And lastly, to Delhi!

For up at 7, feeling relaxed and by 7.30 I was rolling, skipping the breakfast, as that comes at 8.30.

Finding the parcel office is an adventure that goes past the police, the new metro construction, down the road, and two left turns. 

The parcel office is shut,  opening at 8am. The train leaves at 9.10, and I have to walk back to the station from here. 

I waited till 8.10, then started stripping the bike in order to dump it/ give it to the nicest looking guy, who turned out to be a helpful parcel person at that stage. He'd told me the train is delayed by an hour, so it seemed hopeful. 

Rolled back to the station proper to the info board, confirmed it's late, back to parcels. It was now open, yeeha! One customer speaks excellent English. I asked him to pay, as they do UPI only. It's 53, I gave him 100, which he refused, so I gave him 50, looked for more coins but he doesn't want that either. The parcels office has 90% great people, and 10% who would like to supplement their income. It's important to concentrate on the overwhelmingly majority of amazing people. They would honestly help in any way possible, and just want a simple thank you. 

The delay continued and we got away finally at about 11.30am. A family has my seat as always,  but they've swapped me a cabin to myself. It always works well, train seating. 

I spent the time hotel hunting. Nanda told me to do the bike at Old Delhi station. She'd wanted to buy it. I offered it for free. 

I was expecting the ultimate boss battle in Delhi traffic but it is just too civilised. If Jaipur is 9 on the scale, Delhi is an easy 6. There are spaces between the cars even. Arrived at the hotel. Guard says 2 wheelers must go two gates away, but at the front door. The supervisor came out. I would like to go into the front door. I asked if he could park it? Yeah no problem. I slung him a hundred.

When I came down he was eager to get it out. I slung him another hundred. I really really like valet parking.  When I came back later, he was desperate to know: where's the bike?? I'd given it away. Sadly he was getting no more 100s but still he was very responsive. 

At parcels office, Old Delhi station, Nanda knows someone who knows someone. I can't get past the guard. He wanted me to go to police. The guy turned up, confusion reigned with the guard, got Nanda on the phone. The receiver eventually took it. I wandered to the metro. I'm dying to know what the ladies who will ride it think of me beast.

Wandering the Connaught Place, a kid asked if he could practice his English. We chatted. He took me to some Lassi place, was going to walk away but I invited him to dinner. He had chicken bryani. I had some paneer thing,  plus butter rotis. We parted ways, and I went home. 

It's great to be in a wonderful hotel. Breakfast is street food. I asked for Aloo Chole, got dahl. Went to Modi's residence. The streets are immaculate, wide green street gardens. At the home, many soldiers are on guard with machine guns. 

Nearby, Nehru's library is closed Mondays. Can't get anywhere near parliament, went to get Pashmina shawls, stopped at Afghami Resto, for fish tikka on a skewer,  and thick hard to chew flat bread. The main man spoke excellent English,  told me much about Kabul, where he's from. He reminds me a lot of Stephen Pav with his kind enthusiasm. 

They speak Dari which is 99.9% exactly Persian. The hellos, goodbyes, etc are v v familiar, so i told the waiter the food was خیلی خوب. The main guy recommended a shawl exporter, seemed an excellent tip. I picked up a bag load. 

I tried to view Humayun’s Tomb हुमायूं का मकबरा from a distance but it is too packed with people. Metroed it back, had a Malai chai with Sachin, met his buddy Rohan. They took me to another carpet place. I keep stating that I'm just there to look, and if course ended up getting a hand woven silk one with extremely fine detail, 1.2m wide by 1.8. Rohan did let me carry it for you.  I needn't have worried: he handed it back when I asked. I went home solo, dropped it, went out to get a backpack for the flight. Another guy offers to show me a carpet place, told me my one was a tourist trap. He knows the best place. He took me back to The weaver cottage arts and craft द वीवर कॉटेज आर्ट्स एंड क्राफ्ट, much to my relief!! Said it's the best.

There was a choice of hand knotted silk. This is about twice the price. He also showed me an ultra fine hand knotted work in 90cm width, which is really stunning. He said an artist may only do this,  was it once a year,  or once or twice in a lifetime? Only super rich buy this, and it takes an age to make.

For dinner I asked for Paneer. And got dahl. Again. 

For breakfast,  I asked for Aloo Chole Chawal, again,  at the cashier. The paper receipt just said "Rice". I asked the guy who makes the rice, clearly "Aloo Chole". Today I received Aloo Chole, after 2 attempts, on the third we had success!

Packed, chucked out shoes, single use slippers that I've used a lot, and the Indian phone charger. Checked out, stored my bags. 

Met up with Rohan and Sachin, had a chai, got them a novel each to improve their English. 

We went to a tea wholesaler, tried Darjeeling, Earl get, Chai Masala. Rohan wants one for his mum so I got all three, and then saw the eye popping price, went ahead as I said I would. Fuck.

We went to a park to relax, but the afternoon I'm miffed about the f ing tea. Had veggie burger/fries at Hungry Jacks. Can't believe they eat this in this cuisine rich country. Went home, got metro to airport, saw the tea there, a lot is a fraction of the price. One 100g pack is 4,000, which is the rate I'd paid, so maybe I wasn't robbed? Rohan said his mum loved the Darjeeling, so I figure it's the service and try to absolve my fault in financially f ing it, and get some mental relief at her pleasure. 

At the airport, I had Benne Khali for dinner, so much butter, almost like a thick fluffy crispy sugar free pancake, with accompaniments and a dahl flavoured side, very good. 

I slept well, on and off, for most of the flight. More or less woke up with 2 hours to go. Tried to take photos showing the curvature of the earth, for John, haha, but it's not clear due to clouds, poor visibility.

Getting through customs took about 10 minutes. Walking and waiting for the bags was probably 15. Plane landed 18:34 according to Google maps. I got to Central just in time for the 19:18 train for the Coast, which is miraculously good. 

More Agra

Went to Tomb of Mariam-UZ-Zamani टॉम्ब ऑफ़ मरियम-उज़-जमानी. They don't take cash. You need to do the ticket online, easy enough, then the lady at the desk also writes down random things like passport number, my age, other things that would not be requested normally, and was also on the online ticket for whatever reason. 

I think the reason I loved Mariam Zamani tomb so much is that it was a lovely surprise. It was the first place for the day for me. The pictures don't give an amazing impression.

But it is a decently big building, with a lot of detail, a staircase that leads down to the crypt, expansive gardens, and many repeated archways inside the structure.

I would have loved to get up to the roof but access was locked.

Across the road is the impressive Tomb of Akbar टॉम्ब ऑफ़ अकबर, bike parking 5 rupees, Indians pay 20 to enter, foreigners 250, as per the Mariam Zamani. As always some rando is telling me to put the bike somewhere else, not here, no not over there, here! Can i lock it to the fence? Ya ok.

Some other rando claims to be an official guide. I ask the price by he said up to you. This is annoying as I don't know how much to tip. 

I'm interested to know if the script is Persian. I ask if he can read Persian. He explains he's Hindi, so no. I explain I'm Australian and I can. No comment from him. This bullshit is annoying.

3 of the gates are for the look only,  and do not allow people through. The white marble is solid from Rajasthan. Italian Carrera marble is proud, but not this. 

The emperor had a Hindu, a Muslim,  and a Christian wife. Motifs from each adopted in the wall artwork.

The rectangle on a crypt indicates a male defunct. A square is a female. Akbar lays has pointing north, feet to the west, face pointing west to Mecca.

I asked if the tour was done. He said yes, so I gave 500, in line with pricing for Amer Fort, probably too much. It's a relief to be able to go at my own pace.

The parking guy said it's 10 rupee, but the sign said that it is 5. It's just the principle of paying more than the asking price that I find border line theft. I paid 5.

Next stop is at Mumtaz Mahal and Itmad-ud-Daulaइत्माद-उड़-दौला Three is a parking guy who says it's 20 for 2 wheelers and shows me a ticket for a motorcycle. I argue that that is wrong for bicycles but there no board that I saw so I agree that I will pay 20, and resign myself to possible bike theft from this petty crook.

Inside is very beautiful. It's not as big as the other Tombs, but it's a beautiful building, well worth a visit.

It would have been even more amazing back in the day when the river must have been bigger. One of the buildings overhangs the river.

The main mausoleum is white marble with coloured inlays. The patterns are very pretty. Looks like some Persian poetry over the arches, but in any case, it is Arabic script from Mughal times.

Back with parking man, I've guy 20, but I want an official receipt damn it. I had to argue for a while, then he reluctantly gave me a ticket receipt for it. Victory is mine!

In the way home, another guy showed me she too get a photo of the Taj, then also asked for money, which I did give. 

Dinner was at Tajnuma ताजनुमा. It's in a hotel,  fairly fancy. As a foreigner, I am really tired of being treated like a walking ATM.

