India

Asia » India
November 18th 2007

Published: December 30th 2007

Edit Blog Post

mattd78

Delhi

Main Bazaar in Paharganj

Oct. 26 - Departing Chicago
I left Chicago Friday afternoon for the long trip to Delhi. Sathish and I managed to get on the same flight from Chicago to London, and after a short layover I left for Delhi while Sathish continued on to Chennai. The trip took approx. 20 hours total. I arrived in Delhi late Saturday night.

Oct. 27 - Arriving in Delhi
My arrival in Delhi led to my first adventure. After collecting my luggage my first priority was to find an ATM. Of course, I didn't see one, and ended up walking out of the arrivals area. No big deal, right? I'll just go back and look again. Conveniently, all airports in India have an entry fee if you aren't on a departing flight. The fee is only 30 rupees (75 cents), but since I had no rupees I couldn't re-enter. So I had to find transportation to my hotel using US currency, which wasn't a problem, but my chances of getting a fair price was significantly less. Luckily for me I knew how much a cab from the airport to my hotel should cost, and I only had to pay a slightly

Delhi

Jama Masjid, the biggest mosque in India

higher price. Also, the driver took me exactly where I wanted to go and didn't try to pull any of the common scams, so I wasn't too upset about it.

Oct. 28 - Old Delhi
I stayed in the Paharganj area of Delhi, which conveniently located near train stations and full of backpackers. It's fairly easy to get around in Delhi thanks to their new Metro system. In the morning I took the Metro to Chandni Chowk, a busy street in Old Delhi filled with shops and sights. I walked to one end of the street and visited Fatehpur Masjid, a small mosque built in 1650. On the other end of Chandni Chowk is Red Fort, built by Emporer Shahjahan in 1639. This was the 7th city of Delhi (present day Delhi is the 8th city). Following Red Fort I visited Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India. It was also built by Shahjahan and was completed in 1656. I was able to climb one of the minarets, providing great views of the city.

Oct. 29 - Taj Mahal
I left Delhi at 6 AM for a day trip to Agra to see the Taj Mahal.

Agra

Me at the Taj Mahal

The train ride was a little over 2 hours, and no, I didn't have to ride on top or hang off the side. Upon arrival a British tourist who was also on my train asked me about splitting the cost of hiring a car since we were both travelling alone. Although it wasn't expensive anyway, it was nice to have the company. The first stop was Fatehpur Sikri, built by Akbar (grandfather of Shahjahan) to be India's capital in the late 1500's. It was abandoned after only 15 years due to lack of water.

The second stop was the Taj Mahal. It was also built by Shahjahan in 1648 to be the tomb of one of his wives. It is definitely the thing to see in India.

The third stop, or should I say scheduled stop, was Agra Fort. I say scheduled stop because throughout the day we kept stopping at various shops. Like China, and I'm sure various other countries, drivers get commission for taking tourists to shops. I shouldn't narrow it down to drivers--it's pretty much everyone. Our driver was not even subtle about stopping; he'd tell us we weren't required to buy anything, but we

Delhi

India Gate

needed to stay 15 minutes so he could collect 100 rupees. Anyway, back to the fort. Agra Fort was completed in 1573 by Akbar, although the original fort stood as early as 1080.

After dinner (we had to eat lunch and dinner at the same restaurant since our driver collected a commission there) we returned to the train station only to find the train was delayed. By the time I got back to the hotel in Delhi it was nearly 1 AM.

Oct. 30 - New Delhi
I started my second day in Delhi by visiting the government buildings in New Delhi. I again took the Metro a few stops to the Secretariat government ministries and President's House, then along the Raj Path to India Gate war memorial. From there I walked to Humayun's Tomb, completed in 1570. Emporer Humayun was the father of Akbar. The design of the Taj Mahal was taken from this tomb.

From the tomb I took what I remember to be my first autorickshaw ride. Autorickshaws are these little green and yellow 3 wheeled vehicles that run on compressed natural gas. It's made for up to 3 passengers, but I saw

Delhi

Qutab Minar, tallest brick minaret in the world

Indian families of 10 riding around in these things. The rides are usually quite adventurous and at some point(s) during each ride I thought I was going to die. By the way, from what I've seen there are no driving rules enforced in India.

