Happy Wanderers: diwali

Wednesday, 12 November 2014

India: Udaipur

So, we were the original three Happy Wanderers again and with all of India at our feet it was a hard decision where to go next. After a hectic two weeks with our friends, it's fair to say we were exhausted and could do with some chill out time. Reading up on place after place, we decided on Udaipur, Rajasthan which is described as 'The Venice of India' - ideal! We hopped on our 7 hour train journey and settled into our hostel in no time. We stayed in yet another Zostel which had the most amazing views across Lake Pichola. It wasn't long before the peace of the city was ruined by a large family staying at the hostel to celebrate Diwali, all of varying ages from around 4 to 40. They spent all day and night sitting on the roof terrace making so much noise it was unbearable - we were beginning to think that sleeping for more than 4 hours was a crime in India! Luckily the family were only present for the first 2 nights of our stay, which meant we eventually got the rest we so desperately needed.

Udaipur is like no other place we visited in Rajasthan, it's very much a safe haven for travellers. We had very little hassle from shops and rickshaws, no beggars or street children and the most amazing selection of cute cafes - what more could we ask for! Pretty much all we did during our time in Udaipur was eat, eat, eat... chat to the locals, chill out, then eat some more haha! Anyone who has travelled in India will understand that getting into a conversation with a local can sometimes cause trouble as they are more than likely just trying to sell you something. It starts off as a friendly chat of 'Where do you come from?', 'What is your job?' etc.. but ultimately they are interested in how much money you are going to give them. We get it, they're making a living, but sadly this makes you weary of getting chatting to the next person for fear of letting them down when you genuinely can't buy another pashmina! You'll be happy to know that Udaipur was not like this at all. We chatted to countless people whilst roaming around the shops, all of which were just interested in getting to know a little bit about us and our culture - it was like a breath of fresh air.

We ate more food and visited more cafes than we care to admit during our stay in Udaipur. The best of which were Millets of Mewar and Lotus Cafe.

Millets of Mewar: Strives itself on serving healthy vegan foods. The variety on the menu was amazing, all at a decent price. For dinner we ordered pizza, chickpea masala and cookies. We enjoyed so much that we went back for breakfast the next morning where we ordered mixed fruit porridge, nutella pancakes, breakfast burittos and coffee and ice-cream (all of which was claimed to be healthy so we didn't feel too bad!). The atmosphere in the restaurant was what gave Millets its personality - the entire first floor is covered with floor seating and you can get some great views of the lake. The service was a little slow on occasion, but this was understandable considering how busy it got during dinner time.

Lotus Cafe: Conveniently located in the centre of the town, we stumbled into Lotus Cafe on a whim after looking for somewhere with a decent menu. Once we saw the cheap prices we decided it was worth a try - turns out it was soo yummy we went back a total of 5 times! Every time we were met by the cutest waiter who was happy to accommodate any request we had - swapping salad for baked beans was a Samantha special! Lotus Cafe was located upon a rooftop with views across to the City Palace which looked so beautiful lit up at night time.

After all the delicious food we thought it was time for some culture so we gave Jagdish Temple a visit. This temple is right in the centre of Udaipur so cannot be missed. Walking around the temple itself the detail of the building is so intricate with tiny elephants, people, flowers and patterns carved into the pillars. We stood at the back of the main shrine to watch and listen as women and children chanted and sang to worship Lord Vishnu, it gave the entire place such a magical feel which gave us all goosebumps.

On our way out of Jagdish Temple we were distracted by really loud music and a crowd of people covered in coloured paint. One man pulled us to the side of the street and requested we follow him shouting "Hurry, you're going to miss it!". Intrigued we followed him through the small streets, into a cafe and out the other side where we were met with the most incredible sight. The entire street filled with people dancing to music so loud we couldn't hear each other speak. We had to insert a video as we couldn't explain the experience in words. We were later told that this was all in celebration of Navratri. A celebration spread over nine nights in worship of the Hindu deity Durga (the goddess of power and energy).

Next morning we thought some more down time was in order so we entered one of the fancy hotels to use their rooftop pool facilities. It was so lovely to have this little luxury, and for only 300 rupees (£3) each for the whole day! We enjoyed soaking up the sun whilst listening to some music and catching up on writing our journals.

There are numerous other activities available in Udaipur including a boat tour of Lake Pichola, a visit to the City Palace and Monsoon Palace and a cable car ride up to sunset point. We had every intention of covering all of this whilst in Udaipur but it seemed time just ran away from us and before we knew it, it was time for us to get on the road again.

Here are our favourite pictures from our time in Udaipur:

Jagdish Temple

Elephant with love heart! awwwh

Inside was filled with ladies chanting and singing - very magical

Navratri Celebration

The trucks playing music were stopped near the lake for dancing to commence

Food was so good...

...we came back for breakfast! COFFEE AND ICE CREAM!

Buying anklets - can't resist a bargain

Lotus Cafe - Look how cheeeeap!

Sarah cannot contain her excitement for her butter masala

Pool Day!

