Jodhpur & Udaipur

The final two stops on our whirlwind tour of Rajistan were Jodhpur and Udaipur. Jodhpur's buildings have a distinct blueish hue (hence its nickname as the "Blue City"). The cobalt colour was applied to the buildings to moderate the heat and ward off insects. 

In the centre of Jodhpur is the beautifully maintained Mehrangarh Fort, with its soaring, impenetrable walls. Like many other forts/palaces in Rajistan, it is currently managed by the  descendants of the former Maharaja.The hand prints below are supposedly of women who performed Jauhar by throwing themselves into a funeral pyre following the death of their husbands or a defeat in battle.

 

Throughout Rajistan, many of the men wear turbans. The turbans' varying sizes and colours help to denote the castes of the men.

Udaipur, our final stop, is known for its many lakes. Ironically the lakes, including Lake Pichola below, were completely dry when we visited. This is mainly due to the failure of the previous years' monsoons. Udaipur was recently rated by Travel and Leisure Magazine as the "most romantic city in the world".


The shear number and opulence of India's uber luxury hotels is a little mind boggling. Rooms at the Lake Palace hotel below start at $350, with some topping $6,000.  We attempted to go for drinks at one of the luxury hotels in Udaipur, only to be politely turned away saying they were "all full with reservations for the evening" (although I have a  suspicion that our arrival in an auto rickshaw and casual attire had more to do with it).

Udaipur's City Palace was built in 1559 and is the former home of the Maharana of Mewar (the kingdom in which Udaipur was located). In Mewar, the kings were referred to as Maharanas, as opposed to Maharajahs.

The first painting is of a former Maharana, while the second is a "miniature" style painting (which Udaipur is famous for). Although many of the paintings themselves are indeed very small, the name actually refers to the size of the images within each painting.

This palace screen - one of many we saw in the forts and palaces throughout Rajistan - is designed to shield women in Purdah. Purdah is the practice of preventing women from being seen by men and was popular in Rajistan.

There were many handicrafts for sale in Rajistan. One must be wary though: we were told over and over again that we were looking at real camel leather bags (reality: goat leather) or camel bone and ivory artifacts (reality: plastic). Although I enjoyed the shopping, by the end of the trip I had had my fill of bargaining.

On our final day, we rented a car/driver/ guide and toured the area surrounding Udaipur. The drive through varied landscapes and tiny villages was beautiful, and we visited a fort and the Ranakpur Jain Temples. Jainism is an offshoot of Hinduism and the two religions share many similarities.

Kochi

After living in another country for a while things that previously seemed "abnormal" become "normal". Like pedestrians giving cars the right of way (crossing the street in India is not for the faint of heart!). Or wearing long pants in thirty degree plus weather. Or spending 24 hours of your weekend travelling - which I did two weekends ago. I took an overnight train to Kochi, a lovely coastal town in the south western corner of the country. I rode in second class and was provided a very narrow, flat berth and fresh sheets, a pillow, and a blanket. It certainly wasn't luxurious, but at least I was able to stretch out and get a couple hours of sleep.

When I got off the train in the early morning, it was pouring rain. The official start of the monsoon season was just days away and the region's summer was ending. Thankfully,  it only rained sporadically while I was there. Kochi is located in the state of Kerala and has been an important port town since 1341. Throughout its history, Arab, Chinese, and European sea merchants have sailed the waters surrounding Kochi. And given its history as a Dutch, Portuguese, and British colony, it has a Indo-European feel.

I spent Saturday wondering around the city and viewing the churches, shops, spice market, and Chinese fishing nets. These cantilevered nets, with teak and bamboo poles up to 10 metres high, require a team of fisherman to operate. That evening, I attended a visually spectacular Kathakali performance, which combines various forms of dance, music, and theatrical body, eye and hand movements. At the show, I met a couple my age who were on their final leg of an around the world trip! The next day, I took a tour of the backwaters, which are lush inland waterways. Like many other boats in the backwaters, our boat was pushed (rather than paddled) along by a long bamboo stick, which reaches the bottom of the river.

Overall, I enjoyed my short stay in Kochi, and I particularly liked the local cuisine. Coconut plays a prominent role in many of the dishes and seafood is plentiful. For breakfast, I was served puttu, a fine rice powder and grated coconut cylinder, with a mildly spicy chickpea and coconut stew. For another meal, I purchased  prawns from the fish market and a local restaurant cooked them on the spot.

 

 

Cunningham Road

I live on Cunningham Road, which is a bustling, centrally located street less than 2 km north of the main part of town. It is a convenient street to live on with numerous coffee shops, a choice of Indian and international restaurants, a small grocery store, a Chapters-like bookstore, and a mall.

Grand Sigma Mall is fairly basic (it is no Sherway Gardens). Its best feature is its movie theatre. Movies in Bangalore are in English, Kannada (the local language) or Hindi. The movie experience is fairly similar to at home with three notable exceptions: there is a short intermission in the middle of the movie (great idea, time to get a snack), metal detectors at the door (which are everywhere in Bangalore thanks to the threat of terroism), and popcorn is 75 rupees (less than $2). I haven’t yet been to a Bollywood movie, but I will definitely do that before I leave!

I have a love/hate relationship with the auto rickshaws (seen below on Cunningham Road), my primary mode of transportation. These three wheeled taxi-like vehicles are at times extremely convenient. It is relatively easy to flag one down and they are affordable (my 15 minute / 5 km commute to work is about 30 rupees, or $0.75). There are downsides however, most notable is dealing with drivers. Sometimes they don't want to go where you are going, or have no idea where you want to go (limited English). And although they are supposed to use metres to determine the fare, often they refuse and you have to negotiate a price upfront. This can be a trying and frustrating experience – and if it is the evening or you are going to an upscale place or because you are a foreigner – you sometimes have to accept paying double or even triple the metre rate.

Surprisingly, within a five minute walk from my apartment there are three American fast food restaurants: Domino’s, McDonald’s, and Pizza Hut. And yes, I have succumbed to both McDonald’s (sample menu variations: Maharaja burger, like a big Mac but with chicken, there are no beef hamburgers on menu) and Pizza Hut (sample menu variation: Paneer El Rancho Pizza with cajun spiced paneer, black olives, corn, capsicum, onion and cheese).

My apartment is on the eighth floor of Cunningham Apartments. It is comfortable, but fairly basic by North American standards (no T.V, couch, or oven). My roommate – Pallavi – is originally from Kolkata, and works in marketing for a dance studio. Five days a week, a maid sweeps the floors, cleans the dishes, and does my laundry by hand.

The view from my balcony at sunrise, and looking down onto the neighbouring apartment.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Although Cunningham Road is very busy, my apartment backs out onto Edward Street. This road is much quieter, with lots of trees and an adorable garden cafe. In fact, one of Bangalore's nicknames is the "Garden City" for its abundance of trees.