Hiding From Holi - Our Last Day in India

Before coming to India, The Wife was most worried about our final day coinciding with Holi, the festival of colors.  During this holiday, locals celebrate by dousing each other with colored water or powder.  We had been told that the colors can be tough to wash out and can linger for days.  I really wanted to see some of the Holi celebrations, from afar of course.  But she dreaded the possibility of getting colored and spending the flight home looking like a smurf.  Worse is having to show up back to work with discolored hair or face.  That wouldn't inspire much confidence in our patients right before going under for surgery.   She wanted to avoid Holi altogether.  I reassured her that the festival wouldn't be much of an issue as long as we stayed in the more commercial areas of town.

After breakfast, we met up with our guide for a morning visit to some last tourist attractions in Delhi.  Our first stop was the Qutb Complex in the southern part of the city.

The centerpiece of this area is the Qtub Minar.

At 238 feet, It is India's highest tower.

When the Afghani slave-general Qutbuddin Aibak conquered the region from the Chauhan kings in 1193, he began construction of this "Victory Tower."  He was later to establish the Mamluk Dynasty, the first of the Delhi Sultanates, in 1206 and die in a polo accident (a not uncommon way for Indian rulers to meet their demise) four years later.

The minaret was not built all at once.  160 years and several Delhi Sultanates later, the fifth and last story was completed.  The outer surface is covered with Islamic carvings and Arabic writing.  Our guide told us that the inside of the minaret contains Hindu carvings.  She said that some of the stones used to build the structure came from demolished Hindu temples.  Unfortunately, we couldn't see them as this area has been closed to the public for over a decade.

Depictions of animals or people are not allowed in conservative Islamic decor.
Hence, most Islamic architecture in India is devoid of aniconism.

The remaining areas consisted of ruins from tombs and former buildings of worship.  They were not as interesting or intricate as the buildings we had seen over the past two weeks.

The Alai Darwaza is the main southern gate to the Qutb complex. It was built
in 1311 by Alauddin Khilji, a ruler of the second Delhi Sultanate Dyna.

It is the first building in India...

...(true arches and domes).

 ...to employ true Islamic architecture...

The Tomb of Imam Zamin, a Turkestan saint who migrated to India and died in 1539

Ironically, the Quwwat-ul-Islam (Might of Islam) Mosque contains
several Hindu motifs in the decorative carvings of the columns.

The 22 foot-high Iron Pillar of Delhi dates to the 4th century when it was housed in a Jain temple. It is 98%
iron and has resisted corrosion for over 1600 years. It is about as exciting as the largest ball of twine.

The tomb of Iltutmish, son of Aibek and second of the Delhi Sultanates

The Alai Minar was going to be a tower twice the height of the Qutb
Minar.  The first story was completed by Alauddin Khilji,
but the project was abandoned soon after his death.

Foreign tourists are not the only visitors to the Qutb Complex...

...many parrots and locals visit this clean, well kept area of Delhi.

The next place we visited was the Tomb of Humayun, the second Mughal emperor.  He had actually lost his kingdom to the last Delhi Sultanate and lived as a refuge in Persia for 15 years before retaking Delhi in 1555.  Sadly, he died only a year later when he fell down the stairs of his library carrying a load of books.  Knowledge can be dangerous.

Humayun's Tomb was commissioned by his wife, Hamina Banu Begum, seven years after his death and is said to have served as the blueprint for the Taj Mahal, a century later.  The resemblance to the Taj Mahal is striking in form, but different in most other details.  It is much smaller in scale.  It is constructed of red sandstone, not white marble.  And there are no exquisite details and inlaid gemstones in the walls.   What is left is a nice UNESCO site, but a very underwhelming monument compared to the Taj Mahal.  I think we would have appreciated this place if we had seen it first.

The gateway to Humayun's Tomb

This tomb is a smaller, simpler, and red version of the Taj Mahal.

The surrounding buildings and gardens...

...are nowhere as nice as that of the Taj Mahal.

Unlike the Taj Mahal, photography is allowed inside Humayan's tomb.

Decorative jialis (screens) are common in Mughal architecture.

Our guide suggested that we visit the National Museum since I am interested in learning about pre-Mughal history.  We also had an hour or two to kill, and it is an air-conditioned facility.  Plus there would be a zero percent chance of being doused by an urchin with dyed water.  Their collection is pretty large consisting of small pottery fragments and tools from the B.C. era.  The artifacts from the first millennium are mainly elaborate sculptures and base reliefs (many taken from ruined temples) of gods and goddesses.  Unfortunately, the descriptions of the pieces are very brief and really do not help convey the history or culture of these ancient civilizations.  There is an audio tour that can be rented, but it only covers select highlighted displays.

