So, I have been back in Fl for about 20 hours now. Last night I wore a traditional Indian outfit and as I passed out at 7:30pm (I was proud of myself for making it that late!!)
People asked me the same questions when I got back, so I will answer them:
What was your favorite thing to see there:
I cant pick one but top three were the Taj Mahal, Huymaun's Tomb and The Rambagh Palace.
Did you get sick:
Yes.
How was the food:
Incredible!
What are some souvenirs you brought back:
Bollywood DVDs and CDs, Clothes, scarves, textiles, tea, but most importantly a lot of Ganesha Stuff.
Will you go back:
Hopefully, yes!
Overall I had an incredible trip (I was telling Avantika that it was a top 3 vacation, pushing number one). If anyone is going to India, email me, we can talk further about where you need to go and what you have to see.
Also, I have posted my pictures (they had to be broken up into two albums), and they can be found here:
http://gallery.me.com/bryanmeisel#100200
http://gallery.me.com/bryanmeisel#100207
*Photos are property of Bryan Meisel. No use with out permission.*
Namaste.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
The LONG journey home
Checking in to and boarding a flight at the CSI airport in Mumbai is about as pleasant as being groped on a crowded subway. After being hassled by continental for an hour (After all I was flying in cattle class... no wait, they treat cows nicer than coach in India) I had to go thru 2 different security check points. Although, the one highlight was seeing a group of about 50 Muslims praying for Ramadan in front of the next gate (it was a Saudi Airlines flight to Jeddah).
The 15 hour flight from Mumbai to Newark was bearable. While the seat was very uncomfortable, I was able to sleep for a bit and watch 3 Bollywood movies. After clearing customs in EWR, I rechecked and boarded my flight to Fort Laurderdale. It took 24 hours door to door, but I am happy to be home now.
My trip to India was incredible! I learned so much about a culture that I never really had much exposure to. My friend and her kind family really gave me an insight to India that no regular tourist could ever get. I saw so much in only two weeks! When I am not so jet lagged (Tomorrow morning) I will post my final thoughts.
B
The 15 hour flight from Mumbai to Newark was bearable. While the seat was very uncomfortable, I was able to sleep for a bit and watch 3 Bollywood movies. After clearing customs in EWR, I rechecked and boarded my flight to Fort Laurderdale. It took 24 hours door to door, but I am happy to be home now.
My trip to India was incredible! I learned so much about a culture that I never really had much exposure to. My friend and her kind family really gave me an insight to India that no regular tourist could ever get. I saw so much in only two weeks! When I am not so jet lagged (Tomorrow morning) I will post my final thoughts.
B
The last 24 hours.
After taking a rest, I went shopping at FabIndia, this is the place for traditional Indian clothes. There are a bunch all over the country, but the best one is in South Bombay. After dropping about Rs5000, I went to meet more of my friend's family and then we all went to the tratoria restaurant in the Taj President together. I was so happy having some whole wheat pasta.
On my last morning here, we woke up late, checked out of the NSCI club and went to the Phoenix Mills Mall. This is a very upscale mall in South/Central Bombay. We went shopping, and I met a friend for lunch and we all went to Bandra together. Bandra is a neighborhood in North Bombay with lots of cool bars, coffee shops and stores. (It is easily reached by the Sea-Link, a bridge that bypasses Bombay traffic and has incredible views of the Mumbai skyline.)
After this, I went and said goodbye to my friends parents and I was off to the airport to catch my flight.
On my last morning here, we woke up late, checked out of the NSCI club and went to the Phoenix Mills Mall. This is a very upscale mall in South/Central Bombay. We went shopping, and I met a friend for lunch and we all went to Bandra together. Bandra is a neighborhood in North Bombay with lots of cool bars, coffee shops and stores. (It is easily reached by the Sea-Link, a bridge that bypasses Bombay traffic and has incredible views of the Mumbai skyline.)
After this, I went and said goodbye to my friends parents and I was off to the airport to catch my flight.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Wrapping things up
Hi everyone,
Today is my last full day in India, and of course, this makes me very sad because I have had an incredible time here.
