May 29…Chennai to Mumbai
Got on the plane rather early, arrived in Mumbai on time and had the hotel car pick us up. We were greeted at the door and were able to check in in our room instead of at the front desk. Taj Mahal tower, beautiful hotel, my favorite part was the book listed a service called “destiny planner” for the hotel astrologist. Got up and out right away to Elephanta Island and saw the caves and the monkeys, climbed on top of the caves, were hassled to pay more to be up on the hottest part of the boat, the roof. Our revenge on the boat company for not letting us onto the roof without pay despite our deluxe tickets came when on the way back the Coast Guard pulled the boat over, demanded the license of the driver and gave them a ticket. After arriving back in our hotel we showered and we went to the Harbour Bar where we could stare out at Gateway of India. Mark had the bar’s signature drink which came with a story acted out and a lighting of the brandy before putting into the drink, I got a champagne and gin and lemon-y drink; we also ordered tapas – ham and caramelized fig and also some potatoes raclette with rosemary. Then we took a long walk and saw the University and the cricket pitch and the high court and the Prince of Wales museum and the oldest library and the railway station. Back to the hotel for a nap and then dinner at the rooftop middle eastern restaurant Souk. I had a spiachy crepe-y think and Mark had some delicious lamb. Worst part of the day …the rose ice cream, yuk it tasted like soap, I mean it seemed like a good idea but GROSS. And I just realized that was not in fact the worst part, just remembered that this is the day that Mark’s brother passed away. Mark had been more prepared, I had really thought his brother would recover.
May 30…Mumbai to Shimla
Got up and packed pretty early to catch the plane to Chandigarth. The hotel car picked us up and we had a hair-raising ride through the “Foothills” of the Himalayas up and down and around curves that lasted FOUR hours. Eventually reached our hotel and relaxed. Had an amazing glass of wine watching the beautiful sunset. There was a note in our room warning us not to leave the windows open during the day or the monkeys would take our belongings. When we got back from our drinks we found a birthday cake in our room. The housekeeping staff insisted it was our birthday. Oh well, who was I to argue? We had dinner at the buffet restaurant, where I tripped and fell, catching the attention of our neighbors who stopped by to tell us we look like fun. Thanks.
May 31….Shimla
The next morning I worked out by doing bunches of flights of stairs and realized the altitude made the air thinner. We breakfasted and dressed and caught a shuttle up to the town. Walking up the stairs and ramp to get to the ridge road was a challenge! On the walk in we saw our first glimpse of snow-peaked Himalayas….amazing! We saw Christ Church where we lit candles and abandoned shoes and spoke to a nice couple and their cute kid. There was some political rally happening and the Indira Ghandi statue was flanked by pink tarps. We walked around some more exploring. We then explored the Mall and the Lower Bazaar, the “rabbit warren” shops. We started walking up to the monkey temple but when realizing how steep and far the walk would be we decided to wait. We then headed back to our hotel for some snacks and drinks. I then went to the pool and then we watched the sunset. I read and Mark slept, it was an early evening without dinner…but with much needed rest.
June 1…Shimla
We slept well and had our breakfast. Then we headed on out and walked back into town and up to the Monkey temple, with a rented monkey-beating-stick in each of our hands. Nearing the top we heard a woman scream as a monkey jumped on her and stole her dupatta. The monkey then proceeded to perch himself up on the hill and wrap the dupatta around his own neck and head as a lady would. When reaching the top, we were informed to take our glasses off so monkeys wouldn’t steal them. A man with a telescope showed me the six points of interest. Again, snow-capped peaks were visible. We then descended and went back to the hotel for lunch. After lunch we walked ourselves to the former Vice Regal lodge where we had a quick tour and then walked the grounds and walked on back. Overall that day we walked probably 14 kilometers and NOT on flat ground. We had kebabs and watched the sunset with wine and then retired early due to the necessity of an early start.
