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Paddle2Climb in India :: July-August 2008

Catch up with P2C staff and group members on expedition in the Indian Himalayas. Read our daily blog here

24.08.2008

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Categories: India

11.08.2008

Last Few Days

Krishna

I've learnt the need to be able to make quick decisions, and the importance of being organised.
The trek was the best part of the trip for me, with the the highest pass being the highlight.
I was expecting more of the project, possibly involving some building etc rather than just painting.
The first guide should have been chosen better, but the second was a large improvement.

Keli Francis Dusu

To sum up my trip i would say its been a journey of life changing proportions in a month, where i've learned almost too many things and probably more that i havent realised yet. It has definitely been the best opportunity of my life to learn about myself.

Daniel Singarajah

The expedition has been as least as good as i thought it would be. i'd heard mixed reviews about world challenge, some of which said th4e the only the only good part of the expe4ditions were the memories at the end of it and i know i should have done lots more preperation in fitness and research so i was a bit aprehensive. First arriving in Delhi was a bit of a shock with the massive changes in culture and in climate but once we had arrived in Manali things were much more pleasant. The project was enjoyable and though we havent built anything life-changing for the villagers i think that they apreciated our help and the school will be livened up by the children. Working on the project itself and the local festival gave me a view of the indian culture though we could have probably gotten more involved. My first time as leader was during the project and this wqas a new experience for me. Not being used to giving orders or even talking to more than a few people at once, i made a pretty poor job as my first day as leader. Hopefully i have improved since then.
the trek itself was better than i had thought. for some reason or another my body was not too badly affected by the altitude despite me not having done nearly enough training and moral was high in the group. the walking was often tedious but we could always relax at the end of the days and the high passes made it all worth it. my second time as leader fared better (we managed to successfully pass the highest pass on the trek) and everyone had a great feelingh of success. after this i tghink we were all getting tied of the food in the mountains which, while good was very repetatvive.
once we finally did get back to civilisation we were all proud but hings started getting hectic as we realised we had not done enough planning. i think that these last few days have taught me the most about life skills, such as talking to people and organising hotels and taxis and other group activities.
the whole expedition has been full of new expiriences for me and i have learned lots of skills which i hope i will remember. im looking forward to returning to england but hope to do something similar in the future.

The trip's certainly been true to its name, a “challenge”, but that's what makes this whole trip so special. We've all found it hard at points, for various reasons but together, as a team we've suceeded (and invariably failed occasionaly). Personally I've found working as a team in different roles a useful experience and have really enjoyed the trek. It provided me with some unforgettable sights, in face the whole trip has undeniably left a mark on me and inspired, and given me the confidence to travel more.

Tylan

To sum up the trip I think as a whole it has been a great eperience and would definitely encourage me in the future to go travelling. I have learnt a great deal about my peers and about the cultural differences between the UK and India and enjoyed meeting and interacting with the locals and just seeing differences in behaviour and customs. The trek was an amazing experience and would definitely go again, I found it moderately challenging but enjoyed the views and being so remote the most. It makes you appreciate where you are and also what you have at home.

I think the expedition has led me to learn that not everything we take for granted is certain, there are always unforseen circumstances that will affect things, even at home.

Phil
Its been an amazing experience which i think has taught me a lot about the real world and whats outside England. I hadn't done much travelling before this and it has opened my eyes to further travelling in the future, I think i've become a more confident person who is now more willing to voice my opinion. The trip taught me a lot about myself and my team mates and has been great fun getting to know everyone really well.

Sam

This trip has been a real mix for me. There was the huge excitement beforehand, the massive enjoyment of the project phase and then the crushing disappointment of not being able to do the trek. Despite that I have really enjoyed the expedition as a whole and at some point it would be brilliant to actually come back and do the trek whether on my own or with another group.

