Sun-Mon, Dec 6-7 - Exploring Delhi and the Journey Home

My alarm went off at 5 AM as usual, and I awoke on the train after a pretty good night's sleep - so grateful that I hadn't needed to get up in the night, climb out of my berth on a very precarious ladder, and go to the bathroom located between cars - although at five it was still pitch black.  Thankfully, there was a western-style toilet, in addition to an eastern one, on each car.  Squatting on a moving train is not something I want to have to do!

The train pulled into hazy Delhi at 6:45 AM just as it was getting light.  Delhi has recently beaten out Beijing for worst air quality in the world, and it showed as we arrived.  When the train finally stopped, porters hauled our luggage onto the platform where a rep from Exotic Tours, our local agent, met us with men to get our bags out to our new bus.  We drove slowly into downtown Old Delhi, through solid traffic and a mile of market stalls already busy doing business on a Sunday morning.

Sunday Morning in Delhi

Suddenly we crossed a bridge into New Delhi and all was leafy and peaceful.  In 1914-31 New Delhi was designed and built by Edwin Lutyens, an English architect, who laid out wide boulevards and had English bungalows built for government officials and other high ranking people.  These bungalows are very large one-story colonial houses with large lawns and gardens, as opposed to the small quaint cottages that exist in California as "CA Bungalows".  We continued on to the Radison Blu Airport Hotel where, wonderfully, we each had a hotel room until 10 PM.  We showered and organized our gear a bit before meeting the others for breakfast.

We got back on our bus with a very good history guide and set off to see some of Delhi.
We stopped at Gandhi Smriti, the Gandhi memorial, which is located in New Delhi in the bungalow where Gandhi spent the last 144 days of his life, and where he was assassinated.  He was staying in New Delhi for his security, and was shot down by a Hindu fanatic while walking to the daily prayer meetings he conducted.  The exact spot is marked by a small pavilion with footprints leading from his room up to that point.  Inside his room you can see his spectacles and his spinning wheel.  It is a very moving memorial.

Gandhi's Spinning Wheel

The Martyr's Column- where Gandhi was shot

Next we drove to Humayun’s tomb which was constructed in 1570.  It was the first elaborate sandstone tomb built by the Mughals - previous tombs were very simple - and on which the Taj Mahal’s design was based.  Being Sunday, the area was swarming with Indian families in their best clothes, several of whom wanted one or two of us to pose with them for photos, which, of course, made it easy for me to ask them for their photo!

                                              Humayun's Tomb

We drove past India Gate in honor of the Indian soldiers who died in WWI, and which resembles Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

                                          India Gate

After lunching at a restaurant we concluded the tour with our third UNESCO site of the day, the Qutub Minar, the tallest stone tower in the world at almost 250’ high, and built in 1200 AD.  The bottom three stories are made of red sandstone and the top two stories of white marble.

Qutub Minar

The amazing thing is how this tall, tapered, slightly leaning tower was built.  It is thought that wooden platforms surrounded it and elephants hauled up supplies to some height and then manpower took materials the rest of the way.  Really impressive!

Local Tourists

 We got good views of our last life bird there: the lovely Alexandrine Parakeet, green with a black chin strap and a patch of red on the wing.
                                                                       

Alexandrine Parakeet

       




We had had a late lunch at three, but had to have our farewell dinner at seven as some members of our group were leaving for the airport an hour later.  The food was delicious and very varied so we managed!  One of our group had ordered a dark chocolate cake with "Thank You, Bryan" written on the frosting to celebrate this last birding trip to be led by Bryan Bland – after leading ~1000 trips all over the world, he is reluctantly retiring – a great teacher, artist and birder!

                                           Bryan's Cake

Hilary, Bob and I left for the airport at 10 PM, only to find out that our Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong was delayed from 1:15 AM to 3:15 AM.  Hilary brilliantly used her status at check-in to ask that she bring in two guests to the airline lounge (rather than the one allowed) which, at that ghastly hour, we certainly needed.  We could rest in comfortable chairs and I had a much-needed G&T. 

At last, we boarded, Hil to Business Class and we to Economy.  CP didn’t try to serve us a meal at that hour, so we got a bit of sleep and landed five hours later at 11 AM in Hong Kong with two hours until our flight to LAX.  On that flight, we had purchased Premium Economy seats which were really great: wide and comfortable seats with footrests, warm towels, good menu, champagne on take-off and bigger TV.  So we slept, watched movies, and landed on time at 9 AM on the same day which was somewhat confusing.