June 2, Shimla to Agra
We did the crazy ride back ½ way in the dark. I slept through the hardest parts. We got there with plenty of time to spare, having started at 4 in the morning. Took the plane to Delhi and the car was waiting with Holly’s awesome driver Sonu. We drove to our hotel in Agra and checked in (another 3 hours in the car), taking advantage of our view of the Taj Mahal from our room by ordering room service – a selection of real wines and beer for room service at normal prices!!!!!! Crazy!!!!! After lunch we went over to Agra Fort and got swept away by the majesty and beauty of times gone by. Then we went back and ordered a bottle of Chardonnay to watch the sun set over the Taj Mahal from our hotel room. Luckily, Sonu called to say that due to a VIP visit tomorrow the Taj Mahal would only be open until 7 a.m. …..changing our morning plans!
June 3, Agra to Jaipur
Up early to see the Taj Mahal. Bicycle rickshaw…poor guy was determined to do the whole ride! We could have walked but he seemed to really want to take us. Took lots of pictures and wandered around but had only limited time….again. The last time I was at the Taj Mahal I also only had limited time, must be fate! Then we had breakfast and got back on the road. We stopped at Fatehpur Sikri. This time we did walk up to the place and were harassed the entire time. Although the place was beautiful I felt unsafe much of the time because of the tourist predators. Another 5 or 6 hours on the rode and we arrived in Jaipur. We went to Amber Fort and it was AMAZING. It was HUGE and surrounded by mountains and the desert. We were allowed to wander through every nook and cranny and it was so easy to watch time melt away. Afterwards Sonu took us to our hotel, which was FAR out of town, far far far. In fact when we went down a dirt road for a long time before turning onto what didn’t even seem a road to get to the hotel. But it was worth it. The hotel is an old hunting lodge and we had the master suite with a huge balcony, our own sitting room, a dressing room. The lodge is on what was once a lake before it went dry and the place is filled with stuffed animals (not plushes but stuffed animals). Dinner was prepaid and in the dining hall, EXCELLENT. Okay, not the food but the entire creepy/phantasmogoric atmosphere. The food actually seemed like strange cafeteria food. I think they have frozen dishes for westerners that they microwave. Eh, the ambience outweighed the food.
June 4, Jaipur to Jodhpur
In the morning we went into Jaipur to check out the Pink City a bit. We went to Jantar Mantar, an observatory built between 1728 and 1734. So all the equipment seemed to do rudimentary crap but darn was it cool looking, especially with bright blue skies and mountains in the background. Rajastan is amazing in many ways for the light in the desert and the grand scale of things. My facebook has pictures which can describe it so much better. We then got back in the car for another long drive to Jodhpur. We went straight to our hotel, which had been recommended by friends. We checked in to our “luxury tent”. While it wasn’t as much of a tent as I’d hoped, it did have a canvas top and a really cool feel to it. The grounds of the hotel were fabulous, especially the pool! We slept well after booking the camel safari for the next day and eating.
June 5, Jodhpur
We woke up and the sandstorm that had been going on the day before persisted. Very strong winds. We first went to Mehrangarh Fort and walked around, seeing the beautiful views, the cool chariots, the canons. Jodhpur is the blue city and this was much more obvious than the pink city of Jaipur. All the houses were bluewashed and this was an amazing effect looking down on it from the Fort. In the afternoon we went on our camel ride!!!! Okay, it was cheesy and touristy but it was still fun! First we drove (no surprise!) and stopped in Osean where we explored a ridiculously old Hindu temple and then a Jain temple. We were really the only tourists in the area that day and so attracted many curious onlookers. The wind was blowing so we didn’t get sweeping views of the dunes but it was still very cool to be in them. I had never been in that type of desert with sand everywhere. Finally we went to where we would get our camel ride and had tea. And then FINALLY we got on the camel. So it was one camel (Hero was his name) for the two of us. I still loved it. And we were led around by someone. I still loved it! Camels walk funny. They are tall. The feel of them walking in the sand is cool. And it was all pretty. A great way to end the trip. After we went back to the hotel, had dinner. The next morning we pretty much just packed and caught our plane. A great trip though!