The main waiter at the restaurant did not want me to order the Thali. He wanted me to buy the 2199 rupee tasting menu. I'm sick of being pushed to pay for things I didn't ask for. He said Thali is only good for one person. Well I am one person. So I'm getting the Thali. One staff member clicked a photo of me. One staff member is sitting there on his phone loudly listening to memes. One guy comes up to me and says "yes!". I always find this confusing. I already ordered. What do you want from me?

My order was for a mango drink. They brought out a strawberry one. The strawberry drink is delicious. The Thali was well presented and a nice meal.

I don't think they get a lot of customers. The staff hung around in the corner booth, all on their phones. I think the staff should at least pretend to be busy. 

Next the 600 rupee meal, with a drink, adding GST, and water comes to 992 rupees, thank you. Then the main guy stated that this does not include the tip. I ask; so you're telling me to tip you? He doesn't respond to this.

It's another place that I cannot wait to escape. I get chased down the street, from time to time, in this country, by people wanting me to buy things that I do not want. This is the overall feeling that I as a foreigner visiting this restaurant. 

Dear restaurant owners: the whole reason we come to a nicer place is to avoid being hassled. I do not plan to come here again, that's for sure. Tomorrow is the Taj with Imran. He's expensive, but I don't care as long as you know beforehand, no surprises. 

It's nice to be home in a really nice room. 

So the next day was with Imran Khan, same name as the famous cricketer. He is a good guide, not too fast, too slow, the correct amount of detail according to what you'd like to know. 

The Taj Mahal is impressive,  masses of white marble with precious stones inlaid to make the beautiful patterns, eg Onyx (black) from Belgium, malachite (green) from South Africa, Lapis Lazuli (blue) from Afghanistan, the magic orangey stone that catches the light is local. I believe there were diamonds, gold, and jewelled carpet hangings, definitely in the Agra fort at least, that were looted out by the Brits. Some gems were stolen by tourists or locals.

The mausoleum was built by Shah Jahan for his 3rd wife Mumtaz, who have him a son. The 1st two produced daughters. Mumtaz died in child birth. The king was able to build this over a 20 year period, from 1631. It's a sad story. 

Over the river he planned to build exactly the same building, but in pure black Onyx. It would have cost 4 times the price.

His son Aurangzeb took power, jailed Shah Jahan, and cancelled the second mausoleum as it would have cost so much. 

The luxuriously bejewelled, but sad, wing where Shah Jahan was held captive, overlooks the river and the Taj containing his dead wife. So for 8 years he could have contemplated his dead wife, the child that she gave him, and the betrayal of that son. Sucks to have been the king.

The Agra Fort is a beautiful complex of large walls,  palaces,  including the main section that was under the gardens near the entry, that we did not get to see.

I can't remember how we started talking about carpet, but the guide tells me he's got one from the factory. Well I'm a sucker for that, so I arrange to go to the factory. 

The carpet factory has several families working away calling out colours to make the patterns, and tying off the knots one by one. In the end, I bought one. Marie gave it the OK, cis sge oks every purchase, haha. I hope like hell I wasn't ripped off or fooled into buying some bullshit carpet. We'll see when it gets home.

Third stop was lunch courtesy of Imran, which is very kind of him. All you can eat, which is not so much these days. 

He warned me about the rural yahoos who come to town to ask for a selfie, and pick your pockets. After that I decide not to go out at night.

I switched on the hot water service for a shower,  then it burst, pouring water out. I tried twiddling the tank's taps to relieve the pressure. Not sure if me touching them popped it under pressure? The tank taps tingled with electricity. Me being dumb, I thought I'll get a quick shower out of it. 

When I tried to turn off the shower taps they were then live. I tried to turn them off using toothpaste tubes and got a zap. I used a thick mat and got properly zapped then but got the taps to turn off. 

I told the hotel people because I was then genuinely concerned that someone could die getting to use the shower. The owner said he'd call the electrician and pull the (very wet?) plug. The plug is positioned under the shower head, which is the worst place for it, except for maybe submerging it fully in a bath tub. I told him to please do not touch it!! He agreed, because the elec was on his way. 

I mentioned getting dinner at the hotel. The hotel owner served up a home made chicken bryani. I offered to pay, but he wouldn't take it. I think he was just happy that I was alive haha. F77k what a night.

I smacked about 3 mozzies with blood,  and a few more,  then slept with the fan blowing noisily again. Must remember to pop anti malarial pills!

Trip to Agra on the train

I'm in class 2S. This cost ~500 rupees, ie <$10 for a 4 hour trip. So I was wondering if it was going to be a zoo. 

I got up at 5.50am, traffic is light and pleasant, although visibility wasn't great in the dark.

No probs with parcel people today. I weighed my bags, about 16kg, and the bike is 14kg, so still thinking whether to take it home or not.

Chatted to a guy from Bruge Belgium and his Belge Nepali buddy from Ghent. They're having a nice time. The Nepali guy speaks Hindi which helps. I left them, worked out how to find carriage D8 on the Ixigo app (actually works!!), and entered. There was/still is a while family in my seat group.  No worries, there is a seat near, space for the bags and then I could enjoy the show. 

It is good fun. The kids are drinking cough medicine, I'm chatting with the guy next to me. He is a potato farmer. Everyone is sitting down at last, so v good.

I took a toilet break, a long pee, weighing on my mind for 2 hours. 

We arrived.

A bit of footpath hoping to get past the stationary standard collection of fools, all honking and going nowhere, and I arrived at the homestay which looks wonderful, had a tall cup of Masala milk chai no sugar.

For the arvo, I went to the Taj Mahal, just the outside, met Imran Khan the tour guide. He showed me a viewing point. 

Chatted to dine boys there. 

Went through some crazy streets in some crazy bazaars, got to the most expensive restaurants I've been to, and ate too much. Iran recommended this place, as it's his brother's. Very fancy, but I only ordered one thing: Dahl Takda, too filling!!

More Jaipur

Today is Tuesday the 23rd. I'll be having the Pav bhaji, a thick spicy vegetable curry served with a soft, buttered bread roll, and chai, at The Kullad Story द कुल्लड स्टोरी. 

I'll see some museums as I got a Jaipur  Composite Ticket yesterday. 

Went to the Amber Fort first thing around 10am. Got some excessive honking on the way. Serves them right to get all stuck in a giant bottle neck with a pedestrian crossing. I got a reasonably rock- star parking spot and cross the street, probably before the honkers got through. 

One guy I have to say no to 3 times on the way in. A shame, maybe he was actually an official guide? Too bad,  one "no" is normally enough. 

Is it weird to say that I find the sight of white people quite a shock? I am not used to seeing any. 

There's a pedestrian walk way up. That's excellent. 

For a coffee at Amber Fort for 240 inr ($4). This is a dear as poison and tastes like water. Breakfast cost 190 for a meal and an excellent milk chai. I am in a shitty mood today. Crowds are always annoying and this place is heaving. 

On the way out I bought a couple of paintings, like throwing chips to a seagull, they all desperately pressed in. I had to outrun one guy who wouldn't take no. 

The guy at the parking said 40 rupees parking charge. I said no!

The ride back was uneventful. 

Went to Hawa Mahal, which is nearly a 2d facade at the front. You can climb to the top of this kind of wedding cake looking thing. I think it's Buddha's crown or something. 

Then climbed the Isarlat Sargasooli ईसरलाट सरगासूली which is a victory tower. It has a ramp spiralling up the inside. Kids were having a great time. I had to block the noise by putting my fingers in my ears. 

Popped over the road, checked an alley of bracelet markers, went up a temple steps after the guy who sent me over followed me over and insisted I go up. 

Met a local artist who took me to his gallery, gave me a chai, said I don't need to buy, but then pushed to sell me a painting anyway. I'm a sucker if people are nice.

Got home. Went to dinner at Kaaram's कारम. A bit weird for ordering, as you must do it through a touch screen. The plus side, there is a picture of every single dish. You can pay cash as well, not to the screen haha.

I had a Ghee Podi Thatte Idli. Delicious. Plus the man will come and give you more sauces as needed.

They're playing western pop music, which feels weird. If I could, I'd ask for local music.

My other dish was a Ghee Podi Benne Masala Dosa with potato mixture. Also v delicious.

--

Another day in paradise, if crazy traffic, and enough honking to drive you bonkers is it.

Rolled around thinking I'll get to know it a bit better, but the fly overs and multi lane roads with magic's divide barriers reduce that plan.

I went to the Gandhi Vatika museum गांधी वाटिका. There are so many displays that it's exhausting. A lot were lacking key details, and were more bla bla, this happened, this person was important because blah. It needs a serious coffee shop at halfway, as it is extensive. 

Rolled a bit more, had a street food lunch of 2 x Chiili Pakoda, rolled more. Ended up shouting at one guy who put his bumper on my back wheel. Definitely had enough, went home for a snooze.