Yesterday, Avantika and I woke up early to catch a bus to Pune (Pronounced: Poona). The journey up, which very scenic was rough. A few things about Indian buses: They are cheap (a three hour journey cost Rs250=$5). Even on the most luxury buses, the seats are worn down, will recline into the lap of the person behind you and don't have toilets. It was an uncomfortable trip to say the least, but once we arrived in Pune, we were greeted by Avantika's grandmother who took us back to her house for a traditional Indian meal. This is when I learned that no matter what country you live in, grandmothers will make sure that you have eaten enough to feed a small army.
While we did not tour Pune, as there is not much to see in the city proper, I had a very interesting conversation with Avantika's grandmother and I learned some really interesting things about India:
1. The Indian gov't will not permit parents to know the gender of their child as the majority of parents here will abort the fetus if it is a girl. Furthermore, when girl's are born many indian's will mourn and will be very upset. Except for the few who are educated, the family will blame this on the mother. Also, spinning sperm to determine the gender of your child is illegal here.
2. There is currently an Indian tribe that resides close to the Nepalese border that has a ceremony where they will take all newly born girls and boil them in calves milk. Because the women all either died off or were boiled, they import women from Nepal to have their children and sell the mother's of their children when their services are done.
3. To get to Leh (Northern India where the bad flooding is currently happening), one must take a 16 hour bus.
4. There is an incredibly large Indian community in Muscat, Oman. Many Indians travel freely between Muscat and India. The local people from Oman often learn Hindi and come to India to get educated. A lot of the students in India come from the Middle East, countries like Afghanistan and Iran.
The drive back down to Bombay from Pune last night was also very scenic, but kind of long as Bombay traffic is insane. Last night I went to be early at the NSCI club.
Today we woke up and had breakfast in the room as Avantika was preparing to go to the RTO (RTO:India::DMV:America) to get her driver's license. I was throughly amused by the people sitting outside the RTO in straw huts selling car insurance. Afterall, who wouldn't purchase car insurance from a man in a hut? After this I went to a store called Shurjan. This store sells beautiful handmade crafts from a small town outside of Bombay that had lost all of its industry a few years ago due to a poor economy. Now, They have revived that and sell those items this store. I bought a few nice things and most importantly, I am supporting these artisans with my purchase. This store was not at all a tourist trap as most of the people who shop there are Mumbaikars (a person from Mumbai/Bombay).
Afterwards, I took some time to pop in and out of stores here and look around. I bought a few things and we went to their club for lunch. I am now resting in their apartment as I am tired and my stomach is still fairly upset.
Anyway, I have about 24 hours left in India so I will try to make the most of it!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Back in b'bay
Hi everyone,
Today after being woken up at 5am, Avantika and I checked out of the hotel and flew back to Bombay. Allow me to clarify a few things about domestic flights in India. You can show up about 20 minutes before your flight. We showed up 90 minutes before departure time and we weren't even able to check in yet. (The old Jaipur airport is a single gate and has 5 flights a day.) After checking in, we had to wait another 20 minutes before the security opened. Needless to say, the security wasn't up to American standards. Things in India just kinda happen. It isn't always simple or on time, but they happen. Like our luggage came out 30 minutes late and mixed in with a different flight. Didn't make sense, late, but hey, it happened.
On arrival here in Bombay, my friends mom met us and we came back to her apartment. After this, we went to their club for lunch and to meet the Aunts. Indian families are very large and very close. After this we took a nap and went to North Bombay to meet a friend of my friend at a cafe that specialized in brownies. I ordered a cookie brownie and a cappucinno, This was a weight watchers fail. North Bombay is different from South Bombay as it is more middle class and more residential. Most of the slums can be found in North Bombay. (The best view of the slums is flying in to the airport). They are basically massively large shanty towns.
Anyway, after this we went to say goodbye to Avantika's friend who is off to Europe for school. Tonight I am staying with my friend and we are going to Poona (Pune) tomorrow for the day to visit her grandmother and to see the museums there. Considering I have seen most of Bombay, the rest of my time here will be spent seeing people and doing some last minute souvenir shopping.
