Scenes from Delhi

Monkey and Banana, Classic Pose

Female Independence

Security Sandbags

Vijay's Family

Serving Lunch

Vijay, Sunita and Vijay's Mother

Sikh Guards at Gurdwara (Sikh Temple)

Sculpture at Modern Art Museum Made from Pots

Spinach Chaat at Veda

This was our last full day in Delhi. After breakfast we went for a long walk. The weather has been remarkably pleasant. Delhi has extremely bad air, but luckily for us it has been good while we were enjoying Delhi. On the walk strangers would come up to us and ask us if we were American. They would then chitchat with you as the subtlety guide you towards some store. I am sure they then get a commission on anything we buy. We are aware of it, but it is hard to shake them even if you explain we are just walking for exercise.

We really did want to buy a gift for Vijay and we finally allowed one of these shadows to lead us to a store. This was a typical large store that sold carpets and everything else to tourists. Once we made it clear we weren’t interested in a carpet, Cathy asked them what would be an appropriate gift to take to a Vijay’s family. They suggested a Sari – which in fact turned out to be very well received by Vijay’s wife Sunita. From the store we took a tuk-tuk back to The Imperial. Vijay picked us up and took us to his house.

This is a real treat for us, we very much want to be out of the tourist bubble, and to be invited into someone’s home is a treat. Vijay lives with his mother, and two sons in a small house in a very nice area of Delhi. They have a bedroom for the boys, kitchen and bedroom for them selves that doubles as a living room / dining room. They serve the food on the bed. It was very cozy and nice. The food was excellent, all home cooked: chicken in spinach, Gobi (Cauliflower my favorite) vegetables, Rice, etc. It was a large lunch by our standards. They ended by serving a carrot dessert we love: Gajar Halawa. I had fixed Vijays phone, for him, but they gave me a new task, they had an iPad that was locked. They didn’t know the password, I said I would try to fix it for them.

We went the Gallery of Modern Art where they had a retrospective of the development of modern art in India. Once again, showing how small the world is there were several large painting by the Englishman Thomas Daniell. We had met is relative at Shahpura Bagh earlier in the trip.

We went to a store that services iPads, but found out because it wasn’t bought in India, they couldn’t help us. I then took it back with me to the hotel. I didn’t have a cable for it, but I remembered I had read that if you don’t have a computer cable, the chances are the hotel will have a supply that guests have left. The hotel had one, but after talking on the phone to Apple here in India, I realized it wasn’t a genuine Apple Cable and wouldn’t work.

We started our packing for the flight from Delhi to Doha and then back to Los Angles.

We went out for our last dinner in India at Veda. We eat at this great restaurant every year. We always get the Gobi Manchurian (Cauliflower) and Chicken Tandoori. This time we also tried two new dishes that were excellent. Aloo (Potatoes) with Fenugreek and Spinach Chaat. We will get them again the next time we are in Delhi.

We now have to figure out how to stay up till 4:25am to catch our flight to Doha. For some reason most of the International flights out of Southeast Asia are in the middle of the night.


It is going to be a long flight home (4-½ hours to Doha, 1-½ layover, 16-½ hour flight Doha to LA), but we will be home closing the books on this wonderful adventure. This has been one of the best trips we have ever made to India. We had a wonderful time.

We write the blog so we can remember what we did, but if you also enjoyed reading parts of it, that is great also.

Shopping in Delhi

Hauz Khas Lake

Ruins at Hauz Khas

Boxes of Necklaces at En India

Sea Bass, Eggplant, Tomato, Pumpkin at Varq at Taj Hotel

Today was devoted to shopping. We went to our favorite shopping areas. More than anything I was struck by the traffic in Delhi. It was unbelievable in some of the areas we were in. I don’t know how Vijay does it.

At one point we were trying to find a store and we circled around, ever so slowly. We had an address but that was no help. We were finally told it was behind the Hyderabad Bank. We looked everywhere, but couldn’t find it. Meanwhile the traffic was awful. I kept calling the store and they would give Vijay directions, but it appeared to be hopeless, even though we knew we were close to the store.

Finally I went into the first shop I saw and asked them to call the store. They did and the store finally sent a young women over to guide us. The store had no name, it was just a black door on the 2^nd floor of a non-descript building. No way could we ever have found it. The store was called: En India at it had reasonably priced artistic necklaces.

