Udaipur

Udaipur was our final stop in India.  We were exhausted after a busy couple of weeks, so we mainly walked around the City of Lakes, took in the gorgeous views, and relaxed.

The Lake Palace in Udaipur

Two Must-Dos in Jodhpur

If you like food and if you like fun, we found two of the best activities that Jodhpur has to offer.

First, we went zip lining through a 500 year old fort!  Flying Fox was hands down the best and most fun way we've ever seen a fort.  There were six long zip lines and some really incredible views, all for $12 per person.  I wish it were this cheap back home! 

Flying Fox zip lining at Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur

Flying Fox zip lining at Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur

 
Next we went to cooking class at Spice Paradise, one of the best we've found.  Rheka and her husband, Anil, welcomed us into their home immediately and we spent hours and hours talking, laughing, and making delicious food.  Our appetites still weren't back to normal after our stomach bugs, so my only regret is that we couldn't finish all of the food - so unlike us!

David cooking with Rheka at Spice Paradise in Jodhpur

Our favorite dish that we made - Biryani Rice

~Sara

The Great Thar Desert

No, Sara, not dessert.  The desert!  More specifically, the Great Thar Desert straddling the border between India and Pakistan.  It is a really harsh, dry place, complete with nomads, camels and sand as far as the eye can see.  We began our adventure by riding camels in the Sam Sand Dunes (only about 30 km from the Pakistan border).

David riding a camel in the Sam Sand Dunes

Sara showing the guide how it's done in the Sam Sand Dunes

Then we enjoyed a nice dinner and traditional dancing under the stars.  Sara even joined in (and towered over the little Indian ladies).

A traditional dance performance at our campsite in the Thar Desert

And we spent the night in a much-nicer-than-anticipated tent!  Good thing it was sturdy, because there was a sandstorm overnight.  It was pretty exciting once we were confident that the tent wouldn't blow over.

Our tent in the Thar Desert

Our desert adventure was a highlight of our travels through Rajasthan!

-David

A Living Fort

Jaisalmer Fort as seen from Patwa-ki Haveli

The fort in Jaisalmer is a living fort.  Other than a small palace museum, people still live in every nook and cranny.  An ancient fort serving modern needs - restaurants, shops, homes, hotels - pretty cool!  After seeing so many beautiful forts that aren't enjoyed except by visitors on daily tours, it was a treat to see a fort that is lived in every day. Unfortunately, because it is the home to so many people, it is also deteriorating fairly quickly. I hope they can find a way to live in it and also preserve it.   Jaisalmer Fort - not a bad address to have!
 

Inside Jaisalmer Fort

Jaipur and Jaisalmer Belly

Some call it Delhi Belly.  We are calling it Jaipur and Jaisalmer Belly.

It's also known as nature's way of trying to reverse the effects of eating our way through Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka.  It is just a slight case, so we can't complain, but to everyone who told us we couldn't get out of India without getting sick, you were right!

Our first sprint workout

Our first sprint workout was on a train platform.  It was 11:00 p.m. and we were the only Westerners among hundreds of Indians waiting for the overnight train to Jaisalmer.

This was our second overnight train so we were feeling more confident in the drill of finding our carriage and berths.  Our first mistake was trusting a sign over the platform that told us our carriage, A1, would be arriving at that spot.  Instead, when the train arrived at 11:50 pm, the luggage carriage was directly in front of us.  With no idea how long we would have before the train would leave the station we started moving quickly to find our carriage.  All the way to the front, but no luck.  Back to the middle, no luck.  A security guard sent us back to the front (our second mistake was listening to him).  Of course, no luck.  Finally, in a full sprint at this point, we ran toward the back of the train and found A1.  We threw our bags on on board and collapsed as quietly as possible into our berths so as not to wake the Indian family already asleep in the berths next to ours.  Sweating profusely with hearts beating a mile a minute was not the ideal way to start an overnight train journey. About three minutes later the train pulled out of the station.  I guess we could have run a little more slowly, but at our pace at least we didn't see the crazy looks we were probably getting.

Bollywood

Watching a Bollywood movie is a fun experience in itself.  Watching it in Jaipur at the meringue-shaped Raj Mandir theater takes it to a whole other level!!  Never mind that the movie, House Full 2, was mainly in Hindi.  Between the whooping and hollering of the crowd, the dramatic acting, and the frequent clapping, we were able to follow the premise of the movie.  Add to that $0.25 candy, soda, popcorn and Indian fast food and it was an excellent date night!  We had our picture taken quite a few times, so I think we added to the experience for the other moviegoers, too!

