Caren's Photo Wins

Caren entered this photo in the weekly travel picture contest on MSNBC.com. And she won!! Congratulations.

She took this picture one morning on the streets of Narlai in the state of Rajasthan during our bicycle trip in India in October 2008. She used her Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7 ultrazoom digital camera.

The woman's son is disabled and she walks him around town every day in a large bowl balanced on her head. She stopped to speak with Caren and explained that the boy enjoys the daily walks. He also has a wheelchair that she uses some of the time.

This was one of the many memorable "up close and personal" experiences we had on our trip to India. Check out the other blog postings and links to the photo albums from the trip.

Photos from Our Trip to India

We took a LOT of photos on our recent trip to India. It was very difficult to edit them down to a reasonable number. We finally gave up and created a separate blog with all of the photos.

Click here to go to the new blog or go to the URL

http://indiatrip-october2008.blogspot.com/

You can either click on a link to view the set of photos from each stop on our trip OR click the arrows to view the slideshows.

We are going to pick a TOP 50 set of photos and post them separately.

Urban Cowboys Struggle With India's Sacred Strays

In this morning's NY Times there was an article about the stray cows roaming the streets of New Delhi and the actions being taken to round them up. Indian wranglers? The milk mafia? Only in India.....

Click on the link to read the article.

New Delhi Journal Article

A True India Experience

We did our final shopping spree this morning. We got a taxi from our hotel - not just any taxi, but an Ambassador Classic with a Sikh driver from Punjab state. You can't get more Indian than this.

The Ambassador is the definitive Indian car. It was the first car to be manufactured in India and has been plying the Indian roads since 1948. Its dependability, spaciousness and comfort factor have made it the most preferred car for generations of Indians (not Americans). In major cities all over India, Ambassador taxis are like yellow cabs in New York City. Our driver could fit right in to Manhattan in an instant, including his turban.

It is manufactured by Hindustan Motors in India. The Amby, as it is affectionately called, has been in continuous production since its inception, with very few changes to its bulbous round frame. The current models have been in production since 1957 and are based on the Morris Oxford first made in the U.K.. Because of its long production history, parts are readily available throughout India and every mechanic, driver, and housewife knows how to repair them.

The Amby is truly an India classic.

An extra added feature of our taxi ride was the driver's continual insistence on taking us to his "best" places to shop. You must be firm in saying "no" (if you can even understand his Hindish - accented English). He gets a commission from any purchases you make at these places. He even asked several times if we needed a driver later and if we would like to do more shopping. These guys are aggressive - like a tick under your skin.

The Indian Entrepreneur

CNN International is running this hilarious commercial for HSBC. It typifies the entrepreneurial spirit in India. A new way to make lassi - Indian whipped yoghurt shake. I plucked it from YouTube.

New Compared to Old in Delhi

When we stayed at the Imperial Hotel in New Delhi at the beginning of our trip, we experienced old, colonial Delhi. The staff was experienced, knowledgeable, and efficient. It should be - The Imperial is one of the finest hotels in the world.

Coming back to Delhi, I cashed in a bunch of Hyatt points and we are staying at the Hyatt Regency Delhi. It is a remarkable contrast. This hotel is the new, modern, hip Delhi. It is located in the newer, southern area of New Delhi. The staff overwhelms you in numbers, but their efficiency is sometimes suspect. The rooms are glass, hardwoods, and marble.

We ate dinner in the signature Chinese restaurant. (I know what you are thinking - the Chinese and Indians fought in a war about 10 years ago, so why is there a Chinese restaurant in Delhi.) There were no fewer than 10 chefs in the glass walled kitchen. There must have been 20+ wait staff, including one fellow who did nothing but do circuits of the restaurant with a Swiffer-type mop to keep footprints off of the modern dark hardwood floors. They had a wine refrigerator that must have cost $50,000. The food was wonderful, but it was one of the more expensive Chinese meals we ever had.

If this is what Delhi is becoming (like many other major cities of the world), then I vote to stay at the Imperial on our next visit.

Anecdotes from the Agra-Delhi Highway

The drive from Agra to Delhi is about 200km. The road is actually pretty good most of the way - or else we are becoming accustomed to the vagaries of travel in India.

Our driver Parveen is great. He manuveurs around other vehicles with ease. I would have dented every door and fender on the car as well as ripping off the side mirrors.




Highway driving in India is unique. The law says that trucks and buses are supposed to drive in the slow lane on a multilane highway. No one obeys the law. Just the opposite occurs - trucks and buses hang out in the fast lane. To pass, you dodge to their inside and swerve around the autorickshaws, motorbikes, and camel drawn carts. Absolutely crazy!