Today after being woken up at 5am, Avantika and I checked out of the hotel and flew back to Bombay. Allow me to clarify a few things about domestic flights in India. You can show up about 20 minutes before your flight. We showed up 90 minutes before departure time and we weren't even able to check in yet. (The old Jaipur airport is a single gate and has 5 flights a day.) After checking in, we had to wait another 20 minutes before the security opened. Needless to say, the security wasn't up to American standards. Things in India just kinda happen. It isn't always simple or on time, but they happen. Like our luggage came out 30 minutes late and mixed in with a different flight. Didn't make sense, late, but hey, it happened.
On arrival here in Bombay, my friends mom met us and we came back to her apartment. After this, we went to their club for lunch and to meet the Aunts. Indian families are very large and very close. After this we took a nap and went to North Bombay to meet a friend of my friend at a cafe that specialized in brownies. I ordered a cookie brownie and a cappucinno, This was a weight watchers fail. North Bombay is different from South Bombay as it is more middle class and more residential. Most of the slums can be found in North Bombay. (The best view of the slums is flying in to the airport). They are basically massively large shanty towns.
Anyway, after this we went to say goodbye to Avantika's friend who is off to Europe for school. Tonight I am staying with my friend and we are going to Poona (Pune) tomorrow for the day to visit her grandmother and to see the museums there. Considering I have seen most of Bombay, the rest of my time here will be spent seeing people and doing some last minute souvenir shopping.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
The Pink City
Hi,
Today was quite a busy day. I woke up early this morning to do a yoga class at the spa on the pool deck. It was great as the class was only 5 people. Most of the poses and meditations I was not familiar with. After doing 12 sun salutes (each 2 minutes) and a lot of chanting in Hindi, we made some very simple poses and meditated for 25 minutes focusing on proper breathing.
After a very delicious and lavish breakfast, we went out to the grand rotunda to meet our driver and our tour guide for the day. Our tour guide first took us to the central museum. The museum was beautiful as it was a converted palace. (It seems that everything in Jaipur is a converted palace.) It contained many interesting artifacts such as 50 statues in yoga poses, an egyptian mummy (Gifted to the royal family of Jaipur by the Prince of Wales), and the maharaja's collection of hookahs.
After that we went to the city palace. This was inside the old walls of Jaipur, which is the part of the city that is truly the pink city. Everything inside the city walls is painted in a dull pink, except for the buildings and entrances for the royal family. The City Palace is very large and we were able to learn the history of the royal family and see all of their artifacts, including the pajamas for one of the kings who weighted 500lbs. (I think they could fit on my car.) We were only able to see the outside gardens of the palace and some of the inside as much of it is still in use.
After this we went to see two cremation sites for the royal family. These were cool as they were off the beaten track and no one really visited these. The guide was surprised that my friend knew about them. We saw where the members of the royal family was cremated (as per Hindu tradition). The places where their ashes were buried were surprisingly modest, yet very pretty.
Then, we went for a restaurant that serves traditional Indian meals, but instead I got chow mein and a diet coke. (Not very adventurous, but I have had more naan and paneer than I can count!)
After this we went to Nahrgarh, which is a fort in the mountains of Rajasthan. It started as the Maharaja's hunting lodge, and was later expanded in to a palace, fort and complex with an amphitheater. The views of Jaipur (a large city of 3.5 mil) were incredible! The palace was not upkept like a museum and anyone could walk in. It was abandoned in the last 100 years so there are still intact doors, bookshelves, etc. If someone gave it a new paint job, it would easily be restored to its former glory.
On the way down, we pulled over to get a perfect view of the Palace in the water. This was another hunting lodge built two hundred years ago. They would shoot birds from the palace on the water. It is incredible to see this Mughal architecture coming up from the middle of the water.
Our last stop on the way to the hotel was the Birla Temple. This is a beautiful marble temple erected to honor on Lord Vishnu.
