SAVANNAH – Georgia

Our first destination on the way to the Appalachians.

Savannah is the oldest town in Georgia, founded in 1733 on the Savannah river. It has a rich history reflected in today’s Historic Landmark District where you can explore 1800’s mansions, oak-shaded squares, or visit boutiques, speciality shops and contemporary art galleries which dot the pedestrian City Market area and the cobblestone River Street.

Georgia is a major producer of peanuts and pecans, we also saw cotton fields though it must have been the end of harvesting season as they were a bit bare.

Curious about how peanuts were grown, I found out that they come from a plant and not a tree. Peanuts are legumes, not nuts. The peanut plant is unusual because it flowers above ground but the peanut grows below ground. 

People in the South are reputed for their hospitality and we had the opportunity to test this.

Our second night on the road, we were looking for a camp spot and happened to stop in a small community called Pineora. We parked in a field near a church, had our dinner and just as we were ready to get in our tent, a man approached us: it was the Pastor of the church. Some of his parishioners had called him to let him know that we were there and he came to check us out.

As it turned out, Luke welcomed us and we had the surprise the next morning to find on the car bonnet a “Southern Snack care bag”. Luke and his family had taken the care to gather a selection of goodies just for us: peanuts, potato chips, pecan rolls, sweet tea (tea is drunk cold in the South and is served with ice) and even some homemade cookies! Their generosity even extended to 2 gift cards for a meal at “Chick-fil-a” a chain of restaurants, founded in Georgia and serving fried chicken.

Luke , Brianne, a very big thank you!! It was totally unexpected and very much appreciated!

The BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY – Appalachians Mountains

The Blue Ridge Parkway was the first national rural parkway to be conceived, designed, and constructed for a leisure-type driving experience. Its varied topography and numerous vista points offer spectacular views of central and southern Appalachian rural landscapes and forested mountains. It runs for 469 miles from Virginia to North Carolina .(yellow stars on the map above)

( Click on image above to open gallery)

Drove on up to Boone, small and pleasant community which was named Boone in 1894 in honor of Daniel Boone  (American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States) who spent many overnight hunting trips there.

I tried GRITS ( a type of porridge made from boiled cornmeal) for the first time, quite tasty but very filling!!

We then decided to leave the Parkway and head west towards Tennessee. We drove up to the Cumberland Gap.

The Cumberland Gap is Nature’s passage through the Cumberland Mountains between Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. One of three natural breaks in the rugged Appalachian Mountain range, it served as a gateway in prehistoric times, when Native Americans used it as a footpath and buffalo used it to seek greener pastures.

In 1750, Dr. Thomas Walker, an English naturalist and scientist, led a small party of explorers to the Gap after hearing Native American descriptions of the pathway through, rather than over the mountains. Walker called it the Cave Gap, and named the river north of the pass the Cumberland River, after the Duke of Cumberland, son of Britain’s King George II, who funded Walker and his group. In 1769, Daniel Boone explored the area and in 1775 he blazed the 200-mile trail known as Boone’s Path or Boone’s Road. The trail, beginning at the Gap, passed through Virginia to Kentucky’s Bluegrass Region.

These days, the road goes through a tunnel .

After the tunnel you get to the town of Middlesboro ( named after the town in England) in Kentucky. We stopped for coffee at Crater Coffee and got talking with the owner. He told us about a couple of hikes we could do and that there was a festival in-town the next day. The owner was very friendly and gave us two free t-shirts which we proudly wore the next day!

One of the hikes was to Chained Rock. A chain was officially fastened to the adjacent cliff in the summer of 1933; allegedly to protect the city of Pineville from calamity should the ominous boulder perched precariously above town become loosened. There is an excellent panoramic view of Pineville from that point.

NASHVILLE– Tennessee

We drove on to Nashville and stopped at BELMONT HOUSE ( originally Belle Monte)built in the late 1800’s on a big estate it now stands on the University Campus. Unusually at the time, the Estate was left to a woman by her husband. She remarried and the second husband increased her wealth even more to include vast cotton plantations in Louisiana. She died while on a shopping trip in New York to furnished a new home !

The house is a prime example of an ANTEBELLUM House, a type of architecture especially characterized by Georgian, Neo-classical, and Greek Revival style elements. These homes and mansions often plantation houses were built in the southern American states during the thirty years before the American Civil War; approximately between the 1830’s to 1860’s.

We will see plenty more the further south we go.

Nashville is known as the hometown of Country Music, with legendary venues, the Country Music Hall of Fame  and Johnny Cash Museum. We were there on a Saturday and the streets were heaving with people, many in Cowboy boots and hat, here to listen to bands playing live and to have fun.

NACHEZ TRACE PARKWAY

The Natchez Trace Parkway is a 444-mile recreational road and scenic drive through three states ( Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi). It roughly follows the “Old Natchez Trace” a historic travel corridor used by American Indians, European settlers, slave traders, soldiers, and future presidents.

NACHEZ TOWN – Mississippi

The town is known for its antebellum houses. It had once more millionaires than anywhere else in the States( late 19th century) their fortune built on large cotton plantations.

We were there at the time of the “Fall Pilgrimage” season when some of the grandest houses are open to the public. We visited CHOCTAW HALL, built around 1836, it features a blend of Greek Revival to Federal styles. There are four floors that are connected by a swirling oval staircase, double porches with white columns at the front and back of the house and beautiful gardens .

Example of other antebellum houses

We crossed the Mississippi river over to Louisiana and took the road to New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS

Arrived late afternoon and found a campsite about 30 mn drive from the centre and the French Quarter. The lady at reception was very helpful and told us we could drive part of the way the next day to a place where you could park ( free) and jump on the Streetcar which takes you all the way to Bourbon Street right in the middle of the French Quarter.

That’s what we did! The Streetcar line is the oldest in the world. It started in the early 1800’s. It goes along St Charles Street which is lined with grand antebellum houses.

CAJUN COUNTRY – Thibodaux – Eunice – MAMOU

Drove through swamps, bayou, sugar cane and cotton plantations. Cotton harvest done and cotton is rolled into large bales ( similar to hay bales). Trees wrapped in spanish moss.

FRED’S LOUNGE – MAMOU

Spent the night in the car park of North Eunice Baptist Church, where the local parishioners were getting ready for a fete the next day. They graciously allowed us to camp and even invited us for dinner.

Next morning made our way to Mamou where every Saturday, some traditional Cajun bands come and play from 8 am to 2 pm at “Fred’s Lounge”. We got there for 9 a.m and the band was just about to start. People were already there, eagerly waiting for the music to start. The performances there have been broadcasted on the local radio for more than 60 years and the radio announcer was in the room and reading commercial adds in cajun french in between songs.(I could not understand him and barely when he spoke english!!) Couples stood up and started to dance as soon as the music started ( 2 steps dance and waltzes)

Selected pictures

BACK ON THE ROAD!

After 2 years, (thanks to Covid), we are finally back on the road.The plan is now to visit some of the US Southern States and then make our way to Mexico, Central and South America.

NEW YORK

Three days in New York in pictures

Jacksonville – Florida

12 – 20 September, 2022

We flew to Jacksonville to pick up our car which was shipped there. It was supposed to be ready but we had to wait for a week.

Luckily, we were staying at an AirB&b and the hosts were very accommodating and welcoming. ( thanks Johnny!)

Jacksonville is the city with the greatest land mass in the US and having to rely on public transport was not ideal. It took a minimum of 1 hour to get anywhere. Our record was spending about 6 hours on one day on various buses to go to a couple of places thanks to poor connections and waiting times.

Monday 10th February, 2020 – Munnar

Left Kochi after lunch and took the road to Munnar, about 4 hours away. The road goes through the Western Ghats mountain range and was quite narrow in places but with nice scenery. The town of Munnar is a famous hill station in Kerala ( elevation 1,532 m), a former resort for the British Raj elite, it’s surrounded by rolling hills dotted with tea plantations established in the late 19th century. The hill station enjoys a favorable and pleasant climate all year round.

