Day 139: Baku to Ələt

Riding again, battling a headwind in Azerbaijan 

It’s great to be back on the bikes again, and bizarre to be dealing with slightly colder conditions, largely because of the wind chill from a strong headwind. 

Leaving Baku through the suburbs 

Lunch in our own little room. We put “We’d like what people normally have for lunch” into Google Translate and then had a great meal. 

Riding through the oil fields

With a big south easterly blowing off the Caspian Sea we were plugging into a headwind riding down the coast. We’re looking forward to turning inland tomorrow and getting a tailwind. 

The Blue Strawberry keeps on chugging on, with a new flag

Day 138: F1 watching in Baku

​The race was in town, so we had to go really. However, we didn’t wait around for the race, we just headed out to the practice day. 

Spiral fried potatoes on a stick are yummy

F2 quali- cars going fast

F1 practice, cars going even faster

Tomorrow we’re back on the bikes. It turns out the Caucasus Mountains are in Azerbaijan and we need to cross them to get to Georgia. Wish us luck! 

Day 137: Rest day in Baku

One of the best things about this journey has been taking a place that you knew the name of but could never have placed on a map, and getting to discover what’s great about it. 

We’ve had a great day discovering what’s special about Baku, and there’s quite a lot to find.  

The old walled city is a feast of sandstone vistas with many 12th Century buildings, as well as a good many from the 19th Century oil boom, all cared for and cleaned so they are a beautiful light sand colour.

The walls of the old city

Cobbled streets and sandstone is a great combination

…but, the contrast with the modern city is stark

The modern buildings compliment the old historic architecture with new designs that are genuinely breathtaking. The Heydar Aliyev Center is unlike anything you’ve ever seen - a rollercoaster of white concrete soaring above the landscape. The Flame Towers are a dramatic addition to the horizon - punctuating the Soviet era blocks with fluid and dramatic glass sculptures.

We were impressed.

The Heydar Aliyev Center is a national museum, but many people are here just to see the building

Beautiful flowing sculptured shapes, blended into the concrete base like it’s risen in some enormous concrete explosion

The conference centre next door is pretty innovative too

This was all fantastic for Tiger with his new camera

Playing with angles and reflections

Tomorrow - F1.

Day 136: Flight from Delhi to Baku

We’d forgotten what chilly feels like!

Walking through the streets of Baku to find a restaurant was such a contrast to India. Crisp, cool air with a clear evening sky is not something we’ve seen for months.

The 2am get-up worked ok, and our driver was bang on time to take us to the airport.

We did manage to rack up 5 reasons never to fly Gulf Air again:

1. They had some problem with their booking system and it had lost our seat reservations and it took quite a bit of persuading before they could put us so we were sitting together

2. The in flight entertainment system had the Hollywood movies blocked. Just the Hollywood ones, French, German, Hindi, Arabic were all fine. We asked and the flight crew had no idea why - they just said all Gulf Air flights in India were the same and they hadn’t had any explanation

3. We ordered vegetarian meals, but somehow they had these on the list for Sarina and I, but not for Tiger

4. The plane was supposed to be some super-duper new Airbus with seats that reclined way back etc. It wasn’t, it was an old A320.

5. Gulf Air is the national carrier of Bahrain and the airport is not the best. They are building a new one, but in the meantime, it’s a tired old shed. (Oh, and Bahrain has a very questionable human rights record including a systematic approach to removing opposition in the country.)

Still, the staff were really nice and none of this was a big problem for us. They did manage to achieve the important parts correctly - they transported us and our bicycles safely from Delhi to Baku via Bahrain, on time, so we can be grateful for that.

Sarina was straight into her Puffa jacket at the airport  

The taxi driver was very proud that he fitted all three bike boxes and us into one London cab

Now it’s time to get the puffa jackets out and prepare to explore Baku - with the added excitement that we’re here at the same time as the Formula One Grand Prix. Fun.

Video: India, Ahmedabad to Jaipur

Day 135: Last day in India

Farewell India

It’s been an amazing seven weeks, but our time in India has come to an end.  

It’s been enlightening, challenging, tasty, inspirational, indigestible and maddening at various times and we’ve learned a huge amount in each region we’ve passed through

We spent a quiet day packing the bikes and getting an early night as we’re up at 2am tomorrow!.  

First the bikes had a wash...

Then they are disassembled... 

Then they were packed into their boxes

Now, on to Azerbaijan.  

