This was one of the best biking days ever!
Alan cheating again!
Best time of year to visit as everything is flowering. Apparently these only flower for 2 weeks in a year.
We were cycling along a single track lane and then all of a sudden (nowhere near a village) there was a large gathering of people. We stopped to look what was happening and they invited us over. It was a ceremony of some sort for a man in his thirties and the people were his extended family from hundreds of miles around. They asked us to join them and gave us a blessing and tea. They said we could stay for the evening event if we wanted but we did not want to detract from the main guys celebration so after about an hour we headed off.
I was pottering along through a village and a man ran up to me and handed me vegetables and forced me to take them. OK! Cool :-)
This area is totally surreal! The guy as a mustache about 1 foot long.....
It was sad to see so many young children in rags working in the fields.....
Only in India to they manage to carry so much on one tractor. The grain bags are literally budging.
This guy really wanted Alan to give him his glasses....
Alan was not feeling generous.
Serious face!
Alan stopped off for some ice-cream and a big family came out to say hello. This man was very very proud of his mustache.
It really was desert that we were traveling through today. Very little traffic and single track roads but mainly good quality roads. Perfect cycling conditions - if a little hot though.
We were planning on doing about 125km today and getting to Ranthanbore today for about 6pm, however, when we hit the highway at the new area of a small town called Indragarh we just had to stop. About 2 miles ahead of us we could see the old town: a huge fort and place on a hill with a walled town full of blue houses. It was as impressive as Bundi and we did not even know that it was on our route. We checked in the guide book and we could not see anything even mentioned.
We went to have a look and rode through some of the little lanes between the blue houses and straight away changed our plans to stay elsewhere today and asked around about lodging. The locals were very friendly and directed us to the Darma Masala (cheap/free accommodation attached to a temple). We checked in for 105RS for the two of us.
It was great as we still had loads of energy and day-light to go and explore the Palace, Fort and town. We showered and changed and then walked though the town. We got a following of a group of about 10 lads. They took us up to the Palace and then to someones house to get the keys for the big gates to get in. It is so totally off the tourist map!
The older lads that opened up the gates just wanted us to come in and tried to push away our little group of lads but by this time we had grown fond of them and so asked if they could join us too. They were every excited having never been inside before.
The Palace and Fort were absolutely awesome as they were so untouched. They were just ruins with monkeys and trees but absolutely beautiful. We had no idea about the history as there was no mention of the town in the guide book or when I checked on line. It was easily as Bundi where thousands of tourists flock. What made it so special was that it felt like we had found it! The views down to the blue houses of the town were great.
The older lads that showed us round wanted 500RS but as we paid less than that to get into Bundi we only paid the same.
When we left the Palace and went for a wonder round the town our following of children grew to about 70! We were literally walking though the streets with a stream of children behind us. The adults we passed seemed to think that this was very funny. The whole feeling from the town was welcoming and friendly.
At one point we started skipping and all of the children behind us joined in and so we were all skipping through the streets. It was so much fun.
They held a game of cricket with us in a square in the middle of town. It was good fun to give it a go. The women starred at a girl playing cricket and most of the girls hid behind doors and windows but still starred out at the local freak show....
I have totally changed my opinion of the North of India. Everyone (including loads of Indians in the South) were saying that North India is no where near as friendly or as beautiful. I thought that I would not enjoy the North as much as the South but in fact I have had some of the best days biking yet. The when we first arrived in Gudgaret and headed into Rajesthan we both noted a distinct difference in the friendliness of the people verses the South and we have also seen that in the major cities. However, traveling through villages and little country roads we have experienced nothing but incredible interest and friendliness. Over the last few days we have literally had all the children in the village come to say hello and chat too us. Many adults also try to hail us down to stop so that they can talk to us.
I am very glad to be traveling with Alan who is fun and adventurous and we are both on the same page with likes and dislikes in terms of routes and things that we want to spend time doing. His genius plan of hanging on to the back of lorries is one of the best ideas ever.... I have felt more comfortable going exploring after dark and also been less cautious in the day time. I have been happier chatting with Indian men and not so worried about the fact that just by talking to them I am in some strange way giving them the "come-on" just by talking to them.
