Delhi Metro Ride

Monday, 17 November 2014, Delhi  

Pati wants a temple bell for the garden at home. He and BeeBee had a free afternoon in Delhi and decided to shop for one. The travel agency suggested a shopping area called Hauz Kauz. They hired a tuk-tuk at their hotel and off they went. When they got to the shopping area, they walked up and down looking for a store selling bells. They found a lot of restaurants but no bell stores. BeeBee suggested having a meal since they had not had lunch. Given Pati's current love of Indian food they found an American style diner call Filthy Garage (or something like that) and ordered sloppy joes (veg since Pati didn't know what had become of the dead rat they saw in Phalodi).

 After the meal, Pati asked the server if they sold bells in Hauz Kauz. He said "No. Here is  mainly restaurants." Pati, still wanting a bell, asked where they did sell bells. The server asked his manager, the manager told the server, and the server told Pati "Connaught Place." Pati asked the server if this was far and the server brought up an app on his cell phone showing that it was only 14 minutes away via a nearby metro. The ride only cost 15 rupees! Pati left a 370 rupee tip and he and BeeBee were off.  

They found another tuk-tuk driver who wanted 150 rupees for the trip to the nearby metro. As they started off, another person hopped in the front seat and the driver cranked up his stereo to ear splitting levels. He started hacking as he drove (Pati suppose it was a touch of ebola) and BeeBee made Pati pay with exact change (since one needs small bills to tip one's way out of a restroom, Pati and BeeBee had to hold it for the rest of the evening). The driver dropped Pati and BeeBee almost within sight of the unmarked metro entrance, but they found it anyway. A little hand sanitizer and they were off.

Pati and BeeBee found the booth that sold metro tokens and, after a few dozen Indians pushed their way ahead of them, it was their turn. They got tokens and were told to go to Track 2. There were quite a few people on the platform but no more than at home during rush hour. After a few minutes, a train came. It was quite full, but Pati and BeeBee squeezed in. At each stop more and more Indians squeezed in until it started to become difficult to breath. Then more Indians squeezed in, and then more and more. And then more Indians squeezed in. It was the worst crush of people that Pati and BeeBee had ever been in. When they reached their stop it was impossible to get off. No one moved and even more Indians were pushing on. Pati managed to get a hand on the door by reaching his arm over quite a few Indians. He hope that the train would not move with an open door (it is India - it was only a hope). Pati and BeeBee pushed, shoved, and yelled ("Out! Out!") and finally made it out the door. An Indian man who had been on the train with them and also made it out laughed and said to them, "You will remember this for the rest of your life."  The crush of people had been so great that the reading glasses in Pati's pocket were broken.  

When they made it to the surface, the store selling the bell was no where to be seen and Pati and BeeBee were lost. They wanted a tuk-tuk or a taxi to take them to a  bell store or back to their hotel, they didn't care which so long as they didn't have to ride the metro again.   They couldn't find a tuk-tuk at the metro stop but saw several a block away. The found an Indian couple crossing the street and crossed with them. If a car hit the Indian couple, they would be ad hoc airbags for Pati and BeeBee. However, as startling as it seemed, Pati and BeeBee made it across the street and asked a tuk-tuk driver "How much to Connaught Place?" He said "One hundred and twenty rupees." At that instant, another tuk-tuk driver stuck his head in and said "This guy doesn't speak English. Come with me and I will take you." The latter part of this statement was quite true. He took them to an overpriced shop that, despite his description as a bell lover's paradise, had exactly five bells and ugly ones at that. After a failed attempt to sell Pati and BeeBee what seemed to be a large cow bell, they left the shop. The tuk-tuk driver was still there. After a failed attempt not to get back in the tuk-tuk, Pati agreed to pay 300 rupees to go back to their hotel. As soon as the driver started moving the tuk-tuk, he said "Just one more shop." Before Pati could speak, BeeBee said "No!" The driver didn't take that too well but eventually calmed down and started making small talk like "How much did you pay for your hotel room?"  To everyone's suprise (possibly including the driver), they eventually arrived at the hotel. Pati gave the driver the agreed upon 300 rupees and the driver said "Give me 500." Pati did. Then the driver wanted another 100. Pati gave him that too fully knowing that the driver was a small time criminal. The 600 rupees Pati paid was only half the amount he was willing to pay to get back to the hotel without another metro ride. The driver's big extortion was quite small time. However, to be on the safe side, the driver refused to return the card with Pati and BeeBee's hotel address on it in the hope he can take them for another ride.

Waiting to get on the Delhi metro

Udaipur - Lake City

Sunday, 16 November 2014, Udaipur

Pati and BeeBee had agreed with their guide and driver that they would be picked up at 9 am by the driver to meet the guide at the city palace to start the day with a tour. Breakfast was scheduled for 7:45 am, which fit nicely with a 9 am start. They finished breakfast with 45 minutes to spare and went to their room for teeth brushing and internetting before meeting the driver. Since the room would be cleaned while they were gone, they also needed to collect their belongings to make cleaning easier for the staff. At 8:30, the owner of the homestay knocked at their door: the guide was here, saying there would be a VIP in town causing traffic problems, could they come earlier? Since they had agreed to meet the guide in town, BeeBee was puzzled, but decided that the potential problem must be serious enough that the guide had come to get them. Finishing their tasks as quickly as possible, they went out to meet the guide at 8:40.  It was not their guide! He was indignant, demanding to know who they were. The owner of the homestay had followed them out. BeeBee told her that the man was not their guide. The owner explained that Pati and BeeBee and the Indian ladies were all clients of the same travel company. The guide made a cellphone call while Pati went down a few steps toward the parking area to check whether Deepak was there. He was, so Pati and BeeBee went down the long flight of steps, listening to two cellphone calls, because the guide and Deepak were both on the phone. Were they talking to each other, BeeBee wondered? She hoped not, because she was not impressed with this guide. Deepak hung up. The guide continued to talk. Whew! Pati and BeeBee got into the car, explaining the mixup to Deepak (why they came out early), and they drove away.  The Indian ladies got to sleep in and the nasty guide would have to fend with the mysterious VIP.

Arriving at the city palace, they waited a few minutes for their guide. They then toured the city palace which towers over the beautiful Lake Pichola and the Jagadish temple beside it. Their guide did a very good job of pointing out the best parts and explaining the architecture and religious aspects of the sights. Pati and BeeBee have been in several temples by now with other guides, yet this guide's explanations were much clearer and understandable. They are quite impressed by him. (Deepak told them later that this guide was much newer at his job -only about a year and a half - and was still excited about his work, while the older guides were stuck in their ways and just recited the same story all the time.) After a 3 pm lunch, they took a boat cruise on Lake Pichola, visiting Jagmandir Palace, the island palace in the middle of the lake. This palace was the inspiration for the Taj Mahal.

Not mentioned in this post are the shopping opportunities interspersed with the sightseeing. The shop keepers were not as aggressive as those promoted by other guides, and so the experience was almost enjoyable.

Following the last tour and shopping, Pati and BeeBee decided that they were too full from lunch for another large meal, and asked their guide and driver to just take them somewhere for dessert in lieu of dinner.  The guide knew of a restaurant with a beautiful garden and took them there; at this point his services were over and goodbyes were said.

After dessert, Deepak drove them back to the homestay, and he was free to get what rest he could before tomorrow. After he takes Pati and BeeBee to the airport tomorrow, he starts driving back to Delhi empty (meaning, with no passengers) to pick up his next tourists for a Golden Triangle tour (Delhi, Agra, Jaipur).  The trip to Delhi will take 15 hours of driving; he will get a few hours of sleep halfway between Udaipur and Delhi. (As he told them a few days ago, "Life is very hard in India.") By the time he gets to Delhi, Pati and BeeBee could very well be in Varanasi (flight tomorrow to Delhi, flight Tuesday to Varanasi). He does not get a break between driving Pati and BeeBee and driving his next passengers; he will not see his family for a long time yet.

5000 Volts

Sunday, 16 November 2014, Udaipur

Jainism is a religion with about four million followers. Jains believe the universe was not created, will not end, and requires no god to maintain it. They believe that the soul is intrinsically pure but is made impure by karma. Jainism has developed techniques they believe can overcome karma.  

Pati and BeeBee listened to a description of this Jainism on a pair of headsets they were issued at a Jain temple.  Jains believe in non-violence, considering all viewpoints, and not using more than is needed. They believe these things in the extreme. For example, they do not eat root vegetables (e.g., potatos and onions) because their harvest may injure micro-organisms (they don't really like eating non-root vegetables but they do -- otherwise Pati couldn't write this blog). They have hospitals for injured rats. Some wear facemasks and sweep ahead of themselves to avoid injury to insects. They will not use milk products or honey because they feel that causes harm to cows and bees.

Jain have monks (male and female) who wander eight months each year. There are two denominations of Jain. (Why does this happen in every religion?) Pati and BeeBee had seen the female monks of one denomination start their annual journey. No shoes, no vehicles, no staying in the same place for very long. You know, monk stuff, something to blog about but no serious culture shock. Today, however, Pati and BeeBee saw a male monk of the Digambara sect. He was strolling down a major city street naked as a jaybird (technically speaking, jaybirds are not naked but the monk was) with no one in the extremely conservatively dressed culture (many women even wear veils) giving the slightest notice. Pati did not get a photo but he did get 5000 volts of culture shock.

17 Listening Points?

Jain Priestesses

From Sardargarh to Udaipur

Saturday, 15 November 2014, Udaipur

Pati and BeeBee left Sardargarh at 9 am so that they could arrive at Ranakpur Temple for its 12 o'clock opening time. They actually arrived a half hour early, so Deepak stopped at an artisans shop by the roadside. Here they watched a demonstration of a craftsman making a dhurrie. These rugs are different from kilims and other rugs because they can be used on either side. Apparently there is jewelry making at that site also, but it was not being demonstrated. In another stall, a man was making sandals, but also not demonstrating the process. There were also tools of every day living just for viewing.  In addition to Pati and BeeBee, there were two women from Australia viewing the procedures and products.

After the stop, they arrived at the temple before crowds were heavy. They got in line behind the same two Australian women and picked up audio guides and proceeded to the temple itself.  This is a very beautiful, active Jain temple. In the very center, where non-Jain could not go, there was a group of Jains worshiping. The temple was built in the 15th century at incredible expense and covers 48,000 square feet. There was strict security both in checking for tickets and what people might be bringing into the temple (no shoes, no leather, no food or liquids - BeeBee is not sure why she was patted down). Also, there were guards watching to make sure that no one took any pictures of any Jain gods: the notice said that they could take away any pictures taken, and there was at least one incident with a guard repeatedly blowing a whistle and pointing at some tourist. But people were taking pictures of just about everything, and it was difficult to determine what would be considered a Jain god. In contrast, at the Jain temple in Phalodi, Pati was allowed to take pictures of anything in the temple.

Back on the road, they stopped after a half hour or so at a restaurant with an Italian name (but no Italian food). The two Australian women were just leaving. Deepak, their driver, said the women had left the temple very soon after entering, so they obviously did not listen to all 17 parts of the audio guide (as Pati and BeeBee did). Pati and BeeBee had a very nice lunch on the outer porch of the restaurant, with beautiful views of the hills. In the same part of the restaurant were some German tourists. One of the German men was finishing his second or third bottle of beer as Pati and BeeBee were eating, and the German group left just before Pati and BeeBee.

Continuing on down the road, they came upon, and stopped to observe, a rural scene of two oxen walking in a circle around a center capstan to raise water, by a series of buckets, from a large deep well. This water then flowed through channels into the newly-planted fields. The oxen were yolked  together, and a slender young man sat on a board seat behind them to urge them to move forward. This seat continued to the other side of the capstan, where there were rocks placed on it as a counterbalance. Several cars of tourists had stopped to watch. In the midst of the picture taking, everyone became aware that the German tourist from the restaurant had displaced the young man on the seat. He immediately fell off the seat backwards, as if in slow motion, and rolled on the ground, unable to stop himself. (The effect of those beers at the restaurant?) Everyone - the other Germans, Pati and BeeBee, Deepak, the farmers, the gypsy children - roared with laughter. The German picked himself up as if nothing had happened, climbed back on the seat, and continued, making a feeble attempt to hit the oxen with the young man's switch to urge them on. The German was much heavier than the young man, so the young man went to the end with the counterbalancing rocks and hung from the end of the board as additional weight (as children do on a see-saw). At this point, a little gypsy girl became aware of Pati and BeeBee and came demanding rupees. They could resist her until she demanded shampoo (and she definitely needed shampoo) and then Pati relented and gave 10 rupees to each of the three Gypsy children. (One little boy promptly stole the rupees from the other little boy, but that was their affair by then...) As soon as Pati gave the "shampoo" girl rupees, she immediately stared at him and demanded "Rupees!"

