Beijing - Part II

June 24, 2011

 Nihao,

As we write this it is Sunday morning in Beijing, our last day in China (actually, our flight leaves at 4:10pm and we arrive at O'Hare at 4:03pm!). We have been in this country for 23 days; our longest ever. As you recall from our last post, the group tour officially ended on Wednesday night. But you know us: we have crammed more into the last 3 days than many itineraries offer overall! We have seen, done, and tasted some amazing things. So get comfortable; this one may take a while.

Early Thursday we got our first taste of the Beijing subway system. They have 15 different lines! One, the #2, is just like the "loop" in Chicago. The subway is a real bargain. Unlike Hong Kong, where you pay by how far you travel, here it is 2 Yuan (about 30 cents!) no matter where you go! Over these 3 days we rode the train 6 times. Each time we were only able to barely squeeze onto the car as they were always packed. And there was no air conditioning! They do employ professional "pushers"; people whose job it is to push people into the train cars, but we did not get to experience that. The subway is more like ours in Chicago than like Hong Kong; no underground "cities" here, just the basic station. So our first stop was the back end of Tiananmen Square to visit the Mao-soleum. It opens at 8am and we were advised to get there early as it is always very crowded. We got there at 8 and the line was 5 abreast, about 400 yards from the entrance. We queued up and the line began to move. As we looked ahead and behind we were astonished to see that we were the only Caucasians in line! The line continued to move fairly quickly, and by 8:30 we were at the security post near the entrance. All along the way there are signs saying "No cameras, no video, no cell phones, valid ID required" but, of course, every person in the line had their cell phone. When we got to security we were waved right through (we had been told not to bring our camera, so we were ok), and it looked like a cursory check for everyone else, too. The building looks just like the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum (built around the same time), and the whole experience was very similar. Near the entrance are vendors selling bunches of white lilies; many of the Chinese purchased these. As the queue got to the door, it was split into two, one to each side. You enter the building and there is a statue of Mao that looks just like Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial, but more like a deity. The people laid the flowers at the base of the statue. Then you move into the Mao room itself to see the greatest peasant under glass. Though his whole body is in the case, the only part of it you can see is his head, which is bathed in an unearthly orange glow. His hair was perfect. Is it really an embalmed Mao or a wax substitute? No matter, it's the thought that counts. As in Hanoi, the line moves quickly through and then you are outside. Less than 5 minutes from entry to exit.

We then walked up the square and across the street to the National Museum. This just reopened after an extensive renovation (as reported in the NYTimes this spring.)  It is a beautiful building. Since it opens at 9am, we had to wait in line for a few minutes, and again where the only Westerners in sight. Once inside, we asked for an audio guide, but were told they were only in Chinese! So we went to look at the exhibits anyway. Every which way we went, on each floor, they were all "Closed for remodeling"! We only found one with many ancient Buddhas, but we were not interested. Our guide had told us of a special exhibit on the recent history of China. We looked and asked but could not find it. So we were heading out in frustration, but stopped at the gift shop (of course!). Near there we saw an unmarked stairway and went up and there was the exhibit we were looking for! It is called "The Road to Rejuvenation" (nothing subtle about that!). It shows the history of China from the mid-1800s (the time of the Opium Wars) to the glorious present (through the 2008 Olympic Games). It was really very well done with lots of dioramas and photographs and artifacts, but, other than a "preface" at each major room, there were no English descriptions (a few item labels had captions). So while we got the gist of it, there was a lot we were not able to understand thoroughly. The bottom line is that they overthrew the "oppressors from the bourgeois, capitalist, west" and have created a new democratic (their word) paradise. It is true that the British, French, Germans, and, yes, the US, and of course the hated Japanese, did occupy and oppress the Chinese people for many years. So their claims to self-determination are completely justified. And every national history museum tells of its victories and progress for their own ethnocentric perspective. So while much of this might seem like propaganda and "re-education" to us, it is their history as they see it. However, notable for their omission, there were no "artifacts" or references (as far as we could tell) to "The Great Leap Forward" or the "Cultural Revolution", both of which were abysmal failures led by Mao. Hmmmm........

After the museum and a quick bite for lunch, we got back on the subway...

...and went to Yong He Gong (also known as the "Palace of Peace and Harmony Lama Temple"). It is one of the largest and most important Tibetan monasteries in the world. Building began in 1694, and many of the structures still stand. It is arranged along a line (they are big on Feng Shui "axis" principles here), with a long entrance allee and several ornate gates.

The complex contains 7 main temple buildings. In each are one or more Buddhas. There were many people there burning incense and praying. Each successive building has a bigger Buddha, until you reach the last one which contains a Buddha 26 meters tall! It is carved from a single sandalwood tree and (according to Guiness) is the largest single-tree statue in the world.

That night we had dinner in the Chinese restaurant in the hotel. Though we were seated in a beautiful private room, alas, the meal was not worth writing home about. We had planned to go to an awesome restaurant, but at about 4:00, the sky became dark and the lightning and thunder started. You may have read about the drought conditions in China over the last few months. Well...they ended on Thursday night. It was coming down in buckets, and even if we had dared to venture out (even we have our limits!), the concierge said that there would be no way we could get a cab. It continued to rain heavily all night. This was the front page story in Friday's paper: over 2" fell in just a few hours. There was a picture of a cascade of water coming down one of the subway entrance stairs (not one we had used however), and other pictures of people riding bikes with the water over the pedals.

