Samode Palace Spectacular / 25 Oct 09

Today we met up with Ferris (who arrived last night) and visited the National Museum of Art and the Crafts Museum in Delhi. We particularly enjoyed the extraordinary Indian textile collection at the Crafts Museum. Craftspeople from all over India had been invited to sell their wares in an outdoor courtyard and we dedicated shoppers helped them out.

Caught a 5 pm flight to Jaipur and arrived around 8:30. Then drove one and a half hours to the Samode Palace Hotel which is the spectacular renovated home of a former Maharajah of Samode. We walked up a steep incline and approached the walled palace in darkness. We were told to close our eyes and turn to face the palace and after a countdown to open our eyes. When we opened them we saw the palace edged in lights. After dinner in an outdoor courtyard we were taken on a tour of the palace and finally arrived at our rooms at midnight.

Delhi Day / 24 Oct 09

Said farewell to our hotel in Bhubaneswar and to the Jagannath gods and flew via Jetlite to Delhi. Arrived at hotel by 1:30. Took taxi to Connaught Place shopping complex and descended down a pedestrian stairway into something that looked like the 14th street arcade from hell. If this had been in New York I would never have entered. But Cathy is intrepid and with LOVE DELHI book in hand she quickly and miraculously found the shop she was looking for. The very small shop sold pretty cikan (pronounced chicken) embroidered cotton and silk shirts. We found lots of things to investigate.

What puzzles me about Indian shopkeepers is their inability to read interest. They will unfurl endless numbers of garments before you while you repeadly say "no" and then when you finally do express interest they unfurl another unwanted item. It must be a cultural thing. Anyway we did eventually bridge our communication gap while Cliff watched the latest David Pogue technology update on his iPhone. Next stop was a DVD/CD shop. I bought two sitar CDs, not Ravi Shankar.

Then we ventured out to the Regal Building to visit a khadi cloth store. Ghandi advocated India's return to homespun simple clothes and this store is devoted to selling all types of khadi cloth. I had though that khadi came only in off white, but this shop taught me a lesson. Cliff bought material for two shirts which he will have made at an elegant tailor around the corner.

Happy Diwali! (Diwali Moovariko) / 17 Oct 09

In other words, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Today was all about celebrating Delhi and the New Year on the Hindu Calendar. Having spent all of our time so far in New Delhi, we had a hankering for a visit to Old Delhi.

Vijay drove us to Chandni Chowk to visit the numerous bazaars in the area. We may as well have been transported into another world and time. Actually it is another world. Throngs of people go about their dialy life selling foods, milk, clothing items, every conceivable thing, and transporting enormous bundles on their heads including stack of bricks. Among all this carts (pulled by men) or motorscooters or autorickshaws (a two-seater conveyance with a man peddling bicycle as your motor) are trying to get through the mob. Horns of every pitch and type are honking incessantly.

As we walked, we somehow agreed to be led through the markets by a one-legged man with a crutch (Abdul), who spoke perfect English and had a soft manner. There is no way we could have walked more than a few blocks on our own in these markets without becomming hopelessly lost, so Abdul was a godsend and a necessity. We simply walked and walked and enjoyed the chaos and timelessness of it all.

Today is Diwali so it seemed as if everyone in the market was either selling or buying decorations or sweets for this evening. Yellow and saffron carnations are the flower of choice. It had not been hot in Delhi until today, I think because today the sun was shining. So after three hours of dodging (did I mention it was chaotic?) and weaving and avoiding being hit or stepping into a unidentifyable mush or worse a hole in the "sidewalk" (there is not a single flat surface to walk on in all of Chandni Chowk), we all were swooning and Abdul, who had grown up in this village, guided us back out again.

We had a quick lunck at the Kahn Market which was closing up early as shopkeepers went home to make preparations for evening and be with their families. Then we dashed back to our hotel to prepare for our own Diwali evening. The general manager of the travel outfitter for our trip, Mr. Sanjay Verman, was kind enough to invite us to his parents' home in a suburb of Delhi to join him and his family for Diwali.

It was about a 45 minute drive from the Imperial Hotel to Sanjay's home in a hyper modern suburb of Delhi. Every home in the neighborhood was decked out with lights (think Christmas) in every possible color and design. As we entered Sanjay's parents' home, small tea lights adorned the family shrine outside. Yellow and saffron flower petals lined either side of the stairs to the second floor. We entered a large living room and his entire extended family greeted us. We also saw that an altar had been set up in the middle of the living floor and a Hindu priest knelt there making preparations. Incense drifted through the air and tea lights flickered. We were presented with garlands of flowers and the priest chanted and put red bindis on each of our forheads.