The Raj Mandir Theater in Jaipur, India

Inside the Raj Mandir Theater

The Raj Mandir Theater in Jaipur

Haircut

A $4 haircut (including head massage and tip) at Star Hair -- not a bad deal!

David getting his haircut at Star Hair in Jaipur

The road to Jaipur

The road from Agra to Jaipur had several surprises in store for us. Just outside Agra, we paid a quick visit to Fatehpur Sikri. It wasn't exactly a surprise because we had heard of it before, but it turned out to be a pretty neat palace.

Then we continued down the road. As we were driving we flipped through our guide book and noticed a place called the Abhaneri Step Well along the way. It sounded cool so we decided to make a stop. Wow! Basically in the middle of nowhere is this well that goes 13 stories below ground to a pool of water. It is surrounded by steps on all sides. We don't exactly understand it, but it was very cool.

Finally, just before we reached Jaipur we drove past a group of about 20 naked men, completely covered in dust, walking down the side of the road. We later found out that they are Naga Sadhus, who walk around naked, smoke hashish, and do yoga all their lives. We will spare you any pictures!

-David

Fatehpur Sikri

Abhaneri Step Well

The Taj Mahal

My first glimpse of the Taj - can you see it just behind the trees?

David's second time, my first.  A clear, blue sky day.  A glimpse of the Taj as we entered through the first gate.  A feeling of excitement that ran through me.  It was as good as I imagined.  As beautiful as I could have imagined.

Shah Jahan built the monument for his wife as an act of love after she died.  I reminded David that if he has something Taj-like up his sleeve for me, there is no time like the present!

~Sara

The Taj Mahal

Varanasi

The Ganges River in Varanasi

Memorable.  Spritual.  Shocking.  Colorful.  Saddening.  Surprising.  Tiring.  Unbelievable.   Just a few of the words that Varanasi brought to mind.

Varanasi is unlike anywhere that we have ever been, and probably unlike anywhere else on Earth.  Life in Varanasi centers around ghats (i.e., stairs and boat landings) along the Ganges River, which is for Hindus the most sacred river in India.  The scene along the river is an assault on the senses.  On a boat trip down the river around sunrise, this is a bit of what we saw:

- People bathing, some ritually and some lathering up like was their first bath in months
- Pipes of brown sewage gushing into the river
- People brushing their teeth 
- Trash littering the banks of the river
- Cremations on funeral pyres beside the river, the ashes being thrown into the water
- People practicing yoga
- Quite a few cows and dogs meandering through the scene

An early morning boat ride and the evening Aarti Ceremony were the best ways for us to experience the river life.  A fun dinner with new friends from Hong Kong and an eventful autorickshaw ride home capped off our evening in Varanasi.  What a place!

The Aarti Ceremony at Dasaswamedh Ghat

Sara at Dasaswamedh Ghat

Bathing in the Ganges River

Happy 100th Birthday!!!

David's great-aunt Mary turns 100 this Sunday!  What an incredible milestone!  Our family and friends will be celebrating all weekend, and if India weren't so far away we would be there in a heartbeat.

Happy Birthday Gee!  Enjoy every moment of your big day.  Know that we are celebrating with you from afar.  We love you!

David and Sara

With the birthday girl!!

A Taste of Home

Saravana Bhavan in New Dehli

On our second night in Dehli we went to a South Indian restaurant that was recommended to us -- Saravana Bhavan.  What a surprise when the paper placemats told us that they have locations in Decatur and Johns Creek, Georgia.  We had fun explaining to the waiters that they had a location of the same restaurant right where we live.  One seemed very surprised as he said, "They use Indian Rupees in America?"  I explained that it was the same restaurant name and same food, but different money!  The food was really great.  If you live near any of the locations and like Indian food, it is definitely worth a stop.  We will certainly be paying them a visit when we get home!

~Sara

Delhi Old and New

Old Delhi as seen from Jama Masjid mosque

Delhi is like two completely different cities squeezed together into one.  The first time that I was in Delhi I got a good feel for New Delhi but completely missed out on Old Delhi.  This time we explored both Old and New, and we really loved them both.

Delhi is completely covered in monuments and ancient ruins.  We loved our stay in a guesthouse in a very nice, quiet neighborhood in New Delhi.  When we arrived we couldn't help but notice a huge ancient building near the entrance to the neighborhood.  In another city it would have been a major attraction, but here it was not even on the map and no one knew what it was.  That's the kind of city Delhi is.

