I've finally found a computer so here goes:
I couldn't face the thought of a 15 hour flight crammed in coach so I used a bunch of frequent flyer miles and upgraded to Business class. From the minute I landed at Newark and went to check in for the flight to New Delhi I began to discover how the other half lives. I get to skip the extremely long check in line for coach and go through the shorter security line for "elite" flyers and then I enter the sanctum sanctorum - The President's Club - for the 2 hour wait for the flight to New Delhi. I had always wondered what went on behind those heavy wooden doors and now I know: free drinks, free snacks, comfy leather club chairs, SHOWERS, newspapers, magazines. It was a real revelation! I boarded with the other "elites" and found my seat. It bore no resemblance to the seats in coach and I tried not to look like an imposter while fumbling with the seat to figure out how to operate all the bells. I sat next to a very nice Indian born doctor flying to his brother's funeral in New Delhi and we conversed throughout the multi-course, bottomless champagne glass meal and then came the best part. The seat silently converted into a near horizontal bed! I didn't wake up until an hour before we landed in New Delhi. I am now hopelessly spoiled for life!
The New Delhi airport was far from a world class airport even though ND is the capital city - rundown, dirty and crowded with masses of people. I was almost beginning to question my decision to make this trip. I finally found Carol and the rest of the group and we boarded the bus that was to become out second home for 3 weeks. From the window of the bus I was amazed at the startling ontrasts of poverty and wealth that I could see in the light cast by the streetlights. The entire city seemed to smell of wood smoke. We arrived at The Imperial Hotel which was built in 1936 while India was still a British colony. It is a splendid cocoon totally isolated from the world outside - Art Deco in style with polished marble, brass. mahogany and sparkling crystal for miles. The air throughout the entire building is perfumed with jasmine. You are never far from an Indian staff member in imperial style uniform. They glide by, putting palms together, bowing their heads and saying "Good morning", "Good evening", "May I help you?". It is a world I have read about but never could I have imagined the actual experience. I knew I was out of my league when I spotted multi-billionaire Henry Kravis and his French wife in the buffet line at breakfast (don't even ask how I recognized him - just google him). After breakfast we went to the National Museum which was a shabby setting for such priceless collections (I especially liked the 17th century miniature paintings), lunch at an Indian restaurant and then to the Craft Museum (gorgeous textiles baskets and wood carvings). The traffic is insane - cars, buses, trucks, donkey carts, motor-scooters, motorcycles, motorized and bicycle rickshaws all careening around and obeying no discernible traffic rules while honking every horn available. I will never complain about Houston traffic again! After a lovely bubblebath in the huge marble bathtub I crawled into my heavenly bed (with, of course, extremely high thread count sheets and a cashmere blanket) and slept like a baby. After breakfast (no other billionaires sighted) we checked out and were off for the 4 hour drive to Agra to see the Red Fort and the Taj Mahal.
The drive was a constant assault on the senses. We drove a long time on the divided highway before we finally escaped the sprawl of New Delhi. And what a sprawl - masses of people, vehicles and carts of every description milling about everywhere right up to the edge of the highway. Vehicles on the highway were weaving in and out and honking and, in the midst of it all, there are dogs lying sound asleep (no, not dead) in the sand almost at the very edge of the road oblivious to the chaos. We finally escaped New Delhi and reached the countryside. It is flat, brown, hazy and dusty (it is a desert after all) and there are gradually fewer buildings and more agriculture. There are more and more animal-drawn carts (the cart being crudely made of wood with 2 car tires) and more frequently the animals are camels. I am definitely not in Kansas anymore! Our driver stops occasionally so we can view things that may be of interest - 2 snake charmers sitting on the edge of the highway, for instance. The bus stops and everyone piles over to the side by the charmers as they whip off the basket covers, pull back a towel and the cobras pop out. Someone says the cobras mouths are sewn shut and I believe it because the charmers sit within a foot or two of the snakes and wave their hands right in the snake's faces. Immediately the charmers start asking/yelling/begging for rupees as our cameras click madly. It is a scene that will be repeated many times every day in various forms. I find it horrifyingly fascinating - like a car wreck you can't look away from. At our next impromptu stop we get out of the bus to get a closer look at the dung patties being prepared and laid out in the sun to dry. This lovely task is delegated to the women (of course) and they don't seem to mind - actually they seem to take pride in this enterprise. They take cow/water buffalo dung, mix it with water and form large flat patties by hand, dry them in the sun (even along the highway) and then stack them in intricate and really quite beautiful patterns. Some are stored in small, square, sheds also made of dung and topped with thatched roofs that keep them dry during monsoon season. These sheds frequently have artful designs carved into the walls. The patties are used as fuel for cooking and heating - you see women in saris coming to the pile and regally gliding home with a large bowl of patties balanced on top of their heads. Surprisingly, these patty piles do not smell or even attract flies - why not is a mystery to me! We have lunch at the restaurant along the highway and continue on until we reach the Red Fort at Agra.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Friday, December 28, 2007
Itinerary for January 1-23, 2008
Rajasthan is a desert state in north western India where color and folk art are an integral part of the towns, the homes and the clothing...the men strikingly handsome in white with bright turbans and the women respndent in their elaborately decorated costumes and their welath in their jewelry.