Sanjay explained that the red color represents (female) energy and is also the third eye through which we can "see". We were asked to sit cross-legged on the floor with the priest to participate in a traditional Diwali ceremony which celebrates the gods Ganesha (the remover of obsticles) and Lakshmi (the goddess of wealth). I'm sure that Cliff will do a much better job of describing the ceremony than I because he was the person actually performing the rites. The priest would chant and every so often he would gesture to Cliff to gently toss flowers at either Ganesha or Lakshmi (actually the ceremony is done in its entirety once for each god), or sprinkle water in each of the four compass directions, or light a tea candle, or place food offerings in front of the gold images of each god, or light more candles. Cliff was a busy guy. And of course Sanjay interpreted the meaning of each gesture for us and helped Cliff to know when and what to do.

Then we went outside for a few minutes to set off small fireworks and light sparklers. The neighborhood sounded like a warzone because families were setting off fireworks and firecrackers at every home.

After the fireworks we went back inside and enjoyed a delicious dinner of authentic home-cooked Indian food prepared by Sanjay's mother. I loved all the dishes but my favorites were the potatoes and dahl. We left around 9 and had an hour drive back to the hotel. What a wonderful day and excellent beginning of a new year.

Mini-Diwali / 16 Oct 09

Delhi, India's capital, dates back to around 1600 but it wasn’t until 1911 that the British moved India's capital from Calcutta to Delhi. Edward Lutyens designed Delhi as a monumental and majestic city to house the British administration. After Partition in 1947 the population of Delhi exploded.

Delhi is India’s Washington DC, complete with majestic State buildings and grand boulevards. New Delhi is remarkably “un-like” what many westerners think of India; streets are clean, traffic is relatively orderly, architecture is beautiful.

We began our first full day with our traditional travel activity (no, not a massage); a bit of, well, retail therapy. First we had a delicious breakfast out on the 1911 patio before Vijay picked us up at 10. We drove to the Hauz Khas Village area and headed for two favorite shops: Ogaan for Cathy and me, and a men’s shop around the corner for Cliff. Next, to Santushti Complex to for another Ogaan location, Tulsi, Anokhi etc.

When satisfied that we’d seen everything we needed, we left to do a bit of walking in the warm, but not oppressive, afternoon haze in the Lodi Gardens, near our hotel. We expected to see nothing but rambling paths but were delighted to come upon Mughal tombs in the middle of the gardens. We watched green long-tailed parakeets flying around the tombs.

When we returned to the hotel in the very late afternoon we needed a cleanup before dinner. Energy was running low but as luck would have it the hotel had planned a “mini-Diwali” evening starting at 6pm, complete with fireworks. Perfect. I should back up to say that Diwali means ‘Festival of Lights”. The celebration occurs on Hindu New Year’s Eve, which is tomorrow night, October 17.

We found a table with a great view outside under a canopy (which turned out to be useful later on because the fireworks seemed to reign down directly over our heads). Beautiful flower petals were arranged on the ground to celebrate Diwali. Huge assortments of traditional Diwali sweets were laid out for us to sample and enjoy. I thought the sweets were wonderful because they're not at all sweet and they include unusual flavors and spices and even (HOT) peppers. Delicious.

I wonder what will be in store for us tomorrow night when we experience the real evening of Diwali in an Indian home. Stay tuned.

Photo captions: Courtney at Ogaan, Cliff in serious negotiations (ie, sharpening his pencil) over a shirt, Courtney in Lodi Garden, C&C at mini-Diwali dinner (Cathy in a gorgeous new Ogaan ensemble), and pyrotechnics at the Imperial to celebrate Diwali.

The Global Traveler; Complete with Indian Mobile Phone / 15 Oct 09

Thursday October 15th posting. I need to back up to my “lost day” of travel on Oct 14. I spent the day at the Sheraton Skyline hotel and rested. I recommend this hotel to travelers who find themselves in a similar situation. The lobby was bustling with businessmen working busily on their laptops and huddled together in small meetings. I took the bus to the terminal at 6pm and was delighted to see the brightly colored Virgin Atlantic terminal complete with large red neon WELCOME sign over the entry. When I checked in at the Upper Class (I love saying that) desk I received complicated instructions about which signs to follow to circumvent the normal security and immigration process and go through Virgin’s own private route. While the process was really the same as the normal one, the number of people going through was far fewer. Eventually one meets back up with the unwashed masses in the Duty Free shopping zone (which is pretty good at Heathrow by the way; allow extra time). I found something I’d been trying to find for eons; a special plug for the Mac to connect to electricity on the airplane. The special thing about this one is that it’s lightweight and small, unlike any other I’ve seen.

