India Travel Journal, Part V - Agra and Jaipur

India Travel Journal, Part V

Tuesday, January, 23- Thursday, 25, 2018 

Elephant on the street of Jaipur

“The great secret of true success, of true happiness, is this: the one who asks for no return, the perfectly unselfish person, is the most successful in life.”   Swami Vivekanada

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

We got up at 7am today, packed, showered, ate breakfast, checked out and met our driver at 8:15am in front of the hotel.  Our driver is Titu’s nephew, Baljinder (Bal-Jin-Der).  Great name.  He is also a Sikh and wears a blue turban, as opposed to Titu’s, which was white.  When I asked if there was any significance between the colors, he said no and didn’t elaborate any further.  This will be the hardest travel day of our trip.  We headed out to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and then drove to Jaipur in Rajasthan. 

Driving from Delhi to the Taj took just over four hours.  The countryside was actually quite beautiful, but the pollution/smog of Delhi never disappeared, which surprised me.  We did get some light rain along the way, which helped mitigate the pollution a bit, but it was still pretty heavy for my unaccustomed lungs.  Agra and the Taj are an obligatory tourist trap that I think everyone who visits India needs to see at least once.  Baljinder arranged a guide for us that spoke Russian and English.  He was a good kid, but he was only 21 and while he knew the main talking points of the Taj’s history, his knowledge wasn’t as deep as we would have liked and he couldn’t answer many of our follow-up questions.  

The Taj really is a sight to be seen and when you walk up to it the first time, it really grabs you.  It’s huge, majestic and beautiful.  

  

At the Taj Mahal - truly a sight to be seen

The Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan started building the Taj in 1632 in honor of his third wife, who was a Persian princess who died while giving birth.  It was finished about twenty years later.  As it was nearing completion, the Shah became ill and his sons began fighting for control of the family’s empire.  By the time the Shah recovered from his illness, his youngest son was in control and put him under house arrest in the Agra Fort until his death.  The father then spent the rest of his days in jail with a view of the Taj from his cell window.  An interesting side note to the history.

The "Baby Taj" - definitely worth a visit when in Agra

The Taj is one heck of a mausoleum.  Walking up and around it was really something, but the inside is very bland and dark.  Considering it is a grave, this could be expected.  Once the initial awe of the place wore off, I kept thinking about the hubris and ego that had to go into making such a huge spectacle for a mausoleum.  The whole thing also cost a fortune, something like $850 million in today’s dollars.  The place reminds me of what the pharaohs of Egypt were up to and the Taj should be viewed in that context.

After, we did a little sightseeing- went to a place called the Baby Taj, which is off the beaten track and was really great; then grabbed a bite, went into some marble shops and hit the road.  

On the road from Agra to Jaipur we stopped for a snack.
Baljinder is in the blue turban, I'm in the blue Cubs cap.

Jaipur in Rajasthan, our next stop, was a five-hour drive away.  Again, despite the long distance, we never escaped the smog, so while interesting, it was also a bit rough.

We got to Jaipur around 9:30pm and checked our hotel, which was a beautiful English colonial mansion back in the day.  It’s called the Alsistar Haveli, and I would strongly recommend this place to anyone visiting Jaipur.  The room was elegant and the grounds were something out of a Indian fairy tale.  The place cost $75 a night.  

Our Hotel in Jaipur- the Alsistar Haveli

After we cleaned up, we jumped down to the restaurant just before they were closing.  I drank a couple beers, Ira had a rum and coke and we discussed the country and the day.  We are both enjoying the trip and even though Irina has been visiting India regularly for the last 12 years, she has never been to Jaipur or Varanasi, so this is new ground for both of us.  We agreed that it’s really healthy to see such diverse and interesting parts of the world.  We look forward to tomorrow. 

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

We met our guide at 10am at our hotel.  We had arranged for Baljinder to stay with us for the day to drive us around.  He also found us our guide.  His name was Jai (JAY) and he was wearing a fedora style hat.  I hadn’t seen this look on and Indian before. 

