Reflections-from Delhi to Bundi

India…I have been told it changes a person and I would have to agree.  I’m still struggling to find the words to describe my visit so far.  I must admit the culture shock I experienced when I arrived in Delhi did surprise me. 

The noise, people, animals, and smells just assault the senses and there is no way to escape…at least not with the money that I have.  The only place that even comes close to what I’m witnessing in India is Cambodia, but there the people and the animals were not as abundant. 

I have to admit Delhi would not make my list of favorite cities.  It had it charms and unique architecture, plus Old Delhi is an adventure within itself.  That said there was just too much of everything to make the experience as I would like it.  Just once I would have liked to have walked more than ten steps without a “Would you like a ride?”, “What’s your name?” or the overt stares as if I’m in nothing more than my underwear.  Thank God I brought clothes to cover me from head to toe.

Once outside of the chaos of Delhi, I began to see a country I could enjoy.  In Agra, though the touts were out in abundance, they were much nicer and did seem to walk away after the first five “No thank you”. Then of course there was the Taj Mahal, again there are no words to describe…but in a good way.

The symmetry of the marble structure was breathtaking, then to see the morning light played across the white surface was more than I could have dreamed. It truly is worth the trip, I only wish that I wasn’t experiencing its grandeur with about 1,000 other tourist and the endless locals that wanted to “be my guide”.  That atmosphere does tarnish the experience some, but I would do it again in a heartbeat.

While in Agra we also took in the Agra Fort, which was phenomenal!  The red sandstone structure with marble rooms and detail work..just amazing.  We spent a couple of hours just wondering around the fort enjoying the afternoon.

The next day it was off to Ranthambhore National Park.  We had a 12:30 train with the plan to arrive in the afternoon and enjoy a relaxing day. That wasn’t to happen…read Andrew’s Brown, Bourbon and Bananas for the entertaining details, but in short we spent a wonderful fun filled day at the Agra train station (for those who can’t read the sarcasm it is dripping right now).

It was a little slice of Indian life that day, and I quickly discovered that as the only white blond in the station I became the person of interest.  It wasn’t just a glance here and there, I actually had men just stand right in front of me and stare for like five minutes at a go, it was a little creepy but it made Andrew laugh.  He decided if we could only figure out how to charge for the staring and questions we could pay for the whole trip.

Finally, our train came and we arrived at our hotel…the Ranthambhore Regency at about midnight..well we thought it was our hotel. Turned out that we had arranged accommodations at another place down the road but the Regency had a room and we decided to stay.  It was slightly nicer…an actual resort…than we had planned, but at this point we were in need of a little luxury. The colonial era bus boys carried our bags to the room and brought us fresh fruit and cokes.  We quickly broke out the bourbon I had brought from home and toasted to finally arriving at a place to relax.

Over the next four days we took in three safaris and a visit to the Ranthambhore Fort. Many monkeys, deer, and other assorted creatures crossed our paths, but fate was working against us on the tigers.  As I had noted the closest we came were the paw prints and poo.  Next time!

Yesterday we set off on the crazy leg of our journey into western Rajasthan.  After a frustrating afternoon trying to arrange train tickets and buses to Bundi we decided to splurge for a car. It was an adventure as our first car broke down 30 minutes into the drive. Thank goodness our driver’s cell phone was working, so a new car and driver arrived soon.  On the trip to Bundi went from nice two lane roads, to dirt streets with pot holes almost as big as our car, and everything in between.

It was worth the trip though as Bundi’s old city turns out to be a wonderful. It has a fabulous decaying old palace that sits upon the side of a hill that looks like something out of a fairytale. We explored the remains most of the morning and plan to just sit out on the patio at the hotel and watch the sun set on this mystical structure. 

The other wonderful side of Bundi is that it is quiet and we have found the most amazing little home restaurant where we have eaten almost every meal.  There is a set menu, but the mother fixes everything from scratch when you order and you are entertained by the two daughters (I would guess around 9 and 12) that speak fluent English. 

As we realized long ago, Andrew and I travel well together because of our mutual love of photography and food.  The sites have given us the chance to capture some amazing photos (which I promise to upload on the return home) and some of the best food of my life.

Oh my goodness…there will be no weight loss on this trip.  I have fallen in love with the Masala Chai at every meal..then there is the nans, paneer, and all the wonderful veg dishes. 

I might try to go into more detail on future cities, but I wanted to catch everyone up on my experience thus far.  As with any journey this has had its ups and downs, but I can say that (excluding touts and salespeople) the people have been lovely, the countryside is amazing, and the food is fabulous!

Posted on January 28, 2009 at 4:42 AM

Comments

 

I tried to tell you about the smells, food, cows, but one has to experience the driving because it’s indescribable!!  I finally decided sitting behind the driver might not be the best idea.  They seem to like to tempt fate or they have a martyr wish.  Either way, the back of the bus must be safer!!

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