Author: roychinnor

Agra is, I’m told, a city of some 2.5Million inhabitants but there is little to recommend it to tourists other than the obvious Taj Mahal. Seeing these world famous sites does not always live up to our expectations and I have to say that the Taj is one of them as far as I am concerned. I far preferred the Golden Temple in Amritsar where my expectations, due to my ignorance, were low, but that said the site was far cleaner and better presented than the Taj Mahal. A little like the Red Fort in Delhi it needs cleaning and the grounds require far better maintenance. Most major tourist authorities around the world, in charge of sites that I have had the privilege of seeing, make an effort to present not only the site to the best of its ability, but also the surrounding area. The conditions, I am afraid to say, in Agra are that the roads are atrocious, the streets...

New Delhi is a clean modern city that contains the Embassies, tourist hotels and shopping centres that most modern capital cities have. However there is also old Delhi which is a little run down and doesn’t really give a damn about tourists and prefers to stay the way it’s always been. Nothing wrong with that but it also wants to attract the financial benefits brought by tourists without putting in the effort of making them feel welcomed. Of course they can’t have it both ways and the epitome of this dilemma is the Red Fort. This item is in desperate need of cleaning, a little maintenance and some entrepreneurial flare. When you consider the basic offering, it is tired, dirty and in need of some renovation (a little like me really). It is registered as a world heritage site, but is poorly cared for. However with cleaning, a little restoration and some imagination it could be a major international attraction. If the...

Well it’s something like that. For the statisticians amongst us here are some extracts from the website analysis. There are now regular visitors from 28 different countries and I am very pleased that it includes Baghdad and Kabul where you might think they have more to worry themselves about than an old man with an old car. Australia, who have consistently contributed the second highest numbers behind the UK, have been relegated to third place by Pakistan. Again it is very pleasing to note that Peshawar is a major contributor even though I went nowhere near it. Two countries which have come from nowhere are the Netherlands, fifth behind France, and the USA in sixth position. I really do not know how you are finding out about us, but you are all very welcome. Finally, in the UK we are now up to 55 cities being involved. Wouldn’t it be great if 50% of you started to use the ‘blogs’ available on each page to...

The difference is immediately noticeable as you drive down the road from the Wagah border crossing from Pakistan into India. Everything is cleaner, the population more prosperous and even the traffic is more ‘up-market’. The atmosphere is also more relaxed as people do not have to worry about whether or not they will be returning home in the evening. None of that is to decry Pakistan and I stand by everything I have already said, but there is a difference and it is very noticeable. We went straight to Amritsar, a journey of around 35 miles. Amritsar is an unremarkable city with one or two places to visit plus a trump card in any game; the Golden Temple. I had heard of it from news bulletins and I knew it was the central place of worship for the Sikhs. I had even seen television pictures of it, but nothing prepares you for the spectacle that is the temple itself. Nothing I can...