Booked a train ticket to Delhi, went got money, had dinner at Tadka Town तड़का टाउन again. The exec Thali, very nice. 

I decided to read my book, then checked if I had a photocopy of my passport. This is required by the parcel office, in order to book luggage, eg the bike. I've got none, it's 9.30pm. Who's going to be open now? Find one, courtesy of Google. His copier is bung, stopped at an agent who looked like a possible but they said no. Finally tried a hotel, gave the guy a 100 and got 6 copies, so we're set. 

Back in the room, the guys next door are playing Indian rap, and talking loudly. After reading for a while, then trying to sleep,  I knocked on their door and immediately and kindly cut the noise. 

Waking up in Jaipur

The 5 star hotel put on a very decent variety of breakfast. I also ordered a rolled up crisp pancake with potato mix inside. I think they called it samosa masala.

Left my bags at the hotel. Headed to Nahargarh Fort, a steep uphill walk. 

It's nice, overlooking the city. There are two stepwells. 

The way back followed the ridge line. Then wound down the hill, v fun.

Stopped at 2 leather shops. One wanted 3500 for a very average bag that was 1300 without a discount in Pushkar, the identical camel leather with green carpet lining. Makes the decision easy. 

Got 4 identical sweets after asking for a mix selection of 3. The language barrier is stopping me eating more. 

Went back to the 5 star hotel. They wouldn't let me park in front via the main entry gate on a bike to collect my bags. Well screw you guys eh.

Got into the home stay, which is on the 2nd floor, feels like an ikea ad. 

Went to the Albert museum, which had pottery, more guns etc, some replica art work, interesting, but a bit boring.

Dinner was at Tadka Town तड़का टाउन. I had Gatta masala, gram flour dumplings in a spicy yogurt-based gravy, which is not really much veg in the veg dish. Was still hungry, got some dahl. After I went searching for snacks, had 2 milk cakes, 2 bananas and a Minus 30 brand mango ice cream, not bad, while locked out of the front gate.

The owner informed me that it's not locked. I used the paddle pop stick to lift the bolt and then got in, then left the bolt up so others can get in to the home stay. 

I think I'm full enough now. 

Trip to Jaipur

Same breakfast as yesterday,  wandered around, looked at a few bags, filled a water bottle using a public chiller box. I don't know if this water safe. 

Said farewell to Cookie, left 2 shirts, hopefully for anyone who needs it. 

And I'm off. Up the hill that overlooks Ajmer. I went past the lake. It's nice.

Stopped at the govt museum, mainly because of needing to pee. It has some good artwork, 5000 y.o. pottery, and 1-2000 y.o. coins, and various weapons. 

Outside the honking is annoying today,  and I just couldn't be bothered staying. I stood in the street and booked a train ticket, dropped the bike off and had a Thali lunch.

In the train, I've picked exec 1st class. They bring bottles of water and a tray load of snacks.

At Jaipur a parcels guy practically pounced on me. He took me to the window, sat down with me while we waited then told me to pay 50 rupees to someone random at the collection desk. I asked why? Told him that is not how it works, informed him I'd already paid. The other guy laughed and my guy gave up immediately. 

All the same I fully kit up and ride off quickly to avoid any evil spirits. 

First stop, the hotelier is away, 2nd stop has no vacancy, 3rd stop Park Hotel I couldn't see there, 4th stop is under renovation so 5th stop is a 5 star hotel which is a major treat.

Last night's hotel:

this is actually very clean and comfortable. 

Tonight's hotel:

also clean and comfortable. 

India is a total roulette wheel. 

Pushkar

Found a laundry in my street, and it's well time to de-filth my cycling pants, plus put in about 7 pairs of undies/socks. Jeans were refreshed for the very first time. 

Breakfast was a standard yellow rice with tomato and onion. I was able to ask a British lady, who'd just ordered, about it. 

Went back to my room, got ready. When I popped out Cookie was there, great timing. 

We wandered down to the lake, then out along a sandy road lined with plastic rubbish, dogs and cows, plus some very pretty cultivated fields. 

He's about 6'4, dreadlocks down to the back of his calves,  Harry Potter glasses, Rasta clothes, bare foot with henna tattoos on them. He gets a lot of requests for selfies. He fist pumps,  never shakes hands,  can't see the point, you never know what those hands have touched or if they ever get washed. Many who leave the toilets do not wash them. True in Aust also, I'd rather not think about it. He's been to about 50 countries. 

We had lunch.  I never realised that they water down the dahl etc in the Thali, until he pointed that out. 

He showed me the over coat, like a warm poncho, that he's making. The shop owner lets him use the scrap and the sewing machines, so it's a bit like a patchwork quilt. 

It was time to try using the squat toilet. It turned out to be pretty comfortable. I won't be scared in future! You just need to be mindful of flushing it with a big bucket. For my readers benefit, you squat with the hole to the rear. 

An arvo snooze later and the rest was just wandering, shopping, seeing the old buildings. 

I picked up the laundry about 5 past 8. In Shimla laundry was a couple of thousand, Amritsar cost about 750. Today's roulette wheel of washing comes in at 250. 

Getting to Pushkar

Started early, about 8. The main road is still boring but much less traffic. I guzzled a litre to be sure of peeing clear. Neae the toll gate, there's a spot against a wall, but looking up halfway through, I spotted a man behind the window at the weighbridge. The window faces my show but luckily the man is avoiding the view. 

I took a left at Barr, and got another bottle. A man starts chatting,  then introduced one, then another brother,  a niece etc. He offered a tea, seemed nice so we all went into his courtyard opening to the road. They pulled up a chair,  and I was ready to sit,  although it became painful later. 

There's about 4 brothers, two wives, 5 kids. They offer some breakfast which is a capsicum ayvar type thing,  delicious,  and a Sabz of cauliflower etc, v delicious. One girl speaks quite ok English,  finishing a BSc, but I can't find out in what. 

The road that follows is rural. Herds of goats are on the road. There are many small villages. 

I felt the back tyre was pretty low. There's a massive thorn. I repaired that but after pumping it up, it goes fully down. A motorbike rider with a half drunk pillion, he says, watched and asked questions about visas. Surely I could get them one?

The pillion found the second hole. Patching that seemed to be ok, but I tried to pedal faster.

Further on, the motorbike rider stops me to say my shirt looks very good... can he have it? I'd gotten it from The Hub, wanted to reduce weight,  so pretty happy to give it. He seemed pretty happy. 

A vet on a lovely Royal Enfield gave me a hand. He is very strong. He dragged me the last couple of k's into his village. 

We had a seat and a milk chai. 

At last it was only 12 to go. There are commercial flower gardens, some walled fields. I would have stopped to take a picture but it's very late.  I arrived juat after dark. The place looks like the Gold Coast. I'm very disappointed. However the main part of town has many historic buildings so all good. 

There are so many foreigners here. One asked about my bike. He is about 6'3, has dreadlocks tied i in a bun, comes from Manchester. He gets asked for selfies all the time, just like me. His name is Cookie.

He told me about where he's been staying. So now I'm here too. 

Hotel Shanti Palace होटल शांति पैलेस is an old Haveli with many rooms. 

I'm looking at How to Use a Squat Toilet on WkiHow.

Sojat and the LAHAR INN Chandawal

Got up about 8, went to the temple to say farewell and have breakfast. Some randoms get me to circle the smoky incense plate. Pintu gets me to chant the 108 x ohm rim err-a-hum namaha. I said farewell,  had breakfast in the temple, a couple of sweets from the shop, said bye to Pintu 's mum at their home, got home, packed. 

The twinkly eyed hotel owner (his father built the hotel) informed me Pintu visited and wants me to wait for him and his friend. Pali is giving me one final grandma feeling and will not let me go. I go to their home. A smart looking guy in beard and glasses, strangely familiar,  eventually turns up. It's mercifully short. I decide that today there will be no friends, no temples, under no circumstances!

At Sojat there is an ice cream distribution warehouse, Bherunath Agency ( vadilal icecream Distributor) भेरुनाथ एजेंसी ( वाडीलाल आइसक्रीम डिस्ट्रीब्यूटर). They come in a packet, on a wooden stick, like Streets, except it's full of real flavour, genuinely creamy and no freak artificial taste or additives at all. I ate a little tub, then had a Badam Kesar Pista Kulfi ice cream like an icy pole shape, also sensational.

After some very clean winding narrow concrete streets, the fort in town is a pleasant surprise, and well worth the detour. It sits above town on a hill. A dog, with puppies, was barking at me. A man came out of his home and kindly led me up the stairs to the top. 

I stopped to pick up some water, then 2 bananas. 

Google led me through Chandawal चंदावल to the wrong address.  Going back through town I had to say hello to randoms calling out, plus got surrounded momentarily only, thank the lord, by 10 excited kids. The main guy had a rats tail on the crown of his head which I believe has religious significance, channels energy from god.

There is a turban shop in town with amazing tutti frutti colours. Wish I had the space to take one. 

