Part 3: India - A Most Interesting Trip Concludes

23-24 September - Moving On To Varanasi 

RC:  To get from Agra to Varanasi we had to drive back to Delhi and catch a flight on Indigo, a budget, domestic carrier.  It was 3.5 hours to get to the outskirts of Delhi and then another hour plus to make it the final 25 miles or so to the airport.  All those movies and videos of what it's like to drive in India, they're all true, maybe worse.  Back to flying.  I'm always a little leery with cut rate airlines, but this was a very nice surprise with my low expectations being completed unfounded.  They fly the A320 Airbus, coach only, but new planes, very good cabin service, and punctual almost to the second.  In the 65 minute flight from Delhi to Varanasi, everyone got served whatever drink they wanted (no alcohol) and lots of meals, some made to order.  Very impressive.  We landed at Varanasi at night and it was raining a bit.  Add darkness and rain to driving in India and you have a whole new driving sport.  We made it to the hotel, another very nice place that I'm sure Beanie will have much to say about.  Our schedule was to have the first evening in the hotel with our scheduled events beginning the next morning.  We got started by visiting a local, not really sure what you would call it, but to me it was an artsy, fartsy kind of place.  We were the only ones there.  We toured some pretty cool stuff from way back in the day, like 1st century.  Keep in mind Varanasi is one of the oldest cities in the world going back almost 4000 years.  It used to be known as Kashi (yep, just like the cereal) so there is some seriously old stuff around.  Our guide, Mr. Kabul (yep, just like the friendly city in Afghanistan) was quite good.  Added to our list (well, mine, Beanie claims to have already known just about everything), is that Buddhism also started within a few miles of Kashi (just seeing if you're paying attention), granted it was 1500 years later, but still.   There is some debate around this.  Nepal claims Lumbini as Buddha's birthplace, but India claims the site of enlightenment.  Guess it depends on how you're keeping score.  Anyway, back to the tour.  We followed up with a visit to the Buddhist Hindu University Museum.  This place was huge and not air conditioned.  They had nine different exhibits ranging from sculpture to painting to textiles.  It was also pretty good, but just too big to cover.  It didn't help that we had a brown out and the entire place went black. No fans and no a/c.  After we left the BHU museum the skies opened up and the rains were upon us.  In a matter of 30 minutes the streets were flooded, cars were stalling out, and we were wondering if we were going to make it back to the hotel.  We did, primarily due to some pretty slick driving by our driver.  The rains pretty much washed out the rest of our Varanasi stay.   

My most common sighting in India - Beanie Snapping Pictures

 Kathy:  After a rather long drive from Agra to the Delhi Airport and then about a 3 hour wait at the airport (roughing it - no lounge this time!) we caught our Indigo Air flight to Varanasi.  It’s only about an hour long flight and we got into Varanasi in the early evening.  I’ll talk a bit more about the internal flights after we fly back to Delhi on the 25^th, but I’ll just say we were happy with both Air India and Indigo.
 

By the time we got to the hotel, unpacked a bit and had dinner it was time for bed.  More about the hotel later (well, you knew that!) but it was excellent.

The city of Varanasi is over 4000 years old, making it the oldest continually lived in city in the world!  The current population is approximately 4 million.  It’s the holiest city in India in part because it’s on the holy river Ganges.  Every Hindu strives to come to Varanasi at least once.  If you bathe in the river your sins are washed away.  When you die, if half your ashes are put in the river, your sins are forgiven and you move up in the ladder of reincarnation.  If you can time it right and die in Varanasi you can skip right over reincarnation and go directly to heaven.  I ask our guide how the poorest people or people without families could afford to have their ashes brought here.  He said most poor families figure out a way to bring their relatives’ ashes here since it is very bad karma not to do it.  But if it isn’t possible, there are charities that do it for them.  So it’s not surprising that over 5000 Hindus come to Varanasi every day, either to spread the ashes of a family member, to die here, or to bathe in the river.  The crematoriums run 24/7.  It was quite common to see a body being carried by people or on the top of a vehicle heading to the river.  Every evening the cremation ceremonies (Aarti) happen along the river on the ghats from 6:30 to 7:30.  The Aarti is the main reason we tourists visit this city.

After a good night’s rest, we awoke to an overcast morning which was nice for a change and made it a bit cooler.  We headed out to visit two museums – one small and one large.  We saw a lot of miniature paintings, Hindu carvings, textiles (gorgeous), and other artifacts.  As Randy mentioned it started pouring rain while we were in the second museum and it was still coming down hard when we left after wading to our car.  The drive back to the hotel was quite exciting with more than a tinge of terrifying.  At one point we were driving through water at least 2 or even 3 feet deep!  Later that night I told Randy that it sure would’ve been awful if we had stalled out and had to climb out the windows.  He said the driver and the guide would climb out and push us out, we’d stay put!



