Bhainsrorgarh – A Fort on a River of Glass

The drive from Bundi to our next destination, Fort Bhainsrorgarh was fairly uneventful (for India). By the way, the word “garh” on the end of that word is seen a lot in the Hindi language; it means “fort”, so we were headed for the Bhainsror Fort to be exact.

Our guide Bhanwar Singh stopped at a roadside fruit stand for some fresh guava that looked like a greenish-yellow apple but tasted like a cross between an apple and a pear. Bhanwar wanted to show us the fruits of the region, as we have never tasted guava. The pretty young Hindu guava vendor who was sitting yoga-style on her roadside table alongside her produce sprinkled a pinch of a mix of salt and cayenne pepper on some of my husband’s guava slices – man did that make the guava come to life!! Who could’a predicted guava as our new favorite fruit!

We also visited the Baroli Temples, an off-the-beaten-track site of 9th c. temples, similar to the ones at Khajuraho, but smaller with unusual carvings and elaborate altars. The complex also included some impressive Shiva “lingams,” which are sculptures of the male sex appendage engaged with the female organ; it celebrates the joy of sexual union.

Two pillars stand a couple of football fields away from one of the temples, and we were told that at certain times of the year (perhaps during the solstices?), sunlight travels though the two pillars and illuminates the temple altar. I am convinced that Hinduism is the last true remnant of paganism in the world. No one knows when Hinduism began, and unlike other religions, Hinduism has no known founder -- and nothing much seems to have changed over the centuries. As we were leaving, we each received a spot of yellow paste on our foreheads as a blessing (My husband just “loves” that glop on his forehead!).

Our Bhainsrorgarh Fort Hotel is the most romantic spot yet. This former Maharajah palace is perched at the end of a promontory on a cliff 200 ft. above the crocodile-infested Chambal River. Our host, Rajveer, is a member of the royal family who owns and operates this place. Our living quarters were huge with a bathroom as large as some of our recent hotel rooms.

And as soon as we were settled in, we had lunch on the roof under a stone gazebo. We really felt like royalty as we enjoyed the views of the river and watched the green parrots flitting around the colorful palace gardens.

Of course, no hotel is perfect. Every hotel that we stay at here in India seems to have at least one “lucky” gecko hanging out on the walls of our living quarters. Here at the Bhainsrorgarh Fort Hotel, we have two in the bedroom and one in our bathroom. One of these geckos is rather large, and looks like he could have been around for a while. He loves to hang on the wall right above our bed, picking off insects as they seek out the lamp over the headboard of our bed. These big green carnivorous critters are of course harmless to humans and do devour a great quantities of insect life; for that we are grateful and welcome their presence. However, I am still leery of them, and just hope this one doesn’t jump on my face while I’m sleeping.

Power outages daily are also an issue here – my husband counted 9 thru the evening and night, and those were just the ones he was awake for. But I am totally charmed by the elegance of this old palace and the wonderful service. For example, we were given our own table in a small private dining room at dinnertime. The walls held carved niches displaying old teapots and other household items -- also old photographs of former Maharajahs, each one showing the proud hunter standing in front of a dead tiger or antelope with gun in hand and foot on the poor critter (not quite so charming!).

We lost power again just as we finished our meal. Of course, my husband, the former “Boy Scout,” had his trusty flashlight handy, but the staff had already placed candles along the way back to our room. This is very sweet, but the “servant mentality” here in India makes us feel uncomfortable – and sorry for the staff. Even the owners refer to the men who work in their hotels as “boys!” We don’t think they are being mistreated or anything. They all seem to be good natured about it, and just deal with it as a job they are lucky to have.

“Serving” other people seems to be the prime directive. My husband secretly gets very unhappy when he’s not even allowed to pop the aluminum top on his beer or soda can here; the “boys” will bring an aluminum can over at dinner time, and they have it popped and poured into a glass before he can tell them “no, I want to do it myself!” Guess he will have to re-learn how to pull the aluminum tabs off when he returns to the states.

The next morning, my husband was feeling a bit under the weather, so I took the recommended boat ride on the river by myself. One of the staff led me down to the water’s edge where I met the two boatmen who would man the oars to propel the small wooden boat. I had a momentary thought that I must be out of my mind, but then I hopped in the boat and we were off.

For the next hour, I felt as if I was floating into an Impressionist painting. The lake perfectly reflected the palace and all the greenery along the shoreline – in fact, the reflections were so shimmery that I actually started to feel dizzy.

Crocodiles are supposed to inhabit these waters, and the boatmen did point out what they said was the head of a crocodile crossing to the other side of the river, but it was hard to see. I also saw monkeys swinging through the trees, and when we neared an island in the middle of the river, about 50 large vampire bats went wild, screeching and soaring around overhead. The boatmen returned me safe and sound, gladly accepted their tips, gave me a couple of “namastes” and disappeared back onto the river.

