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Around the world travel, Backpacking, Bucket List, India, Jaipur, Travel

Jaipurrrrr…

August 8, 2009

 

Oh sweet Jaipur! I feel like I can breathe a little sigh of relief. Don’t get me wrong, I will always have a special place in my heart for Varanasi, but Jaipur is a little bit more like what I expected India to be like, and therefore, what I was prepared for. Delhi and Varanasi caused a little bit of culture shock!

For lack of a better word, Jaipur is a bit more civilized, but that probably has to do with the fact that it is the first planned city of India. There’s a sense of order and organization to the city layout, which makes it a bit easier to get your bearings and navigate.

We are staying at the Umaid Mahal, which is recommended by Lonely Planet (they rarely ever lead you astray). Since I’m traveling with my dad this week, I was given three prerequisites for the hotels I booked: make sure they are clean, make sure they have hot water, and since it’s over 100 degrees everyday, make sure they have air conditioning. I also wanted to make sure they were authentic and have a sense of character. This one in particular is a gem.

About 150 years ago, Umaid Mahal served as a hunting lodge. Today it is beautifully decorated with hand-painted murals throughout, gold guilded doorways, and frangipani flowers. The staff is also extremely helpful and recommend an evening visit to Monkey Temple for the sunset. So we jump in a taxi and head to the outskirts of town for a short trek to the temple.

 

During the 30-minute hike up, we dodge cows, goats, tauts and beggars, oh and of course the monkeys. They are so adjusted to people being around, that they will (if close enough) steal the food right out of your hands. When we arrive at the hilltop temple, we actually watch a monkey steal someone’s shoe and throw it off the ledge to a field below!

We now know why the name “Monkey Temple” has replaced the structures original name, Sun Temple. We circle the temple and end up at the back of the hill, looking out at sprawling Jaipur below us. We leave a donation and retrieve our shoes, which are thankfully still in the same spot we left them. As we exit the temple, we watch the local kids as they try to pelt the persistent monkeys with rocks. Quite humorous!

We return to Umaid Mahal, and head upstairs for an authentic Rajasthani meal on the hotel’s charming rooftop terrace. Chicken thali, chicken tika, garlic naan, and cold Kingfisher beers. The bill for two is around $10. This is a backpacker’s dream come true!

 

Around the world travel, Backpacking, Ganges, India, long term travel, Travel, Uncategorized, Varanasi

Varanasi – Part Two

August 6, 2009
Seeing the Ganges and ghats with Delip.

I wake up at 5am to take a boat ride down the Ganges at sunrise. This is the time when the people of Varanasi rise to say their morning prayers and bathe in the river. I walk out of the hotel, and less than 30 seconds later I have organized a 1 ½ hour boat ride for 200 rupees (about $4). Delip is my boatsman. He is 16 and a native of Varanasi. I immediately recognize his bracelet from the brother/sister festival, so we begin talking about our families. It turns out that Leslie from Alka Hotel is Delip’s Uncle.

He asks where I am from, and he tells me about his friends from California, who he one day hopes to visit. To this day, he’s never left Varanasi. I don’t think many people do, given their beliefs on how sacred this place is.

Delip takes me down the river to a small burning ghat where a few cremations are taking place. We then go up-river to the main burning ghat, Manikarnika. Up to 300 cremations can take place in just one day. Three 3-story buildings surround this ghat, and they serve as hospices for Manikarnika.

Manikarnika

We pull right up to the steps, and a worker from the ghat steps into our boat. He tells me about the rituals that take place before and during a cremation. Once a person passes, it’s customary that the men of the family take the body down to the Ganges, for what they call the “last bath.” The body is then registered at the police station, which sits next to the hospices. The body is then wrapped and placed inside a temple, where the family circles the body 5 times- once for each element- earth, water, wind, fire and ether (spirit). The wood for the funeral is selected. Huge piles of wood are stacked on the ghats, and each type of wood comes at a different price, sandalwood being one of the most expensive. The body is now taken down to the ghat and placed on a funeral pyre, and a flame is brought down from the main fire, and the cremation begins.

If a father has died, then the eldest son shaves his whole head, including facial hair. No matter who dies in the family, only the men attend the cremation, the women stay home to tend to the rest of the family. What is most interesting is that all of these steps are carried out solely by the family, from the last bath to the placing of the body on the ghat. I am told this not a sad time, and it’s neither odd nor sad to watch. It is simply a part of life, and they have, in a way, achieved what most Indian Hindus would want by dying in this holy city.

After the boat ride, Delip offers to meet me later in the morning to take me to the silk factories. We arrange to meet at 10. We meet down by the river and walk along the ghats that we had rode past earlier in the day. We then turn onto a main street, weave through a couple of alleyways and end up at Veg Silk shop, where I watch pashminas, blankets and saris being created by hand. What an art!