Anything with at least two legs or two wheels can travel on the roads here. Trucks, buses, cars, autorickshaws (tuk-tuks), motorbikes, bicycles, tractors, human-powered rickshaws, goat herds, and animal drawn carts. Since the four lane highway is divided, occasionally you need to cross the center median and drive on the wrong side of the highway to get to where you want to go. They don't know from interchanges or exit ramps. This makes traveling an exciting experience. Don't ever think of renting a car in India - you wouldn't survive 10 minutes. You must be born with Indian driving skills in your genes.

As we drove along, we noticed an unusually large number of post high school education buildings. Dozens of them within a stretch of 20km-30km. Institute of Technology and Management Studies. College of Pharmacy. College of Medical Studies. Dental Studies School. All of them seem to be equivalent to trade schools in the U.S.. But many of them are unfinished, empty, or in obvious disrepair. All we can figure is that there must be some government tax incentives to build these schools, but no one ever checks if there are students, teachers, or classes.

Tuk-tuks are a common, inexpensive form of transportation. It is amazing how many people can fit into one of these three-wheeled vehicles. Sometimes there are 2-3 people sitting up front with the driver, 4 people sitting on a small backwards facing bench behind the driver, 4-6 people on a forward facing bench behind that, 4-6 people on a backwards facing bench behind that, and perhaps 2-3 people standing on the running boards and hanging on. All these people riding on a vehicle with about a 35 HP engine. Seat belts - you got to be kidding. Air bags - who needs them. Crash resistant bumpers - never been seen here. Air conditioning - hope that no one has overwhelming body odor.

We love the trucks. The various ways that drivers dress them up are dazzling. Truck art is a competition among long distance goods haulers.





And you quickly get used to the words on the back of every truck - "Horn Please" means honk to let the driver know you are passing. "Use Dipper at Night" means to dim your high beams when approaching at night. Very considerate.

There are roadside stands near every town that sell motorbike helmets. Based upon how much money you want to spend, you can get better protection. The helmets look the same, but the more you pay, the heavier the plastic. Kind of like "you bet your life". There are no government regulations on helmet safety tests. The only government law is that it is compulsory to wear a helmet. Another law that no one obeys. Especially passengers on motorbikes. It is common to see a family of four all riding on the same motorbike.

Photos of Taj Mahal

Caren better not get any ideas - no tomb for her. We visited the Taj Mahal yesterday - the building built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for his favorite wife Mumtaz Mahal. Completed in 1653, it is one of the wonders of the world. And the crowds sure confirm that. Better be prepared. And bring along lots of film or memory cards for your camera.

More Amusing Musings About India

We are settled into the Oberoi Amarvilas here in Agra (with a view of the Taj Mahal from every room) and I started contemplating recent experiences. Time for some more thoughts and observations.

India is investing huge sums into improving infrastructure, but there are some exceptions. The new airport terminal in Udiapur has capacity for 10x the number of flights they handle every day. Jaipur had a new terminal under construction. Someday they will finish the new domestic and international terminals in Delhi (perhaps before the Commonwealth Games in 2010). They are building beautiful (private) toll roads throughout the country. The problem is that India is trying to do it all at once. The probability is very high that some projects will fail or get seriously delayed. Like what we saw today - we drive along a four lane wide new toll road on our way from Jaipur to Agra. Suddenly the good road ends and you wind up on a two lane road with huge potholes.

Governments exercising emminent domain has a side effect here in India. To acquire the land for the toll roads, the government granted local people the right not to have to pay tolls. Nor do they have to drive on the correct side of the road. Try driving at 60 miles an hour only to spy a camel drawn cart coming at you in your lane.

The entire country is one giant, public urinal. In Jaipur, we actually saw a line of public urinals for men at a street corner. Just walk right up and pee (or if the urinal is not convenient, use the nearest building wall).

I found a new favorite snack food - Masala Munchies. Think Cheetos with masala spice instead of cheddar cheese. These things are addictive. I have to find them somewhere in LA or bring back a case.

Caren started reading "The White Tiger". We passed it around to everyone on our trip and there was unanimity that the book described India perfectly. There is a quote early on that describes the Indian psyche: "Our nation, though it has no drinking water, electricity, sewage system, public transportation, sense of hygiene, discipline, courtesy, or punctuality, does have entrepreneurs. Thousands and thousands of them". Buy the book - it's a good read.

