Lots of stuff

Be sure to check multiple pages; we've posted lots of material. Also, we finally updated the story behind The Agony & The Ecstasy - read the update (in that order). I promise, we didn't make any of it up and there will be more incredible details when we tell it to you in person. Those 2 items happened on Christmas day and so far have to be the most amazing day we've spent here.

Tristan's Pic: Delhi Traffic Sign

If you think you've experienced crazy driving try going to Delhi. There is no end to the commotion. Dogs will run across the street at random times, people will cut you off , and you see 5 people run a red light every 10 minutes. And on top of that everyone is honking their horns constantly. Driving in Delhi is something else, but after a while you kind of get used to it.

Devi's Pics - Aarti/Fire Ceremony on the Ganges

Technically, Tristan took this picture but as it was taken on my camera we're just going to pretend it's mine anyway. This was taken in Haridwar on the Ganges at dusk. All of us ended up partaking in a fire ceremony or Aarti as they call it. They made us say some prayers in Hindi (which we couldn't understand but was cool anyway), bless each other with the holy water from the river and Tristan even had to wash our feet. After this shot was taken mom and dad gave our gift of flowers and fire to the river and we watched it float down the Ganges with all of the other glowing offerings. It was truly an amazing experience.

Devi's Pics - Mehindi/Henna

This is my hand after our first day in India. Both my mom and myself got mehindi (or henna) on our hands while we were in Dilli Haat. It was amazing how fast they were able to cover our hands. We sat down and not more than five minutes later they were done! It's pretty faded by now but I plan on getting it done again before we leave so all y'all in the U.S. can see it. I can't wait to get back to show everyone all of our pics, tell our stories and show off my beautiful hands!

Yeah, we're eating pretty well, thanks!

Mom (Grandma Devi) would be proud of all of us, since we've eaten everything that has been put in front of us without any complaints. A list of what we've eaten so far:

• Masala Dosa
• Chicken Tikka
• Chicken Tikka Masala (of course)
• Fish Curry
• Idli Sambar
• Puri Bhaji
• Gulab Jamun
• Samosa
• Ladoo
• Daal
• Saag
• Mulai Paneer
• Masala Cheese Sandiwiches
• Tomato, Cucumber, and cream cheese sandwiches
• Masala Omelets
• Aloo Paratha
• Jalebi
• Lemon Rice
• Lamb Biryani
• Shredded Lamb in Garlic Sauce (Chinese)
• Naan
• Chapati
• Apple Pie
• Kheer
• Chocolate Souffle
• Rajasthani Food
• Masala Chai
• Lay's Brand Masala flavored Potato Chips
  
• About 100 other things I can't remember

And we haven't even been to Bukhara yet!

As promised, Dixie on an elephant

Marcia - here is the picture that you wanted. The elephants are limited to 4 persons, so Dixie chose to sit on the other elephant so that she could take pictures of us. Dixie shared her elephant with an adventurous woman who used to live in Fraser, CO and who is traveling in India all by herself for 4 months. Also on the elephant were a couple from California who were on their pre-honeymoon. The groom-to-be lost his glasses when a tree branch knocked them off of his face as the elephants were moving through the forest. Once the safari was over and we were back inside the compound, the bride-to-be offered the mahout (the guy who drives the elephant) 1000 Rupees (roughly $25) if he could find the glasses. So, the mahout left the compound (which is inside an electrified fence to keep the tigers out) on foot, and walked into the forest. He came back half an hour later with the glasses.

Corbett - wild elephants

We came across a herd of about 15 wild elephants. They wouldn't let us get too close even on our own elephants. It was late evening, the sun was a big red ball on the horizon, fog was setting in the valleys, hundreds of swallows were darting in the air catching insects and there we sat on safari watching wild elephants!!!! I could have died and gone to heaven!

Corbett elephant safari

Only 4 to an elephant, so I shot this from MY elephant. The ride was incredibly smooth, but it was really hard to take pictures as they never stood still and I was at the front of my elephant so I had to twist around to take any sort of picture. The safari was 2 hours - we saw lots of great scenery and some wild life. Our guide was very grumpy.

