Parag and Purva's Wedding - Day 1

First things first - both Van and I want to thank Parag, Purva, and more importantly, Purva's family for hosting us and our friends at this glorious wedding of theirs.  Aside from the sheer amazement of the weekend, we were showered with unmatched hospitality.  Thank you, thank you, thank you - and congratulations!!!

I just took a flip through my pictures to jog my memory and I don't know where to start!  Perhaps the best way to do this is to split it up into sections - so, we'll start with...

Arrival/Venue/Are We Really Here?


The 4 of us (Trang, Isaac, Van, and I) made our way a few hours north of Jaipur through what is the modern day Indian road trip - animals, farms, highways, big trucks, tractors, an occasional wedding taking place on the street, a small village, and last but not least, a plethora of smells both fragrant and not.  Finally, nestled into the mountains we arrived to our retreat for the weekend and the wedding: The Samode Palace.

Almost two hundred years old, the Samode Palace was first built as a Rajasthani stronghold and then later was formed into a residential palace for it's ruler.  Not sure when it was transformed into a hotel/resort, but it's sheer vastness in numbers of courtyards, pools, areas, sections is unprecedented.  There were areas of this place we didn't discover until leaving, views into the mountains which were pristine, and an overall sense of royalty clouded the place.  I probably saw 5 different rooms while I was there and not one was a cookie cutter copy - each room had been designed differently with huge bathrooms and ample living space.  It was a charm...

When our car dropped us off at the front courtyard, it was like we were in a different dimension.  We slowly got out of the car while gazing around and saw the red carpet leading up to the steps to the main entrance - with Parag standing up there with his Mother, flower girls, a trumpeter, a tabla player, and the ever-present audio/video men.  Music started playing, and I started looking around in disbelief - we were totally ruining Purva's entrance into some event!  I moved out of the way and looked up at Parag and he was laughing and waving us to come inside - it was our welcoming party!!!

Our royal entrance to Samode...

Renu Auntie and Parag (playing Brickbreaker)...

We exchanged our pleasantries and I started back downstairs to grab our bags, only to notice that there were about 10 men carrying all of our stuff up to our rooms.  Once again, exceptional service.  (As an aside: Isaac left his iPhone AND wallet in the car pocket and the driver came running to our room to drop it off.  I can name a few countries where that would certainly not happen...)

Friends started rolling in as the day progressed and mini-reunions were happening everywhere.  Texas, Penn, NYC, Boston, India - people from all of Parag's life mingling with Purva's friends and family was really fun.  Several of us starting exploring the palace and got lost in the windy steps and terraces which adorned the place...

Bucher and Shannan...

Me and my lady checking out the digs (Trang and Isaac in background)...

Uhh - done.

Event #1 / 21343

Indian weddings are chock full of customs, rituals, and traditions - the groom's "invite to marry" ceremony, the groom's preparation and cleaning for marriage, the "sangeet" where there are songs sung and dances done, the "garba" where we do traditional dancing, his arrival to the bride's home, little games they play, the ceremony, the "giving of the daughter" away to the groom's home and family, etc.  On top of all of these traditional customs, we've now added Western customs - a reception, a Sunday brunch, etc.

This combination brings a lot of different events to the plate - and whenever there is a new event, you have to wear something new.  If you're a woman, you have to wear something new that no one has ever seen before.  Thus - we packed a LOT of different clothes.  I had a good 3, 4 kurta/pajamas in my suitcase along with my reception gear, and Van had a good 3, 4 Indian saris, punjabis, etc. with her.  These things inevitably turn into a fashion show!  And that's just for the guests - think of the bride/groom and all of their family!  Many Indian families take the customary "trip to India" before a marriage only to shop for a week or two and buy all the clothes they need for all the different events.  It's quite worth it, however, when you see just how awesome everyone looks in their outfits...

As people rolled into the Palace, the first event took place which was the groom receiving an invitation to marry the bride.  It was fairly anticlimactic, with Parag sitting down and a bunch of Aunties feeding him laddus (Indian sweets) and reciting a few prayers, some people singing, etc.  He went Western with a blazer, shirt, and slacks.  The rest of us were in shorts and a t-shirt, just arriving and not wanting to waste time seeing everyone and catching up on how our respective trips were in and around India...

Event #1 - Parag eating Laddus

Kolom, Rish, and Alok have arrived!!!

Rishi and Parag - two good looking guys with a lot of good things going for them...

Most amazing looking man/physique on the planet - we named him: Lalu Kaka!

I can carry Kolom with one arm!!!

Lalu Kaka - can we clone you?

The bus from Dehli has arrived!

After the event was done, the groups split up and half went to their rooms to take their "vacation naps" and the other half continued to "catch up" - Parag's personal terrace and bar.  We were all getting excited about the next event - "The Dune Party".  We all freshened up, threw on our blazers and cocktail dresses, and met downstairs for the beginning of a great party...

Nice shot of everyone on Parag's personal terrace...

The Dune Party

What?  Did I hear this right?

Yes - one of the many events we'd all been waiting for.  And, yes, it is exactly what it sounds like - a party on the sand dunes...

We threw on our best looking, sand dune-ready clothes and met in the courtyard for pictures.  Everyone looked great as usual, and the palace put a traditional Rajasthani instrument player / singer in the courtyard to give us a taste of the culture and entertain us.  This guy was really good at what he did, but, he also had one of the scariest stares ever because his eyes were HUGE!  He looked like he saw a ghost and had permanent big eyes!

Stop looking at me SWAN.

We rolled in our cadre of Beemers and Benzes to the Samode Bagh, an ornate village-type setup with all sorts of large courtyards, polo grounds, and other outdoor spaces.  Once there, we all loaded up onto, as you can see from the pictures below - camel carts!  It was an interesting but fun experience.  All the guests loaded up onto about 20 - 25 camel drawn carts and were were escorted by torch yielding guides and camel jockeys through the sand to our destination.  As expected, our canopy began breaking down and Rish and I had to hold it up the rest of the time, but, This Is India.  Every 5 minutes or so a man would run from torch weilder to torch weilder literally pouring kerosene onto the torch!  I wonder if this outfit has had a safety inspection lately...

Our camel was foaming at the mouth..

The beautiful bride is here!

Just another Thursday night, hanging out with the camel carts...(L to R: Louise, Coop, GB, Alok, Sank)

They're laughing with you, not at you...

It's a camel jockey!  No, I'm not racist.

Best Camel Cart Award - Van, Rish, SmooBug, and Me

Dude - Rishi touched the camels balls!

The event was beautiful.  Huge bonfires to keep us warm through the night, myriad food stalls, a fully stocked bar, a DJ and a dance floor - all in the middle of the desert.  Shortly after arriving, there was traditional Rajasthani dancing from a dance troupe who wore very ornate, sparkling saris and danced with fire on their heads!  They didn't last long, however.  The DJ starting pumping his techno-remixed, Top 40 and the superstar dancers which are Parag and Purva's friends took over the dance floor.  

Van and I with the Bride and Groom...

Rajasthani dancers with fire-pots on their heads!!!

Would be an awesome picture if it wasn't for homeboy in the background...

It was literally a blur after that.  Looking through my pictures, they are all literally blurry snaps of all of us dancing the night away!  The one thing I do remember from that night is after we were all done and ready to go back, we had one of the food guys fire up the grill, throw on some paneer (cheese cubes) and vegetables, and make us homemade kati rolls!  They were delicious!!!

Parag teaching this little kid how to get down - Purva likes the way her man moves!!!

Van and Neha choppin' up the dance floor...

This dude was passed out on a chair!  I had to get a picture with him...

Next up - Day 2 - get some rest, we got a big day ahead of us!!!

Jaipur Musings

            Beat, we landed in Jaipur late and hopped in a cab to our hotel – an AWESOME boutique hotel called the Hotel Pearl Palace (there’s a reason it’s #1 on TripAdvisor, and was only $15 a night!).  We were thoroughly impressed with the rooftop restaurant, room decoration, intricate paint jobs, and the service.  Hats off – travelers to Jaipur should seriously consider this place.

            As usual, we were up early, and as usual, I was on the computer.  What India lacks in public infrastructure build it has certainly made up for in technology.  My Uncle (Hitesh Mama) got me a USB travel modem (exact same size as a USB drive) which connects virtually tens of thousands of villages and cities in India to the Internet with broadband speeds.  Hotel Pearl Palace had very strong and fast Wi-Fi, so we spent the morning video chatting and Skyping with family and friends.  It’s funny how the grass is always greener – we yearned for the village life a mere 24 hours ago when we visited, but now equipped with Google Video were basking in the advancement of technology.  Life is great.

Giving the tour on Google Video Chat!!!