Friday we got started early. Though it was still drizzling, we went for a walk and found a hutong (old neighborhood) a few blocks from our hotel. It was similar to the street we had found in Shanghai; lots of small shops, noodle stands, bakeries, and people going about their daily business. By the time we got back the rain had stopped and it promised to be a beautiful day. We met up with Marie and Carolyn, besides us, the last of our group still in town. A short cab ride brought us to the Silk Street Market. This is one of those all-in-one emporia that we have seen in other countries. Six floors of small stalls selling everything from clothes to toys to crafts to "ready in one day" suits. The stalls on the lower few floors are about 5 feet wide and 6 feet deep. There are hundreds! They sell clothes with labels such as Levis, Gap, Tommy Bahama, Max Mara, Columbia, D&G....all quality stuff! We did see many locals buying things, so this was not just a tourist trap. There are 5 aisles, each about 3 feet wide, and as you walk down them the vendors shout (and grab your arm as the do so!) "Mister, you want jeans?" "Lady...silk scarf?"...over and over. We had come to do some serious bargaining...it was more about the hunt than the prey. No matter what their asking price was, we offered $5. A tee-shirt? Initially offered at Y220 (about $35), but "since you are my first customer of the day", only Y180 for us (we were told this at several stalls). We stuck to $5 and threatened to walk away and they always caved! Woo woo!  As you go higher in the building, the stalls get bigger until you get to the top floor which had real "stores" selling fine pearls, jade, watches, and other jewelry.  As an aside, we have not done as much shopping as usual on this trip--the nice, local stores we experienced in other countries (where we liked to buy our stuff) are here--but are American companies so no need to spend there.  And we can buy Chinese tschotchkes at home--so we haven't even broken out our separate bag for goodies!

After an hour or so of shopping we left our friends at the hotel and went to our cooking class! We were driven to another hutong and a restaurant called "Local Time". We always avoid "street food", and this looked like the next step up. The restaurant has about 6 small tables, and, since it was 2:00, we were the only ones there. Was it safe? Was it clean? Were the flies hygienic / organic?  Was the water filtered? But our worries were somewhat assuaged by our affable host Jackie. Apparently he is the owner of the restaurant.

He seated us at a bigger table which already had bowls of chopped onions, garlic flowers, ginger, corn kernels, and a mix of ground chicken and pork.

He mixed all of these together in a bowl. After he gave us each a very large bottle of Tsing Tao, he began to show us how to make dumplings. He mixed a little water into a big bowl of flour and began to work it into a dough. He explained that each plate consists of 15 dumplings, and they serve about 100 plates a day! Do the math! Though he spoke English fairly well, at times he would smile and stop to check his Sino-English dictionary. While he was kneading, we were served a delicious green salad, a plate of slivered octopus and ginger (which was quite tasty), a plate of sugar-coated crispy peanuts, and some hawthorn jam disks (like Necco wafers) which were melt-in-your-mouth sweet. Then he showed us how to roll the dough and cut it into the proper sized pieces.

Then each piece was rolled into a thin circle, filled with a small spoonful of the veggie-meat mixture and folded into a little dumpling (or kreplach or ravioli or pierogi or whatever your national dough-filled-with-meat dish is called). Then, it was our turn!!!! We each made a few of varying degrees of quality. Then he brought out a tray of beef-filled dumplings that he had made previously. He showed and explained how to cook them in boiling water ("much healthier than in oil"). After a few minutes they were done and he gave us a plateful! Are we supposed to eat ALL of these??? They were delicious, but we only had about 10. While we ate he cooked some of the ones we had made, so we had to eat a couple of those too. Soon we began to look like dumplings! We finished up and taxied back to the hotel for a well deserved nap.

Friday night was theater night! We had previously purchased tickets to one of the city's famed Peking Opera theaters (the Hu Guang). It was a harrowing 30 minute cab ride through some heavy traffic (and a half-dozen near misses!). The theater had a main floor (where we sat) with 6 rows of 8 tables each. Then there was a balcony on 3 sides (not sure if those also had tables or just chairs). Each table had 2 chairs in back (facing the stage) and 2 on each side (also facing forward). The audience was primarily Chinese teens--chattering away with excitement. Each person received a plate of watermelon, and another with the same crispy peanuts and several prunes. Also a packaged orange-flavored cookie. And of course, steaming cups of jasmine tea (they do jasmine in the north and green tea in the south). The theater had totally traditional decorations: all red dragons and ornate paintings on the walls and above the stage. The stage (about 20' wide and 10' deep) had beautiful "silk" drapes in the back. There were 2 small electronic sign-boards that showed a short summary (in English and Chinese) of what was happening on the stage. The first "act" was a Geisha-type lady looking for her lost lover and singing a high-pitched meowing song. Then an "old boatman fellow"  (long gray beard) comes by and takes her on the river to find him. He also sings, but was not quite so cloying.  The pantomime was superb, though it went on way too long. At one point, the sign board's message said (quoting the woman) "The boatman is boring, but I will put up with him". We felt the same way, as they continued down the "river". This act lasted about 30 minutes. Then there was a "10 minute" intermission (which lasted about 6 minutes). We assumed the second act would finish the story, but were pleasantly surprised to see that it was something entirely different (did she ever find her lover?). This act was "The Monkey King Fights Off the Invaders".

This was much better. (Note: You may have seen masks from the Chinese Theater. This is what we were expecting (and of course they sell them in the gift shop!), but these performers' "masks" were make-up!). This segment was a combination of fancy tumbling, kung-fu, and spinning, juggling of sticks, swords, knives, and poles. Very entertaining! It only lasted about 20 minutes.

Then we were out into the night to look for a taxi back to the hotel. Of course most of the other people were looking for one too. We tried for a few minutes, but none stopped. We crossed the street to try over there (we are either getting braver or more foolhardy!), but still no luck. Then a man on a pedicab cycled over and offered us a ride. We were desperate so we said yes. We were on an open seat in the back and he started off.  WHAT WERE WE THINKING!?!?!!  But actually, we soon felt much safer than we did in the cab as we were in the bike lane and out of the traffic. And it was a beautiful night as we whizzed past restaurants and malls all ablaze with lights. At one point we had to cross a busy intersection, but only made it to the island in the middle when the lights changed. There we sat as cars, buses, bikes, and motorcycles sped past only inches away. But we made it safely back, in about the same amount of time the taxi had taken on the way there. When we told our guide about this the next day her eyes almost popped out and said we were very lucky!

Saturday...our final day of touring. We left at 8 with our tour guide and driver to head north to the Ming Tombs. Because it was Saturday, our guide said many people were leaving the city. And this was also the road to the Badaling section of the Wall, so traffic was heavy. Since we had the time, we asked our guide some questions that we hadn't had a chance to ask up until this point--one (very benign) about Confucius and the other (more edgy) about human rights.  Her answers were not satisfactory but we didn't push because at this point exhaustion was taking over.  On the way, we passed no fewer than 4 accidents. At one point we were nearly crushed between a truck and a bus. But somehow our driver got us there in one piece. Then we reached the tombs.