I think this trip has taught me 2 things. Firstly it has shown me a new culture and has shown me the immense poverty some people have to live in every day and how they have to scrape by. While I am not naiive enough to believe everywhere is like England, this really did shock me alot. The other thing is more about what I've learnt about me. I have learnt that, when leading people, I have to be more sympathetic to their needs and not expect them to work endlessly. These lessons I think will almost certainly serve me well in later life.

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Categories: India

India so far

Monday 12th July 2008

We arrived at school at 8.30 ready for the build up day to our expedition.. well most of us did. The late comers all arrived by 9 am and the day could start.

Our journey began at school where we were anxious to examine the kit issued by world challenge. Tents were erected and checked to ensure no gaps or holes.

After this phase we retired back to our designated room and talked about the forthcoming expedition. Roles were issued out such as stats in kit and equipment or Dougie and admin. The basis of our trip was laid out in the next hours, queries answered and expedition rules laid out, with myself volunteering to be leader on the first leg of exped.

We went for lunch at the quality diner Pizza Hut with us eating all the buffet pizza's the Hut could throw at us.

After lunch we returned well fed and checked for the last time our kit. The we began talking about how we were going to approach the tasks that would await our arrival in India such as visiting the embassy, booking busses and even longer thoughts such as food and accomodation in Manali, for the second day of the exped.

After all loose ends had been tied up it was time to leave for the airport. The buses came and we loaded up.

On arrival to the airport the fun began with us finding and checking everyone in before sorting out all our equipment. Glad to be rid of our heavy bags we headed off in seperate directions to reconvene within an hour. Off in groups of 3 which had previously been arranged at school as a set of rules, we wandered the strange and to be honest rather boring world that is Heathrow Airport.

Our next journey was to get into the waiting area past security. with the usual checks being completed with no serious incidents we continued to browse the duty free shops; many being parted with extortionate ammounts of money for a simple sandwich. After regrouping and excited to get closer to our destination we were dismayed to learn we had an hour delay for our flight, and hoped this would not be a bad omen of things to come. We got on the virgin antlantic airways and off we set into the world of unknown.

Ollie Wheeler

Leader for day one.

Wednesday 13th July

14 hours on the coach was plenty for everyone and we were pleased with the tolerable temperature of Manali when we finally arrived. after getting all the kit off the bus we set off to find accomodation, the in-country agent recommended Tourist Hotel and a friendly local, Sunny, guided us through the town to it. Decent sized rooms with hot (at least for a little while) showers were welcomed by the team after 3 days of travelling.

A team meeting decided the day ahead. Firstly we had all our money exchanged which took longer than planned with power cuts in the bank. Free to explore the town before lunch we all split up, did a bit of shopping with the odd elephant walking past, practicing our haggling techniques for the best deals. After only having breakfast at 4am at a coach stop, a generous portion at a tibetan restaurant went down well! This was followed by some more free time to get some rest and wash our sweaty clothes from the journey.

phile (Leader day two)

Thursday 14th July 2008

Today has been a very long day. One of the most important periods of the whole trip; food needed to be brought for the next 21 days, transport to and from our project work/trek, and also plans for our R&R, since this look likely to be the last time we are around reasonable civilation for the next 3 weeks.

There was a lot to be organised,

15th July 2008

We had an early start in order to carry all of our kit and food to the coach which we were to meet at 7.30. What was unexpected was the heavy downpour through which we had to carry everything across a field. We finally managed to carry everything to where the coach was to meet us and luckily enough there was cover there. Myself, Sam & Dougie went to meet Chris to pay him for all of the trek fees whilst everyone else waited for the coach, before finally leaving on the coach to travel to Jispa, to start our project work. Everyone was still very tired so most of us slept. We were woken when the coach stopped unexpectedly after only around an hour. We were told that the road ahead was closed due to being damaged by the heavy raining. We began to think about whether we would go back to Manali or camp there, whilst Stats, Keli & Daniel in to the village in seacrh of food for breakfast. They returned shortly with packets of crisps and kit-kats, which despite being less food than was expected for the first meal of the day, was warmly welcomed. Almost immediately after this, Joe and I were told that we could come to check out the road to ensure it was safe to travel. There was a bumpy hour long drive by jeep, followed by a short 1km walk to the place where the road was damaged. By the time we got there the road was cleared so we called down to the coach so that they could meet us halfway as we travelled back down the mountain. When we were back to the coach we stopped off about an hour later to eat lunch. When we were back on the road most of us slept again. We finally arrived at Jispa at around 9.30, where we quickly carried the food and bags down to the school where we would stay for the night. We had a quick review before dinner and then quickly went to sleep ready for the next day.