As always, our is impossible to see what a place looks like until you arrive. The LAHAR INN गिफ्ट गैलरी लहर इन is in the absolute dirt car park and truck stop but is surprisingly clean inside. Dinner tonight is here because I'm lazy and it's popular, which is always a good sign. 

Man this is the greatest meal I think I've had in India. Each one is excellent. The ones on the left and right are outstanding. Too bad I don't know what it was. Lassi was salted. I now know not to fully drain it, so as to avoid the solid layer at the bottom. Maybe you're supposed to stir in this toxic hyper concentrated saline grit?

At night I had many strange dreams of all my clothes being stolen. This means I'm concerned about making enough progress in the morning. Let's see. 

Hangin out in Pali

After a better night's sleep, I woke up, then there was a knock on the door. I was going to the temple at 8, but Pintu is here so we'll go a bit earlier.

We go to the various shrines,  gonging a bit, chanting,  moving the incense dish in clockwise circles. When you go around a shrine 3 times, do it clock wise, as per the Sikhs. He did explain why, along with 68 million other things, and I have zero memory of the reason. 

For the basic chant "Ohm rim err-a-hum namaha" you count clockwise on the left hand a 9 x 12 on the right = 108. This is done magic in tune number. 

For the 9, use 3 fingers, go up 3 on the index, across 3, down 3 the ring, left 1, up 1. You end on the middle phalanx of the middle (rude) finger  ie in the centre. Like your soul, or centre of the universe or something. 

For the 12 on the right, go up 3 on the pinky, made a backward S on the middle 2, then up 3 phalanx on your index finger.

The Ohm chant will take 2 minutes. Hopefully you're staring into the morning glow of statue of an immortal no-longer-to-be-reborn soul, like this one:

We went to breakfast at the temple canteen. Pintu did not eat, in his special clothes. These do not have stitches. It's two wraps,  one top, one for the bottom. Looks like a toga.

He changed,  showed me his house. It is 3 levels plus a rooftop. Down the centre there are iron grills at each level in the floor to allow light and air flow. On each level, at the back is a room, about 4x4m, and one at the front. Seems like an ancient design, well adapted to the heat of the area. Winter is about 20 and summer gets to 55 apparently, also in Jodhpur. 

We travelled to the Bagri, a temple on the top of a hill  with views over town and the reservoir. 

I went to the Bangar Museum

बांगड़ संग्रहालय

It has 

-old coins

-paintings of the Maharajas

-a traditional village scene 

-marble busts from temples, about a thousand years old 

Went to dinner with the family. His advocate brother, brothers wife and nephew were also there. 

Then we went to see a gazillion temples. They're all very old, beautiful,  blah blah. The saints do heroic stuff like accepting death etc while chanting ohm. One guy offered his own flesh to prevent a god from eating a pigeon. There's a painting of him cutting off his leg and smiling away.

At another temple we meet 2 women he knows. One lives in a Haveli with 23 rooms. She lives there with 2 other people. They never use the top floor except to clean it. 

The lake is impossible to see. We rode slowly past a series of people living in tents, not sure why. They have a sad situation. 

To top it off, he tells me to go see one more temple. I've really seen enough, find it, can't see what the difference is with this one. 

I finally walk home with his brother, and get to sleep early, which is a relief. 

The full grandma, to Pali.

India is the land of grandmas.

You will be offered a cup of tea, some food, stay for a while, you can't quite understand, and you never know how long this is all going to take. You should come and visit. Can you wait wait here for half an hour? My friend wants to come and meet you. 

Breakfast is on rooftop of the hotel, with a view to the fort. I think it is a mild curry flat rice with mustard seeds. 

After picking up heavy antique elephant Giddy incense holder from Nanda, I hand off a shifter spanner and pliers to the first local near the closed  motorbike repair shop  asking him to pass it on. They're heavy. 

In town, I tried to find a bank. 3 or 4 listed in Google maps,  I can't find. At one I can find, a young girl is trying to sell me stickers and hovering right next to the bike. I decided not to leave it outside with all my stuff. 

On the same main road, another lady asks for money. No worries, I hand her some. But it's like the pigeon effect, giving one chip means that they all come. I go left at the red here to escape and give up on banks here. 

Rolling through the countryside is pretty but a bit boring after a few dozen kms.

In a small village/bunch of stalls by the road,  everyone looks super genuine, head wrap is different, clothing is different, more like time forgot them. Buying a bottle of water is 20 rupees. I've got 10 or 100. The incredibly scrupulous shop keeper only takes 10. I guzzle it. I think I'm the tiniest bit dehydrated. 

I met a guy who offers me accommodation at his home, some home made food he's carrying, a chai if we can go further, and then even some money. I have to decline at least 3 times, lying to say I've booked a hotel,  picking one at random on the map to show him, saying my stomach is still not good (true actually- his moist food in a plastic bag is giving me genuine horror).

Finally pulling into Pali, I met a 20 year old fitness instructor, then another young fellow who brings 3 mates. We all end up at a cafe me and the fitness man having a milk chai,  courtesy of the fitness man, sitting around doing videos,  chatting for a good half hour. 

Rolling further the young fellow now has an entire group of young girls on his bike who want to meet a foreign tourist. We all shake hands. Then two sets more kids on bikes all arrive to shake hands. Then we roll along together. Then we stop again and I'm fully surrounded with people,  who are offering tea I think,  but definitely alcohol, which also puts me straight on alert ⚠️. 

I chatted for like 5 minutes but I'm desperate to find a hotel asap plus escape. I selected 1st, blew them away, overtook some motorbikes haha. 

A few narrow main streets later, with barely enough space for a couple of motorbikes to pass, lined with shops and I'm there, at the Jodhana Hotel
ओयो जोधाणा होटल The outside is concerning. The entrance looks OK though,  and the owner has eyes that strongly invite trust. Checking out 3 rooms, one looks passable, so all great, I will have a roof over my head tonight.

Dinner at the Pushkar पुष्कर होटल एंड रेस्टोरेंट , I can't read the menu. A nearby lady kindly reads 2 lines of the menu but the 1st sounds excellent.  Turns out I think they call it Thali: 2 naan, Dahl, hot pea mix, mystery wheat sausage and gravy, plus a salted yoghurt drink, v nice until you hit the residual saline bitter herbal grit at the bottom. 

Wandering the shops, hoping not to receive a motorcycle to the hips, people always say hello. One guy, Pintubi, speaks excellent English,  has a serene smiling face, wants to show me the nearby temple.

It is Jain. Shoes must be off, no head covering needed. 

There is much gonging, chanting, incense burning.

Later we go to his home, meet the family, answer the usual questions. Then right after I've said I'm going, his brother and father arrived so had to answer them all again. 

Today is peak grandma in Pali.

Jodhpur sick day

Watched Yogi on Netflix because they didn't have Padmaavat M 2018 ‧ Romance/Action ‧ 2h 44.

This movie is a tear jerker where all the important characters die eventually, at just the wrong time, to melodramatic perfection. 

Went to the fort. It is huge, crowns the top of a hill. It overlooks the town. The shutters have thick patterns that provide privacy, and allow the residents to look outside quite easily. 

There were a collection of litters to carry Royal family in comfort. Must have been hell for the footmen to carry up into the fort. 

Inside there are many luxurious rooms and apartments gathered around some distributed courtyards. It would be a pleasure to live in such nice surroundings. 

I contacted Nanda to offer to exchange the euros she got given, ran back up all the way to the front gate again. Got there 5.27pm, guy said he was open til 5.30, I'd said I'd be back, but fk this place sometimes. Tuktuk guy said banks shut at 5pm. So finally back to Nanda's again after doing the Rocky Balboa run right around.

She gives a strong herbal milk chai,  fantastic. She tells me that they don't even meet their husbands before the wedding day. Then suddenly they're in bed with a stranger. Her mother got married at 13. It must have been painful. She'd only just had her period. Nanda got married at 21? I think 🤔, young anyhow. I say her husband must be nice and advanced since she is independent with her shop. But she says no, it's a deal. She must cook, clean, get the kids homework done, do the pooja (religious rituals to clean bad spirits or something) etc, and then she is allowed to go do her NGO.

When a husband dies, he expects his wife to kill herself so that only he would ever have been with her. Typically that would be on a funeral pyre. Not sure of the logistics. Caste etc still happens, especially in rural areas. 

She knows some amazing dancers in Jaisalmer and would like me to get them out to perform,  for their self esteem and to see outside their own world. 

I skipped dinner. I want a full stomach reset!!

Breakfast is at the home stay before rolling out to Pali.

The train to Jaipur. I mean Jodhpur.

On my rest day in Amritsar, I took it real easy. Had to pack all the washed socks and undies hanging out for a while. My train ticket to Jaipur stayed stubbornly unconfirmed. My fingers were super crossed. Its about 600kms and I don't want to cycle all that. I was 4th on the wait list, it seems? I am learning a lot about the train. You can book even if there is no seat available. Also go by the price, and the description to work out which is 1st class. 