Corbett - Rhesus

These monkeys are all over the place in Corbett. They sure don't like it when you look them in the eye or come towards them. We saw one lady tell her kid to give the monkey a banana and the thing started running toward the boy, holding out his arms, hissing and screeching - scarey. Anil forgot to close the door to our room and one of the little devils went in after him! I told Devi to "shoo" the thing away, but when she came toward it, the monkey stood on his hind legs, hissed at her and started to come toward her - DON'T KNOW WHAT I WAS THINKING! SO MUCH FOR MOTHERLY PROTECTIVE INSTINCTS ON MY PART!

Haridwar - Our first rickshaw ride

Our hotel in Haridwar was absolutely wonderful. An old mansion that has been restored - marble floors, indoor courtyard, and the service and food were absolutely outstanding. The place is called Haveli Hari Ganga and the verandas hang over the Ganges river. The hotel itself is tucked away in a tiny alley in the middle of a terrific market place, but it's so small you can't get a car there - you have to park the car somewhere else and then they take you and your luggage the rest of the way by rickshaw thru the market place. We made friends with Pradeep who worked there - he took us on a 5 hour jeep ride thru Rajaji National Forest and then helped us get cable car tickets to the top of the hill to visit a temple - incredibly nice fellow.

Lunch in Corbett Tiger Reserve

Lunch was quite good here even though the rooms were freezing- no heat.

Haridwar- after the ceremony

This is what we looked like after the Hindu priest was done with us.

The Ecstasy (Haridwar- Candle ceremony)

What an amazing way to end our Christmas! More to come

     Despite the fact that "the gods" tried everything in their power to keep us from getting to Haridwar, we finally arrived (several hours late). Part of the package for staying at Haveli Hari Ganga was that they will escort you down to the Aarti ceremony. I figured I'd sit in the middle of the crowd and take great photos of all these glittering candles. Turns out, the package deal includes being part of the ceremony! We got our own Hindu priest for 30 minutes, recited all sorts of Hindi phrases, used water from the Ganges to wash each others feet and then put our arms on a priest as he held a huge flame and we all chanted the same phrase over and over. Then we put our boat of flowers and candles into the river and watched it float away with all the other glowing candles.

     There was all sorts of music and chanting and singing and ringing of bells and other people with priests and people floating candles down the river .... It was an incredible experience - we felt so totally and completely immersed in India and the culture ... we weren't just tourists watching, we were part of it. Soooooooo cool! 

     And then the priest asked us for money (pressured us for even more)! Yes, this was truly India - "Happy to Kris mass!!!".

     

The Agony (Delhi Train Station)

Story about missing our train to come later...... Here's the rest of the story .......

    Christmas day started out with so much promise. We got up at 4AM to catch the train from Delhi to Haridwar. As we were walking to the car a man said "Happy to Kris mass" & I said back "Merry Christmas". We got to the train station 30 minutes ahead of time, found our platform (despite being given the wrong directions), parked ourselves under the sign for our train (we even found our names and seat assignments on the board) and felt very pleased with ourselves for having gotten thru such a zoo of traffic and mass of people all on our own. 

     Time for the train came and went, but no train. We thought it was kind of odd that we didn't see any conductor or bunches of people wanting to get on the train, but how could we possibly miss an entire train coming and going? We searched and finally found a train attendant and found out we'd missed the train - it had been quietly waiting on the other side of the stairs/platform and pulled away on time without us! 

     It was extremely difficult to get anyone to help or speak english and some guy finally took pity on us and pointed us to the international reservation office - NOT!!!!! It was a scam!!!! Some guy in a tiny office with no official papers told us he was government (NOT!!!!!) and sat at a computer pretending to get us new tickets. I was getting nervous and Ajit noticed he was typing gobbledy-gook on the computer, so he tricked him into giving us our papers back and we ran out of there! The office is the big blue sign in the photo above. We ended up having to pay $130 to hire a driver for 4 hours to get us to Haridwar. 

     And to top things off, I had a "gastronomical emergency" on the road ..... you haven't lived until you have to use a "squat" toilet at a gas station in the suburbs of Delhi!!!!

Back online!

Hey all - We've been offline for a few days as we have not had Internet access since we left Delhi. Since we last posted, we've had a great time in Haridwar (wait til you see the pictures), Rishikesh, and Corbett Tiger Preserve (no tiger sighting, but we did see wild elephants - and we got the picture you wanted, Marcia!). We're back to Delhi now for more big city stuff, so we'll post more stuff in a few hours. More soon...

