Hey everyone! Just to let you all know I'm back in the States. I've been recovering from Dengue Fever since 11/9 with some complications. No worries, nothing life threatening! :)
I'll update the blog soon with my last few days in India and final thoughts.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
11/8/10 Delhi-Jaipur Road
On the road to Jaipur, the urban sprawl of Delhi with its concrete buildings, swarms of motorized traffic and an unending supply of pedestrians, gives way to an expansive countryside devoid of farmland. In place of rickshaws, motorbikes etc., are huge loudly decorated rigs hauling raw resources, finished goods etc between Delhi and Jaipur. We occasionally spot the herds of goats, donkeys, and cows as well as the ubiquitous camel found all over Rajasthan.
Our sightseeing for the day included:, favorite was water palace.
Marie and I end our day at a decent hotel located in a commercial business area which lends itself to a quiet night.
Our sightseeing for the day included:, favorite was water palace.
Marie and I end our day at a decent hotel located in a commercial business area which lends itself to a quiet night.
11/7/10 Delhi
Puri Chana for breakfast! Oh yeah! Deep fried fluffy dough served with curried dal, curried potatoes, picked chutney and a salad of purple onions, cucumbers and green chilies. That and a coffee drink was enough to last me till dinner. Since we have an open day until our driver takes us to Jaipur and Agra, Marie and I decide to take the Metro to Connaught Place, Delhi's premier shopping district. The efficient Metro was easy enough to tackle and was fairly pleasurable. Connaught Place on the other hand was a disappointment. With the sidewalks in disrepair and a lack of high end shops, it didn't measure up to my idea of "premier" for the capitol of India. I guess I'm just spoiled when it comes to high end malls (i.e. Stanford Mall, Santana Row, Philippines' Makati Mall, London's Oxford Circle and Harrod's Dept Store. etc).
One great thing about Delhi besides the history, multitude of historical monuments, temples, palaces all of which easily out date the birth of America are the clean and well maintained streets. Through my personal experiences thus far in India, I've seen a gross amount of trash littered all over the roads, sidewalks, waterways, alleys, parks, etc and have been witness to an inordinate amount of locals tossing trash all over the place. I even saw to the horror of myself and other foreign tourists, a passing motorbike driver tossing a bag of garbage over a bridge into a river! WTF!!! Sure India is still developing and I can understand that. I just hope India realizes soon how litter detracts from the beauty of its country and of its people.
We leave for Jaipur tomorrow.
One great thing about Delhi besides the history, multitude of historical monuments, temples, palaces all of which easily out date the birth of America are the clean and well maintained streets. Through my personal experiences thus far in India, I've seen a gross amount of trash littered all over the roads, sidewalks, waterways, alleys, parks, etc and have been witness to an inordinate amount of locals tossing trash all over the place. I even saw to the horror of myself and other foreign tourists, a passing motorbike driver tossing a bag of garbage over a bridge into a river! WTF!!! Sure India is still developing and I can understand that. I just hope India realizes soon how litter detracts from the beauty of its country and of its people.
We leave for Jaipur tomorrow.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
11/6/10 Happy DIWALI !!!
Marie and I arrive in Delhi a little before midnight on-board a Jet Lite airplane as our original flight with Kingfisher Airlines from Bangalore was suddenly canceled. In fact, according to the electronically posted flight schedule at the airport, it looked like half of all scheduled flights had been canceled. Kingfisher's help desk said it was due to technical difficulties but I couldn't help but think it was due to Diwali. Speaking of Diwali, as the flight closed in on the airport, bright flashes of light could be seen dotting the Delhi sky. The city looked like a festive Christmas tree with flashing strands of mini lights. It didn't stop for a second. As we got closer the details got clearer so you could see class B display fireworks being set off all over Delhi. I was told that fireworks were perfectly legal all over India with the unfortunate fact that it results in a lot of yearly accidents.
As Marie and I were driven to our hotel by our hired car, it was evident that Delhi had already been subjected to 3 consecutive nights of fireworks and will be for another 2 nights. The surrounding air was thick with smoke generated from the fireworks combined with the smog from excessive pollution. At some points on the road, visibility was only 50 ft. The acrid air smelled of burnt paper and gunpowder. The incessant bang of the fireworks permeated Delhi. The smell and sound even penetrated into the confines of our hotel room and the smoke hung thickly. Marie had a difficult time sleeping that night with the smoke hanging in the room and the nonstop crackle of fireworks all over Delhi.
Waking up to depart for our tour of Delhi, we quickly grabbed a typical North Indian breakfast of Puri Bhaji. The meal consists of a wheat flour that enlarges into a poofy ball when fried. It's served with boiled potatoes simmered in spices, chutney and raw cucumbers and onions.
