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All the Js

October 20, 2015/4 Comments/in Travel /by Paul Perton

Queue for the Amber Palace, Jaipur

These have been busy days; travelling from Gwalior to the Js. First to Jaipur, several days on the streets and then on to Jodhpur. Two cities in central India that are home to much of the country’s history and able to speak volumes of their entanglement with their former colonial rulers.

Jaipur, unremittingly India, colourful, noisy and a must on anyone’s travel agenda. It is also home to the sprawling, hilltop Amber Palace and with the right guide, a place of constant surprise and delight.

We’d arrived after a lengthy drive from Gwalior. Nine hours on a variety of roads from primitive, yet effective (and tolled) dual carriageways, to rutted, potholed country tarmac. Piloted by the ever-capable Manoj our driver, we finally tumbled off the bus late in the afternoon and set about doing b-all.

Untitled, Jaipur

The following morning, our itinerary was essentially a tour of the Amber Palace. The bus set us down in Ghandi Chowk, the village at the base of the hill over which the Palace looms. On the suggestion of our guide, we wandered the lanes, alleyways and various temples on our walk up to the Palace itself. Before you ask, yes it was blerry hot – before 10:00 and the temperature was already reaching for the mid-30s Celsius.

Untitled, Jaipur

Every town and city we’ve visited has a slightly different feel; Jaipur being no different. It’s closer to its agrarian roots, retains more structured village-like housing and is palpably tidier.

Depending on your photographic preference, the Amber Palace offers just about everything; horizon-to-horizon views, magnificent (if down-at-heel) buildings, quiet corners and people everywhere. October is late season in this part of India and the crowds were manageable – it’s hard to imagine what high season 40C temperatures and thousands more people could do to the current semi-tranquility.

From the Palace, we descended into the city and it’s market under a banyan tree. It’s very obvious if you’re driving past, but few guides seem to bother, preferring to usher their charges through the more obvious tourist landmarks.

The market under the banyan tree, Jaipur

We got to see locksmiths cutting and matching keys by hand, the hairdresser turning out first class high-lather, straight razor shaves and a transport hub, all in an area not much bigger than a large blanket.

From there the street market was just a few steps, the colour and bustle of India on display at every turn.

High art and cables, Jaipur

Day two saw us lolling – the guide books call it a “day at leisure”, we call it a “down day”, which we use to rest and sleep a bit, attend to our personal needs and wander the immediate area. Years of touring have impressed on us the necessity of time off – if you don’t make time in your schedule, you’ll quickly wish you had – especially with day time temperatures peaking close to 40C.

Day three. The early morning vegetable market, cold coffee in one of the city’s famous patisseries and on to the Monkey Temple. Nestled in the hills to the east of the city, it’s usually ignored by tour guides and visitors alike – a pity as the photo opportunities are wonderful.

Monkey temple, Jaipur

A late lunch in one of the city’s swankier coffee shops and back to the hotel to prepare for the drive to Jodhpur tomorrow.

Hard though it was for us to believe, Jodhpur is almost clean and free of litter. Our guide explained the Rajah’s ongoing involvement with the city and away from the (supposedly idle and corrupt) ministrations of the government, things like refuse collection and maintenance work and are well funded and get done timeously.

Commuter, Jodhpur

Untitled, Jodhpur

Rickshaw, Jodhpur

Obliging photographer, Jodhpur

Untitled, Jodhpur

Chillin’ (no.1 daughter’s toes) Jodhpur

The Mehrangarh Fort hovers spectacularly over the so-called Blue City city; perched on a commanding hilltop. Our guide was highly enthusiastic about the Fort and we found it’s tour well organised and pleasantly free of litter and land mines left by the itinerant cattle.

The Blue City, Jodhpur

Locked, Jodhpur

Suti handprints, Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur

Inside the Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur

Apparently, the municipality herd these bovine interlopers together and take them to a central pound, where owners can pay a fine and re-claim them. Likewise, badly parked cars – the first city in India where we’ve heard anyone even mention a functioning police force.

The guide created some expectation regarding Jodhpur’s street market. The city is very much a desert city and it’s market reflects the different style that brings. Gone are the narrow lanes and claustrophobic press of people, in it’s place, open air displays and vendors selling the produce so typical of the region. There is even a thriving area in the market for used clothing, especially freshly washed and pressed saris. And, for the first time since arriving Mrs P buys spices and a (new!) magnificent cashmere scarf for our upcoming and doubtless chilly UK visit.

