Post #204 20 March 2020

Gentlefolk,

This post describes our journey from Sydney to Delhi, via Singapore, and our two days in Delhi.

We did Webjet's "24 day India Grandeur tour" flying Singapore Airlines. We flew out of Sydney on Saturday 22 February 2020 and returned on Monday 16 March 2020.

In northern India we visited: Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Ajmer/Pushkar, Jodhpur and Udaipur.  Flew to Mumbai for a day; then another flight to Chennai.

In southern India we visited: Chennai, Puducherry (Pondi), Trichy, Madurai, Thekkady, Alleppey, and Kochi (Cochin).

We saw and did a lot; it was a good introduction to India. But we just scratched the surface of this fascinating and complex country.

There were 12 in the tour group, all from Australia, four married couples and four single ladies. Debra & Peter Love (Albury); Michelle & Bryan Mann (Brisbane); Bronwyn & Darryl Hensley (Maleny Qld); Vera & Alex Olah (Canberra); and four ladies from the Gold Coast: Jill Kelly; Elizabeth Mincher; Ros; and Elaine. Good group, average age about 75.

It will be simpler if I do a post on each of the cities we visited.  This post is about our time in Delhi.

On Saturday 22 February 2020 we flew from Sydney to Singapore (8 hours); three hours at Changi Airport, then on to Delhi (5 hours). Did you know that they serve full meals on Singapore Airlines, with proper cutlery? Great service - no wonder their planes are always full!

Terminal 3 at Changi Airport - marvellous!!! Thirty years ago Sydney Airport held its own, but has now been left far behind airports in countries such as Singapore and China. The Howard Govt privatised Sydney Airport and it has marked time ever since.  Why on earth would you privatise a monopoly?  One of many mistakes. 

Goldfish pond at Changi Airport.

Planting real trees in the Airport.

A beautiful "Butterfly Garden" at Changi Airport.

Part of the display in the Butterfly Garden.

We flew Sydney - Singapore - Delhi; and coming home Kochi (Kerala) - Singapore - Sydney. In northern India we spent most time in Rajasthan State, famous for its forts and palaces.  In southern India we visited Tamil Nadu State (Chennai, Pondi, Trichy, and Madurai) and Kerala State (Thekkady, Alleppey, and Kochi). Strangely this map doesn't show Mumbai and Kochi (Kerala), two major cities.

On arrival at Delhi Airport we were met by Diwan Khan, our guide in northern India, and taken to the Vivanta Hotel in Dwarka, about 20 km from the center of New Delhi. We had good hotels on this tour, although often far from city centers (like this one).  The air conditioning in our room was stuck on 21C, too cold for us, but wouldn't shift. Finally the staff brought us a radiator!!

Meeting the tour group in the foyer of the Vivanta Hotel on the first morning. There were 12 persons in the group, all from Australia, 4 married couples plus 4 single ladies.

Our tour group in front of The Red Fort in Delhi, from left: Vera, Bronwyn & Darryl, Michelle & Bryan, me, Jill, Peter, Ros, Debra, Elizabeth, and Elaine.

Another view of the Red Fort, and its (dry) moat. Construction started in 1638 and took 10 years by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan who wanted to move his capital from Agra to this location then called Shahjahanabad. The walls extend for 2 km, and vary in height from 18 meters on the Yamuna River side to 33m on the city side (in this photo). Every 15 August the Prime Minister makes his Independence Day speech from the main gate of this Fort. We didn't go inside the Red Fort, as the guide said we would visit an even-bigger Fort in Agra.

Our next stop was Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India, built 1644 - 1658. This is the impressive main gate of the mosque. While most Indians are Hindus, the rulers for centuries were Moslems (Mughal Dynasty, originally from Afghanistan / Persia). They lived in the Red Fort, and worshipped in nearby Jama Masjid.

The Jama Masjid, an impressive building, the largest mosque in India.  It reminded us of mosques we saw in Iran (Iranian mosques are even more intricate), no doubt a  reflection of the strong Persian influence on Mughal culture.

Part of the crowd in the courtyard of the Mosque.

Some of the women were fully covered (but still had smart phones!!).

The pool in the courtyard in front of the mosque; cleansing themselves with water before praying is important to Moslems.

The women in our group had to wear special cloaks to visit this mosque.

What's so funny about giving our shoes to the "shoe minder" (behind Diwan), before we entered the mosque???

