Category: India

After two nights in Jodhpur we departed to Ranakpur on Wednesday the 17th. Our original plan was to see the sights in Ranakpur in the afternoon and then drive to Udaipur and spend two nights in Udaipur, essentially having only one day to explore Udaipur since we probably wouldn’t arrive until early evening. We decided to explore the Jain temple in Ranakpur, spend the night in Ranakpur and then skip Udaipur and head straight to Pushkar. We’re gaining one night by skipping Udaipur which we will either use in Jaipur or Varanasi where we really don’t want to feel rushed. We know Udaipur would have been great to see but we unfortunately can’t see everything and we would like to slow down a little in Jaipur and Varanasi.

Ranakpur is home to one of five of the most important Jain temples in the world and the renowned temple in Ranakpur is considered to be one of the best. It contains 1,444 exquisitely carved marble pillars and no two are alike. There are five distinct ceiling domes carved in marble (the whole temple is carved in marble) and the detail in the domes and quite frankly the whole temple can only be described as mind blowing. The temple was built by 2,500 craftsmen and took fifty years to build. Walking through the temple was one big WOW!

There are several other smaller temples in the area and on our way back to our car, right across the parking lot was what we were told is the Kama Sutra Temple. I couldn’t find anything specific about this temple or if it is in fact called the Kama Sutra Temple but the carvings were exquisite with a few intertwined bodies and body parts and inside, “Photography Is Forbidden” Joyce happened to  mistakenly get a good pic of one of the many Jain deities.

We’re trying not to fall too far behind in the blog. Keeping the dates accurate and the sights, smells and sounds clear in our minds is a bit of a challenge at times but I think so far so good. We departed Jaisalmer on Monday, Jan 15th for another fairly long drive arriving into Jodhpur around 2:30 in the afternoon. We found a great hotel and Tony at the front desk offered to take us on a walking tour of the old town and see sights he says most tourists will never see so we said forget it! No, we of course said yes and after a little bathroom break we joined Tony for a good 1 1/2 hour, 8,000+ step, 10 story walk/hike through the old town of Jodhpur, also known as the “Blue City”. We escaped the congestion and made our way through narrow winding and sometime steep inclined roads and were able to get a glimpse into the other side of the day-to-day existence of the city’s inhabitants. We felt lucky to see this and we did not encounter any other foreigners throughout our walk. The blue city is slowly losing its blueness. As homes are sold, some new owners have decided to change the colours of their homes, some are adding tile facades, others leaving the paint to peel away. Of course we had to ask why the homes were painted blue in the first place and the answer is threefold. First, blue does not attract heat and since Jodhpur is also known as “Sun City” because of the amount of sunlight received every year, blue helped keep homes cool in the summer. Second, and this is interesting, blue repels mosquitos. No mosquito will ever land on a blue surface so the homes were not just painted blue on the outside but inside as well. Third, blue was the colour of the Hindu god Krishna, the deity of love and compassion.

While walking through the neighbourhood Tony made a call and guided us to a home under renovation and after climbing several floors we reached a roof top terrace with a great view of Old Town and Mehrangarh Fort in the distance. Making our way back we slid through an inconspicuous side door for a great view of part of the castle and then finally through the market in Old Town and a stop at an ancient step well.

Pooped we retired to our hotel terrace restaurant and Joyce caught this great three-tiered pic, the illuminated castle, Old Town and our terrace restaurant.

Another sunny day in “Sun City” and a day spent exploring Menrangarh Fort and Museum and Juwant Thada. Originally built in 1459 with many other portions built up to 1803 the fort also houses a palace, now a museum and is an exquisite example of Rajput architecture. Perched atop a 130 metre escarpment the materials used to build the fort were chiseled from the rock on which the fort stands.

We were getting sore feet but decided to head over to the Juswant Thada, a marble memorial to Maharaja Juswant Singh II. The whole structure and funeral pyres are chiseled from solid marble.