Sanjay, our drivers takes us to see Jama Masjid, the Red Fort, Bahai's Temple (Lotus Temple), the India Gate, and the President's House. We spent a fair amount of time visiting each location. The most interesting experience of the day had to have been the Lotus temple. A recent architectural marvel of the Bahai faith, the temple was built to replicate the beauty of a half open Lotus flower with 27 freestanding petals made of marble. While queuing in line to store our shoes at the "full service shoe dungeon", I truly learned the extent to which people here disregard other people's personal space. It wasn't a matter of inches or centimeters between people, there was no spacing of any kind between people in line. The person behind me was literally molded to my backside. I could smell this man's body odor and taste through his breathe what he had for his last meal. I tried to maintain my distance with the man in front of me but due to the sheer amount of people this provide futile. I was soon molded to the backside of the man in front of me. This same thing played out again when I lined up to retrieve our shoes. It's truly laughable really. I chalked it up to personal experience and took it as something to learn from.
That night Marie and I enjoyed a tasty meal of Veg Biryani, Chicken Masala, Naan and a couple of beers to wash it all down.
As Marie and I were driven to our hotel by our hired car, it was evident that Delhi had already been subjected to 3 consecutive nights of fireworks and will be for another 2 nights. The surrounding air was thick with smoke generated from the fireworks combined with the smog from excessive pollution. At some points on the road, visibility was only 50 ft. The acrid air smelled of burnt paper and gunpowder. The incessant bang of the fireworks permeated Delhi. The smell and sound even penetrated into the confines of our hotel room and the smoke hung thickly. Marie had a difficult time sleeping that night with the smoke hanging in the room and the nonstop crackle of fireworks all over Delhi.
Waking up to depart for our tour of Delhi, we quickly grabbed a typical North Indian breakfast of Puri Bhaji. The meal consists of a wheat flour that enlarges into a poofy ball when fried. It's served with boiled potatoes simmered in spices, chutney and raw cucumbers and onions.
Sanjay, our drivers takes us to see Jama Masjid, the Red Fort, Bahai's Temple (Lotus Temple), the India Gate, and the President's House. We spent a fair amount of time visiting each location. The most interesting experience of the day had to have been the Lotus temple. A recent architectural marvel of the Bahai faith, the temple was built to replicate the beauty of a half open Lotus flower with 27 freestanding petals made of marble. While queuing in line to store our shoes at the "full service shoe dungeon", I truly learned the extent to which people here disregard other people's personal space. It wasn't a matter of inches or centimeters between people, there was no spacing of any kind between people in line. The person behind me was literally molded to my backside. I could smell this man's body odor and taste through his breathe what he had for his last meal. I tried to maintain my distance with the man in front of me but due to the sheer amount of people this provide futile. I was soon molded to the backside of the man in front of me. This same thing played out again when I lined up to retrieve our shoes. It's truly laughable really. I chalked it up to personal experience and took it as something to learn from.
That night Marie and I enjoyed a tasty meal of Veg Biryani, Chicken Masala, Naan and a couple of beers to wash it all down.
11/5/10 Attack of the Palak Aloo
"Delhi Belly" strikes again in full force on 11/2/10. I made the unfortunate mistake of ordering a Palak Aloo (spinach and potato) with garlic naan at the Seven Hotel in Bangalore. I've eaten here in the past and have actually ordered a similar dish, the Palak Paneer. But on this occasion, it put me out of commission for 2 days. It's going to be a long time before I regain the courage to eat Palak(you know it, that nuclear bright green Spinach dish you sometimes order at Indian restaurants) again. Bleh!!!
11/2/10 Short Recap
India, thrown into the international spotlight as the 2nd fastest growing country in the world and as part of the acronym, BRIC seems destined for great things. It is sure to develop and increase its ever expanding political and economic influence in the world arena. With its myriad array of religions, ethnic backgrounds and political parties, India looks to be able to work in a cohesive patchwork of different systems and beliefs. People here work hard to better themselves and their families. They generally seem to treat each other with respect. True each individual here from street vendors, touts, rickshaw drivers, farmers, bakers, cooks, etc. work selfishly for their own betterment. But in working for their own self interest, Economics explains through the idea of the "Invisible Hand", that self-interested acts results in socially constructive transactions.
A more detailed recap to follow on my last post after our Golden Triangle Tour.
A more detailed recap to follow on my last post after our Golden Triangle Tour.
11/2/10 Last day solo
With my thoughts still on the delicious street food from last night, I amble down to the hotel's complimentary buffet breakfast. Doesn't that last bit sound terrible? Complimentary and buffet just doesn't sound appealing. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad, just eh.................
Today I end my solo journey through South India and head back to Bangalore by way of Kingfisher Airlines. Why not the sleeper class on an overnight train? Well, for one thing I've done it and I need to get back in a hurry after being away from my wife for 2 weeks.
I'll end it there for today.
Today I end my solo journey through South India and head back to Bangalore by way of Kingfisher Airlines. Why not the sleeper class on an overnight train? Well, for one thing I've done it and I need to get back in a hurry after being away from my wife for 2 weeks.
I'll end it there for today.
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