My support team in Sydney told me that I'm on! Thank you Saurabh. My website view stayed on 4th on the list. Who knows. 

This is a massive relief. I was planning on going to the bus stop to ask around if they could pack a bike. 

Train is the answer to how I do the next 650km ( edit: 714, or another 300 on the train). This way I get there overnight.

Today I'm going to cycle in circles around the city until 2pm to celebrate!!!!

I had a fairly good wash. The diverter does not budge to the shower, so the only option is the bucket and scoop via the lower tap. If you fill it with hot, use 1 or two scoops, then soap up, then slowly pour the rest, it works OK. Don't get undressed until the bucket is full with hot water. Otherwise you'll freeze. 

Breakfast was a bit late. Rice like a bryani, potato mix but like a dahl and the bread was puri. I really like puri now, and the other two were delish as well. Got a lassifrom across the street. This lassi is correct,  v good. 

I biked it through the alleys, down to Gobindgarh Fort

ਗੋਬਿੰਦਗੜ ਕਿਲਾ

This is an impressive regular sized fort, with a massive moat. Some other tourists tried to speak to me in language. I answered in English, unsure too much was understood. 

The Magic man did a little show for me, making balls appear under the bronze cups, he was good. He made my 200 disappear and after I gave him that. Smart people should never leave home without smaller change or it will disappear like magic. 

The brickwork is intricate and would have taken a lot of work to lay. Interesting that a military thing can be so pretty. A quick lap and I'm out. 

Did a pee, checked out of the hotel at midday, did a few laps of the shopping district,  moving closer to the station. Tried to check in the bike for Jaipur. The parcel man said show me a ticket to Jaipur. It's only at this time that I realised the ticket is for Jodhpur, an easy error to make? Another giant leap for adventure. Sat and waited at the station. Now I'm on the train to Rajasthan. I'll be there tomorrow. And close (300km) to Jaisalmer. My mistake: I accidentally picked Jodhpur not Jaipur, . Now I'm more aware that these are 2 separate cities. 

I've ordered a dinner from a bryani restaurant in Jalandhar. You do this on the train website.  Let's see how it goes! 

They have power plugs so I can charge my phone, pillow, blankets, a bench to sleep on.  Just gotta write junk, and watch the scenery. This is real luxury.

The food is handed to me at my seat in a paper bag. Lucknow Paneer subs bryani, skimmed mint buttermilk and Shahi Tukda were great except I spilled buttermilk and custard on my pants and in my jumper sleeve. Eating train food is a skill yet to be mastered. 

I took a pee in the squat toilet, which is another competence which I lack. Hope I didn't get pee on the back of my pants. Seriously how is this done. 

I'm speaking with an advocate (lawyer) named Saurabh, lovely guy, who works not far from Jalandhar and Chandigarh in the family steel business. I've seen his wedding and new house move-in-day videos.

He ordered a veg burger from KFC delivered to platform 2, but received chicken, so had to give it away to someone. KFC has 2 separate kitchens for veg and non veg so it's a wonder that this can happen. The ticket must have gone to the wrong one. The main problem is that he still hungry and has to wait 2 more stops for another "restaurant".

Now it's 3am, a phone alarm is chiming. I'm worried the guy will miss his stop. I carefully wandered out, listening, found the man, so him awake, walked away, but the alarm continues. Oh well, I did my bit.

The train is rocking a bit too much for sleeping well. I used the European loo this time. It was surprisingly clean. There was soap in the dispenser, albeit a bit watery. 

I'll post more news as it happens. 

It's been excellent! I slept well.

30 minutes to go.

Eating the sweets I packed yesterday for breakfast. One ball has disintegrated in transit!

The bike is waiting for me when I get to the parcels office. This had to be the fastest service ever. 

Jodhpur is a really beautiful place, tonnes to see. I'm glad I got here. 

I was trying to go to the fort, which is hard to miss, but the GPS put me up many dead ends. During an hour I remained 1km away as I walked up then down the hillside alleys. 

I got side tracked reading a poster. The lady, Nanda, who runs this place has just arrived. She explained it's for widows. I got a beautiful Mehendi done, while she told me more. So ended up spending all my time there. Lucky I have one more night.

I had a home cooked lunch at a lady's place. The idea is I pay whatever and the lady can make a little income. Her husband hits the booze apparently, spends everything on that, and she doesn't want to beg him/he won't give her any. He is a clean looking drunk,  and it's past midday. I've been told to not let him see me pay, to secretly pass the money. Afterwards Nanda says let's go, come with me! And asked, did you see how he was watching us? Seems he is suspicious that she is making money on the side. I give 1000 to Nanda back at her office/shop. 

At lunch, there is incense nearby and is making me feel really sick. I don't want to eat now. They offer more food. I say please no, so she gives me more dahl. I'm not sure if I'm going to have to use a pot plant to give back all the food I just ate. 

The NGO is right next door. I helped Nanda by adding photos and videos on Google maps, and give a 5 star review. The images are of the handicrafts. In the video, Nanda explained how the NGO works for women. 

Check it out:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/vYwfz4TB1gezQApKA

I get back home because I'm sick and want to lay down. I feel like puking and really wished it would come. The diarrhoea is coming though, but in small batches. 

Last night for dinner I had Ciprofloxacin 750 mg and water. I think I am through the worst of the gastro today but my stomach is sore. 

Looking back, I've had rice at 5pm on the train. It came in a paper box. 

Then I had 3 sweets, 50mm baked flour/sugar balls, at 8.30am the next day, still on the train. I'd had these in store for 2 days before I ate them.

And home made Sabz lunch at 1pm, same day. I felt quite sick just before then, so I feel the most likely culprit was the sweets, given the timing. I've gotten gastro from bird's nest at a Chinese restaurant and think there was something crunchy like that on one of the balls. 

I got back at 3.10pm, and probs started business around 5 through to about 7.30 but there will be more.

No food today!! Thank the lord for an amazing hotel room and the luxury of a bum gun. Today I'm going to watch some movies. 

Amritsar and Attari

I got up before sunrise. Usually I laze in bed. The Golden Temple is lit up at night, and is spectacular, and I wanted to see that. 

It was pretty amazing lit up. Then when the morning sun hit, it likewise glistened and twinkled. 

Doing a couple of laps, I moved to where the music was the grooviest. I touched the ground with my head, bowing down properly. 

You need to cover your head and take your shoes off. There is a cloak room for those before you enter. 

On the way in you must wash your hands, then your feet. 

The bonus is after you bow to the ground and do the obligatory tour of the chanting guru, there is a holy treat station where you can collect a lump of hot mix, nuts, slight sugar, spice and wheat I think. 

Sikhs have the best music. You only need to hang around for a long a you feel. Plus they give meals away for free also. Why would you go for any other religion??

Yesterday I was inspired to make a decent enough donation which would cover a few meals.

I had breakfast at the Langar hall of the Golden Temple this morning. They serve like 100,000 people per day for free. The hall has marble floor, with 40m? long mats. You sit cross legged and they spoon it out of a metal cylinder that they hold, keeps it piping hot. The water cart is on metal wheels. The guy wheels past the line, pulls the handle at the top, and water comes out of the tap at the bottom. 

There are 5 or 6 lines of mats. You sit on one, the next spot in line, put your plate on the marble floor. Makes it easy to clean. 

I had dahl with lentils and chickpeas, a potato veg mix, and slightly sweet straight normal porridge, 2 naans, and rice. All zero % spicy hot.

On the way in, you pick up plate, drinking bowl and spoon from different guys, and hand off after to other different guys. There is a long snaking wash bay for cleaning them. At pick up, there is a mountain of plates in something the size of a ute tray.

I think you'd be impressed.

Luckily my hips have adapted after sitting for meals like that for a week at the apple orchard with my new family. 

A lot happens in a day here!

By 10am I was at Jallianwala Bagh

ਜਲ੍ਹਿਆਂ ਵਾਲਾ ਬਾਗ਼

It is a large green area (apparently a diet dust bowl back in the day), hemmed in by tall walls bordering taller homes and business buildings. 

It is famous because the British, in order to teach the locals a lesson not to protest bad laws, without prior warning or announcements, fired into about 20,000 people, killing 1,500. They only stopped shooting when ammo was getting low. It was psychopathic, but also stupid, as it lit a massive torch under the independence movement. Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer said it was a "merciful " thing to do, to get them into order. If he could have driven an armoured car in, he would have used those as well to kill more. 

I had a snooze at the hotel. 