Our driver for Jaipur, Agra, and back to Delhi, Parveen, is very nice and a good talker. Most of the time when we have a conversation, we understand each other. Occasionally, it's a situation when we are having two different conversations and nodding at each other to be polite.

GPS is needed here in India, but the government forbids it for security reasons. There are no street signs, and addresses seem to follow no rhyme or reason. You have to ask for directions from the autorickshaw drivers that are always napping in their parked vehicles. Do these guys ever work?

Caren Talks Shop With Her Mahout

For those of you that follow our blog, you may recall that Caren had an experience as a mahout (elephant driver/trainer) when we were in Northern Thailand.

Today, we went out to the Amber Fort north of Jaipur. If you arrive early enough, you get a chance to ride elephants up the hillside to the fort.

Here is a photo of Caren talking shop with our elephant and her mahout. Caren called her the Jewish elephant - you'll see why. She sped past a bunch of other elephants. She should have been given a speeding ticket by the elephant traffic police.

The Amber Fort (palace) was built in the late 1500s on top of an 11th century fort. It follows the contours of a ridge surrounded on three sides by hills for protection. It is an enormous structure with magnificent architecture. It is also one of the most famous (and visited) attractions in Rajasthan. Good thing we arrived early - the packed tour buses of Germans showed up about 30 minutes after us.

On the way back to Jaipur, we stopped at a textile factory/showroom that was recommended. There must be 500 garment factory/showrooms in Jaipur, plus hundreds more shops that sell the production of these places. Caren had a great time with our salesman, D. S. Chauhan (one of the owner's sons), and of course bought a lot of gifts. (Jordan haggled the price and paid the bill.)

Our final stop touring Jaipur was a photo op at Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds). This is one of the most photographed pictures in India (after the Taj Mahal). Built around 1800, its windows and balconies were designed to allow the builder's harem to view processions while staying unnoticed. It is merely a facade to a building one room deep.

(I'll put up a slideshow of Jaipur in another posting.)

Fixing a Traffic Ticket in India

In most Indian cities, there are police at the busy corners to direct traffic (when there is no "roundabout" - a contribution of British colonial rule). Drivers in India rarely pay attention to stop lights, so the traffic police stand in little booths in the center of intersections and try to control the flow of cars, buses, motorcycles, rickshaws (motorized and manual), bicycles, and cows.

There is a joke here that if you are stopped by the traffic police, they tell you the ticket cost 200 rupees. But, if you pay the policeman 100 rupees, no ticket. You can guess pretty quickly how much revenue the government collects from traffic tickets.

I wonder if the LA County Sheriff deputy who patrols PV Drive East near our house would sign up for this program.

Happy Diwali!

Tonight we celebrated Diwali at the Taj Jai Mahal Palace hotel here in Jaipur. (Click here to see blog posting from a few days ago with a description of Diwali.)

We had dinner al fresco, with a light show, Hindu religious ceremony, music, traditional Rajasthani dancers, and lots of fireworks.

What fireworks! Earlier today, we noticed that peddlers were selling fireworks on every street corner. Whenever traffic stopped (which it frequently did), the vendors would rush out in the street and make a sale to a passing car. These were NOT "Safe and Sane" fireworks like we see in the U.S.. I think these were labeled "Dangerous and Crazy".

It sounds like we are in a war zone. Fireworks will probably be going all night. I imagine this is what Baghdad sounded like during "Shock and Awe" in 2003.

The people in Jaipur and throughout India really get into celebrating Diwali. Even Google India changed the logo on their search page to recognize Diwali.

Where is my change?

I've noticed an interesting phenomenon here in India. Whenever you are owed change from your payment for something, you almost never receive it when the balance you're owed is less than 300 or so rupees (US$6 or less). This even happened at one of the hotels we stayed in.

Today, I tried to buy a Snickers bar in the Udaipur airport sundries shop. It was 60 rupees and I handed the man a 100 rupee note. You should have seen him scramble around to find 40 rupees change. He even asked his two cohorts running this tiny shop (yes, three people running a shop the size of a small closet) who turned their pockets inside out and couldn't find 40 rupees change. Finally, I gave up and told him to give me something else worth 40 rupees so we would be even.

I think shopkeepers in India either think they deserve the change as a tip, are trying to take advantage of a tourist, hoarding their small bills and coins, or think it will all balance out evenly for people over the period of a lifetime.

I know some friends of mine in the U.S. would go ballistic if this happened to them. They are tighter than tree bark with their money.

