39 hours of bus rides, 9.5 hours of train rides, 5 hours of
flights, and uncountable kilometers or rickshaws and walking later… I am back
in Bangalore an exhausted yet wonderfully content traveler. The past week I spent scurrying around
seeing all the iconic sites, meeting fellow travelers and friends, and
experiencing the culture that defines Delhi, Rajasthan, and Agra. It was a whirlwind of an adventure with
moments of significant discomfort as well as moment of pure bliss. But all in all, an incredible trip that
I will relish for many years to come.
If you know me at all, you wouldn’t be surprised that each
day was packed to the brim with constant activity, food, and conversation. To give you a glimpse into the
reality of my week, I spent 3 of my nights sleeping on buses or trains! The point is, I have lots to say so I’m
going to keep my stories as brief as possible. Enjoy!!
Thursday, Oct. 18: After an unsettlingly long bus journey
(read: 2.5 hours in rush hour traffic) to the airport, and a painless 2.5 hour
flight, I arrived in Delhi to Garrett, my Frisbee friends, humble and welcoming
abode. Many thanks for the
delicious paneer egg kaati roll!
Quite a treat after such a long hall.
Friday, Oct. 19: As per usual, I had done my research and
had mapped out with Shweta a day’s plan for touring Delhi. She unfortunately was busy with class
all day, so I was on my own to explore, explore, explore the outskirts of Delhi. First stop was Qutb Minar, a mighty
tower, mosques and college buildings dating back to Islamic rule in India. Beautiful 12-13 century ruins and a
FREE (quite rare in India) audioguide to tell me about the sites! Relaxed in Deer Park for a while and
then I was off to Haus Klaus village, a hip village of narrow alleys with
boutique or cute coffee shop after another. I wandered around for a bit, was featured in a Windows 8
commercial being filmed (random?), and stopped at Flipside Café for a banana
nutella milkshake. It was decently
satisfying, but lacked the cool thickness I was hoping for. Next I made my way to Delli Haat,
a market for pashminas and silks—bought a few souvenirs, but even after
bargaining their rates were pretty pricey for India standards. Also stopped by the food court hwere they
had stalls from all over India so I chose the Oriya cuisine stall for something
new and exciting and was quite satisfied in my choice of Dahibara. My first day was going great, but I was
quickly hit by a curve ball when I got a call from Shweta explaining her good
friend from Young India fellows was sick with Delhi Fever, needed to be taken
to the hospital, and she would have to stay with him all weekend. How were we going to go to
Rajasthan? Shweta explained she
had multiple friends who had travelled to Rajasthan before and would help me
map out a good solo travel plan.
Reluctant and overwhelmed, I returned back to her dorm at Katwaria
Sarai. I was pretty upset about
traveling alone—having a travel companion is far more fun and safe—but she
reassured me and she worked her magic to create an awesome plan. After many phone calls and discussion,
we decided I’d go to Jodhpur (western Rajasthan) tonight, spend Saturday touring
there alone, travel to Udaipur
over the next evening, spend Sunday in Udaipur with her friend Kailash’s
sisters who stay in Udaipur, meet up with Kailash on Monday in Jaipur, and head
back to Delhi on Tuesday early morning. It definitely wasn’t what I had originally intended on
doing. But when in India, expect
the unexpected and just go with it!
So I packed my bags, and Shweta and her friend Melbin were kind enough
to bring me to the ever so sketch bus station where I caught my 12:30 pm
sleeper bus to Jodhpur. Bon
Voyage!!
Saturday, Oct 20:
Hello Rajasthan!!
It was an absolute blessing to get off the bus after 13 hours of bumpy
roads and needing to go to the bathroom.
I was energized and ready for adventure. The night before, Shweta and I booked a room for me at
the quaint Shivam Paying Guest house to leave my things and shower when I
arrived. Right off the main clock
tower square—Shivam was the perfect decision, and only 150 Rupees (3 dollars)! The friendly owner showed me around and
recommended a full day’s itinerary.
After a brunch of Rajasthani chickpea gravy and roti with some fellow
travelers, I was off to the mighty Mehrangargh, the muscular fort that towers
over the Blue City of Jodphur. It
was short, 120 m hike up from Jodhpur town to this architectural masterpiece. I explored around the fort’s palaces
and winding alleyways, learning all about the history of Jodphur. Walked a kilometer to a nearby
beautiful white marble temple and then headed down into the twisting old blue
city streets. I snaked my way
through the bizaars and residential areas, snapping photographs and saying
hello to all the locals before reaching the clock tower square. Returned to Shivam paying guest house
for my 300 Rs ($6) massage- kinda sketch but very relaxing and necessary after
the 13-hour bus ride. I next was
headed off to dinner at Nirvana, a Lonely Planet recommended restaurant. The food was ‘meh’ but I was in nice
company (2 Polish girls and a French guy invited me to join them at their table)
and the views from the rooftop were spectacular. And just like that, I had filled up a day of travel alone
and was headed to catch my bus to Udaipur to meet up with Kailash’s family!