I skipped lunch today. I had to run to get to the bus on time. I raced down to get a bus ticket for the border ceremony, then raced back. I asked the guys across the road from the hotel, to sew on a pocket to hold my mobile phone. Then 3 guys came up, were curious for a chat. They are dairy farmers. I asked if they have boom box on the tractor. I mentioned I have not been able to get a photo but I'd seen many. So they shared some photos of their tractor, then insisted on giving me a tea after I'd said I couldn't a few times. The videos are awesome. The tailor charged 50, I tried to give him 200 at least for the work, he did no, but I managed to give him a 100. It must be the only place where the merchant negotiates down. 

I'm at the border now! Should be fun! It'd been a super Indian afternoon. 

At the Attar Wagah border, the flag poles of both nations are so high that they need flashing lights to warn any aircraft.

It was pretty awesome. Lots of big kicks and strong arm gestures. I thought the gates would open so the guys would sort of dance together? Seems the border is firmly shut!!

I enjoyed watching the girls dance at the start. General public having a go - they were getting into it, and smiled especially for a foreigner.

Pakistan was so close that I could almost touch it. 

Something tells me that I may not have the correct translation from the Urdu here.

This word alone was on the big screen, and I was thinking, jeez I am bad at reading- that doesn't seem to spell Pakistan at all.

Danesh tells me: This means ‘gate of independence’

Above that the script says Pakistan.

I did have flags painted on both cheeks. 

Keep in mind that it was a border of two armed to the teeth Declared Nuclear Nations. Navdeep hoped I loved the aggression in that ceremony. i think their arm gestures definitely said, "Hey you! Get f---d!" 💪 Which is a worry, as you say, due to nuclear power.

Two guys who marched up earlier on wore headsets, head covering, bulletproof vests, modern uniforms, and carried serious modern machine guns. Those two looked like they meant business!

After the show, seems only school kids and VIPs could get in the concourse to take selfies with the dress soldiers. 

It was a great experience. Viva India and پاکستان !

Dinner was at the Ak Amritsari Dhaba & Kulcha Land (라씨추천) - another Kulcha, perfectly delicious with dahl, green salsa and achar. I ordered mushroom paneer-great, and Aloo matar- ok not spectacular. 

Amritsar

Breakfast was simple Aloo Paratha, and 2 milk chais. Suits me as I way over-ate last night. Mind you I saw this bread for 30 and her breakfast costs 300, but it is conveniently located, you get to sit down and broach teeth after. 

Golden Temple visit - amazing I spent some time soaking it up. 

Went back to go to my toilet. Just sheer luxury. Trouble is every person on the way wants you in their shop or their tuktuk.

Clothes came back from the Christian hotel worker, who insisted the hotel doesn't do it, but he could hook me up. They're spread on the bed, so wet. I should have put in my other undies as well. I hand washed 5 to avoid the dryer. 

Wandered done alleyways. So peaceful, beautiful, interesting. Some homes could be really beautiful. They're just a bit run down, but amazing wood details, town houses like ours, in the central part of town, and very quiet.

It's 12.08. I want to try Thali for something new, but he says sorry that's for lunch, right now is breakfast only. 

I'll try again at dinner. Even if they're still serving lunch, I can't miss out then, right? ... right?? 😄

In the afternoon, I went to the Partition Museum. What a downer. It is such a shame that the place got divided up, based on something random like religion. As far as I've heard, Jinnah did not understand the effects of a hard border. He kept a property in Delhi? and thought he would be able to visit it whenever. Kind of funny when you see the hard core wire fence and no man's land separating the nation's now.

So many stories of families split up, people leaving everything behind, entire trains where everyone was murdered. One Muslim family hid a refugee attempting to get to India. They were afraid that the whole family would be killed if anyone found out,  because they were hiding a Hindu girl. Sounds like when German families hid Jews, or same for Bosniaks and Croatians. The message here is like a cracked record of other places. 

Tonight's dinner was a thali. It was ok. Need to reduce my eating.

Nurmahal

I am in Amritsar tonight! It is just amazingly nice to know that I have a roof over my head for a few nights, and I don't have to guess, research or break down, to find where it will be. Currently sipping on possibly the nicest lassi I've ever had. It is luxury, not eating dirt for a few days and staying here.

It feels like a week ago but it was just this morning, I found the thorn stuck in my tyre.  After fixing that, no problems for 30km to Jalandhar. Saw The Sarai of Nurmahal, very nice. The gate opens onto a large open quadrangle, beautiful, peaceful. The gate is very intricate. Some Arabic calligraphy appears in the gate. Checking with the experts at work, it is in Urdu.

I sat there admiring while eating the 3 samosas I'd picked up at the sweets shop. Lucky I have 0 language skills or I would also have gotten some of those. 

I wiggled through the old town centre. It is exactly as per an old French village, tiny, lined with shops. 

The next one, Jandiala Manjki is similar, and even more medieval with homes straddling the path at the first floor  some overhanging the road. 

In Jalandhar, the army guys with machine guns wave me in at their road checkpoint. They make me nervous, but as per everyone who sees a random foreigner cycling past, they just want to chat. I just want to make it to the train on time. Then they want me to meet the supervisor. Ayaiyai. A selfie crosses my mind, but often selfies seem a bad idea. 

At the station there are metal detectors at the entrance to the ticket area. My bike has a full steel frame. I don't really want to leave it outside. Turns out that the detectors are off. I can get in, just, by turning the handlebars. The cop inside gives info, takes me outside and points me to the parcel office. 

There is one lady,  repeat, just one, handling everything, while 5 or 10 men label and move all kinds of heavy sacks. I requirea zerox of my passport. One guy pulls 20 rupees out, not sure who the kind man is in my panic, one takes my passport and is off, while I watch the lady handle the swirl of men and packages, organised chaos. A form, 32 rupees fee (53c), a meal across the street, and I'm on the platform. 22479 is on the displays, and car C1. I ask a guy, who speaks excellent English by chance, if it goes to Amritsar, he says no! My train is 22429. Glad I asked!! Nothing could have been a bigger problem than going the wrong way without the bike. 

Navdeep advised me to take the CC class. There are 2 sets of 3 seats with a corridor in the middle. Many stand. Some have two rows of seats piled high with roly bags. 2 women occupy the row of seat 64. The roly bag people are guiding me to another seat. After 2 sets of blessings in Punjabi, I am sat next to an old man who has his legs well spread over into my side. 

No worries. At Beas, 2/3 of the train gets off  not seat 64. I get, another, window seat, and research where to stay.

To my despair, the bike took a full hour to clear parcels admin at the other end, perfectly intact, to my intense joy. One guys says there is a labour charge. I asked the helpful guy, who tells the bogus guy to knock it off. I am keen to get out.

Traffic as always is a surprise. 

I head for a highly rated home stay where the guy looks at me and my filthy bike and simply says no.

Seems he's done me a great favour as my hotel is right in the action, with a string of great places to eat and explore. After a bucket wash, can't get the shower to work, I'm sitting in front of the best Lassi I've ever had, quickly followed by a kulcha (spiced bread stuffed with potato), Dahl, salsa, and curd. Heaven. 

I got a milk shake from the "Belgian Waffle", purely to have change (rare, like gold. Still have not got UPI pay.) Wandering upstairs, I meet a Sikh man who welcomes all faiths, born in the USA (parents are still there running a coffee shop), is an attorney, and owns the fancy coffee place here. 

I have paid for 3 nights at Luxe Stayz Heritage Street. It seems really excellent, so I could stay one more.

I have to say, all the traffic is very respectful here. I can tell the difference between a honk here to say beware I'm passing, and the Australian honk to say beware I don't know to use my steering wheel and brakes properly.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ludhiana, Phillaur

1st I went to Punjab Ag Uni for the PAU Museum but it was shut! The Uni is v nice.  Had sweets again for brekky. 

Went to the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Punjab war museum to learn about the wars with Pakistan mainly. They had a couple of awesome aircraft in the yard. I worked out my Lieutenant Colonel I met in the train is pretty high up. 

The highway was very smooth and not terrible as power usual. 

Next stop was the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Fort Phillaur. There were guards with guns, a metal detector,  and each new guy asked me if I was carrying guns,  which I'm not used to. 

A kind guard showed me through the whole place, even into the temple finishing with the obligatory sacred sweets. I got to practice touching the ground with my head, which is best to do, and the walk around. 

After the sweets, i now want to find somewhere to eat and run. No chance haha.

I am at Daddys Food Zone, GT Road Phillour, near Railway Station, Jalandhar, Punjab. I'm trying the tandoori fish. They said it would cost 300 but a different guy charged 370. Not sure if I got ripped off.

Set off, felt strange bumps, realised the back was flat. This being an internal hub, they're is no quick release of the back wheel. What the hell was I thinking getting this kind of bike for a crazy expedition.  🤪  Lesson learnt but this is one of my dumbest decisions ever. 30 gears would make it 6 times easier. I search for a hotel, and there's one soon. Turns out I've been going on the wrong road. I saw a big hotel sign, but after walking to it, the sign says "3kms ahead". One saviour points next for to the tyre repair place. The first word is "puncture?" So I go for it, pulling out the tube. They apply soapy water. We find the hole. I patch it, express my extreme gratitude, and head off, back again, to go the right way this time.