Just A Little Bit Soggy

This Cab Stalled Out

By the time we got back to the hotel it was about 4 PM and the rains were letting up but there was no way the floods would completely recede before the Aarti at 6:30.  We decided we didn’t want to wade through water filled with raw sewage to get to the ghats and the boats.  You can’t drive to the river as it is the oldest part of city and the lanes are too narrow for vehicles.  I’m sure it didn’t stop any Indians, but they’re far hardier than these two delicate Americans. So, we missed seeing the Aarti.  Rats.  Below is a video of Aarti as well as a really good web page to give you an idea of what we missed.

Varanasi Ganga Aarti Holy River Hindu Worship Ritual 
Varanasi Funeral Pyres and Ghats

We hoped to go on a boat ride the next morning before we caught our flight back to Delhi to see the people coming down to bathe in the river at sunrise but that wasn’t to be either as it rained off and on that night and the lanes were still flooded.  Another disappointment

But, never fear, the long trip to Varanasi was not a complete bust.  We really enjoyed the Nadesar Palace Hotel.  It is yet another historical hotel with beautiful grounds that feels like an oasis in the midst of turmoil.  It was built by the British East India Company over 200 years ago to house visiting dignitaries and later military officers.  Consequently, it has a very colonial feel and design.  About 100 years ago the British gave it to the Maharaja of Varanasi and he lived in it for two years before moving to a new palace and then also using it for visiting dignitaries.  In 2009, the Taj Hotel Group of India bought it and converted it into a boutique hotel.  There are only 8 rooms and suites and each one is named after a visiting dignitary that stayed there.  We were in the Count Mountbatten Suite and there were photos of the count and his wife during their visit throughout the suite, which consisted of a living room, dining room, bedroom and bathroom.  The woman who showed us the room explained that many of the pieces of furniture, including the four poster bed and the cast iron claw foot tub were original.  The service was again extraordinary.  There was a Hindu ceremony for us when we arrived and when we left.  Both were very interesting but I must admit I felt more than a bit self-conscious – nothing new there!  We ate both breakfasts and dinners in the hotel and the food was excellent.  The chef came to our table both nights to talk to us about the menu and tell us that he’d make anything we wanted that wasn’t on the menu.  Randy told him about a wonderful salad we’d had in Jodhpur made with (we thought) tomatoes, cucumbers, onion and peanuts.  The chef said he knew exactly what it was and it was even better than the first one we’d had.  He also told us that they grow all their own fruit and vegetables on the hotels grounds – all organic.

Front Entry to Hotel

View of Hotel From Grounds Behind The Hotel.  Our Room Is Behind Palm Tree On The Left

Beanie Chilling On The Balcony

Breakfast.  Best Seat In The House Overlooking The Grounds

Inside Dining Area - We Used Once But Much Preferred Outside

Upstairs Foyer Area Accessing Balcony

Common Area.  This Is The Computer We Used To Catch Up On Blog

Front Living Area Of Our Room

Dining Portion Of Our Room

Bedroom Portion Of Our Room

Evening Turn Down Services Included A Rose Petal Bubble Bath

The afternoon of the second day when the rains had subsided a bit, we walked the grounds of the hotel for about an hour and saw the organic gardens, the 400 year old temple that had been moved there, lots of birds, including a beautiful tiny kingfisher, and the cage where the Maharaja had kept his two lions, now turned into a greenhouse.  The morning before we left we took a marvelous carriage ride around the grounds.  The carriage driver was a very nice man and we really enjoyed talking with him.  His father and his father’s father had been the carriage driver here and the carriage was the original!  Can you imagine the history these men experienced working here and the people they met?  As he took us around the grounds he told us about the different trees and how old they were, all the different organic orchards and crops, pointed out interesting birds, etc.  We were really thrilled to see that his horse is a Marwari.  We had learned about this horse from the owners of Chounard Garh when we stayed there.  The owner's father had been big into polo and had raised this breed and he showed us several photos of his father with these horses and he explained the history of these unique horses.  They are quite rare and they’re known for their inward turning ear tips.  After the carriage ride we talked with the driver a bit more and pet his horse.  You could tell he loved that horse and took great care of him.  The horse is 23 years old and he said that he expects him to live to be 35 because he feeds him only organic food and gives him a two hour massage every day. 

Me & My Bride Doing The Carriage Ride Thing

Ajeet With His Marwari Horse. Maybe Not Pure As Ears Don't Quite Touch

 

They Sometimes Get Close!!!

 

Originally The Lions Cage Repurposed As The Greenhouse

Just Can't Pass Up A Picture Of A Kingfisher - Bird or Beer!!!