He immediately asked us what we wanted to do and I told him we would like to see the Amber Fort, which is about 12 km outside of the city, and then we could do whatever he recommended.  I figured that since we had the car for the day, we should do the far away stuff and then tomorrow, our last day here, we could take a rickshaw around the city to fill in the holes.  Irina and I decided to spend the first day sightseeing and the second day shopping and exploring around the city.  Jaipur is in the foothills of the mountains and is a beautiful city, but going on our fourth day in heavy pollution was getting to me a little bit and I developed a little cough.  I expected the cities to be polluted like this, but I thought Agra would have provided a break and the drive between the cities would have fresh air, so I think the cough is just my lungs reacting to the incessant smog.  This happened to me in Beijing as well.

Irina and the Snake Charmer

We went around the Amber Fort.  On the way into it we passed a snake charmer and stopped to watch him make the snake dance.  Pretty wild.  Also, Jaipur has lots of animals around- Camels, elephants, monkeys, and the usual goats, cows, etc.  It’s cool to see such beasts all over the place.

In the Amber Fort

The Amber Fort is the “must see” attraction of the city and it didn’t disappoint.  It’s a beautiful place.  

We then went and watched a wedding at a Hindu temple.  The groom was dressed in a cool traditional garb while the bride was fully covered and we couldn’t see her face at all.  

Hindu Wedding in Jaipur- the bride is wearing orange- over 
her face- "she does it to respect her man" our guide explained 

This was the first time we saw a Hindu woman fully covered like this (Seeshoo’s daughter wasn’t dressed like this at her wedding).  I asked Jai about it and he said,  “she does it to respect her man.  She is saving herself for him.”  It was said so matter of fact, I just nodded and let it go, even though I really don’t understand it.  

We stopped at an antique shop in search of some interesting art, but even though the dealer had a large inventory, the antiques were expensive and I couldn’t find anything that inspired me to pursue it.  Indian antiques are mostly stone sculptures and not much paintings or drawings, which are what speak to me the most.  I’m still hoping to find something to replace the simmering desire for the painting that I left behind in Delhi.  The search continues.  

Hindu Temple where the wedding took place

On the way out, we noticed a hand woven rug company next to his store.  We went into the rug shop.  Irina said she wanted to “look around” and wasn’t going to buy anything.  That translated to having the guys unroll about twenty rugs that she openly and critically commented on.  That being said, I have to admit, it was a good way of looking at them and she did find some really cool ones that I never would have even noticed.  They were pretty steep in Rupee terms though.  

After about a half hour, in the spur of the moment, we started negotiating for two of them.  I guess the tourist desire for acquiring a proper (and functional) souvenir overcame the practical obstacles of traveling with large, heavy carpets.  I will say that it’s always great to negotiate for something you know you don’t really need, as we ended up being quite firm and the sales guy eventually came down to meet us.  His name was Khan and he was actually a really pleasant guy from Kashmir.  His uncle owned the shop. 

My new Indian rug- an impulse buy and a great souvenir-)

According to Ira, who I trust in these matters, we got the rugs for a great price and she was elated.  I now have a really nice Indian rug for my recently flooded living room.  I figure that since I will have to replace the floor when I return due to the flood, I will upgrade the room a bit to make it fresh and new.  I currently have a rug from Kazakhstan there that I picked up in Moscow.  This new one is a large step up and totally different style and colors.  I’m happy to have acquired it.  

We then went around town for a few hours.  Saw the old part of the city, another temple and then had a late lunch.  We called it a day around 7pm and stayed at the hotel.  I had a couple beers on the patio in front of the restaurant.  The sightseeing and long drive the previous day had wiped us out.

Thursday, January 25, 2018

Today was mostly a day for exploring Jaipur.  Irina told a friend who is also vacationing down in Kerala about the carpets and when she heard the price we paid, she wanted one too, so we started the day by going back and meeting Khan.  He was a standup guy, as before, and didn’t haggle with us too hard.  We got a third rug for the same price point as the ones from the day before despite a few early protests by Khan about how we got the best deal they give and how the previous purchase was a special “favor” to us.  As I said, he’s a good salesman.  