At  LAX we parted from Hil who was flying to Tucson in the afternoon.   Bob felt up to driving home which was pretty amazing as I felt like a zombie.  We made it home to an 80 degree, continued sunny and very dry Santa Barbara, and picked up Maddie who spent the rest of the day howling and racing around.  I imagine we will recover from jet lag in a couple of days and get our lives back to normal.  An exhausting, packed, but very interesting trip to colorful, fascinating India!

Back in LA

Sat, Dec 5 - Exploring the Blue City

We got up at five once again, and took jitneys down to breakfast.  As it would be a hassle to go back to our rooms - one disadvantage of staying in the Palace, as opposed to the stables - we immediately climbed into our bus which took us a few miles and pulled off the highway.  There were three open air jeeps waiting for us, into which we divided up and set off into the cool morning air - brrrr!  We drove through the city, into the country on smaller roads, but never really on rough dirt that would require a four-wheel drive.  I think the jeeps used to be necessary when the roads were in much worse shape, and the tradition has continued as part of the tourist show.  Anyway, we arrived at a small village of the Bishnoi people whose beliefs go back to the 15th century - based on 29 principals of vegetarianism, refusal to injure any living animal or tree, no alcohol, but with the occasional use of opium.  

  

   Preparing the Opium Drink

An old man demonstrated how a small bit of opium was crushed in a mortar, mixed with water, strained through a cloth pouch and drunk to heal injuries, give strength or energy.  The compound was surrounded by smooth pavement made from cow dung and straw - pretty impressive except it washes away in the monsoon rain which seems a little impractical.

    Peafowl

We stopped at a lake to check it out for  birds and then continued on to see a demo of a potter and a weaver.  We had to dash back to our rooms as we had to pack up and leave our beautiful suites by noon.  We had lunch and split into two groups - one to bird the lovely grounds and the other to go downtown to see the market.  Bob stayed and got a new bird, I joined six others to take tuk-tuks down to the bustling, chaotic Clock Tower Market.  We wandered  past booths selling various lentils, ten kinds of rice, vividly-colored spices, bangles and everything else one could want.  

  

    The Clock Tower Market

We also walked by a step well - a large well in the middle of town with slanting sides with set-in steps so one can descend to the water level depending on whether it is monsoon season and the water is high, or dry season and the level is low.  There were also some doorways that led to secret passageways that were used by the concubines or wives so they could come to bathe.

   A Step Well constructed in 1748 - steps to the left, water at the bottom

We ended up at a manufacturer of fine woven goods and watched a demo on how they are designed.  We got back to the Bal Samand at five, drank some beer and prepared to go down to the train station for our night train to Delhi.  We have all been somewhat apprehensive about this trip, not knowing what our sleeping arrangements will be, if we'll get any sleep, or not.

   Piles of fabrics!

We arrived in the dark at the station and our local guide got porters to carry our big bags up stairs, over the tracks, and down to our platform.  The porters each carried two big bags on top of their heads and walked faster than I could walk just carrying my daypack!!

                                   

                                         Our Amazing Porters! 

Our train pulled in: third, second, then first class and we climbed aboard.  Bob and I found ourselves alone in a two bunk roomette!!  The others were in twos and fours, and we got all of our luggage delivered.  Our porter brought in sheets, blankets and pillows.  I went down to see Hilary with her three companions and stayed partying, all of us wishing that we had brought a bottle along as it is a dry train!  We ate a delicious box dinner from our hotel, and I am typing this right now as the train bounces along!

  Bob enjoying dinner on the train

                                                      The Party Car

Fri, Dec 4 - Returning to Jodhpur

We left Jaisalmer at 6:45AM  and started the drive back to Jodhpur.  After an hour we turned off to the town of Kichan, which is a small village where the citizens have been feeding the Demoiselle Cranes for 150 years. There is a large field in the middle of town where grain is spread out and the cranes descend at dawn to feed.  We arrived there at ten and entered one of the two houses next to the field where tourists are welcome to enter and observe the spectacle. We met a group of birders who had left Jaisalmer at 4AM to drive here to see the cranes which, for some reason, were now sitting in an adjacent field, when the birds suddenly started rising up into the air in large groups, circling overhead and landing on the grain.  It was really a spectacular sight with thousands of large blue-grey birds, with a long black ruff running down their necks, all crying at the same time, circling and soaring.

The cranes rising up into the air

   Settling down to feed

I don't know why the cranes delayed their feeding, but I'm glad we didn't get up any earlier than we did!  The cranes were named by Marie Antoinette as she was so charmed by them after having received some from the Russian ambassador.