Tuesday 11th February, 2020 – Kodaikanal

The road from Munnar to Kodaikanal goes through the tea plantations initially (for more than 50km) and was very scenic with several viewpoints on the way. We made the most of the scenery by having a break ……. tea break of course! …. by the side of the road to take in the views.

The road was narrow and twisty and it took us over 5 hours to do 173 km, though this includes two stops we made, one to fix another flat tyre !!!! and another to follow a procession by the side of the road, where people were celebrating some local religious festival.

People and other interesting views on the way:

We got to Kodaikanal just as it was getting dark.

The town is on a hill top (2,000 m) and streets are narrow. Had some trouble finding a hotel, many just do not cater for foreign visitors (paper work involved, reporting to authorities) or were already full. Eventually we found one slightly out of town, it had seen better days but was clean enough.

Wednesday 12th February – Kodaikanal – Madurai

“Kodaikanal”   in Tamil language means “The Gift of the Forest”. Kodaikanal is referred to as the “Princess of Hill stations” and has a long history as a retreat and popular tourist destination. It is set in an area of granite cliffs, forested valleys, lakes, waterfalls and grassy hills. The town centers around man-made, star-shaped Kodaikanal Lake, bordered by evergreen forest.

We drove on to Madurai, one of the oldest cities in India. Ancient documents record the existence of Madurai from the 3rd century BC. It was a trading town, especially in spices and traded with Rome. Legend has it that Shiva showered drops of nectar (madhuram) from his locks onto the city, giving rise to the name Madurai : the City of Nectar.

The main attraction: the Meenakshi Amman Temple is ranking among India’s greatest temples, built in the 17th century, it became the hub of Tamil culture and played an important role in the development of the Tamil language. Dedicated to Meenakshi (“fish-eyed” – a term used for perfect eyes in classic Tamil poetry) the triple-breasted warrior goddess, the temple complex covers 6 hectares and is considered the peak of South Indian temple architecture with 12 tall, heavily decorated gopurams. (towers typical of south indian temples). The south tower, at 55m high is encrusted with more than 1500 gods, goddesses, demons and heroes!

The temple is one one of the most important places of Hindu pilgrimage. To get in you have to go through airport style security and part of the complex is closed to non-hindus. Long queues are waiting to go and pay their devotions.

After visiting the temple, we wandered round the old town. The area near the temple is pedestrianised but is in the process of being paved and everything is covered with sand and dust. It looks like a giant building site. There is a covered market facing one of the gopurams, where tailors are sitting in a row behind their sewing machines, ready to make any garment on demand.

Street scenes:

Thursday 13th February, 2020 – Chettinadu – Athangudi – Thanjavur

On the way to Thanjavur, we made a stop in a couple of small villages where the Chettiars, a community of traders built very opulent mansions in the 19th century. The Chettiars made their fortune as financiers and entrepreneurs in colonial-era Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. It is thought that up to 30,000 mansions were built in the villages around Chettinadu, their rural and arid homeland. Only the finest materials were used and no expense spared: Burmese teak, Italian marble, English steel, Indian rosewood and so on… Art and sculpture from around the world also decorated their homes.

Their businesses collapsed after the Second World War and their mansions were left to decay or were demolished. A resurgence of interest in early 2000’s in these historic houses has seen some of these mansions converted into heritage hotels and a couple of them have also been renovated to their former splendour and open as museums. Some of the houses are still owned by the same families.

We visited Athangudi Palace, with one of the most beautifully carved and painted wooden ceilings and a bit further in Kanadukathan, CVT and CVR twin houses shared by 2 branches of the same family, with impressive succession of pillar lined courtyards and views over the neighbouring mansions from the rooftop terrace.

You can easily imagine how beautiful theses house must have been but it is quite sad to see so many being left to go to ruins. We were able to go in one of the derelict houses and you can see the potential but also the huge amount of work and investment needed to bring them back to life!

The Athangudi area is also reputed for its handmade cement tiles. You see examples of the design in the Mansions. We stopped at a local workshop where you could see the process.

A frame, the size of the finished tile is placed on a sheet of glass. Then a metal design template is inserted and the artisan is filling the pattern with the suitable colours. (cement based mix with added synthetic oxydes pigments). This is then covered with a rough gritty dry cement and sand powder then with wet cement. This is levelled with a long blade to ensure a flat surface. the tile is then left at room temperature for a day before being immersed in a water bath for 5 to 7 days. The tile is then ” cured” and left out in the sun to dry for a couple of days. The plate of glass can then be removed and the tiles are ready.

Thanjavur

We then drove on to Thanjavur. The town was the capital of the Chola empire ( a Tamil dynasty of southern India, one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the world’s history). One of its most famous site is the Brihadishwara Temple, the crowning glory of the Chola temple architecture, built between 1003 and 1010. You enter the compound, passing two original Gopurams. Inside you can see one of India’s largest statues of Nandi (Shiva’s sacred bull) and some magnificent carvings and lime-plaster Chola frescoes. This is a popular destination for pilgrims and a busy place.

Friday 14th February, 2020 – PUDUCHERRY (formerly PONDICHERRY)

Arrived mid-afternoon and found hotel 4km from centre. Big room at top of the building with access to roof terrace. Went to the centre by bus (less than 10p each).

The territory of Puducherry was under French rule until 1954 and the influence is reflected in the architecture of the “French Quarter”, the number of restaurants offering gallic inspired menus and some designer shops. French is still spoken by some .

We wondered through the older part of town and ended up on the sea front, a popular destination in the evening when traffic is banned and you can have a relaxing stroll on the old Goubert Avenue, a street lined with restaurant and cafes.

Saturday 15th February, 2020 – PUDUCHERRY

Spent another day wondering through the French Quarter, admiring the old colonial mansions and relaxing.

Sunday 16th February, 2020 – CHENNAI

Took the coastal road and stopped for breakfast in a small turnoff. It was not long before we had company… a man approached and seemed enthralled by our breakfast menu. We were cooking pancakes ! We offered him some and also some watermelon which he gladly accepted.

Further along we stopped in a small fishing village.

Chennai is our final destination and we have arranged to have the truck shipped back to the UK from there. The shipping company is based north of Chennai and we know we will need to go there several times so we booked a hotel with relative easy access to the office and the shipping port. It is close to the main train station and the metro “Central Chennai”.

Monday 17th February, 2020 – Chennai

Took the car to a body shop to get the dent in the door fixed and a few other jobs that need doing as it is a lot cheaper here. We should get the car tomorrow evening. We then took a tuk-tuk back to the centre and spent the day looking around. The hotel we are staying at in on a busy road but at the back there are small alleyways and streets with shops and restaurants. We went for a Thali meal in a small restaurant. We must have been their first european customers as the waiters were all over us and explaining what to eat with what from the set of dishes on the thali tray which they kept replenishing as soon as we had finished one. ( see previous Thali description in one of the blog entries at the beginning of our time in India). At one point we had seven people looking after us ! and all that for 180 rupees each ( around £1.80).

Tuesday 18th February, 2020 – Chennai

Today we meet Naveen, a former colleague who took us round the town, beach and some of the sites. We then had a meal in a restaurant specialising in local food.( part of a chain). We had idli served with chutney and sambar and then tried some payinaram. Both are south indian breakfast staples. They were served on a green banana leaf.

IDLI: soft & fluffy steamed cake made of fermented rice & lentil batter

PANIYARAM: little dough balls prepared with leftover idli or dosa batter and steamed in a special pan which typically has 7, 9 or 12 shell shapes

Thanks Naveen for taking the time to show us around !

Wednesday 19th February, 2020 – Chennai

We got the car back from the body shop and we are pleased with the work. They did a very good job. After having some pictures taken with the workmen we made our way to the bonded warehouse where the truck is to be stored until it is loaded into a container.

There, it took a while for the agent to understand that we needed to reorganise some of our belongings inside the truck. Finally we were ready to leave and he took us to his office to go through some of the documentation. We were told everything was in order and left only to be called 15mns later and told to come back, this time to the Customs House. Our tuk-tuk driver had some trouble finding the place but we made it eventually. There, one of the Customs officer went into a long explanation as to why we needed an extra document from the Indian Automobile Association, guaranteeing an extension to our Carnet de Passage if, for some unforeseeable situation, the car could not leave India before the expiry of the Carnet. This got us worried but it turned out it was up to our agent to get this paper and he could apply online. Not sure why we had to make a special journey back to the Customs office to hear that? but anyway, once again we were on our way back to the hotel , hoping everything will be ok. We booked our flight for Tuesday next week which is the last day of validity of the Carnet.

Thursday 20th February to Tuesday 25th February, 2020. Chennai.

Spent our last few days in India doing some shopping, visiting Pondi Bazaar and some of the more modern shopping malls. Since we had time on our hands we also went to the cinema a couple of times in ultra modern complexes looking more like lobbies of 5 star hotels. We watched international films… not bollywood ones!

Friday was a bad day. We had to be at the container terminal at 11 am for a final inspection . We got there in time but had to wait for a while for the Customs officer. When he arrived he went through everything in the car, opening bags, taking pictures and asking all sort of questions. After 45mns he was finished but then said another officer had to come and inspect the car before giving the final clearance. Since it was well into lunch time and the officer could not come for a couple of hours, our agent invited us to a restaurant. After the meal we went back to the terminal but there was no sign of the Customs officer and we sat waiting for most of the afternoon. The official reason for the delay was that the officer who should have come was off sick and his replacement was extra busy. Later on the story changed and it looked that we were victims of office politics: one of the officials felt offended because he should have been given the job ( inspect our car) and he would not give the final clearance until the officer who did it wrote an apology to him… power struggle!

Finally around 7:30 pm we got the green light and the car was loaded, lashed and secured into a container. Fingers crossed that there are no more hiccups! The Agent promised that the Carnet with all the relevant stamps will be returned to us on Tuesday…

Sunday

Spent the day with Rena and Jaggadish ( former colleague, going back more than 10years). They live about one hour’s drive from the centre, south of the city. They live in a new apartment complex with gym and gardens. We had a nice time catching up, going to a restaurant on the beach and then drove to the famous Shore Temple at Bahabalipuram.

The Shore Temple is the icon of the ancient monuments of Mahabalipuram. The temple gets its name from its location on the Coromandel shore overseeing the Bay of Bengal. The sculptural excellence dating back to 7 -8th century symbolizes the heights of Pallava architecture . The temple is one of the oldest structural stone temples of South India and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984

The Shore Temple has three shrines, devoted to Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu. The main temple is a five-storeyed structure sculpted out of granite dedicated to Lord Shiva. The pyramidal structure is 60 feet (18 m) high and sits on a 50 feet (15 m) square platform. The sculptures have been eroded by the passage of time, wind …and tsunami but you can still marvel at the craftmanship.

Later we returned to the flat, had some snacks before going to the shops locally to buy beer! ( Paul had explained the difficulty he had to find an off licence near the hotel). We then said our goodbyes and took a cab back to the hotel. Thanks Rena and Jaggadish for a nice relaxing day!

Below are some pictures of street scenes near our hotel

Tuesday 25th February, 2020 – THE END OF THE JOURNEY!

Our trip was coming to an end and it was time for us to leave India. We really enjoyed our time there, the friendly people, the food and the varied scenery. We spent 5 weeks in India but this is a vast country and there is still a lot we want to see…. we will be back!

Tuesday 4th February, 2020 – Vijapura

Vijapura also known as Vijayapura and formerly called Bijapur is known for its medieval monuments, which are a unique form of Islamic architecture. From 1490 to 1686, Bijapur was ruled by the Adil Shahi dynasty which left the most important monuments of the town.

The magnificent Gol Gumbaz is the main attraction of this city. It is the largest dome in India and the second largest unsupported dome in the world. It is the mausoleum of Mohammed Adil Shah and his family. It was built in 1659. At the top, the whispering gallery is a wonder where the tick of watch can be heard from the opposite side of the dome over 200 feet away. 

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Another monument is the Ibrahim Rauza mausoleum. Built by Emperor Ibrahim Adil Shah II (1580- 1627) , he and his queen Taj Sultana are buried there. Exceptionally conceived and finely decorated, it is one of the supreme achievements of the Adil Shahis rulers. Designed by a Persian architect, Malik Sandal, the tomb and a mosque are set in a walled garden facing each other over an ornamental pond. Graceful minarets mark the corners of each building, surmounted by a dome rising from a lotus petal base. The tomb is supposed to have been an inspiration for the Taj Mahal at Agra. The walls of the tomb are embellished with beautiful calligraphic and geometric designs. the 24 meter- high minarets are said to have inspired those of the Taj Mahal. (source British Museum).

Wednesday 5th February, 2020 – Hampi

Hampi is famous for its ruins belonging to the medieval Hindu kingdom of Vijaynagar.

 Vijaynagar was one of the largest Hindu empires in India. Two brothers, Harihar and Bukka founded it in 1336. Krishnadevaraya (1509-1529) was the greatest ruler and controlled almost all of peninsular India south of Tungabhadra River. The town of Hampi was the capital and in the 14th century had a population of half a million people. Seven concentric lines of fortifications protected the city. It maintained a huge army to protects it from other kingdoms. Vijaynagar Empire flourished, as it controlled both cotton and spice trade routes of southern India. Medieval historians refer to Hampi as an important center of trade. However, the glory of Vijaynagar was short lived. With the death of Krishnadevaraya, the combined armies of the five Muslim kingdoms-Bidar, Bijapur, Golconda, Ahmednagar and Berar-destroyed this mighty empire in 1565.

We visited some of the main attractions:  The Hampi Bazaar and the 15th-century Virupaksha Temple . It is one of the oldest monuments of the town. The top of the temple rises about 50 m from the ground and the main shrine is dedicated to Virupaksha, a form of Lord Shiva. 

The most famous and World Heritage site is the Vijaya Vittala Temple, 2 kms away from town. The temple stands on a large area with high compound walls and three tall gopurams (ornate monumental tower at the entrance of temples). The complex also has many halls, shrines and pavilions and a famed stone chariot, all showcasing the architectural splendor and craftsmanship of the Vijayanagara era.

Among the structures is the Ranga Mantapa, well known for its 56 musical pillars. Each main pillar is wrapped by 7 minor pillars and these minor pillars emit a different musical note when gently tapped.( those are now protected to avoid damage). The sculptures are splendid!

Stone Chariot

The stone chariot is a shrine which was designed in the shape of a chariot. This chariot shrine is dedicated to Garuda – the carrier of Lord Vishnu, and one can find an image of Garuda housed in its sanctum. The wheels on the chariot can turn.

We also visited a less well known site a short walk away: the Achyutara temple complex, built in the mid 16th century:

Thursday 6th February, 2020 – Mysore

Drove to Mysore and stopped at a garage as the left back tyre had a slow puncture. While we were there, we also asked them to have a look at the front wheel on the right side which was making a hissing noise, verdict: the brake pad is finished… They tried to source a replacement ( generic part as no Nissan Navara in India) but in vain so we just have to carry on with it.

Friday 7th February, 2020 – Mysore – Ooty – Coonoor

Mysore (Mysuru) was the capital of the Kingdom of Mysore from 1399 to 1947. In its center is opulent Mysore Palace, seat of the former ruling Wodeyar dynasty. The palace blends Hindu, Islamic, Gothic and Rajput styles. The first Palace was built in the 14th century but it was demolished and re-constructed multiple times. The current structure was constructed between 1897 and 1912, after the Old Palace (or Wooden Palace) was burnt to ashes. Henry Irwin, an architect of British India was commissioned to build the new Palace.

Mysore Palace is now one of the most famous tourist attractions in India, after the Taj Mahal, with more than 6 million annual visitors.

Mysore is also home to the centuries-old Devaraja Market, filled with spices, silk, flowers and sandalwood.

We walked in town for a while and were drawn into a shop specialising in wedding attire by a beautiful bridal dress on display. There were very few customers but at least 15 sales assistants if not more over the 3 floors and one lady was going round the shop with a microphone trying to bring business. She came to us and asked a few questions: where are you from?, where have you been in India…. and what are you looking for today ! She even proposed us the help of a personal shopping assistant who could put an outfit together for Paul and advise him as the best colours etc etc… We were sorry to disappoint them but we were only there to admire the beautiful silks.

After a while we left for Ooty, originally a colonial hill station, now more of a town. The roads crosses a couple of tiger natural reserves. We did not see any tigers but saw some wild elephants!

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We carried on to Coonoor. The road is twisty with lots of hairpin bends but offering nice scenery, somewhat lost in a haze. Coonoor retains the village atmosphere somehow but is just as chaotic as Ooty. We found a nice B&B just outside town, where the blankets on the bed were welcomed at night (altitude: 1,850 m). The surrounding hills are covered by tea plantations.

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Saturday 8th February, 2020. Coonoor to Coimbatore – Ketti Valley

Cruising around the valley we stopped for breakfast by the side of the road when we noticed that we yet again had a flat tyre ! This time, the spare was also flat so we had to find a way to the nearest repair shop somehow…. This was a small road going through the tea plantations, with no internet connection, but as luck had it, a man was stopped further up the road apparently waiting for someone. He saw us and came to see what was the problem. He phoned someone he knew and within 15 minutes two guys turned up on a motorbike. They had a look, took the wheel on the back of the bike and said they would be back in half an hour. They did, with the tyre fixed… our saviours for the day! and another example of Indian readiness to be of assistance.

We resumed our journey, stopping at what we thought was the entrance of a tea estate selling tea but turned out to be a temple where locals were celebrating a festival and were sharing food. They graciously invited us. The priest circled a plate around our heads with flames from burning oil, said a small blessing and applied a dot of yellow paste on our foreheads. We were then handed a plate of food and sat among the people. A steady stream of families, most likely workers on the estate were arriving all the time.

We reached Coimbatore late afternoon. The town is known as the Manchester of South India for its textile industry. It has numerous shops selling designer sarees and is also famous for its jewelry stores.

Sunday 9th February, 2020 – Kochi (Cochin)

Fifty kilometers from Kochi, someone passing us on the road pointed at the back tyre and yes, you’ve guessed it… it was flat !. Always the same one! we desperately need a new tyre but have been unable to find one as it is not a common size… We pumped it up at a nearby petrol station but needed to find somewhere to get it fixed soon as it was not going to hold for long. Most shops were closed as it was Sunday but we eventually found a place. There, they put another patch on the inner tube. We explained our predicament with the new tyre that had been damaged when the road collapsed under the car. They had a look and decided it might be worth trying to fix it after all. and that it may even be better to use that tyre rather than the one we keep patching up…. so we agreed to have it fixed and put back on.

We used the downtime to book a room ahead in Fort Kochi, the historical quarter of Kochi.

The port of Kochi (Cochin) is on an estuary and has been part of important trade routes for over 600 years, rich in history, the old part of town has an interesting mix of architecture: Portuguese, Dutch and British Raj, reflecting the successive colonial powers which occupied the region. Multiple faiths are also represented including a 450-year-old synagogue and ancient mosques. The Christian faith is very much in evidence too in this part of India, a legacy of the various missionaries who came to these shores.

Our guest house was within walking distance of one of the other reputed attractions of Kochi: the Chinese nets ( also known as cheena vala). These giant fishing nets, thought to have been introduced by the Chinese more than 400 years ago are 10m-tall contraptions resting on teak or bamboo poles and require five or six people to operate their counterweights at high tide. These days, they are more for tourists. We were a bit disappointed as the area is full of litter and the view is spoilt by 2 raffineries. We were there at sunset with hundreds of other tourists….

Monday 10th February, 2020 – Kochi

Spent the morning exploring Fort Kochi, visited the Mattancherry Palace, spice market and old Jewish quarter.

St Francis Church

Constructed in 1503 by Portuguese Franciscan friars, this is believed to be India’s oldest European-built church. The faded-yellow edifice that stands here today was built in the mid-16th century to replace the original wooden chapel, though it was later altered by both the Dutch and British. Explorer Vasco da Gama, who died in Cochin in 1524, was buried in this spot for 14 years before his remains were taken to Lisbon – you can still visit his tombstone in the church.

Mattancherry Palace

The Palace was a generous gift presented to the Raja of Kochi, Veera Kerala Varma (1537–65), as a gesture of goodwill by the Portuguese in 1555. The Dutch renovated it in 1663, hence the alternative name, the Dutch Palace. The building combines European and Keralan styles, but the star attractions are the royal bedchamber’s astonishingly preserved Hindu murals from the 17th to 19th centuries, which depict scenes from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and Puranic legends in intricate, colourful detail. ( no photos allowed)

Spice Market and Jewish quarter

From the 14th century onwards, Kochi was considered to be the main center for the spice trade. Many traders who came to this land, Jews being the prominent ones, later settled here. Today old warehouses and workshops are still in evidence in this part of town but the picturesque old streets are now a major tourist attraction with cafes, souvenir shops and art galleries.

Monday 27th and Tuesday 28th January, 2020 – Maihar – Jabalpur

Twenty kilometres from Jabalpur we suddenly heard a bang and then a hissing noise when accelerating then a loss of power. We had no choice but to turn back and go to the nearest town, Jabalpur. There we stopped at a Nissan dealer, but the Navara (our truck model) is not sold in India and they could not source the part. They did a temporary fix to the air intake pipe and that seemed to improve the performance but it did not last. We stopped in town for the night and the receptionist at the hotel called some of his friends, auto enthusiasts, who took us to another garage. There the mechanics managed to repair the part to the best of his abilities. The performance improved but it is not back to normal. It means it is now difficult to pass lorries or other cars if we do not have momentum…. not great.

On the way we passed a few anti -CAA demonstrations. The Citizenship Amendment Act was passed by the Parlement of India in December. It provides a path to indian citizenship for illegal immigrants but exclude muslims hence the protests.

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Wednesday 29th January, 2020 – Nagpur

We had high hopes that the Nissan dealer in Nagpur city could help but, in vain. We tried the Isuzu dealer as they sell pick-up models and they suggested we changed the fuel filter. We had a spare, they replaced it, syphoned out the tank which potentially contained “bad” diesel but then could not get the car to start and after several tries, had to put the old filter back in place. The staff and manager were most helpful and tried their best but, in the end, we were back to square one and had lost another 3 hours in the process.

Thursday 30th January, 2020 – Ajanta Caves

Despite the lack of performance from the car we managed to drive to the town close to Ajanta Caves. There, the only “decent” accommodation was a government run resort with individual chalets in an enclosed compound. To our surprise, as we were leaving for dinner we bumped into the uncle we had met in Varanasi ( sorry if you read this, I cannot remember your name…). He was there with a friend and we had drinks with them and another couple staying at the resort.Pleasant evening, we explained our troubles with the car and they volunteered to provide contacts in Pune.

Friday 31st January, 2020 – Ajanta Caves

Left early to be at the Caves entrance at the opening 9 a.m. A group of school children was already there but otherwise only few other tourists which means we more or less had the place to ourselves!

The Ajanta Caves constitute ancient monasteries and worship-halls of different Buddhist traditions carved into a 75-metre wall of rock. The caves also present paintings depicting the past lives and rebirths of the Buddha, pictorial tales from Aryasura’s Jatakamala, and rock-cut sculptures of Buddhist deities.

The caves include paintings and rock-cut sculptures described as among the finest surviving examples of ancient Indian art, particularly expressive paintings that present emotions through gesture, pose and form. The Ajanta Caves are mentioned in the memoirs of several medieval-era Chinese Buddhist travellers to India and by a Mughal-era official of Akbar era in the early 17th century. They were covered by jungle until accidentally “discovered” and brought to Western attention in 1819 by a colonial British officer Captain John Smith on a tiger-hunting party. ( ref Wikipedia)

The details and colours in the murals and the rock carving are really superb.

