Club member, Phil Theaker, suitably dressed for the occasion, managed to take the members on a holiday tour of Northern India at a recent meeting. With the presentation set up as a slide show, they joined Phil in the Toy train to Shimla, with a walk around the town, and a walk in a forested area that could well have been in Scotland. In Shimla they also visited The Viceregal Lodge, a Hanuman Temple and the Wildflower Hall Hotel for lunch one day. They also went further north for a glimpse of the Himalaya foothills.

Delhi
The holiday was one arranged by Great Rail Journeys, flying to Delhi and then by train on as many of the day trips as possible. By commenting on most pictures, he then led them on a hair-raising taxi trip back down to Delhi – less terrifying than it actually looked. The next couple of days were spent in Delhi. Starting by coach they passed the Indian Parliament and then set off on a cycle rickshaw tour of the old centre of Delhi. Following that they visited Raj Gat – the memorial to Mahatma Gandhi. They also visited Qutub Minar – an Arabic fort, with the tallest ancient tower in India – built to enable the Mu’azzin to call people to prayer.

Taj Mahal
The next leg was by the Shatabdi Express train southwards to Agra. The main objective of this leg was to visit the Taj Mahal complex. It was obvious from the photos how much well preserved, intricate carving there is in all the forts, mausoleums and temple he had visited. The Taj Mahal had just completed a major cleaning, restoration project, so was looking magnificent. It was amazing how it changed colour with the light, through the day. We saw the two must take images – one holding the spire between your fingertips and then a photo on the ‘Diana’ seat. It is a mausoleum, built around 1648 by Shah Jahan for his wife who had perished while giving birth to their 14th child. It is a blend of Mughal and Indo-Islamic architecture. They also visited the Red Fort.


Jaipur
The tour then went on to Jaipur, by coach, in order to take in another fort and its associated city – Fatehpur Sikri. This city was built in the 16th century, it was the first planned city of the Mughals, the name means ‘City of Victory’. However, it was abandoned after 15 years due to unrest in the north west and lack of water. The entry fee was 50 pence for locals and about £6 for tourists.
In Jaipur, the pink city, they passed the Palace of the Winds (see below) and the Jal Mahal water palace and visited the City Palace.

Of interest in the city palace was one of a number of very large silver water vessels that the Maharajah of the time had brough to England, full of water, as he wouldn’t trust London water! The design and workmanship, again was amazing. They had approached the Amber fort by jeep because of concerns over the health and treatment of the elephants used for tourist in the traditional way, but up a long very steep slope.
Another train ride back to Delhi marked the end of the holiday, but Phil and his wife had added another four nights to their trip, staying in a beach resort on the Arabian Gulf and then spending 24 hours on a converted rice barge in the Alleppey backwaters – again with some wonderful photos.
Jim Welsh, who gave the vote of thanks, was amazed how Phil had managed to take them all with him on one of the holidays of a lifetime.
New members are always welcomed at the Club. If you are 50 or over, retired, or nearing retirement, (men only, I’m afraid) you can attend three meetings as a guest and find out what a relaxed and friendly time we have. That’s plenty of time to decide whether to become a Club member or not. Please check out our programme and then use our Contact Form if you wish to attend as a guest, or to enquire about joining.
Largs Probus Club will next meet in the Willowbank Hotel on 5th February at lunchtime for their Burns Lunch. On Wednesday 12th February, Sandra Salvona will give us a talk mysteriously entitled Home in Stead.