Our guide Diwan, introducing the mosque to us. He introduced himself to us simply as "Diwan" - later we learnt that his family name was Khan and he was of Moslem background.  Diwan said that he had a PhD in archaeology and was a lecturer at a private university.  He does guiding during the tourist season to earn extra money. He is married with an 8 year old son. Diwan was knowledgeable about Indian history (although I was puzzled by his frequent references to the influence of the Ottomans on India???).

Another shot of Diwan explaining the mosque to our group.

The Jama Mosque was unusual as it did not have an "interior"; it was long and narrow. Looked huge from afar, but was actually quite shallow.  There were many visitors in the courtyard, but relatively few worshippers as in this photo.

After visiting Jama Masjid we rode tuk-tuks (autorickshaws) through the Old City of Delhi. Wow, what an fascinating place - is this the real India? - a maze of narrow alleys and shops and people and history. You could very easily get lost in this jumble.

Fruit and vegetable street stalls in the Old City.

We visited Spice Street in the Old City, full of vendors selling everything from chilli to tumeric, many other spices, pickles, tea and nuts. I think we shopped at Roopaks store (with other tourists)?

We then visited the Raj Ghat, as sort of Hero's Cemetery/Garden, where Gandhi was cremated following his assassination in 1948. Also cremated nearby: Nehru (1964), Indira Gandhi (1984), and grandsons Sanjay (1980) and Rajiv (1991).

Visitors have to pass a security check-point, here called a "frisking room". Separate entrances for women and men.

Gandhi's cremation spot is marked by a simple black marble platform (behind Vera), incorporating an eternal flame). 

The Garden featured a number of Gandhi's famous quotes including this one: "The power of a true word is such that it leads one from selfishness to selflessness". He was a remarkable person, a great leader and philosopher, yet so humble.

In 1931 the British moved their capital from Calcutta to New Delhi.  We drove around New Delhi and especially the Parliamentary area.  Impressive wide avenues and roundabouts and lots of trees. President Trump and his wife were due to visit - images of Donald and Melania were everywhere. According to the local newspaper the Govt spent over $8 million preparing the city for Trump's visit.

Another sign welcoming President Trump and his wife.

While President Trump was in Delhi, Hindu extremists attacked a majority-Moslem area of Delhi; shops, houses, even a mosque, were destroyed; 53 dead, 200+ injured. When asked if he had raised this conflict with PM Narendra Modi, Trump said that it was an internal matter and besides Mr Modi had assured him that all religions coexisted happily in India!

If you believe that, you'll believe anything!!!

 After lunch we visited the Gurdwara Bangla Sahib Sikh Temple. It was built on the site where the 8th Sikh 'guru' lived in 1664.  We all had to wear orange head-scarves. As part of their religion Sikhs do volunteer work in the Temple.  There are huge kitchens and they provide free meals.  On a Sunday (like today) they feed up to 20,000 visitors (all welcome)!!!   

The huge kitchen of the Sikh Temple.

Another shot of the huge kitchen in the Sikh Temple. Note the enormous pots. All the labor is provided by volunteers.

That evening we visited Quth Minar, the first major mosque in Delhi. Construction began in 1193 to mark the victory of the Moslem invaders from the north over the Hindu king. There is a solitary minaret 73m high, on a 15m diameter-base tapering to 2.5m at the top. It is a truly spectacular sight, lit up at night.

On the way home Diwan suggested we stop at the Village Arts shop for a cup of tea.  Sounded good. We were served masala chai tea - delicious!

We were taken straight to their carpet room, and given a sales presentation on Indian / Kashmir handmade carpets. A number of us made purchases, including Vera and me.
It transpired that Diwan took us to such shops in every city we visited. We were convinced that he got a commission on any sales. After the first two shops we started voicing our displeasure - "we didn't come to India to shop!" - but somehow he always managed to maneuver our itinerary.  In one city he asked if he could take us to see something special - Indian-gypsy handicrafts - but of course once we got inside the shop it was all about carpets again, with not a gypsy in sight!
This is obviously how guides supplement their incomes. Similarly with lunch - we always ended up in relatively-expensive tourist restaurants. He must have got a kick-back from these establishments as well.  In hindsight we should have been tougher with Diwan, but we didn't know the ropes and had to rely on his guidance.   

...