16th July 2008

Despite many complications today we had a great day for the team, although a slow start to the project day we managed to get renevation work underway. The team moved out of the cramped and dusty school, to the delight of all of the team, and into a nearby campsite.

Unfortunately this meant all of the food and bags had to be moved again, but we were used to this drill now so got it done efficiently. A few people began to feel the effects of the altitude, becoming out of breath more easily, but saw this as good aclimatisation for the upcoming trek.

Dougie had a scare when he managed to dislocate his shoulder losing a battle with a large tent. After hours of pain and worry that he might not make the rest of the expedition he managed to get to hospital and get fixed.

The project got started and the school is primed and ready to be painted tomorrow.

Taylan – Day 5 leader

17th July 2008

The day egan as one of great hope for me. Being leader, it can't be that hard right? Well no.
This morning started out alright. I had a rough night sleep after surrendering my therma-rest to Dougie but everyone was up and ready for breakfast at the right time. After that things went downhill. Due to the fact the campsite is solid stone, the toilet pit was useless and then Mike deceided he wasn't ready to at the same time we started to leave. When we got to the school things picked up. Sanding was finished, paint was mixed and things started happening. This worked well until lunch which was again delayed due to Mike deceiding he wasn't ready. After lunch we went back to discover we had little paint left. Eventually Dan, Krish and Sue went to Keylong to try and get more. Then at the time we didn't have enough manpower 2 of the 9 strong workforce took a break. For 20 minutes. After much arguing work continued. Eventually, with people stopping all over the place, arguments became more frequent as I lost count of how long people had stopped for. Tea came and went, lasting over 20 minutes longer than it should've due once more to Mike. In the end I more or less lost control with a trade union being formed against me and Dave becoming difficult as possible. Once all the gear was away half the group went to the local shop and the rest of us went back. After about 15 minutes they came back carrying over 30 boxes of cookies. The Dave embodied team spirit by selling Dan 2 boxes of cookies for nearly twice the asking price. This became a bit of an issue within the group which was eventually sorted as we talked it out in the review.

Today, after managing to have an argument with more or less everyone, I think I managed to sort out my management style within the group and I think I have evolved my leadership so I do'nt annoy everyone.

18th July 2008

TBA

18th July 2008

Today has been a pretty busy day as it's our last in our camp at Gemur. I was a little worried being leader when we had so much to do but I'd been quite looking forward to it anyway. We finished up at the school and laid out all our gifts for the children at about 10:30 which was actually easy than I thought. Some of us then headed up to the monastary on the hill where there was an annual festival being held later that day. We were invited to drink tea up on the second floor in one of the prayer rooms which was a bit daunting but we all felt pretty honoured to be given such a place. It was a shame but we couldn't stay for too long as we had to get back to camp so Joe could give us a talk on the trek and what we'll need in our day sacks. I think we're all fairly nervous about the trek but just as excited – it certainly sounds like it's going to be a challenge. It was a boiling hot day, about 41*C in the sun, which got everyone down a bit but after lunch we headed back up to the monastery to see the festival which involved some music and dance, none of which particularly appealed to our tastes but seemed to amuse the locals. After that we headed down to the school where we had been told we were going to hand over the school and have a small “ceremony”. It was really nice to see that the local kids and the teachers were grateful for our work and they gave us all tea, scarves and some potent rice beer. We said our thankyous and goodbyes to those at the school and headed back down to camp to pack for the first day of proper trekking. It's been a bit of a rush today and way too hot for my liking at some points but overall it's been a really interesting day experiencing some of the local culture and growing closer together as a team.