            I was flabbergasted by tourist inflation in Jaipur!  Aside from the hotel, we found prices for simple transportation and textiles (where there are scarves, there is Vans) to be exorbitant as compared to the spots we had traveled to.  Rickshaw rides were 5x the price of what they should have been (I don’t think we were getting duped, either).  We asked a local in broken Hindi of where to shop and got taken to a wholesaler, fixed price market that had palatable prices.  Once again, we sat in front of a couple of salesmen on mattresses and were showed dozens of different scarves, skirts, blankets, and other textiles to bring back to the US.  Vans bought a wool and silk blanket which they managed to wrap up into a package smaller than a shoebox!  (Which was also a selling point). 

And here is blanket #821...

Stay far away from this place, you're bound to get got...

             We spent a quick morning in Jaipur before our ride to Parag and Purva’s Palace (about 1.5 hours north of the city) and I wasn’t too impressed.  When I read about the old city area, I guess I had a Jerusalem-type situation and was looking forward to walking through the bazaars, etc.  This was quite the opposite.  The roads were lined with autos and it, again, was a tense walk through the city dodging streets, playing frogger, and inhaling carbon monoxide.  On the positives, there was a decent amount of Mughal architecture which was nice to see.  I can only imagine the splendor which is Jaipur are the myriad palaces in the outskirts of the city.

 

World famous Halwa Mahal...

Once back at the hotel, we met Trang and Isaac for lunch (from Purva’s side of the wedding – Trang went to architecture school with Purva in NYC) and our car picked us up right on time for our 1.5 hour trip through Jaipur and north into the desert hills of the Samode Palace.  Our hosts showered us with comfort from the top, sending us a Toyota Innova (think luxury minivan) to battle through the traffic and noise, and arrived to our dreamland for 3 days of royal treatment…

City Mouse, Country Mouse

A picture of my nephews, Kathan and Rohan...

After visiting my eldest uncle (where monkeys and peacocks walk around his front porch - unreal), we spent the late morning and early afternoon shopping for traditional women’s Indian clothes.  As much as I thought I wanted to shoot myself in the face, and as much as my opinions on colors didn’t matter – it was quite an interesting experience from a service point of view.

 Nothing like a peacock on your front porch!!!           

My cousin’s wife Krishna took us to several stores, each having their own sets of designs, colors, and styles.  The setup was really every woman’s dream.  You sit on a comfortable couch/bench in front of a huge mattress on which the salesman is kneeling.  The salesman (interesting, and quite counterintuitive, there were no saleswomen) starts laying out DOZENS of outfits – yelling at his helpy helpertons to throw him packages full of saris, cholis, Punjabi dresses, etc. and showing us all sorts of colors and styles.  After about 10 minutes, Vans and I started feeling bad for all the guys that had to refold everything!  Seems to be the norm, though – after 30 minutes of looking through dresses at one stop – Krishna flat out told the guy that she didn’t like any of the styles, got up, and left!  We were served chai, water, offered food – options which I can only assume consoled all the men dragged into these shopping trips!!!

Mirror, mirror, on the wall...            

Only a few hours away from our ancestral villages, we decided to spend the next morning and afternoon visiting Van’s extended family and taking a trip outside of the city.  It was a pleasant morning – it was certainly worth leaving at 8AM to beat the traffic, honking, and pollution which are the streets leaving Ahmedabad.  Our first stop was a small city called Nadiad, where both Van’s Uncle (Kaka) and her Mom’s Uncle (Dadu Mama) live.  I was impressed with a several things at her Uncle’s house – one of them being the solar panels he had installed on the roof to provide the home with 24 hours of hot water.  Dadu Mama’s house was your classic small city establishment – made of a hardened clay structure to keep cool in the summer months and vertically intimidating – it’s 3 floors tall but to compensate for the lack of width the steps traversing each floor were more like ladders!

            On our way to finding Dadu Mama’s house we had a funny incident which I thought in retrospect illustrated the nature of Indian hospitality.  Uncomfortable with the city and organizing directions, we had Van’s Aunt call up the phone number we had for our next visit and organize a meeting spot.  As soon as we got there, a friend of the family (or so we thought) named Vinod met us and we conversed for a good 5 minutes about how we were related to the family, who we were here to see, etc.  Surprisingly, we found it tough to truly figure out who this man was, why we couldn’t match any names together, and if we were really in the right place.  Van’s checked the number on the phone and realized we had been calling the wrong number the entire time!  This man, Vinod, had thought guests were here to visit his mother and left work to meet us (in the middle of the morning, mind you) and take us to his home!  We straightened everything out, talked a little insurance business (he was a life insurance broker), and finally our real family came out to get us at the meeting spot.  What impressed me was that Vinod was not peeved one bit – he laughed it all off, handled all the phone calls with our family to straighten out the situation, offered us chai/coffee/soft drinks, and waited with us until our family met us.  It was a true display of hospitality.