So ended our first, busy, day in India.  First impressions:

Delhi is a huge city, a city of contrasts, from the rabbit warrens of the Old City to the wide, treed avenues of New Delhi.
Lots of history; ancient forts and mosques and temples and British colonial buildings.
Delhi is almost dead-flat (in fact, the whole north India plain is very flat).
Delhi is reputed to have some of the worst air quality in the world; it was certainly smoggy when we were there, but not too bad - maybe we were lucky?
The people seemed relatively well-dressed, well-fed, and friendly. A few beggars, but not the abject poverty that I expected.

...

Delhi, the capital of India, was a great start to our tour.  The next day we were supposed to leave early for Agra, but that city was locked-down for President Trump's visit.  So we had a quiet morning in the Vivanta Hotel, and left for Agra in the afternoon.

The next post will describe our time in Agra.

...

Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling,

Vera and Alex Olah
Canberra, Australia
Friday 20 March 2020

Post #203 21 February 2020

Gentlefolk,

This post covers the period 1 - 21 February 2020.

On 22 February we will fly from Sydney to Delhi for the start of our tour of India.  That tour will be the subject of my next post.

Some of the events which dominated the news during this period:

The Wuhan coronavirus (now called Covid-19) continues to grow rapidly, although some commentators think it may be peaking.  On 11 February 40,000 people in China had the virus, with 1,000 deaths; on 17 February the numbers were 66,000 infected and 1,600 deaths; by 21 February 75,000 and 2,118. Dr Li Wen Liang who tried to raise a warning flag in December was a victim. The virus has been detected in 27 countries, but fortunately there have only been eleven deaths outside China so far.

A new 1,000-bed hospital was built in Wuhan in 10 days; another hospital is under construction but will take 2 weeks to complete. Remarkable - only in China!

On 7 February the US Senate acquitted President Trump of impeachment charges; Senator Mitt Romney was the only Republican to find him guilty. This was always going to be the result and I just hope the Democrats haven't shot themselves in the foot by trying to (rightly) impeach President Trump.

It's Primaries time in US politics - veteran left-wing Senator Bernie Sanders is leading a large field of Democratic Party hopefuls.  They look hopelessly divided at this stage.

On 10 February the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, addressed a joint sitting of the Australian Parliament in Canberra; a new bilateral trade agreement, the Indonesia Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, came into force.

On 17 February General Motors announced the cessation of the iconic Holden brand this year. Holden has been an important player in the Aussie car market since the 1940s, producing 7.7 million Holden vehicles. GM stopped manufacturing Holdens in 2017, but continued to sell imported Holden-badged cars. Even that will now cease. Sad.

In mid-February it finally started to rain on the East Coast, breaking the long drought and extinguishing the many bushfires burning along the East Coast from Queensland down to Tasmania. But in some areas the rain was so heavy that flooding occurred.

What a crazy country: first drought, then fires, finally floods.

From July 2019 to February 2020 fires burnt almost 16 million hectares (equivalent to the entire area of England!!); resulting in an estimated one billion animal deaths; some 3,500 homes were destroyed; and 33 people died.

According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) 2019 was the hottest year on record, and also the year with the lowest rainfall.  A recipe for disaster, and that's exactly what happened. Tragic!

Here are photos of some of the activities in which we were engaged during this period.

On 1 February the Canberra Capitals beat Adelaide 73 - 71 to finish the WNBL season in second place. On 16 February Canberra beat Melbourne in the "best of three" games. Let's back the Capitals to win the Championship again this year.  

The Australia China Friendship Society held its annual Lantern-making workshop on 2 February.  But the Lantern Festival itself had to be postponed from 8 February to 14 March 2020. Chinese community groups have stopped performing in crowded places because of fears related to the coronavirus.  Chinese restaurants are also reporting significant falls in patronage. Let's hope things are back to normal by mid-March and the Lantern Festival can go ahead.

My cousin from Germany, Oda and her daughter Marion, visited us in Canberra. Their Aussie holiday started with a week in Sydney, then 3 days in Canberra, and finally nine days in Melbourne. Welcome dinner from left: Michael, Adrienne, Britt, Touey, Novie, me, Aniko, Oda, Angie, Marion, and Vera.

The following day we drove out to the Carey's farm at Wee Jasper, about 90 minutes drive from Canberra.  The countryside was dry, dry, dry from the drought, everything was brown. Sheep were being 'hand-fed' (ie the farmer provided feed manually).  A week later the rains came to the East Coast of Australia - even floods in some areas - they put out the bushfires and quickly the landscape took on a green tinge. A crazy country: drought, fires, and floods!

