A la Colthard
I have never been a huge fan of Indian cuisine. I believe that some of the fare served up by British curry houses is cooked by Bangladeshi hill farmers. I am doubtful whether hot spices improve food and the sauces can be too cloying. I had thought that the native cuisine might be an improvement but in our 10 day stay I had only one memorable meal at Varq in the Taj Mahal hotel, New Delhi. I might mention Vetra in Mumbai but at £135 per head for an Italian I thought it poor value. Most of the time it was a sludgy buffet of curry, biryani and rice. The desserts were too sweet for my taste.
The hotels were however first class. We were greeted by dashing mustachioed fellows in turbans, cream garb of wide belts, long jackets and jodhpurs that made me weak at the knees! A sweet woman greeter then would pat a red spot onto the forehead and a welcome drink was served. The service was universally impressively efficient. The best meal was breakfast. The best hotel was the Taj Mahal, The Tridnet though an Oberoi hotel was inferior to its adjacent hotel called the Oberoi. The Trident was one of those tower block hotels that sprang up in the seventies. Victim of a terrorist attack, there were always armed soldiers outside. I did not succumb to Delhi-belly but I was careful. I scarcely met a rude Indian though there were a few queue-bargers. There is a cheerful chaos characterised by hooting and three wheel tuk-tuks weaving in and out of the traffic perilously. It’s the first country I have visited where you cannot obtain its currency but we managed on dollars and credit cards.
Of the two countries I found Thailand, possibly because it is Buddhist, the calmer and more serene. I am spending a few more days there doing some leisurely sightseeing and catching up on the odd restaurant I have missed.
I am not qualified to pass judgment on the cricket but as Bob said that never stopped me!!! I thought iwould end with Alan Lamb’s comment on cricket in the sub continent
“Its the only place where you get more runs off the pitch than on it !”
