Beyond Jaipur

Today we decided to head north of Jaipur, to explore the barren hillsides and visit the legendary forts and palaces of the ancient city of Amber. We drove way up into the hills on a twisting, turning dusty road until we reached Jaigarh, the “victory fort” which watches over the old capital city of the region, Amber, which lays in the valley below. The fort is unbelievable, like most Forts in this part of Rajasthan, it’s built on a seemingly impossible narrow ridge running about 3km and is still in amazingly good shape. We hired a guide to show us around, who ended up staying with us most of the day and who was very knowledgeable about Amber Fort and Palace, but also quite a lot of Indian history in general, so he was definitely worth the 300 rupees (~$8) we paid for the entire day!

We started out by having a look at what is apparently the world’s largest canon, cast in 1726 and has only been fired once. It is about 20 ft long and is massive – it’s on wheels but I doubt it has ever been moved from that spot and it took 4 elephants to pull it up the mountainside.

The Fort itself is very impressive, with two temples and a large palace complex built over 200 years by different rulers that lived there. I thought the most interesting thing was the intricate system they devised for collecting and storing rainwater from the monsoons, so it would last them through the dry season. They had enough storage room in the massive underground caverns to serve 1000 men for two years – it was amazing to see the system they had put in place with these massive cement waterways leading to huge storage tanks beneath the fort. From there we headed to the Fort Palace of Amber, which is the palace below. Of course, the best way to get to the Fort from the village below is by elephant, so naturally we hopped on the nearest ride and rumbled our way to the top, enjoying a slight shower when our elephant sneezed midway. I’m not sure what exactly comes out of an elephant’s trunk when it sneezes, but I know there was a lot of it and there’s really no way to control it once it starts!

Amber Fort was built from 1589-1615 during the reign of Maharaja Man Singh I and is really a spectacular reminder of that era of grandeur. The main gate into the palace is a massive stunning fresco of colour and in several of the rooms of the fort, the walls and ceilings are embedded with thousands of exquisite tiny mirrors, coloured glass mosaics and marble carvings. It’s really hard to describe how amazing it is and how much detail there is in every single room – it’s fantastic. There was a “women’s quarters” in one end of the palace, which housed all the apartments of Man Singh’s 12 wives and concubines. Even more interesting though, behind the apartments was an intricate maze of secret tunnels leading to each of the wive’s rooms, so none of the wives would suspect which of them their husband was visiting. All I know is that with 12 wives and that huge palace of tunnels and mazes, Singh definitely was getting his exercise (oh, and did I mention, it’s about 50 C here in the summer and no air conditioning?) Sounds like fun to me (NOT)!

The fort and palace are excellent examples of the combination of Rajput and Mughal art and architecture, built of red sandstone with marble trimmings (Mughal style) but also housing bastions for self defence (Rajput)

We headed back to Jaipur around 4 pm and I wanted to get a little shopping in – real Indian shopping, not shopping like a tourist, so my Indian friends took me to the mecca of the Indian shopping streets so I could experience it. The good thing about shopping with real Indians is that the shopkeepers instantly know they can’t get away with inflating prices, although they still try. I bought some artwork and what I actually paid was less than half what they originally asked. My friend took one look at the number they had written down, crossed it out, subtracted 50% and then took another 300 rupees off for good measure and that was that! Definitely an appealing way to shop!

Jaipur - the Pink City

The Jaipur region of Rasjathan lies on the eastern edge of the Thar Desert and the dry mountainside is dotted with forts, palaces, pavilions and temples. The region was once ruled by Rajput kings and so has a rich history that is kept alive today through its amazing architecture and traditions and culture.

Jaipur is much bigger than Udaipur and has a much more cosmopolitan feel to it, although still not as developed as Bombay or Delhi. It is often referred to as the Pink City because most of the buildings that line the street are a pink clay or plaster so the entire city is sort of a pink hue.

