The Pink City - Jaipur

It was time for another road trip. This time, Megan, Louise, Cindy, Mollie, and I took to the Pink City in Rajasthan - Jaipur. There has been an interesting past month or so in Jaipur with the terrorist bombings and Gujjar protests paralyzing the transportation networks in Rajasthan, but everything seems to have cleared and I think everyone was in the mood for an easy weekend trip.

It takes about 4 hours to drive to Jaipur. We rocked the site seeing on Saturday seeing several forts, a stop at the lassiwalla for an awesome sweet lassi, and the Johari Bazaar for some shoping. Jaipur has a really interesting past which is not as easily illustrated in most Indian cities. The walls of

the Amer Fort are massive, and althoug not to the scale of the Great Wall of China, still a true sight. After dropping some money in the market and our lassi, we decided to head to Choki Dhani, the theme park like tourist attraction with elephant rides, authentic Rajisthani food, henna, and magicians. It was actually really nice and let us see all kinds of shows and performances.

Devender realizing that we ran out of gas!

Of course no trip is complete without at least some sort of adventure. We were heading back to Gurgaon on Sunday night, and Mollie was scheduled to take a flight out of Jaipur to Hyderabad. Shortly after dropping her off and making out way to the highway, she called with the news that her flight was cancelled and it was not going to be possible to get into Hyderabad that night. We turned around, picked her up, and decided it'd be best for her to return to Delhi with us and grab a flight the next day.

Little did we know, we were running on fumes in the Toyota Innova. One minute were passing through really interesting parts of Jaipur with mixes of animals (monkeys, dogs, cows, goats...you name it, we saw it) and naked children, the next minute we're on the open road with Devender realizing we were out of gas! The engine died and he couldn't restart the car. The video above is the moment when we couldn't control the laugher and the car was coming to a stand still. Luckily, our Jaipur tourguide, Raghu, came to the rescue and towed the car with a Jeep and a metal string that looked about as thick as a hanger. We made it back about 6 hours later, but surely had moments to keep us on our toes.

Blog Photos - Here's a link to my photos of Jaipur in Google Photos (also links from the slide show below).

Momos and a Side of Green - Nepal

It was time for a last minute adventure in Nepal, complete with monsoons, propeller planes, strikes, riots, beautifully green forests, and the hidden Himalaya. Scott, Lane, Dave, Naraen, and I flew into Kathmandu from Delhi for an extended weekend trip. Despite its proximity to India, Nepalis very much hold their identities very far from Indians and subsequently have struck a nice balance with an easygoing demeanor and way of life which differs significantly from Indians.

We arrived the first day early in the morning around 8:30am, and after checking in at our wonderful hotel (Le Meridien Gokarna) immediately took to the streets. The Buddhist culture is prominent throughout the city with many gorgeous stupas. We started out at Swayambhunath and make our way to Thamel for some momos, shopping, and walking. Dave lived in Nepal two years ago, so we made an impromptu visit to his old host family which gave Lane and I a better taste into Nepali life and just how nice and sincere they are. The family he stayed with works on a number of different philanthropic efforts including an orphanage and local school.

The next day, Scott and Naraen arrived on the same we had the day before. The adventure began as we hit a huge roadblock only minutes from the airport. Our driver started to ask people on the street what was happening, but it didn't at all become clear until a police van arrived with 10 men jumping out with automatic weapons and tear gas. Apparently a cab driver was stabbed to death and a small riot and crowd ensued. We took a steep grade detour and eventually made our way to the airport to meet Naraen and Scott and fly to Pokhara.

Pokhara is west of Kathmandu and built alongside Phewa Lake, with Anapurna in the backgrounnd (although we never got to see Anapurna because it was too cloudy). We wandered around some and rented scooters/motorbikes to explore. We drove up to the World Peace Temple - a decent hike consisting of lots and lots of stairs. However, we were rewarded with great views of the entire valley. When we drove back to return our bikes, we got caught in some issues with a shopkeeper trying to blame me for "crashing" my scooter and causing damage. Leave it up to five guys with four digital cameras - we had photos of the scooters before we left showing the damage, but the shopkeeper was just too stubborn

Putting that all behind us the next day, we immediately headed to the Pokhara airport to catch a flight into Kathmandu. We must have sat for nearly two hours in the Yeti Airlines small business office. The employees must have thought we were crazy - we shared a lot of laughs. We finally made our way back into Kathmandu in the late afternoon, checked in once again at Le Meridien and relaxed with some beers in the pool and Swedish massages.

