Boots in the Oven

Kathmandu (and Kathmandon't)

We didn't go to Nepal to trek, or to get in touch with our hippie souls, or to climb Everest.  We went for two reasons.  1. Kathmandu!  How much romance is in THAT name? and 2. It's conveniently located as a stopover between India and China.  Perfect.

Kathmandu is a strange town.  It has a tourist ghetto called Thamel that's more Southeast Asia than India or China, with street after street of restaurants hawking Western food and shops selling the same cloth sack-bags, multicolored patchwork juggler's pants, and fake-branded coats.

It's also an incredibly chaotic city, where the infrastructure is in no way up to the number of people and tourists walking the streets.  There is no ambling down the lanes in the center; horns are blaring, cycle-rickshaw drivers are ringing bells and honking makeshift soda-bottle warning systems, and people are dodging in and out.  If you stop for a moment, you'll be run down from three different directions.

Small scenes of country life are within easy strolling distance of the center of town.  We took this picture across the street from our wonderful (highly recommended) hotel and tea house, Ting's Tea Lounge just off of Lazimpat.  (I'm so sorry we stole your key, guys!  After you had such nice tea and breakfast and rooms and were so sweet and helped us yell at the cabbie who tried to rip us off on the way in from the airport!)

There are still a lot of traditional spaces,

and conveyances (we did end up in a cycle rickshaw at one point - they're pretty persistent, especially when business is slow),

And shops.  Many of these were really fascinating, especially just outside of Thamel.

We saw pop-up markets that kept going even on a grey, COLD, rainy day.

What are oyster mushrooms selling for these days in Austin?  I could eat about ten pounds of these.  Sear them and then throw in an egg or two... Heaven.

Anyone know what the dealie is with these tubers? They look pretty intimidating.

Some folks just took their specialty markets on the road with them.

But some, by necessity, had to be a bit more stable.  I wish copper kitchenware was easier to ship.

Tea? Or turmeric?

Of course, we ate, too.  There's a place in Thamel that Ting's recommended to us as having the best Nepali food, so we headed over to Thakali Bhanchha (Thakali Kitchen) to try it out.

Here's a Phhapar ko Dhido, which is basically a Nepali thali with a buckwheat porridge.  The porridge was thick and satisfying, and reminded me a bit of East Africa's ugali.  The pickles were bright and acidic and the stews, both beany (two types) and muttony, were heavily spiced and made very nice sauces for the otherwise not very flavorful starch.  Oh, and DUMPLINGS!  

Speaking of buckwheat, these fried buckwheat nuggets (canchampa) were delicious.  They'd make the perfect beer snack, with their crunchy exteriors, soft buckwheaty centers, and dippin' pepper.

There were a couple of decent local beers - we liked Gorkha a lot - but also some unique local beverages.

Jhawaikhattee is a grain alcohol served with rice that's been toasted in butter.  It's warm, so think Nepalese mulled wine, buttery and boozy.  Though it's not that high in alcohol, something about spirits served warm always makes them go right to my head.

And then there's tungba, a warm Tibetan millet beer that is served with a big pitcher of hot water.  The millet is fermented, which gives the beer a bit of a sour flavor, but thinning it out with hot water balances the flavors and brings out the grain's sweetness.

Next: The Kathmandu Valley and its cultural attractions!  We see the aftermath of an animal sacrifice.  It's pretty much just as unsettling as you'd think it would be.

Meat Dhabha of the Gods: Ashok + Ashok

In Delhi, we found some of the best Indian food we've ever eaten. I'd like to give a big shout out to Pam over at Eat and Dust for turning us on to the little hole in the wall that made it happen, Ashok + Ashok.

Ashok + Ashok doesn't have a long menu. In fact, when we were there they were serving two things: chicken korma and chicken biryani. That's it.

But man oh man do they do it right.

Let's start with the korma, and by korma I mean the long slow braised old-school version, not the super creamy, bastardized British spinoff. Ashok's korma is fiery. It's a dark rusty red sauce, rich with ghee and layered with coriander, ginger and cumin.

From the first bite it's addictive and it only gets worse when they start bringing over a never ending supply of crisp and chewy roti, piping hot from their tandoor, perfect for sopping up anything that won't cling to your fork.

To make sure it always stays at just the right temperature, a little coal fired brazier makes an appearance to reheat the dish if they judge it's cooling off a smudge too much.

I love you tandoor!

The korma comes with a side of cooling red onions, doused in lime and salty masala. A couple green peppers are likely to show up as well, just in case you can still feel your lips.

Their biryani was hands down the most satisfying example I've ever had. It's a perfect pilaf, sticking the tricky landing right on the line between not-quite-done and whoops-a-tad-too-soft.

The super long grains somehow manage to soak all the way through with the flavors of the deep roasted chicken, sweet onion, hot chile, stout indian bay, and fragrant cinnamon. Slivers of fresh, crisp ginger and a sprinkling of chopped cilantro are mixed in to brighten up the savory mix.

I wasn't sure what we should be ordering to drink, but then I noticed all the guys working there mixing pinches of the house masala into a local citrus soda called Limca. Yes please! It was a perfect sweet and salty accompaniment.

If I had more time in India, I'd hang out with the Ashok crew until they let me help in their tiny kitchen. Somebody back there is hiding valuable information. Until then, I guess I'll just have to be satisfied with fond memories and drool.

Ashok and Ashok,42, Subhas Chowk, Basti Harphool Singh, Sadar Thana Road

(Or better yet, call Rahul and have him take you +91 987 153 3849)

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 Humayun'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!