Shafts of light - Safdarjung's tomb

Bahai temple

Purana Quila (Old Fort)

Tangle of electrical wires in Chandni Chowk market

Bird Hospital in Jain Temple

Carved marble screen in Humayun's Tomb

Qutb Minar

Step Well on Archeological Walk

Food Stall in Dilli Hat

Unnamed tombs in Lodi Gardens

Our Hotel

This is our hotel, the India International Center (IIC), built in 1962 (you can tell from the architecture). The rooms are nice and clean (and quiet), although it was hard to figure out all of the light switches. We've been able to use a plug adapter to charge our various electronic devices in the rooms, and the hotel even has WIFI access (which is why your able to see these pictures), and a computer in the lobby for general internet use. We've had some very good food in the hotel lounge and restaurant (including some truly excellent fish curry). It can be hard to find good places to eat near some of the places we've visited, like the Qutub Minar, so it's nice to know we can always at least get a good meal at the IIC.

Dilli Haat

This market reminded us of the People's Fair in Denver. All sorts of artisans and food. It was a lot of fun, the temperature was perfect, we found lots of great stuff to buy and had a great meal. One of the booths was selling hand carved walnut boxes that were gorgeous. Devi and I bought silk scarves to put over our heads when we visit the mosques and we had our hands done with the henna dye. The only thing we didn't like about this visit were the beggars - mothers carrying their babies would walk up to your car and pound on the windows - even the baby was pounding and saying "hello, hello, lady, hello"! It's so hard to see that and not give them everything you have even though you know it won't really make a difference. Such a contrast of lifestyles.

Safdar Jung's Tomb

Safdar Jung's Tomb within walking distance from the Hotel. An example of Moghul Architecture. It has the same layout as the Taj but a lot smaller and built with different materials. We figured out how to cross the road without getting ourselves killed. I think the driver's here all seem to have the same recessive allele for colorblindness; they can't tell red from green. Stop lights are merely a suggestion. But they do seem to be able to get around quite well. We did not see any accidents yet. 

The first 12 hours in Delhi

The taxi ride from the airport to our hotel was like the video game "Mario Cart"!!!! Cars, motorcycles, rikshaws and pedestrians all mixed together with no regard for the dotted lines or lanes. Our driver was very nice, but we noticed he did'nt stop for the first 3 red lights we came to and he liked to drive right down the center of the dotted line, honking his horn and weaving in and out at high speeds. They use horns here as if they were turn signals and all the trucks have the wording "Please use horn" on the back. Oh yeah, we passed an accident with an overturned truck in the first 2 minutes we were on the road.
The pollution and fog are pretty thick too. It was even hazy inside the airport! We just came back from a walk to Lodhi Gardens next to our hotel. It's a big city park with un-named monuments in it. We went crazy taking pictures of them - wait until we see the real thing!
Our hotel is good - India International Center. We got in around 3-4AM. It's actually a members only center with conference rooms for seminars and conferences. We slept well, but made ourselves get up between 8-9 to get used to the time change, so we missed breakfast. We ordered sandwiches and tea in the lounge and it was awesome!!! Some sort of melted cheese with spices on toast. Yum!
We'll make another post tonight with pictures of Safdarjung's and Humayun's tomb.

We're here!

We made it to New Delhi at about 2AM this morning. It took about 2
hours or so to get our bags and for our taxi driver to find our hotel.
We slept for about 4 or 5 hours. This is the view from our hotel room.

At the gate!

Waiting to board... Tristan is playing games on his PSP, while Dixie
is already writing in her journal.

Two long flights until India!

Our Itinerary:

12/20 Thu

Denver British Airways, Denver-London (Heathrow) Flight# BA0218,
Depart Thu 6:10PM, Arrive Fri 10:15AM Booking reference: YK3Y95
125-2441942272, 125-2441942273, 125-2441942274, 125-2441942275, 125-2441942276

12/21 Fri

London British Airways, London (Heathrow) – Delhi, Flight# BA0143,
Depart Fri 11:40AM, Arrive Sat 01::25AM Terminal 4

12/22 Sat

Delhi

• Lodhi Gardens (6AM-8PM, free) Next to hotel
• Safdarjung Tomb (SR/SS, Rs80 + Rs35/photo)
• Humayun Tomb (SR/SS, Rs200 + 25/photo)
• Nizamuddin mausoleum (24hrs, free) Across from Humayun
• Fab India shopping 10AM - 7(Salwar Kameez)
• Dilli Haat Market 10:30AM - 10PM (Mehndi) India International Centre_
40, Max Mueller Marg, New Delhi - 110003
Telephone: 24619431, Fax: 24627751
• Lunch: IIC