Sunday, Oct 21:
Slept much more soundly on this sleeper bus and by 6 am we
reached my stop in Udaipur. After
several phone calls and a lot of confusion, Youok and Sweetie came and picked
me up to take me home. Sweetie,
Priyanka, and Mama are Kailash’s (Shweta’s Delhi friend) sisters. Although they didn’t speak much English
beyond “hello”, “very nice”, “yes”, and “no”, their friendly smiles and
laughter made me feel quite welcome.
We had the requisite cup of chai, chatted a bit, and then Auntie (the
woman who owns the home they are renting a room in) offered me Rajasthani
breakfast in her room downstairs.
I obliged and enjoyed but found it interesting how the rest of the girls
were not invited down for breakfast.
Guests in India are highly revered and showered with affection and
attention. Refueled and
re-energized after a quick nap, the girls (Priyanka, Sweetie, Mama, and
Auntie’s daughter Souman) and I headed off for our day of sightseeing around
Udaipur. We had a lovely time
exploring the beautiful City Palace on the waterfront (Udaipur is dotted with
hundreds of lakes and known for its astounding natural beauty), shopping for skirts, jewelry, and
souvenirs in the various markets, and heading to the gardens for our packed
lunch (courtesy of Auntie) and a photo shoot. The girls were seemingly a little sleepy but the food
re-energized them and they were back and peppy as ever as we strolled through
the gardens taking 100+ photographs! Next we headed for the beautiful Lake Pinocha for some
street pani puri (fried hollow spheres filled with potatoes and sweet water) and
ice cream. We strolled along the
beautiful lake for a while before heading home to relax before our big dandiya
celebrations. Souman offered to do
mendhi (henna) on my hand and let me where one of the salwars her mother made
for her- so beautiful and fit perfectly! After some home-cooked Rajasthani dinner,
we were off for dandiya at the local festival. Lots of smiling faces and a good time had by all. Youok, Auntie’s son, took me and Mama
to the train station to catch our sketch “VIP” 12:30 train to Jaipur. I was definitely expecting a little
more comfort than the prison-like polyester and wood sleeping boards in the
sleeper class train we got on, but at least I had Mama next to me as some
reassurance. However, there were
one to many creepy, snoring men around us, so suffice it to say, I didn’t get
my best sleep this night and was looking forward to my arrival in Jaipur.
Monday, Oct 22:
I woke up exhausted but excited to see Jaipur. After waiting in the train station with
Mama for a bit, Kailash and his friend arrived in a car (!) to show us around
Jaipur. The idea of seeing Jaipur
by car was quite appealing given how pooped I was feeling at this point. We stopped for a refreshing glass of
sweet lassi at the famous “Lassiwalla” before heading over to the Jaipur Zoo. The zoo was a bit of a disappointment
with only a handful of the animals found in India, but it was nice to walk
around after sitting in the train/car for so long! After driving around and seeing the sites some more, we
headed to Amber Fort on the outskirts of Jaipur. A beautiful sprawling fort of palaces, gates, and walls it
was nice place to walk around, take pictures, and view Jaipur from a far. Since it was festival time, there was a
free lunch being served in the courtyard so we gladly sat down and indulged. Kailash and I decided it made
more sense for me to headed back to Delhi that afternoon since trains in the
morning were mostly booked, so we headed to the bus station and I got on my
pricey yet very comfortable AC bus and headed back to Delhi. Watched Step Up 2 with a friendly yet
slightly shady man sitting next to me and scarfed down a plate of delicious
Chole Batura at the rest stop. I
was quite happy to arrive back in Delhi, albeit 6 hours later, and headed to
Garrett’s for a beautiful night’s sleep in his housemate’s empty and extremely
comfortable bed!