Dougie

20th July 2008

This was the first proper trek that we had done as a group so it ws the first test of each other. we woke up at 6 so we could strike camp and be ready to leave after breakfast. We left at 8 not really sure how lond it would take as we didn't now each others pace. Sam and Joe remained at camp to help load the truck and followed on later. The trek was 10 Km and took us a little under 3 hours which was a good pace. After setting up for the evening, we spent the afternoon laying around or going to the local shops to buy presents. With Sam going home tommorrow there were potential problems with not doing the trek at all. Later it was sorted and Mrs M. wil join us later in the trek after dropping sam back in Manali. In the evening we went on a short aclimitsatun trek to the main village of Darcha befire geeading back for dinner.

21st July 2008

As leader on the first day of a gruelling trek, it was not what i would call easy. Particularly, as the night before was a game of two halves, where, in the first half, our trek was seriously in jeapoardy and then, the second half, everything was all right again. So a nice four and half hour day of trekking was the ideal wake up call to the extent we had let ourselves in for with this trek. It has to be said, optimism was at the bottom of everyone's the list. However, it has forced the team into a stronger unit as we all knew that more was yet to come, and we would have to support each other as best we could to accomplish the huge tasks ahead with the trek. The honeymoon period was definitily over.

22nd July 2008

Today we decided to make an early start after suffering from the heat yesterday. We got up at 5 to leave camp by 7. After some confusion with our guide Mehinda about the rescue pony we set off. We walked over 12km today, finishing around 11 oclock. We had a lot less trouble with the heat , but that was mostly due to the overcast weather rather than our early start.
Shortly after lunch Sue rejoined the group after her trip back to Manali with Sam.
During the day some members of the group had trouble with the altitude so we decided to do an acclimatisation trek in the afternoon. This went very well and we reached an altitude of 4444m. We finished the day with morale high and confident of completing the trek.

23rd July 2008

As leader on the first day of a gruelling trek, it was not what i would call easy. Particularly, as the night before was a game of two halves, where, in the first half, our trek was seriously in jeapoardy and then, the second half, everything was all right again. So a nice four and half hour day of trekking was the ideal wake up call to the extent we had let ourselves in for with this trek. It has to be said, optimism was at the bottom of everyone's the list. However, it has forced the team into a stronger unit as we all knew that more was yet to come, and we would have to support each other as best we could to accomplish the huge tasks ahead with the trek. The honeymoon period was definitily over.

24th July 2008

It was my secod time as leader and i wass excited at the prospect of the improving on my previous performance. the day was going to be a long, 9 hour day as the predicted time world challenge had given us. For that reason we decided the extra hour of sleep was necessary to give us a better chance and more rest for the tek. Breakfast was therefore at 7 with most awake by 6 to pack kit and personal belongings away.

Breakfast was the nutritional jam sandwich: Singular. Already douts were appearing about the nutritional value of the breakfast in comparison to ourlong day of treking. Regardless we collected lunches and were ready to eave by 08:01. The day had started with us leaving our previous campight coupleof kilo from zingzingbar. The trek gradually ascended upwards always heading for the first of our high passes. At barralaccala pass at arund 5100. Everyone knew the day would be challenging for all nvolved and it was the first real testt of the teams fitness, sttamina and moral.

After a steady and testing climb the pass was reached by lunch and people were tired. Some of the team started to feel the effects of high altitude with Keli feeling ill throughout the day. However the first milestone was reached and the team were proud of the effort they had put in. By lunch the pony men and the cook and caught up with us.

Lunch was had at the pass and the sights from the magnificant height were admired. After lunch we set off for the camp at a steady speed, desecending from the pass to around 4,600m. Our guide offered us an estimate of around 7-10 km to the campsite and all the team felt hapy that the journeywould not take long and was well within their grasp to achieve. After a couple of hundred meters Keli fell ill with altitude sickness and collapsed throwing up his lunch. From here on, the day turned from bad to worse.