We went to other places we like to shop in Delhi: Hauz Khas (which is combination of both shopping and a beautiful historic lake and ruins). Notice in the picture of the Hauz Khas lake (in ancient days the source of water for Delhi) that you only see trees. The lake is in the middle of Delhi, yet totally isolated. You don't see one tall building while overlooking the water. Santushti is another shopping area we like. It is located on an Air Force base, near where Prime Minister Modi lives. The security everywhere in Delhi is tight, or at least appears tight. When a car pulls into our hotel, the security people open the trunk and look under the hood and scan the interior before even letting the car through the gate. When we exit the car we are put through metal detectors. There has been continual terrorism threats in India, and they are on high alert.

When we returned to The Imperial Hotel, I had a massage. We then cleaned up for dinner, had a drink, and went to Varq at the Taj. It is a modern version of Indian cooking. It was very good, but the imported wines were mucho expensive. We taxied back to The Imperial to spend our last full night in Delhi.

Delhi with Clean Air

Our patio at the Rambagh Palace

Delhi Metro

Dinner at the Imperial Hotel

We awakened at the Rambagh Palace in Jaipur, and were delighted that we had decided to spend the night there rather than in Pushkar. Our room had a screened in Patio. The screen was to keep the birds away from us. A Peacock visited us right on the other side of the screen. It is funny, they make a noise that almost sounds like a cat: meow.

Vijay picked us up for drive to Delhi. Depending upon traffic it can take 5 to 6 hours. About half way along the way we stopped for tea at a dhaba (roadside café), where a friendly woman tourist wearing a head scarf stopped at our table and offered us some cookies that we gladly accepted. It was a wonderful gesture of friendship. Later in the car, as we left the dabha, Vijay said the tour group was from Iran. I will always regret I didn’t attempt to talk to them. I don’t know if they offered the cookies because we were obviously, not Muslims, not Indians, obviously westerners, possibly Americans, maybe they could tell we were Jewish. I will never know. I do know I would have liked to talk to them especially after the Nuclear Deal with Iran, and the possibility of someday visiting Iran.

As we approached Delhi, we saw more and more trucks by the side of the road. The primary mode of freight transportation in India is trucks, not trains. There were hundreds of them that we passed. They are not allowed to enter Delhi until after 8:30pm. They simply park by the side of the road. We were expecting the air in Delhi to be terrible, worse than Beijing. We were wrong, we hit blue skies, moderate temperatures.

The highway from Jaipur to Delhi is a four-lane freeway, just like an America freeway. It is slightly different because they allow cows, elephants, goats and camels to also be on the freeway – we saw them all. They also have crosswalks, with no lights where people dart across the freeway. As we approached Delhi, there were immense factories on both sides of us. Huge apartment complexes were also being built. Delhi is giant -18 million plus people live in the city.

We arrived at the Imperial Hotel in Delhi and we were delighted to see the Delhi Metro Subway construction in front of the hotel, that has been continuing for years, has finally been completed. There is a subway stop directly next to the hotel. We decided to go to Khan Market, a popular shopping area, by subway. We have never taken the Delhi Subway before. The cost of a one-way ticket is 10 rupees (14 cents). That is the way public transportation should be priced! As you enter the subway there are armed guards and you go through a scanner, your bags are put through a separate scanner like at an airport and you are patted down. They are taking terrorism very seriously.

When we entered the very full car, Cathy was immediately offered a seat that is reserved for ladies. there are also women only cars.

When we exited the train the platform was thick with shoving crowds. We have been on the Tokyo Subway where there are men with white gloves that push you into the cars. No white gloves or pushers here, but the cars were even more crowded. The Metro is a victim of its own excess!

After shopping at Khan Market, we returned by subway to The Imperial. We had wine in our room before dinner, a delicious Indian dinner, then a Scotch after dinner concluded our day.

There will be no site seeing in Delhi, we will be shopping.

Ajmer

Storing our Shoes at the Shrine

Ready to enter the Shrine

Absolutions before Prayer

Men at Prayer

Ajmer Mosque

Great Horns

Dinner at Rambagh Palace, Gold Plates and Silverware

Sometimes when you are on vacation, you need to just put your foot down and say enough is enough. Today was one of those days. We loved Sharpura Bagh. It definitely is a place we will return to. We were sad to leave its tranquility.