This complex was built beginning in 1409. It houses the tombs of 13 emperors and 26 empresses. There are beautiful statues of animals, each representing a different characteristic.

The complex covers many square miles. Only 3 of the tombs have been excavated. The odd thing about these is that the emperors believed that each succeeding tomb had to be smaller than that of his predecessor!  And they actually complied!

Then back to the city to see the movie "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan". It had just had its worldwide premier in Beijing on Friday, so we are definitely the first on our block to see it!

As you may know, it is based on the wonderful novel of two sets of women friends; one in present-day Shanghai (and we recognized much of the scenery), and one in 19th century China. It's an American film so we (fool-heartedly) expected English subtitles.  No such luck!  Except for limited dialogue in English (for scenes set in the present) the rest was in Chinese with Chinese subtitles.  We have no way of knowing whether the actual dialogue was in Cantonese or Mandarin and the subtitles were vice versa.  We'll see the movie when it opens in the States to make sure we "get" the whole story. Beautiful cinematography and music and a great Chinese chick flick.

We decided that the most appropriate culinary send-off for our China trip would be Peking Duck--so we journeyed to Duck de Chine for dinner.  It did not disappoint.  We were told to order "our duck" in advance; and we had done so.  Ten minutes after sitting down, our darling duck arrived--amidst considerable flourish.  The waiters hit a gong, then a carver performed delicate surgery on our crisply-roasted, Hoisin sauce glazed, exquisite duck--slicing it into bite-size pieces (including the skin).

 He then disappeared (unfortunately leaving one of your writers no opportunity to feast on the carcass, what a shame).  The maitre'd instructed us on the proper Peking Duck eating technique... take a papery think pancake (with chopsticks), spear several pieces of sliced duck and dip them in a delectable sauce of swirled peanut sauce, sesame oil, and chopped garlic, place those dipped duck slices ever so gently onto the pancake, cover them with several jullienned slices of leek, radish, and cucumber, lovingly place a piece of crispy duck skin on top, then fold over the pancake so that it resembles a pocket square, and eat it. The duck skin was melt in your mouth amazing (and unhealthy but at this point, who really cares).  Repeat the pancake creating process several times and you have a meal.  We added some sauteed vegetables and steamed rice and that was it... except for dessert, one of their specialties--mango pudding with ice cream.  We didn't have the capacity for the other dessert possibilities--black sesame dumplings, egg tarts, or duck-shaped pastries with lotus paste.  An amazingly appropriate way for us to end our Chinese culinary adventure.
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Other learnings: Though we may think of China geographically as a huge "blob", while the US has a nicely defined shape, the two countries are actually almost identical in size: 307 million square miles. However, China has 1.3 BILLION people to our 309 MILLION.  We saw a Chinese map of the world and it was "backwards"! Not surprisingly, Asia is on the left center with China near the middle. Africa is on the far left with Europe squeezed into the top left corner. North and South America are on the RIGHT! Very strange.  One other random observation... across China, there is a reason that we refer to "China dolls"... Chinese babies and toddlers are exquisite.  And there is an especially interesting component we could not miss.  Instead of wearing "training pants", many of the toddlers wear split pants, au naturel underneath.  There is a split up the front and back so that they can do their business whenever and wherever they need to.  We actually saw one small boy pee in the middle of the airport... not exactly adorable, but more efficient than training pants we guess and we know the Chinese are efficient!


With that, we're off.  Thanks for joining us on this journey!

love,
wen-wen and way-way 

Intriguing India: First Impressions

December 17, 2010

Namaste;

After a non-eventful 14 hour direct flight (over Greenland, Norway, Russia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan), we arrived at the spanking new Indira Gandhi Airport in New Delhi Wednesday night. As we write this update, it's Friday afternoon and while our official tour doesn't start until tomorrow, we have plenty of initial impressions.  First, our driver had not been behind the wheel more than 30 seconds when he told us the three most important guidelines for driving in Delhi-- (1) a good horn, (2) good brakes, and (3) good luck.  And he wasn't kidding!  Even at 11:00 p.m., the drive was harrowing at best. They drive on the left so that was disorienting (but we'll give them that), lane markings were just a suggestion, typically disregarded.  There appears to be a law that you must stay within 12" of the car in front of you.  We've been driven in Rome, Hanoi, Boston, and beyond... believe us this is much worse!  (We'll be excited to be on the bus tomorrow!).

Other first impressions. We were led to believe that monkeys would be running amok, the smells would be overpowering, the poverty and begging ubiquitous, and upset stomachs instantaneous.  Well, so far, we haven't experienced any of the above (though we did have one band of monkey sighting near the Government Centre.)  Now, our trip is young and we are sure we will see and experience all of those things.  But, Delhi is different.  It's the financial and government centre of India; it is in the throes of a major rebuilding effort; and we have been somewhat sheltered in a five star hotel. Yet, we have been driven about and while we have seen some homeless people and beggars, it has not been overwhelming to date.  Other impressions.  The multiculturalism is so obvious.  One of our first stops was a Sikh temple (Bangla Sahib Gurdwara Temple), our driver was a Hindu, we passed refugees from Bangladesh who were Muslim and we visited a Muslim tomb (Humayun's Tomb--a World Heritage Site built by and for the grandfather of the builder of the Taj Mahal). There is a high level of security everywhere--whether that is because the hotel hosts many diplomats or not, we cannot be sure. Hordes of adorable school children are everywhere you look--all uniformed--and to a one, anxious to please and get into our photos.

Here are some additional perspectives on what we've seen and experienced so far.  We've visited two temples--the 18th century Sikh temple above and the sprawling five-year old Hindu Akshardham Temple on the banks of the Yamuna River. 

