India - Week One (Feb 12 - 19)

Delhi (February 12/13)
I was so glad to get out of the Indian Airlines plane that I didn't care about anything else! A driver from our hotel met us so that was a huge help (we arranged it in advance believe it or not). The drive to the area of Delhi called Paharanj (the backpackers/budget area) was crazy once we started driving in the Main Bazaar. The streets were packed with people, cows (everywhere), rickshaws, shopkeepers/salesmen/touts, children, food of all types, etc. It was overwhelming but probably less so because we hit SE Asia first as a warmup. We could only drive to a certain point where our driver had another guy take us to the Smyle Inn (later we realized that the path there included a walk by the outdoor public urinals for men, nice smell!). The place was tucked away but the room was clean although small and the staff was really nice. We chose to just chill out and get to sleep early. Next day (Monday 2/13/06) we would find out about hiring a driver for a tour of Rajahstan. After talking with a few other travelers we felt this would be the most feasible option in our short amount of time here (2 weeks).

We went out in search of two travel agents recommended by Lonely Planet but first got sidetracked by a salesman on the street. So, we compared three places and found our driver through LTC Travel for a reasonable price. Walking through the Main Bazaar was an experience in sidestepping cows, people, rickshaws, and salespeople. Besides the usual items like clothing, food, travel, jewelry, and crafts I was also offered what looked like whips. Hmmmm, not sure why they asked me. After we booked it we let a very skinny bike rickshaw driver take us (poor thing) to Connaught Place where we found a place to eat (good spicy palak paneer) and looked around a bit. We met a guy from Bangkok who took us to a very beautiful garden, Lodhi. It was nice to see such open space after the craze of the Main Bazaar and the salespeople of Connaught Place. They had some really interesting old buildings, some were Mosques and they had both Hindu and Islamic influences. Some time of peace with some nature and local Indian families enjoying the place too! Lots of walkers, my friend Jen Dudley would love it there! Another favorite thing about this place is the number of green parakeetsl, such a gorgeous shade of lime green. I ended up with a horrible headache later so I crashed pretty hard that night.

Driving Tour Begins - Agra to Jaipur (Feb 14)
Our driver Nand Kishore picked us up at 7am to begin our drive to the first stop, Agra, where we planned to see the Taj Mahal. Nand doesn't speak the best English so this will be an interesting 12 days traveling! We think he is about 30 but looks older and is not married but he said he is going to stop driving these long trips so he can get married. Many marriages here are still arranged through the parents but it also seems to depend on the caste. The car is comfy but small (thank goodness because some of these streets are tiny) and compared to other Indian drivers he seems to be "safe." However, the driving here is pretty INSANE! There don't seem to be many rules to driving except that when you are passing someone on a two-lane road or really any time you honk your horn. You also use the horn consistently to tell scooters/motorcycles, bikes, people on foot, cows, goats, camel carts, women carrying huge things on their heads, and many more to get over cause you are coming on by! The people are often crossing like the old Frogger game (wow that dates me doesn't it!). It is strange to see camels, cows, goats, and donkeys on the roads with cars, autorickshaws, scooters, bicycles, and huge trucks. Did I leave anything out? Probably so.

We stopped by Akbar's Mausoleum, sandstone and marble tomb commemorating the greatest of the Mughal emperors, but just for a quick photo before heading to the mini-Taj. Itimad-ud-Daulah (Baby Taj) was truly a beautiful small scale version of the Taj and IT WASN'T CROWDED! This is a tomb for a Persian nobleman. The design elements foreshadow the Taj and we saw a group of monkeys hanging around the walls. Next on to Taj Mahal and our ATTEMPT to get our driver to drop us near the Taj Nature Walk. Hmmm, this made for an interesting little power struggle. Later we think he dropped us at a different place because he wouldn't have to pay to park the car. But we made it there (not in time for the Nature Walk). Of course we didn't realize until we walked about 30 minutes that this wasn't the official Nature Walk. But we did get some stares from Indian men and one who stopped his bike to sing and fondle himself. Luckily, it was day and we were not alone.

Taj Mahal was an impressive and funny that we visited the "most extravagant monument ever built for love" on Valentine's Day! So romantic, well for couples! hee hee. I did like the fact that Emperor Shah Jahan built the Taj as a memorial for his second wife, Mumtaz, Mahal, who died giving birth to their 14th child. Yikes! She certainly deserved something incredible in my opinion. We attempted to stay for sunset but we had arrived much earlier and it looked like it was not going to be a good one anyway. So we walked back to our driver and headed out of Agra to stay in Bharatpur for the night.

Bharatpur to Jaipur -The Pink City (Feb 15)
Up early on the 15th to bike (some lovely ancient relics as well) to Keoladeo Ghana National park which is a bird sanctuary. It was good to get some exercise and we saw a huge number of birds at 6:30 a.m.! :) Then back in the car to head to Jaipur. Being in the car isn't the best for my headaches (from motion sickness) but its manageable and better then the buses for certain. Carrie usually sleeps at least half the drive and I just observe since I can't usually fall asleep. We arrived in Jaipur and checked in to a hotel. We had to be pushy because the first place Nand took us was more expensive then we wanted so we ended up next door. We also find he takes us to a place where he knows he can keep the car safely and they will give him a place to stay.