Slideshow of Udaipur

Udaipur is a beautiful city. It may be a bit "touristy" in certain areas as it used to be a popular destination for backpackers, students traveling on a tight budget, and inexpensive tours. Today, with hotels like the Oberoi Udaivilas and the Taj Lake Palace, the city is a destination for the rich, famous, and even people like us. (e.g. Mick Jagger has been here for over a week).

Pichola Lake is man made, created by a dam built in the 1500s by the Maharana at the time. Check out this wikipedia article for info on Udaipur: Udaipur Article

Here is a slideshow of some of the sights and people of Udaipur:

Farewell to Our Bicycling Companions

Today was the last bicycle ride of our trip. A short ride of only 18km from outside of town, back thru the streets of Udaipur, and directly to the hotel.

Caren took a pass on the bicycle ride and did some serious shopping in town. She even had some custom clothes made and they will be delivered tonight. Forget about Hong Kong and Vietnamese tailors - Udaipur can make you a suit in 4-6 hours for a lot less money.

We are about to head to our final dinner with the group and our guides. I'm sure that Karen, our B&R guide, has a few plans to surprise us at dinner here at the Oberoi. As we usually do, we will exchange email addresses with everyone and hopefully encounter them on a future trip.

Tomorrow we head to Jaipur, the shopping paradise of India. It is also the final day of Diwali - the festival of lights. It is the most celebrated holiday here in India, observed by Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains as a religious festival. Buildings, streets, and homes are all decorated with lights and fireworks are shot off every night of Diwali. People exchange gifts, but not to the extent of holiday gifting in the U.S. Typical gifts for Diwali are sweets, fruit baskets, and sometimes even wine.

It seems to me like it's a combination of the 4th of July, spring cleaning, and Christmas. Everyone fixes up their house, applies new paint, and goes shopping for gifts.

Here is a website that explains it all: Diwali 2008

Even Barack Obama got into the act of recognizing Diwali:

Press Trust of India, Monday, October 27, 2008 9:20 AM (Washington)

The Democratic White House candidate Barak Obama has wished a "joyous" Diwali to the Indian American community in US, saying the festival provides a "wonderful opportunity" to reflect on the year past and rededicate to spread peace and tolerance in the coming year.

"Thank you for the opportunity to share a few thoughts with you as we near the night of Diwali. In the coming days, Hindus , Sikhs, Jains and their friends of all faiths will gather across America and around the world to celebrate the Festival of Lights.

"Much has happened in the world since the last Diwali, and this is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the year past and rededicate ourselves for spreading peace and tolerance in the coming year," Obama said in a message dated October 24.

"Last year, I wrote that Diwali's celebration of the triumph of illumination over ignorance had a special meaning for me. At that time, traveling across America and meeting people of every spiritual

and ethnic background showed me that there is much more that unites us than divides us. Now, one year later, I believe this even more strongly," he said.

"Americans, despite our varied backgrounds, believe that all people are created equal, and that each person should be free to practice or not practice religion as they choose," the Illinois Senator added.

"If I'm elected President of the United States, I will work to renew America's moral leadership in the world. This is our time to create change, and I believe that we can and must continue the fight against ignorance and intolerance. I wish you all the best for a joyous Diwali" Obama said.

I did a search on Google News and couldn't find a similar press release by John McCain. Surprise, surprise.

Here is where we are staying in Jaipur.

Jai Mahal Palace

Bicycling to Udaipur

This morning was our next to last bicycle ride of the trip - 35km from the Devi Garh in Delwara to the Oberoi Udaivilas Hotel in Udaipur. This was the best ride yet - we cycled thru a lot of villages, thru a small river valley, past farmland (including some camel herds), and then peddled thru the city streets of Udaipur, directly into the hotel parking lot. Nothing like riding up the driveway of what was voted one of the best hotels in the world by Conde' Nast magazine. The other guests looked at us like we were from another planet.

Weird experience of the day was bicycling thru a small village and suddenly hearing Italian classical music blaring out from what must have been a radio or CD player located in some farmer's house. It was easy to notice it as it struck me as very odd after hearing the usual Rajasthani pop music in most villages.

Check out the hotel at this link: Oberoi Udaivilas

This afternoon we will visit the City Palace, one of the largest and most magnificent structures in India, and then hit the shopping circuit. More details and photos to follow.

Musings from India on a Sunday Morning

We have been in India for 11 days, so it's time for some random observations:

The toilet paper in the hotels is like sandpaper. I will leave it to your imagination to figure out what that causes.