Mr. Vinod - right after Van realizes we dialed the wrong number!!!

From Nadiad, we hit the road and traveled through the real India – countryside full of rice paddies, wheat crops, roadside huts, and a children’s book full of farm animals and herders.  Surprisingly, the abundance of crop in this area were tobacco plant/leaves.  (Aside – Vans thought it was worthless for me to ask the driver every time we passed a farm what type of crop it was – I told her when the Armageddon comes and we have to go back to farming, at least I’ll know what I’m growing!).  An hour later we showed up in Dharmaj – Van’s father’s village and where her Grandma (Baa) lives.  It was a super pleasant trip – we spent a good hour catching up with her Grandma on life in the village, our travels, our lives, her life, etc. 

Van's Grandma (Baa) - super adorable!

Ba is adorable.  We talked about how Indian cities have become madness with the traffic and pollution – and how nice it was for us to get out of Ahmedabad, travel the roads, see the farms, and visit the villages.  She talked about how bored she was when she came to the US and lived at Van’s house in suburbia – nothing to do in the house except watch TV, nothing to walk to nearby, everyone driving cars to their destination, and how the only thing she would be able to look forward to is the next meal and getting to bed!  In the village, she said time and the days pass fast – there are people to see and catch up with walking by the house, news and gossip that travels around, markets and shops and temples to visit, etc.  Vans and I both related to that – it was such a cathartic experience to get out of the hot city and into the countryside where the hours while away, and you’re not setting your alarm to hit the road or looking at your watch to catch the next flight…

            …which was that evening.  We packed up, drove back into the disaster which was Ahmedabad traffic, and flew to Jaipur, Rajasthan – ancient land of the Kings, to attend one of the grandest wedding’s of our lives…

Broken!

Howdy!

We got back yesterday tired but ecstatic from our trip.  I had forgotten just how far away we really were and how damn long it takes to get back!

Was very eye-opening to see where Thailand has come over the past 10 years (flat to negatve - more on that later), the state of Cambodia and it's relationship with tourists (incredible people and places), and a couple of other interesting points I'll be posting soon with pictures (India, What's the Deal?)...

The reason why it's been rather dry up here on the blog is because MY COMPUTER BROKE ON THE TRIP!  I had been writing blogs offline ready to post when I got back to the States and my computer fell from the ticket booth at the airport and landed on it's head!  The screen cracked wide open - BUT - 10 minutes ago I hooked it up to the TV at home and it works!  Phew.  I should be able to get the screen replaced in the next couple of weeks and the family will be intact.

Traveling to Chicago in the next week but will find time to work on the blog.  Looking forward to it!

R

ANGKOR WAT!!!

I know, I know.  I have too much to update you all on.  It will all come in due time, unfortunately we've been traveling so much and having too much fun I haven't been able to upload anything.  Have great stories to share from our trip to the village in India, Parag and Purva’s royal wedding at a Rajasthani palace, and our stay so far in Cambodia!  Will get to writing and should have some posts in the next couple of days…

In the meantime, wanted to share a sunrise picture from ANGKOR WAT this morning!  Me, Sap, and Vans spent 6 hours there (up at 4:30AM!) and are still in awe at the technical engineering and detail of this monstrosity!

Have to run for now, Khmer curries await!  Catch up soon.

R

Mumbai Flurry

Howdy,

It's 5:30AM.  I'm not sure whether to embrace or reject the jet lag - we have been able to accomplish a great deal in the past few mornings (running at 7AM!), however, in the afternoon our bodies become awash with delirium and by nightfall we fall asleep as soon as we hit the bed.  Getting older certainly does not help the situation!  We've arrived Ahmedabad last night at 9:45PM (2 hours late for no apparent reason at all - I guess when you pay $40 for a one-way ticket on SpiceJet (India's #1 Low Cost Airline!) you're not exactly paying for on time departures). 

Mumbai, as always, was a charm.  What blows me away about the city is the sheer diversity across myriad dimensions: people, cultures, histories, religions, architecture, eras, neighborhoods, old vs. new, social statuses, etc.  It’s a true melting pot – albeit I feel it’s one where the mixture has been set a long time ago and it’s an adventure to discover the different ingredients.