The owner of the crane house with her daughter, showing different clothing style in western Rajasthan

We drove on three more hours and entered the Jodhpur hotel grounds of the Bal Salmand Lake Palace, the hotel where we had stayed last week in the very nicely renovated former stables of the local Maharaja.  This time, however, we were bumped up to suites in the Palace for our stay!  The Palace is about 1/4 miles away from the restaurant so we were transported up there in  small vans.  We were driven into a large, red sandstone portico and entered a white marble hall with a grand stairway in the center.  Hil got a large room downstairs and we climbed the long stairway and found suite 8, a spacious room with separate dining room and a marble bathroom with huge circular tub in the middle!

    Our bedroom in the Palace

    Our bath

We had to leave and catch the jitney down the hill for an excellent lunch.   Afterwards we loaded on the bus again and drove downtown and visited the Royal Mausoleum, a large ornate memorial to a former Maharaja, from which we could see the fort, Mehrangarh, looming over the city.

Mehrangarh

It rises 400' above the city on straight stone walls.  We took an elevator up and reached the base of the palace,and still had five stories to climb.  It is an incredible place, and is still owned by the Jodhpur Royal Family.  Our local guide led us around, showing us views of the neighbor hood below with its blue houses - formerly only the Brahmins could paint their houses that color, but then it caught on, and  every house was blue, but now the practice is fading out with only about 35% of houses that color.

    Rooftop Terraces in the Blue City

The guide took us through rooms full of antique Howahs, fancy chairs made for riding on elephants, and palanquins that were used to transport the royal ladies around town up until the 1950s.  There were rooms of fabrics, weapons. and other royal objects.  We saw a demonstration of how a turban is put on, starting with about 30' of silk wound around the head and then the turban is moved 90 degrees and more twisting and coiling.  The whole tour was an amazing glimpse into how the Maharajas once lived and, to some extent, still do.

   An Elephant Howah

   The Maharaja's Bedroom

We returned to the hotel and our marble suites to change and were served an elaborate dinner outside surrounded by large fires. We could hardly hear ourselves think as a large wedding celebration was going on next door and we had to endure very loud Bollywood music which lasted until well after midnight.

Wed-Thu, Dec 2-3 - Visiting The Desert National Park

We headed out from our hotel in the dark at 6:50 AM; strings of holiday lights have sprung up all over the place and the front of our hotel is a blaze of blinking red and blue lights.  We headed north, through Jaisalmer.  We could see several permanent tent resorts in the town of Sam, across the street from a rolling stretch of pure sand dunes which cater mainly to people wanting to be transported out into the desert by a camel.

   A stone slab fence - wood is more valuable than carved stone in the desert!

   A Variable Wheatear

We stopped several times to bird on the roadside and got to the park headquarters at ten.

There we found only two camel carts instead of four due to a misunderstanding with some other customers.  We piled onto flat, wooden platforms, covered in colorful blankets, on top of two large tires, and drawn by one friendly-looking camel each.

With seven to a cart, it was quite crowded and we had to grab onto each other to avoid being jostled off.  We had hoped to get out to where the rare Indian Bustard could be seen.  It is similar to an ostrich, about 4' high, but none were to be seen.  Another cart caught up with us and Bob left to share a cart with Stephen, but he said it was still very uncomfortable.

I guess I was about the only person who really enjoyed bouncing along a rough trail with the
following camel's face practically in my lap!

We saw some birds but it is really difficult to see anything unless you are facing the bird in question.  We finally returned after a six mile loop to the headquarters and ate our box lunches.

We returned to the bus and drove in a large loop, stopping here and there to check out a bird.

On one occasion, Hil just barely avoided stepping on a small, but venomous snake that lashed around before disappearing into a hole.  We returned to the hotel at 6:30, for dinner and the list, and bed.

    Hil's snake

Thu, Dec 3 - Day two in the Desert National Park

Our bus driver took us on the 1 1/2 hour trip back to the Park where, amazingly there were only two camel carts waiting for us - we had been assured that there would be four there this morning. The Park manager dashed around in embarrassment and sent out some spotters to see if he could locate any Indian Bustards for us.  We were shortly walking very fast about 1/4 mile to a sturdy stone tower which we climbed and from there could easily see, in the telescope, six bustards strutting around in the grass!  The ones we saw represent a significant fraction of the remaining population of this particular species in the world - and were a good sighting considering the fact that, with the ample monsoon this year, the grass is higher making the birds more difficult to see.  In fact, from the camel carts we probably wouldn't have seen them at all.

   The Birding Tower

After that excitement, we descended the tower and set off on three camel carts which were to take us to the nearest water hole to see sandgrouse, but the camel drivers thought we would enjoy taking the long route for more camel entertainment.  Bryan and Harish finally convinced them to go directly there after and hour, so we turned around - not easy on rutted roads with nothing for us to hold onto.  And when we arrived at the small tub of water nothing was to be seen - although we later saw sandgrouse along the road.