Jaipur is a labyrinth of shops, palaces, dusty streets, temples and historic buildings. The city streets are crammed with life, with elephants and camels jockeying for space with motorbikes, cars, rickshaws and farmers carting their wares. It is a fascinating shopping destination, with tons of small shops lining the streets, particularly in the touristy areas, but also the domestic shopping areas – on the surface (like most of India), it appears totally chaotic, but amazingly everything co-exists in a peaceful (well, maybe not peaceful..) harmony.

Anyway, I arrived in Jaipur in the morning and met one of my colleagues and a colleague of his, who is from Bombay, which was awesome because traveling in India with two Indians is definitely the way to go! Speaking Hindi automatically gets you reduced prices, personal service and excellent food.

We started with a visit to one of the main squares in Jaipur – Badi Chaupar, which is right on the main street. It’s a hub of activity all times of the day and night, lined with colorful shops filled with food, jewellery and clothing. This is the hub for some of the most interesting sights in Jaipur, including the famous Hawa Mahal or “Palace of Winds”. This pink stucture was constructed in 1799 by Sawai Pratap Singh and it’s ornate façade has become somewhat of an icon for the city. It is about 5 stories tall but is only one room deep and the face is covered with windows and balconies filled with perforated screens, designed so the purdahed (veiled royalty) ladies of the harem could watch what was happening in the street below without being seen. We walked up to the top, where we had a great view of the activity in the streets below, plus the hilly countryside surrounding the city.

From there, we toured the adjoining City Palace, which is now a museum, but part of it is also the permanent resident of the maharaja and where he stays when he is in Jaipur. The palace is an interesting blend of both Rajput and Mughal architecture with open, airy style public spaces leading to private apartments where the kings resided. We had an excellent young guide who gave a great tour and explained the history of the building and the chronology of the royals who had lived there.

From there we crossed over to one of the five Indian observatories built by Sawai Jai Singh II. The one in Jaipur, called Jantar Mantar (technical instruments) is the best preserved in India and was built due to Jai Singh’s keen interest in astronomy. This outdoor observatory was built in 1728 and consists of 16 large sculpted instruments, including a 75ft high sundial that are used to forecast the time, the expected date of the arrival of the monsoons, how long the days & months are, and how to read astrological signs, etc. The instruments are all made from huge pieces of cement because Singh believed the larger the instrument the more accurate the results would be. It is an amazing collection and on a sunny day (like it is most days here), you can tell a dozen things from these pieces. If you’re a mathematician or scientist, this would definitely be right up your alley.

In and Around Udaipur

I decided to spend the day in Udaipur today, since I hadn’t seen anything in the city yet. The city is called the City of Lakes, and with good reason – there are 5 man-made lakes in and around Udaipur, which makes the city very scenic and interesting to explore. The main features of the city center around the Maharana (king) and his all his palaces. The first and most obvious is the City Palace, which is a huge structure in the middle of the city, on the edge of Lake Pichola. It’s massive and now is divided into three parts – one is still the current Marhana’s personal residence, one is a public muscum, and the third is a hotel. In historical times, this was where the king spent his winters. The second, the Lake Palace, appears to be floating in the middle of Lake Pichola, directly across from the City Palace. This palace is also known as the Summer Palace and is where the previous king used to spend the summers. It is now a luxury hotel afloat in the water (called the Lake Palace Hotel), so I took a quick tour out there – you can only access it by boat, but it really is quite nice and very exclusive. The last palace is perched high up a mountain overlooking the city and the other palaces – called Saganngargh Palace, or Monsoon Palace, and is where the Marharana spent the monsoon season. I visited all three palaces, but saved the Monsoon Palace for late in the day, just before sunset. There is a narrow winding road to the top and the palace itself is really in ruins, but it is the best view of the entire region and in the shimmering pink of the sunset, it was fantastic.

