india with Erin - 5

After another lovely terrace morning yoga session and breakfast overlooking the Blue City we bid farewell to our haveli and departed for places south. Haveli Inn Pal was our favorite hotel because of their fabulous food, 360 degree views, incredibly friendly staff, free wifi and Internet, real espresso, and a perfect location. If you find yourself in Jodhpur, western Rajasthan, stay here. Our next stop was Ranakhpur which houses some very famous and unique Jain temples. Jainism came from Hinduism in the 6th century BC similarly to the Buddhism. The little I know about this faith is that it split from Hinduism in much the same way of Buddhism around 5 B.C. People were fed up with the Brahmin caste and other things which led to much exploration to other paths to enlightenment. The temples were truly spectacular. They took 63 years to complete and were a maze of marble columns, idols, and intricate carvings. The Jain Temples are up there for my favorite sight in India so far.

Ramesh took us to a small hotel overlooking a lake - with crocodiles - for lunch. The scenery changed in our 3 hour drive and became lush, green and mountainous which was a welcome change from brown, flat, dry desert. Our next city, Udaipur was another 3 hours from Ranakhpur but the road was brand new and the nicest road we've driven on so we didn't mind. It was almost dusk when we arrived so we opted for dinner at our lake-side hotel and weren't disappointed with the view or the food.

The big thing on our agenda in Udaipur was a cooking class. We read about many reputable kitchens in this lake town and chose one in the middle of town that came recommended by the Lonely Planet and our hotel. The Spice Box is run by Shakti who has been cooking traditional Indian food since he was 7 and who also studies Ayurvedic massage in Kerala, southern India. While he taught us to cook khadai paneer, malai kofka, chapati and a few more dishes, he talked earnestly about his love for cooking and spices and about a recent trip he took to Kyoto, Japan to teach massage and cooking. The class was very well organized and the food was delish. If you see Erin any time soon, ask her to cook you some Indian food!
Lunch was followed by more shopping and then a boat ride on Lake Pichola out to a small palace island. The lakes are all perfectly calm which gives this city a peaceful quality when you're off the streets which, of course, are still chock full of traffic, some of which pee on you when you're not paying attention. (Yes I was sprayed with some cow pee. Do cows not like me?) For dinner we checked out another guide book recommended place with a rooftop terrace (we really like these) and tried their thali, an Indian meal consisting of 3-4 small dishes like lentils or curry with chapati and rice. Then we watched a dance performance with many different types of traditional Indian dance. The most impressive was a woman who balanced 10 pots on her head while dancing across the stage, walking on glass, laying on the ground, etc. Also very entertaining was the marionetteer and his whimsical Rajasthani puppets, the women dancing with pots of fire balanced on their head, and women who played cymbals positioned all over their bodies. We finished the evening with delectable chocolate balls - fudgy/cakey balls rolled in coconut flakes. *Note: These are highly addictive. Every bakery in Udaipur makes their own version which we felt compelled to try.

Our last day of the trip dawned cool and clear over the still lake. We had an Indian breakfast of potato stuffed parantha, a cross between a German pancake and a fried chapati, packed our bags and headed into Udaipur to enjoy the relaxing atmosphere of the town. Erin and I both had had enough sightseeing, but I did want to check out the famous Hindi temple, called Jagdish Temple, in the city center. The temple was full of life. People sat around singing, yellow strings of marigolds were hung from framed pictures and columns, incense was burning everywhere. The temple itself, which is dedicated to the god Vishnu, was more beautiful than other temples I've seen here in India. Thus far we've visited a muslim mosque, a Jain temple, a Sikh temple, Brahma temple, a Vishnu temple and several small neighborhood Hindi temples. There aren't very many Buddhists in this part of India but there will be many in the north where I'll be for the next month. It is very obvious how religion is a living part of every day life in India. Shopkeepers bless their doorways with incense and prayers, Hindus wear bright red and yellow marks on their foreheads, statues of gods and goddesses appear around most corners, Jains sweep their path so as not to kill any insects, temples donate food daily to impoverished people, pilgrims and devotees wander through the streets, meditate, and beg for food. It's a vast change from secular American life.

We did little computer time in the late morning (after cappuccinos and chocolate balls) then it was almost lunch time (but first some coffee and chocolate balls). For lunch we went to Queen Cafe and were not let-down from the rave review in 'Rough Guide to Rajasthan'. Meenu, the sweet daughter of the owners, suggested the pumpkin curry, stuffed tomatoes, and special pulao which sounded good to us. Mmmmm, mmmmm, mmmmm. Even though we were full from our morning of snacking, we ate every bite and just about licked the plate. Joined by Meenu's parents and 5 year old daughter, we sat on the floor in the loft eating chapati and chatting about Indian education and tourist cooking classes. Erin and I stayed there about 3 hours talking with Meena, going over her son and neice's school progress reports and hearing her stories about being an Indian wife and mother today. Oh...and she convinced us to try her chocolate balls. Wow. Eventually we had to go. As much as we wanted to try the banana curry and other exotic sounding dishes, playing with her kids, and napping on comfy rugs and pillows, we had a train to catch. Ramesh took us to the train station and eventually we found our first class train car where I'm currently writing this and Erin in the upper berth and the very nice Indian man in the lower berth are sleeping.

Some recommended spots in western India:

The Taj Mahal - Agra: hire a guide and plan to spend 2-3 hours in this architectural marvel

Sundar Palace Guest House - Jaipur: a very pleasant, cozy, and nicely decorated guest house. The food and service were both good, and the Internet inexpensive (25 rupees for wifi, 40 for Internet)

Haveli Inn Pal - Jodhpur: Located inside Pal Haveli right by the clock tower and spice market in Jodhpur. Our room was huge with a great view and comfy bed. The staff are so friendly and outgoing, we felt like family. Free Internet, really good food at both the Sheesh Mahal Cafe just outside the Haveli (real espresso here) and on the rooftop terrace. Indique, the fine-dining restaurant at Pal Haveli was also very nice but a bit pricier than Haveli Inn Pal's menu with the same view and similar quality food.

Jain temples - Ranakpur: exceptionally beautiful, very unique, quiet and contemplative if you can catch it when there are minimal tourists about. Note: long pants/skirt are required. Leather is not allowed inside the temples.

Queen Cafe - Udaipur: home-cooked food from a Jain kitchen cooked with love and wisdom. Meenu also offers daily cooking classes and will open a new kitchen for this purpose very soon. Located at Hanuman ghat just over the pedestrian bridge.

Spice market - Jaipur:

Honey & Spice - Pushkar:

Amber Fort - Jaipur:

Rana's - Jaipur: