Category: 2018 – India

We have been home for a few days so it time to draw together a few conclusions. The trip, the first lengthy journey in D-FLEX, was a great success; it is a very comfortable aircraft and good to fly and even with very strong headwinds, you still cover ground at a reasonable rate. Miranda was very happy in the back doing her sewing and passing up refreshments from time to time and Phil and I were equally content up front.

It was fourth long trip that Phil and I had done together; planning was straightforward particularly as there was no need to check on fuel availability in advance since Jet A1 is available everywhere. Phil was able to use his BP fuel card at all airfields except for Karachi and Riyadh although it was necessary to get BP to email fuel releases to most places. At a friend’s request, I also checked up on avgas availability and excepting Riyadh, this was also available. [In 2013, avgas was available at Riyadh].

There was an expectation that we had and needed to show crew cards. Phil and I were fine with AOPA/PPL IR cards but Miranda needed some finessing through immigration on occasions  without a visa so next time, we must make her an official looking card to wear round her neck.

Mike Gray of White Rose Aviation obtained all our clearances for us as well as recommending en route handling agents and his service was impeccable, including some last minute work required when strong headwinds necessitated an extra fuel stop at Riyadh on the way home.

With the benefit of hindsight, we should have used the plane a little more in India, taking it on from Ahmedabad to Udaipur and Jaipur and returning to Karachi from there. This would have saved a couple of  long driving days. We would then have had time to visit Jodhpur, the one city that unfortunately we missed out. Handling in India seemed efficient with less bureaucracy than anticipated, and people there speak of a GA renaissance.

Whither next? Time will tell!

We woke up to fine and sunny day at Heraklion. The original plan was to fly westwards to Bastia, a new airport for Phil, and then head north for Biggin Hill. However a thundery low had developed just west of Corsica with a poor forecast of embedded CB’s covering a wide area west of Italy into the French mainland as well as Corsica so it was an easy decision to change our routing and take the same way back as we had done outbound.

After a relatively (for us) relaxed breakfast, we were at the airport at 9am for fuelling and departed marginally late just after 10 am with Phil flying the first leg with a continuing headwind of 40 to 50 kt. The weather remained fine until north of Corfu when cloud started to gather and we landed at Split in cloudy and distinctly chilly weather with another teasing crosswind.

 

I had sent Split an email earlier requesting handling and refuelling and this was super swift, all done in half an hour so we spent the second half hour of our layover eating our picnic lunch (it was already lunchtime Greek time) and finishing off the last of Tracey’s excellent fruit cake.

Then we were off on the final leg to Biggin Hill with me in the left hand seat. Weather was a potential issue on this sector with scattered showers and thunderstorms with associated CB’s. We climbed to 30,000 ft which just did not overtop the clouds so requested a further climb to our service ceiling of 31,000 ft. This put us just at the top of the cloud layer where we were in and out of thin cirrus with the occasional thicker cloud. There was an area of poor weather in west Switzerland and NE France with a couple of thunderstorms not too far away from us but no weather deviations were required and eventually as the weather radar downloads suggested, the high cloud cleared and the ground came into view with widely scattered showers.

Then an easy run into Biggin helped by a useful tailwind at last where we landed soon after 3 pm where Tracey was waiting to meet us; we unloaded the plane and put her away and back to the Mill House for a welcome cup of tea, reminiscences of the trip and later dinner of Phil’s home grown lamb.

So ends another very successful adventure and the first in D-FLEX. I will do a final post in a few days time with a map of the route flown and meanwhile as Juliet Bravo’s annual is not complete until next week, Miranda and I will be taking a train back to Scotland. Oh well, we have to come back down to earth sometime!

 

Heraklion to Split 659 nm in 2 hour 54 min

Split to Biggin Hill 830 nm in 3 hour 15 min

Today was a long day’s flying. Originally we planned two legs but strong headwinds from the displaced westerly jet stream well to the south of its normal track made it prudent to have an extra fuel stop and to amend our routing to accommodate this. Mike Gray of White Rose efficiently obtained the new clearances for us.

We filed to depart Al Ain at 0300Z (7 am local) so it was up soon after 5 am; the hotel provided a picnic breakfast (which did lunch as well for us) and a taxi was waiting to take us back to the airport. All went smoothly there until we heard that our flight plan had not been accepted; getting a new one planned and through the local system was a faff which took some time so we were airborne 30 minutes late. The new flight plan involved a lengthier routing (not evident from the distance shown below) and with very strong headwinds, this set the tone of the day with everything taking longer than anticipated.

Phil flew the first leg to Riyadh; the TAF spoke of a 10 kt crosswind for landing but on arrival it was blowing at 21 kt across the runway which made for a decidedly tricky landing. Turn round was brisk and I flew the next leg which was a long haul into a 50-60 kt headwind.

Hurghada was busy with charter traffic (Saturday change over?) and at one moment, we thought we may be sent into the hold but we slowed down for the last thirty miles and in the end, all was well. Again turn around was quick and Phil flew the last leg of the day into Heraklion where we landed into a setting sun shortly before 6 pm local time. Airport formalities were quickly completed and we were off to our hotel and thence to a fishy dinner in a good local restaurant where we had dined out on the first day of the trip.

We were in three continents today; Asia (Arabia), Africa (Egypt) and finally Europe (Crete) and traversed three seas – the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and the Mediterranean covering around 2,000 nm in 9 hr 35 min with an average headwind component of around 45-50 kt, not bad for a light aircraft in a day!

Al Ain to Riyadh 496 nm in 2 hour 45 min

Riyadh to Hurghada 758 nm in 3 hour 30 min

Hurghada to Heraklion 667 nm in 3 hour 20 min

We started the day in relaxed mode with a leisurely breakfast followed by a visit to Jinnah’s house, Jinnah being the founder of Pakistan when the country became independent in 1947. This was billed by our hotel as being 15 minutes drive away so we hired a car to take us there. In fact, it was a minute’s drive on the other side of the roundabout from our hotel! Fortunately we were only charged a minimal sum for the fare. The house itself was simple, indeed almost austere, and we were taken round by a guide who told us he had worked there for forty years. We braved the roundabout by walking back which took all of five minutes and then it was time for elevenses before leaving for the airport for the next leg of our flight.

I flew this sector in fine weather at 28,000 ft with the headwind being a little less than forecast. We took off in a temperature of 33ºC but climb performance was still good and landed at Al Ain in CAVOK conditions and a temperature of 34ºC with a gusty crosswind at an otherwise deserted airport. Fuel arrived promptly and within an hour we were off to our hotel for a relaxed evening before a very early start tomorrow with three sectors to fit in to get back to Crete. The driving was very sedate compared to India and Pakistan!

 

 

 

 

Karachi to Al Ain 654 nm in 3 hour 8 min.

Today did not work out as originally planned. That was to take an early morning flight from Delhi to Ahmedabad (missing out on the very good breakfast at the Imperial) and then make a leisurely departure to Karachi around midday. However on arrival twelve days ago, we discovered that runway works were due to start on the 1st March which closed the runway to all movements between 10 am and 7 pm local time. Arriving in Ahmedabad just after 9 am would not give us sufficient time to get airborne before the runway closed so we would need to spend the day in Ahmedabad before a night flight in the evening to Karachi. So we asked Deborah to arrange a car and guide for us for what turned out to be a long day.

Up at 4:15 am for transfer to Delhi airport and the (commercial) flight back to Ahmedabad in an A320; pleasant but a full flight. On arrival, the handlers were there to meet us and look after our luggage for the day while we went off to the city with our arranged driver and guide. Deborah had tried to get tickets for us unsuccessfully for the Calico Museum of Textiles but our guide suggested we turn up on the off chance and we were lucky. There were nine no shows so we and other lucky people took their place. It was an Aladdin’s cave of textiles and fine paintings and we were taken round by a splendidly knowledgable lady who could have been anywhere between 60 and 80 years old. Very strict security with  stern guards everywhere and no pictures allowed. Afterwards we were all given tea and refreshments and sent on our way (all this for free!).

A light Indian lunch and then a visit to a different type of step well where some fashion photography was going on and yet another mosque before going back to the airport. Then it took us three hours to abstract ourselves and take off for Karachi. No one could understand why we should want to go there and there were dire warnings as to what may befall us; various security clearances to penetrate someone’s ADIZ were required and eventually obtained; D-FLEX had to be repositioned onto the main apron – much sweating manpower required and the plane readied for departure.

Eventually we took off at 7:30 pm local for an impeccably flown night flight by Phil. As normally happens, once in the air all was well although it got very dark in the border area between India and Pakistan with no lights of any kind to be seen except for the stars and a long line of what we thought may be a flood lit fence delineating the border.

We were established on the ILS for 25L at Karachi about 70 miles out and landing around 8:45 pm (having put our watches back 30 minutes). Fuel and handler were waiting for us on arrival but it still a couple of hours before we reached our hotel just before the restaurant closed. Eventually in bed at midnight local time, knackered and fell asleep instantly. It is Miranda and Phil’s first visit to Karachi; I used to come here in the 1970’ites and 1980’ties for work and it is good to be back and see what has happened meantime.

Tomorrow should be a gentler day.

Ahmedabad to Karachi 365 nm in 1 hour 46 min

Yesterday we drove from Agra to Delhi. In contrast to all our other driving, we joined an expressway for most of this journey which for the most part was on an almost empty road. Having made the outskirts of Delhi in under three hours, including a short stop, the final part of the journey to our hotel took the best part of another hour.

We are staying at the Imperial Hotel which is as grand as its name suggests, built in the early 1930’ties in Art Deco style with wide passages and high ceilings. After unpacking, we had a ‘light buffet’ in the cafe before an afternoon drive around the Lutyens part of New Delhi.

We started off by driving up the Tajpath to see the Presidential Palace and Government buildings. They are fine in their way but do not have the beauty of the older monuments that we have seen over the past few days.

 

 

 

 

 

Then we went to visit Gandhi Smriti at Birla House where Mahatma Gandhi stayed for the last five months of his life before his assassination in early 1948. There were some interesting posters of his life, qualifying as a barrister at Inner Temple, and then in South Africa for some years before returning to India.

From there to Humayun’s Tomb which preceded the Taj Mahal and with the ‘Little Taj’ inspired the design for the Taj Mahal. Next door was an even older mausoleum for Isa Khan which in some respects was more interesting with its inside painted roof. Lastly we stopped by at the India Gate erected in memory of those who died in the First World War whose names are inscribed on an otherwise rather heavy structure.

 

Today we went off to the Old Town; we started by exploring various markets on foot with intervening rickshaw rides – much bustle and then we visited the Red Fort. This was more imposing outside with its high red sandstone walls than inside where many of the buildings were demolished by the Brits after the Indian Mutiny in 1857, known here as the First War of Independence. Later rather uninspiring barracks were built. Much of what was left is currently under restoration so limited sightseeing only was possible but there were some pleasant garden areas.

There appeared to be some sort of demonstration going on so the traffic jams were worse than ever but eventually made it to a Sikh Temple for our final visit of the day. Much gold here and a need to put on head dress before we could go in but overall an interesting visit where we learnt about the charitable side of the Sikh religion.

 

 

 

 

 

Then back to the hotel for a swim and relax as we leave early tomorrow for Ahmedabad to start our return journey.

We were up before dawn to see the Taj Mahal as the sun rose. By the time we reached the entrance, there were already many people there, mainly locals, but we were through the ticket barrier and entrance gate by the time the first rays of sunshine appeared on a hazy morning.

The Taj is as magnificent today as the time that I first saw it in August 1969 nearly 49 years ago. It has recently been cleaned and sparkled in the morning sunlight. We wandered slowly around and although there were already many visitors, the only time we felt crowded was when we were in the centre of the mausoleum itself – very different from my first visit when there were but a handful of people around.

 

 

 

 

 

Then it was back to the hotel for breakfast and a swim before the rest of the day. Later we were off to Agra Fort; an amazing structure of which we only saw a small part with some lovely gardens in the inner courtyards.

From there to the Jama Masjid, a mosque not far away from the Red Fort which we got to partly by tuk tuk and partly on foot through very crowed streets. From there to a delightful lunch spot; we felt our early start earned us a Kingfisher beer particularly as we have a hour or so after lunch for a snooze!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Later in the afternoon, we went to visit the Tomb of Itmad-ud-Daulah built in the 1620’ties and known as the “Little Taj”; it is indeed a little Taj and was used as the inspiration for the Taj Mahal started a decade later. At distance, it is a lovely building but close up, it is apparent that it needs restoration and this is now planned together with restoration of the gardens and water features which is already under way.

We followed this by a visit to a rather run down mausoleum where boys were playing cricket nearby.

 

Our last visit of the day was to the gardens on the other side of the river for a sunset view of the Taj Mahal and the two pictures below show what we found.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow we drive to Delhi in the morning to arrive around lunchtime.

Yesterday we spent looking round some of the Jaipur sights. We started with the Janitor Mantar Mahal, an amazing collection of astronomical instruments installed by Jai Singh II in the early 18th century just outside the city palace. One of the most interesting exhibits for me was a huge sundial which could tell the time to an accuracy of 2 seconds (as long as the sun was out).

From there we did a tour of the City Palace which had a number of interesting exhibits including two huge silver urns each weighing 345 kg and capable of carrying around 4,000 litres of whatever – it was water from the Ganges when the then Maharajah took them to London for the coronation of Edward VII in 1902.

Following this we visited the Royal Gaitor or cenotaphs where former maharajahs and their relatives are buried. Unlike most places we have visited so far, this was a peaceful place with few visitors. There was a mixture of large mausoleums for the maharajahs and smaller ones for less important cousins.

Next an obligatory visit to a carpet weaving shop and saleman’s pitch thereafter and by then it was time for a light lunch with (unusually for lunchtime – SD please note) a cool Kingfisher beer.

We then returned to our hotel where Miranda was meeting up with a friend of our daughter to go shopping while Phil and I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing by the pool. Miranda came back with a lot of shopping!