Tuesday, Oct 23:
Back at it again, but this time I was headed to Old Delhi to
see the sites. First stop was
Paratha Wali Gali for the famous fried Paratha breakfast! Stuffed paratha’s are basically fried
roti bread stuffed with whatever you want in it. I chose the savory mixed vegetable and the sweet banana as
my two and was quite content with my decision! A greasy breakfast but a cultural experience you must have
if you are in Delhi! Fueled and
ready to go, I head down Chandi Chowk , the crowded wide avenue toward Red
Fort. Red Fort is one of Delhi’s
most iconic sites and one of the best places to learn about Mughal
history. Shah Jahan constructed
the fort in the 1600s but never moved from his capital in Agra because he was
imprisoned at Agra Fort by his son (more on this later)! Walked around the extensive campus of
halls, towers, mosques, and museums and took the requisite photographs of this
Delhi masterpiece, before heading back into crowded streets of Chandi
Chowk. According to Lonely Planet,
“In the time of Shah Jahan, a canal ran down its centre, lined by peepal and
neem trees—at night the waters reflected the moon, hence the name “moonlight
place”. Tiny bazaar crammed lanes
snack off the broadway-like clogged arteries”. If you are up for it, the area is quite an assault to your
senses. After rambling through the
crowded bazaars a bit longer, I reached Jama Masjid, India’s largest
mosque. Towering over Delhi, it is
a beautiful place that can hold up to 25,000 devotees. Climbed up the southern minaret for
some nice views before getting a snack at the famous Karim’s restaurant and
hotel. Karim’s is known for its
excellent meat, but since I’ve vowed against eating the questionable meat this
country has to offer, I stuck to light snack of paneer tikka and tandoori
roti. And what a small world it
is— sitting in the table next to me was a man from Bangalore who recognized me
from playing ultimate frisbee. The
man works for HeadStart- a school program for children. He had come to one of our practices and
was interested in bringing the game to his children. After chatting for a while and comparing travel stories we
parted ways as they headed for their long train journey back to Bangalore and I
headed to the metro to check out Humayan’s tombs. Unfortunately I reached the metro stop just as rolling thunderstorm
clouds came in, preventing me from seeing this spectacle—perhaps another
day. Instead, I headed back to
Haus Klas village for a quick cup of hot chocolate before returning to Shweta’s
hostel for the dandiya dance with her Young India fellows. We went to their Auroville ashram
campus for a glorious evening of dandiya dance. The DJ even threw in some American rap and Gangam style J I personally preferred the Bollywood
and Indian songs—perhaps I have been in India too long! Dancing was followed by an absolute
feast of fresh paneer tikka, tandoori roti, dal, and some scrumptious dessert I
couldn’t tell you the name of.
Thoroughly stuffed, I headed to Garrett’s for the night so I could get
up early with him for some Frisbee games!
Wednesday, Oct 24:
Thanks to the masterwork of Mr. Garrett Simpson, he
organized a 7 am pickup game in Lodi Gardens for Stray Dogs in Sweaters, the
Delhi Ultimate Frisbee team.
Although most people didn’t arrive until 7:45, we had a great morning
play. I didn’t recognize most of
the people there- apparently SDIS are a transient bunch and so there are always
new faces popping up at practice.
Lots of fun tossing around, playing some very laid back Frisbee, and
getting a sense for the Delhi ultimate scene. Around 9:45, Garrett and I headed back to his place where we
whipped up a delicious breakfast of eggs, multigrain toast (so exciting), and
grilled peanut butter and banana sandwiches…yum yum yum! After returning to Shweta’s and chatting with her for a bit,
I was off for my last day of sight seeing around Delhi. Boy how time flies!! It was a beautiful day and I had yet to
explore any of New Delhi, so I decided it would be perfect day to walk around
that area for a while. New Delhi surprisingly reminded me a lot of Washington
DC with wide, clean streets and grand government buildings and monuments. I met a few friendly tourists who took
my picture outside the Secretariat buildings and President’s Palace before I
took the long walk down Rajpath (very similar to the reflecting pool between
Lincoln and Washington Memorials in DC) to India Gate. From there I headed to Khan Market, a
swanky area of shops and cafes with a similar vibe to Haus Klas Village. I met up with Hamsini’s (friend from
Spin Doctors in Bangalore) friends at Market Café. We chatted over delicious
though EXPENSIVE hummus and pita and drinks. I had the ABC drink- Apple, Beetroot, Carrot- and was
delightfully surprised how delicious it was. After some good conversation and refueling, we wandered
around the shops for a little bit before I metroed to Humayan’s tomb for a
quick look at the monument before it closed (I was the last one to leave…wanted
to get my full money’s worth of the ticket!!) Then I was off to CP- Connaught Place, one of Delhi’s most
popular, commercialized shopping areas.