This picture I found in an Indian snack shop in Queen’s but I’m always reminded of this when thinking of the people in Mumbai…

On this trip to Mumbai we certainly were taken care of by an important diaspora of Mumbai, and India: the Parsis.  The Parsis are descendants of Persian Zoroastrians (one faith which is missing in the picture above) who first migrated to India (modern day Iran) after persecution by Muslims in the 7^th century, and began settling in Mumbai in the 17^th and 18^th centuries.  Astute businesspeople, the Parsis have established flourishing markets, companies, and legacies in India (ever heard of Tata?).  The Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel, built over 100 years ago across from the Gateway of India and a historic Mumbai landmark, was built by Parsi industrialist JN Tata after he was refused entry into a “European hotel” in the 1900’s for being a “native”.  Today the Taj is one of the leading hotel groups in the world, and Tata’s company is one of the leading corporations in the world playing in industrial production all the way to management consulting.  From my conversations, the Parsis have gained due respect in Mumbai and India.  The community actively donates back to its home country and are respectful and non-confrontational.  My Uncle told me a great story about their relationship to India.  When they showed up to Surat, Gujarat, the local king gave them a glass of milk filled to the brim and said, “our city is full – how can we accommodate you?”.  The Parsis, clever as they are, stirred sugar into the cup and gave it back to the king, showing him that their relationship with the community will only add sweetness to the mix.

I’ve found the best way to explain the geography of Mumbai is to compare it to an expanded Manhattan: our home base (Usha Masi’s house in Vile Parle (“Masi” is one’s Mom’s sister in our language)) is Spanish Harlem.  South Bombay – where the British Raj built their government buildings and location of most of the tourist sites spans from the South Street Seaport (Colaba, Gateway of India, Taj Hotel) to TriBeCa (Nariman Point).  As you move north through Mumbai’s dense neighborhoods and clogged roads, you pass many historic places – Chowpatty Beach (don’t go in the water – it’s toxic (think Chelsea Piers on the map)), Haji Ali mosque (when the tide rises, the footbridge to the mosque is covered and it looks like the structure is floating in the ocean (think 72^nd Street Boat Basin). 

After taking Vanisha to meet family in suburb called Borivali (think Inwood), we threw on our day bags and hopped on the train to head to South Bombay.  Little over an hour later we were in the heart of it all – walking around the Colaba markets almost being run over by the frenzy which is Mumbai.  We walked by the Oval Maidan (think Union Square), a HUGE park filled with hundreds of impromptu cricket and football games).  Meandering through traffic, tourists, hawkers, and the rest of Mumbai, we arrived at the Gateway of India and the Taj Hotel – and walked in!

Hello my little friend (Hridai with his NYC taxi toy! and Van)

 I love this picture – the train ride down to South Bombay..

I decided to splurge a little bit and get a room at the Taj (we’re going to be staying in guesthouses in Cambodia – let’s treat ourselves at some point). 

The 100 year old hotel and one of the sights of the graphic terrorist attacks in Mumbai is simply an oasis in the hustle and bustle of Colaba and downtown Mumbai.  Brilliantly designed in a combination of old British Raj and Islamic architecture, it’s plush with modern day amenities and a courtyard pool which leaves you in serenity.  We were upgraded to one of the top floors in the tower (the Palace itself is closed for renovations until May, but the tower is still open and has beautiful rooms) where we had sweeping views overlooking the Arabian Sea and the Gateway of India down below.  I think we may just be the only guests rolling in with backpacks!

Sunrise from our balcony – simply brilliant views of the Gateway and the Sea

We got ready really quick and set out to tackle the night – straight to Leopold’s.  The tourist must-see bar/restaurant in the heart of Colaba is an old backpacker and native fallback replete with cheap Kingfishers, succulent curries, and long tales.  On our way over we stopped by Bade Miya – a popular street vendor cooking up paneeer tikkas and meat snacks on a fire grill combined with 12-inch roti breads (I wish you could have seen this boy making these rotis).  After snacking on delicious paneer cooked in curry, we made it to Leopold’s for a quick draught and admired the longstanding institution and searched out the many bullet holes which now adorn the walls after the terrorist attacks from a few years back.  Yes, even Leopold’s was targeted and a mad gunman ran in and started spraying bullets at patrons.  Interestingly enough, they’ve decided to keep the bullet holes through the walls, pillars, and glass – adding a touch of mystique and one more layer of legacy.  From Leopold’s we hopped in a taxi for the 10 minute, 14 rupee (28 cents – more on the price parity later) ride to Kala Ghoda (think SoHo, but don’t think fancy) and Trishna – most probably the best seafood institution in Mumbai.  We devoured chili garlic prawns (WOW), butter/garlic/pepper King Crab (delicious but almost too rich for my blood), hot parathas and a bottle of Indian wine (unfortunately, it too tasted like seafood).

