After breakfast we met Vijay for the 2 hour drive to
Chittorgarh Fort, the largest fort in India. Along the way we saw fields of
opium flowers. I always have been aware of the Opium Wars with China, where
England forced China to buy Opium in grown in India in exchange for tea. We all know about the opium that is grown in Afghanistan that funds the
Taliban and the drug trade. I was unaware that opium is legally grown in India. It is use for
Medicine. I never thought about where the opium used in the opiates that are a staple in American medicine
come from - however I am sure there is no legally grown opium in the United States.
It must be imported from countries like India. Vijay informed us that there are
villages where it is legal to buy Opium for personal use, however one needs to
get a license to use.
Chittorgarh Fort is a massive complex sitting upon a
mountaintop. To our eyes it appears to be impregnable. The story of this
fabulous mountain top fort is one of tragedy. The Rajputs of India are of the
Warrior Caste. They prefer death to surrender. Their Pride, Romance and Spirit
are the heart and soul of Rajasthan mythology.
The fort was established in 600. It has grown over the
centuries to be immense. Thousands of people lived and died within its walls.
It was the center of Rajput Hindu life in Rajasthan.
When a Hindu man died his body was cremated. As his body was
burning his widowed wife was thrown into the fire alive to die. The British
finally outlawed this practice called Sati during the Raj. I was unaware of
another practice called Johar. When the Hindu army went out to battle, if they
lost the battle, all of the women would throw themselves into a giant fire,
taking their children to die with them. They thought it would be more honorable
to die, then to be captured as slaves during the subsequent sack of the Fort.
Over the centuries three times the residents of Chittorgarh were defeated.
Three times the women and children practiced Johar. In the first
self-emulation 16,000 people committed mass suicide, in the 2nd
occasion 12,000 people died. The last time Johar happened 10,000 people died. We
heard various stories about the women. Some people told us they willingly died,
jumping into the fire to save their Rajput honor. Others told us, they were fed
opium from the fields we saw to put them into a delirious state making the jump into the fire pit much
easier. Either way it is incomprehensible, until you realize that women in
areas overrun by ISIS today in the Middle East are willingly committing suicide
rather than become ISIS sex slaves. Much like Jewish people honor the deaths at
Mosada, the Indian Hindus honor those that died at Chittorgarh.
It does a disservice to call Chittorgarh a ruin. Undeniably
buildings have been destroyed, yet those remnants that survive are beautifully
maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India. Unlike almost anyplace we have been in India, Chittorgarh is clean.
You don’t see potato chip bags or refuse. It is almost as if it is hallowed
space. There are many sites to see in the complex, luckily we had an excellent
guide. One of the most unusual sites is the Victory Tower, the soaring watchtower
that looks over the entire region. There are several active Hindu Temples with
elaborate carvings. Unfortunately when the Mogul Muslim Invaders overran the
Chittorgarh they defaced the faces of the statues, for much like the artistic
atrocities of ISIS and Taliban today, they interpreted the Koran to say that
human form can not be depicted. Who says history doesn’t repeat itself?
The small Krishna Temple of Meera Bai is a highlight of
Chittorgarh. Meera was a devote of Lord Krishna and wrote poetry and danced to
his delight. She is a revered figure in Northern India.
We were exhausted from walking in the hot sun up and down among the
ruins. When we finally returned to our car we collapsed
of happy exhaustion. Upon returning to Begu Palace, we relaxed then
went for a walk to a part of the Palace in utter disrepair, but soon to be
restored as more hotel rooms. We then walked around the Village of Begu.
Another Step Well highlighted the walk for us, but this one after hundreds of
years was still functioning. Rather than have people walk down the steps to
gather water, the water was pumped from the deep well to an adjoining water
tower.
You can watch a video of it here.
We then returned to Fort Begu. The staff was attentive to
the fact of all the walking up and down steps at Chittorgarh and here at Fort
Begu, and thoughtfully arranged for cocktails and our eventual dinner to be
held on the deck in front of our room. We were appreciative. The food was
excellent. We ate by candle light which allowed us to observe the stars in the
Rajasthan sky. As an extra bonus, there was a wedding going on in the Village
and music boomed through the air punctuated by fireworks. It quite a night.
Assistants toting Table, Chairs and Hampers of food for us
Causeway to Water Palace
Refreshments in Cupola
God, I wish they had railings on their stairs!
I had to walk across the damn thing!