After this diversion, they continued to Udaipur, where they checked into their homestay, Devran Udaipur. The local representative met them there, and they mapped out their activities for their visit. At 5 pm, they drove to the old part of the city to meet their guide. He led them through the market, observing fruits, grains, spices, and teas. After this, they drove back to their home stay. At 7 pm, they joined a group of Indian women to watch a cultural show of music and dancing. These women were occupying the rest of the homestay, and were celebrating a 50th anniversary (perhaps they had gone through school together as children?), and were a fun group to be around. Pati and BeeBee had a wonderful dinner at 8 pm; the Indian women appeared to be partying outside. Then internetting and to bed.

Sardargarh - Meter Gauge Train

Friday, 14 November 2014 , Sardargarh  

Today Pati and BeeBee rode on a meter gauge local train between two villages, a distance of 44 km. They boarded the train at the small Sardargarh station. Their traveling companions from the hotel were the Dutch foursome, plus a guide. All 7 of them sat on two opposing bench seats, which had berths above for sleeping (no one used them but BeeBee saw Pati considering them). BeeBee had a window seat for excellent picture-taking opportunities. Each train window had 4 horizontal metal bars, which were not a problem, because their camera was small enough to fit between the bars. The first part of the trip went through and stopped at other villages. At the first stop, the rails split into two sets of tracks. Another train was waiting on the other set of tracks, and some villagers switched between trains.

At one stop, an elderly man in white with a colorful turban got on and sat at the end of bench, diagonal from BeeBee. He and the guide chatted, be graciously posed for pictures, and then he demonstrated how he tied his turban (BeeBee has video). He offered the turban to one of the Dutchmen, who posed in it. Then the other Dutchman and Pati tried the turban and posed, and then finally all three women - BeeBee included - did the same. 

At another stop, the guide got down from the train and took pictures of each couple peering through the bars of the train window, using their cameras. Finally, the Dutch group left the train at the Manwar stop, where their driver and guide were waiting to take them in some further adventures. Pati, BeeBee and their guide remained on the train for even more exciting scenery.   

The train passes through the Ravli Sanctuary, with 100-foot-high bridges, two long tunnels (where the guide and other passengers made erie sounds for the echo effect), a (now dry) waterfall, and thick jungle. The track was cut out of the side of the cliff, with steep drops to left side of the train. There is a change of 1000 feet in elevation, downward. This railroad was built in 1928.  

One of the first stops was to test the brakes. Pati, BeeBee, and the guide got off, and he showed them the various parts of the station and explained its history. Reboarding, the guide opened a window so that BeeBee could take pictures without the bars. She took many pictures of the gorgeous scenery and of the train as it curved toward a bridge or tunnel. The train paused at the Goram Ghat flag station, where the monkeys were waiting for their treats. Villagers tossed them chipatis, while the guides gave Pati and BeeBee crackers to toss. Finally arriving at Phulad, Pati, BeeBee, and the guide left the train. Deepak was waiting with the car, and they all drove back to the hotel, following the same route they had traveled yesterday.

Meter Gauge Train

Sardargarh - Evening Safari

Friday, 14 November 2014, Sardargar

At 4 pm, Pati and BeeBee climbed into the Gypsy Jeep once more (Gypsy is the model name). Their driver/guide was a man they had seen with other groups, but they had not interacted with him before. The purpose of this evening's safari was to visit local tribal villages. As they set off through Sardargarh on tbeir way to villages, every child they passed called out to them, whether "ta ta",  "hello", or "goodbye" (but not "money"), and waved, and many of them ran after the jeep, taking shortcuts to catch up on another street. The guide stopped to interact with local citizen in the town.  At one point, as he was driving up a local street, they came upon a group of women working on a huge pile of gravel at least 30 inches high, extending from curb to curb and and several feet across. Backing up was not an option. The women retreated to the sides of the street and the guide simply drove over the gravel, the tires leaving two grooves behind the jeep.