You enter these temples barefoot--preferably without socks because the marble floors are slippery.  For the Sikh temple, our heads needed to be covered.  Wayne was quite stylish in a bright orange scarf (his Cubs cap did not make the cut).  Of course, always prepared from a fashion perspective, I had an appropriate scarf--easily adaptable as head wear--in the backpack. 

The level of security at the Akshardham Temple was unbelievable--no cameras, no phones, and pat downs to get in (plus, they took away my gum). The Temple was more of a cultural complex than a temple per se--in which 11,000 volunteers were engaged with the hand-carvings, etc. over a 6year period.  There is a Disney-like feel to this--so pristine, the dioramas, sound and light show, etc., and very impressive- the sandstone elephant carvings ran circles around the relief elephant carvings in Siem Reap. We've also been to the National Museum (interesting archaeology exhibits) and seen the Government Centre and India Gate (a memorial to WWI soldiers).

But, everyone knows that no W&W trip update would be complete without a mouth-watering recap of almost every item of food imbibed.  OK, we'll spare you the Indian cuisine on the airplane (though it was pretty good). The food has been good and plentiful--highlighted by a 3 hour cooking class/demo at The Oberoi (our hotel) last night.  We were greeted with aprons and chef hats and walked through a description of the spices (btw, we weren't aware that the addition of chilis, garlic, and tomatoes to the Indian diet is fairly recent).  We started with a refreshing buttermilk/mint/coriander chase.  Then the chef proceeded to prepare (and then serve us) the following:  pappadam with various chutneys, dal makhani (yellow and red lentils in amazing sauce), meem moiley (pomfret--a mild sole-like fish sauteed then embraced by a delicate coconut milk sauce with tomatoes, onions and ginger... it was lovely), zeera aloo (fingerling potatoes sauteed with cumin, coriander, turmeric, chili powder), and tandoori chicken. 

We learned from our chefs that they don't use ghee as a matter of course any more--vegetable oils are more prevalent.  With full, happy stomachs, great recipes, a box full of spices, and a new cookbook, we tried to sleep off our jet lag.  This morning, Wendy continued the Indian meal thing with rava inglis, steamed semolina cakes served with lentil stew and various chutneys. (Wayne enjoyed his usual vacation a.m. repast--croissants and raisins.) We eat at Bukhara (Bill Clinton's favorite Delhi restaurant--but we had our reservations before we knew about Bill-) tonight.

Coming attractions.  Tomorrow, we meet our group for a tour of New Delhi, followed by a tour of Old Delhi on Sunday.  Monday, we're off to Varanasi and head to Agra on Wednesday.

The 8 Cities of Delhi

December 19, 2010

Namaste;

Since our last note, we've been on the run discovering more of Delhi and building on our overall impressions of this intriguing country.

First, there are actually 8 cities of Delhi. Over several thousand years, succeeding conquerors, kings, sultans, and cultures have each added their own city. But unlike other old metropolitan areas of the world, the new cities were always added to the old. There were no mass destructions or building on top of previous civilizations. So Delhi today is an amalgam of these various cultures and influences.

The tour officially began Saturday morning. Over these two days we have visited the Qutb (or Qutub) Minar - the world's tallest brick minaret (237.8 ft), which was built in 1193 to celebrate the victory of Mohammed Ghori, the invader from Afghanistan, over the Rajputs.

The Mahatma Gandhi Museum, which includes the house where he lived his final days and the courtyard where he was assassinated on January 30, 1948 (the tragedy and exhibit were eerily similar to Dr. King's as memorialized at the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis). We also went to Raj Ghatt, the site where Gandhi was cremated (in front of the entire population of Delhi - 2 million at the time) where there is now a permanent black granite plinth and eternal flame. Next was the Red Fort - a 17th century fort and emperor's living area constructed by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (yes, the same guy who built the Taj Mahal) in the walled city of Old Delhi.  It served as the capital of the Mughals until 1857, when the last Mughal emperor was exiled by the British.

The best part of the Delhi tour was what we did off-tour--when we visited Old Delhi.  This area of town is "off limits" to our tour company as it is very congested, not "freshly scrubbed," the laws of physics would not permit a tour bus to navigate, and there have been some "issues."  (Those who read our blog last year know that we did a private tour of the favellas in Rio; this was comparable.)   Anyway, Wendy was not going to leave town without doing this, so we did.  It was amazing. 

As it was Sunday, the markets were doing a brisk business. The streets were teeming with humanity, tuk tuks, bicycle-rickshaws, cars and taxis, and we even saw some goats running around! No cows however, as our guide told us that the law was changed a few years ago prohibiting cows from running loose in Delhi.  While tooling around, we heard the call to worship from Jama Masjid, India's largest mosque(with capacity for 20,000 worshipers). 

Wayne stepped out of the car to take a picture but we did not go in.  In this part of the city, the population is 80% Muslims. To this point, we had noticed a distinct bias against the Muslims in comments made by our local tour guide and driver (both Hindus). And, indeed, we have been interpreting "it's not safe" as code for "there are too many Muslims there."  We pressed the concierge on this as it was disconcerting at best.  She (who is is also Hindu) said that the Muslims are an integral part of Indian society and culture. With obvious pain she said that her country and the world is being held hostage by a few people. "Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims" is how she put it. Whether or not this is actually true is besides the point, we were thrilled to see Old Delhi, get a glimpse of the mosque, and get a feel for the community.

By coincidence, there is a story in today's Times of India about Delhi, as it prepares to celebrate 100 years as the nation's capital.

Of course, we're also learning about the food.  Here are two d'ohs... First, when you ask the waiter if a particular dish is spicy, they will always say "No, it is not spicy at all"; and they are telling the truth. It is Not spicy to THEM! Foreigner beware!  When you think of Indian food you are most likely to think first of curry. Well, there is no such thing as "Indian" food and no such thing as "curry"!  The food of this land (which is not even called "India" by its inhabitants, but "Parat"), varies widely by region. The food predominant in Delhi is actually of Afghan origin.  A "curry" is actually a sauce. Though they do occasionally use curry leaves for seasoning, what we would call curry is actually a combination of 5 or more spices including cardamom, coriander, chiles, etc.

And, speaking of food... did you think we forgot to eat over the last few days? Ha!!!  Friday night's meal at Bukhara was memorable. 