It’s basically a big circle or high-end shops and restaurants—a fun
place to walk around and window shop!
After wandering around aimlessly for a while it was time to meet up with
Shweta and her friend Pranay for dinner in Paharganj- the backpacking district
of Delhi. It was exactly what I
expected- lots of cheap handicraft and souvenir shops, little roof top cafes
and backpackers galore! Shweta
warned us the food wouldn’t be great, but the crowd would be interesting and
the ambience would be stellar. We
went to Sam’s Café- a popular backpackers rooftop hangout and were quite
satisfied with our decision. Split a pizza, falafel, and desserts—a nice change
of pace from the heavy Punjabi food we’d been having every day!! It was great to find some time to talk
with Shweta more—she is such a wealth of knowledge and a joy to talk to but was
so insanely busy with class and sick friends throughout the week. It was also great to speak some more
with Pranay since we were off to the Taj Mahal together early the next morning!
Thursday, Oct 25:
Early morning wake up and Pranay (Shweta’s friend) and I were
headed to the train station for our 6 am journey to Agra. It’s pretty chilly in the morning- even
with a sweatshirt and shall over my head, I was getting goose bumps on the
train. Luckily there were very
minimal delays. That's the nice
thing about trains—unlike buses, you don’t have to worry about traffic and
other inevitable disturbances. So
around 9:30 am we rolled into Agra Station with rumbling tummies but excited
for our day of adventure around the Taj Mahal. After a thoroughly disappointing south Indian breakfast at the
station, we were off to the epitome of Mughal architecture and man-made beauty-
the TAJ MAHAL. There’s so much hype
around this monument, it seems like a trip to North India is practically
incomplete without a viewing of this monstrosity. Crowds weren’t too bad when we reached so we got our
tickets (750 Rs for foreigners, 20 Rs for Indians—is that fair??) and headed
in. The Taj Mahal was constructed
by Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, in the 1600s. It is a brilliant example of Mughal
architecture built out of white marble with intricate floral motifs, Persian
calligraphy, and fine floor tiling.
The mausoleum’s elegant simplicity and symmetry was the most striking to
me. It looks ethereal—almost fake,
floating over the city of Agra. It
was a beautiful place, but to be honest, I think it's a lot of hype for one
building! There is so much anticipation to see it and then once you see it,
that's basically it. There isn’t a
big museum about it or much to see inside. Actually kind of anti-climactic if you want my honest
opinion! I thought the most
interesting part was the juxtaposition of this beautiful monument to the abject
poverty and pollution along the river right behind it. There are a lot of efforts being made
to develop Agra, but the amount of poverty and squalor is hard to miss. The Taj
is a must-see though and I am glad I made the trek! After taking some photos and exploring the area for an hour
or so, we headed 2 kilometers down the road to Agra Fort. Similar to the many other forts I saw,
but it was fun having Pranay around to give me some background history of the place. It was pretty hot by this point, but we
managed and once we were finished we headed for a late lunch at
Dasakaprash. Highly recommended
South Indian cuisine. We split the
spicy coriander dosa and thali and were super impressed. It was as if we were back in Bangalore!! Spent nearly 2.5 hours there relaxing
and chatting- the perfect way to spend my last day up North. Around 4:15, we headed to our bus stop
for our seemingly interminable bus ride back to Delhi. Including the hour pit stop at a road
side daba for dinner (pranay and I decided against indulging at this precarious
eatery), we made it back to Delhi in seven hours. At least I had good company to talk to J Once we returned, we had some quick
dinner and I packed up and said good bye to all of Shweta’s friends. Friday I had a seven am flight back to
Bangalore. The bus ride back to
Sneha Care Home was comparatively painless. I arrived around noon to find a rather deserted Sneha Care
Home. I’m excited to be back
though and grounded for a bit. It
was a whirlwind of a week and it will be nice to sleep in my own bed and get
back to a regular schedule…at least for a week or two!
…But that's not to say I’m not excited for some upcoming
plans—we have a Halloween Party coming up with the Spin Doctors on Wednesday
(yay for Nov. 1st Hindu holiday!) I’m also getting super excited for my parents short but
sweet visit to Bangalore around Thanksgiving time. With less than two months left, I also want to get in some
travel- perhaps to Goa, Kerala, and/or hiking around Karnataka. The possibilities are endless, so lets
see how much I can realistically fit in!
Keep an eye out for my neglected blog about Chennai Heat.. I
never had the time to write it since I went to Delhi right afterwards so
hopefully I can punch it out over the next week or so J
