Reports from home tell us that New Zealand is currently shivering under a polar blast, but here we are sweltering in what the local media is calling an "unusually ferocious heatwave".
More than 500 people across this vast land have been killed by the heat so far and it is all anyone can talk about. But that's perhaps not surprising given the temperatures are nudging 50 degrees in the south of the country.
We are coping by drinking our body weight in water, mango juice and the highly addictive sour lime juice. That and worshipping at the temple of air conditioning whenever possible.
The Adventure World sponsored trip of the Golden Triangle has now come to an end so we are kicking back in Delhi for the next few days. I, of course, will be stuck in the air conditioned luxury of my room at the cool Metropolitan Hotel and Spa which, given the heat, is probably the best place to be but there will also be time for a dip in the pool, a ride on the Metro and a last bit of retail therapy.
In the meantime, I'm playing catchup with photos. Today's visual delights are from Saturday and Sunday when we explored the stunning 'Pink City' of Jaipur and its Wind Palace (Hawa Mahal), the Amber Fort, Maharaja's Palace and the Janta Manta Observatory.
Confession time: I wasn't totally comfortable about taking the elephant ride up to the Amber Fort. But chatting to the mahout (elephant wrangler), he assured us Samma, his 26-year-old pachyderm was his "best friend". And, to be fair, none of the 106 elephants who take visitors up to the Fort looked skinny or ill. So, you know....
That aside, Jaipur was fantastic and certainly an over-achiever when it comes to visual delights.
More than 500 people across this vast land have been killed by the heat so far and it is all anyone can talk about. But that's perhaps not surprising given the temperatures are nudging 50 degrees in the south of the country.
We are coping by drinking our body weight in water, mango juice and the highly addictive sour lime juice. That and worshipping at the temple of air conditioning whenever possible.
The Adventure World sponsored trip of the Golden Triangle has now come to an end so we are kicking back in Delhi for the next few days. I, of course, will be stuck in the air conditioned luxury of my room at the cool Metropolitan Hotel and Spa which, given the heat, is probably the best place to be but there will also be time for a dip in the pool, a ride on the Metro and a last bit of retail therapy.
In the meantime, I'm playing catchup with photos. Today's visual delights are from Saturday and Sunday when we explored the stunning 'Pink City' of Jaipur and its Wind Palace (Hawa Mahal), the Amber Fort, Maharaja's Palace and the Janta Manta Observatory.
Confession time: I wasn't totally comfortable about taking the elephant ride up to the Amber Fort. But chatting to the mahout (elephant wrangler), he assured us Samma, his 26-year-old pachyderm was his "best friend". And, to be fair, none of the 106 elephants who take visitors up to the Fort looked skinny or ill. So, you know....
That aside, Jaipur was fantastic and certainly an over-achiever when it comes to visual delights.
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