Tuesday 30 October 2012

Best of India

Here it is....our must sees and must tries of India.


Top sights: Taj Mahal, Jodhpur fort, Ganges river, sunrise in the Thar desert and havelis in Mandawa.

Top activities: Mohabbat The Taj ( a play about the creation of the Taj Mahal), riding Camels in the desert, boatride on the Ganges at dawn, nose piercing.

Top foods:  dahl, butter naan, chicken tika, butter chicken

Sunday 28 October 2012

Cole's Question of the day #14


Today's question is..... What is this???( 6pts for 1st, 4 for 2nd, 2 for 3rd and 1 for all other correct answers)

The correct answer is an oven used to cook indian food, such as naan or taandori chicken


 

Saturday 27 October 2012

Varanasi - Momma Ganga


After Agra and the Taj Mahal we headed to Varanasi via overnight train and steadied ourselves for an assault on all of our senses.

Varanasi is one of the world's oldest cities (1200 BC) and one of Hinduism's 7 holy cities.  Pilgrims come to the ghats (long stretches of stairs leading down to the river's edge) to wash away a lifetime of sins in the sacred waters of the Ganges.  If you are cremated along the banks of the river and your ashes are scattered in the river you can be released from the ongoing cycle of life and birth. 
This is a world class people-watching location as the variety of people here bathing, praying, washing clothes, selling flowers, playing cricket and seeing the sights is fascinating.  We took two boat trips down the Ganges - one at dawn to see the morning prayers, and one at dusk to observe the river worship ceremony performed by 5 holy men.  Floating along the river in the boat was surreal - it really is miles away from home and any other experience we have had on this trip. 

This is a photo of the 'burning ghats' - where Hindu's are cremated.  Wood for the pyre is sold by weight - so the wealthier the family the brighter the fire burns.  It can take up to 24 hours for the cremation to be completed. When the cremation is complete the family scatters ashes in the river amid prayers and blessings.




During our dusk boat ride we all lit small candles and floated them down the river - they twinkled in the night and looked quite magical.  It was a simple way to feel part of the celebration that surrounds the Ganges.

















At dawn we again visited the river via a small wooden row boat to witness the bathing, prayers and washing.  At first it seemed odd to be watching people in their intimate rituals but quickly I realised that this is all part of the collective experience for everyone on the river.  Often holy men, people praying and washing would quietly smile at us as we shared the morning.








The colors on the river were fantastic in the morning light.






























Men and boys prayed and bathed in the river in just small loin cloths/shorts while women immersed themselves in their sari. Everywhere we went we delighted in the beautiful colors of the saris worn by most women in India.


Kenna took this photo and shared a morning smile with this holy man.






































Clothes and sheets were washed in the river and spread to dry on the ghats.  The Ganges river is called Momma Ganga by the locals as it provides a spiritual service to the people as well as provides a functional service for bathing, washing and drinking water.








As we wandered along the edge of the river we observed daily life - cooking in the streets, colorful vegetable markets and kids playing cricket.




































 

Both Chuck and Cole got a chance to try cricket at the park.

























Thursday 25 October 2012

Taj Mahal



You have all probably seen this picture before...but I must say seeing the Taj Mahal in person was amazing.  It really is the most beautiful building I have ever seen.  It was  built 500 years ago as the mausoleum for the Maharajah's beloved 3rd wife, who died giving birth to their 14th child.




















Up close the detail on the building is stunning. The marble is white, grey and brown and is decorated throughout with calligraphy from the Koran and flowers and vines made of semi precious stones. 




























The flowers are inlaid in the marble and are made of 7 different semi--precious stone.  It twinkles in the sun when the light hits it just right.  






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Rajahstan - 3rd Leg Jodhpur and Jaipur


After Jaisalmer we headed to Jodhpur to see the most impressive fort yet. 

The fort towers above the city (120 m).  It appears to have grown right out of the rock it was built from.  It was built in 1459 and has been added to for centuries to create the amazing structure it is today.  The design of the fort increases it's security - there are multiple gates to protect the fort - one is even decorated with spikes to prevent elephants from breaking down the gate!  We did an audio tour of the fort - it was full of stories of bloodshed and death.  Amazingly the fort fell three times in its history - and each time the many wives of the Muslim maharajah threw themselves on the burning pyre to prevent them from being kidnapped by the conquering forces.






The fort also has an eclectic museum - full of palanquins (used to carry the royal family through the city),  royal cribs decorated with gods and goddesses, and miniature paintings of the many maharajahs who lived in the fort.








This fort, like the others we had visited, was decorated with intricate carvings and semi-precious stones.















