thursdaysd

Ah, sounds like I should put Bundi on the list. (If you are going to warn me off Amritsar I already went and enjoyed it.)

Re: the sleeping waiter. I once arrived early off a night train at a Hanoi hotel and discovered that some of the help slept on couches in the lobby.

Kathie

Wonderful photos to go along with your fascinating account.

dgunbug

Am I correct that you are eating street food? You are far braver than I am and I got deathly ill the day I flew home from my first trip. (Didn’t stop me from returning though). Are you sticking to vegetarian food only?

sartoric

Ah yes, thursdayd. I realised after I posted that you’d been to Amritsar...we did enjoy the sights, the location of our accommodation was less than ideal, which dampened my enthusiasm.
Thanks Kathie, it’s easy to take good photos when the subject matter is so interesting.
dgunbug, yes eating street food. We are mostly vegetarian with a bit of chicken and fish occasionally. I also got hideously sick after our first trip to India, five different GI bugs and nearly hospitalised. We both take a probiotic every morning, fingers crossed, it’s working so far.

Jaipur has changed in the six or so years since we were last here, not unexpected. Last time they were digging up the roads for an elevated roadway, this time they are digging up the roads for a metro. The traffic is far worse than I remember, but there are still elephants ambling down the main street...only in India. Our home for two nights found on Airbnb is an artists residence, indeed it is a visual feast. Our host is not home, but his mother greets us with chai and a rundown of the local area. Ramesh wanted to take us to a favourite local restaurant of his, and so it was that we had lunch at Shree Balaji Pavitra Bhojnalya, where their sign states they have a “live kitchen”....hmmm. It’s almost directly opposite the Palace of Winds in the Johari Bazaar area. The joint was humming at 2pm, with people waiting for tables and a young couple asking if they could share our table for four..no problem. We devoured two thali of paneer bhuji, dal makhani, chickpea masala, naan breads, coriander chutney, spicy pickle and yoghurt, plus beer, always a beer ! This was so delicious, and refills were offered. R set off for Delhi, we will see him again in Amritsar in four days time. Interesting, while we were eating he purchased a 15 kilo sack of red onions, a five kilo sack of garlic, and had bought a large khadai for his wife. Khadai are a wok like metal cooking pan.

We wandered the market area, walking off lunch and fending off the hundreds of shopkeepers who invited us into their shop...just not in the mood. Eventually tiring, we tuk tukked back to Shan’s home and sat for a while in the beautiful garden. The mother suggested a restaurant for dinner, not too far away, it’s called Shikaar Bagh and is an up market, trendy spot with both locals and foreigners present. After a huge lunch only a snack was required, sorted. Uber works a treat in India, no language difficulties to deal with, automatic payment and clean cars with gps to find your destination. We’d grow to love Uber until the day after tomorrow, when we’d hate it.

Tomorrow we have declared a shopping day. I can’t believe we’ve been in Rajasthan for nine days and we haven’t bought a single thing.

sartoric

This thali was GOAT (millennial speak for greatest of all time).


Jaipur traffic


Just a little place across the road.


More Jaipur traffic.


From the tuk tuk....

thursdaysd

You do seem to be eating well. And veg should be safer. More great pix, thanks.

tripplanner001

Bundi looks less stressful overall - tranquil almost.

CaliNurse

Sartoric, I hope things are better at home so you can fully enjoy the remainder of the trip.

rhkkmk

Great report, thanks for sharing

sartoric

It’s really tough..I’ve been part of a group trying to defend a freshwater lake from being filled in for a car park. The lake is home to 64 species of birds, freshwater turtles and native fish. Our (allegedly) corrupt council is under investigation for gifting this public land to the local turf club, along with development approval to destroy it. Two days after I arrived in India, the trucks of dirt started rolling in. Trying to do what I can from here, but it’s not the same as being there.

sartoric

Thanks for your words of encouragement thursdayd, triplanner001 and rhkkmk.

Shan is an artist and designer, so is his mother. She has a small very upmarket shop at the back of the house and a unit on the top floor where luxury fabrics are hand embroidered and sewn into garments. We had a chance to see the intricate work being completed, gold threads, lots of velvet, fascinating stuff. Now back from Delhi, Shan told us about the major project he’s working on - designing the wedding for a daughter of India’s wealthiest family. There will be 7000 guests at this wedding, 1800 will fly in by private jet, the likes of the Clintons. Oh my, such wealth is unimaginable to me, and frankly a bit obscene when I compare it to our next home stay in Amritsar. This home in Jaipur houses four generations, has three servants, and I wonder about the motivation for letting out a room to strangers.