Camel in the street- Jaipur

We then jumped around to gem shops, textile stores, city bazaars and markets, and some fashion boutiques.  What’s interesting is all these shops have these little workshops and they give you a tour that shows you exactly how they make their wares.  We learned and watched a rug being made, gemstones being shaped and polished, marble being made, etc.  Everything is done by hand with techniques that haven’t been affected at all by technology.  (We also got up close and took photos with an elephant and some camels we saw on the street.)    

Irina is a real shopper and the day was nonstop running around and flew by.  While I wasn’t interested in buying much (my new rug scratched that itch), I enjoyed seeing the city and talking to so many artisans.  In the afternoon, Ira kept asking our rickshaw driver, who is also a tour guide, for a fashion boutique that combines Indian and Western styles.  He kept taking us to places, but none of them had what she was looking for.  They were mostly selling very traditional clothes.  One thing about India is that the guides really only take you to the places where they know that if you buy something, they will get a kickback from the store.  While, that’s understandable, it’s not ideal if you want something specific and are relying on them to show you where to find it.

Recorder player at our hotel- love the stash-

We got back to the hotel around 6:30pm and I started looking into the guidebook for dinner options.  I was hoping to change it up from Indian food for a night.  After doing Indian nonstop since I got here, I was looking for a little Western comfort food.  I found an Italian place in the guidebook and when I went to look at its location on the map, it referred me to a shopping complex called Agnohki.  As I read about the complex, there it was, “Anokhi specializes in modern Indian clothing with Western influences”.  The complex was closing at 8pm and it was going on 7pm when I read this.  I told Ira to get ready and we had to go asap.  I didn’t tell her why I was rushing her and she assumed it was just to eat dinner. 

We grabbed a rickshaw off the street for 100 Rupees ($1.40) and got there at 7:15pm.  Upon entering the store, her eyes lit up.  She then she flipped out saying that the store was exactly what she was looking for.  I felt good at surprising her for all of two minutes, as despite her evident excitement, she then blamed me for not reading the entire guidebook earlier so that we wouldn’t have had to waste the day running around to so many bad boutiques and textile shops.  Despite finding multiple dresses and things to buy and having 40+ minutes of unencumbered shopping, she made it clear that she was quite disappointed.  Women!  Also, I’m certain that even if we started the day at this place, we still would have gone to all those shops looking for more...but such is the way these things go.  I didn’t let it get to me in the least bit. 

Once the store closed, we then grabbed a bite at a little café that was attached to it (she didn’t want the Italian).  It was modern food and healthy, so I was happy.  We then went back to the hotel.  We leave for Varanasi tomorrow.  The City of the Dead.   Varanasi is the oldest living city in the world and everyone I have told that I would be visiting it has raved about it.  I’m also excited to see the Ganges, which is dubbed the most spiritual river in the world… Our flight is at 6:25am, so we went to bed early.  

 

At the Amber Fort

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The Story moves from Jaipur to Varanasi in Part VI:

https://libertinereflections.blogspot.com/2018/03/india-travel-journal-part-vi-jaipur-to.html

India Travel Journal, Part IV - Delhi

India Travel Journal, Part IV  Delhi

Sunday, January 21-Monday, January 22, 2018

Cow in a shanty town- Delhi

“By meditation, by contemplation, and by communion, there comes in the end the destruction of earthly delusion.”  Svetasvatara Upanishad

Sunday, January 21, 2018

Of course, today my stomach is totally fine, but it’s too late to do the detox therapy, so I will do it once I return.  Irina and I are off to Delhi tonight.  We went to the beach in the morning.  The waves were big again.  The beach is actually a great place to learn how to surf, as there is no coral reef, just a sand bar, so wiping out wouldn’t hurt.  When I was learning to surf in Hawaii as a kid, wiping out usually meant hitting the coral and getting mangled up and bloody.  If I return here next year, maybe I’ll bring a surfboard (as far as I can tell, there is no place to rent or buy one from).  