There were several centuries-old reliefs and statues on display in the National Museum.

There are also small exhibits such as the maritime history of India.  Sadly, India has always been a pretty insignificant Naval power, so there isn't much there.  As an American, it was interesting to learn that the first British naval vessel ever commisioned in India was the HMS Minden, on its decks from which Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner.

They also had several galleries on coins from the various dynasties of India.  When I was in college, I took a course on Roman history as revealed by their coinage (pretty nerdy).  It was actually surprising to see what can be learned from the portraits, images, and slogans minted on the coins.  Unfortunately, much of the Indian money seemed more simplistic with only Sanskrit writing as their only details.  Although the museum's coin collection is vast, to me, it just wasn't that interesting.

In contrast, there was a large exhibit on the different varieties of miniature paintings throughout the last 500-600 years.  During our time in Rajasthan, we rued the fact that we didn't understand the different schools of painting.  The museum does a good job of describing the characteristics of each style while showing many examples of each.  I only wish I had more time to go over that area more thoroughly.

The National Museum also has a special exhibit on the treasures of China.  I think they had some good displays there, but we didn't linger very long as we had seen similar pieces on our previous journeys to that country.  Altogether, I thought the museum is pretty good, not great.  The Wife hated it, but I think a lot had to do with their really weak gift shop.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon at the Khan Market, an upscale shopping center that caters to more Western tastes.  The streets outside are lined with Benzes, Bimmers, and other expensive cars.  You better believe nobody was going to play Holi around those pricey machines.  Still, it was hard not to notice that the country was celebrating a holiday.

Even with the rifle, it's hard to be intimidated
by this Khan Market security guard.

Tailgating India style? No lighter fluid is necessary when you have cow patties for fuel.

There are many nice boutique stores that occupied our time for several hours.  We purchased more knick knacks from Anokhi (again for the 3rd time in India), Good Earth, FabIndia, etc..  No haggling was necessary.  We did have to stop off at the McDonald's and see their menu.  They wouldn't allow me to take pictures inside (stupid corporate rules).  Since beef and pork are taboo for Hindu's and Muslims respectively, the only protein is chicken (what, no lamb?).  Instead of the Big Mac, they have the Chicken Majarajah Burger.  Instead of the regular hamburger, they have a McAloo Tikki burger made up of a potato and pea patty.  For the equivalent of about 50 cents, it was actually pretty good.

666! McDonald's is still evil no matter which country it's in.

We headed to a restaurant near Old Delhi called Chor Bizarre, that has received some nice reviews. Unfortunately, it was closed, likely for the holiday.  We needed to find some place fast so I remembered reading a good review about a place called The Great Kebab Factory at the Radisson Hotel near the airport.  We took a gamble and it paid off.

First, we had to get our car through security.  The guards checked the back looking for any firearms or bombs.  Once inside, we headed to the restaurant.  The concept was different than anything else we had experienced in India.  First we had to select from either a vegetarian or carnivore menu.  We wanted to do one of each, but since logistically it would be problematic, they decided to just bring meats mixed with the occasional vegetables.

At that point they started bringing out their different kebabs.  Unfortunately, my hurried pictures do not do the food justice.  Their specialty is a minced lamb kebab that we were told is best eaten wrapped in roti.  It resembled one of those diarrhea-inducing Taco Bell burritos.  Just as good, too.  They followed with tandoori shrimp and paneer, roasted chicken and lamb, black pepper chicken, tandoori potato, and finally lamb chop.  These were also served up with various breads that were good but filled me up too quickly.   At this point, we were asked to pick which ones we could have again.  We went for our favorites--the minced lamb, shrimp, paneer, and lamb chop.  They will continuously bring kebab after kebab until you have had enough.  It's like an Indian churrascaria.  

You definitely need to bring your A game to this restaurant.  Unfortunately, we brought our fourth string backups and were quickly stuffed.  But that was just the introduction.  The "main course" was brought in.  It is two forms of dal and ultra-smooth creamed spinach served with a lamb biryani.  At this point, I had to take an intermission and clear up more space.  For dessert, they brought their version of several Indian sweets--a pistachio kulfi on a stick, jaleebis, galub jamun, kheer, halwa, and paan.   With their attentive service, we were able to polish off all these courses in little over an hour.  Although pricey by Indian standards, the food was worth it.  The Wife thought it was the best meal she had for the whole trip.  My only complaint is that they didn't have a written menu giving us the Indian name to the kebabs that we were eating.  We tried asking some of the waiters, but we had a hard time understanding their Indian accents.