The highlight of the day was an invitation to dinner with my driver Kan and his family, who live in the working class area of Udaipur. He lives in a two room apartment, with his wife Bimla and two kids and their lifestyle really epitomize how the poor working class live in India, although by his village standards he has really come up in the world. To put it in perspective, his monthly income is about 3500 rupees, which is about $75 USD, for his family of four. His home consists of two small rooms, one is a bedroom and central sitting room for the family, with a bed as the main piece of furniture. The second room is a tiny kitchen with a small cookstove on the floor, hooked to a propane tank. I was greeted like royalty into their tiny home, which soon overflowed with all the neighbours from their street, who were all curious to visit the foreigner! It was amazing. The women go to the market every day to buy their food, because no one has a fridge, or even running water and the women squat on the floor to prepare and cook the meals. It was amazing though – people are people no matter how you slice it. I got there and amid a bit of translation, some broken Hindi (from me), a little English and lots of hand waving and sign language, we all communicated just fine. The women were anxious to play dress up with ME – and took turns pulling out all their best saris and Indian dresses and suiting me up. I tried on 4-5 gorgeous saris, complete with bangles, jewellery and even a bindi for my forehead! We had lots of laughs as I tried to maneuver my way around in the layers of clothing. I can’t believe the cook, clean and do everything in all those clothes – especially when it’s hot. I felt like I was suffocating with all those clothes on. However, it was loads of fun and they were all laughing at me trying to elegantly get in and out of all the garb! At the end of it all, as I untangled myself, Bimla insisted that I take one of her gorgeous blue and red satin saris, and wouldn't take no for an answer, so I am the proud new owner of a lovely real Indian sari!

We had an amazing meal, although it is a bit of a chaotic way to cook and eat. No one eats together – the meal is cooked and handed out as it is ready, and each person just takes their share and eats when their turn comes. Being the guest, I was first and I ate by myself, in the tiny kitchen, sitting on a mat with 4 other women and Bimla still at the cooker. We had a fantastic home-cooked meal though – fresh japatis (like a bread pancake), a spicy vegetable curry dish, rice and dal, and warm rice pudding for dessert, with chai. I was totally stuffed, and overwhelmed by their hospitality. All the women sat on the floor of the kitchen, drinking tea and taking turns eating dinner, while the kids and the neighbours wandered in and out, grabbing some food and sitting outside. It was amazing - and a real taste of how most Indians probably live.

All in all, it was a great way to finish my stay in Udaipur, and not at all the way I had expected to spend the weekend, but it was even better. Definitely a highlight!

Udaipur, Venice of the East

I arrived in Udaipur, supposedly the most romantic city in the state of Rajasthan. The city, about 500,000 people (so very small by Indian standards) lies around Lake Pichola and is nicknamed the Venice of the East. The city is an interesting mix of lovely hotels, marble palaces, lakeside gardens and temples and really is quite lovely, especially after the chaotic busy-ness of Mumbai. I arrived late so didn’t see too much, but the terrain is very mountainous, but also arid and desert-like, so very dry, and especially now, before the monsoons, it is particularly dry and barren looking. Rajasthan is considered the land of princes and palaces and is known for the colourful traditional dress of its local women, which is a dramatic contrast to the brown dry mountains of the countryside.

I hired a fantastic local driver to help me with some sightseeing today (Sat) because navigating the local country roads is definitely not something I wanted to do on such a short trip – not to mention, all the signage is in Hindi, which makes reading a map a bit challenging. My driver’s name was Kan, and he is a local Rajasthany, from a small village about 120 km away, so to him, Udaipur is the big city. He had an excellent knowledge of English, a good sense of humour and was very helpful in suggesting things to do and see. We headed out to see the Kumbhalgarh Fort, aboug 85 km away (but about a 2 hour drive) through very mountainous terrain. Along the way, we saw interesting glimpses of rural life. Remote mountain villages, with mud and plaster huts, trains of haughty camels and bejeweled women in billowing colored skirts carrying everything imaginable perched on their heads along the road. We didn’t have to get far out of Udaipur to really be in the country and there were dozens of small villages along the road where it was amazing to see the way people lived – no running water or electricity, tiny one room homes filled with 10 or more people, and such hard work to accomplish every simple task. Definitely makes you think twice about the ability to just flick on a light switch.