The restaurant features tandoori foods (which means they're cooked on a spit over charcoal in a clay oven). We started of course with pappadams, red onions, and green chutney. The menu has two sides - vegetarian and non-vegetarian - with only about 6 choices for each. Wayne had Kastoori Kabob - big chunks of chicken with peppercorn and ginger in an egg batter. Wendy created a vegetarian sampler including dal Bukhara (black lentils and tomatoes), tandooraloo (potatoes stuffed with potatoes, raisins, and cashews), tandoori simla mirch (capsicum with beans, carrots, cabbage, cauliflower, cashews, sultanas and chiles), and tandoori phool (fried and grilled cauliflower). We also had the most amazing onion nan. Wendy went totally native and ate with her hands! For dessert, India's answer to Dunkin Donuts munchkins, served with rosewater.  Very delicious (and quite unnecessary).

Saturday night was the group welcome dinner. We were served a choice of chicken soup (which was RED - and tres spicy) or almond saffron soup, prawns with spices, chicken, lamb, mushrooms, vegetables, and of course rice and yogurt  (to counteract the heat of the spices). There has been way too much eating so today we opted to skip dinner and had Italian food for lunch!  Time for a quick break from dal.

Tomorrow we have an early departure for Varanasi. We are scheduled for a river cruise but our tour guide tells us that the boat workers went on strike today! Stay tuned to see what happens.

Varanasi – City of Enlightenment

December 21, 2010

Namaste;

In our first impressions, we noted that we were somewhat surprised at Delhi; other than our visit to Old Delhi, the city was "freshly scrubbed" and didn't represent the India we had been expecting.  We experienced that India, firsthand, in Varanasi on Monday and Tuesday.  On the way from the airport to the hotel, our local guide gave us some of the history of this city. Its first name is "Kashi" (yes, like the cereal) which means "enlightenment". The second name "Varanasi" comes from the names of the two rivers, Varuna and Assi, for it lies with the confluence of Varuna with the Ganges being to its north and that of Assi and the Ganges to its south. The third name is "Benaras", which is a Persian corruption of "Varanasi". It is also known as the city of learning and burning, as this also is the place of ritual cremations in the Ganges.  Most important, Varanasi is considered as holy a city to the Hindus (and Buddhists) as Jerusalem, Mecca, or Rome.

After the obligatory tour group buffet lunch, we headed into the real India. This is the time of the annual pilgrimage, so there were many groups of pilgrims walking around. People had come from near and far. The streets were chock-a-block with vehicles (buses, cars, rickshaws, motorcycles, walkers), people and animals (finally, cows!) and noise (chanting and the ubiquitous car horns), the smells (incense and who knows what), vendors (flowers, fruit, and postcard and bindi hawkers), an abattoir (with a line of cows-in-waiting), and beggars (amputees, small children, women with babies, and faux holy men).  One of the highlights of the day came when the bus entered a railroad underpass (with about 1 foot clearance on each side) and stopped suddenly, as we were grille-to-grille with a large truck going the opposite way!  Of course there were cars and buses behind us, and behind the truck as well. We sat there for about 10 minutes honking horns at each other as the faithful slipped through between the vehicles. Then our local guide got out and began imploring the people / vehicles behind the truck to back up. Inch by slow inch they did until at last (after about 30 minutes) we managed to squeeze by. As we waited for this massive traffic jam to clear up--we gawked at women in burkas, school children, and old men and they gawked at us--it was unclear who was more bizarre.

Next, we went to an archeological site (Sarnath) which is where Buddha gave his first sermon. Ironically, while Buddhism was founded in India, fewer than two percent of the population practices Buddhism today.

By this point, the sun had set and we needed to rush to our next stop--the evening service at the Ganges.  This next segment is straight out of The Amazing Race.  After a short bus ride back into Varanasi each couple got on a tricycle rickshaw and we raced to the riverfront--becoming part of the throngs!  As we traveled down the Grand Trunk Road, which runs from Calcutta across India, through Pakistan and into Afghanistan, it all looked like an intricate action movie set with thousands of extras. But, this indeed was reality. At one point, a jeep cut in front of us and temporarily blocked our path. With some terror, we realized that we were last in line for our group and the others were quickly being engulfed by the crowd as they continued on.  But our driver really began to pedal furiously and soon we caught up. Then, at a main square, we all disembarked and began walking. Our guide said to watch out for the cow pies: "If you step in them, it is good luck. If you don't step in them it is better luck"! We walked about half a mile and came down the stairs at the banks of the Ganges. There, the nightly (yes, they do this every night) ceremony thanking the river was already underway. Thousands of people faced the river and watched as a half dozen Hindhu priests went through a 45 minute highly synchronized set of moves including throwing of flower petals, ringing bells, and waving of fire pots. All during this time there was a continual droning of holy music and burning of very smoky incense. The entire service was awe-inspiring but particularly memorable was the blowing of the conch shells which (to the 3/4 of our group that is Jewish) sounded just like the blowing of the Shofar.  Indeed, several of us started chanting the prayers. With the service complete, we walked back to the square, found our rickshaw driver, rode back to the bus and then to our hotel. We got there about 8pm, had a quick dinner (guess what! Another buffet) and then right to bed as we all had mandatory 5pm wake-up calls.

Tuesday morning, we left at 5:30 am to see the sunrise over the Ganges. We took the bus into town (surprisingly little traffic at this hour) and walked about a mile back down to the river. This time we were put on two boats; each was a flat-bottomed craft about 8 feet abeam and 15 feet stem to stern. Our boat was rowed by one boy who looked to be about 15. We started out in total darkness (and it was also very cold - probably upper 40s), but there were still pilgrims walking on the shore and people bathing in the water. As we floated along, we were given small dishes with flower petals and a candle; our guide asked us to make our own personal prayers and then set the candles adrift in the river.  It was truly inspirational.  We saw the laundry women standing in the frigid water beating the clothes on the rocks. We passed a school for priests where they were chanting on the steps. At last we came to the "crematorium" on the bank of the river-- where there was a cremation in progress.  About this time the orange glow of the sun began to peak over the horizon. It was an awesome moment to see something that has been going on virtually unchanged for thousands of years.