The group continued at a slower but steady pace towards our destination. Keli started to suffer from further dehydration and exhaustion. Some in the team had run out of water. When questoned the guide had told us the camp was 15 mins to 2 hours away, clearly unsure of any real facts. Without clear knowledge of wherewe were oing the team continued blindlly into the unknown.

After rounding a bend the guide was again questioned.He pointe to a spur of land and commented around the corner. By this time many were coming down with signs of altitude sickness and dehydration with water having long run out. Meanwhile Keli was continuing despite havinging little waterand no energy.

The team continued having no alternatives onwads into unknown. Eventually a tented villge was reached and we stopped. By this time many had large headaches while some were utterly monged. At a cafe which our guide had led us to, we stopped and bought water again after asking how long was left we were informed that it was half an hour away. Based on this we decided that one litre was all that was needed to see us the last couple of kilometers.

It was also decided that since the camp was so close we'd push on and rest at camp. We left the small tented village, hopeful that we were almost near. Revived with water we continued to walk to where our guide haded earlier pointed and on turning the corner we were overwealmed that there was no campsite. The guide siled and continued to walk on but we half collapsed at the sight.

However still we pushed on and started to climb on a rock pile. By this time Keli was suffering from serious trouble. Joe stepped in and questioned the guide as to the exact whereabouts of the camp. The guide laughed and joked and showed little sympathy to keli's condition. Joe asked himself straight serious questions and again the guide said 15 minutes. So we forced ourselves on with the mid day sun beating on our backs. By this time the meagre one litres we had bought had long run ut and people began their suffering again.

Eventually we rounded the last corner and began ou descent. In the distance we saw our guide begin his climb up another hill. Disheartened; we continued to press forward following our distant guide. After reaching the top of ourclim we saw the tarp tents the ssignifiedpony men tents. We knew we were close but still the guide walked onwards.

Eventually we stopped our guide to question as the the precise location. He pointed to a green area a little distance in front. We started but had to stop quite soon as Keli collapsed and the rescue pony as bought to him. However he rejected it and pushd himself onwards foring his legs to move.

After 9 and half hours and over 35 km we reached the campsite and collapsed. We knew it would be a long hard day but the reality was ridiculous. We had decided that we couldnt really continue the trek with our current guide and a call was put forward to world challenge inquiring to whether we could get a new one. the answer was tht it was unlikely due to the 'social politics' in india as every guide knew each oter and we were filled with disair that we might have to pull out. However it turned out that a guide had been found and we were able to continue with our trek following a well earned rest day.

Ollie Wheeler

leader

25th July 2008

We had a nice relaxed start to our first rest day, with breakfast at 9 much more pleasant than the early starts we'd been having. Mostly just lying down and relaxing as was so necesarry after day 3 of the trek! Most people got plenty of reading done in the sun, a few regretting a lack of sun cream. Late afternoon was spent learning about and practicing our river crossings over the rapids of the muddy grass. Followed by a quick acclimatisation trek down by the river in which Keli sat down in for some reason, apparently very cold. Mostly just a nice slow relaxed day to prepare for the rest of the trek

26th July

When we went to fill our gerry can in the morning we found the river was dry and so we could 'nt. We left and walked fairly uneventfully until we could fill up our water from a small stream after about an hour. The rest of the day was also standard walking until we got to the river crossing. This was our biggest river crossing of the whole trek and the water was up to around our waists, and extremely fast flowing. We all managed to cross without being washed away, although I lost a sock. From the other side of the river it was a short 5 minute walk to our campsite where we could dry off and rest after our day of trekking.

27th July 2008

It was a fairly easy day today, we walked through the valley, getting closer to the Phirtse La Pass passing ice and snow peaks and a mixture of rocky, grassy and dusty terrain. Everyones spirits were quite high today as we were reaching the middle of the trek and would soon be turning the circle back to Darcha.