We had box lunches again and set off on the bus stopping for some good vulture sightings, plus one vulture on a dead camel.

 

    A Griffon Vulture

 We stopped at the Bada Bagh Royal Cenotaphs, a series of beautiful memorials built to honor some maharajas and their families in the 1800s.

    Cenotaph detail

Then we pulled into the Akal Wood Fossil Park where whole fossilized trees are caged and displayed.  We birded the area until six, before returning to the hotel for dinner.

Tue, Dec 1 - To Jaisalmer, The Golden City

Bob's cold seems to be better, but I'm still going through Kleenex at a great rate.  Fortunately this was to be a driving day so I could rest and nap.  We took off at 6:45 for a four hour drive, but our amazing driver had to come to a stop when he saw a road sign indicating that the highway was closed except for local traffic - probably for army purposes as there is a strong military presence here, as we're so close to the Pakistani boarder.  Anyway he drove all around the city and finally reached the highway by nsome route he knew and we were on our way.

The area is getting more desert-like and open with sand. scrub and small acacias.  Yesterday we drove through dense, thorny acacia forests.

We stopped for a rest stop and got a close-up view of one of the highly decorated trucks we've seen whizzing by.  The driver was pleased at our interest and posed for us after lighting some incense on a small shrine on his dashboard.

We finally got to the Gateway Hotel and checked in noon.  Bryan was amazed as always before he's gotten a wonderful view of the golden fort of Jaisalmer, but today with all the haze we could just barely make out its vague shape on the horizon.  He had ordered a buffet for us, but we were given menus which slowed things down considerably. We finally finished lunch and got on the bus for the old city at 2:00.

   A Parade of Saris

    The Fort Walls

Jaisalmer was founded in 1156 by a Rajput ruler and was fought over over the centuries.  Now the fort is inhabited by 30,000 people and the surrounding city only has a population of twice that, so it is manageable to explore.  We found our local guide and started into the fort when Bob suddenly collapsed with a sudden case of stomach cramps and dizziness.  I grabbed Harish who put us on a tuk-tuk, a motorized rickshaw, and managed to find our bus and transport us back to the hotel where Bob took some antibiotics and rested.  Since the next two days here are devoted to birding in the desert, I will have to rely on Hilary's pictures to give you, and me, an idea of the fort and its warren of tiny, curving streets and shops.

Patchwork of verious old fabrics, workshop in Jaisalmer

Mon,Nov 30 - To Jodhpur, The Blue City

As breakfast wasn't served until seven, we got to sleep in until six!  I was feeling pretty logy, but had an OK night.  I just had some toast and chai tea.  Our bags were picked up and we joined the other on the bus for the six hour ride to Jodhpur.  The weather was clear in the 60s when we left, warming up to the low 80s.  There still was a hazy layer about 30 degrees up from the horizon which made it very difficult to see if we were driving through a flat plain or if there were hills on the horizon as the visibility was only about 2 miles.

We drove on the smooth six-lane tollroad and our bus driver expertly wove us back and forth across the lanes, around slow trucks and motorbikes while Bob and I wheezed and coughed.  We stopped for a rest stop and lunch at a garden restaurant, and finally reached Jodhpur at about three, where we picked up another history guide who took us to  the Mandore Gardens, an area that was settled as early as the 4th century and ruled by the Rathore Rajputs in the 1300s whose monuments are in the gardens.

We first saw a long wall of Hindu gods and goddesses carved into a stone face and then painted.

We then walked over to a group of cenotaphs (where ashes are buried and are plainly decorated, from the 1600s.  There are also high ornate towers of Sikhara which do not contain ashes of the deceased and are decorated with gods, elephants and other figures.

   A Sikhara

                                                   

   Detail

    Both Cenotaphs and Sikharas

The area is inhabited by many Black-faced Langurs, non-aggressive, playful monkeys whom the locals feed.

We then drove to the lovely Bal Samand Lake Palace & Garden Retreat, and, as it wasn't quite dark yet, walked through the extensive gardens of this Maharaja Palace.  We came to a huge peacock fountain that unfortunately wasn't on, and climbed up to the top where a dam had been built in 1157 , which must be one of the first large dams ever built.

   The Peacock Fountain

We didn't actually get into the old city where the blue buildings are, but we are returning to Jodhpur, after we visit Jaisalmer.

We walked back to the bus and checked into our nice rooms (the former stables of the Maharaja) and went to the restaurant where we had Indian and French food, which was a pleasant change.