On to the shopping - Shan has told us about an emerging designers enclave, so Uber gets us there and we spend an hour or so in the nine boutiques. Nothing grabs us (well, nothing that we can easily take home). On to Anokhi, another recommended store (@CaliNurse, I think you like this one) and yay, finally we buy a few items.

Lunch is at a Jaipur institution. Niro’s has been going strong for 69 years, some of the waiters started here as children I reckon. The food was great, black chickpeas, chicken tikka masala, eggplant bhaji, jeera rice, kalonji naan and picked onions, plus beer. We do more wandering in the chaos, wrestle with an Uber hiccup (bizarrely it decided to stop liking my Mastercard - we grabbed a tuk tuk instead) and headed back to Shan’s house for more eye candy. I really can’t describe how interesting the artwork in this house is...will post a few photos. Dinner was not really necessary, but after learning that Uber in India can accept cash (it doesn’t in Australia) we circumvent Mastercard and went to Henry’s pub for a marvellous mojito and a snack of skewered tandoori chicken.

Tomorrow we have a 7.00 am flight to Delhi then on to Amritsar....and Uber lets us down big time. Want to be locked inside a gated community in the darkness of early morning at 5.00 am, when the door has locked behind you and your hosts phone is switched off ? Nah, I think not.

sartoric

In the courtyard.


Detailed work



In the bedroom.

dgunbug

Oh my...what a cliff hanger! Waiting for the rest of the story. Sorry about troubles back home.

CaliNurse

"Shan told us about the major project he’s working on - designing the wedding for a daughter of India’s wealthiest family. There will be 7000 guests at this wedding, 1800 will fly in by private jet, the likes of the Clintons. Oh my, such wealth is unimaginable to me, and frankly a bit obscene when I compare it to our next home stay in Amritsar. This home in Jaipur houses four generations, has three servants, and I wonder about the motivation for letting out a room to strangers.

If this is the family of the man who owns Reliance Cellular (an ironic name name for iffy phone service) --he lives in Mumbai in what the cab driver there pointed out as the supposedly most expensive home in the world--part of the company's skyscraper. A*bit* obscene you say? Who needs 40 billion dollars?

Agree, wondering about motivation for the Airbnb room rental. Oh well, sometimes not all is as it seems. True anywhere, but in Incredible India, perhaps even more so!

Two shared "oh no!!!" moments....the frustrating and angering situation at home ("Pave paradise, put up a parking lot" as Joni Mitchell sang) and the Uber story which, as dgunbug says, is quite the cliffhanger.

Glad you found something worth buying at Anokhi. Great sales rack! Actually the Jaipur block print fabric shop I love is Soma. There are branches in a few other other cities, but it's unfortunately not as omnipresent as Anokhi or Fabindia.

sartoric

Ah yes CaliNurse, the Ambani (sp) family, if (and that’s a big Indian if) we are to believe what’s been told to us. Apparently each guest at the engagement was handed the keys to a new BMW. The wedding is to be at the Lake Palace in Udaipur.

Thanks for your continuing interest dgunbug....I’ll take us over that cliff NOW.

A wasted day of travel, they happen.

We had a 7.10 flight from Jaipur to Delhi, then 12.25 Delhi to Amritsar, arriving 13.20. The plan was to see the Golden Temple in the evening.

Ready to go at 5.00 am, I summoned an Uber, app says 16 minutes, okay. 10 minutes later the app was still showing 16 minutes to its arrival. I rebooted the phone. Another 5 minutes passed, with Uber still showing 16 minutes to arrival. We decided to walk to the main road to grab a taxi. Gates to the enclave are locked, no sleeping watchman visible. Back to the house, panic creeping, I go to the front door, it’s now locked. Try to ring host, phone switched off. On the street with our luggage a car appears, it’s Uber, we pile in putting luggage in the front seat, but it’s not our Uber. After much pleading (on my part) and screaming in Hindi (drivers part) he evicts us. We are really stressing now at 6.00.

Walked around the corner to a budget hotel, where luckily the night watchman is up and loading guests into a car where the driver has some English. He offers to call a taxi. 5 minutes later a tuk tuk turns up, we’ll take anything at this stage, load the luggage, squeeze in beside it, then hurtle through the still dark streets of Jaipur to the airport in 30 minutes. We made it...just. This is all my fault, I should have had a back up plan. The flight on Jet Airways in a prop plane (ATR 72) was fine, had a box breakfast.

We knew we’d have four hours to kill in Delhi airport, didn’t know we’d have six....flight to Amritsar delayed, delayed, delayed again. Still have no idea why.