 

View Of Grounds From Balcony Outside Our Room



And Then Came The Rains

25-28 September - The Return To Delhi and Then Home: The Final Chapter 

RC:  The return flight to Delhi on Indigo Air was just as good as the one going out.  We checked into the J.W. Marriott near the airport.  It's quite a complex, just under three years old, but incredible service and facility. They graciously upgraded us to a killer suite, a rounded room facing the airport, another spa type bathroom as well as a half bath just off the living room area.  We were greeted at reception, escorted up to our room, and briefed on the "stuff" at our disposal.  The executive lounge was off the hook and we spent a couple hours there the first night just relaxing with adult beverages and grazing around the food offerings.     

The next morning it was off to the golf course.  I met up with Mr. Singh, our liaison for arranging everything we did in India (except for all the stuff the Bean did) and we were off to the course.  Unfortunately most golf courses in India are closed on Monday so we ended up playing a nine hole course about 45 minutes away (or 6 miles of driving in Delhi).  We knew we were going to play golf so we thought, "let's bring him some trinket from a golf course here in the valley".  Our first thought was a golf hat from my home course.  Then we got to thinking about it, "hey, this guys is a Sikh", he wears a turban.  How's he going to wear a ball cap?" So we dodged that blunder and picked up a ball marker and towel.  So I'm supposed to meet him in the lobby that morning.  I'm looking around for someone in a turban and up walks Mr. Singh wearing a ball cap.  I'm thinking "crap, even when we're right we're wrong!!"  I relayed our story to Mr. Singh and he found it pretty humorous.   The golf course was pretty nice, though they were working on getting the greens back into shape following the monsoon season. We got in 18 holes in about 3 hours, the only ones on the course.  It was a nice wind down after the hectic life of vacationing.  I suspect Beanie liked having a little Beanie time also. 

Me & Mr. V. P. Singh.  See, The Ball Cap Would Have Worked.  It's Not That Slanted - The Caddies Lists A Bit To His Port!!

Later that night we met some really nice folks, Dave and Madhu, friends of Tom & Glenda Vollertsen.  Tom had emailed Dave prior to our visit asking if they would like to get together with us while we were in Delhi.  They met us at the Marriott and we went up to the lounge for cocktails ahead of a 7:00 PM dinner reservation.  We got to chatting and yucking it up to the point we canceled dinner and hung out in the lounge for about 2 1/2 hours.  They shared so many stories with us, told us about growing up in India.  Dave was born in what is now Pakistan but was then part of India and Madhu is a Delhi girl.  That being said they lived all over the world, from London to Zurich to Hong Kong and back again following Dave's work.  We also compared notes a little about retiring in the US vs India.  Lots of pros and cons for each.  Hopefully we can see them again on their next visit to the states. 

We Spent A Nice Evening With New Friends, Dave & Madhu

We got up at the crack of dawn, actually did, to make the 10 minute drive from the Marriott to the airport. An interesting note. We spent 45 minutes clearing thru passport control to get OUT of the country!!!  I don't believe we've ever encountered that before.  It's always been do you have the passport/visa for the country of your destination.  The Qatar flight was once again on a 787 Dreamliner and once again, perfect.  We have a 20 hour layover so Beanie got us a room at the airport hotel.  It's pretty cool because you never leave the secure area of the airport and in the morning we can just walk out of the hotel to our gate.  Saves the time and hassle of picking up luggage, getting a cab to the hotel, early wake up call, back to the airport, clearing security again, and getting to the gate.  Way to go Bean.   We've got a 16 hour flight from Doha to LA tomorrow, but we're kinda looking forward to it.

The flight from Doha to LAX was pretty uneventful.  I watched 6 movies and Beanie got some much needed sleep.  Food and service was once again excellent.  We were an hour late getting to LA (why? I have no idea) which cut into our already tight 2.5 hours layover time considering we had to clear customs, wait for luggage, recheck luggage, move from Terminal 2 to Terminal 6, clear security again, and make the flight.  We also had to do this without TSA PreCheck on our tickets.  Amazingly enough from the time we got off the plane till we were waiting to board our flight to Phoenix was less than an hour.  Having the Global Entry program in place really paid for itself on this trip.  We made it the house by 7:00 PM local time and were in bed by 8:00.  The kitties were all over us and it felt really good to get back into our own bed.

Kathy:  We had a nice last two nights in Delhi.  The JW was beautiful and I especially wanted to point out the refrigerator in the room that was covered with small abalone shell tiles – over the top!  You can’t really see it well in the photo. 



Marriot Living Room Area - Check Out The Frig

Marriot Bedroom Area

Marriot Living Room Area



Marriott Outdoor Courtyard Area

While Randy golfed with Mr. Singh, I slept in, explored the hotel, did a bit of prepacking and just generally relaxed.  I did get a chance to meet Mr. Singh in the lobby when he and Randy returned from golf but it was very brief as he had a business appointment to get too.  It was nice to finally meet the man I had been corresponding with for so long.  Mr. Singh is a real gentleman.  That evening we had a very nice time with Dave and Madhu and we look forward to possibly meeting up with them again in the future.

