No Expense Spared

Jaipur, India -- October 24-26 -- Day 2-4

Monday and Tuesday were not too different except we ventured out to one of the bazaar areas to shop. We were hoping to find some Christmas gifts but didn't have much luck. Later, on Monday, after lunch and a nap, I left everyone watching Miss Congeniality to search out the Puma and Adidas shops I’d seen on Google. A week or so ago, I misplaced the one pair of shorts I brought from home so was now down to a single pair of pants with zip-off legs.

One man in the Wildcraft outdoors shop, Jahi, was very excited to meet me since his brother also lived in the US. He proclaimed “I love America” and after I paid for the shorts, seemed reluctant to let our meeting end.  He walked me down the street to what looked like a jewelry shop (did he own it?) and also mentioned drinking chai together. I decided it was best to be on my way despite the fact he also, apparently, owned a tuk-tuk and was more than happy to take me back to the hotel. A quick detour to a man selling flowers, where I spared no expense and got all the pink and yellow gerbers, to give Meg a surprise when I got home. [Meg's Note: It was the neatest, sweetest, surprise!]

To my amazement, later that night, I actually ran into Jahi again.  While we all were walking down one of the dusty and chaotic roads to the Copper Chimney restaurant, Jahi suddenly appeared, happily greeting me and the rest of the family. He led us across the road where he proudly showed off his tuk-tuk, complete with the names of his three children on the windshield. Once again, he insisted on giving us a ride to where we wanted to go, but we truthfully explained that we really did just want to walk.

As we negotiated the next street corner, zigzagging between street stands, parked motorcycles, and pedestrians, Jahi came roaring by in his tuk-tuk and two minutes later, had parked and was happily accompanying us along the crowded sidewalks asking the age of the kids as we went. When we found the restaurant a few minutes later we said our goodbyes, both to Jahi and another man, a salesman anxious to “give” Dex and Kylie a black and gold, hand-sized elephant figurine.  Although I certainly nothing untoward about Jahi or his enthusiasm for being with us, it was still a relief to get inside and I found myself hoping he would not be waiting when we were finally done. Unsolicited attention just seems to go with the territory. As uncomfortable as it sometimes feels, I’ve recently found myself completely ignoring those doggedly trying to get my attention, sometimes even when standing just a feet away. Dex was frustrated at the park the other day because eventually, a few people gathered around to watch them play.  I suspect what we sometimes experience here is just a hint of what it would be like to be famous and anonymity is a scarce commodity.

Wednesday, our last day in Jaipur, gave us a chance to do all the things that had become part of our routine: we had a late breakfast buffet at the hotel restaurant, made our way to the pool for a refreshing swim, took a walk to the park to let the kids play with their toys (while I went for a run, and Meg played Candy Crush, Words with Friends, etc), took a tuk-tuk to do some shopping at the central Bazaar, and made two visits to our favorite restaurant, the Four Seasons. We had grown so used to seeing the head manager at the restaurant that he was really starting to feel like family. In fact, he told us on our fifth and final visit, that he was disappointed we were leaving as he had thought to invite us to celebrate the upcoming Dawali celebration with his family. What a bummer. Nevertheless, it's been fun to see the colored lights being hung on all the buildings. Just tonight, our hotel was sporting a bright pink glow from a series of colored spotlights.

During our shopping excursion this afternoon, Meg and Dex bought a couple beautiful tie dye scarfs. Kylie was intent on buying a dress, but unfortunately, the one she liked -- bright yellow, red, and green with plenty of sparkles -- was too long and just not practical for traveling. Nevertheless, once back at the hotel, the staff was more than happy to help the kids model the new “clothes”. Once adorned, Kylie became a minor celebrity attracting tons of attention (and picture taking) both at the hotel and the restaurant.

At 9:50, we finally asked for our bags out of the storage room and left our home away from (well, actually, quite a bit nicer than our home). A two-hour delay pushed our expected departure back from 23:00 to 01:00. From the looks of it, there were plenty of other people settling in for the long haul. On the bright side, our 6:35 arrival in Udaipur would now be a much more respectable 8:35 a.m.

A Little R&R

Agra to Jaipur, India -- October 22-23

We'd done a pretty good job sightseeing the last few days -- Hunayun’s Tomb, the Red Fort, the Taj Mahal, and Fatepur Sikra.  As a result, we didn't have any plans for Saturday, though Meg did get up early to visit the Taj Mahal for a second time. I too had thought it would be fun taking pictures as the sun came up, but at 6:00 a.m. when she roused me, I just couldn't muster the enthusiasm.

For most of the day, we just sat around and played cards, though we did go into town for breakfast on the outdoor terrace of a tourist restaurant, one that Lala took us to. As usual, he waited outside while we ate. Clearly, two or three hundred rupees ($3-5) must be worth waiting a while.

Later in the day we asked to be taken to some markets, but we were expecting something like Delhi, a street full of shops with clothes, bags, and tapestries hanging everywhere.  Instead, we were taken to a couple indoor shops where we were constantly shadowed and offered every variation -- colors, sizes, pattern -- of whatever we happened to be looking at. Some people may thrive in that situation, but all we wanted to do was leave. To make things worse, Meg had a sudden and urgent need to use the bathroom, so we abandoned the shopping tour and headed back to the hotel where we collected our bags and got to the station for our 17:40 train.