All too soon, the clean and thoroughly enjoyable Jodhpur falls behind us as we move on to the last leg of this hugely enjoyable and entertaining journey. We’re headed for Narlai, a tiny village barely on the map, ignored by the guide books and home to a hotel our recent experience tells us from which we should not expect too much.

See Agra and then quickly head for Gwalior

October 15, 2015/0 Comments/in Blog, Travel /by Paul Perton

The Taj. A magnificent monument to love. Fuji X-Pro1, 25mm Zeiss Biogon

Gwalior. Not on the itinerary of many India visitors and it really should be.

I’d added it to ours on a whim – the evening before the details of our tour were set in stone, I’d been idly remembering a series of British steam locomotives that had been named in the ’30s after various Commonwealth countries, provinces and cities. Amongst them, Gwalior.

Not very PC in this insane world of being frightened of offending people, but there was an easy two day slot in our schedule. So, why not?

I’m glad we did.

Family pilgrimage, The Taj. Fuji X-Pro1, 25mm Zeiss Biogon

Architectural detail, the Taj. Fuji X-Pro1, 25mm Zeiss Biogon

The observant amongst you will quickly realise that I’ve skipped Agra and the Taj Mahal. Not. That’s about to happen. In truth, Gwalior probably ought to rank equally with the TM and if you’ve been there before, do replace it on your list of places to see.

Taj visitors. Fuji X-Pro1, Leica Summilux 50mm f1.4

Untitled. Fuji X-Pro1, Fuji 35mm f1.4

We’d left Lucknow by train – did you expect anything different? It was a horrible journey, almost as bad as the TANZAR between Lusaka and Dar es Salaam, which is probably unfair as Zambia Railways actually got us into Dar on time after three and a half days. The bloody Lucknow-Agra Express was dirty, more cramped than a flight on Mango Airlines in South Africa, full of broken seats and seat back tables and the air conditioning was on a par with an asthmatic old man.

I decided not to risk the WC.

Anyway, this bloody old contraption eventually lurched into Agra at 01:00, three hours late after stopping at every station and signal along the way. Fortunately, our guide was still patiently waiting for us and sped us off to our hotel and a couple of hours of wide awake in bed, waiting for sleep to come. We’d abandoned our 05:00 alarm call to see the Taj Mahal at sunrise.

Instead, we visited at dusk and it’s magnificent – pretty much as you’d expect. This is low season, but there were still thousands of visitors milling around and getting any kind of collectible photograph is hopeless. We did the sunrise shoot the following morning, immediately prior to getting back on our small bus for the drive to Gwalior.

That was also special. Less visitors, fewer locals jostling and some nice photo opportunities and a brilliant sunrise.

Taj close-up. Fuji X-Pro1, Fuji 35mm f1.4

Agra? Great, but as WikiTravel says; one day and flee. I’ve been there and now understand why.

Poolside loll. Fuji X-Pro1, Fuji 35mm f1.4

Sandstone everywhere. Fuji X-Pro1, Fuji 35mm f1.4

Sunrise near the Taj. Fuji X-Pro1, Fuji 35mm f1.4

So, Gwalior.

This morning’s guide arrived full of beans and was clearly a local history maven. He took us to the fort – actually a mogul’s palace and temple. In a word; spectacular.

The fort is perched on a hilltop overlooking the city and our tour explored pretty much every nook, cranny and tiny staircase in and between the walls. Our guide didn’t guide, he taught us about Shiva, Vishnu, the succession of moguls, wives, the architecture, habits, practices and just about everything else. In short, he brought the whole two thousand year history of the fort and its surrounds to life. Taj Mahal? Seen it and won’t go back. Gwalior? Read on.

According it the blurb, we’re staying in a non-hotel hotel. A self-catering boutique hotel, created from the tumbledown structure of some former mogul’s guest house, the hotel has a central buffet-style dining room if you want to use it and not much else. It’s old, renovated, comfortable, surrounds a large lawn area and is entirely enchanting.

To our (all of us) delight, there are several tiny temples and other ancient buildings also on the property and accessible to guests. Having arrived late yesterday afternoon after a lengthy road journey from Agra, my sundown shoot on the property was hurried and yielded little. This morning’s sunrise wander amongst the temples was everything I’d hoped for yesterday and a great deal more.

