10-19-2011

I'm sitting by the side of a lovely pool writing this and looking at our beautiful hotel courtyard in the gathering dusk. We're at the Alsisar Haveli in lovely Jaipur, waiting for time for dinner. There is a puppet show going on in the courtyard and a young man selling puppets. The haveli is a heritage hotel, formerly the home of rich people, who have turned it into a hotel. There are numerous courtyards, the haveli architecture is typical Rajasthani princely architecture and it's all very atmospheric. A bit of old India.

We started out less than early this morning, after a night listening to a barking dog. I slept okay with my earplugs, but Grace and Pat had a rough go of it. Breakfast was a delicious Indian omelet made with onions and toast with the ubiquitous Indian red jam. I love red jam. We set out in the coach for Jaipur, first passing through the Sariska Forest. It turns out that the Forest is a national park and the park service won't let anyone build a road through it. So the road that's there was originally built years ago and has fallen into complete disrepair. We bounced and jounced through the park and eventually got to a good road after more than an hour.

When we got to Jaipur, we ate a nice lunch at a restaurant that Vikas brought us to. Then it was on to shopping! We went to a store called Antiquariat, a very nice jewelry store and had a nice shopping experience, including chai and Diet Pepsi. The next stop was store selling textiles and carpets, where I did some hard bargaining but could not come up with a good price on a salwar suit. George and Sue bought 2 rugs, though and they were beautiful.

Now we're getting ready to eat dinner at the hotel restaurant. Our room is great, with 2 twin beds and a cot, so I don't have to sleep in the bed with Grace. Not that I minded it particularly, but it's nice to have my own bed.

10-18-2011

This morning we got up early(ish) and checked out of the hotel. We set out for Jaipur and as usual in India, driving is an adventure. People go this way and that, the road goes along fine for awhile and then ends or diverts or you switch over to the other lane because your lane ended. We stopped once for a bathroom break (and to buy some cookies for the road), then got to the Sariska Tiger Camp around 1 pm.

We were served a nice lunch and then we all got back into the van and went to the Sariska Park for a jeep safari. There are 5 tigers in the park, 2 boys and 3 girls, and since the park is pretty big, we weren't too optimistic about seeing a tiger. We weren't disappointed. We saw lots of tiger food – deer, antelope, peacocks and peahens, little birds that look like quail, wild boar, but no sign of a tiger. We also went to the Hanuman Temple which is in the park and I was blessed by the priest. We also got some milk cake there, which turns out to be the specialty of the area. It's the best milk cake I've ever had.

The jeep ride was about 3 hrs. long, plus an hour going and coming. It was pretty bouncy and jouncy and some of our group were thinking twice about having a jeep safari in the morning. We decided to forgo it and instead have a late morning and an early start for Jaipur. So we came back to the Camp, had a nice dinner and now it's time for bed! Jaipur here we come!

10-17-2011

Today was quite a day in more ways that one. It started out uneventfully enough with a nice breakfast in the hotel. Our first stop was Humayun's Tomb, which is a precursor to the Taj and very beautiful. Then we went directly to the Gurudwara, which kind of messed us up because we were supposed to get there at 11:00 to meet our friend Santosh, but we actually got there at 10:30. We had planned to eat lunch there, but they don't start serving until 12:30, so getting there that early was a problem. Raj said he didn't know we were planning on eating lunch there, but it was on our itinerary. We ended up going for a tour of the place which included a tour of the kitchens, always a fabulous thing. Our group was very impressed by the Gurudwara, which is what we were looking for. We ended up going to eat lunch and then coming back to the Gurudwara to watch the folks eat lunch.

Then it was off to the Qtub Minar, which neither Grace nor I remembered correctly. We both remembered the large iron pillar, but neither one of us remembered the Minar itself, which is pretty impressive. We picked up a guide there and he told us a little information, but mostly helped us take groovy pictures.

Then we went off to Dr. Massey's Centre for Dalit and Subaltern Studies, which was clear on the other side of Delhi. The ride was kind of hair-raising and we went through some pretty poor sections of town. Dr, Massey very kindly met with us and we learned about the situation of Dalits and a little about Dalit Christianity. Then we went to Hi Mirchee, the restaurant where we ate with him last year. Mrs. Massey (Kala) was waiting for us there and we had a lovely dinner. We've really had great food ever since we've been here in India. Then it was back to the hotel for bed.