To many in our group, the poverty, deplorable living conditions, begging, and lack of sanitation were disturbing.  Several voiced their thoughts:  "How can they live like this", and "Aren't they miserable?". But having seen the same types of cultures and living standards in other countries, we knew it's not that simple.  It is often we Westerners who are unhappy, chasing after material things, when these people may very well have everything they want or need. 

Magnificent Splendor

December 24, 2010

Namaste;

As we write this update, it is Christmas morning in Jaipur--the pink desert city of palaces, gem cutting, camel sightings, splendidly-decorated elephants, Christmas songs piped into the hotel lobby, and Muslim calls to worship echoing on the way to our room.  Since we last wrote, we have been to Kharjuraho, Agra, and across the countryside.  Wayne and I have both had a mild case of delhi belly, and Wayne developed India hives.  We met a wonderful Indian doctor who took care of that.  No worries, we are good and haven't missed a beat.  But, we digress. 

Back to the matter at hand.  OK: On with the tour: We flew from Varanasi to Khajuraho, the site of one of 28 UNESCO World Heritage sites in India. It has the largest group of medieval Hindu and Jain temples in one area (a beautiful park setting). These are famous for their erotic sculptures (although, there are thousands of scenes of everyday life and you really need a guide to point out the "risque" ones), and is considered to be one of the "seven wonders" of India. The carvings were fantastic - so lifelike, meticulous and each one was unique.

Then on to the Taj.  We left Kajuraho on the 22nd and drove across the countryside to pick up an authentic Indian train. We first drove to Orchha. There by the side of the Betwa river is a collection of temples, palaces and cenotaphs built by the Mughals from the 16th through 19th centuries. One of the highlights was seeing a number of vultures roosting on the roofs.  Then we went to Jhansi (an authentic train station, rats among the tracks and all--and as our readers know, Wendy is not a huge fan of rodents) to catch the train to Agra. There are three classes of cars on most trains. We were in class I (the only car of its type on our train) which was just like Amtrak - regular cushioned train sets, a bathroom in each car, and they come through and serve water and food (like on an airplane!) for no extra charge (we were advised to skip the food). The class II cars (we were told) are not quite as accommodating. We especially like the "Sleeper Cars" we saw which were crammed full of people. I guess you have to learn how to sleep standing up. Our train did not have any class III cars....our guides said that was a good thing, so I'll leave it to your imagination. One of the highlights was the announcements made on the train. Imagine the voice of a 5-year old British girl: "Welcome to Agra. It has been our great pleasure to have you with us. We wish you happiness as you continue your journey and sincerely hope to see you again soon."  Was the same message was piped into the other class cars? 

We have traveled extensively and certainly realize how lucky we are to have experienced and seen more awe-inspiring marvels than most. Sometimes we come across something that is just so splendid, so amazing, that we truly run out of adjectives.  Our first sighting of Lake Louise was like that. So did the Taj Mahal! It is not lit at night so our first viewing was through the mist in our room--when we woke up on the 23rd.  Even from 2 kilometers away it was breathtaking. Our tour there left the hotal at 8:30, and by then it was clear. Heavy security to get in. You walk up a brick pathway and turn to your right to go through the main gate (don't think "gate" like a fence, it is more like the India Gate or Arc de Triomphe). Because of the way it is laid out, you can't really see the Taj itself until you walk through. Then, there it is in beautiful magnificence. Yes, you've seen pictures many times, but the real thing is profoundly amazing!  And learning details about it from our guide only added to its glory. As you get close, you see that it is decorated with verses from the Koran and intertwining leaves and flowers. It is 400 years old; how can they look like new? Because they are not painted on, but all inlaid! Jade, lapis, turquoise...all set flawlessly into the white marble. The designers were very clever, too, in that the calligraphy that adorns many of the arches and entryways is actually bigger the higher up that it goes so that it looks like a uniform size from ground level. It took 20,000 workers 22 years to complete. This is the mausoleum to Shah Jahan's wife. He had planned to build a similar structure in black marble for himself, but his son said "No way! Too much of my inheritance!" and had his father locked in Agra Fort  (where he could view the Taj from across the river) for the remaining 8 years of his life. But don't feel too bad for him as he had 200 concubines to keep him company. 

So our next stop was the fort itself - a combination fort and palace. It is bigger than any fort or castle in Europe.  Most is made of red sandstone, but again, in the royal living quarters there is much marble and inlays of precious stones. Five great Mughal rulers lived here,  and the country was governed from here. It contained the largest state treasury and mint. It was visited by foreign ambassadors, travelers and dignitaries.

Some other things we have learned: The word "pur" indicates that a town is of Hindu origin (Jaipur, Udaipur); "bad" indicates a Muslim origin (Hyderabad). Begging is a full-time "profession" for many people. And yes, people are maimed (blinded, limbs cut off) and controlled by a beggar-master (as portrayed in Slumdog Millionairre). Furthermore, some women work as nannys for wealthy people and then drug the child and use it as a prop to beg all day returning home before the parents.

The population of India increases by about 25 million each year, which is roughly the population of Australia. India is truly a melting pot of religions and cultures. And, for many people, religion is the central point of their daily lives; religion is everywhere.

At this time, there are about 1,600 languages in use in the country.

An Assault on the Senses

December 27, 2010

Namaste,

One of the great things about our itinerary is that we are seeing the real India. This is not a sanitized tourist-friendly version (although we are staying at some amazing hotels), but the real raw, gritty side of this country where 70% still live in rural areas. The land and the people hit all of your senses: the constant din of car horns, the smell of incense and smog and a variety of spices, the colors of the clothes and the buildings, the amazing tastes of the food - spicy and hot or cool and refreshing, the different and strange languages (only 10% of the people speak English, but of course these are the ones who control the government, the economy, and work in tourism), the feel of the silk that is produced here, the repetitive sounds of calls to prayer, the beauty of the architecture and the inlaid marble, and our sense of propriety (there is nothing unusual about seeing men urinate by the side of the road, or worse).