After a short visit to Juswant Thada our tuk tuk driver suggested a leisurely stroll in a park which we cannot find the name of but contains several beautiful hindu memorials/shrines dating to the 14th century. The walk to the temples were filled with beggars, lepers and filth. The temples seemed out of place, there was garbage everywhere and it was a huge disappointment to see such beauty among all the shit and crap and filth. The Indians (most) seem to have no concern for their environment. It is truly a pity to see this but sadly it is not just India that this problem and we wonder what the solution might be if any.

Next stop, Ranakpur.

The long days seem to be adding up. This one, Bikaner to Jaisalmer on Saturday  the 13th was about 369 km and took us close to 7 hours. We left Bikaner around 1:15 pm after catching some of the Camel Festival so didn’t arrive into Jaisalmer until just after 7:00 pm which essentially meant a two night stay in order to take everything in the next day and we certainly did have a full day.

The desert city of Jaisalmer literally means “the Hill Fort of Jaisal” and is also called the “Golden City” thanks to the colour it gets from the yellow sandstone used in the construction of its buildings. The city is one of the last big towns in Rajasthan closest to the Pakistan border (about 100 km away) and sits in the heart of the Thar Desert. There are several “must see” places to visit in and around the city and with just one full day we focused on the primary sites; Jaisalmer Fort, Fort Palace, Jain Temples and a short camel ride into the Thar Desert to catch the sunset.

Jaisalmer Fort is one of the largest fortifications on the planet and is the only living fort in Rajasthan with 3,000 people within it’s walls running businesses, cafe’s, markets and home stays making easy for the imagination to wander and see how life was many centuries ago. Within the fort and at its centre is the 11 story palace that served as the private residence of its rulers. Interestingly, all of the doors within the palace are quite small and were built this way for the express purpose to force the person entering to bow and stoop as they enter, not knowing if an important person was on the other side and thus saving their wrath because you didn’t bow upon entering their space. Also within the walls of the fort are a group of 7 intricately carved Jain temples built between the 12th and 15th centuries and connected together by corridors and walkways. We’re running out of words to describe the artistry and beauty of these and all the other places we’ve seen. I think I’ll have to start consulting a thesaurus since gorgeous, stunning, amazing, awe-inspiring, incredible etc no longer do justice to these and the many other historical monuments we’ve seen and will see in the future.

The fort and palace

Jain Temples

We were supposed to meet back at our hotel at 2:45 to meet our jeep to take us out to the camel pick up site so after leaving the fort we stopped for a quick bite at a very good Italian restaurant just near the fort entrance. While patiently waiting for our order we were told there was going to be a very large Hindu procession happening within minutes just outside of the walls of the restaurant. Known as the couple who are always on time, we waited anxiously looking at our watch, looking for our pizza and procession and luckily enough we got both before making a b-line back to our hotel.

Sweating profusely as we got back to our hotel, it’s been a while since the temperature here is comfortable, around 25 deg. and very low humidity, we regrouped and headed out to the Thar Desert for a camel ride to the dunes to catch the sunset. Now this is India and no matter where you are, there will always be small children who will find you and want to entertain you for a few rupees. The middle of the desert was no exception. As we sat upon the sand contemplating the scenery and relative quiet, three young children, two boys, one girl slowly climbed the dune towards us. The boys had symbols for their instruments, the young girl was decked out in the latest Rajathani fashion and they proceeded to sing and shake and tap their symbols while the young girl danced, rather provocatively for her age, to, wait a minute, are they singing frere jacques? Yes they were and that is probably the first French song I learned back in grade 1. Needless to say they didn’t know anything in English so we shooed them away and pointed them toward what looked like a Chinese or Japanese couple and told them that they had lots of money. The sunset was beautiful, awe-inspiring, gorgeous, never mind.

 

Yesterday after staying an extra unplanned night in Bikaner in order to take in the Bikaner Camel Festival Parade we were not disappointed. Decked out in beautifully ornate and tribal costumes by both the camels and participants we were treated to a fairly short but well worth the extra night parade. Held every January 13th-14th, the parade and festival brings together locals and tourists to celebrate the trains of the desert.