Then on to the uber special flagship Virgin Clubhouse! It took a bit of walking to find it, but when I did I wished I left the hotel earlier just to be able to hang out there and try to be as cool as this lounge is. I don’t know if my photo will convey much but suffice it to say that it looks like a cross between a mid-century modern home and the space-age house of George Jetson. Pink, purple, yellow, blue lights bathed the ceiling; people sat in swinging round Lucite chairs suspended by chains from the ceiling; I chose a more sedate Eames chair. Again the waitress service and dinner and drinks could be ordered, all free of charge. I felt like a country bumpkin who doesn’t get out much as I marveled at the enormous projection TV beaming “football” onto one wall, the spa complete with spray tanning, panels of electrical outlets disguised as armrests at many seats. I felt like I had died and gone to travelers heaven. Did I really have to catch my plane? My flight was just as nice as the previous one, but because it was much fuller, service was not quite as attentive. But I still rate the airline with high marks. I include a picture of my Upper Class cabin.

Took off at 10pm and landed in New Delhi at 11am on October 15th. The time difference between New York and Delhi is 10 ½ hours. I had been concerned that after exiting baggage claim I’d be met with a sea of swarming people none of whom were waiting for me. The reality was that it was quite organized as I exited the airport. Two rows of gentlemen waited for their pickups with neatly marked signs. I immediately saw “Spirit of India” and met my contact Raj. The driver, Vijay, who we happened to have met last year, was a welcome sight. Vijay whisked me to the hotel in about ½ an hour. As I landed I noticed thick smoke in air that the weather forecast had mentioned. But as we drove into the city I saw more blue sky. I am staying at the Imperial Hotel which a glorious place. Photos of the exterior, interior and pool are included. The entire place is fragrant with jasmine. I met Cliff and Cathy immediately as I was checking in. They had arrived at 7am and had a bit of a jump on me. They went off to walk around for the afternoon and I opted out in order to settle in and discover the hotel. I walked and walked, checked out the excellent hotel bookstore, and sat outside for a while a read and enjoyed a peaceful afternoon.

Around 4ish I happened to run into C&C again and this time Cliff was on a mission. He’d just bought a small cheap disposable phone (with prepaid minutes) to use in India because using our US cell phones to call anywhere is quite expensive (the per minute rate for my Blackberry is $2.99; that can add up quickly). His new Indian Nokia is only a few cents/minute for an international call and a couple of rupees/minute for a call within India (translation: practically free). The problem was that it hadn’t activated properly and he needed to return to the store to sort out the problem. I thought about it and decided that it might make sense for me to get one too. We will need to coordinate with our travel provider, call the driver, call restaurants, call each other if we get separated, etc. For a few bucks I’d do the same. So I went with C&C on their return visit to “the store”.

Cliff had said it was “just down the street”. We left the Imperial compound and reentered the real world of Delhi with its bustling streets, sidewalk vendors, tourist shops, tuck tucks, bicycles, cars, busses, and many honking horns. After about six very long blocks, dodging all manner of vehicles and trinket peddlers, we finally arrived at what looked like a dingy alley and Cliff said we should turn here. The alley led to similarly dingy small “shops”. We stopped at one that I would never have noticed or thought to buy from. It sold all sorts of things (in other words it was an electronics store and certainly not a mobile phone store) and in one case it had mobile phones. I won’t go into the blow by blow of what transpired but we were there until 6pm (I almost thought I’d faint from fatigue, jetlag and lack of water) getting Cliff’s phone set up and my phone activated (that’s what took most of the time) and working. What was funny and also exasperating was how many times you need to ask for something before you actually get it. We were very clear that we wanted 400 rupees of calling time on our phones. Somehow Cliff got his but after my confirming about 15 times that I wanted the same, and the man in the shop had repeatedly said 'yes yes', somehow suddenly it came time to add minutes to my phone and “there were only 200 minutes left to give out”. He promises to add the remainder to my phone tomorrow, which I’m sure will mean that I have to call him throughout the day to remind him.

It was all very funny and I suspect quite a lesson about how things work in India. We left completely exhausted and headed straight to the Imperial Bar and to a lovely restaurant in the hotel that serves pan-Asian fusion food. We were told that the restaurant took 10 years to build and the elaborate décor was a cross between Thai, Burmese and Indian. Very spectacular and I was very underdressed. We shared several delicious dishes and managed to make it out before all our heads fell into our plates.