We spent a couple of hours exploring the site and then took the road to Ellora Caves, 100km away, stopping briefly at a market to buy some fresh fruit. The road was bad and three hours later we were finally there! This time, the site was busy with local tourists and a few westerners.

Ellora Caves

These 34 monasteries and temples, extending over more than 2 km, were dug side by side in the wall of a high basalt cliff, not far from Aurangabad, in Maharashtra. Ellora, with its uninterrupted sequence of monuments dating from A.D. 600 to 1000, brings the civilization of ancient India to life. Not only is the Ellora complex a unique artistic creation and a technological exploit but, with its sanctuaries devoted to Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism, it illustrates the spirit of tolerance that was characteristic of ancient India. (source https://whc.unesco.org/ ).

The largest of the rock-cut temples is the Kailasa Temple, notable for its vertical excavation. The temple built by King Krishna I in AD 760 represents Mt Kailasa (Kailash), Shiva’s Himalayan abode. It is estimated that 200,000 tons of stone had to be chiselled out by hand by 7000 labourers. ( it would take around 200 days, working 24 hours per day, to excavate the entire site using contemporary technology). Covering twice the area of the Parthenon in Athens and being half as high again, Kailasa is an engineering marvel .

We stopped for the night in Aurangabad. There we had dinner in a restaurant serving “thali” exclusively. Thali  (meaning “plate”) is used to refer to a meal made up of a selection of various dishes which are served on a platter.

The idea behind a thali is to offer all the 6 different flavours of sweet, salt, bitter, sour, astringent and spicy on one single plate. According to Indian food custom, a proper meal should be a perfect balance of all these six flavours. Dishes served in a thali vary from region to region, they can be vegetarian or non- vegetarian and are usually served in small bowls, called katori . These katoris are placed along the edge of the round tray. A thali begins with different types of breads such as puris or chapatis (rotis) ( especially in northern India). In many parts of India , the bread and the rice portions are not served together in the thali. Typically, the bread is offered first with rice being served afterwards, often in a separate bowl or dish. Typical dishes include rice, dal, vegetables, roti, papad, dahi (yogurt), small amounts of chutney or pickle, and a sweet dish to top it off.

There was no menu. the thali plates were already on the table and the waiters started to bring a selection of dishes for each katori as soon as we sat down. This was an un- limited thali, meaning that you get as many refills as you can eat. The portions may seem small but this is a very filling meal !

Saturday 1st February, 2020 – Nashik

We passed plenty of sugar cane plantations on the road to Nashik as well as cotton fields.

Paul’s wish to see a baraat ceremony ( wedding procession) was granted. We stopped by the side of the road where friends and family of the groom were happily dancing away to the sound of popular music blasted by a huge sound system from the back of a truck. The groom in his wedding attire was riding a white mare as is customary. Everyone seemed to have fun and we joined them for a while before the procession carried on its way to the bride’s house.

As we got closer to Nashik, many stalls were selling fresh grapes by the side of the road. The state of Maharashtra is India’s largest producer of grapes and Nashik also know as Wine Capital of India, leads the list of grape producing areas in India. Out of the total production of 1.2 million tons of table grapes, around 17–20% of the fresh produce is dried to raisins.

The wine industry is fairly recent ( late 1990’s) and Sula vineyards leads the way. Each year the company organises a SULAFEST (music and wine festival) and we happened to be there on that week-end! We only wanted to do some wine tasting so we drove on to another smaller winery called York Wineries. There, Paul tasted a couple of reds (quite strong) and I tried a white wine which was fruity and refreshing. We got talking to a young couple sitting at the table next to us and we spent a pleasant couple of hours watching the sun go down.

Sunday 2nd February, 2020 – Pune

The road to Pune was quite scenic in places but slow going. I had arranged to meet a friend and former colleague late afternoon and we got to Pune with time to spare. For once we had pre-booked a hotel, or at least tried as the Indian booking website kept rejecting our card. After some difficulties at reception (the online price was lower than what they were asking for but they would not take the online price cash equivalent), they accepted to let us move into the room and pay later (using my friend’s card !)

It was nice to catch up with Priyadarshani, her husband and meet their young daughter. When we went back together to the hotel, the manager was there and having heard we had been travelling for a year he quickly agreed to let us pay cash and even upgraded our room to a suite. He asked if we would agree to give a small interview to a local paper and we arranged to meet the journalists the next day.

Monday 3rd February, 2020

The following morning, the hotelier’s dad ( who happened to be the paper’s editor or board member?) and 2 journalists were waiting for us. After a small ceremony where we were blessed and presented with woolen shawls and flowers we sat down and answered a few questions about our trip. The hotelier’s children also came and wanted to practice their English. We were slightly taken aback when, as we were parting, they bent down and touched our feet. According to this Hindu tradition called Charan Sparsh (charan means ‘feet‘ and sparsh means ‘touch‘) when you touch  the feet of an elder person, you are in turn blessed with knowledge, intellect, strength and fame.

We drove on to Vijapura, crossing some arid land but also areas where fruit trees and crops were growing. Cows in this region have huge horns in a U shape, sometimes painted during local religious festivals.

Sunday 19th January, 2020 – Moreh – Imphal

The formalities at the Indian border were a bit slow (everything entered manually in ledgers) but soon enough we were on our way. The road was not great and there were a number of police/military checkpoints on the way where our details were once again entered in ledgers. Ethnic tension in north-east India still flares up now and again and the region is not far from Bangladesh, Bhutan and China so the military presence on the ground is heavy.

Imphal is the first major town after the border. It is not far: 110km but it is a mountainous region and the roads are bad so it took us 3h30. It also gets dark earlier because of the time difference between India and Myanmar so we only just made it before sunset.( around 4.30pm)

Monday 20th January, 2020 – Dimapur

Quite chilly this morning and foggy, a shame as the scenery could have been great.(people (men and women) are wearing woolen shawls. The roads in this region are quite bad and there are lots of lorries on narrow roads so difficult to go anywhere fast… Army presence still heavy , soldiers with guns at checkpoints but also in towns and we passed lots of army barracks. Finally got to Dimapur after 7 hours on the road and only 200km done !

Tuesday 21st January, 2020 – Guwahati

The road improved half way to Guwahati and turned into a dual carriageway but this brings another problem: traffic going the wrong way, from motobikes to heavy lorries! This happens especially near villages or towns . The road has a central reservation so you cannot directly cross over to the other side. Rather than going to the next opening where you can make a u-turn and access the other side of the road, people simply drive in contraflow until they reach the shop or the side road they need….regardless of the oncoming traffic!

Wednesday 22nd January, 2020 – Jalpaiguri

Slowly making our way. Looking for a hotel in Jalpaiguri, whilst reversing on a small road, the car suddendly tilted to one side: one of the back wheels had fallen into a sink hole! The road had collapsed under the weight of the car and now we were stuck! We could not move out of the hole, half the wheel was burried. The road was pretty deserted and it was already dark but a tuk-tuk driver was there and he took Paul to the local police station to get some help. In the mean time a few people had stopped to have a look. Some young guys spoke english and tried to help but without success. Finally after a while Paul returned with a policeman and a” mechanic”. After lifting the car with the jack and pushing some old bricks and rubble under the wheel to give traction, Paul managed to reverse the car out of the hole. The tyre, brand new, (we bought a new set of tyres before leaving Thailand) was damaged on the side and would probably be no good! We were not happy !

One of the young guys guided us to the hotel. There, a wedding was going on and we got invited to the party. It was a traditional Bengali wedding and we saw some of the rituals ( most are similar to Hindu weddings). We were also given food, a succession of 10 dishes served by an array of waiters ready to replenish your plate as soon as it was empty. Two of the guests spoke good english and we were invited to join them the next day to go and rest at a resort ( countryside hotel with private chalets) owned by a relative. We initially accepted but as they were not due to leave until 3pm and it was one hour away, it would be dark by the time we got there and we would have to wait around for most of the day. We do not have much time in India so in the end we gave our apologies and left.

Thursday 23rd January, 2020 – Purnia

Again, foggy this morning and chilly, we are in the foothills of the Himalayas after all and close to the Nepalese border !We went through a lot of small settlements where you fight your way on the road with people on bicycle, motorbikes, pedestrians, cows, goats, dogs, tuk-tuks , buses , lorries… the list can go on. We also saw tea plantations (darjeeling), fields of what appeared to be colza ( yellow flowers) and lots of cauliflowers.

Friday 24th January, 2020 – Patna

Mostly “highways” today, which means toll roads ( but cheap for us, highest toll paid :£1.20).It is called highway but it does not stop having lots of intersections with side roads where you have a succession of bumps or movable gates placed halway across the road to force you to slow down. ( like a slalom !) These intersections are also frequently bus stops with market and food stalls, people crossing the roads etc… You have to be on constant alert.

For lunch we took a turning off the main road, going to a village and stopped at the entrance of a field. it was no long before we had visitors: local people, curious to see who had set foot on their land. Men especially are curious about the car ( left hand-drive) and about the roof box ( the shape make them think it is a boat), lots of people also ask for selfies. People are not afraid to put their head right through the window to have a good look inside ( even when you are seating in the car! A family stood a few feet away the whole time we were having lunch. It is something we are slowly getting used to. It is difficult to be left alone, even when you think you are on a deserted road, people will suddenly appear out of nowhere.

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We have come across a lot of advertisements, either as billboards or painted directly on houses for cement and to a lesser extent for plywood too. Most are promoting the strength and no cracks properties of their particular brand in surprising ways, using images of a couple …. cement has never been so attractive!

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We have also passed plenty of kilns churning out bricks. The construction industry is booming…

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Saturday 25th January, 2020 – Varanasi ( formerly Benares)

Some of the sights on the way, the road is always full of surprises:

Arrived in Varanasi mid-afternoon, giving us time to go to the old town. Varanasi (Benares) is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world (dating from 1200 BC) and one of the holiest in Hinduism. People come here to wash away sins in the sacred waters of the Ganges, cremate their loved ones or simply to die, hoping for liberation from the cycle of rebirth.

There are about 80 ghats along the river ( steps leading down to the water), most are used for bathing but a number are ” burning ghats” where bodies are cremated in public. Pilgrims come at dawn to perform puja ( prayers) to the rising sun and everyday there are ganga aarti ceremonies ( river worship ceremony) held in two of the main ghats at sunset. We went to the Dashashwamedh ghat to watch the aarti. It is an elaborate ceremony with puja, fire and dance.

Sunday 26th January, 2020 – Varanasi

We went to the Manikarnika Ghat. This is the main burning ghat. Dead bodies are carried to the Ganges through the old town on bamboo stretchers, swathed in cloth. At the bottom of the steps they are doused in the holy water prior to cremation. Huge stacks of wood are stored along the top of the ghat and every log is weighed on a scale to calculate the cost of the cremation. The price depends on the type of wood used, sandalwood being the most expensive.

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We then walked along the bank of the river going through some of the ghats where you see people coming to the Ganges not only for a ritual bath but also to wash clothes, get washed, make offerings, offer blessings, relax and socialise… the river is an integral part of daily life.

Today is Republic Day so lots of places decorated with the Indian flag and some people celebrating.

Sights in the old town:

The owner of the hotel where we stayed let us park the truck at his house down the road and even offered to have it washed for us. There, we met one of his uncles who had just arrived from Canada and had a nice chat.

Sunday 12th January, 2020 – Hpa-An

Border crossing at Mae Sot/ Myawaddy was quite chaotic with only one lane each way and cars going from one lane to the other regardless of oncoming traffic. The fact that the driving side changes halfway through crossing the bridge acting as the border does not help! ( you drive on the left in Thailand but on the right in Myanmar).

You have to book a guided tour to travel with a vehicle in Myanmar and our guide met us on the burmese side of the border. He had all the necessary authorisations required, temporary license plate etc and gave us a letter in burmese to show at check-points as and when necessary. Thankfully the guide is in a separate car and after confirming the route for the day we were free to go on our own.

It was not long before we had the first police check-point. They took copies of our passport, had a look at the authorisation letter and sent us on our way…

The destination for today was Hpa-An, a four hour drive. We took a small road going through the mountains . It was asphalted (mostly) and in far better condition than the main road we eventually rejoined. The views to the mountains was blocked by a haze which appeared to be the result of fires lit up by the locals, either to burn rubbish or scrub.

Sunday 13th January, 2020 – Taungoo

Busy road with trucks driving in the fast lane to avoid having to constantly overtake people on bikes or tuk-tuks so cars end up overtaking on the inside lane… sometimes a bit hairy when you have a massive lorry on the “wrong side”! Scenery nothing special. We got stopped at a few checkpoints, there were some tolls but in some places they let us go without paying when they saw we were foreigners.

We passed a lot of places where a few people were standing by the side of the road, just outside a temple or some religious building, shaking a metal bowl with some stones in it to incite donations from drivers. That money is for the construction/ repairs of the temple or roads of the local village. ( the metal bowl is the one normally used by monks to receive their daily alms from people and they use stones as there are no coins in the burmese currency). There is normally some loud music playing to attract attention too.

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The lady in the picture above has some thanaka applied to her face ( more on this below).

As we were arriving in Taungoo, a sizeable crowd was watching a match of foot volleyball by the side of the road.( this is called chin lone in Myanmar but is also played in Laos and some other south- east asian countries). You can use any part of your body except your hands/ arms to kick the rattan ball, there are 3 players on each side. The teams were good and we saw some great moves. At times, the players spring in the air to kick the ball with their foot and are almost upside down in the process, real acrobatics, fast and furious and fun to watch!

There was a funfair in Taungoo ( or at least there had been one and only a few attractions remained). We wandered round and were puzzled by a few stalls selling just wood ( in all sizes ). One of the seller showed us a round flat grinding stone and demonstrated how to get the famous cosmetic paste used by most women in Myanmar, called thanaka (but we have seen young children even babies with thanaka on their faces and some young men also wear it). You just add a bit of water on the stone and then rub the bark of the wood block on it until you get a yellowish watery paste that you can apply. Thanaka has a cooling effect, protects from the sun and is said to be good against acne. This is the natural beauty secret of burmese women!

The field where the fair had been was litered with rubbish but it did not stop two enthusiasts to play golf!

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Tuesday 14th January, 2020 – Nyaung Shwe ( Inle Lake)

Today we drove on a minor road going through agricultural land initially, then mountains: nice scenery and the mountains were clear ! We saw people working in the fields, using handheld plough pulled by oxen or transporting hay in large wooden ox carts.

re last picture above, we saw a lot of dragon fruits for sale in markets inThailand but must be out of season here. This is what the fruit looks like:

On the way we also stopped at a local school fete where kids, dressed up, were dancing on stage watched by parents and family. We were ushered to the front row when people saw us taking pictures and given seats of honour.

Wednesday 15th January, 2020 – Inle Lake

We spent the day on the lake, taking one of the long boats to go to the Shwe Inn Dein Pagodas one hour away at the southern end of the lake. Inle lake is famous for its fishermen using their leg to hold the oar and row. Only a few fishermen still use this traditional way for fishing but some are conveniently posted on the lake for tourists…

On the way we saw real fishermen too, people going about their daily business, washing themselves, washing clothes in the lake or working in the floating gardens. These gardens are made of water hyacinth tubers heaped with sediment to form small floating islands, secured to the bottom of the lake by bamboo poles. (the lake is quite shallow with a maximum depth of 3.7m in dry season). The main crop is tomatoes, reputed to be tasty, but aubergines, squash and runner beans are also grown as well as flowers.

Shwe Inn Dein Pagodas

The site is believed to date back to the days of the Indian emperor Ashoka, who sent out monks in the 3^rd century BC across Asia to spread Buddhism. Centuries later two Kings of the Bagan empire, Narapatisithu and Anawrahta built pagodas at the site. The site contains hundreds of pagodas in various states of repair; some are well preserved, while others have plants and trees growing out of them. They are collectively known as the Shwe Inn Thein pagodas. Most are from the 17^th and 18^th century; the earliest one with an inscription dates to the 14^th century,

We also visited various workshops displaying local craftsmanship, in particular lotus and silk weaving, lacqueware and cheroot making (cigars).

Lotus weaving:

Lotus plants grow naturally on the lake and lotus weaving at Inle Lake dates back a hundred years when a local artisan noticed that when she cut the lotus stem and pulled the halves gently, a thread appeared.

The stems are cut by hand and the very thin threads are spread on a wooden board then rolled together, immersed in water then spun into spools and handlooms are used to weave the fabric. It takes at least 20,000 lotus stems and 40 days to produce a square meter of lotus fabric! The original lotus thread has a creamy color, natural dyes such as tree barks, seeds, jackfruit, and lotus leaves are used to produce various colours. The fabric has been traditionally used for monk robes as the lotus symbolizes purity in Buddhism but it is also used for scarves, shawls and the longyis ( traditional Burmese dress). Lotus thread and silk are sometimes woven together to create intricate designs. Lotus fabric is soft and becomes even softer after a few washes.

In the evening we went to a winery, where you can do wine tasting and watch the sunset. ( who could have known that Myanmar was producing some wine !)

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Thursday 16th January, 2020 – BAGAN

The road to Bagan was mostly good apart from sections where the roads was being enlarged. There was some machinery used but more often than not it was women doing the work, carrying baskets of stones on their head, with no protective clothing and wearing flip-flops! The stones were laid and spread manually. We even saw workers( men) using pick axes and hammers (women) to break larger stones into smaller pieces. Hard work !

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We stopped at a market to buy a few fruit and vegetables for lunch. People are not used to see tourists so we were stared at, but in a good way, out of curiosity. For lunch we took a small dirt road leading to a village and were about to stopped outside a derelict barn when the neighbour across the road invited us to come and park in his front yard. They cleared a table for us to sit at outside and were also very curious about where we were from, where we had been… and looked eagerly as I was preparing lunch : tuna, tomato and avocado salad ! After a while the ladies went back to their work. Could not quite understand what they were doing but they appeared to knit or pleat together strands of hair (horse mane or human??)

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Friday 17th January, 2020 – BAGAN

Spent the morning with our guide exploring some of the major temples.

Bagan is an ancient city that was the capital of the prosperous Bagan empire that controlled most of present day Myanmar (Burma). At the height of empire’s power between the 11^th and 13^th century more than 10,000 temples and pagodas were built.

Today, about 2,200 monuments remain in various states of repair, which makes Bagan one of the most dense concentrations of temples and pagodas in the world. massive temple construction began during the reign of King Anawrahta, who founded the Bagan empire in 1044. The King who was converted to Theravada Buddhism started building some of the grandest temples of Bagan, like the  Shwezigon Pagoda as an act of making merit. Gradually Bagan became a center for Buddhism attracting monks from far away countries.

The Shwezigon Pagoda, completed in 1090, is one of the oldest and most impressive monuments of Bagan. Most noticeable is the huge gold plated pagoda glimmering in the sun. The design of the Shwezigon Pagoda has been copied many times across Burma over the centuries.

The Ananda Pagoda is an elegant, symmetrical structure with the layout of a Greek cross. One of the most noticeable and beautiful features is the gilded top called sikhara, that is placed on the center of the building. This tower like structure originates from North India and shows Indian influence in the architectural style of the Ananda.

In the center of the Ananda Pagoda is a large square room where four magnificent standing Buddha images are placed in arched recesses. The teak wooden 9½ meters tall gilded images represent the four previous Buddhas that have reached nirvana, namely Kassapa Buddha (South), Kakusandha Buddha (North), Konagamana Buddha (East) and Gautama Buddha (West).

The Kakusandha Buddha image and the Kassapa Buddha image date back the the early 12^th century when the Ananda was built but he Konagamana image and the Gautama image are in the Mandalay style and were likely made in the 17^th century after the originals were destroyed by a fire.

In the afternoon, we went out again, this time in our car, and took some roads at random, leading to other less famous temples but just as beautiful. We then headed to a view point for sunset, we were a bit too far to get a good view.

Saturday 18th January, 2020 – Kale

Today we are making our way north-west towards the border with India. The road was quite twisty initially and rural. Saw plenty of ox carts, most still on wooden wheels.

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Sunday 19th January, 2020 – Tamu – Indian border

The road to the border was not so good with lots of small iron bridges. Today is Sunday and we saw more people on the streets. We also saw quite a number of christian churches and people going to mass, which was surprising.

The border post at Tamu is quite small and was quiet so things went smoothly.

We said goodbye to Min, our guide and crossed over to the Indian side ( Moreh)

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Saturday 4th January, 2020 – Chiang Rai

Drove to Chiang Rai from the border yesterday and found a hostel where we were the only one staying so had the place to ourselves !

We visited Wat Phra Kaew, one of the city’s most revered temple where the Phra Kaew Morakot ( Emerald Buddha) was discovered in 1434 ( according to the legend, lightning struck the temple’s Chedi and revealed the Bhudda figure). This is the Emerald Buddha which is now housed in Bangkok in Wat Phra Kaew, within the Royal Palace compound. ( a replica is shown here in Chiang Rai).

We also came across a flower exhibition with colourful flowerbeds and a tunnel entirely made of orchids.

Sunday 5th January – Tuesday 7th January, 2020 – Chiang Mai

The 700 year old city of Chiang Mai was built in 1296 to be the capital city of the Lanna Kingdom (the kingdom of a million rice fields) by its ruler King Mengrai. In the late 13th century  the Lanna Kingdom covered most of Northern Thailand as we know it today as well as neighbouring parts of Myanmar (Burma), China and Laos. Back then it was bordered by Burma (now Myanmar) to the West, China to the North, the Khmer Empire of Angkor (now Cambodia) to the East and Siam (now Thailand) in the South.

Chiang Mai was the main trading town between southern China and the sea ports of Burma. As such it was frequently attacked by its neighbours and was successfully invaded and incorporated into Burma as a vassal state in 1557. Over the next 200 years Chiang Mai fell at various times under the rule of the strongest invader, be it Burma or Siam. The Lanna Kingdom eventually became part of Siam in late 19th century. It was gradually dissolved and condensed into a 20,000 km² area centered around Chiang Mai. In 1932 the whole Chiang Mai area officially became a province of Siam. Siam officially became known as Thailand in 1949.

The old city of Chiang Mai is found within the remnants of 700 years-old walls and square shape moat. There are numerous temples showing the distinctive features of northern Thai architecture (carved gables, colourful exterior mosaics, Singha lions garding the entrances and octagonal high based Chedi). We visited two of the main ones:

Wat Phra Singh: Chiang Mai most revered temple. Its resident Buddha “Phra Sing” ( Lion Buddha) draws in pilgrims and sightseers. It is housed in a small chapel, built in typical Lanna style with a three- tiered roof and carved gables. Inside, the lai-krahm (gold pattern stencilling) and murals are superb.

Wat Chedi Luang: Started in the 14th century, the construction was not completed until the mid-15th century. It was then 82 m high and had a base diameter of 54 m, at that time the largest building of all Lanna. In 1468, the Emerald Buddha was installed in the eastern niche . In 1545, the upper 30 m of the structure collapsed after an earthquake, and shortly thereafter, in 1551, the Emerald Buddha was moved to Luang Prabang (Laos). The Emerald Buddha has been moved numerous times following who was in power at the time ( see wikipedia link above)

Wednesday 8th and Thursday 9th January, 2020

Lampang is a centre for the ceramics industry due to local Kaolin deposits and you can see workshops all along the roads leading to the town . Historically logging was an important industry, large stand of teak covered the region. Many elephants were employed to transport the logs to the river for transport to Bangkok, hence the founding of an “elephant school”, the predecessor of the Thai Elephant Conservation Center which can be visited today. ( the old growth teak has all but gone).

We are leaving the mountainous north and the scenery as we approached Sukhotai was agricultural with fields of corn, vegetable growing and fruit trees.

