Boots in the Oven

Meet the New Delhi, right by the Old Delhi

New Delhi was crazy.

No, not like that.  That's rude.  You shouldn't talk about people like that.  Besides, that bright red henna look was really common in India.

More like... this!

HOLY CRAP!

Thank goodness there are rules in at least SOME of the city, like on their very nice Metro system.  There are womens' only carriages on the train, and if you're a woman and the train is crowded, may I strongly recommend you use them? For reals.

We had a really fascinating couple of days in Delhi.  We hit up a few of the biggie tourist sites, like the Red Fort (which paled a bit next to the jaw-dropping forts of Rajasthan).  

I've neglected to mention this in our India posts thus far, but almost every attraction had a separate tourist window (and separate tourist prices, which could sometimes be literally 100x the price for Indians).  In Agra, buying the foreigner's ticket, or what they called the "high-value" ticket, meant we got a free water bottles and booties to wear over our shoes when we went into the monument.

Logan being a foreigner. He has a real knack.

We also went to Hanuman's Tomb, which was an architectural inspiration for... aw, guess.  Yup - totally the Taj Mahal!

And Dilli Haat Market, which has handicraft stalls from all over India.  We promised ourselves we wouldn't buy anything and totally failed at THAT resolution.  It's also a great place to eat - there are little restaurants serving the foods of all the regions of the country, too!

This family's patchwork was super fun.

Also we ate many tasty things, including our first pani puri.  These little spicy water-filled fried treats had been on our list for quite some time, but most of the street vendors we saw selling them seemed a bit... rough on our Western stomachs, perhaps?  These guys were scrupulously clean and used mineral water, so face stuffing ensued. 

I think what we enjoyed the most, though, was our afternoon tour with Rahul.  Rahul is a cycle rickshaw driver who came highly recommended by Pamela at Eat and Dust, whose terrific Delhi food blog was a wonderful resource. (Rahul's number is +919 871 533849, if you are in Delhi and want to hire him.)

Rahul took us through the crowded streets of Old Delhi, where it's really nice to be in a cycle-rickshaw - nobody tries to drag you into their shops!

This wasn't even rush hour.

He also took us places we never would have visited on our own, like a Sikh temple in Old Delhi.  

Hot meals are available here 24 hours a day, and the place is entirely staffed by volunteers. Thousands of people will drop by in any given day to pray and eat and lend a hand, whether they are poor or rich.

Here's a man making huge batches of sweet halwa.

Logan stepped in (in his mandated head-covering) to help with the roti-flipping for a bit.

The scale of this operation was massive!  Every time we turned a corner, a different stage of the meal was taking shape; vegetables were being chopped, plates cleaned, and there was a huge hall where people ate rice and dal and sabzi (veg) off of metal trays.

The people who clean the dishes scrape any leftovers into piles, which are fed to animals.

Seriously amazing.

Rahul also took us to the wholesale spice market area, where the smells were... well, we've been in a lot of markets on this trip, and the Delhi spice market blew them all away.  We were riding the cycle rickshaw down the street yelling at each other - "Clove!" "Pepper! (cough)" "Is that... cardamom?" "AUGH diesel fuel!" 

The market was riveting and tremendously crowded.  Here's a peek:

We knew much of what we were looking at,

but there were some real surprises!  Rahul said these mosses and algaes and herbs and barks are used for various garam masala.  I want that spice mix.

We walked up a completely dark back staircase and then another series of steps with no handrail to reach this view of Delhi.  It's much more relaxing to be above the city than down amongst it, dodging and weaving.  I did admire the triple- and quadruple-parked vehicles.

At this market, they sell huge amounts of everything, but Logan wanted to buy just a teeny packet of areca nut.  Rahul took us to a shop across from the main mosque (which was closed, so we couldn't visit it).

Areca nut is a mild stimulant that, along with lots of other ingredients, makes up the Indian obsession called paan.  We posted about one kind of paan that Logan tried in Mysore.  You can see evidence of paan everywhere; shops sell prepared packets every few feet, men's teeth are stained a bright red (or brown) and there is paan spit EVERYWHERE.  It made me cringe.  Gross!  And unhealthy, too, especially now that there is a totally drug-resistant tuberculosis out there!

Paan aftermath.

Um, hey, on that note, thanks, Delhi!  You were super neat and crazy, and we liked you a lot.  Thanks to you and Rahul for showing us a good time!

Hot Camel Action!

For Christmas, my parents called and said, "You and Rachel get your ass out on some camels and wander around the desert for a while."

Actually, they said, "Hey weirdos somewhere in India- we're not mailing you anything 'cause that doesn't make any sense. So here's some money."

The camel thing was our idea.

CAMELS! Thanks mom and dad!