My husband was feeling better, so we decided to walk through the small village on our own. It was impossible to take a peaceful stroll because the town’s people acted as if two freaks from “albino city” had just rolled into town. Little kids flocked around my husband like he was the Pied Piper of Bhainsrorgarh!

We stopped by a small grocery store to pick up a couple items, and when we turned around, a crowd of over 30 town people had gathered behind us just to see what we were up to. Everyone was friendly enough, but it gets to be pretty draining when the whole town is gaping at you, and we were happy to escape back up the mountain to our isolated palace.

Now we want to give you some straight talk on cow manure. My husband proudly considers himself somewhat of an expert on this topic; since he grew up around a farm, he is no stranger to a cow patty. But even he has never seen cow dung raised to the peculiar reverence it receives here.

Raw cow manure is smeared on the front step surface of each country house for good luck. Maybe for more practical reasons, we think it might also give the home owner a place to wipe off his muddy shoes for more foot traction when entering the home; Bhanwar told us that it even keeps the mosquito population down. And a carefully swept cow dung kitchen floor is a real point of pride in a home.

Cow dung is even a source of artistic expression. Women create colorful patterns in their front yards. Initially, I thought these were sand paintings, but of course, as we found out, they are “dung designs.” We even observed cow excrement “fancifully” reshaped and decorated with little white flowers – pointed out proudly to us by a young man who acted as if he was showing us a sculpture by Rodin! We guess that since the cow is a highly sacred animal in India, any cow “byproduct” is considered sacred, too. Either that, or some here might have a little too much time on their hands.

What a delight to read! Waiting for more.

Your report may be the very best and most informative I've read. Bravo! Keep it coming.

bookmarking. Thanks!

Maybe I won't drop Bundi off the list after all...

I was also curious about Jojawar for the same reasons as julies.

Narlai looks gorgeous and I haven't read a bad thing about it. We watched "The Darjeeling Limited" a few nights ago on tv and I recognised Narlai in the film. Like you julies, I'll probably stick with Jojawar as it fits better into my budget. I'm considering Dungarpur as a possible alternative to Narlai...

Magster I'm still really enjoying your report and can't wait to hear all about your experiences in Jodhpur...

carobb -- Bundi really is special -- see it if you can. We also had some of our best meals there. I especially liked Bundi Haveli - great food, service (we loved our waiter, Mac), and a wonderful view of the palace from their rooftop terrace.

I will have to take another look at "The Darjeeling Limited!" We watched it before we left, but I missed seeing Narlai.

Just one more thought regarding Narlai (and accomodations in general). In India, you can really mix it up in terms of your accomodations. Overall, we averaged less than $100/night, but we had a mix of the very cheap (as low as $35/night) and the expensive. So, instead of just looking at moderately-priced places (which I would normally do) you can go with the extremes.

Udaipur – City of Romance

Touted as the most romantic city in India, Udaipur enjoys a marvelous location on the edge of a manmade lake (another Maharajah project) surrounded by the ancient Aravalli hills. With a sparkling white Lake Palace that “floats” in the middle of the lake (the James Bond movie, “Octopussy” was filmed here). Our hotel room was a stunner with a “jharokha,” a fancy, cushioned window seat jutting out over the water that I immediately fell in love with.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, we need to tell you about a stop we made on the way to Udaipur at Chittorgarh Fort. The guidebooks call it the greatest fort in Rajasthan (Rajasthan is the largest province in India), even though it was sacked three times. Each time all the men died in battle, and the women self-immolated themselves “to avoid losing their purity,” making this place more tragic than great in our minds.

The fort included the ruins of the palace complex (sacked, according to our guide, by “the Arab fanatics”), an artificial lake where the royal ladies once swam (accessible by a private passageway), a temple with some more erotic sculpture, and an interesting 37 m. victory tower that is actually wider in the middle that at either end.

Plus, another floating palace where the beautiful Maharini Padmini (try saying that 5 times fast) once drove a Sultan crazy with desire for her love. This Sultan was obsessed by stories he had heard about her beauty, so finally Padmini agreed to let him have a glimpse of her reflection in a mirror, hoping that would satisfy him. However, the sight of her only inflamed him more, and the Sultan captured the fort and killed all the men. Of course, he never did get his hands on Padmimi -- she self-immolated herself too, along with the other women of the palace.

Our guide at Chittorgah was a lovely young Indian woman named Parvati, and we ate lunch at her family’s “haveli” (bed and breakfast) along with a French couple who were also touring the fort. The French couple was very friendly, and we were thrilled to practice speaking some of our “rusty” French with them. But the real story about this lunch is a tale we like to call “Parvati’s Meeta” (meeta is the Hindu word for sweets).

Lunch was a simple affair, but the real pleasure was the experience of being a guest in Parvati’s home. We met her little boy who was running around naked, wearing nothing other than a narrow leather cord tied around his waist (typical of little Indian boys). Remember the Jains – the extreme religious group that even gave up wearing clothes? When her little boy first appeared, Parvati said, “He’s like the Jains!”