Day 134: Rest day in Delhi

Tour of the old city with Delhi By Cycle

We spent a very pleasant and informative morning on the Shah Jahan tour of Old Delhi with Delhi By Cycle, who showed us the very narrow and hectic streets of the old city. The sights and sounds are amazing - just about the most intense we’ve experienced in India, which is saying something, especially in the spice market. How the workers don’t spend their time constantly coughing I don’t know - we all were.

The city’s waking up

Deep inside the spice market there’s a lot of lugging of sacks

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Looking down on the spice market

Our peloton weaves its way through the locals

Video: India, Mumbai to Ahmedabad

Day 133: Rest day in Delhi

Exploring New Delhi

We spent a nice day poking about in New Delhi and getting some chores done.

India’s Arc de Triomphe, India Gate

The building that the British Secretariat built for themselves are now the Indian Government’s Ministries

Thanks to Ajay at Firefox Bikes in Karol Bagh we have some bike boxes and padding. We were getting worried for a while as no bike shops seemed to have any. Thanks Ajay for coming to the rescue. 

These boxes, at 200 Rupees each (40 cents), are the key to us being able to use our $3,000 flights to Baku

Tiger now has a very early birthday present, an absolutely gorgeous new camera - a Fuji X-T30. Sarina got to have fun haggling too. 

Expect some better photography on the blog, if we can afford to buy the online rights to his shots.  

Day 132: Palwal to New Delhi

Half way home

We’ve now completed 7,800km of our 15,000km journey home on our bicycles, so we’re now over half way! It seems a very long time ago we left Black Rock in Melbourne, and to think we have as much ground to cover again is daunting - but it also means we have just as much fun in front of us as behind us, which is an enticing prospect.

Yesterday’s ride was another main road, with a relatively calm entrance into Delhi. None of the manic traffic or horrendous pollution we were warned of – it was pretty relaxed really and the air in the city far from the worst we’ve seen.

We’re in a beautiful little guest house, nestled in an oasis of calm filled with trees and genteel “bungalows” (it’s an Indian word, so we can’t really criticise them for the fact that the bungalows have more than one storey).

The gorgeous Zaza Stay hotel

Tiger an I even managed to get a haircut. We’ve nearly managed one in every country we’ve visited, and our barber was one of the best, despite communication being difficult. He did manage a sectarian dig at all the Muslims in the area though. Plus ça change...

Tiger getting the best haircut he’s had

The other big news and cause for celebration is that Tiger has now decided on his University - he’s going to be going to Huddersfield University to study Architecture at the end of September. He was impressed with the course, liked the sound of the uni and is especially keen on the Peak District being right next door. So, Johnny Brownlee gets his wish, at least one of us is off to Yorkshire.

So that Tiger can take a look at the place before he starts his course, we’ve adjusted our route slightly to head up through Belgium and the Netherlands to cross the North Sea to Hull. That lets us cycle to Huddersfield and then down to the South Coast afterwards. The finishing date is still the same - we’ve just adjusted the route a little.

We’re looking forward to a nice couple of days poking around Delhi now, before we fly to Baku and continue our journey.

The Huddersfield that awaits Tiger

Day 131: Mathura to Palwal

Not very exciting

It’s lucky that just being on a bike, travelling with Sarina and Tiger is pretty cool, because the landscape didn’t offer much today. Highway all the way. 

Oh well. Tomorrow Delhi!

Day 130: Agra to Mathura

Ride bicycles, not elephants

With only a few days left in India, we realised we’d not really seen any other wildlife on our journey. We had an abortive attempt to see tigers in northern Karnatika, but otherwise, we’d only seen ox and camels pulling carts on the road, and a few elephants in various places.

A quick search and we managed to find wildlifesos.org who had an elephant conservation and care centre on our route - so we seized the opportunity and booked a tour.

We got to the centre a couple of hours early and had the chance to see the elephants coming in from their walk, and then we relaxed on the terrace and waited for the other people joining us on the tour to arrive.

First we were told about the reasons that these elephants needed to be rescued to this centre. 2,400 elephants are held in captivity, for a variety of reasons - circus performances (now banned), begging, tourist rides and temple animals. SOS Wildlife try to educate the owners to give up their animals, report those that are being badly treated and then provide a home for the elephants to live the rest of their lives in as much comfort as possible.

The footage we were shown of how a freshly poached elephant calf is “broken” by being beaten repeatedly for days until their will is broken, was absolutely dreadful to watch.