An interesting rock formation on the road to Wee Jasper - this would be a geologist's mecca.

Some of the sheep at Peter's farm (he has about 5,500). Difficult to see, but this flock of sheep actually have coats on to protect their wool.  Peter said his brother started this program about 4 years ago. About 700 sheep with the finest wool have been "coated". Curious - I'd never seen that before.

Angie and Oda trying out a 4-wheel bike.

Vera in front of the shearing shed.

It was crutching time for the lambs, when wool is trimmed around their eyes and bum. These two young shearers were fast.

Peter showing Marion some fine merino wool.

We had a picnic on the banks of the Goodradigbee River (or at least what was left of it) which borders the property.

Tiny, cute, Wee Jasper Primary School, founded in 1899, where Peter and his siblings went to school.  

I showed Oda and Marion around Old Parliament House - Marion couldn't resist donning the Speaker's wig and gown and sitting in the (replica) Speaker's Chair. Thank god they don't wear wigs these days.

We also looked around new Parliament House.  Actually it was opened in 1988, 32 years ago so not really 'new' today.  A large, impressive building.  But interestingly, both our visitors prefered Old Parliament House - "more cosy/mehr gemutlich"!!

Marion and Oda loved seeing the wild kangaroos in Weston Park.

All too quickly it was time to say goodbye to Oda and Marion.  We had a farewell dinner at Sammy's Chinese Kitchen at the Kingston Foreshore.  From left: Aniko, Marion, Angie, Britt, Lelani, Vera with Nouvie, Oda, Touey, and me. 

Marion chatting with Lelani.

Saying goodbye at Canberra Airport. Oda and Marion were amazed that here everyone can go right through to the departure gates. They flew to Melbourne where they spent nine enjoyable days. Marion's son, Moritz, lives and works in Melbourne so he was able to show them around.  They were so worried about coming to Australia because of all the fires, but fortunately everything went well and they loved their time here.

The Breast Cancer organisation, Bosom Buddies, arranged for Nutrition ACT to conduct a cooking class. The demonstrators were Ellen and Bridget. Partners were invited, so I accompanied Vera.

They made three dishes: Corn fritters (recipe above), Thai Chicken Salad with rice paper noodles, and Chia Berry cup dessert.

With old friends Kaye and Patrick O'Hara we went to the opening night of Canberra Repertory's play "The Grapes of Wrath", based on John Steinbeck's 1939 powerful best seller.

The Super Rugby season is underway and I watched the Brumbies v Highlanders game on 15 February. The Brumbies had wins against the Queensland Reds and the Melbourne Rebels and we were hoping for another win today.  But it was not to be: they lost 23 - 22, when the Highlanders scored a converted try after the final whistle. Heart-break!

We took the train from Canberra to Sydney.  The countryside around Goulburn was brown and dry with hardly a blade of grass - look what a difference two weeks of rain has made! And the farm dams are full again!

In Sydney for a couple of days before our India adventure. Here are Andrew and Caroline walking the kids to school.  Eddie is now in Kindergarten at Burke Street Public Primary School, while Jay-Jay is still at Surry Hills Day Care. We stopped at this little cafe for a quick cappuccino coffee.

Eddie in his school uniform. The first school building here was completed in 1884; with major renovations in 1910 and of course many more since then. Andrew and Caroline are impressed by the excellent staff at BSPS.

The playground of Bourke Street Public School (BSPS).  About 450 kids attend this primary school, from kindergarten to 6th Grade.

Assembly at Bourke Street Public School.  Eddie is really enjoying "big school".

Well known and popular "Bourke Street Bakery" is close to the school.

The new tram in operation which runs from Circular Quay to Randwick, along Devonshire Street, Surry Hills (adjacent to Eddie's school).

One of the many lovely, giant, old "London Plane" trees along Burke Street, Surry Hills.


We visited Peter and Karen Murphy near Emu Plains. Peter and I worked together in the Trade Office of the Australian High Commission in Singapore 25 years ago. It was great to see them again.


Peter Murphy - one of the nicest blokes you could ever meet.

We had lunch with another former Trade colleague, Lloyd Downey, on 21 February. Lloyd and I joined the Trade Commissioner Service as Trainees in the 1971 intake, almost half-a-century ago!

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That's it for this post.  Tomorrow we leave for India.

Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Vera and Alex Olah

Canberra, Australia

Friday 21 February 2020.