Drinks before dinner
Dinner
We checked out of our hotel in Bundi, and drove to Fort
Begu. The countryside was surprisingly varied. Sometimes we were driving by
lush green farm fields. The greenery would disappear and we suddenly are in the
rocky Rajasthan desert. Then green farms would reappear. It all depended on
irrigation and soil condition that kept changing. The vastness of the desert is amazing. Here is a small clip to show it:
We stopped at a Jain Temple. I have never met a Jain in the
United States, it is primarily an India Religion. They are very strict, won’t eat
meat or any vegetable grown underground that includes potatoes, garlic, onions,
carrots, etc. They are thought of as being rich. Their god is always shown as a
nude male.
Cathy had done her homework and wanted to spend a couple of
nights at Fort Begu. I knew nothing of it. The tour people that help arrange
the logistics for our tours, had never heard of it. Our driver had never been
there and didn’t know where it was. I knew this was going to be an interesting
stay.
We arrived at Fort Begu. We drove through the narrow gates of its walls. We passed through many gates's, until we arrived in
the interior courtyard. The Fort's high, thick walls protected the Palace for centuries. They now appeared to be in
a state of disrepair. We were greeted and escorted to our rooms. It turns out we
are the only two guests in the Palace which only has 5 guests rooms. It was up several flights of narrow, steep stairs to the very top level. I couldn’t
imagine myself navigating these stairs at night or if I had been drinking (both
assumptions would be proved wrong).
I wasn’t sure what I was in for, but decided to just go with
the flow. The manager explained they would have another tour for us at 4:30. We
retired to our room and at 4:30 climbed down the steep stairs. The prince, who owns
the property, then met us. The Kingdom of Begu and the Palace has been in his family since its
inception in 1430. The family lost its title of Maharaja of the Kingdom at the
birth of India in 1947. His grandfather and father are still alive; hence he is
still a prince. He made it clear that the family was very noble, even if they
aren’t rulers. He can’t be called a prince in the newspapers, but still has the
airs of superiority and entitlement. We weren’t thrilled with him.
He invited us into his 1943 Jeep and drove us off through
the villages - in a procession followed by a 2nd car with the manager of
the hotel, 2 attendants and our driver Vijay. We went through villages his
family used to control to view some ancient Hindu Temples and another step
well. These wells are amazing to me. They are extremely deep and beautiful. We
then drove to the cremation grounds that only his royal family is allowed to
use. We then drove to the family summer palace. The entire royal family moved
to the Water Palace that is situated on a man made lake, each summer. It was cool on the
lake, compared to the harsh heat of the main Palace. The Palace and adjoining
Temple are still owned by the family. The palace is in a state of obvious
disrepair, totally uninhabitable, a relic of time gone by. It was connected to
the land by a narrow walkway.
The 2 attendants scampered ahead across the causeway
carrying, chairs, tables and hampers. I had two thoughts: this procession
heading out for a picnic reminded me of the scene in Citizen Kane, where Kane
takes a procession of cars out on a similar picnic. My other thought was of
sheer fear; I suffer from vertigo, and the thought of walking across the narrow
causeway connecting the Water Palace to the land scared the hell out of me.
I tried not to look down and slowly crossed to the Water
Palace and then the Temple. I had made it! They eventually led Cathy and me up steep narrow
stairs, to a cupola overlooking the Palace, Temple and Lake. It was sunset.
There was a table and chairs arranged, food and drink were set out for us, and
then they departed. They said stay as long as you like, when you want - come
down, we will hear your steps then we will leave. Of course the entire time I
was thinking I have to walk down that narrow causeway again, it did take a
little of the charm away, but it was still a very magical moment.
Our mini caravan drove back towards the palace. On the way we
mentioned some Bollywood stars we knew, and the Prince became a different
person. It turns out our prince wants to be an actor. Acting is his first love.
But the downside of being a prince is you have to stay in the royal business,
which isn’t acting (although in a way it is, I suppose). All of sudden we were swapping Bollywood Gossip. He became
much more real with us as we connected on this superficial level. It is actually kind of sad, that he feels constrained
from doing what he has a passion for. Pity the head that wears a crown as Shakesphere said. When we arrived back at
the Palace he said we should come down at 7:30 for drinks and dinner in the courtyard.
When we descended from our room to the courtyard there were kerosene lanterns illuminating
the yard, classical music be played, and 3 chairs arranged around a fire.
Nearby was a portable bar stocked with liquor. The prince explained in India, the host
never says when dinner was to be served. We should enjoy the conversation,
drink the wine, and when we were ready to eat, we should inform him. 10 minutes
later dinner would be served. That works for us. We drank, we talked of
Politics, Bollywood, US and India, and then if by magic, we happened to mention
Cathy’s Indian born doctor: Sonu Ahluwalia. It turns out the prince went to
school with his brother and knows Sonu. It is a very small world. Our connection deepened.