We were then taken round to meet the female elephants - the males are a little boisterous at present as they are in heat. As we were introduced to each of the elephants the litany of injuries they had when they arrived was horrific. Multiple animals had broken legs that had fused out of alignment, dreadful wounds and cracked toenails - a real hazard for such a large animal.

SOS Wildlife seem to be doing a great job of treating the ailments, as well as looking after the mental health of the elephants. They been through a lot of trauma in their lives and their keepers and vets try to give them a life in the centre that keeps them busy, healthy and well fed.

We were very impressed with the work they were doing and they sustainable way they were going about it. They’d previously managed to eradicate the cruel practice of dancing bears, primarily by educating the owners and giving them better ways to earn a living - a very successful approach.

Their current campaign is to educate tourists that riding elephants is bad for their backs, and reinforces elephant ownership that is only possible by beatings and cruelty. So, we made a pledge, not to ride, and we wholeheartedly support their slogan “Ride bicycles, not elephants.”

Before we left a couple of the team were keen to have a go at riding our tandem - and they made a pretty good job of it - despite the sanding car park, which was not the easiest surface.

You can read more about SOS Wildlife at wildlifesos.org and if you wish to join us in making a donation, you can do it here: https://give.wildlifesos.org/page/16138/donate/1

It costs them $3,000 USD per day to feed the elephants they’ve rescued so far, so they could do with some more cash.

Video: India, Hampi to Mumbai

Day 129: Rest day in Agra

The Taj Mahal does not disappoint

It’s a pretty amazing building - the most beautifully executed we’ve seen in India I believe. Every detail hits the mark, and when you aim for symmetricality, you need to hit it spot on.

For the whole building to be constructed of white marble is so unusual in India, it really stands out, with intricate carving, and precision building meaning there’s the illusion of a solid marble dome. Very impressive for the time. Even the great domes of Europe tend to look like a bit of a Lego set up close.

We were up bright and early as the top tips are that the light is better and the crowd smaller first thing in the morning and that seemed to hold true. We breezed through the individual male and female queues (really?) after a false start where we forgot to buy tickets first. It was early.

Coming through the archway at the end of the long lake in front of the Taj Mahal guides the visitor to the perfect reveal - the white building contrasted strongly against the red stone arch from which you emerge.

The reveal through a stone archway

Of course there’s a bit of a bun fight for the “perfect shot” up the lake. Everyone wants that selfie!

Inside, the mausoleum is less impressive. It’s dark and necessarily a little “no frills” - kind of what you’d expect. Although, why Emperor Shah Jahan didn’t think through the fact the he was going to die one day, and maybe leave a space for his resting place alongside his wife’s. He’s squeezed in to one side. Not that their remans are actually in this container anyhow - they are tucked away below the “just for show” sarcophagi in a chamber downstairs.

Intricate marble carving

It even has a river view

We went to the Fort too, but it’s difficult for it to compete with its neighbour.  

Both buildings insist on men and women queuing separately, which is odd. However, it does give you the chance to see that twice as many women as men want to see the Taj Mahal, whereas the queue for the fort had way more men. You might guess that, but it was interesting to see it confirmed.

Day 128: Bharatpur to Agra

Rain! 

We woke up this morning to a new sensation in India - rain. We were just saying the other day that we’d not seen our rain jackets for a long time. However, it was still too warm for jackets, even if the cold front had dropped the temperature to 30°C (86°C). 

Leaving our ramshackle but loveable base from last night

Entering a damp Agra

The dirt on the roads certainly kicked up a bit, and we were soon starting to look like Paris Roubaix survivors. Our bicycles had also acquired a covering Indian crud. 

All this meant that when we arrived at our hotel in Agra, the gate staff looked quite sceptical about whether they should let us in. After a radio conversation we were dispatched to the underground parking area, where a nice man with buckets and cloths helped us clean our bike, and ourselves.

The dubious looking gate man

The hotel is The Mansion Grand, which lives up to its name. It also appears to be hosting one of the candidates in the election, which led to a lot of pomp in the lobby, and a lot of men with guns. 

Time to chill now, gaze at the Taj Mahal from the rooftop infinity pool before going to check it out tomorrow.  

There’s a famous dome in the distance if you look closely

Day 127: Kakaido to Bharatpur

We were very hot and a little bad tempered

 We left our palatial residence this morning and were straight back on the main road. The sun climbed and so did the temperature, until we were soon roasting in 40°C again. 