By this time it was 9:30PM and we were delirious.  We decided to call it a night and head back to the Taj.  On our way in we ran into Sunil Shetty (Bollywood actor) hopping into his 750IL and taking Van’s heart with him (“I challenge you to a duel”).  I think I fell asleep within 3 minutes of hitting the plush linens…

Aaaaaand we’re up at 5AM!  Not being able to find the Super Bowl on TV, we watched Bollywood music videos for a bit, got our score updates from the States, and decided to hit the gym and pool – truly brilliant.  Next we took advantage of the ridiculous breakfast buffet – serving everything from beans and toast to kati rolls to idli/sambar to poha to pita/hummus - the breakfast foods of every major culture was represented.  The service was immaculate – we sat on a plush poolside table and were brought our omelettes, pancakes, toast, juices, caffeines, etc.  You get what you pay for – it was truly the way to live!  At some point the dream has to live on – so we left the hotel around 10AM and began our shopping spree.  The Colaba markets are a tourist heaven – pashmina scarves (well, let’s just say they’re soft because they’re most probably not pashmina) negotiated down to $3 a pop, sunglasses for the same price, an Indian cricket jersey for $5 – it was a fun morning haggling and filling our shopping bag with goodies. 

Taj Courtyard – this is the view from the pool!

Around lunchtime we hopped in a cab and took the ride to Ballard Estate (think East Village) and entered one of my favorite culinary establishments in Mumbai: Britannia.  A recommendation from friends I met while in the mountains, Britannia is a café managed by an almost 90 year old Parsi man with the carnivore in mind – mutton and chicken pulav’s with berries imported from Iran, kheemas, fried fish sticks, and other Parsi/Persian/Iranian dishes brought over from Mesopotamia hundreds of years ago and tweaked through the centuries combining it with Indian spices.  It was truly a meal to savor – washed down with an ice cold lime soda (“to beat the Mumbai heat” as Mr. Kohinoor would say – he still takes every patron’s order!). 

Van, where are we again?  Oh, thanks for pointing it out!!!

After filling up on a ridiculous lunch mere hours after filling up on a ridiculous breakfast, the snobs in us loathed the trip back to Churchgate Station on the train ride up to Masi’s house.  So, we did as any spoiled brats would do – called up a Meru cab!

To explain the Meru, I think it makes sense to explain the regular taxi in India.  What I like to call “Bumblebees”, the Indian taxi is an old, loud, and uncomfortable car usually driven by a tobacco chewing, bidi smoking driver.  It works, but it’s not necessarily the best for longer trips.  Meru is a newish company provided taxi services in new, air conditioned, spacious cars with drivers who, by customer’s bill of rights, are not allowed to: smoke or chew tobacco or smell bad.  You can schedule a taxi to arrive anytime at any location, and for a small premium – basically be chauffeured in style to where you want to go.  I’m sure Meru can push their prices 50 – 100% and would not lose much market share.  The difference between the service model is so vast that Meru drivers are physically accosted at traditional bumblebee locations such as the airport because they are stealing market share left and right.  Traveling short distances is fine in a bumblebee by me – I actually like it.  But for the 1.5 hour trip back to Masi’s house (traffic is THAT bad), we decided to Meru it!

The driver was super pleasant and helpful.  I asked him to drive up Marine Drive (call it West Side Highway) and pass by all of the tourist spots we missed to complete the trip to South Bombay – Chowpatty Beach, Mahalaxmi Temple, Haji Ali, the new Bandra/Worli sealink, etc.  (The sealink is a brand new bridge which essentially connects Midtown Manhattan to the Upper West Side, bypassing hours of traffic). 

 Haji Ali mosque floating in the sea – looks very Alcatraz like…

We reached home, took a nap (the siesta is a permanent fixture in the Indian culture and one that I love), repacked our bags and hopped in a rickshaw to the airport for our flight to Ahmedabad.   Being a few hours delayed, Vans and I had to find something to laugh about, so we took a couple pictures of a few patrons that were at the gate with interesting footwear (coincidentally, they sat in the same seat):

 This dude is wearing SOCCER CLEATS!  His friend caught us spying…

  

Dada decided to take off his shoes AND his socks…I wonder if he’s related to Nitin Uncle?

We reached Ahmedabad late last night.  We’ll spend a few days here with family and then off to Jaipur for Parag and Purva’s wedding!  It’s now 7:15AM and I hear the house stirring – time to get up!  Catch up soon…

R

And we're off!