Just outside of Jaisalmer it's possible to suit up with a dromedary and head out into the Thar Desert for anywhere from a few hours to a couple of weeks. I was a little skeptical at first, thinking it may be a big load of tourist crap, but in the end we decided to just go for it and book a 2 day 1 night "Camel Safari" through our guesthouse Roop Mahal.

And boy am I glad we did. It ended up being one of my favorite experiences in India.

We started bright and early at 7am and drove a couple of hours out toward the Pakistan border. We finally arrived at a small village and were greeted by our guides, Leelu and Komal, and a trio of surly humps and knees named Michael, Muhmal, and Mira.

In short time we loaded the beasts up with saddles, bedrolls, cooking gear, and lots 'o water.

Then we headed out victoriously to face the sand!

We plodded along for a couple of hours. I say 'plodded' generously, as riding a camel feels about like riding a horse on a trampoline. An awkward horse.

Leelu and Komal pointed out various plant and animal life and talked about their lives growing up out in this barren area.

We eventually emerged from the scrub and hit some proper sand dunes.

They were duly picturesque, looking all golden and storybooky as they undulated off into the distance.

After we finished flailing around in the sand it was time for lunch. Leelu built a fire and whipped up a mixed veg curry while griddling some fresh chapati. It pretty much kicked ass.

We did our part by asking him to make it spicy. A huge wave of relief washed over him and he confided that a lot of Europeans ask him to just boil the food. That's it. No spice, no seasoning. He looked down shaking his head, "and then I have to eat it too" he mumbled forlornly. We were glad to help.

During lunch, the camels were stripped down and hobbled so they could chill and do a bit of grazing. A camel can cover a surprising amount of ground even with its legs tied together.

When I was done eating Komal asked if I wanted to help fetch the hairy buggers and get them ready to go. Sure, I thought. Why not?

It turns out that when you catch a camel without a saddle, you ride the camel without a saddle. I'm not sure if you're a connoisseur of camelid physiology, but those things are seriously pointy. Riding a camel bareback is like working a jackhammer while straddling a sawhorse. All my bits were relieved when we finally made it back to camp.

After we were all packed up again, we continued to snake our way deeper into the Thar. A couple more relaxing hours passed and we arrived at an even more spectacular dune, our final stopping point for the evening.

Leelu was just starting to make camp when he turned to me and asked, "hey, do you like beer?"

Duh.

So he tells me that Komal is making a beer run and I should go with him if I want. "Just over those dunes," he points. "An hour round trip."

Like the clueless city slicker I am, I agreed.

2 hours later the sun was starting to go down and I still didn't see a village. For the last hour Komal had assured me that it was "very close."

I knew we had arrived when a pack of kids burst out of nowhere and started screaming, wrestling, and hitting rocks with sticks.

Komal ran off to buy the beverages and I amused myself and the youngun's by taking lots of pictures and joining in the general goofiness.

The actual purchasing didn't take long and soon we were headed back, trailing a line of locals. The sun was barely clinging to the horizon.

Concerned, I turned to Komal, "how are we going to get back with enough light to see?"

"Now, my friend, we run." And with that he slapped his camel with the reins and went flying down the dune.

Faced with imminent abandonment, I followed suit. I can't say that it was comfortable, but I can say that it was awesome. We spent the next hour galloping wildly down inclines and then walking the camels up the backside of the next dune and then repeating.

When we finally made it back sweaty and sore, I can honestly say that was one of the best beers I've ever had. It also helped sooth the blow to my ego as I went rolling ass over tea kettle trying to dismount Michael. I'm a natural I tell ya.

While I was out goofing around, Rachel and Leelu made camp.

She also got a much less stressful view of the fabulous desert sunset.

More delicious food was prepared and the guys entertained us by singing incredible songs; some traditional and some that they'd picked up from visitors around the world. They both had seriously impressive voices.

We passed out fairly quickly after that- snuggled in our bedroll, under the stunning blanket of stars.

The next day was more of the same, only this time with jelly-legs. We eventually took a short break in a village and ran into a pack a 30 or so Koreans. It turns out Leelu speaks better Korean than he does english and his english was great.

Our final destination found us back in the little town that we'd started from. While we waited for the car to pick us up, Leelu and his wife invited us into the new house they'd built in celebration of their recent marriage. They cooked another lovely meal and introduced us to some of their family as we sat around sipping pipping hot chai.

The drive back was uneventful, but we did get this crazy cool view of Jaisalmer. Lookadit just perched on that plateau as pretty as you please.

Bye for now desert and you lovable collections of fur, spit and grump! You will be missed.

Golden Sparkly Jaisalmer

Jaisalmer is known as the Golden City and it's easy to see why when the sun hits the warm yellow sandstone that the whole town seems to be carved from.