Crossed a small stream today, we didn't need to use ropes so we used a different method of linking hands for extra support to cross. It was all good fun and as usual the water was from the glacier so very cold.

Suprisingly, although the trek was meant to be getting more remote by the day, we passed a few people on route today. A couple from Australia and even a couple from the UK! All of them were hiking, going the opposite way from us but it was nice to see some civillisation and that we weren't the only people mad enough to be on the hill.

Got to the campsite quite early and everybody was keen to get rested, ready and excited for the high pass tomorrow. Our bed times seem to be getting earlier and earlier with bedtime at 7 today and having to wake up at 4.30!!

28th July 2008

Today was the most important day of our trek where we climbed to the phirthiler pass. we got up early to avoid the worst of the sun during the steep climb and left slightly late at 6.10. We started in the shadow of one of the mountains and continued therin for 2 hours.

Keli, Krish, and Rich were feeling the altitude for most of the day and everyone was a little short of breath by the time we reached 5500m. But it was definitely worth it. at the top it was more like a peak than a pass and the views and feeling of acheiement were spectacular. We were all reluctant to leave and the long 6 hour walk down to camp was tedious at best.

Nevertheless we all made it through what was supposed to be the hardest day of the trek and no-one needed the horse so we should be able to complete the whole trek. We're all looking forward to a well-earned rest day tommorow.

29th Aug 2008

We decided to take a rest day after our big day over the Phirtse La pass as we were all feeling fairly tired. After a well earned sleep I decided to organise the first (and last) Himalayan Games to keep us fairly entertained for the day – since the last rest day got a bit boring after a few hours in the boling sun. We improvised using a rock for a shotput, a broken trek pole as a javelin, the throw bag rope for our sprint and a hill to prove our stamina. Just for a laugh I also included the new Olympic sport of head-on-pole-spinning-sprint which made everyone feel a bit sick but got a few laughs. My chocolate bar took the form of the prize and everyone really got into it. Ultimately Taylan took first, Phil second and Mike and Stats were joint 3rd. It turned out to be a really good day and everyone enjoyed themselves (and it got everyone's heart beating a bit, even Joe's). We all finished the day looking forward to the trek king and feeling incredibly happy with ourselves for completing the hardest (and most rewarding) part of our trek.

Dougie

30th July 2008

I was leader on the day we made our way towards the Shingola base camp. We were ascending quite steeply from 4100m to 4700m. After the 5500m Zanskar pass, this trek sounded like a bit of a breeze. Nonetheless, we set off about 7.30am towards the last high pass. From the off things weren't as simple as they seemed. Our progress was quite slow, as Richard was feeling terribly dehydrated, exhausted and quite lethargic, meanwhile the day seemed to drag on unnecessarily. Unfortunately, things got from bad to worse as Richard was forced to take steve the horse for part of the way. I could also sense that the team were getting tired an frustrated and i found it difficult to organise sufficient breaks as people were running down. After a less than satisfactory lunch, the tea shop was a diamond in the rough, as the team enjoyed a well deserved tea as the wind had picked up. Meanwhile, many of the team marvelled at this seldom opportunity to stock up on much need supplies of biscuits and chocolate. Lucky that – since we were then forced to haul ourselves up a gruelling mountainside for over an hour. The team became disjointed as the team took the trip at different paces. Frankly, i was exhausted but relieved once we reached the camp and could finally rest after a trully underestimated day. No matter how small it was...

Keli Dusu.

31st July 2008

the day started early with a quick steep assent onto a large open plain. overall the day was over a kilometer in decent from 4.7 km to 3.6 km. the day was reletively uneventful but people were in high spirits and kept each other entertained with singing and general conversation. we reached our first villiage for ten days towards the end of the afternoon, and spent half an hour in the tea-hut, stocking up on chocolate and drinks. after eating some of these things, we set of for the final hour of trecking to our campsite.

Stats.

1st Aug 2008

We got up early this morning, at 4.30 to leave the campsite at Shingola at 6. We immedieately began a hard climb up to the pass at 5100 but the team pulled together well and we got to the pass within the scheduled 2 hours. We took a quick rest at the top to appreciate the view before continuing ondown to the campsite. Today was the last hard day of the trek and some team members were very relieved to have completed it.

2nd Aug 2008

Our final early start today, after completing the hardest trek World Challenge offer we were off back to what we almost know as home... Manali. It was a long and very bumpy coach ride, impossible for most of us to sleep on. After about 6 or 7 hours on the coach and one or two minor stops we had lunch at the Rohtang Pass with an opportunity to get a few more souveneirs. Babu went off for a quick paraglide while we ate. Only another hour or so after that we arrived in Manali. Everyone enjoyed a hot shower at the hotel and for the first time in two weeks had the feeling of clean. We went out to the Mountain Restaurant for dinner, surprisingly accompanied by some english music, felt like home. Followed by a comfortable nights sleep in a bed for once was nice to rest after the trek.

3rd August 2008

As the train pulled in everybody had been feeling frustrated sitting around and wanted to get moving on to Agra to the main part of rest and relaxation. As the train approached Mike decided it appropriate to throw up all over the platform, after feeling under the weather all morning. He blamed the breakfast from the suspicious looking stall but it may have been Dougie's bad choice of Chinese the night before...

The train to Agra had similar seats as the one the night before and most people caught up on a bit of sleep and felt better when we got there. Except Mike who threw up again. Coming out of the station I was looking forward to getting to our ready booked and moderately furnished hotel for a shower, and it felt even better when we got there.
Everybody washed and ready we went for dinner and to plan our evening. We found a local fast food restaurant and ate our western equivalents of pizza and burgers. On the walk home we began our regular occurrence of being accosted by local tuc tuc drivers and decided to get them to take us around for the evening. I loved crusing around in the tuc tuc's and everybody joked about racing them and hi-fiving eachother as we drove past.

We visted local markets and bazaars and the drivers took us to a carpet shop. we grugingly looked inside but ended up spending a fair amount of money and being impressed by their methods. The tuc tuc drivers took us back to the hotel and promised to drive us around tomorrow visiting the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort. As a group we made the mistake of not paying the drivers, or agreeing a fixed price for tuc tuc's.

After a long day everyone enjoyed sleeping in a bed with air conditioning and another shower!

Taylan

3rd Aug 2008

Having eaten breakfast in the coffee house, we headed back up to the tourist information where we found out all there was to do in Shimla. Everyone then headed out in small groups to spend the next few hours as they wanted to, either shopping or sight-seeing, whilst myself , Phil and Keli sorted out the budget for the rest of the trip. We met back up at around 11 and headed over to a very English looking cafe where we had coffee, hot chocolate and muffins. After this, we again had free time to do as we pleased whilst a few tried to sort out accomodation for Delhi and Agra. The hotel in Delhi was reserved but we had no luck in Agra. For lunch we ate in a small Chinese restaurant where we had to wait for a while before we were eventually served. We then headed down towards the bus station to pick up our bagsand then took some taxis over to the train station. We boarded the train, which was much nicer than what was to come and 'enjoyed' a 4 hour journey to the next station where we boarded our train to Delhi. This was also not that bad, sleeper class so we all had beds and fans above us. On arrival in Delhi we hired some Tuk-Tuk's to take us to the next train station. There a few people went out to bring us breakfast back, since it was now morning. After breakfast a few others went out to find us accomodation in Agra, where they booked us a hotel through a govt. tourist agency. Eventually it was time for us to move our kit over to the platform where our train would pull in.