Taking off in a few minutes and we're super excited for the trip. Raisa (friend from college) and her boyfriend are randomly on our flight and randomly going a wedding in India as well! She was giving us some proper advice on getting a guide in Siem Reap and various sites to visit. (If anyone has any recommendations for Siem Reap and/or Bangkok please let me know).

in a recent revelation - SAPAN is going to be meeting us in Bangkok next week for the 2nd half of our trip! It's going to be you, me, and Dupree all over again - can't wait!

See you in Mumbai!

R
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

South East Asia!!!

After 5 months of hibernating, I'll be back on the trail with Vans, my lovely partner in crime, spending 2 exhilarating weeks in India, Thailand, and Cambodia. We leave on Friday, February 5 and arrive back to US soil (unless we find Utopia) near the end of the month.

On the list for exploration:

1. Food Frenzy in Mumbai - an immaculate culinary route of my favorite downtown Mumbai eateries

2. Parag and Purva's Wedding in Jaipur - a royal wedding at a Rajasthani palace (think elephant polo)

3. Thailand to Cambodia - overland! (I guess we like walking across borders)

4. Ankgor Wat, Cambodia - 2 full days exploring the ancient wonder of the world

5. Bangkok, Thailand - energetic weekend in the premier Thai city where new meets old

Looking forward to writing entertaining, illustrative, and educational pieces for everyone to follow. In the meantime, want to pass along a blog I'm following from a friend of a friend currently working on projects in Africa. It's very well written and I'm hoping that I can explain the sights and sounds as well as Alastair does!

Alastair Green's Blog: tanzlines.blogspot.com

Take care,

R

Day 5, 6 - Jerusalem – A Confluence of History, Religion, and Time

Bright eyed, relaxed, and soft as a baby’s butt, we left the Dead Sea and made our way to the King Hussein / Allenby border. This is a much more intense border crossing as it’s the main route from Amman to Jerusalem and is essentially in the West Bank – a hotbed of activity for the past thousands of years.

At the border crossing we are placed on a bus which takes us to a bag check and passport control warehouse – I would say office or depot but it is much bigger than that. We’re mostly joined by Palestinians making their way from Jordan to homes in the West Bank and north to the Golan Heights. You can smell the tension here. As you make your way through the bag check and onto the Israeli border guards, you pass scores of Palestinians being questioned, sitting in waiting areas, etc. The guard certainly asked more questions to us than I’ve ever witnessed – why, when, where, how, who, etc. We made it through the entire ordeal after about half an hour and on the other side hopped on a sherut, a shared shuttle bus type vehicle with 8 others, for our trip into Jerusalem. Our entire sherut were Palestinians. There were two young kids sitting near us which through our guide book Arabic and their broken English were able to communicate our names, where we were going, and whether we loved Mohammed and Muslims!

Looking out the window at the West Bank was an eerie experience. I couldn’t imagine the lives which the people in the Palestinian villages we passed by had been like. Not only on the Palestinian side but also the Jewish side – the West Bank was full of Jewish settlers which through dozens of years of “peace plans” and “roadmaps” had lost homes and forced to move. Obviously a sensitive topic, and certainly one which is not the crux of my writing, is to think about what is considered “fair and just” for both Palestinians and Jewish people.

Near Jerusalem we passed a checkpoint where a heavily armed Israeli soldier hopped on our sherut and checked identification – finding our visas, checking Palestinian identity cards, and letting us go ahead. Fifteen minutes later as we rode around a bend we were blessed with our first glimpse of Jerusalem – the gilded Dome of the Rock in the distance showing us the location of Temple Mount in the Old City. Dome of the Rock! We couldn’t believe we were seeing this with our own eyes…

By way of background, Jerusalem has been a city raised, razed, and raised over and over for the past three thousand years. The holiest site for the Jewish people is the Western (or “Wailing”) Wall, which is the only remaining foundation of The First and Second Temples which were destroyed by invaders in the early first century. Directly above the Western Wall is Temple Mount, or in Arabic, Haram-es-Sharif, which is the location of the third holiest site in Islam after Mecca and Medina. On Temple Mount is Dome of the Rock – a brilliantly gilded structure covering a revered set of rocks (these rocks is where Mohammed ascended to heaven, and is also the sale location where Abraham prepared Isaac for sacrifice to God, making it a revered site for Jews). Across Dome of the Rock is Al Aqsa mosque, together these two Muslim places of worship make up Temple Mount. If my history is correct, before the Six Day War in 1967, Jerusalem was divided into East Jerusalem for Palestinians and West Jerusalem for Jews. After the war, Jews took control of all Jerusalem, and in an effort to pacify Palestinians, offered the Temple Mount back to Muslims to control (this still remains a point of contention amongst the Jewish). Temple Mount is now controlled by Jordan, and requires a completely separate security check to enter. The area is controlled by Muslim law, including dress, who can enter the Dome and the Mosque, and what time non-Muslims are to leave the area during prayer. This is completely separate from the Wailing Wall, which is directly below Temple Mount and is controlled by the Israeli state. Confusing, yes - fascinating, even more.