Her son carried a box of “meeta” (sweets) – 2 cruller-like pastries and 2 candy rolls – and he was fingering the treats (and himself as little boys do). We just figured they were his box of goodies. Imagine our surprise when the exact same box of sweets appeared on our luncheon table for dessert. I looked over at the French couple (I couldn’t risk looking at my husband), but no one said a word. And NO ONE touched the “meeta!”

As lovely as it was, Udaipur was a difficult place for us because my husband was sick with the “Delhi belly,” and I was heartsick over some sad news from home. That’s the one thing about traveling – you really don’t want to get bad news when you are on the other side of the world. As a result, we took it easy with more down time than usual. However, we did take some prearranged tours beginning with the City Palace.

The City Palace is Rajasthan’s largest palace, built over time by 20 some Maharanas . The terms are confusing but here in Udaipur they prefer the title Maharana which means warrior king (supposedly even better than Maharajah). The palace was made up of colorful, sumptuous rooms (in typical Maharana fashion).

We even bumped into the current Maharana as we exited an elevator there in the palace! We didn’t recognize him but knew something was up because our guide looked like he was going to faint when he doubled over into a major bow. We saw an official portrait of the Maharana later, and verified that it was definitely him. The glory days of the Maharanas may be over, but these guys still get tremendous respect.

My favorite palace sights were the mosaic peacocks, each one made from 3,000 pieces of glass, and the Crystal Gallery. This gallery displayed the never-used crystal furniture purchased by a Maharani in 1877 from the renowned English cut glass manufacturer F & C Osler. The Maharani died before the stuff arrived, and it was never even removed from the packing boxes for 110 years.

What a decadent display this was (unfortunately no photography allowed) – sofas and chairs (all with crystal frames and deep red cushions), a foot stool that looked like a giant prism, and a bed with an amazing crystal headboard.

Another highlight of our stay was a cooking class at “The Spice Box.” Shakti, the owner and teacher, spoke decent English, had a good sense of humor, and did a remarkable job of instructing the class. This class was only partially hands-on, but each of us got to do some of the cooking. Shakti clearly explained each step, especially the preparation of the spices that required boiling the spices in oil and water until the water evaporated. Spices are the key to Indian cooking and superheating the spices enriches the flavor. Our only problem with Shakti was that he also operates a spice shop, and naturally, we all ended up buying a bunch of spices from him at the end of class.

One of the things we missed most in India was the ability to wander around. We are accustomed to walking 6-8 miles a day when we travel, and in India, we were lucky to get in 3 miles per day! So, we decided to take a walk through the backstreets of Udaipur.

Well, as lovely as Udaipur looks down by the lake, the rest of the city is typical India. Raw sewage was running through water channels in the backstreets, and several rats ran across our path. We walked only about 3 blocks, and that was enough of a walk for us!

I had my palm read by our guide, and I am still trying to figure out if it was worthwhile or just a hoax. Some of the comments were insightful, but others were just plain wrong. Like everything in India, nothing is clear.

On the last night of our stay in Udaipur, we ate our best meal of the trip at “Ambrai,” a wonderful restaurant on the far side of the lake where we had an incredible view of our hotel, the City Palace, and the “floating” Lake Palace. Unfortunately, my husband was still on the bland food diet, but I ate a fabulous meal of paneer (condensed cottage cheese cubes) served in three different sauces. We even drank a small bottle of Sula Sauvignon Blanc, the leading (and probably only) name in Indian wine.

A few notes on booze in India. As stated, there is only one wine brand name that we ever saw. That is a wine called “Sula”, which comes in both white and red but is quite expensive. And there is also just one beer in this country that we were able to uncover: “Kingfisher” beer. It’s a lager beer, and not bad at all, but no other options. This was a bit surprising to us since some research turned up the fact that India is the 3rd largest user of liquor in the world, right behind the United States and Russia. Guess they must go for the hard stuff!

I am enjoying reading your report. I've been to northern India, but not to some of the places you visited, so I am really learning a lot about the places I missed. Thanks for posting.

"One of the things we missed most in India was the ability to wander around. We are accustomed to walking 6-8 miles a day when we travel, and in India, we were lucky to get in 3 miles per day!"

This is a recurrent refrain I keep hearing about India and its cities. And, this disappoints me, and is steering me much more in the direction of rural India and smaller towns (of course I suppose these are just as grubby), because we too are those who don't just scurry from site to site. We typically wander and enjoy the ambience. And, I've also read that a lot of time your walk can turn into a constant being pestered experience.

Great report! If you could detatch yourself from your husband's illness and your sadness, where would you rank Udaipur in terms of the other locales you visited?

So sorry that your husband suffered from Delhi Belly while in India. I had such a bad case that I couldn't get out of bed for a week after returning home. Luckily I got it as we departed India (a parting gift!). I'm surprised that your husband was able to handle a cooking class while feeling so badly.

We walked around quite a bit throughout our travels in India, but certainly not the amount that we are accustomed to, which is similar to you. Our problem was the heat.

Your report is so informative and I am enjoying learning details that I did not know when we traveled to India.