We were heading to Ajmer. Next to Mecca, Ajmer is the most holy Sufi site aside from Mecca. It is the final resting place of the Sufi Saint: Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti. He is huge. Hoards of people come to pray at his shrine. In Delhi we had been to another famous Sufi Saint Shrine; Nizamuddin Dargah it is the dargah of the other world famous Sufi saints, Nizamuddin Auliya.

When we visited the shrine in Delhi we did not have a guide, Cathy and I walked the narrow lanes of the Muslim Village alone. To us it was like a walk into the heart of darkness. We really didn’t know what we were in for. We were requested to leave our shoes behind at one point. We complied, and wondered if we would ever find where we left them again. We were constantly asked for money, we felt like we were being treated as human ATM’s. We finally reached the shrine of the Saint, and only I, a male, was allowed to enter. Men were praying feverishly. Women looked from afar. On the outside of shrine, Qwwali Singers were singing the praise of Allah. We sat on the ground and enjoyed the singing. We left the shrine after listening to the music (which we love) and eventually found our shoes and walked back through the alleyways and found our driver. It was a surrealistic experience. Our Hindu driver was amazed we went in to the crowded Muslim area alone without a guide.

Ajmer is thought of as even being a more spiritual place. We did however, based upon our experience in Delhi, secure a guide. Surprisingly he was a Hindu. Unlike the walk into the Nizamuddin Dargah (Shrine) he secured a tuk-tuk. At the shrine you need cover your head – we were sold coverings. When we finally arrived at the Shrine of the Sufi Saint Christi the men and women were not separated. Cathy and I walked in together. There were obviously people praying devoutly, but we felt nothing spiritual at all. People wanting money constantly accosted us while the pilgrims pushed and shoved. The great value of the guide was not to interpret the Sufi Mysticism but rather to tell me the least amount I could pay to be blessed. The guide was worth it. Hindu priests in a similar way had bamboozled us in Pushkar. The guide was a good investment.

We then went to our hotel. There was going to be a big wedding that night and they warned us that it would be noisy. We were less than impressed with the hotel anyway, so we decided to bale. We had already checked in, but we told them we were leaving. We headed back towards Jaipur. From the car, I called The Rambagh Palace and told them we returning. It was a wise decision on our part. We wound up with a great room (I am sure they all are). Drinks in the bar, then a delicious dinner convinced us we made the right choice.  Morning spent on the terrace of our room overlooking the glorious palace grounds.

Now on to Delhi.

31st Wedding Anniversary

Sharpura Bhag 

Street Scene 

Rajasthani Men

Guru's Temple Complex

Dhiloka Fort

Wine at Sunset atop the Fort

Today is our 31^st Wedding Anniversary. Who would have thought of on that rainy, San Francisco day, that we would be celebrating another anniversary in India?

What a wonderful place for us to be! Sharpura Bhag is a most amazing property. The owners, the Royal Family of Sharpura, have converted their home and estate into a marvelous guest accommodation. They are very green, and grow much of the food they serve. The water is heated by solar power. The pool is heated, which is a rarity in India. They interact with their guests in a most wonderful way.

After breakfast Cathy and I went for a long nature walk around the property. We then walked through the Village of Sharpura. Everyone is welcoming, the people like having their picture taken. There is no pretense. This is the rural India that we love. Muslims and Hindus are totally integrated in this area of Rajasthan.

After the walk we spent the next couple of hours by the pool reading and relaxing. Sharpura Bhag, reminds me of an upscale Napa Resort. There is nothing that has been neglected. The floors and walls especially blew us away in our room. They are made of a limestone paste. It is immaculately white, more expensive than marble and requires constant upkeep. When we asked why they use the limestone, the owner replied that it is traditional; it is how it should be done.

At about 5pm they drove us to a large holy complex that is the home of generations of Guru’s. This is not a traditional Hindu temple but rather a shrine to the various Guru’s that have taught at the complex. It is quite beautiful.