 Condiments include onions and four dipping sauces.

First course was a fruit and vegetable salad with a strawberry vinaigrette.

Their signature minced lamb kebab may look like a
steaming pile of poop, but it still tastes great.

Roasted chicken kebab

Spicy lamb kebab

Tandoori potato

 Cashew and fennel bread

The saffron bread was awesome.

Black pepper chicken kebab

The "main course" includes a biryani and two types of dals.

Kulfi on a stick

Galub Jamun

Kheer

Halwa

Jalebis

Paan

We rushed to the airport and checked in.  Our bags were over the limit, so we had to do some last minute rearranging with our carry-ons.  The airline representative was nice enough not to charge us for being a few kg's over.  In our haste we forgot to exchange our rupees back to dollars before entering the secure area.  There is one money-exchange place inside but it is reserved for only local Indians (WTF!, Why does it matter?).  So, we were stuck with $70 of worthless Indian rupees that are technically illegal to bring out of the country.  (We did put them to good use, donating them to UNICEF on the flight home).

We didn't look forward to spending the next 15 hours covered in sweat and dirt, so we went to one of the lounges to use their showers.  We are not members, but for 500 rupees/person, they offer that option.  We waited our turn.  And waited.  And waited.  Then we saw that our flight was starting the boarding process, 1.5 hours before departure.  So we started freaking out.  The friendly attendant was nice enough to knock on the stalls and get some of the folks moving.  What they were doing in there that took so long, I don't know and probably don't want to know.  Their turnover was very quick, and the private bathrooms with toilet and showers were nice and clean.  Towels, shampoo, and conditioner were provided.  I was in such a hurry, I didn't even stop to figure out how to get hot water.  Five minutes later, I was ready to roll.  And then I had to wait another fifteen minutes for The Wife to be done.

In order to actually board the plane, we had to go through the security process once again.  I don't want to hear anybody bitch about the TSA in U.S. airports.  The multiple checkpoints in India are much more of a hassle,  I can only imagine what it is like in Israel.  As much of a pain as it was, I did feel good about the added security.

Two flights, one long layover in Chicago, and two tasty breakfast items from Tortas Frontera later, we were finally home, happy we made the journey to North India.  However, I don't think we will be making plans to return anytime soon.

Stranded On An Island In the Middle of A City - Our Stay Tt the Udaipur Lake Palace

Okay so we weren't really stranded.  There are boats constantly shuttling people back and forth to the city.  And it's not truly an island.  It's a palace built in the middle of a man-made lake.  One thing is for sure, if somebody wanted to 'rescue' me from this place, they will have to drag me kicking and screaming.

The first thing to realize about the Taj Lake Palace Hotel is that it is not a steal.  If the early seasons of the show Survivor had been filmed on this island, the castaways would have brought their credit card as their luxury item.  You will have to pay a lot for a room and even more on top of that to appreciate its amenities.  It is a place to go to splurge.  We decided to stay at the Lake Palace Hotel as a nice ending to our two week trip.

Currently, the palace is accessible only by boat.  But before getting there, security has their turn.  Passports are checked, metal detectors are used, and all the bags go through the X-ray machine.

The private dock where water taxi's bring visitors to the hotel

The views of the Lake Palace Hotel from the boat.

The boat takes a bit of a circuitous route.

Visitors are greeted at the dock by the hotel staff.

Namaste to you to.

Visitors are showered with rose petals at the entrance of the hotel.

It takes one man to make it rain.

It takes another man to sweep it all up.

A mango beverage is served during the check-in process.

We were shown to room 109 which has a nice view of the City Palace.  The room is as expected--elegant and roomy with all of the modern accouterments of a five-star hotel.

Opening the window is prohibited as it 
may let large yellow hornets inside.

One got into our room anyway.  They were going to spray down
the room, but one staffer found the intruder and took care of it.

The TV would annoyingly turn to the Taj channel when powered on.

This channel is an infomercial about their other hotel properties.

They serviced the room and changed the towels and toiletries twice a day.

The bathroom has vibrant blue tiles.

The service is impeccable.  There seems to be ten staff members for every guest.  The workers will greet guests with a little namaste whenever they walk by them.  The staff go out of their way to make sure everyone is satisfied.  They are omnipresent but, at the same time, invisible.  They are there for your beck and call.  It is as if the Raj never ended.