I took the autorickshaw to Gandhi Smitri, the site of Gandhi's assassination in 1948, and Lodi Garden, a small park containing the tombs of some 15th century leaders. That afternoon I took a ride to the outskirts of Delhi to visit Qutab Minar, built in 1193 to mark the beginning of Islamic rule in India. Also on the grounds are the Might of Islam Mosque (the first mosque in India), and the Iron Pillar, erected approx. 400 AD.

I stopped briefly at Purana Qila, the sixth city of Delhi, then returned to the hotel. That night I walked around Connaught Place, the financial and business center of Delhi.

Oct. 31 - Train to Jaipur
This was my last day in Delhi. In the morning I visited a few sights remaining on my list of things to do: Raj Ghat (Gandhi Memorial), Gandhi Museum, and Firoz Shah Kotla (fifth city of Delhi, built

Jaipur

City Palace, one of many pink buildings in Jaipur

in 1354). There were no other tourists at Firoz Shah Kotla, so the security guard served as my personal tour guide and took me to some areas that weren't open to the public. When I left I gave him 50 rupees, which he told me was half a day's wage. Currently 40 rupees is worth approx. US$1.

That afternoon I took a 6 hour train ride to Jaipur. Definitely the slowest train I've ever been on. The trip was only 160 miles, and although this was an express train stops were still fairly frequent. The Japanese Shinkansen this is not. On the bright side, I did have an enjoyable conversation with the three other gentlemen in my berth for much of the trip.

Upon my arrival at the hotel in Jaipur, I was informed that the AC was not functioning and if I wanted they would put me up in another hotel 2 km away. I decided to stay because the location of this hotel was more desirable, and it ended up being very comfortable. Jaipur is in the desert and although the days are very hot, the nights cool off and there is really no need for

Amber

Elephants on the path to Amber Fort

AC.

Nov. 1 - Pink City
Jaipur, known as the "Pink City", is the capital of the state of Rajasthan. The old city walls and many buildings within them are painted in the same shade of pink. Unfortunately while I was visiting many of the building we being repainted, which didn't always make for the best pictures. I did get to see a lot of Indian scoffolding though, which is spectacular. It's a bunch of sticks tied together with ropes.

My first morning in Jaipur I hired an autorickshaw for a few hours. He first took me to the Royal Cenotaphs, marble memorials of past leaders. Next was the Jal Mahal, also known as the Water Palace, which sits in the middle of Man Sarobar lake. It is only possible to visit the palace in the summer when the lake dries up. The third stop (not the last, of course...we still had to visit a shop or two) was Amber Fort, 11 km from Jaipur. Built in 1592, it served as the capital of what was the state of Jaipur for 150 years. Later in the afternoon I returned to the old city to visit the City

Jaipur

Some of the many monkeys on the way to the Temple of the Sun God

Palace and Jantar Mantar, an observatory built in 1728. The giant 27 meter sundial was closed for repairs.

Nov. 2 - Monkeys
I got up early on my second day in Jaipur to visit the Temple of the Sun God, also called the Monkey Temple. For some unknown reason, thousands of monkeys flock to this location every night. To get there you have to walk up a winding road on a steep hill, and even in the morning there were already quite a few monkeys along the way.

Next I set off to find the Hawa Mahal. Somehow I missed the it my first day in Jaipur, even though it's located near the city palace. It was built in 1799 so women of the royal household could look out into the city (they usually weren't allowed to leave the palace). It's the main landmark in Jaipur, but I couldn't get a good picture because it was being repainted.

After that I started talking to a local and ended up going for some tea. Naturally, it turned into a visit to a store. Big surprise. This happened quite a bit in Jaipur. I did have tea with

Udaipur

Sajjan Garh (Monsoon Palace)

some guys the previous night who never tried to sell me anything.

Later that afternoon I flew to Ahmedabad to visit my friends Sean and Janelle. Sean worked there from Sept.-Dec. After I arrived we went to dinner, then returned to their apartment.

Nov. 3 - Road trip to Udaipur
Since it was Saturday Sean and Janelle wanted to get out of Ahmedabad for the weekend. We planned a trip to Udaipur, which is a 3.5 hour drive. They have a car and driver available to them as needed. Their driver, Gamer, and I really hit it off. Although he didn't speak much English we were able to have a good time on the trip. I think he got a kick out of Sean and me goofing around.

It was interesting to drive through unpopulated areas. I enjoyed it much more than taking the trains. I just remembered, I haven't mentioned how there are cows everywhere in India, so while driving on the highway you always have to keep an eye out for them. It's bad enough in the city, but usually in cities cars aren't going that fast so animals are easy to avoid.

