http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/ Welcome to Been there. Your tips on the places you know - that you love, live in or have just visited - are what make this guide. http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34659 If you turn right off the ferry follow the chessboard of tiny roads through the village. Catch the flash of a kingfisher, butterflies the size of your hand and egrets daintily perching on buffalo under the shady tropical trees. You may feel like you are walking through people's gardens, but no-one will mind and they'll probably invite you in for a tea if you stop and chat. Under the bridge on the eastern shore of the island lives an extended family of Harijans (Untouchables) from Mysore. They make their meagre living by fishing from saucer-shaped woven coracles.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34659 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34658 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34658 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34656 But Thrissur is an interesting day trip for anyone staying in Kochi at any time of the year. It's a pleasant introduction to Keralan town life: not too busy, dusty or crowded, and small enough to walk round in a day. The two hundred-year-old Shakthan Thampuran Palace is now an elegant archaeological museum set on a hill among painstakingly landscaped gardens. The building was closed for refurbishment at the time of my visit, scheduled to re-open 1st April 2012 (but don't hold your breath). Thrissur is also famous for its magnificent churches, their colourful stucco façades peeking over the town's roads in every direction.
Don't be afraid to join the workers for some roadside food. But watch the amount of sugar they add to the delicious fruit cocktails, Keralans have a sweet tooth.
Get there by train from Ernakulam Junction (any visit to India is not complete without a train journey) which lasts around one and half hours, and costs a mere 28 INR for a one-way ticket.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34656 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34636 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34636 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34633 As with all restaurants in India, get there early so you can pick up the food while it's still fresh and before the best dishes run out.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34633 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34632 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34632 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34631 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34631 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34630 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34630 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34629 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34629 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34573 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34573 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34218 The 5000-year-old Harappan city of Dholavira lies in the northernmost reaches of the Great Rann of Kutch, on the floodplain island of Khadir. The Harappans were part of the spectacularly successful Indus Valley Civilization and possessed the same high intelligence as their better-known western counterparts in Egypt and Greece. Dholavira is one of the five most notable Indus Valley settlements, the best known being Mohenjodaro, a Unesco-listed site in Pakistan. Many of Dholavira's unique artefacts are in showcases at the National Museum in Delhi, but a few ancient seals, beads and other small items are on display in the small circular visitor centre and museum on site.
The excavation stretches over 100 hectares, most of it within a hillside fortification. Visitors are left without supervision to scramble through the citadel, cemetery, two stadia, many dwellings, several monumental gateways (including one with the first 'sign board' in the world above its entrance) and sturdy walls. To get to this unique city, which has stood for thousands of years, you must walk across a concrete bridge over one of the two rivers which flow round the hill in the monsoon. Built in the 1990s, the bridge is already crumbling.
The settlement was hewn from the rocky hill on which it sits and is unique among Harappan cities for its innovative engineering methods in collecting and conserving water: the site is dotted with dams, covered channels, perfectly preserved (and still working) reservoirs and storm water management systems. There are no guides, no touts and no-one there to sell you trinkets. If you persist you might be given a small pamphlet about the site, but it would be wise to bring your own information.
During my one-on-one tour with the caretaker, I asked him how many people he saw a year, “about 200” was the reply.
“What about foreign tourists?” I said.
He laughed, and indicated with a shrug that we were the first he had seen in a long time.
This is a shame, because the drive from Bhuj alone is an adventure, and worth a two day detour from the honeypot textile villages around Kutch's capital. The area is a naturalist's paradise. We saw flocks of demoiselle cranes and three species of ibis, as well as harriers, spoonbills, pelicans, storks, kites and countless other birds in the shallow waters which sprinkle the plain. This startling and unique habitat is also home to the nilgai, the largest antelope in Asia, of which we saw plenty.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34218 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34094 Rather than taking the full bum-numbing eight hour journey from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling, I recommend the half day "Joy Ride", a comfortable return journey from Darjeeling to Ghum. We were lucky to purchase a ticket for the same day, but if it's a busy time you may need to book in advance. The 83km journey costs 360rupees each and includes entry to the railway museum in Ghum.
The windows in the first class carriage were enormous, giving us close up views of the mountain on one side and the valley on the other.
We stopped at Batasia Loop, where we were suitably humbled by the memorial to the Gorkha soldier and stunned by the view of Kanchenjunga, India's highest mountain (the third highest in the world).
When we arrived in Ghum it was swathed in a blanket of cloud, illustrating the reason for its nickname of “Gloom”.
We strolled through the small railway museum, and learned all about the history of the mountain railway system. When the driver was happy with the train's health we all piled back into the airy carriage and with another surge of steam, hoots, hisses and chug-a-lugs left Ghum, Ghoom or Gloom.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34094 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34060 But what makes the area special is the night market. It starts to set up along the Netaji Rd in the afternoon, and gathers momentum until at about 7.30 when the little stalls are all full to bursting with clothes, bags, baubles, textiles and knick knacks from the far flung areas of Gujarat. Gorgeously embroidered Ribari mirrored-wear, some of it quite old, and most of it genuine, reflects and sparkles from the street lights and camera flashes. We bargained with the best of them, and I giggled with visiting Indian women as we haggled over colourful kurtas and backless cholas.
This is also one of the best places in Ahmedabad for street food, just what you'll need after all that spending. We had fresh pulav, kadai and lassis in "Ajay Intercontinental", all for just over a quid each.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34060 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34057 To save yourself from getting lost in this unique place, and to understand better what's in front of you, join the heritage walk which starts every morning from Swaminarayan Temple. Get there on time so as not to miss the a/v show beforehand; they don't wait for stragglers.
The city is currently bidding for UNESCO World Heritage status, and the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation is pulling out all the stops to renovate this beautiful area. With plans for lighted walkways, cafés and re-painted façades, the clean-up has encouraged local inhabitants to return to their old homes. We went back the next day on our own, and enjoyed talking to the friendly and inquisitive workers, schoolchildren and families.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34057 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34056 When we turned up an immovable security guard looked bored by our pleas for admittance. The drivers of the gleaming people carriers waiting outside for the chosen few inside did their utmost to help us, adding that the museum was privately-run, so what could we expect? "They make their own rules," said one driver, who explained that every day he sees crowds of tourists outside the gate trying to get in.
Lesson learned? Unlike us, do your homework and book in advance. Or go to Kachchh and see the textiles being woven, block-printed, painted, embroidered and embellished in situ. There are two good museums in Bhuj which also house Gujarati textiles.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34056 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34021 On the ground floor a series of life-size tableaux, with meticulous attention to detail, depicts the different communities of this often hostile expanse of land. Each scene shows men and women at work wearing traditional costume unique to their caste. A lengthy description of the community in Hindi and English accompanies each scene.
Upstairs there are stunning displays of Kachchh's world renowned textiles, from embroidery so fine it looks as though it was sewn by fairies, to glorious beading, mirror-work, bandhani and the dying crafts of ikat and hand-painted Rogan art.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34021 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33992 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33992 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33966
The main museum is accessed up a concrete ramp from the central well area. On our visit, a solitary guard sat behind the entrance desk and proffered a visitors' book for us to sign. We were then left to our own devices.

The space inside is voluminous and unadorned, a perfect characterless backdrop to house the exhibits.

At first I was wrapped up in the functional architecture and big spaces, but when I turned my attention to the exhibits I rapidly became less impressed. The lack of maintenance sadly lets down this museum: display cases, although being furiously cleaned on the outside by a local woman, were thick with dust inside. The areas devoted to Gujarati handicrafts (for which the state is best known) were dull and uninspiring, and what should have been vibrant and colourful artefacts hung limply from the wall, or lay neglected in cases. A series of areas devoted to different ages were hardly given any explanation, and I was left wondering what I was looking at. A nice section on photography, including images and camera equipment, was so badly lit I could barely make them out. The modern art section had some interesting work, but a numbered list on the wall (simply giving the artists name and date of birth, no title) did not relate to any of the paintings, none of which had numbers.

The guard handed us a pamphlet as we left; it contained a plan and some information on the exhibits. Perhaps it might have been a better idea to give this to us as we entered.

The final nail in the coffin were the toilets. Housed outside the museum, behind a screen of trees, is a separate his and hers block. We have lived in India for nearly two years and are not easily phased by Indian toilets any more, but these were so bad that we felt compelled to do something we've never bothered with before: we complained to the museum manager. Surely a city's museum should have plumbed-in loos? And if they don't, perhaps they could clean the excrement-covered floors and walls?

Unless they do something soon, the City Museum's cabinet displays will disappear under a ton of dust and the unplumbed lavatories under a sea of shit. Le Corbusier must be spinning in his grave. It's a terrible waste of a fantastic space and fascinating exhibits.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33966 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33956 The room was clean and spacious with an en-suite bathroom.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33956 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33899 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33899