Today, we drove from Jaipur to Agra making a side visit suggested by our driver to a deep well at Bharatpur which in many respects turned out to be more interesting than the scheduled en route visit to Fatehpur Sikri. This was interesting and of its type a fine example of a sandstone city constructed in the late 16th century, but only occupied as such for 16 years. But the carvings did not have the beauty and workmanship details that other buildings we have seen had.

 

A slow journey through the outskirts of Agra then followed by which time the wind got up with worsening visibility in blowing dust and we arrived at our hotel in a thunderstorm (but nothing more than a few drops of rain) from a large cunimb cloud with mamma overhead. After a while this cleared and the view of the Taj Mahal from our window became clearer.

We have started to look at the winds for our return flight which shows the jet stream continuing to pursue a much more southerly track than usual with stronger headwinds than we would normally expect. Phil and I had a planning session this evening rearranging our flight back to Hurghada to add an extra fuel stop at Riyadh to take account of this.

Tomorrow we meet our guide at 6 am for a sunrise tour of the Taj Mahal.

A morning at leisure was shown on the programme but we decided to make an early start and visit Ajmer and Pushkar on the way to Jaipur. It was a two hour drive along a generally good road to Ajmer but unfortunately on arrival, the Nasiyan (Red Temple) was closed in preparation for Holi and we were only able to see the impressive outside and not see the gilt wooden representations ofJain mythology inside. To make up for this, we make a detour to see Pushkar and its lake.

 

Again preparations for Holi were ongoing including the requirement to make a small donation before we could enter the town built round a large and not very enticing looking artificial lake. Our driver conjured up a guide and Phil and I walked through the town down to the lake. Quite a few European hippies were hanging out and one was being enticed into the lake to purify his soul (and not looking too happy about it either).

 

After that excursion we drove on to Jaipur stopping briefly to eat a very late picnic before arriving at our hotel which is an annex to the Rambagh Palace, a luxurious place where we have much enjoyed  dinner yesterday night and tonight.

 

Today was Holi and not wishing to get indelible dye thrown over us, we spent the morning reading, swimming and wandering round the Rambagh Palace Gardens. This afternoon we went to the Amber Fort, the former capital of Rajasthan before Jaipur took over this role. This was an impressive structure overlooking an evil smelling lake with some fine plasterwork and carvings. It was also very crowded.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the way back, we stopped at another temple, the Govind Dev Ji, which was full of people celebrating Holi.

Tomorrow we have another full day in Jaipur before continuing to Fatehpur Sikri and Agra on Sunday.

We left our charming hotel near Udaipur with its two labradors shortly after 9 am on Tuesday 27th February for a two hour drive to Kumbhalgarh Fort, a splendid construction in the 15th century and completed in the late 19th century. The fort is part of a defensive construction on the top of a hill with a circular wall of around 35 km in length within which now is mostly scrubland but with some temples, cultivation and village houses. Apart from one occasion, it always resisted the Moghul armies trying to conquer this part of India. As you climb higher up through the fort so do the views improve although the hazy conditions curtailed distant views somewhat. Phil and I then visited the temple where one famous maharajah was slain by his elder son in his haste to inherit his father’s kingdom before he was overthrown and killed four years later in revenge by his younger brother.

 

 

 

 

 

After lunch, on to Ranakpur Temple constructed by the Jain tribe who practised a rather severe form of Hinduism. Our guide was somewhat critical of their approach and their keenness to relieve tourists of rupees but certainly the building was very fine after a recent restoration. [Pictures to follow as you had to pay to take a camera in and Phil took these pics]

We then moved on to our hotel for the next two nights, the Devshree at the village of Deogarh. It is similar to our hotel at Udaipur run by a charming Indian couple but overall not quite as good as Udaipur. There was one seriously overweight black lab and a little jack russell. As well as communal drinks before dinner, which is fun and jolly, we dine communally together which can be interesting but in practice can prove something of a challenge depending on whom you are sitting next to!

Today, we had an enjoyable train ride in the morning down the hill side to the valley below which took an hour and a half to do 22 km with the train stopping twice “to check its brakes” but overall was a fun experience with Phil and I leaning out of opposite open carriage doors taking photographs while Miranda received a neck massage from our versatile guide.

 

 

 

 

 

After lunch, a snooze, a swim and a read before we left for a late afternoon walk. Naively we assumed this would be in the local village but it was preceded by somewhat interesting drive in an open jeep followed by an even more hair raising return after drinks by some lake in the dark. Still, we made it out and back with the only incident being a motorbike ridden by three youths in a hurry which passed us only to collide with another motor bike just in front of us. All came off and hopefully no one was too badly hurt.

Tomorrow we move on to Jaipur.