On the West coast of Cebu Island, Moalboal (pronounced Mowl-Bowl) is a diving mecca due to the Sardine Run just offshore where millions of fish congregate daily for one of the biggest displays in the world. Obviously it was on our itinerary for that very reason.
Pronounced Mal-a-pask-wa, this tiny dot of an island off the northern tip of Cebu is famous for being the only place in the world where you are pretty much guaranteed a Thresher Shark sighting. As the white sand beaches and perfect blue water didn’t look too shabby either, we thought this would be a good place to start our exploration of The Philippines.
After a hectic 17 days back in the UK to meet our new grandson, check up on the oldies, meet up with friends, collect our post and get our China visas (more on that another time), it was time to resume our adventures.
A very busy couple of days in Mumbai; a chef’s tour of street food vendors, a local’s tour of the slums, visiting the world’s largest open air laundry, finding out what a Dabbawalla does and a final posh meal before our flight back to the UK. All this and bravely dealing with an intruder in our bedroom!
Varanasi is the holiest city in Hinduism, and also highly significant for Buddhists. We witnessed cremations by the Ganges – moving in Debbie’s opinion, squalid in Steve’s – and visited the site, Sarnath, where the Buddha gave his first sermon. We had one day spare before setting off for Mumbai, which we spent lazing by the pool.
Agra is synonymous with the Taj Mahal and what a stupendous monument it is. Commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan (r. 1628–1658) to house the tomb of his beloved third wife, Mumtaz Mahal at a modern day cost of over US$800 million it took 22 years to complete. By that time Shah Jahan had been deposed by his son and imprisoned in Agra Fort, so he spent the last eight year’s of his life looking at…
Next stop Sawai Madhopur, for Ranthambhore National Park, the best place to see Bengal Tigers. Despite failing to book three months in advance, when the pre-order tickets sell out, we were lucky to get last minute tickets for two safaris, and even luckier with the wildlife we saw.
Debbie is getting a taste for the high life, with an executive train seat, luxury hotel and watching a polo match. Steve was happy to find a microbrewery next door to the hotel and a lovely boxer dog called Luca owned by the sisters who run the hotel. We skipped visiting the palace but did visit the unique Jantar Mantar observatory and of course had to see the iconic Hawa Mahal.
An unforgetable stay in Udaipur where we experienced Holi; both the pomp of the Royal Holika Dahan, at the palace, and the chaos and mayhem on the streets getting covered in coloured paint. This has been the highlight of our tour of India.
Jodphu, the blue city, was our next stop. We stayed in a restored havelli in the old town with a view of the fort, which we toured and also visited the collossal Umaid Bhawan Palace, he 6th biggest private residence ever built. Debbie went shopping!