The next morning, we awoke to find that a transportation strike was going on which paralyzed the entire city as all bus, cab, and rickshaw drivers were demanding higher wages. We finagled a ride with our previous Meridien driver and headed to Bahktapur. It was "renovated" by the Germans some time ago, but was filled with intricate wood work and the type of architecture you might easily find in Europe. The slight drizzle throughout the day made things pretty cool as we bargained and explored the narrow streets. Cutting things a little close by then, we headed back into Kathmandu to catch out flight back to Delhi.

It was a really exciting weekend - somewhat unpredictable. Gorgeous. Green. Great.

Blog Photos - Here's a link to my photos of Nepal in Google Photos (also links from the slide show below).


Travel Notes

- Le Meridien, Kathmandu: Luxury hotel nestled in the Gokarna Forest, complete with its own spa, swimming pool, and 18-hole golf course; free yoga classes every morning, awesome massages, and nice restaurant selection
- Swayambhunath (Monkey Temple): Great panoramic views of the Kathmandu valley, beautifully classic stupa perched atop a hill, 200/- admission fee
- Yeti Airlines: Fun way to fly (earplugs included!)
- Yeti Guest House, Pokhara (yetiguesthouse@hotmail.com): Great place tucked away alongside the main drag in Pokhara. Staff here is extraordinarily nice, rooms are dirt cheap (US$8/night)
- Bhaktapur: Only 20 from Kathmandu, a great place to ramble around, lots of history, clay, trinkets, and momos

Great Indian Boomtowns

The New York Times the topic of Indian growth with images of Gurgaon slums, in an article called "Inside Gate, India's Good Life; Outside, the Slums" (thanks Lisa, NY Times' #1 Reader). Definitely an interesting read highlighting something that Indian society, myself included, tends to pass up without an eye. It's highlighting the difference in the classes, but also the caste system which comes so naturally here. It's really strange seeing large slums and shacks alongside our office building, for example, but something which not only common but almost expected.

I think Gurgaon magnifies a part of the world unlike I have ever seen it before - an ultra-wealthy upper class emerging alongside a lower class which survives on less than 50 cents (US) per day. Top consulting firms, internet giants, powerful NGOs, governmental organizations, luxury apartments, and country clubs all call Gurgaon home. With every new building or mall, so too comes acres and acres of slums which are guarded by steel sheets and plastic tarps. It's truly day and night, separated only by a single gate, but that gate is so much more than pieces of metal wielded together.

IPL, Pool, Expats, & Bars - Mumbai

A luxurious weekend in Mumbai/Bombay was planned when I first arrived in India, celebrating the much anticipated IPL (Indian Premier League) cricket finals. We had wanted to get tickets to the match for India's sporting event of the year. The entire expat crowd from Gurgaon and Hyderabad transcended onto The Taj Palace and Towers, located in the neighborhood of Colaba, alongside the Gateway of India. We were all looking forward to spending some relaxing hours alongside The Taj's swimming pool, exploring the Mumbai nightlife, and eating to our heart's content.

To our surprise, three of the four IPL teams were actually staying at our hotel - Delhi Daredevils, Rajisthan Royals, and the Mohali Kings. Semi-finals were on Friday and Saturday, with the finals on Sunday night. When Louise and I first arrived to check-in, there was a mob scene of press and little children trying to get autographs of the country's most famous cricket stars. Throughout the weekend, our lobby was periodically filled with video cameras and Indians wanting to catch of glimpse of their favorite players.

Although we didn't get to see any IPL cricket, we got in a small ferry ride to the Elephanta caves and got to see Colaba. After lounging at the huge swimming pool for hours, we ate at one of Mumbai's best north Indian restaurants, Khyber's, and proceeded to dance the night away at some local bars and clubs. The late night crew closed down the Polly Esther's club a block from our hotel, before Mollie ordered three grilled cheese and ham sandwiches. That's pretty much the weekend in a nutshell.

Blog Photos - Here's a link to my photos of Mumbai in Google Photos (also links from the slide show below).


Travel Notes
-The Taj Palace and Towers: 5-star luxury hotel, reasonable prices, amazing swimming pool, steps from the Gateway of India, sushi, shopping, and people watching to match-Olive Bar and Kitchen: Sunday brunch extravaganza, under $40 for free flowing drinks, all-you-can eat cheese, meat, pasta, grilled prawns, desserts, and more-Khyber Restaurant: Although North Indian food (outside of North India), very reasonable food, has a great decor-Leopold Cafe: On Colaba Causeway, simple, warm and stuffy (in a good way), perfect stop for a quick bite, beer tower, some drinks, and a large crowd