After lunch, Irina and I headed home to get our things ready for our trip.  At 5pm we hopped a cab to the airport.  Once we got past security and were looking for our gate we passed a bookstore that had English books.  I went in and went through all their English language titles and miraculously found a copy of Fitzgerald’s The Beautiful and the Damned for $8.  I wanted to read Tender is the Night on this trip, which I accidently left in Chicago.  I made a decision last year to read more Fitzgerald, so this is a really good find.  

We soon boarded the flight to Delhi.  It’s a three-hour flight from Trivandrum.  Once in Delhi, you immediately enter a different world, especially compared to Kerala.  The airport is huge and the city is a monster- 25 million people live here. 

Delhi's huge airport

Just walking through the airport and seeing how the people dress and act, it was clear that it is much more liberal than our village.

I decided to splurge on our accommodations for this leg of the trip.  The big cities in developing countries are always a bit rough/harsh.  The pollution, ubiquitous poverty, noise and everything else can really get to you and I like having a place to return home to at the end of a long day of sightseeing that can shelter me from it.  I learned this little travel tip after spending extended time in Katmandu, Beijing, Havana (in the old days) and other developing cities around the world.  Ira had sent me a list of some hotels that were reasonably priced and I’m sure that they are fine places to stay, but I upgraded us into a real doozy.  We are at the Lodhi and it is five star in every sense of the word.  

I’ve always enjoyed high-end hotels and restaurants.  After I started working in finance (to get out of poverty), I realized that the only real thing that really changed in my life was I ate at better restaurants and stayed at better hotels when I traveled.  It makes sense I guess and for this hotel, I had to pay up, but after seeing the place, it’s well worth it.

The hotel sent me an offer to have a car and driver meet us at the airport, but the cost was outrageous (high-end hotels in developing countries always overcharge you for everything), so I ignored the message.  They wanted $110-$230 for the trip depending on the type of car.  We ended up getting a pre-paid taxi from the airport for $6.  It was far from an elegant ride, but the trip took only twenty-five minutes.  The driver was a real piece of work though.  His English was very hard to understand, he didn’t know where he was going and, worst of all, he was an absolutely terrible driver.  We almost got into three major accidents and one time he turned into oncoming traffic!  When we got to the hotel (which I had to direct him to from looking at my phone map), it was around 11:30pm and he pulled up to the entrance on the wrong side of the road. 

Lodhi Hotel Entrance- our driver drove us up to it on the wrong side of the road!

It was totally ridiculous and Irina was upset that I took such a cheap taxi, but her anger disappeared as soon as she walked into the luxurious lobby and was treated like royalty.  (I didn’t tell her that I upgraded us into such an establishment.)  

The Lodhi Hotel Lobby

We checked in, showered and then hung out for a short time before going to sleep in a big comfy bed with extra pillows and the a/c cranked. 

Monday, January 22, 2018

We didn’t schedule our Delhi trip so well, as many of the most interesting places to go are closed on Mondays, which is the only day we are here.  That being said, Delhi is like NYC in that there are

The Lodhi Hotel- A great escape from the madness of Delhi

always a ton of things to do. 

We got up at 8:30am after a deep sleep and went down for breakfast.  We feasted.  We arranged for a driver to pick us up at 11am, so we weren’t rushed.  The driver, Titu showed up on time and despite the fact that Irina and I had come up with a plan of what we would do with our concierge, Irina changed it upon Titu’s suggestions.  Titu is an older gentleman in his 60s and was wearing a white turban and had a killer mustache.  He is a Sikh and he suggested we start our tour at Delhi’s largest Sikh temple.  Go figure.  As I usually do, I just went with the flow and didn’t object or cause any fuss.