While in Bikaner we stayed at the Hotel Harasar Haveli, originally the home of the hotel owners father and now converted into a very nice hotel. The architecture has all of the beautiful, intricate carving hallmarks of the areas many haveli’s.  The rooms were comfortable, the staff was excellent and attentive, the restaurant food was good and the price was right. We would highly recommend this hotel.

Rats! Rats everywhere, over 40,000 last estimate and they are revered, worshipped and loved by a small Hindu sect. If you are squeamish by the sight of rats, this is not where you want to visit. In our books though an absolute must see. The devout believe drinking from the same waters as the rats will protect them from sickness and give them longevity. There is a long story behind this belief that dates back to the 14th century.

Next stop, Bikaner. We arrived yesterday mid afternoon so had some time for a quick lunch before heading out to have a quick look at Junagarh Fort. It was about 3:15 when we headed over and the fort/palace closed at 4:30 so it was a bit of a whirlwind tour of this impressive fort constructed between 1589 and 1593. There are several “mahals” or halls beautifully decorated with blue cloud motifs, carved sandalwood, gold gilded paintings, ivory carvings, mirrors and a cornucopia of fascinating relief carvings.

After a quick tour of the fort/palace we grabbed a tuk tuk and our driver was great. We asked him to take us to the old town to see the market and he became our tour guide along the way. Bikaner also has many havelies but these are not exquisitely painted as in Mudawa but carved in red coloured teak wood. He graciously showed us a few of these wonderful masterpieces.

Old town market. Congested, polluted, smelly and convoluted but a must see!

Yesterday, after a 506 km journey from Delhi we reached Mundawa in the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan. The Shekhawati is known for its grand havalies meaning “house” but more to the tune of “mansion”. The region was on the Silk Route, or more accurately, on one of the many routes taken by traders primarily between Arabia, India and China where silk, silver, opium,spices and many other goods were traded. In the 18th and 19th centuries Marwari merchants from the area lived abroad in India’s new commercial centres and sent the bulk of their vast fortunes back to their families to construct grand havalies to show their neighbours how well they were doing. Competition ensued and the result was grand homes and temples which are richly decorated and still to some extent preserved to this day. The havelies in Mundawa are over 200 years old and most are in a state of decay while some have been restored and a few restored and made into magnificent hotels. We stayed at Hotel Mandawa Haveli, a beautifully restored 1890’s haveli with rooms surrounding a painted courtyard.

The morning after our arrival we did a short 1 1/2 tour of the many havalies in town. If we won 50 million on the lottery we would most definitely come back to restore one of the many mansions in dire need of some TLC. The artistry generally belonged to the kumhars, or masons, and they were both the builders and painters of incredibly ornate and wonderfully decorated homes.

We have a 21 day circuit planned. It took a while to work it out but I think we have it pegged down. We’ll spend most of out time in Rajasthan edging up to the border of Pakistan and then Madhya Pradesh and back into Uttar Pradesh. We have a car and driver, our bags are packed with one big one left here at the hotel and we’re all set to go tomorrow morning, after breakfast, probably around 9:00-9:30.  What’s the rush?  Below is a brief description of the towns, sites and areas we plan ro visit;

Mandawa; Mandawa fort and the areas mansions (havelis). The area is known as “The open art gallery of Rajasthan”.

Bikaner; Surrounded by the Thor Desert it is known for its 16th century Junagarh Fort and the nearby Karni Mata Temple where the religion revolves around the worshipping of rats. Known as the Rat Temple.

Jaisalmer; A former medieval trading centre in the heart of the Thar Desert. Known as the “Golden City”. We’ll do an overnight camel trip into the desert.

Johdpur; The “Blue City” in the desert.

Ranakpur; Marble Jain temples, magnificent architecture and lots of monkeys.

Pushkar; Bordering the Thar Desert, Puskar Lake and hundreds of temples.