I'm hauling ass to get there before sunset and we're looking good,  but then the dining feeling of a wheel going wrong happens again. I wonder if there's a turn still in the tyre. I pump up and can go about 2k at a time. It's not safe and hard to find a spot on the road side but at last the hotel appears. 

The web site says 2000 but he says 2700. On principle I leave and try for the next hotel, but I can't see a thing, the tyre is not working, so I go back with my tail between my legs. This is the nicest room I've had for ages, by far.

I made 33km progress today, annoying but expected. 

Dinner was the usual roulette wheel,  250 for dahl, paneer and 4 rotis. I'm v happy now. 

Navdeep suggests You can take the train to Chandigarh, I think you can also bring the bike on the train. Though you should do (Local) Amritsar on bike. 

I think that going there by train  is a GREAT idea.

He says to Check for train seat availability at https://www.irctc.co.in/nget/train-search, and to Get to the station early and request that you be allowed to take your bicycle in the compartment, pay any additional fees as required.

Let's see what happens. There are seats but the app has gone f ing blank on me damn it. 

Ludhiana

I got up early and crept downstairs where the staff were snoring and my bike was in the restaurant near the front doors, awesome. 

I packed about half the stuff, when they got up and put a shirt over the singlet. One fellow helped me to out.

Cruised into town, Morinda itself. The first shop was a sweets shop. What better way to start than getting a tonne of kJ in. He even offered a coffee,  and declined my offer of some payment. I get the feeling of pride and looking after guests in the country. 

With a hot coffee ingested, I got into the traffic. There was space at the side,  no issues. A little way down I stopped to brush my teeth. 

The views across the green green fields, all tendered, immaculate, were great. The road gradually become very quiet. It was flat and easy. With nothing but greenery. I to through a couple of villages with tiny walkways, not streets. In one village, I did a couple of figure 8s to find the out road, so everyone had a good opportunity to stop what they were doing and take a good long look at my slow U turns. 

There was a brick factory with about 8 serious smoke stacks, followed nearby by a new flyover freeway being built. 

Bought 2 pairs of undies, might be tight.

As Navdeep said, it's going on the green light where you need to be extremely careful. Rolling on the red is no problem. 

Lunch was 2 Samosa and a deep fried bread. 

Got to Ludhiana. You can tell as soon as the traffic starts going chaotic. Cars and bikes going the wrong way, cutting across the road at random, people walking all over or stopping to greet each other, stopped cars, food stalls, anything everywhere. Car drivers going down super tiny streets are mad. They face each other and block both ways while they try to honk it out. It's a relief to find the Samrat Hotel ਸਮਰਾਟ ਹੋਟਲ on Kailash Cinema Rd, near Domoria Bridge Road, Civil Lines, Ludhiana. Walked around to soak up the craziness. Went for a little shop.

I dined at the Cookup Shookup, Bindraban Rd, above Ahuja Tower, Civili, Ludhiana

Ate Malai Chaap which was delicious and completely filling.

Kumarhatti to Morinda Punjab via Chandigarh

Starting off was a concern, as I was going on the national highway, but it generally seemed safe, apart from the odd ass who liked their horn too much. A short roll from the overpass, along a side street, then it was mainly a long long downhill. Views across the valleys here were also nice. 

A cyclist caught me by surprise, in full Lycra, on a hard trail Trek mtb. He works in a local bank, has 2 kids and does about 80k only on an early Sunday. 

Panchkula (panch=five kula=streams, or a small river) is right at the lights. It's a relief to be in the city, amoung slow moving, friendly traffic. In town, I picked up the most expensive bottle of local whiskey I could find in the shop (5500 INR, about 100AUD) to give to Navdeep to once again salute his extraordinary patience in the toilets with Steven puking on the 1st night of the wedding.

We went for a very nice chicken Briyani at a hole in the wall, that was the nicest of its kind I'd seen. Freshly cooked also. 

Navdeep tool me to aSikh temple to explain how to do it: no shows or socks, wash your feet if you find the wash station, now to the floor touch it, touch your head, or bow down to touch the floor with your head. Then do the thank you hands thing, do a circle of the altar type thing, touch each side and touch your head, then once again bow and do the thanks hands 🙏. We went to a local store to pick up a bright orange head covering, so now I am set for the Golden Temple at Amritsar. 

Then we joined Sona at a Cafe for a cappuccino at a rather smart place. 

It was farewells then off on the cycleway free streets of Punjab.

Minute heart attack getting into the NH5, but the road all the way was pretty easy really.  There were plenty of two wheelers, tractors etc, so felt at home, just too much asphalt. With the sunset, the dust, the air pollution, the endless rows of apartment blocks, it did have an end of the worlds feel to it. I guess I don't get that felling at home as you get acclimatised to stupid urban planning there.

Reaching the village of Morinda requires a left turn across 3 lanes, easier than it sounds thank the lord, then a short run with tractors, 2 wheelers, etc, a bit of dirt and in here in a great little hotel. 

It is nice to be sitting down now.

Searching for hotels tomorrow. Setting the rating at 4.5 stars means all the staff wrote one bizarre review each, gave it 5, and it's probably sitting in rubble under the 6 lane elevated freeway through town. I wish there was a bullsh.. filter.

Sainj to Kumarhatti, Solan, Himachal Pradesh

Setting out at about 8am, today was 78km, up 2050m, down 1790m, which sounds bad but was surprisingly gentle mostly. This highway was more like what I expected, more ancient, gentle, climbing slowly, following the contours of the mountains.

Initially it goes downhill, about 5 degrees C but feels colder, and my hands turned purple. I put one at a time in my pocket. 

The beautiful scenery more than makes up for it. The road winds along the mountain. A stream at the valley floor is rock strewn peaceful and audible. The green monkeys seemed scared which is a nice thing compared to the aggressive antics experienced before. 

It winds along like this all day. Traffic is reasonably light and easy to avoid. At a servo, there is a pump where the pressure can be set precisely via digital readout, v nice.

A man I meet invited me to have a cup of tea and lunch. I declined as I need to make progress. A car load of young guy stop to ask where I'm from, where I'm going, do I have Instagram, Facebook etc. Lunch was at a roadside stall. The cook comes from a poor family. His dad is sick so he has to work here. I think he was from Shimla? He asked about migration to Australia and working as a chef there. I gave him the usual advice, to go for a study visa. But I don't think that he has any money to pay for the airfare. He would like to work in my home but I explained it's too small. He should check the au-paire ads. All this is via translator and is the most substantial conversation today. 

The hotels en route looked rubbish but I ended up at the HOTEL OJAS & RESTAURANT!, MAIN MARKET, Kalka - Shimla Highway, Kumarhatti, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India. It is excellent, apart from working out the shower (I ended up using the bucket and scoop), and the doona had a dirty line where it touches people's necks. The pillow looks clean. Dinner was Aloo Mattar, Dahl and 5 rotis, very good. 

Before dinner I bought 300g of sensational sweets 130 rupees, ate a couple. This is an instant mood changer. I love this place although it is situated under the NH5 flyover, just like in the Blues Brothers but with more dirt, uneven pavement and shops higgledy-piggledy around the round about with the major support structure in it.

Leaving Kiari

Went for a walk back up to town. Mainly to try to find my sentimental scarf from the wedding, I could kick myself, and secondly to have a look around. I'm sure the scarf got picked up quickly. The village seems to me to be a typical old style place built around a path, then a set of paths, clustered together. It's even got a Piazza with seats for the oldies to sit and gossip. 

To make milk chai, you need dahl chinni (dalchini (दालचीनी), the English translation is cinnamon) break it into pieces by hand, a clove ground in mortar and pestle. Boil these in a pot, and a spoon of tea,  a tiny bit of brown sugar. Add milk, bring to boil,  strain to serve. 

Also he makes a roti/pancake from shredded cabbage, rice, small lentils. The last 2 ingredients are soaked over night, then ground up in the blender. Remove any excess water from the cabbage as it gives crumbly pancakes. Use a cast iron pan and butter or ghee to grease. 

I think I get moving around midday or so, so they say I should stay another day and go to the ceremony with them but if I don't, I will never leave. I get to Sainj, only 30km away, up 350m, down 930m elevation. 

Every hotel seems surprised to get a guest. The staff scramble to get soap, a towel and glasses to the room. Seems quite clean but I think they don't wash the sheets often. I have a camping sheet but it is cramped. 

The hotel manager very kindly walked to the local shops then to the fort with me. 

The fort is currently a family home and the owner intercepted us on the driveway in. He is building accommodation on site right next to the historic structure. I'd move it a bit personally. 

Maybe it's the lack of food but this place is depressing. The only restaurant I can find has a few drunks huddled over a beer and when I make the eating action with my hand, the guy who also looks sad, says no. I find a samovar place, so 2 of these will do for dinner. Things are looking up.