I am loving the detail in your report, magster2005. You have incredible recall of details....did you keep notes as you travelled?
Loving your takes. You obviously enjoyed your trip to India.

A comment about wine in India. There was a TV segment on 20/20 type show about a year back. An Indian entrepreuner made his millions at a young age, sold the business in USA, and then was looking to do something with the rest of his life...and chose to become a winemaker...in India. Found out there were no wineries in India to buy...started learning the business in France at the lowest level. Eventually, researched soils in India, was told by experts not to "waste" his time and money...climate and soil was not right...went ahead anyway...and the result is Indian wine, for the first time ever. And supposedly,by many accounts, it's a decent wine.

RE:Chittorgarh story. My, how the ideas about sexual purity have changed over the years. And for the good!!

Story about cow dung....once it dries, it is actually self disinfectant. In fact, everything from a cow is usable, cows are clean animals. Is it any wonder that the cow became a revered animal...in India.(Leave it to the religious priests to make them sacred...over time). Cows give milk, bulls were/are used for agriculture, leather is used for shoes/purses, cow dung is fuel, beef for others etc.

Hinduism is a way of life...it is actually based on two epics...Mahabharata & Ramayana...which are stories of real life king Rama, and Krishna, and tell a tale about the great battle between good and evil. Later people started talking about them as divine, hence the religious aspect. These epics predate all other current religions...the story books are detailed (you'll like them LOL) and each set of epic books will fill all 4 sides of a good size room from top to bottom. However, because they are huge, lot of confusion exists today, because nobody has the time to study and understand even one of the volumes.
Now my take on all this...over time, priests have exploited the true teachings of these epics...ritualised the stories...call of money has reduced it to meaningless stuff (Isn't all religion about grab for money, and who can sell a story to the public under the guise of morality? Sorry, but I digress. Too cynical?). If you look closely, stories from the Mahabharata & Ramayana are found in almost every subsequent religious book. For example, end of the world is predicted in Hinduism and other religions. Hinduism actually divides life on Earth into 4 phases, and WE are in the 4th phase now. The end is NEAR...scary. No time is given, just phases.

Interesting that you picked up on the story about Brits trying to move Taj....they did give up on that...but did take all the jewels from the Taj..."Kohinoor" diamond is now part of Queen Elizabeth's crown. It used to be on the tomb of Shah Jehan at the Taj.

Keep it coming...awaiting next segment.

I agree that the lack of walking opportunities is a turnoff. We're thinking about a trip to India in the fall (much shorter than both of yours), and are seeking walkable cities as well as rural places where we can go on short treks. Haven't begun serious research yet, but this report has been excellent for general ambiance, as well as a superlative snapshot of the day to day experience.

Looking forward to your Narlai report - we might want to stay at a place like that for several days.

Wow, I am loving all these comments!

julies -- Udaipur is lovely and definitely one of my favorite cities in India. I would say that it was the most beautiful city we visited. I was surprised to discover that I would also rank Jaipur high on the list -- I thought all the sights there were terrific.

dgunbug -- Luckily neither my husband nor I got violently sick (as I know you did), but I'm not sure that we are totally recovered even now 2 weeks later. We've been saying, "India keeps hanging on!"

magical -- My husband and I both keep journals that we write in every night. It's a habit we started years ago. We both enjoy doing it (helps us process what we saw that day), and it's our source for details later on.

I wonder if the wine entrepreneur you saw on 20/20 was the one who makes Sula? Here is a link to the histoy behind Sula wine: http://www.dreyfusashby.com/family.php?id=48

Thanks so much for your thoughts on Hinduism -- very interesting!

crosscheck -- As you will see when I post the Narlai report (coming up next), Narlai was a village that we really loved walking around. And I know there are trekking opportunities -- up to the top of the rock for one, and also out to the step well.

The maker of Sula wine might have been the one on TV....he is described as the first winemaker in India...and seems to fit the description.
He has started a new industry in India.

When we were in Goa about 6 years back, staying at Taj Cottages, there was a welcome booth set up on the lawn for guests of Vijay Malia, owner of Kingfisher beer (and Kingfisher airline). He had booked half of the rooms at the hotel for his guests who had come to his birthday bash at his mansion next door to the hotel. Every morning at breakfast we heard stories about the birthday party...it was a 3 day bash...with performers like Lionel Richie and others performing. It was an interesting time...in addition to the weddings every night at the hotel.

We were also surprised at how much we enjoyed Jaipur. Did you get to the Monkey Temple and step wells which are on the Agra road. They were both amazing.

dgunbug -- No we didn't get to either one. And I really wanted to go to the step well (you are talking about Abhaneri, right?). The step well architecture is so remarkable -- we loved the ones we saw in Bundi.

I tried Sula wine several times and was not overly impressed with the whites. Can't speak for the reds. One night I had a choice of Kingfisher beer or a Sula white, and me the wine lover, opted for the beer. I guess that says something about it.

Udaipur was by far our favorite city also.

