Up, up and away...

My alarm went off just before 5am, yes you did read the correctly. 5 am.  Because I needed to be somewhere BEFORE the sun was due to rise.

Three of us were collected from the hotel in a very old charrabang bus and off we went in the dark collecting others in the way.

Where were we going?  The moon is still up, so we are all waiting with nervous anticipation because we are off for another adventure.  The ground staff were all very busy and we had strict instructions to stay behind the barriers and drink coffee until we were called forward.

The wind machines were working full blast

 

the fuel ignited

 

and like magic balloons starts to inflate and rise from the ground.  One by one we were called to climb into our designated baskets and then up we rose, higher and higher.

The take off zone faded away

A little bit left, a little bit right, over the ancient wonders of Bagan we floated.

There are over 4000 temples and pagodas in many shapes and sizes over 25 square miles.

This is where Buddhism, Hinduism and Nat worship come one there in an array of different shrines.

Th sun steadily rose high te and higher.

Many of the tall spires are covered in bamboo scaffolding as thE damage caused by the 2016 earth quake is slowly repaired.

We also flew over local townships,

Fields of corps

These are rice paddies waiting for the rains to come.

I don't think the goats even knew we were above them?

Before too long we floats over to the landing zone and make out decent.

We lowered to the ground with the smallest of jolts and the staff were there o catch and secure the balloon.

The centre was opened to allow the hot air to dissipate 

and the fabric was folded up ready for another morning.

We meanwhile saunters our to the breakfast table for a glass of champagne and a croissant.

Cheers!

Wild Haven, Mundamali

Because of difficulties with road closures today we were up early to make sure we could get to the point of closure before it closed.  What is the saying, best made plans and all that?? But sunrise was beautiful...

We managed a quick, cold breakfast, in my case black coffee and bananas on toast, before heading off to the park enterance.

  And then it all went wrong.  Joseph negotiated hard and for the first few miles it looked as though he had been successful.  But then the official roared up on his motorcycle and to cut a long story short, turned us around and sent us back. No cycling through the reserve to day!

Cue more hanging around whilst Joseph organised not only transport for us, but also the bikes.  He tried his best to get us cycling through, but this time it wasn't to be.  So we had an hours journey in a jeep to where the road was closed.  Now if we couldn't ride that 7 km, it was a 3 hour bus detour.  But talking worked this time, the barriers moved and we were on our way.

Trouble is it was getting hot, I hadn't had a big breakfast and just didn't find my momentum so I didn't really enjoy the ride and was so glad when we finally rolled into Wildhaven.  

That said, I did see an elephant's bottom - and here is photograph proof:

After lunch on the terrace and a change of gear we were off on a late afternoon walk.  Don't the mountains look magnificent? We'll be cycling/walking them in the morning...

But for now it was a farm walk.  

Even the most humble of garden flowers look more vibrant and colourful in India.  Interestingly the marigolds seem to be being used in the vegetable as a natural deterrent just as we use them in the allotments in the UK.

The vine growing up the tree is pepper, it needs to ripen and harden before it can be used for crushing to season the food.

There was coffee frowning near by but more fascinating 

Was the giant bambo, my goodness was that tall....I left the people in the picture so you have some idea.  The termite mound was pretty big too, but funnily enough no one was prepared to stand next to it!

There was a very friendly herd of goats grazing nearby, well the kids were friendly - they came zooming around all over the place being nosey, as only goats can do.  We couldn't go further as wild elephants had been spotted earlier in the day, so we turned around

and walked back to the farm.  No mater how rural or 'poor' there always seems to be a satellite dish fixed on the roof.

Baby Taj and the Taj Mahal (again)

Often described as a "jewel box", sometimes called the "Baby Tāj", the tomb of I'timād-ud-Daulah is often regarded as a draft of the Taj Mahal.

It was also an unexpected gem in the dawn mists.  We had gone out early with the hope of seeing the sun rise over the Taj, the white marble being bathed in its pink glow.  But the morning mists put paid to that plan and instead our guide suggested a visit here.  It was perfect, and in so many ways more beautiful than the Taj.

And one of the best bits?  There was no one else there...they were all at the Taj Mahal.  Think we had the best choice.

Some more doors; I do like a good wooden door.

Theses strange stacks are in fact protective grass around the newly planted trees which stops the monkeys from nibbling on the young shoots. 

Let's have a closer look at the decoration.  As usual there are fretwork screens.  The walls are highly patterned, but instead of expensive and highly skilled inlaid designs these have been painted on.

As have  these designs here.

Just love this blue allium bulb.

There was a great deal of care and attention put into the planning of this building. Again the elements of symmetry govern the whole design, with arches framing the views beautifully.

Sometimes the painted panels have been restored and sometimes merely preserved.   Either way looks good.

Here we are, standing on top of a water feature...water runs of the building, through a channel in the paving, down the carved 'slide' and finally down the drain.

Gradually the sun creeps up and it looks as though it is going to be another beautiful day with bright blue skies and not a cloud to be seen.

Doesn't this just look stunning?: Agra's best  kept secret - a real gem.

The gardens have been recently renovated and laid out in the style of a Moghul garden.

As well as plenty of birds visiting, there are plenty of these cheeky visitors!

Mynah birds and parrots, accompanied by the ubiquitous pigeon, lift off skywards each time you go near.

A small flock of green parrots have decided to perch up high.

Here's Terry looking bemused that I should be taking her photograph!

Marigold garlands are piled up for sale on barrows all over the place for use as good luck symbols, to welcome you or to use a offerings.

In fact, it seems that if it can be fitted onto a hand barrow it can be sold on the street of India!  Here I think the pile of fruit are some kind of pear, which I had the other morning at breakfast and found quite underwhelming.

Camels are used for pulling carts and carrying loads, or as is the lot of this one, offering caravan rides to tourists outside the Taj.  Most of them look really surly and fed up.  Who can blame them?

I find it it a huge anomaly that a country which can be at the forefront of technology ( and providers of call centres...) is still unable to provide safe fresh drinking water to its nation.

So, we are back at the Taj, but the morning mist is still here.  On the way through the security checks ( which are evident at all the major points of interest theses days) I happened to spy a rather superior bike rack...

No....still shrouded in morning mist,

however that doesn't deter this group of young lads who were each posing in turn for their set of photographs to mark the occasion of visiting the Taj.  What make it even more amusing was the fact that after each turn they passed on the same set of aviator sunglasses and each made the same poses...

Yep, each one of them knelt down and did the moody look I front of this great monument to love!

At least this couple were married - I have become quite the sari expert.

So we thought that if you can't beat them we might as well join them:

And so did our guide, Mahmoud!