It is widely hailed as one of the most enchanting cities in India, and we found ourselves agreeing with the assessment. The town sits isolated in the Thar Desert, dominated by a suitably imposing 12th century fort.

Unlike several other magnificent Rajathani strongholds, the stout bastion in Jaisalmer is still completely inhabited and functions around the clock meeting the needs of its citizens and visitors.

One unfortunate drawback to this is that the arid desert fort was never constructed with the idea of modern plumbing in mind. The exponential increase in water usage has led to a serious issue of erosion in the centuries-old foundation.

Hotels and guesthouses are some of the most egregious culprits, so if you visit, do the place a favor and stay outside the walls.

One of the family of pigs that lived just outside our room. Doing its part to help with the cleanup.

Despite its difficulty with infrastructure and trash, the city is still remarkably beautiful. It's filled with temples and ancient mansions known as havelis.

It's also a great place to shop. The streets and back allies are teeming with vendors selling antiques, wall hangings, clothes, art, and salvaged architectural pieces. I may have gone on a bit of a spree.

The new stuff hanging outside leads to the really good stuff through the tiny door.

We met one particularly nice vendor who collected old embroidery from the countryside. Most of the work was out of our price range, but we did find a couple of smaller pieces that were pretty fantastic.

Eating in Jaisalmer was a fairly grim affair. The tourist boom has led to a preponderance of hundreds of restaurants churning out Continental-Chinese-Bistro-Indian-Authentic "food" on every corner.

Defensiveness makes me hungry.

One snack that I did take a liking to was the bhang lassi. Bhang (pronounced bong in a strange coincidence) is a traditional preparation of marijuana that's been consumed in the area of hundreds of years.

A few shops, like this one in the Gopa Chowk, are licensed by the government.

They turn out a variety of surprisingly delicious lassis ranging from mild to super strong. They actually have a 'baby' strength, but that's "just for the Koreans" Dr. Bhang explained.

Yes, they call him Dr. Bhang. You can check him out in this Tony Bourdain clip.

While it's certainly legal and a good time, be careful. I figured they wouldn't be turning out anything too potent, but one lassi and 45 minutes later I was so high I bonded with a chipmunk. In my defense, he was a very interesting chipmunk.

My view after the lassi.

Jaisalmer was our last stop in a marathon Rajasthan tour so we were pretty well inundated with history, forts, palaces, weaponry, and touts. It says something that Jaisalmer was still able to stand out. Nevertheless, we were itching to get out of towns of any sort and take in some of India's natural beauty. Luckily, we had a plan.

Hanuman bids you adieu.

Next up: we make a pact with some camels and dive into free range desert survival!

Looking (and feeling) Blue in Jodhpur

Jodhpur, also in Rajasthan (sensing a Rajasthani theme here? Because we were there for a while) is called the Blue City.  This is for pretty obvious reasons, once you see it; the Brahmins, or priestly caste, used to paint their houses this glowing shade of electric blue, and now other folks are into the act as well.

The city was incredibly smoggy and dusty while we were there, though, so the blue views were kind of tough to see.

This is the city overlook from Mehrangarh Fort, an amazing structure begun in the 15th century by the Rathore rulers.  It's an enormous building that seems to grow organically from the rock beneath.  The walls are over 100 feet high in places.  

The enlightening audioguide told us that in its entire history, the fort was only taken once and was held for only one day.

The fort has actually been quite well-maintained, especially considering the sad state of some of the other tourist attractions we visited with their paan spit everywhere and writing all over the walls.  The sandstone screens here are carved so finely they look like they might be wood.

This is one of the later rooms, Maharaja Takhat Singh's Chamber, built in the mid 1800s during the British presence in India. The colored Christmas balls in the ceiling are 1. an example of British influence on design and 2. a design feature I demand be added to my home immediately upon our return. I think Fatty will like them.

The Fort also contains a museum of the royal family's posessions, includng old elephant howdahs and palanquins.  Peacock!

There's a guy parked in a little niche on the grounds who will demostrate proper opium procedure for you, if you want.  I don't think he offered samples.  Apparently, the people in this area used to (and still do) drink opium as tea, especially at festive events like weddings.  We, on the other hand, did a port and cheese table.  

Yeah, I guess it's a nice house the Rathores had there.  They've since moved to a palace outside of town that's half hotel.  Come, stay with the Rathores!

One sobering moment at the Fort: as you enter, you'll see an array of orange-painted handprints on the doorjamb of one of the main gates.  These are the handprints of royal women who committed seti, or self-immolation, upon the deaths of their husbands.  The practice was outlawed by the British in 1829, but many of these handprints date from later.

We walked down to the city from the fort.  It's certainly atmospheric, full of texture and color and beauty, but claims we'd heard of it being "the cleanest city in India" seemed maybe a little... aspirational?