I had arranged the guiding services of Gurinder Singh thanks to CaliNurses recommendation. We’d talked by email and had a plan for the 2.5 days we were to be in Amritsar. Then, I made a mistake and booked a homestay at his house. With hindsight, some separation would have been better. A driver collected us at the airport, we were delivered to Johlz homestay and offered tea by his lovely wife. Gurinder was out with other clients (he runs heritage walking tours) so we went for a walk around the neighbourhood. It was very local, a filthy smelly drain featured, loads of rubbish, a dead dog in the main street (also there the next day) and a couple of people who actively snarled at me. Didn’t feel real good about this area. The plan for our first night was to visit the Golden Temple, it didn’t happen. Gurinder convinced us it was possible to fit a night time visit in on another of our two days. With no dinner options close by, and two ordinary airline meals, he offered what they were having. A simple meal of dal, vegetables and rice was very nice. The room was clean and reflective of the price we paid (about $26 per night). Our conversation with him that evening was interesting....

Marija

I’m enjoying following along without all of the stress. Thanks!

sartoric

Thanks Marija, you kinda forget the stress after a while...

The Golden Temple is a stunning edifice and worth seeing more than once. The pinnacle for Sikhs worldwide, it attracts over 100,000 visitors daily. Unlike other religions that just flaunt their wealth, most Sikh Gurudwara (temples) also provide meals for everyone and anyone who wants or needs one. The langaur (kitchen) at the golden temple is a well run machine. Staffed by volunteers, it turns out 60,000 plus meals a day. We were particularly fascinated by the chapatti machine where dough goes in one end, and perfectly puffed chapatti come out the other. People are also welcome to sleep under the colonnades, and a short distance away is a modern “inn” where free rooms are available to pilgrims. As a devout atheist, this seems to me like one of the better faiths to have if you must have one.

We started our day with Gurinder by climbing a steep staircase to a small Jain temple on the wide boulevard leading to GT. Here the photos of priests are full frontal nudes as they’ve reached a stage of enlightenment whereby they eschew all material possessions, including clothes. There’s pretty mirror tile work on the ceilings and a great view of the throngs below.

To access the Golden Temple one must remove shoes, cover head, and walk through a shallow water bath to cleanse the feet. I saw some people scoop up a handful of the foot bath to drink, yikes. There’s much slippery wet marble, be careful. Later, we visit the memorial to the massacre at Jalianwalla Bagh. It’s peaceful despite the tragic circumstances of the time, when a British commander ordered his troops to open fire on peaceful protesters and hundreds died. A fruit and vegetable market provides some cheerful respite, we admire the colourful displays and dodge a million motorcycles.

Lunch was at Crystal restaurant, an Amritsar institution. Disappointed with the food, the service, and especially the cost, they stiffed us 400 rupees for a small bowl of plain yoghurt that was not ordered. I suppress a hissy fit, and we forge onwards, 30 km to the Wagah border ceremony. It’s a spectacle of rampant nationalism, but we chose to view it in a light hearted way. We didn’t understand a word, and couldn’t help thinking of British comedian John Cleese and his ministry of silly walks. 25,000 people a day make the effort to see this. I got stepped on eight times while leaving and got about six apologies, so that’s okay. Not good for those who dislike crowds, but then, India isn’t either.

We revisit the GT at night, no less crowded, but perhaps even more spectacular lit up. We watched the ceremony whereby the holy book gets put to bed.

A long and full day, it’s time to put ourselves to bed.

sartoric

The Jain temple.


The Golden Temple really is a stunning complex.


With loads of people eating.


Part of the crowd at the Wagah border.


A spectacle at night.

thursdaysd

I ate lunch at the temple, although I didn't drink the water. I skipped the border ceremony, although I had to turn down several drivers wanting to take me there, lol. As best I remember I took a night train in (from Varanasi) and a night train out (to Delhi). Not recommended, lol, and not something I would do today.

jacketwatch

Wow! Sorry I missed this but better late than never.
Your TR and pics are amazing. Thank you for putting such time a effort into this.
I see you were not too impressed with China Southern. Thats too bad as they have worked their way up to a 4* rating on skytrax but looks like they have a ways to go.
Sorry you were stranded at Qutab Minar. Tough way to start your trip.
I am surprised about not calling Pakistan?? BTW we went thru hell in 2010 trying to get a visa for my wife who actually is from Ajmer and one of the questions on the app was if she has relatives in Pakistan. All this happened after the Bombay attacks from Pak terrorists and one of the advance scouts got a multiple entry visa from our own Chicago Indian consulate using a false name. Before this getting a visa was easy as it is now but in between it was laborious.
The food pics look amazing, I can do without the rats and I see your experience at Pushkar is the same as ours. Our "student" guide demanded money after he said he did not want any. Hey I heard you the first time.
Following!