The hotel manager once again walked back with me to show an actual restaurant. Typical desi dishes are served on the plate. I can't understand but I think they would give more. I've only got a 500 note, and they charge only 50 rupees. After getting a bottle of water, I have 10 more in change, so I go back to give them that.

Relax day

Norpal and his lovely wife have been invited to Jubal for a religious ceremony that goes all day and will be still on tomorrow. It only happens every 60 years. They asked me along, but driving an hour to listen to chanting for 7 hours sounds like the death. 

I go for a morning walk with Ani to check the apple trees and things. Then breakfast, and a walk with Abu (Rishabh) to his grandma's pace, and into the village. I continue along the path into a wonderful small plaza surrounded by homes. I can easily see the oldies sitting here in summer. The ancestral home sits above this collection of homes. It is in his condition but needs a couple of families in there. 

A film crew want to document the Italian apple trees and the results of their fertilisers etc. Abu may be famous there after being photographed on the farm in front of the healthy trees. 

I nap a bit, then me and Abu go visit Arushika. She reminds me she told me she works in a logistics company in Chandigarh. She studied politics and works in HR. We went for a tour of the home. She is a smart young thing. Her mum and sister watch me with some kind of interest and end up asking me to stay, which seems standard, and would be awkward I think, but a lovely gesture. They take a shot with me and the ladies. It's strange for me as a westerner to be sitting with these ladies. They are pros of their beautiful home. 

Cooking tonight, parents are away, Abu heats sunflower oil up until a couple of cumin seeds bubble in there, then chuck in a handful, half an onion or so, tomatoes, potatoes, cauliflower, thumb rubbed coriander seeds + cardamom leaves.

Ani is making Bari of water and jagri ( solid molasses/ brown sugar chunks), boiled up, remove impurities by filter, boil more, add flour to solidify.  I'll report on that shortly. Eat it with ghee. Was pretty nice tasting, with texture of plasticine. 

A pure veg meal, tasty and filling. 

Bush walk to 3300m

Pranav is Soma, Mona's brother.  One of his best buddies is Paaris, who didn't know the family connection to Rishabh until he came to the Shimla wedding. Also they say it's thanks to me that they visited. 

Paaaris is here to take us on a hike today from Jubal up to Kuppar, pronounced Cooper.

Firstly we go to the temple at the bottom, Baindra Devta (dev-Dave- deity). The priest puts water is my right hand that I must drink,  ties a string around my right wrist and gives us a handful of holy candy. Later I pass these onto Norpal who seems pretty grateful. 

The walk up is steep windy and on slippy ground . 

The view from the top is magic. We can see the Himalayas proper with a white range of snow capped peaks. 

Lunch is at Paaris's house. His mum cooked up a storm. 

The top level of the house is newly renovated and insulated as best they can, eg with 8mm glass. Is very comfortable. The kitchen has a bench top over which you look out over the valley. Paaris room is converted from the old  attic, has a vaulted roof with semi exposed beams, a very modern ensuite with a wall hung toilet. The home looks traditional from the outside but is right up to date inside. 

Visit to the Apple orchards of Kiari Kotkhai

Started the day wandering around looking for some food that looked OK. Found a small stall by the road with a pot boiling and roti on the go. Behind the man standing up cooking, there were a few spots to sit in his cabin. Perfect in my opinion. He asked for 40 but I gave him 50, about 88c.

2 guys send me on the wrong road. There's always someone who stops to check on you. The connector road is a beauty through the other part of town, winding down a slope to the main road, great views. 

Rolling downhill on the main road is long, smooth,  along the side of the mountain. 

In India,  noone can hear your bolts rattling off. On the rough uphill section, one Ortlieb bag is sadly dangling on a single hook. Seems a nut fell off which secured the other hook so I am stuffed. I thought I had some bolts somewhere,  can't find them. After wondering what is Hindi for 4mm hex head bolt, spot some in the bike frame. This nut works perfectly. I check, tighten and adjust the others, like I should have done 100ks ago,  and we're off again. 

Kotkhai is very peaceful,  perched on the side of a hill, until some cars block each other and start seriously leaning on the horn. 

I stop to pick up a kilo of sweets then chat to a guy from Delhi who is there to visit his sister. 

The road from there winds around the old fascinating fort. 3 cars stop to say hello and ask questions on the way, one time 2 stopoed at once side by side blocking the road. 2 of them are at the weddings in the village later, so I say we met already. 

Rishabh gets me to stop at the local shops, where he can pick me up. Annyrude, his brother, is there a well. We roll straight to a wedding and I meet half the town, including the very nice young man who checked on me just out of Kotkhai, and Annyrude's wife Ayushree. She has a Masters in microbiology, writes reports for the US FDA, compiled from doctors findings resulting from the use of new drugs. One brother has a degree in Engineering, the other in business. 

We visited Vivek's place. I meet Ani and Abu's 97yo granma. They have to shout for her to hear. She gets excited. Plus the sick mum of Vivek who has a dialysis machine. The brothers come to help her with this. 

Walking on, there are the original homes, tightly packed together for protection, thick stone slate rooves, mostly wood, with the lower floor reserved for views etc which keep the home very warm. The ancestral home is here,  it's verging on being a palace. 

Day two is another wedding. I meet many people. I had a nap around 3pm, that was awesome. Dances with a very funny guy who looks like Riet. The road contractor guy called Kakul I think,  looks like ex PM Paul Keating.

The groom worked in the Kinnaur Valley, so many guests are dressed traditionally-same same but very different. The Valley leads to China and many have very Asiatic looking faces. Their music, which sounds the same, gets them all up dancing. 

The wedding music here sounds like Indian reggae. I like it a lot, it's addictive, catchy and easy to dance to. 

Day three. My home is about 1500m and faces into the morning sun. After about 8am it is positively warm. Rishabh plays some bamboo flute. I hung out my hand washed undies and socks in the sun. 

We go up the mountain to see the new temple under construction. Forgive me, I can't remember the deity. Then we go in on their cousin Vardan for lunch, his dad, and his wife Sheena who had a Masters in English literature asking with a good collection of books. They are at 2200m with expansive views over the valley. We walked to a sacred lake with the fish you're not allowed to eat, besides being vego. Later Abu tells me he helped get this guys life back on track, and now he is a proud family member. 

Further on  there are views to the Himalayas proper. The jagged snow capped peaks are around 6000m according to Tarun. Another cousin is up there. He collects a bag load of rubbish, explaining that people drink, leave rubbish, and it's their place so he cleans it. 

We inspect where he will get married in 6 months,  next to yet another temple, on a field overlooking everything. 

We go to his home for a cup of tea. It's also 2200m. They have made concrete steps up to the home in prep for the wedding. They are slightly off camber. I mention spirit levels but I think this point is missed,  and they are done now anyway, and look very good. Taruns mum is on the wall. She died when he was 6 months old. His dad died during covid. Taruns mum is the sister of the father of the cousin here called Sunhash? Tarun and home are 1st cousins.

Saturday 29th

Got up about 8am, best sleep in so far. 

Brekky downstairs as always. Then packed and ready for the others to get an 11.30 bus that left about an hour later. They got to Chandigarh around 6pm. What an epic,  as bad as my journey. 

The start was very peaceful, with spectacular views for a couple of k's. Then it was on the main road, fine if you're moving, less fine if you get off to push. Not very comfortable, not much space on the edge, cars overtaking on the wrong side of the road etc. 

Chatted to a shawl maker with a very nice large shop,  at the top called Shimla Shawl Factory , here:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/TCgB2pn8Fy273J4x8?g_st=ac

Then it rolled down pretty fast to Theog, strangely pronounced as it's spelt. This is a very pretty little town with a winding pedestrian street,  lined with shops, and the odd view over the surrounding huge valley. A guy says hello when I stop. I'm looking for Monty palace,  and the guy introduces me to Monty who is standing 5m away. We chat, where are you from, what do you do, people here are helpful etc. He observes they love to help travellers but won't help the local derros. True for us too. He warns me that some young people are hooked on Afghani heroin, so to avoid young people, and don't stay out at night. Later, there are plenty of people so it seems not an issue. 

I wish I could stay right here in the middle what a dream, so quiet. He doesn't have room, so passes me onto the Hotel Ashish. This is a super weired place run by a kind lady. Tiny concrete room, with bedding that hasn't been changed for a long time, and an ensuite (I found the switch yay!), and the doorway is so low that I crack my head, twice. It's still sore sore in the morning. Glad I have toilet paper and a bed sheet. Generally clean, but I won't be staying two nights. 

Dinner was a veg thing plus a bread at a little stall, with little plastic chairs. The young kid quotes me 30 for the bread, then the old guy charges 40 for the whole meal. I hand him a 50 (about 88 cents) and tell him to keep the change. 

Back in the concrete room, coughing away, writing this, wishing for a heater.