Sarah & Louise – Three weeks in India (Part 2) - Rajhasthan

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Jaipur

So at 4.15am ish Pradhan our driver takes us very slowly to the station at Agra Fort – 5 kms away – in very dense fog with very limited street lighting (and no heating in the car or windscreen wipers that work!) and we get an AC Chair Car to Jaipur 4 hours away. Unfortunately Lou is not feeling too good again but she copes really well. The journey itself is not much to write about but it’s a cheap and convenient way to travel in India during the day – cleaner and less chaotic than a bus.

Arriving ½ hour late we await the pick up from The Shahar Palace Guest House folk (free on offer as it’s only a km from the station) but the owner’s son – playing Polo in Jodhpur – has forgotten to tell Dad – an ex-Army Colonel and quite entertaining, helpful & old school who’s been in Jaipur all his life. He eventually turns up & gives us an entertaining ride in. The place is lovely and secluded in a posh residential area with a lovely lawn where we have a belated breakfast in the sun as Jaipur is pretty cold in the mornings.

After showering etc we wander into the city (after negotiating the fly over which Louise wasn’t at all impressed with as there was no pedestrian sidewalk) and then getting a Tuk Tuk for Rs 50) – the new part looks like a building site as there are fly overs being constructed and a new Metro being installed. The traffic is chaotic and noisy. A lot of the shops are closed as its Sunday but the girls get a few Crimbo presents for home.

Back at the Guest House we have a fabulous dinner (after a few beers from the local Theka at a reasonable Rs 80 per bottle) – even though the menu is limited they accommodate us with vegetables of our choice – Brinjal & Lauki. Really nice home cooked food.

Its tourist time and we hit the trail to see the privately owned City Palace – entry Rs 300 per person – and still occupied in part by the current Maharaja. We see a tall limp Xmas tree in one of the main buildings which looks totally out of place. However, it looks like Jaipur is following Delhi in going for the Crimbo look in many places (mainly in up market & designer stores). Even the Colonel puts up some fairy lights over the hedges for the season and lights a night fire which some of us stand around for a chat & reminisce.

Next it’s onto Jantar Mantar (foreigners Rs 200 per person) which is an observatory with amazingly accurate structures that read the stars, tells the time to within a second and indicates the stars locations – all done mathematically and scientifically hundreds of years ago and is a photographers delight due to the lines and shapes – unfortunately too many tourists.

Finally it’s the iconic Hawa Mahal (entry Rs 50), which looks onto the main road which is constantly traffic jammed, noisy & dirty. The entrance is badly posted and is through a labyrinth of alleys and rooms. It is however, quite good for views across the city, getting a feel for what it was like in the good old days and it does have architectural merit and has been improved since we were last here as has much of the Old City.

Its 3.30 pm by now, and time for some grub. It is after all Christmas Eve (even though it doesn’t feel like it). Louise seems to be missing the Christmas feeling most partly because she is still not feeling too good – a cold threatens now on top of the sore throat. We visit the recommended roof top Peacock Restaurant at the Hotel Pearl Palace and enjoy a sumptuous lunch/dinner with beers (unfortunately no tandoori food till after 6.30pm – damn).

It’s an early night in (its cold), so some more blankets and the electrical heaters are on to warm us up.

So - Christmas day arrives and we have cards and pressie opening on the bed with the girls – silver Rajasthani jewellery from Udaipur for them and DVD’s for us – including Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, which was filmed in Jaipur and which we watch in the evening; great one liners still amuse us even though we have seen this before.

We have arranged to go to the Narain Niwas Hotel not far away as it has a pool, spa, good dining and has a good reputation apart from being a Heritage Hotel. The Colonel arranges his trusty Tuk Tuk walla Anwar to take us there. The place is an interesting and has an old world feel to it. The pool is pretty modern in large well maintained grounds. We are the only ones there – so it’s on the sun beds and soak up the sun. It gets to 24 degrees most of the day and we eventually take a dip – except C who’s a wuss.

Lunch is in the hotel grounds served by about 4 waiters all in uniform and Rajasthani Turbans – we have some interesting food including 6 beers during the day. It’s crimbo after all. Unfortunately Louise didn’t quite enjoy her roast chicken (Indian style not quite Mum’s home cooking) which puts a damper on the day for her.

For Boxing Day we have a car booked to take us to Amber Fort about 40 mins drive from Jaipur. This is the main event here so we go full tourist mode and take the 10 minute elephant ride up the hill to the entrance (Rs 900 per elephant). Bloody uncomfortable! It’s an impressive Fort though with some beautiful decorative paintings and intricate stonework. The Jai Mandir has lovely mirrored wall and ceiling decoration – and would have been great for photo’s if it wasn’t for all the hordes visiting!! Its holiday season in India after all and the locals are out in force.

We then move on to the Nahargarh Fort overlooking Jaipur for great views. Inside is a large palace which has very European influences and is pretty well preserved. Again, lots of hand painting decoration and nice stonework.

We had planned to visit Jaigarh – the fort above Amber Fort which is supposed to be impressive but after a photo stop at the palace on the lake – Jal Mahal – and a great lunch at festively decorated Niro’s ( a Jaipuri version of the United Coffee House in Delhi), we run out of time so we do a quick photo stop at the Albert Hall and head back to the guesthouse to while away our evening until we go to catch the 11-35 train to Jaisalmer. Unfortunately we haven’t managed to get berths all together but as we should sleep for most of the journey it isn’t a problem.

Jaisalmer

After a longish journey in the side sections (up and down) of the 2AC compartment where we all slept pretty well, we arrive at Jaisalmer the last station in India on the West side & a border town with an Indian Army presence because of the proximity of the border to Pakistan.

As expected we had trouble with the hotel (Suraj Villas) people turning up for the free pick up but we negotiate a Rs 50 Tuk to get us to the entry of the Fort. Vehicular access has been restricted as its peak season – Indian tourists mainly from West Bengal (they do travel a lot in India we find) on their holidays with kids off from school

The Fort looks majestic as ever, even though it’s winter now and there’s a haze in the air. The temp is supposed to reach 29 degrees. S & L are blown away by the feel of the place and more so when we get to Suraj Villas – a 500 year old Haveli with charm and character in abundance. They choose the room with a balcony and view of the temple. M & C have the larger one (it used to be the ladies room) which is enormous and looks out over the Fort wall onto the new town and the beautiful central open courtyard.

We go to Trotters (and see Delboy the boss) to arrange the Camel safari. It’s an agency formed by guys who were desert dwellers and camel herders who have been going for 5 years and have a good reputation because of their honesty. They cater well for travellers who have to leave luggage – offering storage, toilet and showers facilities post the trip if you need it. They have a range of options on offer, however, Sarah’s pragmatic side wins the day and we decide to go for a 1.15pm start with an overnight stay sleeping under the stars and a return the next day by 11.30 am giving the girls more time in Jaislamer – a town they seem to have fallen in love with as it represents everything they imagined of an India town in the desert. After the hustle and bustle of Jaipur this was a rest!

Off to lunch at 2ish – starving as we hadn’t much for breakfast we made the mistake of going to the OM restaurant. We should have known better after the last time M & C dropped in in Oct when all we found in were 5 stoned tourists and no staff. The local bhang (slogan “Rasta Salvation”) store obviously doing its thing! We should have seen the signs when the waiter had trouble with the order and didn’t speak Hindi too well (we now assume he was stoned too). This time there were a group of tourists who had ordered thalis and they said the snacks we wanted would take 20 mins – we agreed while we chilled with some beers. However, 30 mins later no food and others who arrived later got served before us – we walked out.

S & L settled for some crisps etc and a trip around the town, M & C head off to Suraj Villas rooftop Restaurant for some parathas and masala omelettes. After a good afternoon out shopping for the girls we all venture to Saffron for dinner in the new town below the Fort where we have an awesome meal (Rs 2K for 4 - fab value inc 4 beers – 2 they forgot to charge for as they were so busy). Highlights were Junglee Maas – the house special mutton curry – Muglai chicken, Chicken Tikka, Paneer Tikka (not as good as Rainbow’s in Udaipur), Brinjal Bhaji + Garlic Naan (Lou’s new favourites) & butter naan. It’s M & C’s 3^rd trip here and we would thoroughly recommend it for a special night out. The views of the Mandir Palace lit up is pretty good as is the dimmed outline of the Fort.

We have a good sleep in before breakfast at Suraj Villas which is good, showers (with hot water which M has to start a new fire for, as hot water is only via a log burnt heating system). We check out at 10.30am and head for Trotters to leave our luggage there before more sightseeing.

We head off by jeep + 3 Aussies girls (Belle, Cait and Allie) for our day safari in the desert. We stop over at an Oasis after about 20kms, a lovely natural lake with some ornate Muslim old graves with carved grave stones – all in the local sandstone. A few kms later we stop at an abandoned fort and village. The story here is that a few hundred years ago a Brahmin sultan and village were frightened off when the Sultan’s beautiful daughter was proposed for marriage to someone from another caste & the ruling king who disapproved attacked the area.

A few kms down the track we meet the camels and herdsmen who come galloping along. Most of them speak a bit of English and are careful with the group – mainly for a good tip but who cares. All aboard after a not so elegant assent by all we trot along on camel back (1:1 ratio) for an hour and a half through rough and barren scrubland to an area with a mile or more of unspoilt dunes, in time for sun set.

Despite the aching limbs and sore bums after a most unnatural ride by all we clamber up the dunes. It’s quite lovely and romantic given the hour of day. Another group (Sam from USA and his guide) join us. An enterprising local pitches up having walked 8 kms to offer some cold beers! We have to make it worth his while so we have 2.

The crew (4 men and a go-for boy) make Masala Chai (Sarah’s now a confirmed addict along with C & M. Lou is a no no on this). This is accompanied by fried Indian style crisps – multi coloured – and fresh pakoras which are wolfed dawn. The camp fire is started and we huddle round having gradually increased our clothing until we’re all wearing all we have brought with us. Who thought sleeping out in the desert would be a good idea! And thank you Sarah for having a warm woolly hat for Dad!

The guides prepare a great dinner on a simple camp fire – rice, chapati, dhal and veg curry. Pretty tasty. Then the sleeping mats are laid out and blankets are laid over us, we’re tucked in for the night. Apparently it gets down to minus 2 (the water is frozen in the morning) and it’s a full moon so the moonlight is so bright when C goes for a pee around midnight no torch is needed. S & L didn’t sleep too good as they were too cold. M & C did better.

We wake at 7-30 for sunrise and its freezing! More chai is served to warm us up, another fire is lit and toast + Jam (or Indian Red spread!) and fruit are served for breakfast. Then the camels are re-saddled, and we have another inelegant clamber up for the hour and a half ride back to meet the jeep. Lou’s journey is made all the less comfortable by the two desert thistles she discovers stuck in her bum!! We still have all our layers on and despite the sun warming up it remains cold.

The jeep arrives dead on time as we end our trip and say thanks to our guides, then we head back to Jaisalmer via a local village where we stop for a quick look around. It’s a bit random! The houses are better maintained than we saw in our stay in a village and there isn’t really much to see.

Back in Jaislamer we are offered use of a cold shower to freshen up but it’s too cold - we keep our layers on all day! We have a late lunch at Suraj Villas – S & L are introduced to a Rajasthani Thali - do some last minute shopping and then we get a tuk tuk to take us to the station for the 5-15pm train to Jodhpur. Dinner on such journeys becomes a snack fest – Marie biscuits, fruit, savouries, sweets and water. We are due to arrive at 10-25pm but even though the train started from Jaisalmer on time, after 3 hours it’s already running an hour late! We finally get to Jodhpur, tired and cold, at 11-30. At least the hotel (Haveli right near the Clock Tower) has arranged a driver to collect us (free we were surprised to learn), so we are soon in our beds.

Jodhpur – the Blue City

It seems to C that she is colder in the bed in the hotel than she was in the desert! We will need to get more blankets. And her humour doesn’t improve when the hot water runs out half way through her shower. M goes to use S&L’s shower as they seem to have plenty of boiling water, and we head out for the day leaving the hotel staff with a list of things to fix in our room.

The plan for the day is to mooch and shop in the morning, then head off to the Umaid Bhavan Palace (the Maharajah’s pad, which is now a hotel where M&C stayed 15 years ago) for afternoon tea. Somehow we spend more time mooching than planned though so by the time we have a late lunch we decide to defer the Palace to tomorrow. Lunch is street food and pretty fab too. Omelette sandwiches, awesome samosa’s, stuffed chilli pakoras, and chaat, followed by jalebi’s and soda’s. C tried a pudina soda in the morning – not a good choice – so will stick with simple lime from now on.