The next morning we caught the Qatar 10 AM flight to Doha where we had a 20 hour layover.  We spent the night in The Airport Hotel in the transit area, which meant we again had access to the wonderful business class lounge for drinks and meals.



Reception Area To Qatar Executive Business Class Lounge

I explored the airport while Randy rested and worked on the blog in the lounge.  The airport is pretty spectacular looking with mostly high end stores and restaurants, although there is a food court with a Burger King.  I was a bit taken aback until I remembered that we were now in a country that does eat beef.  It’s a very interesting airport to people watch.  You see all the workers coming and going from Asia, the Saudis with the men dressed in their long white robes and the women in their long black robes, the saris from India, and all the different Muslim dress styles.  The next morning at 8 AM we were on our way back to the good ole USA.

Final Random Things:

RC:  Driving in India is a whole new level of competition.  Lane lines are just vague recommendations, animals always have the right of way, children – not so much. Any turn from any lane at any time is fair game.  Just because you’re on a divided six lane highway it doesn’t mean you don’t have to keep an eye out for camels, cows, cars, trucks, or elephants heading eastbound on the westbound lane.  All this being said, rage driving is virtually unheard of (outside Delhi) and there is a certain level of courtesy amongst the chaos.  Here's a short video of what became very routine after the first couple days.

Kathy:

Domestic Airlines.  We were quite impressed with both Air India and Indigo Airlines despite having read some bad reviews.  Indigo’s website talks about charging for overweight bags (their checked bag limit is 35 lbs) so we were prepared to fork over some cash, but on both trips with them they didn’t charge us.  The cabin crew, always attractive young women, busted their butts on all the flights.  Boarding was fast and efficient.  On flights of less than two hours, they managed to serve either a hot meal or snacks and drinks.  Our flights left on time and arrived on time.  Indigo has an inflight magazine called HELLO 6E – think about it & say it out load. 

Security.  Indian airports have much tighter security than in the US.  You have to show your ticket and identification to get into the airport.  You can pretty much forget ever putting away your boarding pass and passport because around every corner someone needed to check it.  For example, you show it to get into the boarding area, at the gate before boarding, at the door to exit the gate area and get onto the bus to take you to the plane, at the door onto the bus and then finally at the door of the plane.  Whew.  Also, separate screening lines for men and women and everyone gets wanded (is that a word?) and a pat down.

The vehicles we used were all Toyota Innovas.  They were very comfortable with excellent suspensions, which is important for me and my new back!

We noticed several restaurant menus that said “In keeping with our secular policies, we don’t serve beef or pork”.  Huh?

French fries are called finger chips on many menus.  For some reason that just cracks us up.

I think we mentioned that cows are sacred – they provide milk and the gods live in the cows.  So people feed them.  Bulls with humps are used for pulling carts so they are fed also.  But bulls without humps are not good for anything so they are not fed and have to forage through the garbage for food.  People don’t want the cows or the bulls in front of their homes and stores so they shoo them away.  Consequently you see a lot of them standing or sitting in traffic in the road or in the median where they feel less harassed.

Cow In The "Safe Zone" - Center Median

Milk is very expensive, about $4 a gallon – about what it is in the US?

Qatar Airways was excellent from the food to the service to comfort.  Like many oil rich Middle Eastern countries, Qataris don’t need to work and almost all of their workforce is “imported”.  The Qatar flight crew we met were from Bosnia, China and the Philippines. Oh, and Qatar is the only airlines that I know of that provides pajamas in business class.  No, I’m not pointing to my boob, they haven’t been that high up in a lot of years – it’s the Qatar logo, the head of an oryx

Beanie In Her Qatar PJs

This is the third international trip we’ve been able to take flying in business class.  It still makes me feel like a kid in a candy store and I hope we never become so jaded as to take this way of travel for granted.

Despite poor reviews of Indian wines, I liked Sula chardonnay.  Wine is quite expensive – anywhere from $9 to $12 a glass for Indian wine.  More for imported wine.  India only makes three beers – King Fisher, Budweiser, and Heinekens – who knew about the last two?  In the US Randy drinks Taj Mahal beer at Indian restaurants and that’s what he ask for in India, but no waiter or bartender had ever heard of it.  Oddly enough it’s made by the same company that makes Kingfisher.  Maybe it's only for export or just sold in certain parts of India. 

And lastly, if any Indians or Indian history buffs have stumbled onto this blog, we apologize for any facts we may have screwed up.  It’s likely there are more than a few.  There was a lot to take in and learn and rather than presenting a bunch of dates and figures our focus has been to convey what an incredible adventure we‘ve had in this amazing country, India.