We zigged and zagged high up through the Aravalli mountain range on a narrow one-lane road to the foot of the ancient fort of Kumbhalgarh, also known as the Eye of Mewar. It finally appeared on the horizon, situated along the crest of a mountain ride and encircled by a series of seemingly invincible walls, battlements and ramparts stretching 36 km – apparently the second longest continuous wall in the world after the Great Wall of China. Then, high above the Fort, on the summit of the mountain, in solitary splendor – the imperial Badal Mahal – or Cloud Palace. I stopped to take a picture from the mountain before the Fort and it was stunning to see. There were steep mountains in all directions and the Fort itself seemed virtually inaccessible.
My driver stopped for a break and I climbed up the steep path to the palace. I realized as I got to the top (breathless) at 3600 ft, why it was called the Eye of Mewar. In centuries past, it had protected the rugged land from invaders from as far away as Delhi because you could see forever.

After leaving the Fort, we drove for another two hours, through the steep mountains, to an amazing Jain temple, called Ranakapur Temple. It takes a bit of an effort to get there, but it is well worth the trip. Jainism is sort of another form of Hindu-ism, except much more strict. The Jains are a passive and non-violent community of people who respect life in every form and practice rigid fasting and many strict forms of self-denial. You can’t wear or bring anything leather into the temple, for example, because of its connection to cattle.

This particular temple is the largest Jain temple in the world and is quite amazing. The entire temple is made entirely of white marble and every inch of it is ornately carved. There is so much detail in the carvings, that it’s impossible to describe without actually seeing it. There are detailed carvings of all the Jain gods and their stories, plus there are 1,444 ornately carved pillars and hundreds of small alters with the different Jain gods featured in each. While I was in the temple there was a Jain service happening, with incense burning and offerings and chanting and many Jain holy men (sadhu) in white saris. It was a very intriguing place to experience, but given that I know practically nothing about this religion, I left with a lot of questions about this unusual practice.

Nearby the temple there is a very small rural village where several of the local villagers specialize in hand weaving by loom. They have elaborate hand looms and their work is exquisite. We stopped to see the colourful carpets and talk to some of the weavers, who are all from the same family (and caste) and have done this for generations (of course I bought a rug (durry). After you see how much work it is to make one, you really can’t not buy something!

We drove back to Udaipur in the late afternoon as the sun was setting, stopping along the road at a little stall for some masala chai (which is the best tea I’ve ever had – it’s amazing and sweet with the taste of fresh ginger and a little sugar – yum!) It beats Starbucks, hands-down and a cup of steaming hot chai tea is about 10 rupees… (5 cents or so).

Welcome to Bollywood my friends!

Mumbai (or Bombay as it’s more commonly known) is home to 15 million people, all of whom are packed into 7 islands on the west coast of India. And when I say packed, that’s exactly what I mean. I arrived in Bombay, not exactly sure what to expect, but it was clear that it is worlds away from the order and organization of Singapore! The airport was an interesting experience, although I did get my luggage quite quickly, but let’s just say the overall standards for cleanliness and hygiene are not exactly the same as in the west. For some reason, no one seems to actually throw garbage into a bin, but rather wherever they feel like dumping it. I’ve never seen so much garbage on the floor of a public place – it was crazy…

Since I arrived for work, my contacts in Bombay had sent a car and driver to pick me up, which was a good thing, since sorting out a taxi would have definitely been interesting. We headed to South Bombay, which is clear across town, probably only about 20 km as the crow flies, but in Bombay traffic, it’s another story and navigating the traffic takes another skill set altogether. In addition to the assortment of goats, bulls, cows and people in the streets, there are taxis, cars, autorickshaws, motor scooters, bicycles and buses all fighting for the right of way. It’s a bit of a miracle that there aren’t more accidents, but everyone seems to be able to manage the system and come out unharmed. There is no rhyme or reason to the driving though and everyone just speeds ahead, swerving madly and honking frantically. To the visiting tourist, it seems insanely chaotic, but it doesn’t seem to phase the locals one bit, so you kind of just have to go with it and trust your driver. I did!