We said we were ready for dinner. The prince departed, and Cathy and I were left alone in the
garden. There was a table set and the staff started to serve us a delicious
dinner. All the while we were enjoying the magnificent stars overhead. In Los
Angeles, we don’t see very many, in Rajasthan the sky is filled with stars. After dinner we when we
decided it was time to retire we successfully navigated the steep steps to our
room. It was an unbelievable experience.
After breakfast, we met our guide. He turned out to be
excellent. Key to a good guide is that when he speaks I can understand him. His
English was excellent. He took us first to the wholesale vegetable market. We
walked around and really enjoyed ourselves. Spread out on the ground in front
of us were all kinds of vegetables: eggplants, cauliflower, red carrots, garlic,
turmeric, chickpeas, etc. What I especially liked were the mounds of herbs: cilantro,
parsley on and on. They were all so fragrant. Cows mingled among the people,
and merchants brushed them away if they were munching on their produce.
We left the market and headed out to see several Step Wells.
Bundi is famous for the fabulous wells. There are many in Bundi. They are
amazing. They are not religious temples but rather wells for water. There are
extremely deep. Many of them date back to the 14th century. They are
beautifully persevered, although not used today. During the monsoon season,
the wells would fill up, both through the rain that came down and an intricate
system of natural drainage from the aquifer. People could take the water and as
it was used the well level would lower and the people could descend another
level of steps to get water. As we climbed around the step wells, I had to
stand close to the wall, I have vertigo and looking over ledges makes me very
uncomfortable.
We visited 3 of the Step Wells and thought they were all
magnificent. The third was interesting, because it was locked and closed to the
public. One family across from the well, was responsible for it. Our guide
called up to a family member that was sitting on a balcony overlooking the
street, and asked for the key, a family member came down, gave him the key. We
were then able to open the gate and descend into the well. Every family seems
to have their privilege.
We went up to the Fort and Palace. Like most Forts and
Palaces in Rajasthan, they were situated as the highest structures on the
mountain. It was quite a trek up the steep hillside. Apparently there is no
word in Hindi for railings, cause there sure aren’t a lot of them at this fort.
Like many forts there were layers of protections of walls and gates, with the
Palace at the center.
This Palace has long been abandoned although there was a
nice collection of miniature paintings. Our excellent guide explained the
different schools of paintings and the stories associated with them.
Interestingly with the Maharaja having many of wifes, that meant on any given
night a lot of the women were left alone. Many of the paintings depicted them
either drinking to the point of being drunk or smoking opium to get through the
boredom of the harem.
After visiting the Fort and Palace we stopped for a little
jewelry shopping, nothing big, just some gifts, then walked the narrow streets
of Bundi. We were constantly avoiding motorcycles, cows, bicycles and
occasional car or auto-rickshaw.
We purchased some fenugreek seeds to see if we can grow them
in America. As far as we know we can’t buy fresh fenugreek anywhere in LA.There is a recipe we want to make that
calls for it.
We then returned to our Palace Hotel to read, have a massage
and dinner.
Bundi grew on us. We were out of the tourist bubble and were seeing an India that was hardly westernized.
After breakfast we sadly checked out of The Oberoi. To go to Ranthambore is a one time event for us. We saw our tiger, stayed at an absolutely 1st class hotel and enjoyed our time in nature. It was a great way to recover after the bustle of Jaipur.
It was a 3 hour drive to Bundi through the lush landscape of Rajathstan. We saw fields as far as the eye could see lush green from young wheat. Other fields were bight yellow as mustard grew in the fields. We passed through many tiny, dusty villages and could only wonder what the people's lives were like. Probably most of them would never venture more than a few kilometers from their home in their entire life. Women still balance jugs of water on their heads as they walk from pump to home.
The roads were filled with motorcycles, bikes, cars, trucks, cows, bullock carts and people walking in the emptiness between villages.
On the drive we passed a group of people on a pilgrimage to a Temple. Music was playing, they were happy and dancing in the street. This is the way we love to think of India. You can see a short video clip below.
We arrived at out hotel in Bundi, It is without a doubt the finest hotel in all of Bundi. It is grandly named The Hadoti Palace. The elevator doesn't work, wifi in lobby only. It is a long way from staying at a Taj or Oberoi. Luckily figuring we wouldn't be able to get good wine in some of these more remote places we stocked up in Jaipur. The hotel freaked us out at first, but actually has kind of a ramshackled appeal. We will be fine here.
Sometimes it is better to be lucky than smart. Yesterday we mistakenly believed we had two reservations at The Imperial Hotel in Delhi. I hopped right on it and called to cancel the reservation. Mission accomplished. Today I had to call back and make new reservations at The Imperial. To my delight rates had gown down. I was able to get a better class of room for less money. Lucky us!