Lala, our driver

For the first time in India, we had reservations for a non-sleeper train and were a little apprehensive about what it would be like.  To our surprise and relief, our C4 train car was an air conditioned affair with large, padded reclining seats. Wow, who knew.  We were actually given bottled water, a snack and dinner!  The sleeper cars weren't bad, but this was definitely a step above.  This particular “express” train (though just about every train seems to be called an express) really did skip most of the stops.  

Complimentary water!

AC luxury

Leaving Agra

By 9:45 p.m., we were in Jaipur.  We initially tried to ignore the guy who sidled up to us as we left the train, but eventually we gave in, followed him to his tuk-tuk stashed away in the back of a dirt parking lot filled with a hundred others. The funny thing is, we’ve rarely selected our tuk-tuk driver upon arriving somewhere, but have typically “been selected.”  On the plus side, the young men that usually find us are the ones that speak reasonable English and are clearly motivated to get customers. In this case, Ali was not so much interested in giving us a ride to our hotel, as in driving us around the city for however long we are here. I wasn't actually fundamentally opposed to the idea, although it really is only a minor convenience for us to deal with the same driver again and again.  The fact is, we can just about always find someone to take us where we want to go, and there’s no big advantage to having them wait for us. In any event, I felt bad about not committing to meet Ali in the morning for sightseeing, but we really weren't that excited about either the City Palace or the Amber Fort.

The good news was that Meg had made reservations at the Shakun “Resort Hotel” specifically because it advertised a pool.  I had cautioned that our vision of a pool might not match what we ended up with, but walking into the lobby, made it clear this was indeed a pretty fancy place -- marble floors, fancy blown glass chandelier, huge ostentatious roman pillars leading up a double curved staircase to the second floor restaurant. This, apparently, is what a hundred dollars a night will get you.  I'm afraid we must be getting soft. More and more, lately, it seems we’re trying to take a vacation from our vacation.

On Sunday, we continued the general lazy theme by having the buffet breakfast at the hotel restaurant, laying around at the rooftop pool (reading and playing with toys), walking the half block away for lunch at the excellent, Four Seasons restaurant, sitting around an actual city park (who knew), and watching a couple movies (Captain America and Tangled) on TV. Just a little R&R from our five month road trip.

Just stopped to say hi and take a photo

The Four Seasons decorated for Dawali

LaLa's Long Tuk-Tuk Ride

Agra, (and Fatepur Sikra), India -- Day 2

Today, we thought we would explore the ancient, royal city of Fatepur Sikra. We had the breakfast buffet at the simple downstairs restaurant. My taste buds still don't seem totally right, but at least I'm feeling hungry these days.

Lala, the happy faced, diminutive tuk-tuk driver, seemingly permanently stationed outside the hotel, was anxious to take us wherever we wanted, and Fatepur Sikra was no problem. We've learned now that you should always settle on a price before starting, but Ali was reluctant saying we should decide and we should pay whatever we like. We persisted, however, so he eventually threw out a figure (1200 rupees), and we agreed.

The journey there and back, turned out to be no short excursion taking more than an hour each way. Tuk-tuk trips, though, are usually fun, at least when we don't have our four big backpacks on our laps and wedged in behind our heads and shoulders. We generally sit three in back and one (usually Dex) in front next to the driver. The other day, we saw no fewer than eight people crammed into one, plus a young boy hanging onto the back. When we were in London and Paris with little Cole, he would always point out the “Bad Guys,” bikers or motorcycle riders without helmets. Here in India we see and awful lot of Bad Guys on bikes and motorcycles. It is totally normal to see women sitting side saddle behind their husbands, a young child in their arms and a second young child straddling the gas tank.

Almost as interesting as the actual old city, was just watching the world pass by along the way. The kids never get tired of pointing out the various animals: henna donkeys (white donkeys stained with orange blotches of henna), “baby” animals -- small cows, water buffalos, puppies -- not to mention the occasional group of monkeys.  On a couple occasions during the trip the road inexplicably deteriorated into a jumble of asphalt and rocks. It's amazing how durable the tuk-tuks are. Many are actually CNG (compressed natural gas) powered, which is a good thing given the ever present grey/brown haze along the horizon.

For much of the way, we were traveling through small towns outside of the city. It is mesmerizing to gaze out at the brick and cement structures, literally crumbling, stalls and huts built with whatever is available, old pieces of wood, plastic tarps, corrugated metal sheets, and chunks of cement. So much seems to be in a constant state of construction or repair. Shops and workshops for pipes, bricks, motorcycle repair, haircuts, and food appear randomly.  

Dex buying a pomegranite

Shoe delivery

Once again, at the tourist site, we waved off the salesmen and tour guides.  Lala, our driver, happily agreed to wait as we took the crowded bus up the road to the entrance, where even more guides and postcard salesmen waited. We opted for the audio guides again though the sounds quality and player function left a lot to be desired. The city was started in 1569 by Mughal emperor Akbar. Akbar was particularly accepting of all the major religions and many of the architectural details pay tribute to Hindu, Islam and even Christianity. Unfortunately, the spring that provided water to the city dried up and the city was abandoned in 1585.

We finished off our tour at the large Mosque, once again forced to wave off would-be tour guides. Even our expired entrance tickets, apparently, were in demand. Our patience was finally worn thin when attempting to get back on the bus to our starting point. Twice, we were literally shoved out of the way, and forced to wait in the heat for the next bus. Fortunately, this has not been the norm, though I was not particularly patient with the salesman that came up to us a few seconds later.

True to his word, Lala was there when we returned to the tuk-tuk several hours later. All of us enjoyed some cold beverages and then the long ride back to the hotel.