Jaipur; Capital of Rajisthan also known as the “Pink City”.

Orcha; Raja Mahal, Betwa River, Mughal architecture.

Khajurao; UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hindu and Jain temples.

Varanasi; The spiritual capital of India. The sacred waters of the Ganges River and over 2,000 temples.

Agra; The Taj Mahal.

We flew from Mumbai to Delhi on Saturday, January 6th and arrived at our hotel mid afternoon. What we had seen on the drive from the airport was quite different from Mumbai. The traffic was still terrible but the roads were tree-lined, the chowks (traffic circles) were well manicured but the air pollution was terrible. Our eyes were burning after a very short time and I could feel it in my nose. I felt like I was catching a cold. As we progressed along the tree lined boulevards and neared our hotel we crossed a bridge and all semblance of civilization seemed to be left behind. The roads became more congested, bicycle rickshaws were everywhere where before there were none and the poverty of India stood up and said hello with beggars knocking on our car windows, snot nosed little children doing acrobatics at the traffic lights and young girls with tiny babes in their arms begging forlornly, hand to mouth gestures asking for food money. You really have no choice but to try to ignore it as difficult and emotionally wrenching as it can sometimes be. There are between 20-30 million, yes million people in Delhi and there is no way you can even begin to help them all. It’s tough but you have to ignore it.

We arrived to our hotel, Hotel Broadway, built in 1956 and it stands out amongst the dirt and filth in the area. Obviously things really changed between then and now. I don’t think we could have stayed at a worse location. The hotel is very good, clean, great staff, nice rooms, a fantastic Rajasthani restaurant attached, (really amazing food) but is surrounded by down and out alcoholics, filth, endless traffic and the stench of urine as you take a leisurely stroll along the sidewalk making sure not to get hit by a motorcycle driving on the sidewalk. A lovely place on a crisp winters morn, not, but we will stay here again because the hotel is nice and taxis or tuk tuks are cheap and the price is right and this is India.

Sunday we planned on doing some sight-seeing, maybe try to get some maps and stuff and enjoy the day. After realizing it was Sunday the sightseeing portion was nixed. Weekends, especially Sundays are the busiest times to visit historical monuments, parks and temples so we “took a tuk tuk” to Connaught Place, a large circular shopping district full of chain stores, bars and restaurants and decided to try to find a legitimate travel agency. We’re told it is very difficult to find one as most are fly-by-night operations employing touts to lure you in and then never delivering on their promises or what you paid for. With that in mind we stopped in at ” Fly By Night Travel and Trickery” and sat down with Mr. Ashok (call me “Ash”) Kumar, a devout Muslim (he must be trustworthy no?) and asked for his opinions on our Rajasthan travel ideas. Great! Perfect! Easy to do! Yes of course we’re insured, references?, Facebook, website etc. We left there feeling ready to hand over 150,000 rupees, 70% up front, the remainder on our return. Must be legit. Well we researched him and his travel agency high and low and found one website connected to another to another (his website didn’t work) with the last entries in 2010, two reviews, one rating a “0” the other a “5” (probably from his cousin). We were told by the Manager at our hotel that he could help us so today we worked out a plan. But first, our Delhi sightseeing that we did yesterday.

First stop, Humayan’s Tomb. A large preserved area built for the Emperor Humayan in the mid 16th century by his Persian born wife Haji Begum and is thought to be the inspiration for the Taj Mahal which it predates by 60 years. Along with the tomb of Humayan there are 100 other tombs giving the area the name “Tomb of the Moguls”.  There a several other impressive tombs and associated mosques in the large area encompassing the large heritage site, the first being Isa Khan’s Tomb and Mosque.

The next site in the area was Afsarwaia Tomb and Mosque.

The finale, Humayan’s Tomb.

We were getting hungry and wanted to take some tomb out, oh never mind. We hopped back in our ride and headed over to Lodi Gardens. Originally named after Lady Willingdon who had two villages cleared in 1931 in order to landscape the area and make a park to remind her of her home (guess where?), it was later renamed after the 15th century Lodi-era tombs the gardens contain.