The hotel staff gives a tour every evening showing the palace's history.

The centerpiece is the lily pond which was prominently shown in the movie Octopussy.

The lily pond still looks like it did in the James Bond flick, except without all the hussies.

Unfortunately, many of the rooms were being renovated, and the Maharana's original chambers were off limits.  Unlike many of the palaces-turned-museums, the Lake Palace actually is small with monotonous hallways.  What decor they do have is usually ornate but subdued.

Decorative candleholder

Creepy life-sized statues

Ornate chair swing

This decoration was created with inlaid semi-precious stones.

Decorative weapons and shield

Marble elephant

Even with the lack of garish opulence, the staff does take care of the small details to make the hotel a five-star experience.

A flutist's music echoed throughout the corridors of the palace.

A small shrine sits just off of the lily pond.

There is a very comfortable bar (no, we did not order whatever Anthony Bourdain drank) in an area that was initially used to greet royal guests.  Aside from the guest rooms, there is a nice spa, overpriced shops, three restaurants, and a small "gym" that nobody used.

The door from the lobby leads to the ridiculously overpriced stores.

 Recreational room with backgammon and chess boards

Central courtyard where performances are held

Lounging area

Room off the bar where the Maharana used to greet visiting dignitaries

Hallway with an elephant statue

In the back, there is also a swimming pool with lounge chairs.  This one pales in comparison to that of the Amarvilas.  It is not heated; it has no underwater seating areas; and there is a giant tree that looms over it.  Nets cover the tree to prevent the leaves from getting into the pool.  I asked why they just didn't cut it down.  Apparently, the tree is over 270 years-old having been planted personally by Maharana Jagath Singh II who built the palace.

The centuries-old tree shades the hotel's swimming pool.  Most of the lounge
chairs face away from the pool, providing a nice view of Lake Pichola.

The tree epitomizes the design of the hotel.  Functionality and comfort are constrained by the need to preserve history.  While some renovations and additions have been made, most of the palace remains pristine.  Despite these limitations, the hotel was reportedly near capacity.  Another guest who had visited the nearby Oberoi Udaisvilas said it was empty despite it being rated higher in the travel magazines.  The lure of staying here is the beauty, the service, and most of all the history.  It was originally constructed in the mid 1700's as a summer palace.  Only in the last 40 years has it been a hotel.  The Lake Palace has served as an asylum for future Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (some say he got the inspiration for the Taj Mahal from nearby architecture).  English refugees were hidden here by the Majarana here during the Sepoy Mutiny.  Furthermore, it has been a popular vacation spot for multiple foreign dignitaries, celebrities, wealthy business men, and now Tennessee trash like me.

We ended up having four meals there.  Breakfast is mostly Western style with traditional fare such as Eggs Benedict, Belgium waffles, etc. in addition to their buffet of pastries, fruits, and cereals.

Lunch can be had poolside or in the informal dining room.  The service and prices are not informal.  On the first day, we started with their version of a chaat.  I had the rack of lamb which was a whopping 1700 rupees (~$37).  The taste was good, but cooked a little longer than the medium I asked for.  The Wife had the excellent butter-poached prawns for 1600 Rs.  For dessert we had the blueberry gelato and the saffron galub jamin.

Multi-grain bread served with a kidney beans puree and an apple chutney

Amuse-bouche containing zucchini, squash, red pepper, and balsamic vinegar

The kitchen accidentally brought out a beef tenderloin.  Although it looked really good, I sent it back.  I thought it would be disrespectful to eat beef in a country where it is taboo.

Papada chaat - pastry with tamarind chutney and mint.

 Beef tenderloin with mashed potatoes and vegetables

Rack of lamb

Butter-poached prawns

Pista galub jamun

Blueberry gelato

On the second day, The Wife insisted on Indian food since we had only tried the Hotel's continental fare.  The food was well prepared, but frankly all of the Indian dishes started to become interchangeable to me.

Papadum is given as an appetizer.

It's served with three varieties of chutneys

A watermelon and paneer amuse-bouche

Laal maas (Rajasthani spicy lamb curry)

Masledar tawa pomfret (fish with red chilli paste and ginger)

Yellow dal is served with the fish.

We had a delicate rais malai for dessert.

The ambiance of the hotel improved as the sun started going down.