Then right on to the Amber Fort (pronounced Amer). This is a massive pink fort-palace of Amber, an exampe of Rajput architecture that "rises from a rocky mountainside" (according to LP, Lonely Planet). It was really interesting because it was massive but also had many delicate aspects to the inner areas. A funny thing was that people were feeding this pretty big monkeys in the courtyard, a bit scary really but got some great photos. It is a bit eerie how much they remind you of ourselves in the way they sit, etc. It is about a 10 minute walk to climb up the fort from the road and some chose to get a ride up on an elephant, we figured we could use the exercise.

At dinner we ended up seeing some local dancing with a beautiful female dancer at first and then a male/female couple. The girl got Carrie and I each up to dance with her separately, yikes. Indian dance has such subtlety and with the skirts so long you can't see the foot movements very well. It certainly was fun to try. Turns out there were TWO weddings by our hotel that night. One next door that we walked over to see with Nand, the people invited us in to dance but we were exhausted by then. The Indian wedding is a huge event that starts way before the actual ceremony. The groom rides on horse with a marching band and bright lights to the bride on the wedding day. So, you hear them coming miles away and the party goes late. Our room must have been somewhat sound proof because miraculously we slept!

Jaipur to Pushkar - Hippy Hangout (Feb 16-17)
In the morning we drove to Jaigarh, a massive fort was never captured and is a good example of 18th century defences. They had a HUGE canon there that dates from 1720 and weighs 50 tonnes! The guard who gave us some info told us it was only fired once as a test and did lots of damage just to houses and animals in the area. We had a funny guy try to practically RUN us through an part of the museum with military relics and photos. There was also a cute little temple right there where the priest basically shoved some rice puffs in our hands and told us to eat for good life. Okay, let's hope he washed his hands. :) The signs leaving Jaipur said "Pink Pearl the Fun City." Then a drive on to Pushkar, which is supposed to be a small Hindu pilgrimage town with a huge number of temples. The lake there is holy so you can't wear shoes around the steps of the many Ghats (bathing areas). We enjoyed it there and ended up staying two nights (one at 500 rupees and the next downgraded to 300 for a bit smaller and buggier bathroom).

Our second day here we did some wandering around and shopping before ignoring the advice of both Nand and Lonely Planet. Yes, we decided the high heat of the day was perfect for climbing the steep 1-hour (at least) walk up to the top of the hill to Saraswati Temple overlooking Pushkar Lake (said to have appeared when Brahma dropped a lotus flower). It did have a great view of the lake but not exactly the easiest of climbs. Later, in our attempt to find a particular restaurant we got somewhat lost in the streets when the power went out in the city. Good timing girls! We did eventually make it to Seventh Heaven after I stepped in cow shit in the dark streets (I suppose it could have been worse). Had a good dinner while relaxing first on a huge swing. Carrie must have looked like a teenager that night because our waiter dropped her a "note" telling her she was beautiful although it wasn't worded in the best of English. We watched a wedding procession from the rooftop restaurant and ran into it in the streets on our way home.

Pushkar to Udaipur - Lake City (Feb. 18-19)
We walked around the lake (taking our shoes off because it is holy to cross over the lake to the other side) to see the Brahma temple. This is supposed to be the only temple for Brahma in India due to a curse that Brahma's consort Saraswati put on him when he married another. Back in the car our driver informed us we were on the "Blood Road" on our way to Udaipur. Great, I think there might be a few others in India as well! I noticed so many little things as we drove (Carrie slept), especially since I was never able to sleep in the car. It struck me funny/odd that although we are on a very touristy route in Rajasthan, the paths to each spot still felt very much off the beaten track.

We arrived in the "most romantic spot on earth" according to LP but weren't so impressed with the Lake City. We had trouble finding a hotel after the first was full and Nand couldn't or wouldn't seem to find one from LP. Finally we stopped at Hotel Rajdeep which wasn't really in the greatest areas, a bit out there. We decided to treat ourselves by going to Udai Kothi for dinner, a posh hotel and restaurant we drove by earlier. This place was gorgeous, I could see Mike & Scott lounging at the rooftop pool and staying in the beautiful looking rooms (at the least from the outside, this place starts at 2000 ruppees a room, a different level then our current one!). Pichola Lake is the center of the city and has two small islands within the lake, pretty big size.

Our plans to view the City Palace were foiled when we got sucked into Ashoka Arts studio to look at some miniature paintings. Beautiful! Our new brother Ganesh is a student who has been painting about five years, and hopes soon to go on to Teacher, then I think you get to be Master and finally Professor. It was truly amazing to see this work and to view various levels of artistry in one place. So, about 2 hours later we decided to check out the Jagdish Temple, an Indo-Aryan temple built in 1651 with a black stone image of Vishnu as Jagannath (Lord of the Universe). Pretty interesting carvings and people watching.

The dance/puppet show was Dharohar and held at Bagorek-Haveli which is 18th century haveli on the waters edge in Ganguar Ghat area. The Rajasthani dances were truly beautiful and the final dance was amazing. An older woman did the dance where they end up with at least 5 pots on her head while dancing as well as dancing on a saucer and glass. Amazing! Then a puppeteer showed us some work as well, very fun!