Let’s go cycling

Well…we couldn’t come this close and not pop in a visit to the Taj Mahal.

After three days of VERY hot riding we thought we’d have a bit of luxe in Agra (yeah, we’re really getting soft) and checked into the Radisson. Nice. But kinda weird. Where else would you advertise a two for one deal (we’re talking beer here…it had been a while!) and then only allow it  from a “special menu” where the price has been inflated by almost double? Oh, apart from Woolworths and Coles of course. And no fan…only an aircon that didn’t work at all. Took them 24 hours to get the message and shift rooms for us so that we actually had a bit of cool. yay… but probably wouldn’t recommend this particular accomm if anyone asks…

We shifted across town to another hotel for our last night in Agra.  A “short” 8km ride, didn’t even bother to attach the camera thinking we’d pretty much seen everything there is to see…but no! Taking the back roads was perhaps a slight mistake- the MOST people we’ve seen on any roads anywhere. Definitely no room for a car but jam packed with motos, cycle rickshaws and pedestrians. Took us a good hour to get through about 1km of narrow roadways. Entertaining! But verrrryyyyy hot.

We’ve been tossing up the options for where to next… Our “grand plan” was to possibly get to Nepal and Kathmandu in another month and fly home from there. But…we still had over 1000km to go and most of that over flat and featureless Plains. The heat and our still delicate stomachs have pushed us toward the decision to visit Nepal another time.

So, off to Delhi via a taxi, bikes precariously roped on top. Arrived unscathed…only another couple of dings to add to the collection from the train 😛

A couple of days exploring a city which did not endear itself to us at all… but certainly was an eye opener.

Some areas were an overwhelming mass of humanity, rubbish and poverty, Human powered rickshaws carrying huge loads, street vendors occupying any space, every underpass sheltering the poor. Contrasting with clean, wide, tree lined boulevards beside parks and colonial buildings.

Our Delhi lodgings were pleasant enough,  but in a fairly poor area.  What really set it apart was the open air urinal a few metres from the entry. No privacy, no running water, an impressive build up of limescale, and in the stifling heat a stench that can’t even be described.

Found a fantastic bike shop in Delhi to pack up our bikes and deliver them to our hotel ready to fly out.  Our last night in India was spent at the Aerocity, close to the airport as we had a morning flight. What a transformation. This could have been anywhere else in the world- it reminded us both of Singapore.  Perfectly clean, streets of glistening hotels and eateries, high security and not a hint of the desperate poverty just a few km away.

So now, we’re off for a bit of R & R in Phuket for a few days and then we’ll see you back in Oz!