10-16-2011

Today was our first real sightseeing day and after some early morning hiccups, we got on the road. We met Raj, our city guide in the lobby of the hotel and he took us to the Red Fort first. I had been concerned that we weren't originally scheduled to go into the Red Fort, but we went in and it was as interesting as the last 2 times I've been. This was the first time I've been in with a guide and it was really informational. I learned a lot that books don't tell. Then we went over to the Raj Ghat, where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated. It's very peaceful and serene – a nice commemoration of his death. After that, we went to the Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India. First we took a ride in a bicycle rickshaw through Chandni Chowk, the busy shopping district of Old Delhi. The lanes we went down were narrow and even though it was Sunday and many shops were closed, there were still a lot of people about. We're getting ready for Diwali, Hinduism's biggest holiday of the year, and tinsel had been strung overhead and new calendars with images of Laxmi on them were being sold on the sidewalk. It's always a shock to see the electrical wires bunched up and strung all over everywhere in Chandni Chowk. They may do it elsewhere, but you don't seem to see it as much as other places.

Next we went to lunch at this place called Pindi, which is the third time I've been to that restaurant in 3 visits to Delhi. I asked Raj, our guide, what the story was with this restaurant, but I still believe that the guides get a good commission for bringing people there. It's filled with white tourists. After that we went to Birla House, the last place that Gandhi lived and where he was assassinated. It's very moving, very well done and very interesting.

This evening we had such a great time. Our friend Sushma had connected us with her friends Jaideep and Jo, who work in the hospitality industry. We went to their home where we were treated to a cooking lesson out on their porch. They had a table set up with a double gas ring and all the necessities for cooking. Jo made yellow dal and pilao and showed us her spice box, which is a round silver box with round spice pots inside. Then Jaideep made sesame shrimp and showed us a gutted fish.

After the cooking lesson, the ladies brought out their saris and we had a hilarious time dressing up in saris. They don't wear them that much, so there was lots of conversation about how to do it. It's not done the way I thought. We all looked good and we took a bunch of pictures. Then they brought out the food. They had made a bunch of things – okra, lentil balls, lamb curry, prawn curry, chapati, etc. and it was all delicious. In the meantime, the beer and wine and scotch was flowing, so it was a very convivial time. Finally, they gave us all little gifts. It was a very nice time and we appreciated their hospitality.

10-15-2011

When we came out of customs, Vikas was there waiting for us. He seems lovely and he took us right to our waiting van and Satish, our driver. We got to our hotel and after some bumfling around, we went to dinner by way of the India Gate, which was lit up in the tricolor for night. Then we went to the Ashok Hotel and their Oudh Restaurant, where Jimmy, Lois, Grace and I had such a good meal last year. We met Vishal, our tour operator for the first time and he is very lovely. He treated us to dinner and we weren't disappointed. The food was as good as we remembered it. Vishal ordered for the table and we had mutton biryani, dahi ke kofta, tandoori chicken, butter and plain naan and other assorted scrumptious things. Then dessert came – gulab jamuns, of course, and they were delicious. It was a splendid start to our Indian adventure.

10-14-2010

India here we come! Grace, Pat, Sue and George and I all met at the airport and the checkin process went quite smoothly. The line moved quickly enough, the checkin procedure wasn't elaborate or time-consuming, and before we knew it, we were in the boarding lounge. There was a group of white Americans going – I heard one of them say they were 100 – and the rest of the plane is filled with Indians. We had a 777 – my old plane! So I felt like I was in familiar territory. The seating is pretty cramped and not that comfortable, but I had an extra pillow with me and I was able to put it to good use. I took an Ambien and slept a little, but I'm looking forward to my bed tonight. The food wasn't fabulous, but it's nice to eat Indian spices again.

One groovy thing they had was a “cockpit cam” that showed us what the pilots were seeing. In my flight attendant career I was only every up in the cockpit once for takeoff, so I think it's pretty cool that now everyone can see what it looks like. Unfortunately, it was a rainy day, so once we got off the ground the visibility wasn't good, but we saw the runway during takeoff.

10/30/10

The trip back to New York went smoothly except for the fact that our flight from Mumbai to London was almost 45 min. late, giving us not very much time to connect in London. They rebooked us on a later flight, but we still wanted to see if we could make the original flight. We ran to the bus, the bus fortunately took less time than I remembered and then we ran to the gate. When we got to the gate we discovered that our original flight was delayed, so there was no problem with our making it.

The one glitch was that our bags didn't make it onto the flight we got, which we didn't find out about until we got to New York. We went to the baggage claim office to put a trace on them, and I'm hoping they'll be able to find the bags. We have 3 more flights a day after the one we made, so I'm hoping that everything will turn out okay. I had most of my important stuff in my hand luggage, but there are some things that I'd hate to lose (charging cords, some jewelry) so I hope it comes back to us. God’s been smiling on us this whole trip, so I’m thinking positively.