From the Fort, it's only a fifteen or twenty minute walk to the clock tower at the center of town.  This area is full of market stalls, and cows and dogs (and their leavings), and tuktuks and scooters and HOONK HOONK HOOOOOOOONK.  Yes, there are also lots of people.

Actually, things look sort of calm in this picture.

The central square also seems to be a decent place to buy a turban, if you're in the market.  Rajasthan is justifiably famous for their brightly hued cloth - if you live in a desert where everything is greige, it only makes sense you'd want color SOMEWHERE.

Jodhpur is also where we ran into the funniest, and also most good-natured, scam of our trip.  This guy stopped us as we were walking past him and said "HEY! You remember me? We met in Jaisalmer and you said if you saw me in Jodhpur you'd buy me a beer!"  

We said "Nice try, but we haven't been to Jaisalmer."  

As we bulled on past, he called after us "Well, if you see me in Jaisalmer, will you buy me a beer there?"  

Sure, I guess.

And in Jaisalmer three days later, the guy's twin (I swear) came up to us and said "You promised me a beer in Jodhpur, remember?"  We laughed and laughed.  And he grumped and went away.  If he'd played it a little harder, he might have actually gotten a beer out of us...

To get out of the bustle, we stopped into the Shri Mishrilal Hotel, inside the southern gate of Sardar Market (the central square).  When in Jodhpur, you have a makhaniyya (or makhania) lassi, which is a yogurt drink flavored with cardamom, saffron, and almonds.  It's a nice sweet/sour balance that Logan said tasted a lot like key lime pie.  He's oddly right.

Then we wandered the back streets some, where we were soon followed by a herd of kids asking Logan to take their pictures.  Only the two bravest would pose with this goat in a sack, though... apparently he's a bit of a neighborhood terror.

That night, we went out for New Year's Eve, and I was sad and definitely not very good company to Logan as I sipped my gin and Monin's apple syrup and soda water (I would really love a decent cocktail someday).  We both miss everyone so much, friends and family, and on this particular holiday I was feeling it particularly sharply.  

At 5 o'clock on New Year's morning, we were at the train station for a six-hour ride to Jaisalmer.  Goodbye, Jodhpur and your beautiful fort!

Next up: more desert, camel riding, and we move from the Blue City to the Golden City.

Kumbhalgarh Fort and Ranakpur

AKA: The post where I look (more) like an uninformed jackass.  I shall distract you, however, with Logan's photography!

We rented a car, with driver, to get from Udaipur to Jodhpur.  This allowed us to make a couple of stops, one at a really huge, imposing, massive, blocky fort, and one at an also huge, but more artistic, intricately carved, Jain temple.

The Fort: Kumhalgarh!  Signs there boast that 15th-century Kumbhalgarh has the second longest wall in the world, after the Great Wall.  My first thought when looking at forts is always "I would not want to storm this."  Except, perhaps, for the Castle of Good Hope in Cape Town, which has a pretty short wall and like a three-foot moat.  Still, I'd want my own elephant herd and battering ram.

The walls are 36 kilometers long.  Yeah.  Apparently you can walk around them in 2 days, if you'd like, though I'm not sure what the deal is with camping.

You'd best be respectful, though.

Good advice for life.

We clambered around, getting a bit lost in the interconnected courtyards, and made silly poses.  In Udaipur, I'd bought a new scarf you'll be seeing a lot of, at least until we get somewhere warm.  (Not now... I'm writing this in Beijing, where it is exactly freezing outside, and when it posts I think we'll be in Sichuan province.)

We weren't quite up to a 36 kilometer jaunt, so we left.  On the road, we saw a guy walking two bulls with awesomely painted horns around in circles. We asked the driver to stop so we could see what was up.

What was up was some seriously pre-industrial irrigation techniques.

Specifically, he was drawing water from a well by bullpower, using basically a water-wheel on a chain. Each of those cans filled with water at the bottom, were pulled to the top, and dumped their load into a canal that snaked away into the fields.

When the farmer saw that we were interested, he insisted I sit on his cart for a couple of revolutions.

Go Rachel Go!

We thanked him profusely, tipped him, and were off again to Ranakpur!

Which is a site containing several very big and festively deocrated Jain temples.

Carving covers just about every available surface, even parts of the floor.  

Heffalumps!  

I loved the intricate detail.  Again, want to learn ALL THE THINGS! (A few more Ranakpur pics here, on our Flickr account.)

For some reason Logan particularly liked the goddess statues.

And then we walked back out to the parking lot to find our car and watched a super-bitchy monkey take a crap right on some unfortunate guy's door handle.  Just mean.  (It was not this particular monkey.  I would not show you a picture of that.  Probably.)

Next: Jodhpur, the Blue City!