Truck drivers are a strong, crazy breed of Indian. They dress up their trucks in a fashion that would make a lowrider in LA jealous. Then they barrel down the two lane highways (sometimes only one lane) with reckless abandon, passing other vehicles with virtually no room to spare. The accident rate among truck drivers must be astronomical.

Cow dung is a valuable commodity in India. People pick it up from the streets, form it into patties, and leave it in the sun to dry. It is then used as a source of fuel. The ultimate renewable energy resource. Forget about wind, solar, and biofuel. America needs to use cow dung to wean itself from a dependence on foreign oil. India has lots of cow dung to spare.

Electricity is available all over India, but there are 5-6 power outages a day, even in our hotels. I think the manufacturer of power surge protection equipment must bribe the electic company. Or else the outages are due to people plugging 50 appliances into one outlet.

Many Indians have bad teeth. Dental care is supposedly free (if you can find a dentist and he will work on your teeth without paying him baksheesh). I think the causes for poor teeth are 1) Indians put gobs of sugar into their chai tea, and 2) many people chew paan - betel nut. It is sold in every little village shop (the Indian version of 7-11) in foil packets that look like condoms. You tear off a string of 4-5 packets and pay 1 rupee (two cents) a packet. Paan stains your teeth red/brown.

The Sunday paper in Delhi has an entire section dedicated to matrimonial ads. Men looking for women and vice versa. It's a big business. I think India was the home of internet dating services. I think the primary readers are actually parents looking to make arranged marriages for their children.

Up Close in Delwara

This afternoon we took a walking tour of the village of Delwara where Devi Garh Hotel is located. Our guide was Shaheed, a 19 year old Muslim boy. He learned English on his own by talking with tourists. Try that sometime with a foreign language.

Delwara has a large Muslim population - there are 160 million Muslims in India - the second largest population of Muslims in the world after Indonesia.

Here is a slideshow of some pictures of the village and people of Delwara.

No Cheeseburgers or Hot Dogs

I woke up this morning before 6AM for a yoga class. Caren rolled over and went back to sleep. Our instructor, Bti, led a group of five of us thru a series of stretching, breathing, and bending exercises. Once again, I proved to myself that as you get older it is difficult to balance on one foot. And my flexibility is nowhere as good as our instructor and her 20 year old male assistant.

Caren's sciatic nerve was bothering her, so she sat out our 35km bike ride today. She may have had the better of it, sitting by the pool. The ride started out with the temperature in the 80s, but by the time we got halfway along, the sun was beating down and the thermometer was into the 90s. I had a great ride, felt the best I have in days of riding, and made very good time.

We were both dying for a cheeseburger or hot dog for lunch, but no such luck. Instead, we opted for the Indian/Thai buffet which turned out to be one of our best meals yet. Nothing at all like the "all you can eat for $9.99" buffets in Indian restaurants in SoCal.

Afterwards, we went on a walking tour of the village of Delwara with a young man who lives here and served as our local guide. We will post some pictures later. It is very interesting to see how people in villages in India live. Some good things, some bad things. Definitely, not like the U.S.. Caren even went to visit his house and do some shopping while I went to chill out in the room.

Reconnected to Wi-Fi

We left Rawla Narlai this morning, by bicycle. Went on a 35km ride, ending at Ranakpur Temple. It is unbelievable. A Jain temple built in 1439. The Jains are a minority religion in India (less than 0.5%), but highly respected as it is believed they were the precursor to Buddhism (and then Hinduism). The temple has 1,444 marble columns, all different. It is magnificent and a good preamble to visiting the Taj Mahal in a few days. Below is a brief slideshow of photos we took at Ranakpur Temple.



We then crossed the Aravalli Hills (by van, not bicycle), believed to be the oldest (and at one time the highest) mountain range in the world. It runs southwest from Delhi to Ahmenabad.

We arrived at our amazing hotel for the next two nights, Devi Garh. This was an 18th century fortress that protected the city of Udaipur to the south from the Mughal armies in the north because of its strategic position in a mountain pass. Abandoned for years, a wealthy Indian industrialist bought it and turned it into a fantastic hotel with 39 suites. It is nearly impossible to get a booking here, but our bicycle tour company has reserved it for trips for five years in advance.

Devi Garh Palace

We have a suite that is not to be believed. I will upload some photos when I get a chance. They have restored this old fort into a modern, hip hotel with a staff that tends to everything. Well.....maybe not quite everything.

And it is located above the village of Delwara which we will bicycle and walk thru tomorrow.