Titu walking us through the history of the Sikh Religion

As we were walking into the Sikh temple, which is quite impressive, Titu gave us an overview of the religion and the history of it in India in general.  India has a turbulent past and was conquered often over the centuries.  As a result, the country now has 25 different languages being spoken and most religions are represented, but Hindu is the dominant one with around 70% of the people, then Muslims make up around 20%, then Christians around 3.5%, Buddhists around 1%.  Titu told us that after the Muslim invasion in early 12^th century, they systematically repressed all other religions and destroyed many sacred temples and texts across the entire country.  At one stage during their reign (and I use this loosely as different factions of Muslims conquered each other over the centuries that followed), 92% of all Sikh were wiped out.  Also, Buddhists and Hindus were massacred or fled the country.  They say that at least 6 million Hindus were wiped out during this prolonged genocide.  Titu showed us a wall going over the Sikh religion’s top martyrs and told us their stories.  It was amazing history to say the least. 

Sikh Martyrs

The temple was huge.  It was also crowded.  When we entered, there were three men singing chants from the Guru Granth Sahib, their holy book, while playing a drum and keyboard instrument.  Many people were coming, praying and going.  There was also a crowd sitting around the temple praying and listening to the chants.  Titu asked us if we could wait a few minutes so he could pray.  I took a seat on the sidelines, Irina went with him and prayed next to him.  Watching all the praying was interesting and majestic.  I find a peace and calmness within Indians of all stripe and it is really something to behold.  When you consider that Americans are some of the most religious people in the world, it really is a damning testament that we are so violent and vengeful toward each other. 

At the Sikh Temple

Sikh blessed dumpling

We then left the main temple and walked around the grounds, drank some holy water poured into our hands from the Granthi  (Sikh temple workers/care takers) and received a blessed dumpling that tasted a little bit like oatmeal. 

We then went to a large cafeteria area.  Titu told us that the temple serves 20,000-30,000 people every day and over 40,000 on weekends.  From the looks of it, he wasn’t kidding- the place was packed.  He walked us into the kitchen area.  It was an impressive operation.  Some of it was automated, but they also had many volunteers helping make the vegetable curries and Kulcha bread (it’s like a pita bread).  We even helped out in the bread making for a short time.  We held these long metal spatula-like rods and flipped round pieces of Kulcha that were on a big hot open oven surface until they were cooked on both sides. 

Yours truly making bread at the Sikh Temple

We then moved them into a big pile that was being brought out to the masses.  It was pretty cool and no one batted an eye or even said anything at us joining in.  Everyone was so relaxed, calm and civil despite the huge amount of cooking taking place.  This whole experience is a good change from my Chicago life where road rage and quick threats of violence are sadly the norm. 

After the Sikh temple, we went to the largest Hindu temple.  It was nowhere near as crowded, but impressive nonetheless.  They weren’t offering out free meals, which may have been one reason for the crowds at one and the lack of people at the other. 

We then went to lunch at a place called the OM Hotel and had some chicken kebobs, a chicken tikka and another type of chicken in a rich sauce.  It was served with pickled onions and Paratha bread.  It was all really tasty, but not as cheap as it would’ve been down south in Kovalam.  It was about $20 for three of us.  

After lunch we went to a little art gallery that the concierge at our hotel recommended.  It was in Delhi’s most elite neighborhood and was in the dealer’s house.  It was an impressive gallery with some amazing pieces on offer.  Of course, the painting I fell in love with was the most expensive one they had and, frankly, after seeing this one, nothing else matched its standard or grabbed my interest.  It is of an Indian woman standing at a doorway and the painter’s skill is unquestionable.  I offered the gallery owner about half of what he offered it for and he rejected the offer immediately.  I then asked him what he could do, and he came down 5%, which I couldn’t take seriously.  I said I was willing to move up a little, but he had to work with me.  He said he had to speak to his father, who was the one who put together the collection.  After a few minutes, he returned and gave me a better offer, but still nothing to get excited about.  I told him I couldn’t spend so much, took his phone number and we left the gallery.

I’m an aesthete and I hate letting a piece of art that grabs me slip through my fingers, so this painting stayed with me all day as we continued running around the city. 