Alan cheating again! 
Best time of year to visit as everything is flowering. Apparently these only flower for 2 weeks in a year. 
We were cycling along a single track lane and then all of a sudden (nowhere near a village) there was a large gathering of people. We stopped to look what was happening and they invited us over. It was a ceremony of some sort for a man in his thirties and the people were his extended family from hundreds of miles around. They asked us to join them and gave us a blessing and tea. They said we could stay for the evening event if we wanted but we did not want to detract from the main guys celebration so after about an hour we headed off. 
I was pottering along through a village and a man ran up to me and handed me vegetables and forced me to take them. OK! Cool :-) 
This area is totally surreal! The guy as a mustache about 1 foot long..... 
It was sad to see so many young children in rags working in the fields..... 
Only in India to they manage to carry so much on one tractor. The grain bags are literally budging. 
This guy really wanted Alan to give him his glasses....Alan was not feeling generous.
Serious face! 
Alan stopped off for some ice-cream and a big family came out to say hello. This man was very very proud of his mustache. 
It really was desert that we were traveling through today. Very little traffic and single track roads but mainly good quality roads. Perfect cycling conditions - if a little hot though. 
We were planning on doing about 125km today and getting to Ranthanbore today for about 6pm, however, when we hit the highway at the new area of a small town called Indragarh we just had to stop. About 2 miles ahead of us we could see the old town: a huge fort and place on a hill with a walled town full of blue houses. It was as impressive as Bundi and we did not even know that it was on our route. We checked in the guide book and we could not see anything even mentioned.We went to have a look and rode through some of the little lanes between the blue houses and straight away changed our plans to stay elsewhere today and asked around about lodging. The locals were very friendly and directed us to the Darma Masala (cheap/free accommodation attached to a temple). We checked in for 105RS for the two of us.
It was great as we still had loads of energy and day-light to go and explore the Palace, Fort and town. We showered and changed and then walked though the town. We got a following of a group of about 10 lads. They took us up to the Palace and then to someones house to get the keys for the big gates to get in. It is so totally off the tourist map!
The older lads that opened up the gates just wanted us to come in and tried to push away our little group of lads but by this time we had grown fond of them and so asked if they could join us too. They were every excited having never been inside before. 
The Palace and Fort were absolutely awesome as they were so untouched. They were just ruins with monkeys and trees but absolutely beautiful. We had no idea about the history as there was no mention of the town in the guide book or when I checked on line. It was easily as Bundi where thousands of tourists flock. What made it so special was that it felt like we had found it! The views down to the blue houses of the town were great.The older lads that showed us round wanted 500RS but as we paid less than that to get into Bundi we only paid the same.
When we left the Palace and went for a wonder round the town our following of children grew to about 70! We were literally walking though the streets with a stream of children behind us. The adults we passed seemed to think that this was very funny. The whole feeling from the town was welcoming and friendly.
At one point we started skipping and all of the children behind us joined in and so we were all skipping through the streets. It was so much fun.
They held a game of cricket with us in a square in the middle of town. It was good fun to give it a go. The women starred at a girl playing cricket and most of the girls hid behind doors and windows but still starred out at the local freak show.... 
I have totally changed my opinion of the North of India. Everyone (including loads of Indians in the South) were saying that North India is no where near as friendly or as beautiful. I thought that I would not enjoy the North as much as the South but in fact I have had some of the best days biking yet. The when we first arrived in Gudgaret and headed into Rajesthan we both noted a distinct difference in the friendliness of the people verses the South and we have also seen that in the major cities. However, traveling through villages and little country roads we have experienced nothing but incredible interest and friendliness. Over the last few days we have literally had all the children in the village come to say hello and chat too us. Many adults also try to hail us down to stop so that they can talk to us. 
I am very glad to be traveling with Alan who is fun and adventurous and we are both on the same page with likes and dislikes in terms of routes and things that we want to spend time doing. His genius plan of hanging on to the back of lorries is one of the best ideas ever.... I have felt more comfortable going exploring after dark and also been less cautious in the day time. I have been happier chatting with Indian men and not so worried about the fact that just by talking to them I am in some strange way giving them the "come-on" just by talking to them. 
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