Dinner on the top of the of the Lake Palace Hotel is considered the most picturesque and romantic spot in town.  It starts out in the courtyard outside the bar, musicians play traditional songs while a Rajasthani dancer performs just a few feet away from the crowd.  I honestly can't say that I enjoy traditional song and dance, but it is part of the culture that brings people halfway around the world to see.  I don't know why I videotaped the performance because I had a hard enough time watching it live.  I'm a total philistine.

Musicians play in the courtyard.

The dancer had an interesting move where she
contorted herself  backwards and picked
up two rings off the ground with her eyelids.

I ordered a vetiver iced tea, not knowing what 
it is. Only later did I learn that vetiver is 
essentially grass.  It did have a good, mild taste.

While we watched the performance, we dined on complimentary snacks of nuts, crudites, and bite-sized sandwiches.

We later walked to the top of the hotel where we dined alfresco (continental fare only) with the romantic view of the lake and city.  It was nice to see the opposing view of Lake Pichola as compared to our dinner the night before at the Jagat Niswas.  Many of the lake-front buildings are lit-up.  Otherwise from that, the whole dining experience was very dark.

The City Palace is illuminated during the early evening.  Most of the lights are shut off around midnight.

The menu can only be read with the aid of clip-on lights.

I ordered the foies gras two ways followed by a seafood soup.  The torchon was silky smooth and delicious.  The flavor for the seared foies gras was really good, but it was a little too cooked for my taste.  It didn't quite melt in my mouth, the way I like it.  The wife had a beet and goat cheese salad (good but uninspiring) followed by a pea soup with prawns.  We both agreed that her pea soup was better than my seafood soup.  We both had the signature entree, the sea bass with a Kalamata olive tapenade served with potatoes.  The fish was very well cooked and tasty.  However, flavor-wise, it was a little ordinary.  I think we prefer a sauce for sea bass rather than the olive tapenade.  We passed on the unexciting dessert options.

Assortment of breads

Watermelon amuse-bouche

The duo of foies gras--a pear panna cotta is nestled between
the torchon on the left and the pan-seared liver on the right.
At the far right is a Bailey's Irish creme and carrot-tomato compote.

Slow-roasted beet and goat cheese salad with a honey-pommery dressing.

English pea soup with mint and poached prawns

Essence of seafood soup infused with saffron, shaved fennel, and caviar

Sorbet as a palate cleanser

 Chilean sea bass on a potato confit, asparagus and olive
tampenade with a saffron and marscapone sauce

The most impressive thing about dining on the roof is that the chefs do all the cooking outside instead of in the main indoor kitchen.  As any Top Chef contestant can attest to, cooking under the elements is much more difficult even with the most modern ranges and equipment.

Kitchen setup on the roof

The next morning, we utilized their spa before we checked out.  Although the prices were very high for India, they were still better than in the U.S.  The wife had a 90 minute facial and a 75 minute pedicure.  They did a good job on both, comparable to what you get at a quality place back home.

Despite not being a spa type of person, I went ahead and booked the 90 minute "warrior" massage.  The only other massage I ever had was a 15 minute foot massage in the mountains of Yunnan, China.  A tribal lady gave my dirty feet a rub down with her even filthier hands.  The best $1.50 I had ever spent.  Therefore, I was kind of nervous about the whole formal spa thing.  They asked if I wanted a male or female masseuse.  In my line of work, I have to examine men in their more private areas.  As expected they can get pretty embarrassed and uncomfortable.  I have to reassure many of them that it is no big deal.  Well, I am a big hypocrite.  I don't want any dude touching me, so I went with the female masseuse.

The massage started out with a sauna.  Two minutes in there and I was done.  I would have never been a contestant for the World Sauna Championships (now defunct because somebody died last year).  Then the masseuse had me change into some disposable underwear that resembled a string bikini.  I had to ask the lady "Are you sure there isn't a men's version?"  If this is what the Rajput warriors used to wear, I am surprised their kingdom lasted so long.  The masseuse was very professional and respectful.  It was a very relaxing 90 minutes.  No painful contorting of the limbs in unnatural directions.  And no happy ending (This ain't Bangkok!).

After checking out, we lounged at the pool for the next four hours until we had to catch an evening flight back to Delhi.

The rose ice tea and the cardamom and saffron frou-frou drink will
lower your testosterone level.  Even more if they had little umbrellas.

It turned out that most of the other people using the pool that afternoon were also on that flight.  We checked back into the Hotel Palace Heights which seemed much noisier than before.  It's hard to come back to civilization after being stranded in paradise.