After returning to the hotel we said goodbye to our driver and tour guide and I went for a swim in the pool. The pool here is indoors and very similar to the one at Hearst Castle. After I was able to use the facilities at the spa, so I took a steam and a sauna before heading back and preparing for dinner. Our dinner was comped, so we enjoyed a free three course dinner with a bottle of wine. Afterwards, we went to the polo club to see the historical decor of the bar.
We are going to bed early tonight as we are being woken up at 5am for a 7:30am flight back to Bombay. I absolutely loved Jaipur, but of course, the highlight was the hotel. Only a few more days in India before heading back to the US :(
Today was quite a busy day. I woke up early this morning to do a yoga class at the spa on the pool deck. It was great as the class was only 5 people. Most of the poses and meditations I was not familiar with. After doing 12 sun salutes (each 2 minutes) and a lot of chanting in Hindi, we made some very simple poses and meditated for 25 minutes focusing on proper breathing.
After a very delicious and lavish breakfast, we went out to the grand rotunda to meet our driver and our tour guide for the day. Our tour guide first took us to the central museum. The museum was beautiful as it was a converted palace. (It seems that everything in Jaipur is a converted palace.) It contained many interesting artifacts such as 50 statues in yoga poses, an egyptian mummy (Gifted to the royal family of Jaipur by the Prince of Wales), and the maharaja's collection of hookahs.
After that we went to the city palace. This was inside the old walls of Jaipur, which is the part of the city that is truly the pink city. Everything inside the city walls is painted in a dull pink, except for the buildings and entrances for the royal family. The City Palace is very large and we were able to learn the history of the royal family and see all of their artifacts, including the pajamas for one of the kings who weighted 500lbs. (I think they could fit on my car.) We were only able to see the outside gardens of the palace and some of the inside as much of it is still in use.
After this we went to see two cremation sites for the royal family. These were cool as they were off the beaten track and no one really visited these. The guide was surprised that my friend knew about them. We saw where the members of the royal family was cremated (as per Hindu tradition). The places where their ashes were buried were surprisingly modest, yet very pretty.
Then, we went for a restaurant that serves traditional Indian meals, but instead I got chow mein and a diet coke. (Not very adventurous, but I have had more naan and paneer than I can count!)
After this we went to Nahrgarh, which is a fort in the mountains of Rajasthan. It started as the Maharaja's hunting lodge, and was later expanded in to a palace, fort and complex with an amphitheater. The views of Jaipur (a large city of 3.5 mil) were incredible! The palace was not upkept like a museum and anyone could walk in. It was abandoned in the last 100 years so there are still intact doors, bookshelves, etc. If someone gave it a new paint job, it would easily be restored to its former glory.
On the way down, we pulled over to get a perfect view of the Palace in the water. This was another hunting lodge built two hundred years ago. They would shoot birds from the palace on the water. It is incredible to see this Mughal architecture coming up from the middle of the water.
Our last stop on the way to the hotel was the Birla Temple. This is a beautiful marble temple erected to honor on Lord Vishnu.
After returning to the hotel we said goodbye to our driver and tour guide and I went for a swim in the pool. The pool here is indoors and very similar to the one at Hearst Castle. After I was able to use the facilities at the spa, so I took a steam and a sauna before heading back and preparing for dinner. Our dinner was comped, so we enjoyed a free three course dinner with a bottle of wine. Afterwards, we went to the polo club to see the historical decor of the bar.
We are going to bed early tonight as we are being woken up at 5am for a 7:30am flight back to Bombay. I absolutely loved Jaipur, but of course, the highlight was the hotel. Only a few more days in India before heading back to the US :(
Monday, August 16, 2010
I am a Prince in a Palace.
Hi, all
Today was quite the day. We woke up and after a quick dosa for breakfast, headed out for Jaipur. We made two stops on the way.