The girls hit the shops to get gifts for folks at home and some things for themselves too – including a couple of lovely handmade stuffed elephants from the Sambhali Trust shop (run by the folk from Durag Niwas where M&C stayed last time – an empowerment group for local disadvantaged women). We like them so much we go back the next day and get one for ourselves too.

In the evening we decide to eat at the hotel after beers from the local wine shop. In a blast from the past Goa style we notice they also sell Honey Bee – Indian Brandy which we’ve always enjoyed in Goa but not come across elsewhere, so we buy a bottle for the New Year. Dinner (all veg) is pretty good; we go for all the Rajasthani specials which are tasty and different.

Next day after an easy start we hit the Fort. The walk up from town is colourful amongst the blue painted houses and much easier than we’d anticipated seeing the Fort looming above us from the town. The tickets include an audio guide which we wouldn’t normally do, but it’s really good and informative and makes the experience much more enjoyable. It’s a huge place with some fantastic rooms and displays so our planned 1 hour stay easily becomes 2 – and then we see the special Norman Parkinson photography expo with photo shoots in India in the 50’s – fabulous.

Then it’s down to the town for omelette sandwich and fresh samosa lunch before we hire the most clapped out rickshaw in India to take us to the Umaid Bhavan Palace. We almost had to get out twice to push the damned thing!! Very frustratingly when we get there the restaurant and hotel are closed! They have a private party for New Year. We visit the museum which is a celebration of the family (and pretty boring) then head back to get ready for dinner.

M decides to make an effort and give the girls a treat by having a cut throat shave – which they enjoyed taking pictures of at Ramesh’s place.

He is very fractious in case we can’t get a table at the place we plan to visit as its New Year’s Eve– Indique, a roof top restaurant with great views of the Fort and the Clock Tower – but on arrival we are assured a table will be free soon and so we hit the bar for some cocktails – very nice!! The Aussie girls from Jaisalmer turn up for a drink so we have a nice chat with them before being called to our table - and the food is excellent largely Rajasthani non veg food. A great evening. It seems India is embracing Christmas and New Year more these days so fireworks go off all around at midnight which we enjoy from the room with our nightcap.

Udaipur – (Or Oodle meer as Louise would say)

Our car and driver are booked for 8-00am in the morning for the long drive to Udaipur via Ranakpur and Kumbalgarh on New year’s Day. Unfortunately Sarah has been up all night unwell (sick not tummy) and continues to be so for most of the journey poor thing.

First stop – and one of C’s highlights – is the temple dedicated to an Enfield Bullet!! Actually it’s dedicated to it’s owner who crashed and died in the 1980’s but apparently the bike kept returning to the site even though it was towed away. Only in India!

Then it’s on to Ranakpur, an incredibly beautifully decorated Jain temple which M&C last visited 15 years ago. It still looks great although so much busier than our last visit.

As S is still feeling rough (after lunch at a rip off stop over Hotel) we decide to skip Kumbalgarh and head straight to Udaipur. We are staying once again at Poonam Haveli but are less than impressed that they’ve let the room we booked to someone else so have to go into the less special rooms. L and S are happy regardless but M is not!

We Skype with Romi & John and Pete and then once again hit Rainbow restaurant for dinner with L as S stays in bed. Vivek from Educate for life is there so we have a quick chat and then savour the best Tandoori chicken and Paneer Tikka in India for dinner. L is impressed with the venue, food and the views over the lake with the Lake Palace Hotel all lit up.

Thankfully S seems to be getting better – she’s slept and eaten some biscuits (Hob Nobs), bananas & oranges so hopefully will feel much better tomorrow.

Next morning we enjoy breakfast at Rainbow, overlooking the Lake Palace Hotel (C reminisces), warming in the sunshine. First priority is catching up with Aditya so he can meet S&L and to wish him well for 2013. We also leave a copy of the Photography Book we did for the Bakhel School kids with only their pictures. It’s great to see him again & he gets a lot of credit for it.