The second floor of the palace is the 'women's quarters' - where the Maharajah's many wives lived. They were not able to mix with the people - but they could peek out of the ornate windows of the 2nd floor onto the inner courtyard where the king would meet with commoners.  The windows are carved out of stone - the details are so fine it appears to be made of wood.
















Everywhere we go we get lots of attention.  Usually each day Kenna and Cole are asked to pose with the locals for photos.  Today I was asked to pose with the ladies who were touring the sight.  I'm wearing my "Indian outfit" - which follows the local tradition of covering women from head to toe.  





















We then headed to Jaipur, the largest town in Rajahstan, a great place to go shopping.  Chuck bought copper bowls at a local store- the price was based on weight of each bowl.  They are used for dahl or curry.  We also bought some spices from a 'spice store' - so we will be busy cooking Indian food when we get home.

























We also spent some time walking around the city, learning how rugs, bedspreads and sheets are made by hand.  Cole is trying out the loom to see if he can make a rug!

























Kenna and I decided to get our noses pierced - it really didn't hurt much (honestly) - I think I was just nervous!










































While we were in Jaipur there was a Hindu festival happening.  Elephants walked down the street, showing off their decorations and we also got to see a parade winding it's way through the busy streets.





Kenna, Cole and I also got our fortunes told in Jaipur.  Based on our birthdate, signature and palm we were told many details about our past, future and how to improve our fate.  I am to wear a ruby ring on my right ring finger to make my life less complicated and both Kenna and Cole will be successful and rich!













Here is a photo of Kenna, Raj (our driver) and Cole.  Raj was amazing - he drove us through Rajahstan for 9 days, made sure we ate well, got us to where we needed to go, drove safely through chaotic situations and even laughed at our bad jokes.  He really made our trip an enjoyable experience (after he left.....everything went down hill fast!).

Monday 22 October 2012

Rajasthan - 2nd leg, Jaisalmer

After Bikaner we headed out to Jaisalmer, 6 hours of driving through the desert.  Dry yellow soil and small bushes dot the landscape.  Houses are small and square and look like they are made of mud.  Occasionally we see a lone man or woman in the desert tending a group of goats.  We arrive at the camel farm - only 80 kms from the Pakistani border so there are quite a few military personnel and buildings here.

In the evening we got to ride camels through the desert for several hours.  Kenna and I are riding 'Lulu' and Cole and Chuck are riding 'Disco'.  

 


 


That night we had a traditional desert meal - dahl, naan, black bread and whole bunch of other things I didn't recognise - but everything  tasted great.  We enjoyed a traditional concert- music on the sitar and tabla, singing, dancing and fire breathing!  Kenna and Chuck slept on cots under the stars and Cole and I slept in a hut with a cloth roof. 

The next day we visited the fort - built in 1156.  The fort follows the contours of the hill with 99 towers.  Over 3000 people still live within this city - selling trinkets and running restaurants and hotels in the maze like alleys.   
 
 The palace within the fort is 7 storeys and was decorated with gems, gold leaf, rugs and paintings. The design of the palace is impressive with coutyards, windows and hallways placed throughout to ensure the flow of cool air throughout the building.


 

Rajasthan - Mandawa and Bikaner

After an extremely frustrating morning trying to book train tickets to Jaipur Chuck and I decided to talk to the Hotel Manager about booking a car and driver to take us around Rajasthan - North West India. 

Even though we are very experienced independent travellers and used to booking our own planes, trains, buses and hotels, India is something else!  It is so hard to find your way around (no street signs or reliable maps) and unfortunately many people want to "help" you for a fee so it is almost impossible to get a straight answer from anyone when trying to sort out our own travel arrangements.  We decided that we would 'surrendor' to India and purchase a package from our hotel - it included an aircon car, private driver, all our hotels, 2 train tickets each and several guided tours.  We worked out the cost - only $135/day for the 4 of us!!  We were thrilled as this would save us hours and hours of making travel arrangements and tons of frustration.  It felt a bit like cheating - but we soon found out that many travellers in this area use the car/driver combination as it is so difficult to do it on your own.  With out new plan we were actually going to visit 8 towns in 14 days while our original plan was to visit 2 towns in 8 days, so we would get to see alot more than we expected. 


On our first day we drove for 7 hours - it took 2 hours to get out of Delhi as the traffic was so slow, then we were in the countryside passing small villages and fields.  The road traffic was amazing - the variety of vehicles we saw was stunning  -  camels pulling carts, 10 or more people crammed into auto-rickshaws (a motorized tricycle with a bench and roof that comfortable fits 2 Westerners!), rickety buses with people on the roof, trucks painted with bright colors and pom pom decorations with enormous loads of rock in the bed, tractors, motorcycles, bicycles, people walking, goats, and many cows standing or lying on the road.

 






































We then stayed at this beautiful hotel - a Haveli.  It is in the town of Mandawa.  Mandawa was settled 300 years ago by merchants of the spice trade.  The merchants hired artists to decorate their homes, inside and out, with images of family, gods and daily life.  The detail of the painting was lovely. 




Kenna and Cole's room had a sitting room, a balcony and an outside bathroom!




There were also small balconies and windows throughout the building - great to peek out at the town.




















   

We had dinner on the roof that night - watching the sunset over the town and listening to the call to prayer from the 3 different mosques in the town.  We felt a million miles away from home - oh so magical!

In the morning we toured the town and had a look at several other Havelis, there are over 200 in this   town.    We headed to Bikaner at about 10:00 as we had only several hours of driving today.  Unfortunately we had car trouble - the fan belt started to fray so we had to limp along slowly for 2 hours in the blistering sun, no airconditioning, to get to a mechanic for repairs. 

The next day we visited the current palace of the king. Half of it has been converted to a hotel and the rest is used by the king  - it was such a quiet lovely place in the dry dusty city.  The staff live outside the palace as well as a large building to house all the elephants (from days gone by).

 
We then went to the old fort, built in the 1600s, where the king lived until about 100 years ago.  Each fort is surrounded by a wall, has several large gates to provide security, an outer courtyard for the public to meet with the king, an inner courtyard for private meetings with the king and a 2nd floor for the kings many wives.  Throughout the fort the rooms are decorated with jewels, gold leaf, and paintings of gods and goddesses.


We also took a drive out to the camel farm to try out camel milk - quite tasty but a little salty!
 

At sunset we drove out to the desert to Karni Mata Temple where pilgrims worship thousands of holy rats as descendants of the goddess.  It is considered lucky to see the white rat - we saw it huddled with the others at the bowl of milk.  I could only stay a moment - I really hate rats!

 
 

Tuesday 16 October 2012

Cole's Question of the Day #13

 Today's question is:   What is this?

(5pts for 1st, 3 for 2nd,2pts for 3rd and 1 for last)





The correct answer is:

<----->
 

Friday 12 October 2012

A Few Days in Delhi


Well we have arrived in India.  We stayed in Delhi for a few days before heading out to Rajasthan. On the plane we met a wonderful couple from Calgary who are now living in India for a few years - they gave us lots of tips on surviving in India.  I also met in the airport a New Yorker who has lived in India for many years - he mapped out an itinerary for us, which was really helpful as this country is so big and has so many places to visit - the options are endless.  When we arrived at the airport our new friend escorted us to a taxi so we could get safely to our hotel.  Well - this really is a different place - on the drive to the hotel we passed lots of garbage, streets full of potholes, homeless people, and the few women we saw were in sarees  Our hotel was in a crowded and dirty area of the town - this picture really doesn't give you the feeling of disrepair that is evident on the street.  Luckily our hotel was quiet, clean and cool so a great respite in this crowded city.





I thought the traffic in Saigon was bad, it is much more chaotic here - and everywhere you look there are people moving objects or people and the loads are unbelievably large!

Here is the local school bus - 8 kids getting a ride to school on a bicycle rickshaw.
















Also bicycles, carts and people move supplies through the city - no idea what is here but it looks heavy!

















In Delhi there is the 400 year old Red Fort, which was also the Maharajah's home.  The building is immense in size and is made of red stone.


















Inside the building the rooms are decorated with intricate carving in the stone as well as paintings of flowers with gold leaf accents. Originally this building had pools and channels throughout to provide air conditioning for the royal family. 

























Kenna, Cole and myself in the courtyard where the king would meet with the public.





































Next we visited the largest Muslim mosque in Asia - it can hold 25,000 worshippers in the main courtyard. It was built the same era as the Red Fort.  To visit the mosque Kenna and I had to wear a dress that covered our ankles, neck and arms and Cole had to wear a wrap to cover his knees.  While we were in the mosque many Muslims were present washing their feet to prepare to pray.   



















We also went to the Gandhi Memorial, a sight visited by many Indians.  It was a simple and elegant memorial for a man who is still highly revered in India and throughout the world for his peaceful protests that supported self-governance of India. 

















While we were there a number of school children were also visiting the sight.  Kenna was of special interest - she was asked to pose several times and received one marriage proposal!  We are finding that everywhere we go people stare at us, take our photos and talk to us.  There really are very few tourists in Delhi and we have not seen any other Western children here so Kenna and Cole get lots of attention everywhere we go.


















While in Delhi we also visited the Bahia Temple - a religion that is all inclusive and strives to support world peace.  This lovely building is called the Lotus Temple and was designed by a Canadian.
Up close it looks very much like the Sydney Opera House - but is covered with marble instead of tiles.