We got it done.  116km, which should have been a stretch.

Arriving in Bharatpur was a bit of a highlight. A box fell off a van in front of Tiger, we ended up in an election rally for current Prime Minister Modi’s BJP party and we got to cross over the moat into the walled city, through 12 feet thick walls. 

Lohargah, the Iron Fort

Our hotel, within the Lohargarh Fort is another piece of faded grandeur, an elegant maharajah’s residence only partially restored.  

The Mahal Khas Hotel  

Taking it in

Always an elegant courtyard 

Day 126: Jaipur to Kakaido

We left our beautiful apartment in Jaipur this morning and waved goodbye to Govinda, who has been a fantastic host for the last few days. If you’re ever in Jaipur and want an apartment in the centre of town with plenty of space and marvellous service I can put you in touch with Umaid Viilas. 

Govinda kept the mayhem of Jaipur outside and made sure we could relax and recover. Thanks Govinda.  

We’re on course for Agra now, where there’s a big white mausoleum that’s worth a look I’m told. It’s main road all the way really, so we’re ploughing into a headwind now, trying to get things done  

Day 125: Rest day in Jaipur

A day with our forts​

If Udaipur is about palaces, Jaipur is about forts, lining the hilltops and strung together by winding crènelâtes walls. The Rajasthanis of Jaipur were a warlike bunch, and they needed a strong fortress to call home. ​

We jumped in an Uber and headed up to Amer to visit the Amber Fort (spelling consistency is not an aim here). It couldn’t be more picture postcard fort if it tried. Towering walls perched on steep slopes so not even a herd of elephants can make a dent.  

Video: India, Bengaluru to Hampi

Day 124: Rest day in Jaipur

The pink* city

* Let’s get this over with straight away. It’s not pink! It’s terracotta, or salmon coloured at a stretch, but that colour is not pink. You do see some pink in some places, particularly older buildings, so maybe they mangled the colour reference in a recent repaint - but this city is not pink.

Having said that, it’s perfectly nice as a terracotta city.

We went for a quiet stroll round and ended up heading in to a few of the buildings to look around. The “women’s quarters” of the palace, the Hawa Mahal, is the famous stone lattice encrusted building that makes most of the tourist shots here. The external facade may be the famous shot, but the internal courtyards, corridors and towers are probably the more impressive sight.

The Jaipur poster image - the Hawa Mahal

On the other side of the towering facade, an intricate network of passageways, stairways and rooms.

There’s something quite modernist about this city when you strip away the embellishments.

We also checked out the Jantar Mantar observatory, built in the 16th Century (along with four others around Europe) to create better tables astronomers could use to predict the position of the sun and stars. Presumably this had the effect of providing more accurate navigational tools to travellers and sailors - a bit like India investing in its own 16th Century GPS system.

The Observatory, and the largest sextent in the world (maybe).

In the evening we had a real treat. An Indian cooking course with the Manju Cooking School. Manju runs the classes in her own home, so it was a great chance to see how a Jaipur resident lives and cooks.

We’ve eaten a lot of Indian food over the last month, but we picked out a few favourites to learn. Vegetable Paneer, Bhindi Bhaji, Dal Fry and the most important - Paratha and Chapati breads.

This was a really special experience, as Manju let us know her daughter was getting married the next day, and you could tell she was very excited. There were a constant stream of guests arriving, but this didn’t distract from our lesson - it added so many more interesting details.

Manju made us feel very at home, including adding a “bindi” (coloured dot) to our foreheads on arrival, and dressing Sarina in a sari - essential for proper Indian cooking, obviously.

Getting set with the ingredients with Manju.

We learned so many little things, but it’s really most useful to watch Manju at work, the pans she uses, the tools (nothing special you wouldn’t already have) and the spices. It’s obviously the spices that make the real difference and the test of whether we can reproduce this food in the UK is going to be a little dependent on whether we can get some of the spices. Green mango powder is not something I’ve ever spotted in Tesco, but then again, I wasn’t looking for it.

Hands on learning and tuition

The real jewel was making chapatis and parathas. The simplicity of it was reassuring, after we’d had a few goes at this ourselves in the past. We probably used a bit too much oil and tried too hard really. Can’t wait to make this a staple in the McNamara household, and I can see the kitchen parties at Tiger’s Uni having a roti theme.

Tiger making the chapati dough. The metal containers behind are Manju’s spices. No labels - she just knows which is which.