The tour focuses on folk art, architecture, textiles, Rajput painting and the fort-palaces of yesteryear as well as Indian cuisine in all its diverse flavors. It is led by Carol Summers, a California artist who's had a long-time love affair with Indian Folk Art and has led tours to north India since 1996.
January 1-2
Leave Newark, NJ at 8:50 pm and arrive 9:15 pm, January 2 in New Delhi. Our hotel, the Imperial, is a restored memento of colonial India with large grounds and is centrally located in New Delhi.
January 3, New Delhi
We'll visit the National Museum, by any standard a world class musum, offering general coverage of the panoply of Indian art from ancient times. Superb Rajput painting, Tantric, Mogul and Tribal folk art exhibits. Afternoon visit to the Crafts Museum and Sunder Nagar, an antique market (silk, antiques, silver, tribal art, jewelry, etc)
January 4, New Delhi - Agra
We drive to Agra, stopping at the Qutab Minar, India's first mosque and we'll visit the Agra Fort.
January 5, Agra - Keoladi Sanctuary
A morning look at the Taj Mahal, South Indian lunch and visit Fatepur Sikri, the beautiful 16th century red sandstone royal city of Akbar and the Keoladi Wildlife Sanctuary.
January 6, Keolado - Keslroli
We drive to Kesroli where we stay at a delightfully remote, restored hill fort in quiet farm country.
January 7, Kesroli - Mandawa
After breakfast we leave Kesroli for Mandawa, perhaps the most charming of the painted villages of Shekawati, an area famous for the elaborately painted havelis (mansions) of the wealthy merchants. Our hotel, Mandawa Castle dates from 1755 and is operated by the original
family owners.
January 8, Mandawa - Jaipur
After lunch visit the City Palace and Jantar Mantar - a park of giant astronomical constructions.
January 9, Jaipur
Visit the Amber Palace by elephant.
January 10, Jaipur - Jodhpur
Drive to Jodhpur. We stay at the first designated Heritage Hotel, a former lodge whose original owners have built a group of bungalows, each with its own folk theme in a whimsical, parklike setting. It's quiet and informal, a welcome retreat. We'll explore the old center of Jodhpur, the Sardar Market and maze of alleys and bazaars. Jodhpur is justly famous for its antique shops and markets (antique furniture and architectural devices, crafts, etc).
January 11-12, Jodhpur - Jaisalmer
We'll leave early to give us time when we reach Jaisalmer to take a quick visit to the weaver's cooperative, Kadi Bundar, before our traditional margaritas at sunset on the roof of our hotel, a converted caravansary with the rustic charm of the tribal people of this area. Jaisalmer is the quintessential desert citadel, carved by man and wind in golden sandstone from the Thar desert. The Hill of King Jaisal became wealthy as a stop for the trading caravans passing through from the coast, but the development of a railway system and the port of Bombay made it a ghost town. We may be grateful that events left us this medieval gem in such pristine condition. We'll visit the Citadel, Royal Palace and a Jain temple. Camel ride to the dunes at sunset and a village dinner with local musicians (weaving, tribal textiles and arts, antiques and much more).
January 13, Jaisalmer - Jodhpur
Visit antiquaries, dinner at On the Rocks
January 14, Jodhpur - Rohetgarth
We'll visit the Mehrangarth Fort, Rajasthan's largest, that dominates the city. To Rohet for lunch. Rohet House is a pleasant country house whose owners were big landowners in former days. Now they take visitors out in jeeps to visit the villages and family compounds of a group of people called the Bishnois, which in Hindi means 29, the number of precepts in their long-dead founding guru's list of commandments. They are vegetarians and the world's earliest conservationists. One of their precepts is to protect animal life and they live surrounded by the blackbuck who, though wild, lack the fear of man. The safari returns to the house for supper before dark, having visited weavers and potters in their beautiful homes built of the earth of the desert and painted with simple designs, and participating, if you like, in a welcome ritual called the opium ceremony.