We went for a long walk through the old town. Narrow streets, crazy motorcycles, very occasional car. Tiny stores dot both sides of the street. They are roughly organized (as in much of India) by what they sell. Tiny store after store selling just locks, then a group selling pots, then a group selling musical instruments. I don't know how any of them make any money. We wound up walking into a poor Muslim neighborhood dotted with mosques. Everyone was friendly, many waving their hands, smiling, saying hello or wanting me to take their picture.
You can get a sense of the craziness of walking in Bundi, by the short clip I made here of us walking down the narrow street.
We took a tuck-tucked pack to our somewhat downscale palace, checked out the wifi in the lobby, then retired by the pool to read. Not so bad after all.
We woke up early and enjoyed taking a nature hike after
breakfast. Our guide pointed out flowers, birds, animals, insects and
fish we would never have been aware of. He is a naturalist that rescues all
kinds of animals. Two female elephants came over to the Hotel as they do every
day. They offered to take us for a ride but Cathy was content to just snuggle
with their trunk. They are amazing creatures.
We were scheduled to go for an afternoon Safari. Since we
are in the North of India, the jungle is a forest jungle, it is covered with trees, it is not a
tropical jungle. Most people, actually I guess all people, that stay here at The
Oberoi Vanyavilas in Ranthambhore go on at least one Safari during their stay - many do not see a tiger.
We had no expectation of actually seeing a tiger.
The open jeep was very dusty
as we rode the dirt trails of the preserve. The forest is filled with deer, crocodiles, turtles many species of birds, monkeys, etc. The driver was surprised when I told him we don't have monkey's in America. They are ubiquitous in India. Our jeep stopped and the
guide and driver started pointing and say "Look over there by the fallen log, there is a
tiger". I look I can’t see any tiger. I say "Where is it"? The guide says "By the fallen
tree". I say "I am in the middle of a fucking forest, there are trees everywhere,
can’t you be more specific"? He eventually gets me to see the tiger, that
blended right in, those stripes come in handy if you want to camouflage your
self in a forest. All of a sudden a
deer approaches and heads out into the water. Tiger now has dinner on his mind. I
start thinking do I want to see the end of Bambi? This nature thing seems a little
in your face at this point. I know this is how pretty tiger gets his food, but I don’t want
to see it. We drive off to see some other tigers and I wonder if the deer ever
made it out of the water alive.
The Safari was fun, I was glad to see the tiger, in all its majesty,
but it was time to return to the Oberoi for drinks before dinner. On a separate
notice, We have stayed in many high end hotels on our travels, but we both
agree we had never had more attentive staff, they continually performed at a
level that was extraordinary.
We have dinner outside warmed by a giant log fire, then
return to our tent for the night.
I woke up at 3am with a bad case of Delhi Belly. I have been
very careful of what I eat (except for a lot of cashews). What ever it was, I
was sick. We were supposed to leave Rambagh Palace at 10:30am and drive for
3-1/2 hours to The Oberoi Vanyavilas in Ranthambhore. We carry a lot of meds
with us to treat Delhi Belly and eventually I thought I was getting a little
better. We were then faced with classic travelers dilemma: Do I attempt the car
trip on bumpy roads, winding through the Rajasthan desert, or do I delay our
departure?The Rambagh is not a bad place to be stuck!
We decided I was stable enough that we would attempt the
drive. I had visions of me needing to hide behind a tree somewhere during the
ride if the Delhi Belly re-occurred. Happy to relate, the meds kicked in, I am
on the road to recovery and the ride was uneventful.
We drove the desert to Ranthambhore. We are going on a
Safari. The animal preserve at Ranthambhore is a major tiger home. Sometimes you see them on
the Safari, sometimes you don’t. But the Safari trip itself should be great
fun.
We get to see, hopefully, Parsifal and Polenta’s big
brothers. We are staying in a luxury tent. On a previous trip, Courtney, Ferris
and us had stayed in a luxury tent in Pushkar - it was horrible. Cold, no running water, etc. It was hardly
luxury. This time it is luxury: warm, wifi (always important to me), wooden
floor, etc. The service here at the Oberoi is exceptional. When they heard I
was sick, they immediately provided me with hydration liquids. In addition to
the hydration liquids they served me Kitcherie for dinner. This is basically a
lentil and rice dish that is the Indian equivalent of Grandma’s Chicken Soup.
It is very bland.
The Oberoi is set on 45 acres of land, and is a nature and
animal preserve itself. They have all kinds of nature walks etc. At one point,
Cathy looked out into our yard. There were 6 Peacocks. 5 females and one male
spreading is tail like a fan and strutting his stuff.
Tomorrow in the morning we will explore the hotel grounds,
in the afternoon, it is off on our Safari to see the tigers (hopefully).