Udaipur

Gujarati-style dinner

Udaipur is also in Rajasthan, so to get there we had to go 1/3 of the way back to Jaipur. It is known as the "City of Lakes", for obvious reasons. When we got there we visited the city palace museum, then went outside the city to a craft village (not really for me, but it was cool to see a traditional village). Late in the afternoon we were supposed to go to a light and sound show, as suggested by Sean's travel advisor, Raj (more on her later). When we got there it looked like probably the dumbest thing to do in all of India, so instead we went to Sajjan Garh (Monsoon Palace), located on top of a hill overlooking the city. It was a great place to watch the sunset, and while we were there some monkeys sat down just a few feet from us. That night we had dinner Gujarati-style (see picture) and looked at some old cars at the palace garage.

We stayed with a family in Udaipur that night. Raj had set it up, and it was probably the one thing she did somewhat right the whole time I was there, even though

Udaipur

Women washing in Lake Pichola

it cost twice as much as a hotel. This was not typical Indian living--I imagine these people were better off financially than most. Still, it was an interesting experience to see how people live in other parts of the world.

Nov. 4 - Lake Palaces
The second day in Udaipur we visited one of the two palaces in Lake Pichola. Jagniwas was built in 1754 and served as the royal summer palace. It is now a hotel, and only open to those who stay there. Jagmandir, also a royal palace, was built in 1620. It has a restaurant but otherwise is free to visit. We took a short boat ride around the lake before stopping at Jagmandir island. It was amazing to see people bathing and washing clothes in such polluted water. This was far from the dirtiest water I saw in India, but it was still pretty gross.

The entire time I was in Jaipur and Udaipur people were preparing for the holiday of Diwali. Diwali is the "Festival of Lights", celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains across the country. We were in Mumbai for the celebration on Nov. 9. I'll write more later in the

Ahmedabad

Autorickshaw in the background

post.

That afternoon we drove back to Ahmedabad. When we got back we went out to dinner, but found many of the restaurants where Sean and Janelle normally eat were too busy to get a table due to families gathering for Diwali. It wasn't much of a problem--we just had find a more expensive restaurant. Keep in mind "more expensive" is $8 instead of $4. After dinner Sean and I watched some NFL. He set up a Slingbox at his house so he would be able to watch US TV on his computer. Games start at 11 PM local time so we didn't even make it through the first game.

Nov. 5 - Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad is the largest city in Gujarat, and the sixth largest city in India. Because there is not much tourism, people react much differently to Westerners. I found prices to be much more fair, and people were not constantly trying to sell you something. On the negative side, everyone stares as though they've never seen a non-Indian.

Since there isn't a lot to see in Ahmedabad and Sean had to work, I spent the day with Janelle doing her usual routine. We

Gandhinagar

Adalaj Wav Step-well

visited some tailors, and she showed me some of the local stores. Surprisingly, I was able to find some nice clothes for work that actually fit. That night we went shopping at Reliance Mart--basically a Super-Walmart. I bought a bunch of different Indian flavored potato chips: Masala, Mint, Green Chutney... Needless to say, most were disgusting.

Nov. 6 - Gandhinagar
Tuesday Janelle and I had Gamer take us to Gandhinagar, capital of Gujarat. It is 30 km from Ahmedabad. Sean and Janelle had visited a couple sights there they thought I would like. The first was the Adalaj Wav step-well, built in 1499. It is seven stories deep and provided a cool place for royalty during hot summer days. The second was the Akshardham Temple, a recently built Hindu temple. Security at the temple is very high due to a terrorist attack in 2002, and pictures are not allowed.

Nov. 7 - Last Minute Travel Arrangements
I mentioned earlier about Raj the travel assistant. Well this is where she almost really, really screwed us. Wednesday night we were leaving for a long weekend in Mumbai, and Raj had made all the arrangements. None of us had

Mumbai

Haji Ali's Mosque and Tomb

looked at the arrangements yet as of Wednesday morning, because none of us realized her degree of worthlessness. So when I got up Wednesday morning I decided to check out our hotel, which Raj had assured us was conveniently located near the city center and everything we wanted to see. It was anything but. She had booked us in Thane, a far north suburb that, considering traffic, would be a good 2 hour drive from everywhere we wanted to go. She had hired us a car for 8 hours a day, which would only leave 4 hours a day to actually be in Mumbai. Because of Diwali I was not optomistic that we could find another place to stay, but I started going through the guidebook and calling hotels. After a few calls I found a place in a great location for half the price of hotel in Thane. Crisis averted. She was very upset about our change of plans--we assumed because she wouldn't make her commission.

