Jaipur
EAT LMB Laxmi Mishtan Bhandar
EXPLORE Amber Fort
christina
Arriving in Delhi felt thrilling though we were only there overnight as our true first destination was Jaipur. I have always wanted to visit India and though I had a sense of the culture and food, I had no idea about the magic. India is enchanting without a doubt but it's enchanting in a way that brings you to the edge of your comfort zone. You have to be ready for the juxtaposition of all kinds of highs and lows along with the full immersion of all of your senses. A friend of mine explained it as "it feels like someone is lighting firecrackers under your feet non-stop." That sums it up truly. It is full of creativity and at the other end of the spectrum destruction. It is both lined up side-by-side: if you look left it's one thing and then you look right in the same breath it's something completely different. Never have I been to a place with such a dynamic polarity so closely inter-related. It is up to you as the traveler to become one with this environment because there is no controlling it, and no "getting away" from it. It is amazing and I could go on endlessly about all of this.
Jaipur is a wonderful city and I'm so glad we started here because it felt authentic to it's core and truly showed us all the pieces of what India is and what it's becoming. We were lucky to meet our friend Polo there who was visiting from the States (but who is originally from Hyderabad). It was so great to have him there as our unofficial guide and to tour around with us and give us all the tips on how locals do it. We got to visit so many of the historic sites throughout the city and zipped around on tuktuks through crazy traffic. At multiple points, Julio and I looked at each other and wondered if they were safe - but there's no question this is where our intuition set it and we really had to let go and trust. It all became a dance of surrender to the flowing energetic nature of the place.
What really has me excited is the food! I love Indian food - have for years, so to be here in northern India and trying all the delicious vegetarian dishes I am just blown away. Between the pastries of Europe and now this, I'm definitely beginning to gain some weight but hey, a girl has to eat (I mean, When in Rome!). So, the food is delicious, I'm loving the thrill of it and overall I'm learning to surrender some of my anxiety and control issues which has been challenging but helpful. I'm getting a full immersion into a lifelong dream and the beauty has far surpassed my imagination - whether that's the clothes people are wearing, the sounds of the city, the music, the tastes or the general nature of the place - it's just incredible.
julio
Our first extended stay in a big Indian city. What is there to say and where to begin? India is insanely chaotic, dusty, loud, disorganized and somehow moving in a graceful synchronicity that simply cannot be explained. It is like another world from another distant universe. Many times we felt as if this were some other dimension as the lights, smells, people and set of circumstances seemed so different from the simple Earth we were acquainted with. Smoke, noise and people are everywhere. As soon as one inch blows your mind, you notice another beside it even more devastating and you are stuck in a perpetual tunnel of disbelief. Crossing the street was death-defying. Finding a restaurant was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Weaving in and out of Indian traffic in a tuk-tuk is a new kind of thrill that can’t be explained. This country is like no other. The veil between worlds and dimensions is simply thinner and risk, magic and possibility is around every corner.
We were booked in a simple Indian hotel and were slightly dismayed to find that it was kinda dirty, the doors did not lock and lets just say that the bathroom was slightly medieval looking. The nominal nightly rate made it easy to leave without a refund and lets face it it was almost Christmas and after having been in Bali we wanted some creature comforts. After reading reviews on booking.com and looking at the map I went for the Holiday Inn City Jaipur City Center. Not really thinking much of Holiday Inns from what I've seen in the states it was a shock to learn that the chain means high luxury in India. We were treated like royalty through and through altough we were quick to learn the semi pushy, slightly hustle you maneuvers that occur in India in the hospitality industry. Let me carry this for you. Let me show you this or to your room. Let me take you here sir and madam. Then the tip or fee is expected. We were big fish in India, whales in fact and this would be an interesting feeling to tangle with during the two months we spent there.
When we arrived up to our room it was super lux. We opened up the closed shades to find that just beyond our hotel there was a giant slum with thousands living in squalor in abandoned buses and make shift shacks. Thus began the ongoing lesson of juxtapositions and contrast that never seems to be absent when traveling in India.
Jaipur is the grand Rajasthani capital that features popular tourist sites like the Pink City, Amer Fort, City Palace, Jantar Mantar, Nahargarh Fort and a host of Hindu temples. We visited most of them and although the palaces and forts are impressive and worth a visit nothing impressed me more than the feeling of being immersed in its temples such as Ganesha temple Moti Dungri and Radha Krishna devoted Govind Dev Ji.
The process of going to an Indian temple is a beautiful ritual. Typically you bring an offering of sweets, fruits or delicacies and there are shops surrounding the temples to acquire these offerings easily and affordably. You arrive, remove your shoes, enter the complex, give your offering to the mendicants and usually you are given a marking on the forehead and string to tie around your wrist or to leave somewhere in the temple. You ring the hanging bell while entering into the sanctum to announce your presence to the gods. There are usually murtis, figures or some kind of representation of whichever deity the temple is dedicated to and some bow, pranam (fully extend in prostration on the floor), simply pray, chant or just hang out in the space. There is no hard and fast rule and its up to each person and their choice how the approach or pray. The temples do Aarti or fire offerings along with pujas, chants and hymns on the hour to honor the murtis and please the Gods accompanied by the ringing of bells.
We also enjoyed high tea at Taj Rambagh Palace an incredible Rajasthani meal at famous eatery Laksmi Misthan Bhandar (or LMB) and shopped in the local bazzars and centers. Jaipur is centrally located to then visit several other areas of Rajasthan and Haryana so we found and incredible driver through our hotel and headed out to explore more of the state by car.
High Tea at the Taj Rambagh Palace
Pintu the Puppet Master
The Slum outside of the Hotel
The City Palace