Once out of town, their guide went off-road, looking for wildlife, and pointed out antelope and birds. He had asked how their wildlife safari had been, and seemed to want to make up for any shortcomings there (Pati and BeeBee did 't think there were shortcomings). Returning to the road, such as it was, he stopped to point out some owls in a tree. His real purpose in stopping, however, was to introduce Pati and BeeBee to a local "holy man." This man had become disillusioned with his life and gave up everything to live by the side of the road, where he created two primitive shrines. He sleeps on a hammock in the trees. He has three large bells, which he rings , similar to a call for prayers. He has not talked for 25 years; the guide thinks he has lost the ability to speak. He wears only the traditional simple white clothing, if only because he would not be allowed to be naked and still live there. He invited Pati to sit down on his simple mat, and they communicated by words (Pati) and gestures, although he did not understand what Pati said. At one point, he retrieved a ragged bag from the side of his camp, opened it to retrieve a box, and opened the box to retrieve a pack of cigarettes and matches, which he offered to Pati. Of  course, Pati could not accept that, and tried to explain open heart surgery. BeeBee asked the guide to interpret, which he did, so the holy man then tried to offer water, which started a new round of explaining why it could not be accepted, either.  

The next stop was to visit a marble processing plant, where marble blocks are sliced and then shaped. Here, the cost for 6 marble tiles that are 1 foot square would be $1. It is so inexpensive here that it is commonly used to build dry-stacked walls around property to keep antelope and cows out. (That and lines of  tall cactus plants).   After that, it was off-road again through shrub and deep pools of water to reach a wall which forms one side of the man-made Lake Monohar Sagar. Pati took some beautiful pictures of the sun about to set above the fort, which was about 1 km away. They climbed to the top of the wall (a few feet above the road surface there) and walked to a section that rose 20 feet above the wall. There were steps on the side, to climb to a viewing area above. These steps were about two feet wide, with a stone wall to the left, no handrail or barrier on the right side, and water below. The guide urged them to climb these steps. BeeBee took some convincing. The guide went ahead and held BeeBee's hand all the way up. Pati bravely climbed with no hand-holding. The view was stunning. They got good pictures of the sun setting beside the fort. 

Pati then asked the guide how long he had been at the fort, and he said "I own it." He is the Maharaj. He also owns the place where they were sitting and everything between it and the fort. He is the 10th person in his family to own it; he and his wife have been renovating it for 10 years. He then served Pati and BeeBee juice bottled by Coca Cola ; he only buys Coke products, finding Pepsi too sweet. They watched swifts darting over the water and other birds coming home in waves to roost in trees on the other side of the lake. They discussed his plans to buy a boat so that guests could have dinner on the water and enjoy the sunset. Finally, as it was getting dark, they climbed down the stairs again and drove back to the fort, where Pati and BeeBee appear to be the only guests this evening.

Sunset over Sardargarh Fort

Holy Man with Bells

Sardargarh - First Afternoon

Thursday, 13 November 2014, Sardargarh

This morning Pati and BeeBee got up at 6 am for breakfast and departure at 9 am. They had a quick sandwich lunch at a restaurant just off their route at  1:30 and arrived at their hotel, Sardargarh Heritage Hotel (a former palace), about two hours later. The roads they traveled ranged from level limited-access highway to steep single-lane with lower berms. On the way, they saw the exact local train that they will be riding tomorrow. Until 4 pm, when a young couple arrived, they were the only guests in the hotel. The hotel has free wifi that can be accessed in only one courtyard. Pati and BeeBee sat in a large opening in the stone wall to use the internet; the manager brought them cushions. The manager also brought them a dinner menu so that they could pick their meal for 7 pm. By dinnertime, there were 4 more guests, traveling together, from Holland., bringing the guest total (as far as BeeBee knows) to 8.

At 8:30 pm, Pati and BeeBee were picked up for their jeep safari. This involved driving 10 km (6 miles) from the hotel and then going off-road (and on roads that might as well be off-road) looking for wild animals with a searchlight operated by a young man standing on the tailgate of the jeep. They spotted deer (two kinds), 2 owls, 1 rabbit, a family of foxes, a small animal  bigger than a mole but smaller than a hedgehog, and a small herd of camels plus herder. The herder was surprised by the searchlight and had a friendly conversation (long distance) with the young man with the searchlight. The ride was the bumpiest so far in India. The night was cool enough for jackets, for the first time since Shimla. It was pitch black dark and very peaceful. The driver and spotter spoke in low voices only when necessary, and the driver maneuvered the jeep as quietly as possible. The two men had only limited English, reserving their conversation mostly for naming animals. The peace of the night, the darkness, and the late hour made it difficult to stay awake, even with the rough ride. Finally, Pati and BeeBee were returned to the hotel just before midnight.

Setting the alarm clock for an early start tomorrow, they fell into bed, exhausted.