhi Delights

Delhi is a little quieter today. In advance of all the fireworks later. I had a shopping day. First off to "Moments Mall". I decided to go by metro train using a smartcard, which I charged up with the massive amount of £1.20. Found a pair of trainers that actually fit, which was a bonus. And had one of these at the food court:

MMMMmmmmasala dosa. Hopped back on the metro to Connaught Place. This a pair of concentric circular streets around a park. It is a main shopping district. It is supposedly classic Delhi architecture, but looks a little knackered to me. Bought some tourist tat, then back on the metro for Karol Barg market looking for raw silk, but the only raw silk shop was closed for Diwali so I came back to the Inn and took loads of movies of fireworks! Cant post them here so here is a photo:

Off to Agra tomorrow and doing an overnight stop. I was offered a guest house or (for about £35 more) a "nice" hotel. I opted for nice. They have booked me in here. I will NOT want to leave! The Wyndham Grand, Agra

Exam Results

What do I know? 89% in the RHCSA, and 95% in the RHCE! BRING IT ON!!!!!!

The Exam

So the train last night exceeded even the morning train. This time they brought: a bottle of water, a sandwich, a samosa, tea, nuts, a chocolate bar, cake, soup & bread, paneer curry, dhal, rice, chappattis, pickles, yoghurt, bananas & ice cream. I made it my goal to listen to every song by the National that I have on my mp3 player (5 albums, and two extended EPs). Basically this took me up to the outskirts of Delhi. Delhi is mad, sorry if I am repeating myself. I don't feel comfortable here. The Koenig Inn deluxe is nice, the room is small but very modern. Breakfast was Ok, but I was too nervy to eat. The RHCSA exam in the morning went well. I think I probably passed that one with a pretty high score. However I am concerned that I may have screwed up the RHCE. I got caught up in a problem with one service and didn't really have time to check the work I had done on all the other services. Time was very tight. My guess is that I got between 90 & 100 for part one, and somewhere between 65 & 80 for the second. Anything less than 70 is a fail so I am now biting my nails. The Koenig Inn Deluxe is in a part of town dominated by a major road. Walking anywhere is problematic. However I did take a stroll to a beer shop so I could lie on my bed and calm down. Some Diwali lights:

Nirmesh, thanks for the comment. the web nanny rules here don't allow me to post replies or comments! I hope all is well up there in Dehradun. I wish I was still there....

Rajpur

Rajpur is a small village about 2km from the Country House. Just beyond it is some glorious countryside. Look.

A pretty-in-pink house.

A gloriously tumbledown house.

A monkey too intent on snacking to care about me. These crazy monkeys eat anything.

A panorama of the beautiful and not-so-distant hills.

Is the countryside growing into BIG TAP or is the countryside pouring out of BIG TAP?

Oooh, I found a river.

And a contented, recumbent cow.

Proof that it was me taking this hike.

The river again. Oddly there was an English family frolicking in it. They arrived in a 4x4. Lightweights.

Thousands of butterflies. I managed to hypnotise this one into posing for me. Thank you Madam.

These decorations make everything look good.

A severely strangled tree.

As I walked through Rajpur first time I noticed CHAYA, a cafe that had free wifi and did proper coffee & pizza. That's my lunch sorted I thought, but at 1pm they were closed. I thought I may have to travel into town but no! Sunil hands me a Domino's menu and a pizza arrives. Blogging & Pizza. They go together like ham and sandwich.

Goodbye Dehradun

The Country House students. From left to right: Alicia, Nirmesh. Lukas & myself.

This was our last evening meal at the house on Friday. We spent Saturday back at Black Pepper in town, which was great fun.

Here are some birds on the unfinished building opposite the school. The evening had set in, and the odd monochromatic light makes this looks less like a photo and more like a pen drawing.

Next stop Delhi.