Friday 10th January, 2020 – Sukhotai

Much of what constitutes modern Thailand can be traced back to the Sukhothai Kingdom, although some history dating back to this ancient period remains pretty much unclear and debatable. Before the rise of Sukhothai, Siam was made up of small fiefdoms, subject to the ancient Khmer Empire’s rule. Sukhothai’s founding monarch was able to consolidate power and succeed the Khmer as the ruler of newfound Siam.

As the first capital of Siam, the Sukhothai Kingdom (1238 – 1438) was the cradle of Thai civilisation – the birthplace of Thai art, architecture and language. ‘Sukhothai’ means ‘the dawn of happiness’, and the kingdom did enjoy an extended period of peace and prosperity until it was annexed by the Ayutthaya Kingdom. (we visited Ayutthaya earlier in our trip)

The ruins of Sukhothai , registered UNESCO World Heritage comprise a vast number of historical sites and temple ruins and cover an area of 70sqkm. The Historical Park is divided in five zones, we visited the central zone only, which houses the most well-preserved and impressive ruins.

Wat Mahathat: completed in the 13th century, the temple is surrounded by brick walls and a moat that is believed to represent the outer wall of the universe and the cosmic ocean. The chedi spires feature the famous lotus-bud motif typical of the Sukhotai period. Some of the original stately buddha figures still sit among the ruins of the temple which is believed to have been the former spiritual and administrative centre of the old capital.

Wat Si Sawai: Buddhist shrine dating from the 12th and 13th century featuring three Khmer-style towers. It was originally built by the Khmers as a Hindu temple.

Wat Sa Si: Also known as the “Sacred Pond Monastery”, the temple sits on an island. It’s a simple classic Sukhotai-style wat containing a large Buddha.

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Saturday 11th January, 2020 -Mae Sot

Drove the remaining km to the border town of Mae Sot as we are due to cross into Myanmar tomorrow.

Thursday 26th and Friday 27th December, 2019 – Vang Vieng

The road to Vang Vieng had many potholes and was busy.

On the way, we noticed young men and women dressed up in traditional costumes going to a funfair. We stopped and had a walk around. We met a local who spoke english and he explained that people were celebrating the Hmong New Year. (the Hmong are an ethnic group in East and Southeast Asia living mainly in Southern China, Vietnam and Laos)

We were looking forward to Van Vieng and its reputed idyllic scenery, unfortunately the weather was not with us. We had grey sky and low clouds blocking the views. It was slightly better the day we left…

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Saturday 28th , Sunday 29th December, 2019 – Luang Prabang

Rediscovered Luang Prabang with pleasure. The town is a mix of Buddhist temples, french colonial buildings and top cuisine. It is easy to fall under its ancient charm and chic refinement. The centre comes alive in the evening with its night market where you can find souvenirs, local handicrafts and street food. We simply strolled along the streets, relaxed at cafes and enjoyed the atmosphere.

Monday 30th December, 2019 – Nong Khiaw

The Hmong New Year celebrations are still going on and we saw plenty of people (mainly women) dressed up in their bright costumes going on about their daily lives, going to markets… or parties, enjoying the festive season.

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Nong Khiaw is on the Nam Ou river and surrounded by impressive forest clad karsts. It is a base to go trekking or up river to more remote villages only accessible by boat. There are lots of caves in this part of Laos, many, like Tham Pha Tok, an enormous cave near Nong Khiaw , were used by villagers to hide during the second Indochina War.

Tuesday 31st December, 2019 – Udomxai

Woke up to low clouds this morning but they started to clear by 9:30 am and we went on a short hike to a viewpoint one hour away.

After a light lunch we took the road to Udomxai, two and a half hours away. The road was good initially but we soon hit stretches of unpaved road made all the worse by lorries trundling up and down with heavy loads. The Trans-Asian Railway project is under construction in northern Laos and we have been criss-crossing its path all along the way from Ventiane.( the aim of this project, financed by China, is to link landlocked Laos to Asia, Europe and beyond).

Some of the scenery and people met on the way:

Wednesday 1st, Thursday 2nd January, 2020 – Luang Namtha – Vieng Phuka

Celebrations were going on last night with music playing late and fireworks being set off. All day today we saw people, families having lunch outside their front door, at roadside open-air restaurants etc…

We went to a small village 3 km outside Vieng Phuka where women wear black indigo tunic and skirts with a pink border and sash as well as silver necklaces. They belong to the Lanten ethnic group, originally from southern China. The women also do bamboo paper which you can see drying on frames near the river. The process involves making a sort of pulp mix from bamboo and spreading it over a cotton cloth stretched over a frame and letting it dry in the sun.

Friday 3rd January, 2020 – Huang Hay – Border crossing with Thailand.

We decided to cross into Thailand today so made the last push to the border. We were dreading it as we had some problems when we did enter Thailand the first time from Malaysia. ( Thailand introduced some more stringent customs rules for temporary import of vehicles a couple of years ago, but it is not uniformly applied). In the end it went pretty smoothly and we were through !

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Friday 20th December, 2019 – Pakse

We crossed at the only international border with Laos in the north of Cambodia. A bit disorganised and we were sent to the wrong booth twice before finding our way to Customs on the Cambodian side. There, they tried to charge us 10 USD for releasing the car. We refused to pay and argued that we did not have to pay anything the first time we came out of Cambodia. They let us go…. Not much better on the Laos side, applied and paid for the visas but then wanted to charge us 2 USD each to apply the entry stamp in the passports. Again we argued and in the end we paid 1 USD each. Small amount but it is the principal… you are never far from a scam in this part of the world.

We drove straight to Pakse, where we looked for a supermarket. It has become almost impossible to find anything we can cook. Markets are fine for fresh fruit and vegetables but I cannot bring myself to buy meat there. Pakse is a sizeable town and we had high hopes. We saw a big shop with a”Supermarket” sign, only to be disappointed as there was nothing on the shelves we could use. ( mainly bulk drinks, noodles soups, long life milk and toiletries). We came out with eggs and bread (the latter also a rarity).

Saturday 21st December, 2019 – Tad Yuang Waterfall – Paksong – Laongam – Tat Lo

We are close to the Bolaven Plateau where the soil and elevation is suitable for coffee growing. We took the road towards Paksong and stopped at the Tad Yuang Waterfall. The site is popular with both the locals and tourists and has been developped so that you can find a restaurant, shop selling souvenirs and… you have to pay an entrance fee.

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There are a succession of waterfalls on the way to Tat Lo and many tourists rent motorbikes to do what is known as the Loop.

We went to a see a plantation by the side of the road but it was no more than a coffee shop on the edge of coffee fields. After Paksong we took a small road which turned into a dirt road going through coffee fields and small villages where coffee beans were drying on tarpaulin outside. We noticed that the villages were tidier than in Cambodia with far less litter around and some houses had even a small vegetable patch in front of the house.

Sunday 22nd December, 2019

Stopped at Tat Lo last night, near another waterfall. Today continued on to Salavan then took a dirt road (Route 23). We had to go over lots of rickety wooden bridges where planks were broken or missing and at one point even had to go in the water and cross a fairly wide river, thankfully not too deep !

Monday 23rd December, 2019 – Thakhek – Nakai –

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Tuesday 24th December, 2019 – Lak Sao – Tha Bak

On the way to Lak Sao, we passed a flooded forest covering a few square km, desolate and spooky with dead trees sticking out of the water.

At Tha Bak we took a ride in a “bomb boat”. The boats are made of huge missile-shaped drop tanks that carried fuel for jets operating overhead during the Vietnam war.

We ended the day admiring the sunset at a view point, recently renovated to offer zip-lining and a nice terrace and restaurant.

Wednesday 25th December, 2019 – Ventiane

Arrived in Ventiane mid afternoon. This is the capital but is not a huge city (just over 560,000people). We visited the city when we were in Laos before so we just relaxed, had a walk around the Night Market, walked down the Mekong and enjoyed french bread and croissants… a legacy of french colonialism.