We then drove to the abandoned Fort of Dhiloka about 30 minutes from Sharpura. It is on the top of the only hillside for miles and looks out over the farmlands and lakes. We climbed to the top, the only 2 people in the Fort, where there was wine and snacks arranged for us. It was quite a treat to be there at sunset alone is the ancient fort..

You can see a short video of the view from Dhiloka by clicking below.

Upon returning to Sharpura Bhag, we went for drinks by the pool. The cool night was made warm by braziers. The family, since the independence of India in 1947, cannot be considered Royal, but they still have peragatives and are very involved in local Charity. They surprised us with a bottle of Champagne for our Anniversary. After the poolside drinks we were escorted to their house where they served us a delicious dinner in their private dining room. A delicious Chocolate Anniversary Cake completed the dinner.

It was a memorable Anniversary.

Sharpura Bagh

Cathy relaxing by the pool 

Outdoor bar by the pool

Gathering Greens for our dinner (Notice the Turban)

Main Gate to Sharpura Bagh

Shaving by Kerosene Lantern

That's a straight razor, be careful!

Dinner (Lamb - called mutton in India)

We left Fort Begu, and drove to Sharpura Bagh. In 1947 India was not a united country. It was made of hundreds of Kingdoms and Principalities. We had stayed at Fort Begu, an ancient Palace of the Kingdom of Begu. We were heading to another: Shahpura Bagh is the residence of the rulers of Shahpura. This estate is immaculate. We arrived around 2pm, settled in and then went out to read and relax by the pool. The service (and the wifi) are top notch. They only have 7 rooms. It is very intimate, but not crowded. The estate is run on all kinds of ecological and sustainable principles. They grow much of their own food, they have solar hot water, etc. The ruler of Shahpura actually mortgaged all his property to create lakes in the region for the villagers and farmers. They are a very enlightened family.

The family lives in an adjoining villa. Because these formerly rich rulers lost the income from their estates at the time of Indian Independence, they needed to turn their properties into income producing hotels. This was one of them. We met the ex-royals and his parents and uncle in their villa before dinner was served. It is weird, they were gracious but I can’t help but wonder what they think of different strangers coming to their house to stay each night.

I decided to have my beard trimmed and asked the manager where in the city of Sharpura I could go. He said his son was a barber, I should go to the gate of the Palace, and he would arrive on a motorcycle. He showed up and I hopped on the back and we drove to his shop. We entered the shop and it was pitch black. I am thinking is he going to be using a straight razor on me in dark? No one is that good. Several of his associates gathered around and turned on the lights of their cell phones. I thought this was crazy. No way was he coming near me in that light. Then someone brought in a kerosene lantern and lit it. Definitely more light than from the phones but still I was wondering, is it time to say never mind (oh Hindi don’t fail me now)? Eventually the lights came on, there must have been a power shortage (not an unknown thing in India) and he expertly trimmed my beard. I hopped back on his motorcycle and returned to our palace. I asked him what do I owe you? He said whatever I felt. I gave him 200 rupees. I don’t know if thought I was cheap or generous.

We continued to read at the pool. At about 5pm when the desert chill arrived we retreated to our room and prepared for drinks and dinner. We returned to the outside bar by the pool where we were warmed by braziers that were extremely efficient. We met a very interesting couple from England, and had drinks and eventually dinner with them and exchanged cards. The conversation was fun. Usually we don’t meet people we relate to; but these people were enjoyable. The dinner was held in the adjacent villa of the ex-royal family. Their family had apparently lived here forever, although these two houses date back to only the 1880’s. We enjoyed the food conversation and experience.

One thing I have never mentioned that I wanted to is the men in Rajasthan really wear turbans. You see them everywhere, especially among the older men. I don’t know if the younger crowd as they get older will start wearing them. But right now it is typical and you see men wearing turbans everywhere.

Although the room had heat, when we hopped into bed, they had placed hot water bags under the blankets to warm the sheets. Very nice touch.

This is another special residence in Rajasthan.

Chittorgarh

The Ruins of Chittorgarh 

View over the valley

Shadows of the crenelations  

View of the sky from Inside the Palace

Hindu Temple

The Temple where Meera Bai Prayed and Danced

Victory Tower

Womens Bath

Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva 

Temple Sculptures defaced by Muslim Invaders

Women at a festival

Fields of Opium Poppies

Back at the Palace

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 2^nd 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.