""Kohinoor" diamond is now part of Queen Elizabeth's crown. It used to be on the tomb of Shah Jehan at the Taj."

The Mughal emperors having looted it in their turn from one of the native Hindu princes, who in turn had looted it...

kmkrnn -- I did try both the red and the white Sula. I am more of a red wine drinker, but I actually preferred the white. Either wine was so expensive (especially for the quality) that, like you, we pretty much stuck with Kingfisher.

Narlai – Our Rajasthan Retreat

We made two major stops after leaving Udaipur: Kumbalgarh Fort and Ranakpur Temple. Kumbalgarh Fort was the most impressive fort we have visited so far, probably because of its isolated location way up in the mountains. The fortress consists of about 25 miles of impregnable walls enclosing hundreds of temples and palaces. We had no guide here, but we enjoyed wandering around the picturesque site on our own.

Our second stop was even better – the Jain temple at Ranakpur. This white marble edifice is a forest of 1,444 pillars all carved with exquisite designs. The ceilings were even better carved with a delicate, lacy look.

The head priest of the temple latched on to us right away and gave us a brief tour. He also gave us a lengthy blessing that included the usual Indian wish for wealth and prosperity. Of course, he was also concerned about his own prosperity and requested an immediate donation. I convinced my husband that $2 for a blessing was a good thing especially since admission to the temple was free. And besides, when will we ever have the opportunity to be blessed by a Jain priest?

My favorite carvings were a ceiling design that combined the “om” symbol with a half moon, and a figure with one head and 5 bodies. This sculpture represented the need to control the 5 senses before entering the temple.

Our new hotel, Rawla Narlai is a little bit of heaven – totally luxurious with gorgeous gardens, a rooftop terrace, and a huge pool (perfect for swimming laps). All situated at the base of a massive rock. This rock became my husband’s nemesis because he really wanted to climb up to the large white elephant statue sitting tantalizingly on the summit, but we just didn’t have the energy.

That night, we ate a candlelit dinner on the roof terrace where waiters fell all over themselves taking care of us, and live music created an eerie-sounding background out there in the middle of nowhere.

Two staff members took a particular liking to us: Umaid and Lala (we are not making these names up). I think we could have eaten breakfast all day long – they kept offering to bring us more toast, butter, and what about some more tea? My husband tried to sign on to the netbook while I wandered around the gardens. When I looked back, Umaid was holding up a cloth napkin trying to reduce the glare from the morning sun on the netbook. Later, my husband walked up on the terrace to gaze at that rock above us, and of course, “the boys” were on him in a second. Soon, Umaid and Lala had goaded my husband into trying on each of their turbans while they took pictures of him. This is really too much!

The resort offered a complimentary outing to a nearby lake for afternoon tea. This was a fun ride in an open jeep; it was like a mini-safari. We saw numerous birds including a turquoise blue Kingfisher, and lots of peacocks in the wild! The lake was very pretty, especially as the sun started to set, and our jeep driver supplied us with hot masala tea along with muffins and brownies for an added treat.

Our favorite Narlai activity was a 2-hour village tour with Lala as our guide. Our tour began at a temple built inside the huge dome-shaped rock – the rocky mountain actually consists of layers of rock, and this temple was built into a crevice. The temple contained a metal sculpture of a cobra, and Lala told us that during festivals the people bring in a live cobra, milk it, and drink the cobra milk!

Lala took us into several village homes giving us the opportunity for a closer look at village life. We met a shoemaker, a seamstress, and a woman who was grinding wheat into flour for the village. The most memorable home consisted of three rooms -- the middle room designated for the cow! Lala also pointed out the nicely swept dirt floor that was a mixture of dirt and dried cow dung (these people sure love their dung!).

My most memorable moment came when I got to join several local women who had congregated on the front steps of one of the homes. These women were a trip! They kept slapping my leg (hard) – like they couldn’t believe how hefty it was LOL.

But the main focus of the conversation was on jewelry. The older woman pointed to the younger woman’s necklace and said something in a stage whisper that I assumed must have been the price. I acted suitably impressed, and before I knew it, the old lady had wrapped the necklace around my neck (and pulled it tight – almost like a garrote!). Of course, my husband was having a ball taking pictures. It really was an unforgettable experience.

As we strolled about town, my husband’s big moment came later when he spotted a tiny barber shop; really, it was just a small, outhouse-sized metal box on the edge of a busy street that was big enough for the barber to stand, a customer to sit, and some primitive barber tools. From a distance, my husband carefully watched this “Edward Scissorhand operation” for a while, and decided it was a good time to cast fate to the wind, and get his hair cut. The barber was very meticulous, and he not only cut my husband's hair but also trimmed his beard and moustache, and topped it all off with a lengthy head massage -- all for $1.

that priest approached us too, marked our foreheads with a gold dot. he asked me for money and i declined.. he moved on...

rhkkmk -- I better not share that with my husband LOL!

Your description of Narlai sounds wonderful.