Random monument in the neighborhood where we were staying

For me it was a short night of sleep because our homestay had satellite TV and I stayed up late watching the final round of the Masters!  Double eagle?  Wow!  In the morning we started exploring.  We actually started by leaving the city and visiting the Qutb Minar, a huge tower built to commemorate the first Muslim victory in India.  Afterwards we headed into New Delhi -- the government center that was planned by the British.  It reminded us of red sandstone version of London or Washington.  There are wide avenues, big government buildings, and parks.  After a quick stop we dove headfirst into Old Delhi.  What a difference a few kilometers makes!  Old Delhi is jam-packed with people and energy.  We really enjoyed wandering through the narrow streets and bazaars, seeing the Red Fort, and climbing to the top of the Jama Masjid mosque.

We had two nights in Delhi, which did give us enough time to do everything we wanted, but we certainly could have spent a few more days just enjoying the city.  We loved the time that we had!

-David

Qutb Minar

Women at Qutb Minar

Presidential Palace (for the second time!)

Old Delhi

A personal travel milestone

Arriving in Delhi marks a personal travel milestone.  About five years ago work brought me to India by way of Europe.  By reaching Delhi the other way around, I have now traveled around the globe by reaching all of the world's longitudes.  Up next: all of the latitudes?

-David

Flying in Asia

A view of Calcutta from the plane

Flying in Asia has been unexpectedly wonderful!  So far we have taken 13 flights in Asia.  Not a single one has been delayed more than ten minutes.  Most leave and arrive early.  Many of the airports have been beautiful - Singapore, Bangkok, and Delhi in particular.  Other than having to work hard to make our way off the plane amidst some aggressive jostling by other passengers, it has been a really pleasant experience.

Last week flying from Sri Lanka to Guwahati airport in Assam, India we had a pretty exceptional experience.  We had booked what we feared was an impossible connection (but it was the only way to get from Sri Lanka to Guwahati in one day).

Flight 1: Sri Lanka to Chennai, India (departing at 3:50 a.m.) - 1 hour, 25 minute layover
   - No problem, even needing to clear customs, retrieve our bags, and recheck them.

Flight 2: Chennai to Calcutta- 25 minute layover
   - We expected that we wouldn't even make this connection and definitely not our bags, so we packed our carry-ons with everything we would need for the weekend. To our surprise, when we landed in Calcutta and stepped onto the jetway we were met by a bus and taken directly to the Guwahati flight.  But what about our bags?  They had us stand beside the plane for a minute or two until a tractor arrived with our connecting bags.  We identified our bags and then hopped on the plane.  Amazing!!! 

Flight 3 - Calcutta to Guwahati: We landed a few minutes early!

Sara identifying our bags at Calcutta International Airport

Counting Rhinos

The watchtower at Kaziranga National Park

We expected that during our two days in Kaziranga National Park we would be the ones counting rhinos, but it didn't turn out that way.  Instead the park rangers were the only ones doing the counting.

Before the trip we hadn't even heard of Kaziranga, but a friend we met traveling in Southeast Asia told us about it.  Kaziranga is in the northeast Indian state of Assam and is very difficult to get to, but we decided that the journey would be worth it to see the one-horned rhinos wake up each morning from the back of an elephant.

About 36 hours before boarding our first of three flights to Guwahati airport, we ducked into a tiny internet shop in Dickoya to check our email.  We were shocked to find out that the park would be closed to elephant rides and safaris during our visit because they would be taking a rhino census.  Two days notice?  They "encouraged" us not to come, but any thoughts of going elsewhere in India were quickly dismissed when we checked the flight prices.  So on to Kaziranga we went.

Entrance to Kaziranga

The first thing we heard after arriving was, "You came at the worst time."  "Yes," we said, "we know."  But, once we got across the idea that we couldn't just come back in a few weeks, a guy who worked at our lodge took us under his wings for both days to show us as much as we could see.

In the end, we saw eight rhinos (pretty good by our standards), elephants, egrits, eagles, deer, water buffalo, and a lot of cows.  We took a great boat ride down the Brahmaputra River, took a long walk in the park, and spent a couple hours each morning at a watchtower looking out over the grasslands.  We were a little disappointed that the visit wasn't what it could have been, but we still really enjoyed our visit!

A one-horned rhino

David saying good morning to a baby elephant