We’ll be back in Delhi the end of January. There are many more sites to see so we’ll see what we can when we return from Rajasthan. Today was a trip finalization, packing and lunch at McDonald’s day ( no beef here). Tomorrow we set off to Rajasthan.

We flew into Mumbai from Goa on Wednesday, January 3rd to the prospect of not being able to get transport to our hotel, about 45 km’s away in Colaba, part of Old Mumbai in the south. Over several days in Mumbai thousands of Dalits had hit the streets causing the closure of major arterial highways, the Metro, trains and public transportation. The protests were against the violence and discrimination they say they face everyday and against the recent violence that claimed the life of a young man during caste clashes near the city of Pune. Dalit, meaning “oppressed” in Sanskrit is the term mostly used for the castes in India that are described as the “Untouchables”. There are over 200 million and many suffer social deprivation and economic exclusion. Fortunately things had cooled down by the time our flight arrived so we were able to get a taxi and safely make our way to our hotel.

We had two days to explore Mumbai before flying to Delhi and we made almost every minute count. On Thursday we covered a huge area taking in the Gateway of India, built on the waterfront in 1924 to commemorate the landing of King George V and Queen Mary on their visit to India in 1911 and used as the exit point in 1948 for the last British troops to leave India following the countries independence in 1947, signalling the end of British rule. From there we wandered next door along the waterfront taking in the sights of the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel where in 2008 the hotel was one of 12 Mumbai terrorist targets of the Pakistan based Laskar-eTaiba Islamic terrorist organization.

We quickly walked past and made our way to the hustle and bustle of the Colaba Street Market, a labyrinth of narrow congested semi streets and alleyways where everything imaginable was available and, we were the only foreigners there which is just how we like it.

Next stop was Sassoon Dock with the original plan to visit the Sassoon Dock Art Project but this was not to be. It closed December 31st to make way for a very large fisherman dock rehabilitation and improvement project but we were definitely not let down. The dock is still one of the oldest functioning fisherman docks in Mumbai and one of the largest fish markets in the city.  The initial smell was, well, smelly but after a very short period of time you get used to it. We arrived later in the morning so missed some of the larger fish being processed but we were met with an amazing sight of many groups of primarily women sitting on their haunches on the wet concrete floor hand peeling giant mounds of fresh shrimp of varying size. It was an amazing sight to behold.

Finally, a long walk back along Colaba Causeway, a great place for sidewalk shopping, car and rickshaw and cow dung dodging, school children and finally a late lunch at Pa Pa Ya, a little Asian Fusion restaurant right next door to our hotel. Phew!  Dinner was low-key at the “Happening” Colaba Social Restaurant, also right next door on the other side of our hotel.

Our second and final day before departing Mumbai was spent walking great distances once again. This time we headed north of our hotel and began our day at the   Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, better know as the Indian National Museum. We spent three hours viewing extraordinary history of India represented by historical art pieces, textiles, carvings, paintings and all things histo-artsy. (my word).

Following the museum we continued north to the famous Flora Fountain which was unfortunately cordoned off and covered due to the construction of a new Metro station so we veered west and hit the ocean side, a few km’s south of the famous Chowpatty Beach, made famous by the late Peter Sellers movie “I left my patatty on Chowpatty”.

Sore feet and a little pooped we took a tuk tuk back to our hotel and headed over to the legendary Leopold Cafe (Leopold’s was also a terrorist target in the 2008 attacks in Mumbai) where we hoped to enjoy a reasonably priced beer or two and have something to eat. It was not to be. We had two 650 ml bottles of Budweiser of all things. Total in CAD, $20.00 so we blew that place in a hurry, had a beer at a fish and chips place for 1/3 the cost and then had some great appetizers and much more affordable drinks at Havana’s, a very cool bar at the Gordon Hotel and then crashed with sore feet, soot filled nostrils and the knowledge that the air and traffic will only be worse, much worse at our next stop, Delhi.