Nov. 8 - Hot Hot Hot
Our first day in Mumbai I made the itinerary. We hired a car through our hotel and went on our way. First stop was Haji

Mumbai

Chowpatty Beach

Ali's mosque and tomb, built in 1431. It is located on the coast of the Arabian Sea, and to get there you have to walk along a 500 meter causeway. During high tide, the causeway is covered and the mosque becomes an island. This was the hottest, most uncomfortable of all the places I visited. It was over 100 that morning and extremely humid (100 wasn't that unusual but the humidity was worse than other places). Next we went to the Mahalaxmi Temple, a nearby Hindu temple. Again, pictures were not allowed. On the way to the temple there were many shops and stall selling flowers and fruit to give to Lakshmi, the wealth goddess. We waited in line to see the shrine but didn't offer any gifts. After that we stopped at Mahalaxmi Dhobi Ghat, the oldest and largest clothes washing place in Mumbai. People use one of 1026 troughs to hand wash their laundry. We continued on to the Hanging Gardens and Kamala Nehru Park to get a nice view of Chowpatty Beach and Back Bay.

In the afternoon Sean decided he'd had enough of the hot weather (and possibly my itinerary) and decided to go cool

Elephanta Island

Ancient caves filled with Hindu sculptures

off at the hotel. Janelle and I still had a full schedule of sights: St. Thomas Cathedral (oldest English building in Mumbai, completed in 1718), Gateway of India, University of Mumbai, High Court, and Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (busiest train station in Asia). We spent the remainder of the afternoon at Nariman Point, along the south edge of Back Bay.

That night at dinner India and Pakistan were playing a big cricket match. Sean and I watched the final hour. Between the two of us I think we figured out what was going on...just don't ask me to explain.

Nov. 9 - Diwali
Friday morning Sean and I got up early for a morning round of golf. Sean golfs competitively in the US and this was the first opportunity he had to golf in India. I have not golfed in a couple years but went along anyway. I'll just say it was a long morning. My caddy had to work a little harder for his money than Sean's did.

After lunch we headed back to the Gateway of India to get on a ferry to Elephanta Island. On the island are many caves filled with Hindu sculptures

Mumbai

Gateway to India, built by the British in 1924

carved between 450-750 AD. Sean and I made some friends on the hour ferry ride. This one guy was a little too friendly for our liking...but perfectly acceptable for India.

Janelle and I went to Marine Drive later that night for the Diwali celebration. From what I can tell, Diwali is celebrated by setting off fireworks. Rather than having an organized show, people just light their own "crackers" for hours on end. It didn't appear India has any concept of illegal fireworks either.

Nov. 10 - Bargains
Saturday morning we decided to do our own thing for a few hours, so I went to the Prince of Wales museum. Most of the exhibits were Asian art and natural history. It was a nice museum, but the building itself was more impressive than anything inside.

Later we tried to go to a Bollywood movie. We heard there were some theaters that subtitled the movies in English. After visiting a couple theaters we were told otherwise. I still think they have them somewhere. Instead we stopped in a bar for a little bit to cool off, then hit the street for some bargaining. Sean and I bought some

Mumbai

Mahalaxmi Dhobi Ghat

knock off video games for a 175 rupees each, and I bought a wallet for 100 (the guy wanted 150...ridiculous). I got a haircut that afternoon for 35 rs.

Nov. 11 - Ripped Off
We spent our last morning in Mumbai doing some final shopping. Janelle had seen a store she wanted to visit, and we haggled with the street vendors a little more. One of the movie guys had a DVD with a combination of 6 or 8 of the worst movies I could ever imagine (Bridget Jones, Bridget Jones 2, Miss Congeniality...ugh). Well Janelle had to have it. When we got back to the hotel, she opened the case and it was empty. I say we caught a break. She thought otherwise. We had a little time before our flight so Sean and I ran back down to the vendor to tell him what happened. He left for about 10 minutes and came back with another disc. Since they are all copies, there is no marking on the disc, and no way to tell what we were really getting. On the way to the airport Janelle threw it in the laptop and discovered the disc he

Kochi

Chinese Fishing Nets

gave us was a non-baseball Kevin Costner collection. Talk about a lose-lose.

That night I parted ways with Sean and Janelle. They had to return to Ahmedabad, and I left for Kochi. When I arrived, I went to the hotel restaurant for dinner. The three man band at the restaurant performed "Hips Don't Lie". I wish I had a video camera.

Nov. 12 - Fort Kochi
Kochi is the second largest city in the state of Kerala. It is made up of seven islands. I stayed in Ernakulam on the mainland. Most of the sites are located on the island of Fort Kochi. The island was the site of the first European settlement in India, occupied by the Portuguese in 1503. It was later occupied by the Dutch and British.

I again hired an autorickshaw for sightseeing. My first stop was St. Francis Church, the oldest European-built church in India (1503). The original tomb of Vasco da Gama is located here. I then went to see the Chinese fishing nets along the coast, used as early as the 1400's. Next I visited the Shri Vardhaman Sthanak Vasi Jain Temple, built around 1900. The driver then took

Kochi

Cherai Beach on the Arabian Sea

me to Jew Town to see the Pardesi Synagogue, originally built in 1568. From there I went to the nearby Mattancherry Palace, built by the Portuguese in 1555. The interior walls are filled with Hindu murals; unfortunately pictures are not allowed. My last sight was Our Lady of Life Church, built by the Portuguese in the mid-1500's.

Nov. 13 - Cherai Beach
Tuesday I decided to go to Cherai Beach on Vypeen Island. The Keralan coast is known for its fantastic beaches. The problem is most of them are overrun by tourists. Cherai Beach has not yet been developed, and more importantly the water is clean and calm enough for swimming. From the jetty it was 22 km to the beach, and the only way to get there is by autorickshaw. To save a little money I split the ride with a French couple. I wandered the beach for a couple hours then stopped for lunch. I ran into the same French couple at the restaurant (there were only a few places to eat at the beach) and ended up spending most of the afternoon with them.

Nov. 14 - Wedding Reception
I left for Chennai

Chennai

Me at Sathish's wedding reception

early Wednesday morning. I couldn't figure out why the flight was so long--it was only 300 miles. Then I saw the plane. It was a little prop plane that held about 30 people. I anticipated a rough flight, but it wasn't too bad.

Chennai is the capital of Tamil Nadu. It is the fifth largest city in India, located on the east coast. I spent the afternoon running some errands and getting ready for the wedding reception that evening. When I arrived at the temple Sathish's uncle greeted me and drove me to another location where the family was preparing for the wedding (the reception was the night before the wedding). After about 30 minutes there was a procession to the temple. Back at the temple dinner was served. It was the first time I ate south Indian style--you get a big banana leaf and servers fill it with 8-10 different types of food. You eat only using your right hand, and there are no utensils. I was offered a spoon, but what fun would that be?? Following dinner, guests lined up to present their gifts to the couple and take pictures. Some of Sathish's friends let me join

Chennai

San Thome Cathedral

their group.

Nov. 15 - Wedding
Thursday morning I returned to the temple for the wedding. Before the ceremony breakfast was served. The wedding itself only took about 90 minutes. Sathish had me sit next to his brother-in-law to explain some of what was happening. Then lunch was provided after the wedding.

That afternoon I walked to Marina Beach, which stretches 12 km along the Bay of Bengal. Over 200 people were killed here by the 2004 Tsunami. In the afternoon the beach was lined with fishing boats. After a short time at the beach I walked to San Thome Cathedral, built over the tomb of Thomas the Apostle. I also visited Ramakrishna Math Temple and Shiva Kapaleeshwarar Temple, originally built in the 7th century but rebuilt in the 1600's.

Nov. 16 - Pondicherry
I hired a car Friday to go to Pondicherry, a French settlement south of Chennai. The drive there took around 3 hours. When I got there I went for a walk along the promenade, then through the French Quarter. I also visited three fantastic churches: Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception (built 1791), Sacred Heart (1909), and Notre Dame de Agnes

Chennai

Fishing boats at Marina Beach

(1858). On the way back to Chennai I stopped at Auroville, an international community started in 1968.

Nov. 17 - Preparing for Departure
Saturday was filled with last minute shopping and packing for the trip home. I took a walk around the city for a couple of hours, and went back to Marina Beach after dark. That night Sathish visited me at the hotel with his wife and father-in-law. My flight left Chennai at 4 AM Sunday morning, and I arrived back in Chicago 22 hours later on Sunday afternoon.

Additional photos below

Photos: 150, Displayed: 39