12/23 Sun

Delhi

• 8AM-10AM Heritage Walk of Mehrauli Archeological Walk
• Qutb Minar complex (730-530, Tue-Sun, Rs200 Rs25/photo) Iron pillar, mosque
• Lotus Temple (930-530, Tue-Sun, Free) Lit at night, No photography, remove shoes, no talking, phones
• ISKCON Hare Krishna Temple Heritage Walk – Every Sat/Sun
Indian National Trust for Art & Cultural Heritage
71, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi - 110003
Ph: 24641304, 24692774, 24632269
• Lunch: Olive Bar and Kitchen
• Dinner: Govinda’s in ISKCON Temple

12/24 Mon

Delhi

• National Museum 1/2 day (10-5 M-F, Rs150, Rs300 photo) Free 1hr tours
• Purana Qila Old Fort (SR/SS, Rs80, Rs25/photo) Views of Delhi from top of main gate
• India Gate Lit at night
• Akshardham Temple (SR/SS, free) Lit at night

12/25 Tue

Haridwar 

• Take train (Dehradun Shatabdi - 2017) to Haridwar (6:50AM – 11:25AM)
• Chandi Devi (8-6 Rs60) & Mansa Devi (8-6 Rs39) temples by cable car
• Yoga master
• Family Panda (priest with family geneology)
• Temples: Jai Ram Ashram Daksha Mahadev, Lal Mata, Pawan Dham, Bharat Mata, Jain
• Hari-Ki-Pauri - Evening aarti (lamps in river)
• Bara Bazaar – lit at night, sweets, shopping Haveli Hari Ganga:
21 Pilibhit House Ramghat, Haridwar - 249401, Uttaranchal.
Telephone :91- 1334 - 265207, 226443
+919412074416, +919719453434
Train starts New Delhi Station 6 miles from IHC
• Lunch: Hoshiyar Puri
• Dinner: Big Ben Restaurant

12/26 Wed

Haridwar/ Rishiskesh

• 5 hour jeep tour in Rajaji National Park (Rs 1650/person)
• Drive to Glass House on the Ganges (about 45 KM or 30 Miles from Haridwar)
• Ram & Lakshman Jhula – bridge across river
• Temples in Rishikesh – 13 storey
• Swarg Ashram – 2km walk Glass House on the Ganges
3rd Milestone Rishikesh-Badrinath Road, Village & P.O. Gular-Dogi
Phones: (01378)-269224, 269218
• Lunch: Chotiwala
• Dinner: Madras Cafe

12/27 Thu

Rishikesh

• 1/2 day river raft trip on Ganges (Rs 750/person)
• Tabla lessons at Om Rudra Cultural Society Sanjeev Mehta, Mohan's Adventure Tours,
Chitra Cinema, Hardwar - 249401
Ph - 01334 220910 / 265543 / 227726
• Lunch: Madras Café
• Dinner: Great Ganga Restaurant

12/28 Fri

Corbett

Noon: Check out of the hotel & drive by taxi to Corbett - 110 Miles from Rishikesh Taxi is the best way of getting there (3 hours)
Arrive at Dhikala and check into the Forest Rest House
PRO, KMVN
103, Indra Prakash Building,
21, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi-110001
Ph : (011) 23712246, 51519366, 23746433, 23746431, Fax : (011) 23319835
12/29 Sat Corbett • Safari
• Elephant ride
12/30 Sun Delhi 8:30AM Leave Corbett for Delhi with the package tour operator
Arrive 5:30PM La Sagrita
14, Sunder Nagar, New Delhi - 110 003, India
Phones:91-11-24359541, 24358572
91-11-2435 1249, 24353973

12/31 Mon

Delhi

• Chandni Chowk Market 10-6
• Jama Masjid Mosque- remove shoes at top of stairs Rs 5, views top South minaret Rs 20, guide Rs 50
• Raj Ghat – memorial site of Ghandi’s cremation • Lunch: Chandni Chowk
• Dinner: Bukhara with Sunil, Shalini, Tanvi