January 15, Rohet - Ranakpur
We're off in the morning to Ranakpur, a Jain temple complex set in remote and beautiful country in the Aravalli mountain range. The temple was built in 1439 and boasts 1444 pillars, no two alike. We lunch nearby at a lovely rural, outdoor restaurant and then continue through the wooded hill country to the Aranyawas Hotel.
January 16, Ranakpur - Dungarpur
In the morning we drive to Dungarpur and visit the old castle that claims some of the best preserved wall paintings in Rajasthan.
January 17, Dungarpur - Ahmadabad
A morning drive to Ahmadabad where we'll have lunch across from the Sidi Saiyad Mosque with its famous carved stone windows. Afternoon to the Shreyes Folk Art Museum.
January 18, Ahmadabad - Udaipur
Visit the Calico Textile Museum, a mecca for those with an interest in the Indian textile arts. Afternoon drive to Udaipur.
January 19, Udaipur
We'll visit the City Palace with its various collections, architectural wonders and labyrinthine passageways and have a boat ride on Lake Pichola to have lunch at the Lake Palace. There will be plenty of time to wander this most charming town and take advantage of the splendid shopping opportunities (puppets, antiques, jewelry, clothing, paintings etc).
January 20, Udaipur to Pushkar
On our way we will visit a colorful and lively Siva temple in Eklingi. Pushkar is a city sacred to Hindus, built around a pretty lake. We stay at the Pushkar Palace on the lake. Many shops and fun wandering.
January 21, Pushkar - Samode
Lunch and tour of the Palace. Spectacular Durbar Hall. We stay in tents in the Palace Gardens with marble bathrooms.
January 22, Samode - New Delhi
Four hour drive to New Delhi. Depart from New Delhi at 11:45 pm.
January 23, Newark, NJ
Arrive 5:05 am
The tour focuses on folk art, architecture, textiles, Rajput painting and the fort-palaces of yesteryear as well as Indian cuisine in all its diverse flavors. It is led by Carol Summers, a California artist who's had a long-time love affair with Indian Folk Art and has led tours to north India since 1996.
January 1-2
Leave Newark, NJ at 8:50 pm and arrive 9:15 pm, January 2 in New Delhi. Our hotel, the Imperial, is a restored memento of colonial India with large grounds and is centrally located in New Delhi.
January 3, New Delhi
We'll visit the National Museum, by any standard a world class musum, offering general coverage of the panoply of Indian art from ancient times. Superb Rajput painting, Tantric, Mogul and Tribal folk art exhibits. Afternoon visit to the Crafts Museum and Sunder Nagar, an antique market (silk, antiques, silver, tribal art, jewelry, etc)
January 4, New Delhi - Agra
We drive to Agra, stopping at the Qutab Minar, India's first mosque and we'll visit the Agra Fort.
January 5, Agra - Keoladi Sanctuary
A morning look at the Taj Mahal, South Indian lunch and visit Fatepur Sikri, the beautiful 16th century red sandstone royal city of Akbar and the Keoladi Wildlife Sanctuary.
January 6, Keolado - Keslroli
We drive to Kesroli where we stay at a delightfully remote, restored hill fort in quiet farm country.
January 7, Kesroli - Mandawa
After breakfast we leave Kesroli for Mandawa, perhaps the most charming of the painted villages of Shekawati, an area famous for the elaborately painted havelis (mansions) of the wealthy merchants. Our hotel, Mandawa Castle dates from 1755 and is operated by the original
family owners.
January 8, Mandawa - Jaipur
After lunch visit the City Palace and Jantar Mantar - a park of giant astronomical constructions.
January 9, Jaipur
Visit the Amber Palace by elephant.
January 10, Jaipur - Jodhpur
Drive to Jodhpur. We stay at the first designated Heritage Hotel, a former lodge whose original owners have built a group of bungalows, each with its own folk theme in a whimsical, parklike setting. It's quiet and informal, a welcome retreat. We'll explore the old center of Jodhpur, the Sardar Market and maze of alleys and bazaars. Jodhpur is justly famous for its antique shops and markets (antique furniture and architectural devices, crafts, etc).
January 11-12, Jodhpur - Jaisalmer
We'll leave early to give us time when we reach Jaisalmer to take a quick visit to the weaver's cooperative, Kadi Bundar, before our traditional margaritas at sunset on the roof of our hotel, a converted caravansary with the rustic charm of the tribal people of this area. Jaisalmer is the quintessential desert citadel, carved by man and wind in golden sandstone from the Thar desert. The Hill of King Jaisal became wealthy as a stop for the trading caravans passing through from the coast, but the development of a railway system and the port of Bombay made it a ghost town. We may be grateful that events left us this medieval gem in such pristine condition. We'll visit the Citadel, Royal Palace and a Jain temple. Camel ride to the dunes at sunset and a village dinner with local musicians (weaving, tribal textiles and arts, antiques and much more).
January 13, Jaisalmer - Jodhpur
Visit antiquaries, dinner at On the Rocks
January 14, Jodhpur - Rohetgarth
We'll visit the Mehrangarth Fort, Rajasthan's largest, that dominates the city. To Rohet for lunch. Rohet House is a pleasant country house whose owners were big landowners in former days. Now they take visitors out in jeeps to visit the villages and family compounds of a group of people called the Bishnois, which in Hindi means 29, the number of precepts in their long-dead founding guru's list of commandments. They are vegetarians and the world's earliest conservationists. One of their precepts is to protect animal life and they live surrounded by the blackbuck who, though wild, lack the fear of man. The safari returns to the house for supper before dark, having visited weavers and potters in their beautiful homes built of the earth of the desert and painted with simple designs, and participating, if you like, in a welcome ritual called the opium ceremony.
January 15, Rohet - Ranakpur
We're off in the morning to Ranakpur, a Jain temple complex set in remote and beautiful country in the Aravalli mountain range. The temple was built in 1439 and boasts 1444 pillars, no two alike. We lunch nearby at a lovely rural, outdoor restaurant and then continue through the wooded hill country to the Aranyawas Hotel.
January 16, Ranakpur - Dungarpur
In the morning we drive to Dungarpur and visit the old castle that claims some of the best preserved wall paintings in Rajasthan.
January 17, Dungarpur - Ahmadabad
A morning drive to Ahmadabad where we'll have lunch across from the Sidi Saiyad Mosque with its famous carved stone windows. Afternoon to the Shreyes Folk Art Museum.
January 18, Ahmadabad - Udaipur
Visit the Calico Textile Museum, a mecca for those with an interest in the Indian textile arts. Afternoon drive to Udaipur.
January 19, Udaipur
We'll visit the City Palace with its various collections, architectural wonders and labyrinthine passageways and have a boat ride on Lake Pichola to have lunch at the Lake Palace. There will be plenty of time to wander this most charming town and take advantage of the splendid shopping opportunities (puppets, antiques, jewelry, clothing, paintings etc).
January 20, Udaipur to Pushkar
On our way we will visit a colorful and lively Siva temple in Eklingi. Pushkar is a city sacred to Hindus, built around a pretty lake. We stay at the Pushkar Palace on the lake. Many shops and fun wandering.
January 21, Pushkar - Samode
Lunch and tour of the Palace. Spectacular Durbar Hall. We stay in tents in the Palace Gardens with marble bathrooms.
January 22, Samode - New Delhi
Four hour drive to New Delhi. Depart from New Delhi at 11:45 pm.
January 23, Newark, NJ
Arrive 5:05 am
Thursday, December 27, 2007
The Art of Travel
Travel lightly. You are not traveling for people to see you!
Travel humbly. Visit people and places with reverence and respect for their traditions and way of life.
Travel courteously. Consideration for your fellow travelers and your hosts will smooth the way through the most difficult days.
Travel gratefully. Show appreciation for the many things that are being done by others for your enjoyment and comfort.
Travel with an open mind. Leave your prejudices at home.
Travel fearlessly. Banish worry and timidity; the world and its people belong to you just as you belong to the world.
Travel relaxed. Make up your mind to have a good time.
Travel patiently. It takes time to understand others, especially when there are barriers of language and custom; stay flexible and adaptable in all situations.
Travel with the spirit of a world citizen. You will discover that people the world around are basically like you. Be an ambassador of good will to all people.
Wildred A. Peterson
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