Gwalior is welcoming – as are all of the places we’ve visited so far – and as hectic as we are coming to expect. It also has the special something Agra lacks. I’d recommend it to any traveller.

The rest of the family arrived in Agra, along with my new Fuji X-Pro and Fuji 35mm f1.4 lens. Between visits, walks, food and beer I’m working through the manual and trying the new lens and well as my various M mount lenses on its adaptor. So far, the 50mm Summilux, 25mm Biogon and Voigtlander’s 15mm all seem to work fine. The latter is a complete surprise as my Sony NEX-7 simply refused to deliver anything usable with it.

While I’m learning the X-Pro, I’ve been relying on my X100T and growing to respect it more and more. It’s simple to set up, incredibly forgiving of my regular poor decision making, reliable and can shoot against a 2-3 stop overexposed background and still deliver a magically balanced, usable image.

More? It’s small, unobtrusive, unthreatening and totally silent. It’s visual qualities have been amply demonstrated by many other photographers around the world. I’m late to the party, but will happily sing its praises and endorse those that have gone before.

Every image below was shot with the X100T at f2 or f2.8 – see what I mean?

Daughter-in-law temple, Gwalior. Fuji X100T

Intricate detail. Mother-in-law temple. Fuji X100T @ f2.8

Full colour, Gwalior. Fuji X100T @ f2.8

Untitled, Gwalior. Fuji X100T @ f2.8

Sikh pilgrims, Gwalior. Fuji X100T @ f2.8

Museum visitors, Gwalior. Fuji X100T @ f2.8

Untitled, Gwalior. Fuji X100T @ f2.8

Untitled, Gwalior. Fuji X100T @ f2

Tea room, Gwalior. Fuji X100T @ f2.8

…and then you’ll be able to rememberise Varanasi

October 7, 2015/0 Comments/in Blog, Travel /by Paul Perton

He walks in his own light, Varanasi

Sunrise ceremonies, Varanasi

Cows everywhere, Varanasi

Saturday – we were advised last evening that today’s early afternoon flight west to Varanasi had been cancelled, the airline offering us an alternative at 04:30 to Delhi, several hours wait, then a flight all the way back to our intended destination. Or an airline switch that would cost 3000 Rupees (R600/£30) for the pair of us.

Rather than waste an entire day travelling and sitting around, we opted for the relatively small extra and landed in Varanasi mid-morning after an 05:00 wake-up call and a quick transfer to the airport.

International baggage allowances vary, depending on the airline. Most allow 23kg, Emirates 30kg. Both of our cases tipped at the scales at under 20kg when we flew here, but the internal airlines are on the same money-making gig you’ll encounter elsewhere and were very quick to charge us several hundred Rupees extra for our “excess baggage”. I do understand the profit motive; I’ve worked for myself for more than 30 years, but this feels much more like taking the piss because you can.

Rant over. For now – we’ve another flight coming up.

Untitled, Varanasi

Flower market, Varanasi

The school run, Varanasi

Untitled, Varanasi

Kolkata had largely proved my photographic choices; small mirrorless cameras (Fuji X100T, Sony NEX-7) and 25/35/50mm lenses. I’d also packed my ancient Leica 135 f2.8 thinking I’d use it around the Taj Mahal for sunrises and sunsets. That has still to come, but given the very limited scope for long lenses so far, I’m beginning to think it would have been better to leave it at home.

In the main, the Fuji shines very brightly. When it hits a critical focus point, the results are as good as with the best of cameras. The autofocus isn’t that quick however and I have definitely lost some images in alleyways and poorly lit buildings that were grabbed en passant. Another second or two and some patience could have delivered a great shot.

The NEX-7 and it’s manual lenses remains a delight, but not for anything other than outright daylight, or situations where there is time to focus properly. Zone focus is a solution, but at ISO800 and f2.8 a daylight exposure value that delivers wonderful focus and sharpness deteriorates to f2.8 and a half second exposure in a heartbeat, as the environment changes from pavement to semi-dark alleyways and the deep gloom of open fronted shops/eating houses.

My new Fuji X-Pro1 and 35mm f1.4 arrives with the rest of the family in a couple of days and I’m hoping that will be a more workable solution.

While I’m being a bit technical, I’m using some different editing techniques on this trip. Fortunately, they’re non-destructive, so if what I’m doing doesn’t fly, I can head back to where I started.

The first change is the use of a 2.39:1 crop – the cinematic ratio, I’m told. I’ve tried several different ratios before, including the usual landscapers’ 2:1, but this one really works for me – especially with the scenes I’ve been shooting. Comments would be helpful…

Shoes off please

Queue to enter the Golden Temple, Varanasi

A common sight on Varanasi’s lanes

Sunrise ceremonies, Varanasi

The Ganga at sunrise

The second experiment is using VSCO’s plug-ins. I bought Pack 4 (essentially offering Velvia, Provia and some Kodak film emulations) and added it to the free Pack 0 which I use for Tri-X emulation. I’m really enjoying the bright and intense colours, but find it necessary to tone down some of the Velvia renditions, especially with Asian skin tones which quickly head for bright yellow. All-in-all, it’s an experiment worth trying.

Untitled, Varanasi

So, Varanasi. It’s dry, dusty and much less humid than Kolkata. The traffic is as bad and the willingness to hoot at every piece of paper on the street, shadow, dog, cow, cyclist, pedestrian, or other vehicle within 50m is identical. The hotel, several notches up from Kolkata’s quaint Fairlawn has just served us a passable buffet lunch and we currently await our guide for the afternoon’s exploration.

Collecting us from the airport was Anil; chatterbox of note, he was keen, a mine of information and introduced us both to the concept of rememberisation; some kind of recall one has after visiting Varanasi and joining one of his tours. I hope we’ll remembers this one with great fondness.

Billed as the planet’s oldest city, Varanasi is known for its temples, religious activity and daily gatherings at the ghats along the Ganga (Ganges to us outlanders). Our first guided visit was to walk a bit of the city and end at the Dashaswamedh ghat – a stepped entry down into the Ganga – as darkness fell.

In classic Indian style, the evening ritual was celebrated with a huge crowd, seemingly made up equally of sightseers and worshippers. Bells clanged, hand organs played, tablas bonged and five orange and gold clad priests led the ceremony, chanting, singing and ringing hand bells. The crowd joined in and with the addition of clouds of incense, turned a sundown rite into a spectacular experience.

Sunday morning saw us with another early alarm call, this time to re-visit Dashaswamedh ghat, to climb on board a large rowing boat to see the morning bathing ritual and witness the sunrise over the Ganga. There are few words to describe the experience.

Off the boat, just beyond the cremation area (strictly no photographs), we walked along the various ghats, spectators at a daily ritual critical to India’s Hindu community. If last evening’s ceremony was a great experience, this was truly special – one of the great sights that make India the travel destination it is.

Untitled, Varanasi

Waiting for the ceremony to begin, Varanasi

Untitled, Varanasi

The Ganga at sunrise

Sunrise witnessed and hundreds of pilgrims seen washing and purifying, we were ushered back to our hotel for a (very) late breakfast, followed by a walking tour of one of the city’s fabric factories, the Islamic market and a the lanes that differentiate this ancient city from so many others.

This morning (Tuesday), another early call heralded departure for Allahabad and Lucknow – in other words, a day in the car, with brief stops at Sangram, the holy confluence of three great rivers and then on to Nehru’s house in Allahabad. Photography in most of these places is forbidden and while the house is magnificently maintained, I managed only a couple of shots. The police are inches thick everywhere and I suspect falling foul of them is not advised.

If you’ve read Rohinton Mistry’s A fine balance, or Gregory David Roberts’ Shantaram, you’ll understand.

Before I turn my attentions to Lucknow, I need to say that Varanasi was truly special; the religious pilgrimages surrounded by the Ganga and a city full of ancient buildings, unique. That said, for all its history and appeal to the tourist/photographer, the city is unremittingly dirty. There are dogs and (predictably) cattle everywhere, often asleep in the middle of main roads and alleyways. Their droppings make navigating the litter- and rubble-strewn lanes and roadways almost impossible. Couple that with the unending press of humanity, motor bikes and scooters roaring past and the permanent stench of just about everything you don’t want to imagine and you’ll be well prepared if the you choose to visit.

Sunrise

Sanskrit University, Varanasi

The Ganga at sunrise

Untitled, Varanasi

Sanjiv, our day guide did a fine job of navigating us through the labyrinthine lanes and alleyways, and swatted (not literally) away the endless stream of beggars. If you’re planning to visit Varanasi and need someone to show you the real photographic sights – send me an e-mail and I’ll let you have his details.

Wednesday – Lucknow. Breakfast soon and then our first of two full days in the capital of Uttar Pradesh.

Kolkata – made it.

October 2, 2015/2 Comments/in Blog, Travel /by Paul Perton

Filtered early morning light and a lone employee – Dubai

Regular travellers know how to minimise everything. This means ensuring luggage and carry-ons are at an optimal mass – enough to make sure there is space for everything and that nothing is forgotten. It must weigh less than the maximum permissible so as not to attract attention at the check-in and harmless enough to (sometimes) escape the ministrations of the security team(s).

Sometimes.

Most of the time, check-ins are the pits. The new trick is insisting on weighing your carry-on. The inside is tightly packed with camera kit, a computer and a few accessories; all the things you want by your side and not at the mercies of the often light-fingered baggage handlers.

If you’ve avoided theft from your checked-in luggage, lucky you. Four of my last five flights requiring a plane change in Johannesburg have seen my bag opened and items stolen. Reporting the loss is hopeless, as management appears to be as venal as the workers, so I pack everything that is non-replaceable into my carry on and put everything else in a strong clip top plastic box in my check-in bag.

It seems pretty commonsensical, but that one box contains filters, lens hoods, a stand-alone LaCie disk, cables, chargers, spare batteries and the tiny items like the pin to open the SIM tray on my iPhone. Everything is tightly packed to ensure it doesn’t rattle and I know that when I arrive at my destination, I don’t have to unpack my entire suitcase to find a battery, or a card reader.

Packed and available luggage mass permitting, it’s now time for essentials. In goes the Swiss Army Knife I’ve carried for years – in-family it’s universally known as a McGyver as you never know how much you’ll need it until you do – and on these trips I add a roll of Sellotape and a roll of tear-off Velcro cable ties. A few conventional plastic cable ties can also be useful.

And yes, the loss of the box would be a huge hassle, but with a bit of planning, it’s all replaceable. The loss of a camera, or memory card(s) can ruin the best planned trip.

No idea – Dubai

For us, this trip is to India. It’s not the easiest place to get in to; us poms need a visa and it’s just our luck that the on-line visa application system doesn’t yet extend to Brit passport holders. So, it’s off to an agent in Cape Town, pay a huge (by local standards) amount for your visa and to have the application checked and submitted on your behalf.

Wait three weeks, having booked flights and accommodation and it’s still not clear whether we will be allowed to do much more than get off the plane in Kolkata.

Eventually, we’re cleared and our visa-d passports are returned – more opportunity for the Border Security wonks in the US to interrogate us about next time we head west. Now for the medical details.

Spot the A380 – somewhere over Pakistan

Living in Africa, we’re pretty used to mosquitos and understand how important it is to use a repellant and take a prophylactic. And, we’ve still got a couple of years on our ten year yellow fever certification, so it’s just hepatitis A we really need to be prepared for.

Well, no. The Travel Clinic put the fear of god in us and convinced us to get inoculated against the aforementioned hep A plus typhoid, polio and tetanus as well. In real terms, it wasn’t terribly expensive, but our shoulders are both sore from the combi-vaccine we got in each arm.

Now, the pile of documents, e-tickets, vouchers and vaccination certificates is growing steadily. There’s easily enough to fill a pocket in one of our carry-ons.

And then it was done. 15:30 saw us at Cape Town International, a stopover in Dubai, eased by several hours lolling in the Diners Club lounge and the four and a half hour hop to Kolkata.

The longest wait was for our luggage.

Heading home, Kolkata Airport

Late commuters, Kolkata Airport

Once out of the baggage area, we traversed customs and found our guide waiting for us, all smiles and incomprehensible English. Less than an hour later, we’d navigated the city’s riotous traffic and landed in a time machine; our hotel is a throwback to the mid-30s of the previous century, when the forebears of the current owners took ownership. There is a lifetime of memories and tokens of a bygone age everywhere. Camera central.

Tired and thirsty, we opted for a plate (huge) of chicken tikka and boiled rice, washed down with Premium Kingfisher beer. Sleep calls and a world of photo ops waits out on the streets in the morning.

Tarra.