As I'm loving your report, I just had to re-read your trip report from China. I'm curious how you compare the two trips. China will be our adventure next year. Although my husband was less reluctant to do a 4th trip to Asia without a break in between, the price of travel to Europe has convinced him to further explore the Asian continent!

We too used to be Europe die-hards, but we too have been venturing in different directions in the past 4 to 5 years specifically because the dollar is so weak against the euro. And, knowing how we approached those European trips, zeroing in on a smaller area for a more in-depth experience is making planning for India really difficult because I am trading off the way I know we prefer to travel--slower and more quality--for trying to see many different places. I honestly just don't know if we'll return to India the way we have to Europe (western, central and eastern) time after time, and that is why I am trying to get a tste of several different regions.

j---good plan but allow plenty of down time and be selective

Still following - we loved Udaipur as well, passed on the head priest at the Jain Temple and did Kumbhalgarh on our own as you did...

dgunbug -- It's tough to compare India with China. We thoroughly enjoyed both, but the experiences were quite different. China was worlds easier to do on our own; no difficulty there. However, China does not come close to India in terms of being exotic. I might give the Taj the edge over The Great Wall, but both were spectacular. Beijing and Shanghai are both fabulous cities that are easy to wander on your own. I would go with China for food (never got sick!) and offered more variety. India for accomodations since we stayed in so many lovely heritage properties (but beds are hard in both countries LOL). Sorry, I am kind of babbling here. Not sure if this helps -- both are topnotch destinations.

Thanks Magster. Waiting for more of your trip report!

Jojawar – Land of the Raj (Landlords)

We drove just 2 hours to our next stop, another small out-of-the-way town with another heritage hotel, Rawla Jojawar (Royal Jojawar). This hotel was more basic that previous hotels, but still walled and insulated somewhat from the bustle of local activity; it was a nice respite from the real world. (It’s not easy to follow an act like the last place, the Rawla Narlai!)

We got a real Rajasthan welcome from a drummer who announced our arrival with an energetic drum roll. And, the manager sprinkled flower petals over our heads as we walked thru the arched gates of the hotel. I loved that!

We had two small but fun activities planned in Jojawar: a jeep tour of this rural area, and an old-time train excursion in an old-time train! The jeep tour was conducted by the owner of the hotel, a genuine Raj (landlord) and landowner of properties all around the area of Jojawar. We visited a really nice farm where my husband, the former farm boy, got to relive some memories of his youth growing up on the farm. They grow lots of cotton here and also castor plants (to make castor oil). The land is dry, and it would be desert, were it not for the plethora of wells designated for irrigation.

We saw lots of monkeys here – in fact, one of them jumped right on top of the jeep’s rear roll bar and sat there for several minutes! We also visited the home of some gypsies who travel to wherever work is available. And we stopped at a temple that was memorable mainly for its large population of rats. The trees were full of rats as darkness began to take over.

It was well after dark by the time we drove back to the hotel, and we were amazed how the back roads seemed to come to life after dark. Lots of cars, motorcycles, and people just sitting along the road in total darkness. The Raj told us that the people sitting in the dark were “waiting for someone.” Could be, but sounds a bit odd, doesn’t it? It is pitch black along these dirt back roads, yet people sit there seemingly idle along these roads, or tend cattle there in total darkness, or do who knows what(?).

The next day, we were driven to a train station to catch our old-time train back to Jojawar. We were surprised to see how many tourists were waiting for the train with us. Apparently, this excursion has become quite popular. The train excursion was fun as we rode through desert conditions and mountainous terrain on this rickety local train. We enjoyed the scenery and riding with the locals. In fact, a group of 4 locals sat with us and we chatted in broken English and Hindi as we sped along. Lots of warm but fuzzy conversation – not sure there was total comprehension on either side, but lots of good feelings.

The train stopped several times for “brake checks,” and once to feed the monkeys who were panhandling along the side of the tracks. These monkeys know exactly when the trains come thru and gather by the tracks to eat the biscuits everybody throws out the train windows. All the train windows had bars, and when we saw how aggressive these monkeys were, we knew why.

We ended our day with a full body ayurvedic massage – a stimulating deep massage to increase circulation and encourage relaxation. Certainly relaxed us!

Jodhpur – The Blue City

Jodhpur was a fairly routine (at least routine to us now) 4-hour drive away. We stayed at Ratan Villas with lovely owners (descendants of a Maharajah) and very spacious accommodations. Jodhpur is known as the Blue City because of the many blue buildings in the old city. Interestingly, one of the main industries here in Jodhpur was opium (used only for pharmaceuticals today). BTW, we are on the edge of the Great Thar Desert, the 10th largest desert in the world. Ever hear of it? Neither did we! Supposedly, one of the reasons Indians like bright colors so much is because of the dull brown colors of the desert.

