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Attractions
in India
Mumbai
Mumbai (AKA
Bombay) is the glamour of Bollywood cinema, cricket on the maidans on weekends,
bhelpuri on the beach at Chowpatty and red double-decker buses. It is also the
infamous cages of the red-light district, Asia's largest slums, communalist politics
and powerful mafia dons.
Many travellers spend their time cocooned in
Colaba, but there's much more to explore - take the time to check out the majestic
remnants of colonial history, the galleries showing the latest in Indian contemporary
art, the busy markets and the evening parade of locals at Chowpatty Beach.
Mysore
This charming, easy-going city has
long been a favourite with travellers since it's a manageable size, enjoys a good
climate and has chosen to retain and promote its heritage rather than replace
it. The city is famous for its silk and is also a thriving sandalwood and incense
centre, though don't expect the air to be any more fragrant than the next town.
Until Independence, Mysore was the seat of the maharajas of Mysore,
a princely state covering about a third of present-day Karnataka. The Maharaja's
Indo-Saracenic Palace is the town's major attraction, with its kaleidoscope of
stained glass, ornate mirrors, carved mahogany ceilings, solid silver doors and
outrageously gaudy colours.
The Devaraja Fruit & Vegetable Market,
in the heart of the town, is one of the most colourful markets in India. The other
major attraction is the 1000-step climb up nearby Chamundi Hill, which is topped
by the huge Chamundeswari temple. The stairway is guarded by the famous 5m (16ft)
high Nandi (Shiva's bull vehicle) carved out of solid rock. The 10-day Dussehra
Festival in early October culminates in a spectacular procession of richly caparisoned
elephants, liveried retainers, cavalry, brass bands and flower-bedecked images
of Hindu deities.
There are no flights to Mysore, leaving the bus and
train as the only options. Every 15 minutes a bus to Bangalore hurtles out of
the starting blocks like a bat out of hell, as do a number of other services going
to regional areas, including the Bandipur National Park. A number of private buses
wil take you at a far more sedate pace to Mumbai, Goa, Chennai and Hyderabad.
There are rarely long queues to book a fare at Mysore station and there are four
daily express trains to Bangalore, plus the air-con high-speed Shatabdi Express,
which continues on to Chennai.
Shimla
The 'summer capital' of British India sprawls along a crescent-shaped ridge at
an altitude of over 2100m (6890ft) in southern Himachal Pradesh. This was the
most important hill station in India before Independence, and the social life
here in the summer months when the Brits came to escape the torrid heat of the
plains was legendary - balls, bridge parties and parades went hand in hand with
gossip, intrigue and romance. Today, the officers, administrators and lah-di-dah
ladies of the Raj have been replaced by throngs of holidaymakers, but echoes of
Shimla's British past remain strong. The famous main street, The Mall, still runs
along the crest of the ridge and is lined with stately English-looking houses.
Christ Church, Gorton Castle and the fortress-like former Viceroyal Lodge reinforce
the English flavour.
When you've done the obligatory stroll along The
Mall dreaming of Kipling, Burton and Merchant-Ivory, it's worth exploring the
narrow streets which fall steeply away from the ridge to colourful local bazaars.
There's also an interesting walk to Jakhu Temple, dedicated to the monkey god
Hanuman. It's located near the highest point of the ridge and offers fine views
of the town, surrounding valley and snow-capped peaks. Other scenic spots nearby
include the 70m (230ft) high Chadwick Falls, the picnic spot of Prospect Hill,
and Wildflower Hall - the site of the former mansion of Lord 'Your-Country-Needs-You'
Kitchener. The ski resort of Kufri is just 15km (10m) east, although snowfalls
have been so paltry recently that there are plans to suspend tourist operations.
If there is snow, the slopes are suitable for beginners and anyone with a decent
plastic bag and a thick pair of trousers. Snow is most likely between January
and February.
Shimla is not as well connected by air as other destinations
in the Himalayas, although there are a couple of companies that will fly you out.
The lack of air power is more than compensated by the number of trains and buses.
Three types of bus - public, private, and those from the Himachal Pradesh Tourist
Development Company (HPTDC) - connect Shimla to Delhi, and they run pretty much
every day. Shimla's so-called toy train is still big enough to get you to Kalka
in the north, after which you can change to the relatively large and comfortable
New Delhi Queen which runs on down into New Delhi.