You may have noticed that we haven't provided our customary food reports over the past few days.  Frankly, there's not much you can say about chicken soup and rice (in any culture)...but we are back on our normal eating marathon.  We've had many wonderful Indian meals but perhaps the most memorable so far were on Christmas Day--when we had a beautiful, traditional lunch, followed by a festive Indian Christmas buffet unlike any other buffet we've experienced to date.

After a morning of touring at the Amber Fort in Jaipur (including an elephant ride up the steep entrance), we went to a lovely heritage hotel where we took in a puppet show followed by a traditional lunch.  The servers paraded in with a domed silver platter for each guest. Each platter had eight small bowls with different dishes including--but not limited to--chicken tikka masala, the ubiquitous dal, spiced potatoes, raita (yogurt to cool the palate), green beans, eggplant, rice, and more.  It was a feast for the eyes as well as the stomach.  Of course, this was followed by a similarly arranged dessert platter.

Lunch would have been adequate but, it being Christmas Day, our tour guide decided that everyone should have a holiday dinner as well (by the way, there had been an elaborate spread for Christmas Eve with Indian, Thai, Chinese, and American delicacies--and, in the holiday spirit, our guide had purchased a wide array of Indian tsotschkes for each of us representing every possible Indian trinket one might imagine, ranging from bangle bracelets to Ganesh calendars, to puppets and everything in between).  But, I digress. For Christmas Dinner, we chose the Indian restaurant (something about eating turkey and brussels sprouts while in India just doesn't make sense). We entered a festively-decorated courtyard (complete with Indian music and yet another puppet show) and, luckily, heated with space heaters and table-side charcoal braziers (which spewed sparks from time to time) as it was in the upper 40s (northern India is not the tropics).  We sat down only to discover another buffet (argh) but quickly changed our tune when we realized this one was interactive.  There were five stations; at each one, the chefs were standing by to explain the tasty foods being served.  We were pleasantly surprised to see that at several stations they were serving "street food" which we had been forewarned not to eat (not that that prevented us from needing to eat chicken soup for two days).  Anyway, when we sat down we were served pappadam with an array of wonderful chutneys.  Then, it was time to go to the food stations.  We started with chaat--these were the Indian equivalent of bite-sized taco shells filled with vegetables and hot sauce.  They were fantastic and it was very difficult to eat just one or two!  The next station had salad offerings--we chose the lentil salad and baby fried spiced okra... just delectable.  Next, we moved to the tandoori kebabs (murgh malai, achari macchli, saunfiynani paneer, tandoori shimla--translated to fish, chicken, cheese, and vegetable--not  necessarily in that order). These were simply outstanding.  Now, mere mortals might have been done at this point, but we persevered.

The next course was the main course--here we had several to choose among (tandoori murgh masala, lamb nilgiri kurma, kerala shrimp curry, saag paneer, aloo jeera, jogiya tarkari, dal palak, subq biriyani, and assorted Indian breads). We piled our plates high--focusing on the chicken, shrimp, potatoes, dal, and biriyani (and, of course, the nan). The flavors ranged from hot to piquant to spicy to mellow.  Unbelievably, we finished every bite.

Of course, it would not be a complete meal for Wendy and Wayne in any culture if we didn't have dessert.  So, we summoned up our energy (and courage) and trekked over to the dessert bar. Again, there were many choices including, but not limited to steamed chocolate pudding (the Indian answer to molten chocolate cake), coconut ice cream, Indian donuts (steeped in sugar syrup), and sugar syrup soaked fried dough (the Indian answer to churros). Again, we finished every bite. We are accustomed to Chinese food for Christmas dinner; our Indian dinner was a treat for sore eyes (and luckily, not sore stomachs).

As we write this letter, it is Monday evening, December 27.  Yesterday was a rest and travel day; a highlight was the sari and turban demonstration after lunch.  We both got dressed up (as did most of our group) and we have the pictures to prove it.  We arrived at Udaipur (city of lakes) late in the evening. 

This morning, we stayed at the hotel and enjoyed a camel ride (well, perhaps enjoyed is not the right verb here--quite an experience) and then took a tuk-tuk (open air taxi) into old Udaipur where we visited an outstanding textile store where we indulged in some serious retail therapy.  If there was a limit on scarves and shawls, we certainly would not pass customs!  Tomorrow, we depart for Mumbai.

Mumbai-Bye

January 1, 2011

Namaste,

As we write this final chapter of our journey, we are sitting in an airport hotel in Delhi whiling away the hours as our original flight out last night was cancelled (nothing like spending New year's Day in an airport hotel waiting for 12:40 a.m. when we'll try again). We look at it as yet another experience in our journey--and a wild one it has been. So here is what has happened since we last posted.  (Please note:  because we have so much time to kill, we've provided lots of details... we hope you'll bear with us!)

We flew from Udaipur to Mumbai. We were very lucky as our flight was only slightly delayed; the northern part of the country, including Delhi was covered with fog. And since Delhi (like O'Hare) is THE major air hub of the country, the whole system was bollixed up. Over 70 flights had been cancelled; some international flights had been rerouted to Mumbai (can you imagine!?). Even some trains were cancelled (because they don't work in the fog?????).

So we arrived in Mumbai (Bombay now) in the late afternoon. Mumbai, which has a population of 18 million, was originally  made up of 7 islands. But over the centuries, the sea was reclaimed and it is now one contiguous area. As we drove in, our initial images were of much construction, but, as in other cities, many half-finished (and abandoned) buildings, highway overpasses to nowhere, high-rises on one side and hovels and decay on the other. It reminded us at various points of Bangkok (tropical, tons of cars), Rio, Rome, Miami Beach, and even

Lake Shore Drive

(sans palm trees).  At one point we crossed over a very modern new bridge. The sign at the entrance summed up the city (and perhaps all of India): "No 2 wheel or 3 wheel vehicles or bullock carts allowed"!!!!  As in most of the other cities there were many statues of Gandhi.