Our guide named Ragu (spaghetti anyone?) led us on a walk through the downtown markets that felt a little like “been there, done that” -- until the bullfight. Two young bulls had literally locked horns right in the center of a pedestrian street. We didn’t fully understand the danger until Ragu hustled us into one of the shops. These bulls were raging! We realized that these thousand pound plus creatures could pin us up against a building or a stone wall in an instant, and that was why we were hustled inside to safety. Finally, some brave soul threw a pail of water on the bulls to cool them off, and they ran after each other down a side street. Whew! Almost like running with the bulls in Pamplona LOL!

The next day, we toured Mehrangarh Fort. We honestly thought we might be all “forted out,” but we totally enjoyed this marvelous site and the excellent narration on the accompanying audio guide. The fort was built in 1459 by the founder of Jodhpur, Rao Jodha, who was the original leader of this region called Marwar (Land of Death). Sounds sinister, but the name is fitting when you hear how many warriors died here in various battles.

From the hilltop where the fort resides, we could see the city of Jodhpur below. Many of the buildings were colored a light blue, hence the name, the “Blue City”. The color blue is supposed to make the buildings feel cooler in the extreme heat of the summer, and it also repels the mosquitos.
The fort was a delightful feast of graceful architecture with many colorful rooms like the elaborate dancing hall with giant Christmas balls hanging from the ceiling (we see these everywhere and learned that they were adopted from the British). The fort also included several museums with displays of howdahs (elephant seats) and palanquins (covered carts to carry royal women so that they remained hidden from view).

Another museum contained dozens of royal cradles exquisitely decorated – many with guardian angels poised to protect the young royals. Astrology is extremely important in India and every child must have a chart drawn to know what pitfalls to avoid. Having an astrological chart drawn is as important here as cutting the umbilical cord!

There were two very tragic sights at the fort. The first concerned a hermit who was evicted from this site when Rao Jodh decided to build a fort here. The hermit cursed Rao, and to obviate the curse, Rao required a human sacrifice. Some guy volunteered and was buried alive in the foundation of the fort (a plaque marks the spot). To this day, an annual ceremony commemorates his sacrifice and his descendants continue to be honored.

The second tragic sight is the “sati” marks, handprints of the Maharajah Man Singh’s many wives who climbed on to his funeral pyre in 1843. They left their handprints in henna (a colored dye used to decorate the palms of the hands) on the wall of the fort as they passed by in a procession that would lead to their deaths. Later, the little handprints were carved into orange stone. They say these women sat calmly as the flames engulfed them, anxious to be reunited with their beloved husband. Those women must have been doped up on some serious opium!

This is a good time to talk about the status of women in India. I can tell you from personal experience that men are definitely top dogs here. Every morning, the hotel staff would rush over to my husband saying, “Good morning, sir!” “How are you, sir?” “Would you like breakfast, sir?” Even our driver Rampal constantly opened the car door for my husband leaving me to fend for myself. And when I took the lead in a conversation – discussing where we were headed next, or what activities were planned for the day, the Indian men would get a perplexed look on their faces as if they were thinking, “Why is she talking?” These are small irritations but indicative of how women are viewed here.

For many years, Indians followed a custom called “purdah,” the practice of concealing women to “protect them from the lustful gaze of men -- an idea that came from the Arab invaders. This is why palace after palace contains stone screens so that women can get a (fractured) glimpse of the world without ever being seen.

A Maharini once visited London, but she remained hidden from view. She was always transported in a curtained car and a covered palanquin. As you can imagine, the English press went wild trying to get a photo of her, but all they got was a glimpse of her ankle. The Hindu royalty was so furious about this photo of their Maharini’s ankle that they bought and destroyed every single issue of the newspapers that would have exposed her ankle to the world.

Even today, some of these crazy ideas continue. Remember Parvati from a previous report of ours - The “Parvati’s Meeta” story? Parvati wore several bangle bracelets on her arms and ankle bracelets that tinkled as she walked. She told me that she lived with her extended family, and that the women tended to stay in one part of the house. Parvati’s bangles and ankle bracelets were noisy enough to warn the men of the house to leave if they heard her coming. As Parvati explained, “That way I am never alone with my brother-in-law, so there are no problems.” It’s as if there is an assumption that no man can resist or restrain himself around a woman, so the only answer is complete separation of the sexes.

Did you notice how few woman were out in public? At times my husband and I felt awkward to be strolling around in an all male area. Woman are definitely isolated, even today.

I know what you mean. I often felt uncomfortable or at least very aware that I was in the minority. I even had some young men who kept following us around and staring at me. My husband thought it was funny, but it made me uneasy (what young guys stare at an almost 60 year-old woman?) I think it was just that they had never seen a western woman before. They finally asked to have a picture taken with me, I complied, and then they went on their way.

The Brits outlawed sati, much to the disgust of the Indians. There are still occasional cases of women committing sati - one was turned into a saint by the locals. Unfortunately, the lot of widows in India is pretty awful. Also unfortunately, another old custom, child marriage, is still in existence. And then there are the dowry murders...

"the Indian men would get a perplexed look on their faces as if they were thinking, “Why is she talking?” " - I am a solo female traveler. I'm sure that attitude was behind the consistent trouble I had getting my Indian drivers to do what I wanted.