1/1 Tue

Delhi

• Red Fort (SR/SS Tue-Sun, Rs80, Rs 25/video)
• Crafts Museum (Tue-Sun 10-5, free)
• Birla Temple (6-9, free)
• Gurdwara Bangla Sahib Sikh temple (SR/SS, free)
• Jantar Mantar (9-SS, Rs 80, Rs 25/camera)
• 6:45PM Dances of India Rs200 Dances of India
Parsi Anjuman Hall,Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg
Connaught Place, Delhi, 110001, India
011 23231228
• Lunch: Saravana Bhavan
• Dinner: Karims

1/2 Wed

Shekawati

• Tour of Shekhavati to visit frescoed Havelis
• Visit to the Sati Temple in Jhunjhunu.
• Visit to Nawalgarh (to visit old step well & painted Havelis).
• Rajasthani dinner on the sand dunes The Piramal Haveli
Village Bagar, Jhunjhunu District 333023,
Shekhavati, Rajasthan, India
Phone: (01592)-221220

1/3 Thu

Neemrana

• Shekawati - Neemrana by Taxi
• Free yoga and meditation exercises
• A guided tour of the 18th century Stepwell can be arranged
• Trek to the watchtowers on the hills Neemrana Fort Palace
Village Neemrana, District Alwar,
Rajasthan 301705, India
Tel: (From Delhi 951494) (STD - 01494) 246006, 246007, 246008

1/4 Fri

Jaipur

• Neemrana-Jaipur by Taxi. Distance is about 140 KM , about 3 hours
• Raj Mandir Cinema – Can be sold out (book early at window#7&8) Hotel Madhuban, D-237 Bihari Marg, Bani Park, Jaipur – 302016 91-141-2200033
• Dinner: Handi Restaurant

1/5 Sat

Jaipur

• City Palace(930-5, Rs180)
• Hawa Mahal-Palace of the Winds (9-430 Sat-Thu, Rs 5, Rs 30/photo, Rs 70/video) views from top
• Jantar Mantar observatory (9-430 Sat-Thu, Rs 10, Rs 50/photo, Rs 100/video)
• Galta Monkey Temple
• Iswari Minar Swarga Sal (9-430 Sat-Thu, Rs 2, Rs 20/photo) Heaven piercing minaret, view from top
• Central museum Albert Hall (10-4:30 Sat-Thu Rs 30) Moti Dungri Fort & Birla Temple if you have the time
stairs to top of Minar Swarga Sal for city view
• Lunch: Laxmi Mishtan Bhandar
• Dinner: Jaipur Inn (views of city, reservations)

1/6 Sun

Jaipur

• Amber Palace (9-430 Rs50 Rs75/150 camera/video)
• Jaigarh Forts (9-5 Rs 20 Rs20/100 camera/video Rs50 car)
• Nahargarh (Tiger) Fort (10-5 Rs 20 Rs 20/70 camera/video)
• Royal Gaitor (Water Palace) (9-430 Rs 10 Rs 20 video)
• Bazaars
• Chokhi Dani (Rs 190)– Made up Indian village, rajastani meal on the floor • Lunch: Dasaprakash
• Dinner: Chokhi Dani

1/7 Mon

Jaipur/Bharatpur/Agra

• Taxi from Jaipur to Bharatpur. Lohagarh (Iron Fort) is optional
• Taxi to Abhaneri (step wells) and then on to Fatehpur Sikri (ghost city)
• Taxi to hotel in Agra
• Taj by sunset/nighttime? Howard Park Plaza, ATEHABAD ROAD
AGRA, Phone 91-562-2331870
• Dinner: Only restaurant

1/8 Sun

Agra

• Taj by Sunrise
• Sikandra & Agra Fort • Lunch: Prakash
• Dinner: Lakshmi Vilas

1/9 Mon

Delhi 6AM – 10AM Intercity Express (4211) to New Delhi
Last minute shopping & site seeing
10PM-Midnight Taxi to the International Airport

1/10 Tue

Delhi British Airways, Delhi-London (Heathrow), Flight # BA0142, Terminal 2
Depart 3:25AM, Arrive 7:25AM

1/10 Tue London British Airways, London-Denver, Flight #BA0219, Terminal 4
Depart 1:35PM, Arrive 4:15PM

Test post from iPhone

Packing for the trip (and testing out the blog from my iPhone)!

Devi's Birthday today!! 

3 Days to go!

Sunil discovered that we have a 10 hour gap in between when we arrive in Delhi (at about 1AM) and when we can check into our hotel. So we are scrambling to come up with ideas of how to safely pass the time...