I didn’t have much time in Bombay as I was flying out to Udaipur, in Rajasthan later that evening, but I did manage to observe part of a wedding procession (apparently it is not unusual for these to have upwards of 2000+ people in the middle of the street), see the great stone gateway to India on the harbourfront, and tour the Queen’s Necklace, the long stretch of beachfront that runs the length of the Bombay harbour (so named b/c at night the lights twinkle in a big semi-circle resembling the Queen’s Jewels – I guess a little left over sentiment from the days of the monarchy.

Singapore - the shopping mecca

When it comes to cleanliness, friendliness, fabulous food and quality of shopping, Singapore is the clear winner. Arriving in the city, the first thing you notice is how immaculately clean the entire city is – not a scrap of garbage, no overflowing bins or strange odors from back alleys; everything is packaged, painted, polished, policed and pristinely perfect. There is a strict order of conduct for everything in Singapore, from a ban on chewing gum (which is actually enforced), to fines for every possible infraction. However, all of these rules and regulations add up to a city which is a true pleasure to visit, although at times, it does feel like one huge outdoor shopping center. I’ve truly never seen so many towering shopping centers in such a concentrated area or so many dedicated shoppers. I think that is the national pastime and primary hobby of most Singaporians. When I asked the concierge what else there was to see of Singapore, from a strictly tourist perspective, he mentioned key landmarks by their proximity to the nearest shopping center!

I did manage to find a few other interesting things to do in Singapore, besides work (which was really my primary purpose for being there) and shop. I arrived on the last day of the Chinese New Year holiday so everything was open, but it officially still a holiday so I did have a day to explore a bit.

I did the hop-on bus trip, which gives a good general tour of the city and allows you to get on and off at your convenience and is a great way to see a lot in a little time. Singapore has some interesting ethnic areas in the city, that are definitely worth seeing and really offer a glimpse into a totally different culture. I stopped first in Little India, which was a bit of a preview of what my visit to India might be like I think. The environment changed drastically – the style of buildings was distinctly Indian, the smell of spices fills the air and the narrow streets are crammed with shopkeepers selling everything from saris to CDs – it’s totally different than the organization of the rest of Singapore. The same holds true for Chinatown, where things were just returning to normal after the celebrations of the Chinese New Year, which just ended at the beginning of Feb. The streets are jammed with tons of shops, mostly selling touristy crap and a lot of Year of the Dog good luck stuff. There is a big night market with stalls selling every sort of food imaginable, most of it not looking particularly appealing when it’s 30 degrees (85) and humid out. However, it was interesting to at least see a different side of Singapore.

I also visited the famous Raffles Hotel, which is an lovely old colonial hotel downtown that looks like it belongs in a movie set. It’s massive and totally white, with marble staircases everywhere and open balconies and walkways throughout and although it looks a bit shabby chic now, sort of in need of a facelift, you can tell it was once THE place to be seen. It seemed a combination of Casablanca and Out of Africa to me..

I walked along the Esplanade next to the river and crossed over to see the famous Merlion, a historical symbol of Singpore – a tall half-mermaid, half-lion that towers over the harbour, with a fountain of water spewing from it’s mouth. Across the street on the bank of the river, interestingly enough, is the Fullerton Hotel, another massive old hotel that is obviously a luxury hotel now – it’s a funky combination of modern zen and traditional colonial, but very impressive (as is the name!)

My final stop, although it was a very short one, was to Singapore’s gorgeous Botannical Garden. I didn’t have much time there, but it was pretty apparent that this wasn’t exactly your average garden – there is an extensive specialty garden of orchids and the park is lush and tropical. It would have been nice to have been able to wander through the gardens, but I ran out of time… Guess I’ll have to save that for the next trip!