We then went to Cannaught Place and walked around.  This was the center of the city when the British were in control.  The inner rim has some higher-end Western stores and restaurants and a bazaar.  We didn’t spend much time there though.  Titu then took us to the outer rim, which is much more poor and run down.  We passed a couple small barber shops where Indians were getting shaves and I couldn’t believe how small and grimy they looked.  The shops were no bigger than large closets and both had just two chairs in them. 

Delhi Barbershop- Cannaught Place (outer ring)

Irina didn’t like it there, so we headed out and looked at a few more of the palaces and sites, but many were closed, so we only observed them from the outside. 

On the way back toward our hotel, we stopped at a shanty town.  All the poor kids ran up and followed us.  We gave them all the food we had (candy and granola bars, apples, pears, etc.) and some small money, which they went nuts over.  The sun was setting, so we decided to head out after about twenty minutes and jumped back into the car and left.  I found this side excursion to be a bit heavy.  It’s funny, because the people living there seemed fine with it, even happy and excited to see us, but the conditions were really awful and all the dirty and homeless kids bummed me out a little.  

Shanty Town- Delhi

On the way back, Irina wanted to do a little shopping, so we stopped at a place called Khan Market, which our concierge recommended to her earlier in the day.  She shopped for about an hour, jumping in and out of these little boutiques.  We passed a bookstore and in the window I was shocked to see a copy of Fire and Fury, the Michael Wolff book on the Trump Administration.  This book was making quite a scandal when I left the states, so I went in and picked up a copy for $8.   I look forward to reading it and with this purchase, I definitely have enough reading material to get me through the trip.

We got back to our hotel exhausted.  The heavy pollution/smog is a big reason for this, but we also were walking around all day.  Despite feeling spent, our minds were racing with thoughts on all the things we saw.  Of course, I kept thinking about the painting of the woman in the door.  I didn’t want to let it go despite the high price.  When Irina was taking a shower to wash off the grime, I got online and researched the artist.  He is definitely well known in India and has even painted the portraits of two recent heads of state, but when I went to artprice.com, a website that keeps auction and sales records for 1000s and 1000s of artists, he was not even listed.   I did find on an Indian website with some newer paintings and their sales prices, which were in the ballpark of the painting I liked, but I couldn’t confirm the veracity of the website at all. 

Also, his newer paintings are really modern subjects that don’t appeal to me. Woman in the Doorway is one of his earlier works.  I was staring at the photo of the painting that I had on my phone when Irina entered from the bathroom.  We both were wide awake now, so I took a quick shower and we went down to the hotel bar.  I had a few beers while Irina had a couple cocktails.  We discussed our impressions and after a little while, I brought up the painting.  Ira agreed that it was really nice, but too expensive, but she supported me and said that if I really wanted it, I should try to get it.  I decided to give it one more go. 

When we got back to our room, I called the owner and discussed the situation.  I told him I was really flying blind on this and that since there are no records of the artist in the West, it’s difficult to pay so much, but that the painting clearly has artistic merit and is alluring.  I gave him what I thought was a really good offer, much more than I ever thought I would be spending on Indian art.  He immediately rejected it and said his last offer was the best he could do.  He added that he fully understands the situation I am in, but that the painting is “special” and could be worth much more than what he was offering it for.  He also repeated that the artist is one of India’s hottest painters at the moment.  When I mentioned that I understand that, but his newer pieces are nothing like the painting we are discussing, so it’s hard to say what the value of a more traditional painting of his would be, he said, “You are correct about that.  He used to paint from his heart, now he paints from his mind.”  Yeah, yeah, yeah…

Woman at the Door Painting

I told him to think over my offer and give me a call if he wants to discuss it further and I would do the same.  We hung up.  Irina was shocked that he didn’t take or even contemplate the offer I made.  She thought I was crazy to even make it and that I was probably overpaying.  “They must be really rich to turn it down like that so fast.”  She said.  I went to bed feeling defeated, but still in an elevated mood from the day’s experiences.  

Tomorrow we drive to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, and then into Rajastan…

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The story moves to Agra and Jaipur in Part V:

https://libertinereflections.blogspot.com/2018/03/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-ja-x.html