Udaipur
The most romantic city in Rajasthan, built around the lovely Lake Pichola, has
inevitably been dubbed the 'Venice of the East'. Founded in 1568 by Maharana Udai
Singh, the city is a harmonious Indian blend of whitewashed buildings, marble
palaces, lakeside gardens, temples and havelis (traditional mansions). It boasts
an enviable artistic heritage, a proud reputation for performing arts and a relatively
plentiful water supply, all of which have helped make it an oasis of civilisation
and colour in the midst of drab aridity.
Lake Pichola is the city's
centrepiece and it contains two delightful island palaces - Jagniwas and Jagmandir
- that are the very definition of Rajput whimsy. The former is now an exquisite
luxury hotel. The huge City Palace towers over the lake and is bedecked with balconies,
towers and cupolas. It contains a museum, some fine gardens and several more luxury
hotels. Other attractions in Udaipur include the gates to the old walled city
and its lovely alleyways; the fine Indo-Aryan Jagdish Temple, dating from the
mid-17th century; and the lakeside Bagore ki Haveli, once a royal guesthouse,
but now a cultural centre.
Despite the long list of sights and attractions,
the real joy of Udaipur is finding a pleasant lakeside guesthouse, scrambling
up to the roof and watching the activity at the ghats, listening to the rhythmic
'thwomp!' as washerwomen thrash the life out of their laundry, and sensing the
gentle changes of light on the water as the slow days progress.
Indian
Airlines has daily flights to Delhi, Jaipur, Mumbai and Aurangabad. Freqent state-owned
buses run from Udaipur to other regional centres as well as to Delhi and Ahmedebad.
If you bus it, choose the express; otherwise it will take forever to reach your
destination. Lines into Udaipur are currently metre gauge only. They are scheduled
to be converted to broad gauge, but nobody is really sure when this will happen.
It's quicker in most cases to catch a bus. Taxis can take you to regional areas,
but practise your negotiation skills and haggle down the price a bit before you
jump in.
Varanasi
For over 2000 years,
Varanasi, the 'eternal city', has been one of the holiest places in India. Built
on the banks of the sacred Ganges, it is said to combine the virtues of all other
places of pilgrimage and anyone who ends their days here, regardless of creed
and however great their misdeeds, is transported straight to heaven. The easternmost
city in Uttar Pradesh, Varanasi is an important seat of learning, and is the home
of novelists, philosophers and grammarians. This has been reflected in its role
in the development of Hindi - the closest thing to a national language in India.
Varanasi has over 100 bathing and burning ghats but the Manikarnika
Ghat is the main burning ghat and one of the most auspicious places that a Hindu
can be cremated. Corpses are handled by outcasts known as chandal, who carry them
through the alleyways of the old city to the holy Ganges on a bamboo stretcher
swathed in cloth. You'll see huge piles of firewood stacked along the top of the
ghat, each log carefully weighed on giant scales so that the price of cremation
can be calculated. There are no problems watching cremations, since at Manikarnika
death is simply business as usual, but leave your camera at your hotel.
The best ghat to hang out at and absorb the riverside activity is Dasaswamedh
Ghat. Here you'll find a dense concentration of people who come to the edge of
the Ganges not only for a ritual bath, but to do yoga, offer blessings, buy paan,
sell flowers, get a massage, play cricket, have a swim, get a shave, and do their
karma good by giving money to beggars. It's also the best place to arrange a boat
trip since there's plenty of competition among boatmen.
Apart from the
many ghats lining the river, the city's other highlights include the Golden Temple,
built in a roofed quadrangle with stunning gilded towers; shopping at markets
famous for their ornamental brasswork, lacquered toys, shawls, silks and sitars
(yes, Ravi Shankar does live here); losing yourself in the impossibly narrow labyrinthine
alleyways which snake back from the ghats; visiting the nearby Buddhist centre
of Sarnath; and taking the compulsory dawn river trip slowly down the Ganges.
Varanasi is on the major tourist loop, about 580km (360mi) east of Agra,
and 780km (485mi) southeast of Delhi, and can be eached by plane, bus or train.