We had arranged several day tours and were fortunate to get an excellent guide (who informed us she had also toured with Kevin Costner and Barack Obama--not too shabby).  We started early (6 am!) on Wednesday and took a walking tour of the wholesale flower market. As you might imagine, the market was teeming with people--squirming, pushing, barreling into us--we felt perfectly safe so long as we ducked to steer clear of people's heavy loads. Once again, we were in the throes of it--fantastic. Back to the hotel for a quick breakfast and then out again for a guided city tour, including the open air laundry (Dhobi Ghat--movie coming out in January), Jain temple, Farsi Cone of Silence for burial rites), British monuments, the impressive Gateway to India, and so forth.

But the highlight of any Mumbai tour is Elephanta island--an hour ferry ride away to an island, originally guarded by elephant sculptures--with natural caves adorned with fascinating (amazingly well preserved) Hindu sculptures. However, the real highlight of our Mumbai tour was unplanned.  We had paid for a market tour but, acknowledging that we'd bought just about every scarf and shawl available, we asked our guide if it would be possible to see a movie instead because we wanted to experience Bollywood firsthand. She was game and led us to the Regal Theatre, built in 1931 and a landmark structure - you know, those big old movie houses with the balconies (it seated about 800 people). The cost was $2 a ticket!

It was a 3:30 showing, so most of the audience was women. First there was a PSA for mosquito and malaria control. Then they showed the flag of India and everyone stood for the playing of the National Anthem (but no one sang and no "Play Ball" at the end). Then the movie began! We saw "Band Baaja Baaraat"  (http://www.bandbaajabaaraat.com/) which was basically a boy-meets-girl, boy and girl become partners as wedding planners (a hot industry in India), boy and girl are successful and fall in love, girl gets angry and breaks partnership, boy and girl get back together and...... A wild movie! Full of lots of dancing and colorful wedding parties.. It was hard to keep Wendy in her seat as she was dancing throughout.

Our guide whispered translations from time to time (as there were no subtitles) but really, we could pretty much figure out what was happening without even understanding the dialogue. There weren't many complexities to the plot or theme. Loved this!!!

Friday we had a guided tour of five synagogues--ranging in age from 80 to 250 years.  While there isn't a significant Jewish population in Mumbai (about 4,000 now)--the population was significant at one time--and was comprised of both Bene Israelis and the Bagdadi Jews. The synagogues were impressive--particularly the arks and Torah covers and Wendy was thrilled that she was actually able to hold the Torah in the first synagogue, Magen David Synagogue.  A slightly different experience from Highland Park.

Can't finish our Mumbai report without a food report.  Incredible. We have been eating naan-stop (nyuk, nyuk!).  First dinner was at Trishna, which happens to have been written up in the NY Times last weekend.  Famous for seafood and king crabs freshly caught from Arabian Sea.  If you have eaten shellfish or roast chicken with Wendy (and you know who you are), just visualize the scene.  We had a huge vegetarian lunch (skipped dinner!) and another lunch in a restaurant (Khyber) decorated in Muslim style--chicken in an almond cream sauce with lassies to drink.  Memorable.  Perhaps the most beautiful restaurant of the trip was in the Oberoi hotel--their new Indian restaurant Ziya.  The room reminded us of Spiaggia overlooking the water.  The food was high gourmet Indian, each plate was a work of art prepared by a Michelin chef.  We started with amuse-bouches of one rice coated cherry tomato with mango chaser.  Then, with wild mushroom naan, Wayne enjoyed a trilogy of chicken (malai chicken; red pepper & chili chicken, mustard chicken, and pineapple Jhenga).  Wendy had the vegetarian subz platter (tandoori cauliflower, hariyli seekh kebab, and pomegranate raita. For mains, Wendy had the grilled ginger chilli lobster with broccoli khicdi and lovingly garnished with spiced cocoa powder (ok, decadent but we thought it was our last night in India!).  Wayne had prawns cooked coastal style, infused with Kaiffir lime leaves and lemon grass and served with steamed basmati.  Of course, both of our mains were served with dal and I wouldn't want to forget mentioning that we ordered saffron sesame naan and roti.  Again, no meal in any country is complete for us without dessert and as long as the elastic pants are ready and waiting back home we ordered two things.  The waiter told us we really didn't need two (shucks, the grilled saffron pineapple with kheer ice cream and warm coconut basundi which Wayne wanted sounded so good...but we stuck with the choco-palette).  On an actual palette we were served:  warm marbled chocolate samosa, silky chocolate delice with carmelised nuts, cumin-hazelnut warm chcolate brownie, rose petal kheer-white chocolate kulfi--paan chutney--chocolate pana cotta.  Need we say more except that I have now discovered another Indian scarf treatment--drape around your ever-increasing stomach.  Now, I fully understand why saris have caught on!

So....to sum up this trip:

We have seen roaming freely in the streets: cows, pigs, goats, dogs, cats. monkeys, and donkeys. We have also seen horses, rats, elephants, camels, parrots, vultures, owls, Indian-versions of squirrels and chipmunks, hawks, and pigeons (in Mumbai they actually have special areas set aside where they put out birdseed for them!). Alas, no tigers or cobras.We have had close encounters with a baboon, camels, and elephants. 

We have been on planes (jet and prop), busses, cars, taxis, auto-rickshaws (tuk-tuks), boats (ferry and rowed), trains, elephants, and camels.

We have seen or visited houses of worship for Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, and Christians.

We have seen many types of architecture spanning thousands of years and representing numerous cultures and religions. And these were constructed of everything from marble, to sandstone, and many great Victorian-era English built stone buildings.

We have tasted the huge variety of foods of those cultures.

We have seen excessive wealth (the world's most expensive "house" at $2 billion!) and poverty beyond imagination.

We have heard the different languages and seen the variety of lifestyles (some unchanged for centuries, others very 21st century) of this melange of peoples who, for the most part, live together in harmony. All this and we feel we've only scratched the surface.

Some visitors, upon returning home have said "'India' stands for 'I'll never do it again'". We'd say it means "India never dies, it's alive!". And we are currently in negotiation as to when we will return... there are sections of the country (Himalayas and the South) yet to see. 

Thank you for being with us on this amazing journey; we look forward to seeing many of you soon.

Namaste and Happy, Healthy New Year to all.