Not only is there an East and West Jerusalem, roughly, the entire Old City (within the ancient walls) there are Jewish, Muslim, Armenian, and Christian Quarters – where you will find shops, restaurants, markets, souks, and religious buildings catering towards their respective people. It’s one of the most incredible places in the world.

Our bus stopped off in East Jerusalem, close to the Damascus Gate, in the Palestinian / Arab area of Jerusalem. As we were staying in West Jerusalem, the “New City” with modern hotels and restaurants, we asked a few cabs in the area if they would take us, and were denied a few times until one agreed. I think it had to do with the fact that East Jerusalem drivers just did not want to travel to West Jerusalem.

We settled into our hotel and hit the streets of the New City for a meal – famous and bustling Jaffa Road. It was hoppin’! There were thousands of people out and some sort of propaganda van which was blaring what seemed to be religious songs with Hassidic Jews dancing along – quite a spectacular scene. We wolfed down a street falafel and a Gold Star, delicious, and walked around for a bit before crashing for our big day tomorrow.

Our entire vacation’s itinerary revolved around Thursday because Temple Mount was only open to visitors from Monday – Thursday. We woke up early and made the 15 minute walk to the Jaffa Gate of the Old City, and walked right in – after taking a few snaps of Mt. Zion which is directly west of Jaffa Gate. Instantly you are transported to an ancient city. Walking through the souks on our way to Temple Mount was a past time we never got tired of that day. Vans and her scarves shopping, me hopping into spice stores, eating fresh baklava – these were just several of the millions of things to do in the souks. We reached the Western Wall first after passing security and were blown away by the number of people there, but planned on saving it for the next day, so continued onto the security checkpoint for Temple Mount. From the checkpoint there is a wooden ramp which climbs up to Temple Mount and provides a great vantage point looking over the Western Wall. Upon reaching the top of Temple Mount, you’re really transported to another world. Finally seeing Dome of the Rock up close and personal, its magical blue color and beautiful gold, and the sanctity of Al Aqsa mosque, combined with what we just saw in the Western Wall, is truly a once in a lifetime experience. Although we weren’t let into the Muslim structures, we did get to spend a few hours walking around Temple Mount and taking in the sites, overlooking Mt. of Olives and the several Christian churches which are there.

We were kicked out of Temple Mount at around 11:30AM for afternoon prayers and made our way walking around the Muslim Quarter, walking back east to the Damascus Gate and the Palestinian hub where we munched on an unreal lunch shwarma. From there we made our way through the Christian Quarter, following the 12 places Jesus supposedly stopped on his way from condemnation to death, and finally to resurrection at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. It’s an incredible church with various Christian sects and factions claiming their areas in the church and building various shrines respective to their faiths – Holy Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Armenian, even Ethiopian, to name a few. Many Christian pilgrims carry a large cross through the streets of the Christian Quarter following the footsteps of Jesus.

It was late afternoon and the sun was getting to us, so we decided to head back to the hotel and rest up – we did have one more full day in Jerusalem where we planned to visit the Jewish quarter and attend Shabbat on Friday evening, another crux of our trip. But then…

Something hit us! Not sure if it was the afternoon shwarma or the Moroccan dinner that night, but we woke up in the morning with severe gastro issues. Medicines and 5 hours later, we tried our best to wake up and make it to the Old City for Shabbat, but as soon as we walked to Jaffa Road I turned around, ran back to the hotel, and vamsied. There went Friday – down the toilet. At least we got a few Netflix movies in!

I found Jerusalem to be one of the most fascinating places I’ve ever been to. The amount of religious convergence, history, and different people in one place is awesome to witness. Vans and I found ourselves scouring Wikipedia and our guidebooks trying to learn as much as we could about Islam and Judaism crossroads and beliefs, two religions with such large similarities and differences. What amazes me about the city is that 3 of the world’s most influential religions all have a claim inside the walls of a 3,000 year old city which all in all is a few square miles in area. As an outsider, I feel the best way to experience it is to read as much as possible into the history of both religions with regards to the city and go with an open mind.

A few of the pictures below, more to come...