4th Aug 2008

my second time as leader started at 5:30 on a Sunday morning, a bad time for anyone. We met outside and left for breakfast before visitng the Taj Mahal which Sue did not seem too pleased about. After a decent breakfast we did leave for the monument but only after Joe mentioned that we needed the medical boxes which were back at the hotel. 3 people were dispatched and the rest left for the Taj. We were dropped off by our tuc-tuc drivers about up the road and walked the last bit. We arrived to find that a) tickets were cheaper than expected but still pretty steep and b) no bags were allowed in. This meant that we had to pay for the tickets and find the local “cloakroom”, an old building with half the worlds supply of ants in it. When the 3 returned with the medical boxes we also had to negotiate them in which was quite difficult. Once we got in we saw the immense size and majesty of this tomb. It truly was breath taking. We ended up spending an hour and a half at the Taj and after we decided to go to the Red Fort.

The Red Fort was an old fort used as the capital of ancient India and is huge containing many great buildings. Well this may be true but a large section of it was closed which turly hampered our enjoyment. What with Mike being ill and the weather being ridiculously hot, no one particularly enjoyed it. We left an hour earlier than planned and met up wit our tuc-tuc drivers. We deceided to go to a tourist bazaar. When we arrived we were a bit surprised/annoyed

We had been taken to a marble shop (an expensive one as well) and given a very similar treatmeant to in the carpet shop. Their marble pieces started at just under ₤30 which, 3 days from the end of the trip, no one could afford. People were getting annoyed and hungry so I decided we should all break for lunch. We went to a restaurant near our hotel and decided to eat there. It was the longest lunch of our lives. Literally.

We arrived and decided to get rid of the tuc-tuc drivers. Keli went out to pay them and told me to hold onto the spare cash which i quickly shoved in my pocket. They wanted 500 Rs each, we would pay 400 each. Neither of us would budge. We argued for a while and then decided to hold onto them. We would pay them 400 and they would take us to another shop. Deal. Lunch was ordered and we all waited for our food. 30 minutes came and went. An hour came and went. An hour and a half flew by and finally, after 2 hours, food was served to everyone. We asked for the bill and we were charged the ridiculous suum of 1805 Rs. After about 5 minutes wrangling, no price had been agreeded so we just left. I waited till the end just to make sure no one left anything only to have my arm grabbed and be dragged back into the shop. It is the only time in my 16 years of life I have been genuinely scared for my life. I managed to get free from his grip and leave only to get to the tuc-tuc and be told he woud settle for 900 Rs. I borrowed money from Dougie and paid the man and we left for another shop.

We arrived at the shop to find it selling jewellery and clothes and all sorts of other things which all seemed reasonable. I ended up buying a pair of cotton trousers for 250 Rs. which were quite nice. Other purchases included a water smoking pipe, a set of elephants and a Taj Mahal shirt. We went back to the hotel and Keli asked me for his cash back so he could pay the drivers. The cash was no longer in my pockets. It had been stolen. We traced it back to the restaurant where the man had grabbed me. He could also have taken the money from my pockets. Words cannout describe how awful I felt right at that moment. We worked it out later in the room to be worth 2600 Rs. a sizeable chunck of our cash. Without much time to dwell we left for the train station to get our 2 hour train back to Delhi.

The build up and actual journey went really well. It was the arrival that went wrong. The plan for getting off, a plan I made, collapsed in the Delhi crowds and we all just tried to get out of the station. I got everyone together and we moved off towards the taxi rank to try and get to our hotel. I got 2 taxis to the hotel for 1000 Rs. which I knew was expenive but everyone was tired and we needed to get there so we could go to bed. When we got all the bags in there was absolutely no room in the back whatsoever. In my taxi Joe felt sick, Phil lost feeling in his legs and Mike started to lose it from heat exaustion. We all got out only to find our hotel had sold our rooms. 12 o'clock at night with no rooms. People were not happy. I sent teams in every direction to find rooms and we eventually found 1 with enough rooms for everyone. We all piled in, dumped our stuff and just passed out on the beds.

Yesterday I think was a pretty tough day to manage both due to the number of things that needed doing and ecause of the monumental amounts of foul ups by everyone and, to a arger extent, me. In the end it all worked out alright but it could have been done so much better.

Sam

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Categories: India

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