Poker driving

6th APRIL 2013 Started the day with breakfast at The Claridges, our hotel in Delhi. Had been asked before we left if it would be curry for breakfast. Actually "curry" is a Western word, used mainly to indicate spicy dishes, so in that sense the answer is "Yes". Yesterday we had Dosa, a South Indian pancake type dish made from rice, with spicy vegetables. Really light and crispy. This morning I had a Parantha, pan fried whole wheat dough stuffed with potato, with a spicy sauce - not as good as yesterday, while Cherith was more traditional with bacon, courgettes and a pancake. Then started an amazing road journey to Jaipur, where we arrived after 6 hours for three nights at Dera Mandawa. The journey can only be likened to a motorised version of poker, don't blink or give anything away, or you are destroyed. The main highway, which we travelled on for most of the journey, was 4 lanes in many places, but had at least 6 lanes of traffic. The painted white lines are totally irrelevant. If you want to pass another vehicle, the driver can either overtake, undertake or else sound the horn loudly and drive between the two vehicles in front. If there isn't enough space, the basic idea is to accelerate, sound the horn and assume a gap will appear. Perhaps the most dangerous manoeuvre is undertaking using the inside lane (there is no such thing as a hard shoulder). Beware of bikes, motorbikes, tractors, camel drawn trailers, lorries or buses which are quite happy to travel in the opposite direction, and frequently do. In addition it is necessary to keep a wary eye open for monkeys, goats, camels and even one elephant trundling along the road. When we reached Jaipur, there was even a pig wandering down the street. But above all else beware of the ubiquitous and sacred cow, which wanders freely everywhere, across the road, grazing at the roadside, or lying in the "central reservation" munching away at its petrol fuel fumed cud. I don't think we have ever seen so many motorbikes, with up to 4 or 5 people on board, or cars attempting with success to beat the world record for the maximum number in any vehicle. But above there are lorries, lorries and then some more lorries. Many are painted and decorated making a good sight as they stream along the road, but an equal number are lined up in their dozens at the roadside with wheels being replaced by hand, and other mechanical miracles being performed. And don't bother with the AA and roadside warning cones and high-vis jackets. Just sit by the side of the road, on the traffic side and get on with the job. And the visual impact is added to by the sounds of numerous, regularly used horns. We didn't realise there were so many different toes and sounds of car horns. Would swear that if we were musical, we could put all the sounds with their differing tones and cadences together to make a musical,masterpiece. Despite all of this we only saw two accidents. One car had knocked a guy of his motorbike, and another car had come off the road, and the driver was just getting out as we went past. All along the road were the most bizarre sites. There appeared to be a combination of building works, in equal measure with views that looked like an earthquake disaster or a war zone. And in the fields the wheat was being harvested by hand, threshed in the field and the grain then loaded into sacks before being taken away on trailers. We eventually arrived in Jaipur, and the total chaos which we had experienced on the "motorway" began to look tame. Honestly, we have ever seen anything like it. The city was grid locked, with bikes, motorbikes, cars, lorries, buses and pedestrians all competing and totally ignoring each other. It is impossible to describe and incredible to believe why we didn't see dozens of accidents, as vehicles come within inches of each other, as well as pedestrians, all the time. So, here we are, and although we are near the centre of Jaipur, we are in a lovely private house, which takes guests, and has a really friendly and authentic feel. Our rooms are large, spacious and cool, and although we are sitting outside in the shade, we can hear the sound of birds singing just as much as the incessant sound of traffic and horns. Tomorrow is a full day exploring all that Jaipur has to offer. Photos to follow, hopefully tomorrow.