It was up at 5am for a 5.30 pick up to go for our balloon ride. I will freely admit that I was a bit anxious about this family Christmas present from Santa. I haven’t noticed any health and safety precautions in India so far but figured the tour company wouldn’t recommend it if it was dodgy.

It was a beautiful but very cold morning and we traveled about 45 minutes outside Jaipur into a very rural area where we found 3 large balloons being filled. We were all in balloon 1 with the 4 of us plus Kim in one corner compartment. There were 20 people in our balloon plus the pilot, Francesco, who we think was Spanish. Kim was the only other member of our group to go in the balloon.

It was fantastic. We travelled 25 km in total covering mostly rural areas and over several ridges with quarries and landing in a field not far from an engineering university.

At first we went quite low over villages and then up over the hills.

Everywhere the people came out with mothers and children waving and calling out. It was fascinating. We saw a few different communal bathrooms with water steaming out of a hose where men and boys were washing. Women were hand milking cows, dogs were barking – but inbetween it was all silent and very serene. The pilot was clearly very happy with the flight. We had 4000m visibility which was very unusual for this time of year and he said it is not uncommon for flights to be canceled due to fog.

Neither Craig nor Jen had been in a balloon before and they also loved it and we all have some great photos.

We landed in a field at about 8.15am and all the locals came out to look. We had to move the ballot around a couple of fields so there was room to deflate and roll up the balloon.

The pilot inflated it a bit so the support crew could push it to the right place and orientation with us as ballast to keep it upright and on the ground. The villagers all stood back until a couple of the elder men came and checked out the basket and then all the kids flocked around also.

With the exception of the pilot, who was excellent and delivered a perfect landing, the rest of the operation was fairly chaotic, but as with everything else in India it seemed to work out. We loaded back into the transport vehicle and were back at the hotel by 9,30 for breakfast. Fantastic.

We left Jaipur mid morning for a one and a half hour trip to Kanota where we stayed at Casle Kanota. I find the sights of the towns and rural areas we pass fascinating.

It is a heritage hotel similar to a stately home where the family has renovated part of the complex to offer accommodation in order to help pay for the estate.

It is the filming location for the Club scenes in the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

Very grand with lovely gardens and the family still living in part of the complex. There is a big stables area at the front as the son (who we met – his wife oversees the hotel operation) is one of India’s top polo players. We are in the state of Rajistan which has a long history of horse riding.

Our rooms (we have a sitting room, bedroom and bathroom) are large and grand but not totally functional.

The toilet was a bit temperamental, as was the hot water. We had hot showers when we arrived, which was a good call as there was no hot water in the morning. All hotel room seem to have these antique clothes hanger things (in addition to wardrobes) which are really useful.

I’d like one at home.

Mike and Craig had lunch and Jen and I had a beer. I might be in India but my constitution still needs assistance to keep working. Lunch was on the upstairs terrace and comprised shared dishes and breads.

Later in the afternoon Bhagi and one of the hotel managers took us out to the village for a walk. The castle is surrounded by high walls and is very serene but it literally backs onto the town and you can hear the sounds from the main road 200m away.

The tour was fascinating. We went in to a place where they are making cotton to fill quilts and another place where they make hand knotted rugs and carpets. There were pigs all over the place eating the garbage and also cows doing the same.

The cows seem to exist on nothing much, certainly no grass. Bhagi says they don’t eat pig because they are unclean due to eating garbage, but they still drink the milk and eat the yoghurt and cheese.

There were no beggars or hawkers and Bhagi asked us not to be tempted to give the kids anything as that encourages begging behaviour. The kids kept appearing out of window, doors and on rooftops. They were mostly happy to be photographed and loved seeing the photos. Many photographed us photographing them.

We also stopped and watched the local potter making pots for carrying and storing water. it was not at all contrived. He was just going about his business but Bhagi made sure to offer a few rupees in thanks for demonstrating his work.

All done by hand. Mostly the local industry operates as a collective with families working in their traditional industries. Someone in the village will have a tractor and cart that will take pots or cotton quilts or whatever to the bigger towns and someone else will bring clay or firewood. We were all really appreciative of the opportunity to walk around and have things explained to us.

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The houses all open to the street but are built around an inner courtyard with all the family members living around. Our local guide was keen to take us into one home but Bhagi said no on the basis we were unexpected guests. We were glad he declined imagining our reaction if a group of 12 foreigners unexpectedly dropped in while we were trying to cook dinner.

Everywhere we were stared at but in a friendly and curious way. We were a distraction from the routine and after we passed they went back to their kites or tvs. Kites are everywhere and come in all shapes and sizes. Mainly they are diamonds with no tail and two strings as that seems to work with little or no wind. You see lost kites wrapped around trees and power lines everywhere.

Before dinner we all gathered on the lower terrace for drinks around a fire and it was great talking to our fellow guests around he campfire.

Bhagi had a portable speaker and played music from our various countries and kept us entertained. The NZ track was Poi e by Patea Maori Club. Both the Sri Lankan husband and wife are civil engineers and Gamini (husband) does expert witness work for leaky building and other structural claims in NZ.

Dinner was a buffet in the upstairs dining room. It was ok but not marvellous. Good solid local fare I’d say. We tried the Indian red wine and it was really quite good. Like a merlot. The prices for both wine and spirits are similar to those at home so we might stick to beer from now on.