We decide to leave the City Palace tour for tomorrow as S is still a little weak and instead walk around the town (well at least the tourist enclave area around Lal Ghat) and then head over to Hanuman Ghat on the other side for great lake and town views from the rooftop of Dream Heaven. M has an amazing thali for R’s 100 for lunch – great value and very tasty – and we have a happy hour or so taking in the rays and views.

As we wander around we come across a few Tuk Tuks with a difference. They are part of a Jaisalmer to Cochin rally fundraising for different charities. Apparently there are 77 Tuk Tuks with over 200 (mad) people (foreigners) taking part driving machines that are less than robust across the country, on roads that challenge even experienced India drivers – and the whole journey is done in 2 weeks. Madness and amazing in equal measure. On reflection totally mad. It’s a long way and the weather is cold for a lot of it, it’s open transport and not sturdy enough for the Indian roads (not to mention traffic).

S&L take to some more retail therapy and make their first foray into the silver shop; and finally have to agree with M that you do need to go there more than once as there is so much awesome stuff to choose from. Then we take sunset boat ride (at Mr A’s recommendation) with reserved front of boat seats. The group from Intrepid were not very impressed. It’s more enjoyable than anticipated; we get some great sunset pics and good ones of the lights coming on at the Palaces.

That evening we head back to Rainbow (Again) and meet up once again with Allie, Belle and Cait – a great surprise – and spend the evening treating them to dinner and beers. They’re off to Goa next and we may get to see Belle there again before she heads off.

Although S is still not 100% we hit the City Palace – or should that be it hits us! It’s packed, mainly with uncontrolled groups of school kids (no teachers in sight) and the whole experience is pretty poor despite the splendour of the place. Can definitely feel a bad Trip Advisor review coming on as the 4.5 stars displayed is definitely not justifiable – perhaps most of their staff who do nothing to manage the chaos write in to keep their ratings up – no other explanation is possible!! .

We catch up with Aditya to ensure we have all our travels planned and he is in funds, go to the Silver Corner to pay for all S&L’s (and C’s additions! M is still wondering why?) Jewellery then head across to Ambrai, the local fancy restaurant on the other side of the lake with great views of both Palaces for dinner. The setting is better than the food and the service but it’s a nice treat for S&L’s final day in Rajasthan before we head off to Delhi in the morning.

Back to London …………………via Delhi

On returning to Delhi for the girls’ last night in India we fly from Udaipur (nice new airport with a few services). They hope to have International Airport status in 2 years. The flight takes about an hour – shorter than we expected - and get into an old Ambassador Car taxi – pretty beat up but functional. The girls love it and we get to Maan K in Karol Bagh without much drama.

As time is short we arrange to meet Ainsley Wright - one of M’s cousins a few times removed he has just discovered. They grew up together in Moradabad, India. We meet at Café Coffee Day – the Indian version of Costa Coffee. It’s good to see him looking well even after the bad year his family have had. His youngest daughter committed suicide 10 months ago (following the break up her relationship with a young man she had known for about a year ago). The family are still coming to terms with this tragedy.

As the girls aren’t feeling too bright after 3 weeks of travel, hot then cold weather and Indian food – we decide to go to Karim’s near the hotel again, where this time we have a great meal. Good Biryanis, but the great dishes were the mutton kebabs (could give Lucknow a run for its money), Gobi aloo and the chicken tikka. All for Rs1800.

The girl’s hit the sack for an early night as they have to get up at 1.30am to go to the airport to catch their Etihad flight to London via AD which leaves at 4.20 am. The taxi picks them up at 2am and after a tearful farewell and a group hug they are driven off …………… while C & M go to bed to await their texts re safe travel back and prepare for the rest of their journey through India starting with Gujarat the next stop – flight 5pm !!!

For M, showing his duaghters around India is a lifetime ambition fulfilled.


Sarah's Observations:This seems to be a trip we've been waiting a lifetime to do (although I have been to India aged 18 months... Thanks parents!!)

It was in many ways everything people said... So colourful - the clothing, shops, food and scenery. Smelly - food, wee, incense, fumes, and everything in between. In your face - the sights, sounds and sheer scale of the place and people. Yes, it was all of these things - which we loved and grumbled about in equal measure (and wouldn't change.) The difference for Louise and I is that we got to experience all of these places with Dad and to get a sense of the place where a little bit of us comes from.

Dad and Cags comment on how tired a few of the sites are - I don't think first time travellers to India would even notice. My favourite places were Varansi and Jaiselmer - both felt like I had "arrived" in India if that makes sense. Both seemed really special in their history, tradition and magical setting. I also loved the adventure of the overnight trains.

I realised I would have felt quite nervous in a number of situations had Dad (or an accompanying male) not been with us. And obviously the fact that dad speaks Hindi made life so much easier - logistically and perhaps people not trying it on to such a high degree! Even if it was more work for dad looking after three ladies for three weeks.

I learnt a lot on this journey, not only about the places we saw and the people we met but also a little more about my dad. Things from mannerisms to his memories all rooted in this giant, bustling, rich and poor, delicious, fragrant, exotic country. An amazing adventure which I am still processing and will do for years to come. Dad and Caroline put in so much work to make it a seamless and fulfilling journey - which it was. Thank you both with all our love..... And now they are rid of us they get to enjoy the rest!! I'll be back.....

Louise's Observations: I’ve actually found this really hard to write.



I had the most amazing time, had incredible experiences and saw breath taking things but there were things I found hard and things that saddened me.



In places it was dirty and smelly and there was lots of poverty, the roads/traffic were much like Laos….in NO way. Their concept is PDR (please don’t rush) India’s is get the f**@ out the way or you’ll get run over. But behind that there is colour like nothing you’ve seen, and smiles of hope and appreciation for being and the smells of food so fresh and yummy.



I’ve been asked since my return if I had a nice holiday. My answer is usually ‘unbelievable’ and it really was in every sense of the word.



The highlight for me was Varanasi. I wasn’t quite prepared for what this place had to offer and in a way I’m glad. We pulled up in a car in the ‘town centre’ young children banging at the windows begging for food, cows sat in the middle of the road stopping the traffic and cycles, cars and tuk tuks honking their horns and ignoring anyone in their way. Stepping out in to mayhem clinging for dear life to our bags we made our way to our guest house….we had arrived! In more than one sense, this finally felt like what I had imagined of India.



We stayed in a beautiful little guest house, with brightly coloured murals painted on terracotta walls, it was like a little hippy haven. The guest house overlooked the Ganges river and had a cute rooftop restaurant where you could sit for hours watching the world below you go by. Goats wearing knitted woollen jumpers, children running around with kites, families washing themselves and clothes in the river, ladies and gents of all ages selling jewellery and trinkets, buffalo strolling along the river side and in the distance the smoke from the cremations that were taking place.



There was something so peaceful and spiritual about this place, an overwhelming sense of hope from everyone around you.



Another place I adored was Jaisalmer. We were fortunate enough – (thanks to the military style organisation from Dad and Cags) to have stayed in this amazing Hevali inside the fort. The building was so ornate and the sandstone colour of the buildings made you feel like you were in a film set. Inside the fort were small cobbled passage ways all leading to the same square so it was impossible to get lost. Each of the lanes were littered with people selling clothes and leather goods - it was hard not to spend your money.



The other thing we did in here was a camel safari which was very hard work but so much fun. It was freezing cold as we slept under the stars and we were all walking like cowboys for days after, but it was an experience that I’ll never forget.



I can’t mention everything that blew my mind or we’ll be here for weeks, but I can’t end this without mentioning a few other things, The Taj is as beautiful as you expect it to be, if not more! Udaipur was gorgeous, the people were extremely friendly there and we had some great food. I was really happy I went to United Coffee House in Delhi as it was so nice to go somewhere my Dad used to go with his parents when he was little. It was a special moment meeting one of Dad’s old friends from school and I’m so happy we got the chance to meet him and hear about Dad’s antics as a youngster and a million and one other things that spring to mind – but these were the top runners!



Visiting India with Dad has been a lifetime dream of mine and it lived up to every expectation and more. I’ll never forget it so thank you to Caroline for your patience, time, effort and dedication to making it such a wonderful trip. Thank you to Dad for talking Hindi – (life saver), for organising such an incredible trip, for also teaching us to love photography and appreciate what we have…



And last but not least, in the words of Alanis Morissette, Thank You India!!

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