I did notice more women wearing non-traditional dress when I was in India last year, and I think attitudes may be better in the south, where Muslim attitudes had less effect.

Okay -- final update:

Delhi – Back to Delhi and Back to the USA

Our flight leaving Jodhpur for Delhi was delayed for over an hour. Of course, we had no idea what was going on since the announcements were unintelligible and there was no English signage of any kind in the airport. The flight was a dream when it finally arrived; a flashy new turbo prop high wing ATR-72/500 took us from Jodhpur to Delhi in little more than an hour. We were so happy to return to Amarya Haveli Hotel in Delhi where we got a warm welcome from the familiar staff who remembered us from our previous visit.

The next day we revisited the Hauz Khas Village for some final shopping. And, we visited one last sight: “The Sulabh International Museum of Toilets!” Seems fitting somehow. You may wonder how I came up with this one, but the museum is listed in Lonely Planet. It was actually quite fascinating, and let’s face it, human waste is a major problem here in India (and around the globe).

We got a tour of several outdoor toilet and septic configurations, all geared to using local materials for construction. We learned about their efforts to filter polluted water for reuse -- for flushing toilets, irrigation, and other non-drinking purposes. And how they extract methane gas directly from the outhouse to produce electricity or to cook food on the stove. We noted that this system is not quite perfected yet, as there is the distinctive smell of methane, which smells strangely like burning poop… Inside, a small museum room held all kinds of interesting info about the history of toilets along with some hysterical pictures and posters.

Now we are back home – yes, back in the good ‘ol U.S. of A., but the sights and sounds of India continue to dance in our heads. We started this Trip Report by saying that many people think India stands for “I’ll never do it again.” We don’t fall into that camp although it will take a while to work up to a return trip (LOL!).

Instead, we would say that India stands for:

I = intense
N = needy
D = draining
I = intoxicating
A = astonishing

India is definitely not a destination for everyone. It was a challenge even for us who consider ourselves to be seasoned travelers having visited other 3rd world countries. We thought we’d already encountered a bit of everything, but India proved us wrong.

And yet, we are so glad that we came. India is without equal, and without a doubt one of the most unusual, confounding, but alluring places on earth. Our trip here required us to employ all of our acquired travel skills -- and brought us as close to traveling thru time as anything we have ever done.

One thing is definitely true: every one of the human senses will be tested to the max by exposure to India. The colors, the smells, the extreme poverty, the heat, the plethora and variety of animals, the religious anomalies, the traffic, the smiling friendly people, the lack of amenities, and the frenetic passion of the country will stay with us for a long, long time. To steal a phrase from Winston Churchill, India is “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.”

Tips

Here are a couple tips for those of you who are planning a trip to India:

- If you have sensitive eyes, bring lots of eye drops. My eyes went crazy with the dry air and the air pollution. VisineA was a lifesaver.

- Bring Chapstick and plenty of body lotion to combat the dryness.

- Bring flashlights and keep by your bedside in case of power outages.

- Bring (or buy) a cheap pair of sandals to wear when the bathroom floor is wet (due to open showers)

- Bring a small flask of whiskey to clean eating utensils

- Before you go, add some Indian mediation music to your MP3 Player – very calming for long car rides (I love “Ayurveda” by Kiran Murti that I bought on Amazon)

- My favorite souvenirs were the wedding gift envelopes and wedding gift bags that I bought in Hauz Khas Village in Delhi. They are inexpensive but so beautiful – the envelopes are perfect for gift certificates, and the bags can be used to store sweaters or scarves. All the women in my family are getting a gift bag with a scarf inside. I can’t find her business card, but the shop owner is named Happy, and she is located on the main shopping street in Hauz Khas (you will see the colorful purses, bags etc. in the window).

- Other fun items to buy: A turban for my husband and a sparkly tunic top for me. We also picked up all kinds of cheap wedding goods: leis, bindis (stick-on dots for the forehead) etc. One of the alleyways in Jodhpur was lined with shops selling wedding decorations. We wore our outfits and decorated for an Indian-themed Christmas party with our kids. We served some Indian food; the kids and grandkids all wore the leis and the bindis. We had a ball!

If you would like to see pictures, we just finished our blog. The text is pretty much the same as these reports, but we also interspersed some pictures. Here is the link: http://supsictravelsindia.blogspot.com

Thanks for all the supportive comments. And for those of you headed for India, we wish you an astonishing adventure!

thursdaysd -- When we were in India, I often wondered what it would be like to be a solo woman traveling there. Not easy, I would think. I applaud you for the trip that you took!

thursdaysd -- What are the dowry murders? Never heard of those.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dowry_murder - it's wiki, but it has the basics and some good-looking links. The bottom line being that the groom's family thought the bride's dowry was insufficient and she wound up dead, allowing him to marry again. (You are aware that the vast majority of marriages in South Asia (and in some South Asian immigrant families abroad - it's an issue in the UK) are still arranged, and still involve dowries, right?)