I spend the afternoon trying to find some respite from the heat, but venture out for dinner locally just after sunset, after the temperature dips.

I had read about Ganga Fuji restaurant in both Lonely Planet and in the Spice Jet magazine on my flight to Varanasi, so I decide to check it out, especially considering there is live music every evening. I dine on Chicken Tikka, Naan and a spinach dish, while listening to the sitar music.

Since dinner is so good, I go back to Ganga Fuji for breakfast the following morning. Here, I have my first real chai tea – sooooo good! I get to talking to the owner about his restaurant and ayurvedic massage business, and then I tell him how I learned about his restaurant. He is so excited to hear about his mention in the Spice Jet magazine, that I am left no choice but to run back to the hotel and get the copy of the magazine for him to see. When I return, he asks me to read him the blurb on the restaurant, which was featured in an article on what to do with 48 hours in Varanasi. I think this man is going to cry! I leave the magazine article with him, and he shows me where he will display it in his lobby.

My time in Varanasi has come to an end. I am off to Rajasthan next, but not without a newfound appreciation for Hinduism and a slight obsession with masala chai…

Around the world travel, Backpacking, Ganges, India, long term travel, Travel, Travel Wishlist, Uncategorized, Varanasi

Varanasi

August 5, 2009

 

I make it safely to Varanasi, as do my bags, and I spot my name outside the terminal for my hotel pickup (which is always a good feeling). I share a bus to Alka hotel with a couple of other tourists. The airport is only 13km from the city center, but the journey takes about an hour, due to congestion and road conditions.I find myself sucking in when we’re about to clip a pedestrian or side-swipe another vehicle. For some reason, drivers don’t like to pick one lane, and prefer to drive in the middle of the road. It seems the rule is the bigger vehicle gets right of way, and mopeds just bob and weave in between.

As we get closer to what feels like the city center, I begin looking for the hotel. Well, I begin looking for something somewhat clean, or new, but who am I kidding- this is Varanasi, which Mark Twain describes as “older than history, older than tradition, older than even legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together.” I don’t think anyone can sum up this city better.

A few minutes later, our driver pulls over, and three men meet us to carry our bags. We are told to follow. We enter a narrow alleyway, pass some cows, goats, and dogs, go down some steps and around a corner and arrive at Alka. We are away from the blaring horns of the rickshaw and perched above the great River Ganges.

It is HOT! I am thankful for booking a room with AC even though it doesn’t appear to be working. A man, who introduces himself as “second in command” comes up to take a look at the wall unit. He explains that the one generator they have for the hotel is off right now, but he assures me it will be back on within an hour. I really want to believe him! He asks me my name on the way back downstairs to the lobby, and when I tell him, he seems surprised. He tells me we will  get along so well because our names are so similar. Well, he has my attention. “What Hindi name sounds like Eleanor?” I think to myself.  So I ask him his name and he replies, “Leslie.” I chuckle to myself. I like this man already.

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The ghats of Varanasi, leading down to the Ganges.

A little history on Varanasi- It is one of the oldest cities in India, and the most spiritual. Considered to be the birthplace of Hinduism, this is where all Hindus hope to be when they die. Only then can they break the cycle of birth and re-birth, known as moksha. It’s also a place where many come to cremate the deceased. The cremations take place on the ghats, which are steps leading down to the river, and apparently, one family in Varanasi is in charge of all cremations.

The Ganges River, like most rivers in India, serves many purposes. It’s a place for prayer, bathing, laundry, yoga, cremating the dead, and fishing. It’s a mode of transportation, but also unfortunately, a main sewage system. According to Lonely Planet, water samples from the river contain over 5 million faecal coliform bacteria per 4 ounces. Safe bathing water should contain less than 500. That’s India for you. Surprisingly, the river doesn’t smell!

Around the world travel, Backpacking, Bucket List, Delhi, Festival, India, Travel, Uncategorized

Festival

August 5, 2009

It’s great how casual conversations can lead to insights into a country’s culture and peoples’ practices. I am making my way to Delhi’s airport this morning for my flight to Varanasi and chatting to my driver about my trip to India. The traffic is horrendous, but my driver assures me we have plenty of time. He informs me the extra traffic is due to the festival.

It seems like there’s a different festival every week in India- one to welcome the monsoon, one for wives to honor husbands, etc., but as he explained this one to me, I thought it was quite special. It is a festival for brothers and sisters. It is a time when sisters pray their brothers will love long, happy and healthy lives. As part of the tradition, the sister presents her brother with a bracelet. The brother then gives his sister a gift.

All the ladies are decked out in their best saris, and propped on the back of mopeds (side straddle of course) en route to visit their brothers and the rest of their families. I think of my brother back in Atlanta, and a smile crosses my face as I think about this tradition and our relationship and friendship. I take note of the red and gold string bracelets, and it leads to many good conversations with the people wearing them that day and in the days following.