The first was Fatehpur Siki. This is a town that has built around one of Akabar's palaces. This palace is beautiful as it was built using various eastern architectural styles. The highlight of Fatehpur Siki is the tomb in the middle where you can make three wishes. This is the tomb of Salim Christi, where people travel from all over the world come to lay a cloth on his tomb, toss flowers on the cloth and then tie a string on the side of the tomb with three knots, representing three wishes. One for yourself, one for your family and one for your best friend. Many swear this to be true and take it very seriously.
On the way, we also stopped at Akbar's summer home which looks alot like a scene from an Indiana Jones movie. This home is not maintained by the government and alot of homeless people have moved in. After all, If I didn't have a roof over my head, I would move into a palace too. Our driver said that he knew about it because he has done film shoots there before. (Our driver works in film production and has worked for the crew's of Slumdog and Eat, Pray, Love. )
Next was not just the highlight of my day, but possibly the highlight of my life. We checked in at the Rambagh Palace in Jaipur. This used to be the palace of the price of Rajasthan until the 60's when it was converted to a hotel. When we pulled up to the gate, we were asked if we would like to move over to a vintage coach, so as to have a proper entrance. We declined as moving all of our things seemed excessive. When we arrived we were escorted under a royal umbrella to check in where we were given a formal welcome with real handmade flower leis and sandelwood put on our foreheads. We were shown to our room, or rather our suite. We were upgraded to the Historical suite, which was one of the rooms that the Maharaja stayed in, and it has been restored to its prior glory. The room is beautiful and very intricate with decorations. They spared no detail making this room perfect. After reveling in the glory of the room, we explored the palace and ended up having a pre-dinner champagne on the lawn of what used to be the prince's polo field.
For dinner we went to this very strange Rajasthani village that was almost like Disney world. After paying an entrance fee, we ate a grand dinner of north indian food. The platter was a sampler, so we got to try everything. After we explored the village and saw traditional dancers and I had my palm read. This place was very strange, almost like the casa bonita of India.
Tomorrow is our last full day on the road, so we will make the best of it and enjoy our palace!
Today was quite the day. We woke up and after a quick dosa for breakfast, headed out for Jaipur. We made two stops on the way.
The first was Fatehpur Siki. This is a town that has built around one of Akabar's palaces. This palace is beautiful as it was built using various eastern architectural styles. The highlight of Fatehpur Siki is the tomb in the middle where you can make three wishes. This is the tomb of Salim Christi, where people travel from all over the world come to lay a cloth on his tomb, toss flowers on the cloth and then tie a string on the side of the tomb with three knots, representing three wishes. One for yourself, one for your family and one for your best friend. Many swear this to be true and take it very seriously.
On the way, we also stopped at Akbar's summer home which looks alot like a scene from an Indiana Jones movie. This home is not maintained by the government and alot of homeless people have moved in. After all, If I didn't have a roof over my head, I would move into a palace too. Our driver said that he knew about it because he has done film shoots there before. (Our driver works in film production and has worked for the crew's of Slumdog and Eat, Pray, Love. )
Next was not just the highlight of my day, but possibly the highlight of my life. We checked in at the Rambagh Palace in Jaipur. This used to be the palace of the price of Rajasthan until the 60's when it was converted to a hotel. When we pulled up to the gate, we were asked if we would like to move over to a vintage coach, so as to have a proper entrance. We declined as moving all of our things seemed excessive. When we arrived we were escorted under a royal umbrella to check in where we were given a formal welcome with real handmade flower leis and sandelwood put on our foreheads. We were shown to our room, or rather our suite. We were upgraded to the Historical suite, which was one of the rooms that the Maharaja stayed in, and it has been restored to its prior glory. The room is beautiful and very intricate with decorations. They spared no detail making this room perfect. After reveling in the glory of the room, we explored the palace and ended up having a pre-dinner champagne on the lawn of what used to be the prince's polo field.
For dinner we went to this very strange Rajasthani village that was almost like Disney world. After paying an entrance fee, we ate a grand dinner of north indian food. The platter was a sampler, so we got to try everything. After we explored the village and saw traditional dancers and I had my palm read. This place was very strange, almost like the casa bonita of India.
Tomorrow is our last full day on the road, so we will make the best of it and enjoy our palace!
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