Thanks for allowing us to recuperate Udaipur :D

Happy Wanderers
♥

Sunday, 9 November 2014

India: Jaipur

Less than a week in India and we'd tried almost every class of sleeper the trains had to offer. We started out living the high life in second class, quickly followed by third and now at the bottom in what is referred to simply as 'sleeper class'. We figured the quicker we got used to the crowded, loud and sometimes smelly compartments the better as our budget doesn't allow for luxuries. We arrived into Jaipur feeling well rested after a surprisingly pleasant journey. We'd read so many horrible things about the railway system in India with many warnings about 'sleeper class'. However we found it no different to third class as the cabins are set up in exactly the same way - we'll definitely be using this class for every travel in the future!

This time we were staying in another Zostel! As we mentioned in a previous post; hostels are a rarity in India and with Zostel being the first ever chain company, there are numerous ones dotted here there and everywhere. We try to choose a hostel with a dorm room over a private hotel as we enjoy the environment they provide. We get to meet people who are travelling like us, share stories and plan our next stop according to their recommendations. Hostels also tend to provide a kitchen area for use by guests which makes a big different for us. It means we can buy ingredients and make our own breakfast to try and cut down on our spending - Nannies porridge recipe has been a massive hit!

Once we were all ready to begin exploring it was that time again - time to flag down a rickshaw and barter like hell for a reasonable price (our favourite game.. NOT!). It seems the rickshaws of Jaipur are a lot smaller than anywhere else as this time we couldn't fit four of us along the back seat. Bethan drew the short straw and was told to sit in what would be the 'boot', or in this case a sheet of metal welded over the engine. Don't panic, this was standard practice for the Indian locals who could impressively fit up to twelve people in one rickshaw!

The first stop of Jaipur was Amber Fort a nd Palace, built in 1592 and lived in by royals, atop a massive hill overlooking Maota Lake. There are two options for reaching the fort, on foot or by elephant who will pick you up from somewhere near the bottom. We were all so excited to catch a first glimpse of an Indian elephant. They all seemed to be cared for very well and were only worked for a few hours each morning. Once they had finished their shift they were taken to Jal Mahal (Water Palace) for a splash about in the lake before being taken home for a well earned rest.

The Fort has multiple palaces set up over a four level layout, each with a substantial courtyard. The one that stood out the most for us was the Sheesh Mahal, which is also known as the mirror palace. This was very heavily decorated with, yeah you guessed it, mirrors, arranged in a mosaic format to create flowers and pretty patterns. We mostly enjoyed visiting the Fort because we felt we were free to roam pretty much anywhere, which made it different to the others in the respect as nowhere was off limits. Although this did prove difficult when trying to navigate our way out of the twisty corridors - all part of the fun! Bethan and Jack were the first to find their way out of the labyrinth and happily awaited the others in the most amazing coffee shop - Cafe Coffee Day, India's largest coffee chain. This was a little slice of home for us serving the most amazing chocolate cake, frappes, iced tea and sandwiches. We'll definitely be looking out for these in all the other cities!

Amber Fort is connected with Jaigarh Fort by a subterranean passage which was used as an escape route in times of war. We walked for around 20 minutes through this passage and up the steep hill before reaching the summit and entering Jaigarh Fort. Here we were met with amazing views across the landscape of Jaipur. We were also treated to pretty gardens, a puppet show and a photo shoot with almost every Indian family that passed by - forcefully handing over their babies for pictures haha!

We knew we had a busy evening ahead of us with Diwali celebrations in full swing, so we headed to a restaurant for some chill time. This turned out to be such a let down; Jack ordered a chicken korma, which was definitely a sagwala as it was covered in spinach and Sam ordered a veggie burger which turned out to be a very small bun filled with one slice of tomato, cucumber and onion - yummy! Diwali celebrations later that night were... uhh... interesting. It was sooo busy, we spent the evening wading through the massive crowds, avoiding fireworks being thrown in the streets and witnessing police officers beat boys with sticks when they become too boisterous. Safe to say, we were exhausted so took refuge on a rooftop bar where we could enjoy the fireworks in peace. Anyone visiting India during Diwali, we suggest you visit somewhere out of the city to avoid the crowds.

The next day marked the final day for our Spicy Mermaids, it'd come around far too quickly! We decided to visit the City Palace which was built in 1729 and 1732 by Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber. The palace also includes the Chandra Mahal and Mubarak Mahal. We'd heard and read good things about the palace but all felt a bit let down by it as there weren't many interesting things there to see and learn about. The most entertaining part for us was 'the worlds biggest jugs' as we childishly found this name hilarious! There was nothing particularly funny about them (except the name), as they were just two large, silver jugs which held a world record for being just that.

Later that day, we visited Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds, as if the worlds biggest jugs wasn't enough of an innuendo!). Built in 1799, it gained it's named due to essentially being a high screen wall which was built so the women of the royal household could observe street festivities while unseen from the outside. We decided to skip this palace as it was due to close by the time we arrived, but the Spicy Mermaids went inside anyway for a quick look around. Foolishly, Bethan gave Jack her camera so he could take some photos for the blog.. the results were interesting! The photos we have posted below are the only ones that weren't of Sinead's bum, strangers posing or security cameras (thanks for that Jack-o!).

There was only one thing left to do, say goodbye to our beloved mermaid friends! Things got a little emotional as we said our farewells over a sweet lassi - it was like leaving home all over again. It's going to take some getting used to, just being the three of us again - we miss you mermaids!

Here are some of our favourite pictures from our time in Jaipur: