The Colors of Rajasthan-Udaipur (Day 12)

January 25:

The next morning we found out that the City Palace was newly opened again after the royal wedding, so we decided to head there. When we walked in, we saw that they were still taking down the decorations from the wedding and even setting up tables and fabric streamers for an after party for later that night.

Love the 'stache!

After seeing many palaces in Rajasthan on our trip, I can say that the palace itself was just another palace. Crazy to think that I can say that, but when you’ve seen five, you’ve seen them all. Unfortunately by the end of our 2-3 hour long tour, I was hoping for a Café Coffee Day in the gift shop.

Next up, was a cooking class I had signed up for. The hotel we stayed at was offering a cooking class plus lunch for only Rs 600 ($10). Bargain! We learned how to make so many delicious foods. We started our class with making some chai but then learned how to make Malai Kofta (creamed potatoes, fried dumpling kind of dish) and some other north Indian dishes. And the best part? We got all the recipes!

I know you’re all dying to know how, so here’s the masala chai recipe:

Indian Chai (makes 3 cups)

Chai Masala (Tea Spice)

*This can be kept for up to two years in an airtight container

Combine equal amounts of:

Green Cardamom

Black Pepper

Clove

Nutmeg

Mace (flower of nutmeg)

Dry Ginger

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of water (125 ml x 2)
• ½ teaspoon chai masala (tea spice)
• 1 teaspoon tea powder (assam tea)
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 cup milk (skimmed milk)...doesn’t matter if it’s hot or cold

Method:

1. Put bowl on heat and add water
2. When water starts to boil, add chai masala (tea spice)
3. Wait one minute then add tea powder and sugar
4. Wait one minute again. Then add milk
5. Wait for boiling. When it starts to boil, boil it up and down 5-7 times on low and high heat. You can also take it on and off heat.
6. Then take it off the fire and cover it for two minutes
7. After two minutes, strain (filter) it In a cup or pot. It’s ready to drink!

After being stuffed to the brim with all this delicious Indian food, we decided to walk it off by doing some shopping. I’ll warn you now, Udaipur is very dangerous on the wallet. Not for pickpocketers but because of all the amazing finds! By the end of the two days we had in Udaipur, I had an entire tote bag of extra goodies that wouldn’t fit in my suitcase. Good thing I have a bigger suitcase in New Delhi!

We ended our time in Udaipur with a group dinner on the lake. We had a table overlooking the lake, with all the old buildings lit up at night. It was like a beautiful night in Greece or Italy. I never thought I would be a lover of dal (lentils), after all the dal I’ve had during my time in Delhi, but this dal makhani was almost good enough to lick the bowl! I couldn’t have asked for a better ending to Udaipur.

The Colors of Rajasthan-Udaipur (Day 11)

Friday January 24

After leaving Bijapur, we made our way to Udaipur, a large town in Rajasthan. I was pretty excited about these next two days because I had heard from quite a few people that Udaipur was the place to go for shopping….and my credit card hadn’t been swiped in a while. Once we got to Udaipur, I could instantly see why so many people took heart to this town. It was full of winding streets with shop keepers offering their tailor services and restaurant sandwich boards advertising their nightly showing of Octopussy, the James Bond film since it was partially filmed in Udaipur (Side note: I just heard that Richard Gere is coming to Udaipur soon to film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 2!).

In many ways, it was a quiet reprieve from the city life in India while still having everything you needed there. The whole town was developed along a large lake, so at night all the restaurants and shops were lit up. So pretty!

After dropping our bags off in our rooms, we went to grab some lunch and then took a walking tour around the city, where our tour guide pointed out some good textile shops and jewelry places to visit. That afternoon we were going to take a tour of the City Palace, but it was still closed since they had just had a royal wedding there. So instead, we decided to do some shopping!

That evening, we took a sunset boat ride on the lake where we had some spectacular views of Udaipur.

After having some dinner on a restaurant's rooftop, we heard some chanting going on and decided to see what it was. Right next to the restaurant was a Hindu temple so walked over, took off our shoes and made our way into the temple. We soon saw that all that chanting and music was coming from none other than a boom box! Past and present combined!

Christmas Shopping in Delhi

This past Monday night after work, I decided to do some winter shopping and add some winter clothes to my Indian wardrobe. I could’ve just gone to one of the local markets and bargained for some kurtas and salwar kameez suits similar to what I had done when I lived in Mumbai, but this time around, I wanted to actually get some clothes that would last more than just a few weeks or months. And quality has a price tag. So I called it an early Christmas present to myself and started my shopping. After finding some gorgeous, brightly colored kurta tops and salwar/dupatta sets (billowy pants & scarf set), I headed up to the register.

One of the new kurtas I got

But of course I couldn't just have an easy check-out. Apparently the sweater I wanted to buy wasn't coming up in their computer systems and they couldn't charge me correctly for it. At first they went to get another sweater of the same brand and color in attempts to ring that one up for sale, but that didn't seem to work. Then they tried manually inputting the product, but that didn't work either. So finally they rang up the rest of my purchases and then brought me to their customer service office. I sat down, twiddled my thumbs, (confession: played a little Candy Crush), and waited some more. After about 15 minutes of waiting, they brought me back to the register, where they miraculously were able to ring up the sweater. After looking at the price tag this time though, I noticed it was Rs 25 more than what it was originally (aka 20 minutes ago). I asked them about it and they showed me the price tag and what the price was. Sneaky, sneaky sales people! In the U.S., Rs 25 is a little less than 50 cents, but here in India, Rs 25 is the cost of a round trip local bus ride or even a takeaway/takeout lunch.

Maybe if it wasn't so late and I wasn't so tired, I would have argued and questioned them on the price. I've had many similar experiences over the years and usually I've approached it with frustration and stomped my feet at the manager until it showed the right price. But this time around was different. Maybe it was my shopping high or the Delhi water that changed me, but as I was riding home that night, I wasn't frustrated and wasn't even upset. Instead, I laughed to myself and just chalked it up as another experience and part of my journey in India. 

More new beginnings

Sunday was a very leisurely day. I woke up late, which was wonderful, and then went with Dennis, Denzil, Cordelia & Joshua to see another apartment/flat. I'm so happy I didn't say yes to the first apartment that I looked at because this one is so nice! I have my own bathroom, my own balcony and my own bedroom. My bedroom is huge for Indian standards. I have two twin size beds, full closet, dresser drawers and a desk. The maid gives me tea every morning, cleans and does my laundry every day and tidies up around the flat. After seeing the place, I immediately said yes! And for 10,000 rupees ($250) a month, it's perfect! I still can't believe that the maid even is just 200 rupees a month ($5/month) either.

On Monday, I went with Dennis to the Foreign Registration office to register me with the government so I wouldn't have a problem. I have to register within 14 days of arriving and of course Monday was the 13th day. After a 1 1/2 hour commute and after climbing the 6 flights of stairs, we made our way to the office. At first they told me that they didn't have proof that I was an American citizen (apparently a passport doesn't mean too much to them). Then after waiting for some time, I filled out the registration form (pretty much the same form as the visa form that I had already filled out). Then they told me that they didn't have proof of residence in India. I never knew that I needed it and didn't even have it because I was moving into my new apartment that same day. So it looked like I would have to come back that next morning with proof of residence.

After the second 1 1/2 hour ride back, I was exhausted! At 8:30pm, my head hit the pillow and I fell right asleep. Bright and early Tuesday morning, Dennis & I took the 1 1/2 hour bus ride to the registration office again. The woman at the office said that I just needed to fill out a new registration form and I would be all set. After filling out the form, I was on my way to print it off from the computer when the power went out. Just my luck! After about 20 minutes of waiting, I kindly asked one of the employees if I could do the form by hand. She said yes and I began filling out the form for the third time. After she finished stamping things in my registration booklet, and I finished filling out the form, the power came back on. Since the power came back on, she told me that I now had to fill out the form again on the computer....now the FOURTH time of filling out the form. A pain in the neck if you ask me! Finally after waiting for god knows how long, she handed me my registration booklet. After 5 hours of being in the office, I was oh so ready to get out of there! Dennis & I went back to school where he went to work and I was finally able to check my email. Dennis said that he still had work to do so Harvey, a student at the college, showed me how to get from school to my apartment via the bus. But being a bus in Mumbai, after 30-40 minutes it still didn't show up. So Harvey got his motorcycle and took me to the apartment that way. I've never been on a motorcycle before, so I was kind of nervous to ride on it, but it was so cool! It's like a convertible car, with the breeze blowing on you constantly....but no support or structure if you bang into someone haha

That night, Blanche, the woman that I'm staying with, brought me to all the local markets so I could get some food for myself. I definitely love the concept of the little markets. For your fruits, you go the fruit vendor. For your milk, you go to a little inside market (kind of like a convenience store). For your cheese and lunchmeat, you go to a cold storage place. And it's not like everything is far apart from each other either. The best part about it though, is home delivery. A lot of the markets and restaurants do home delivery....so you never have to carry anything around with you as you shop from one place to the next. So if you need milk, cereal, soap and cookies, just call up the market and they're able to deliver it right to your door. I love it! Last night, I bought about two heavy bags of groceries and they said that it was a lot to carry so they delivered it right to my apartment while Blanche and I continued shopping.

Wednesday, I had my morning cup of tea then some cereal and went out walking around. I still had to pick up some towels and hand soap too, even after all that shopping. Thankfully, I'm right near all the clothing stores, markets, restaurants and banks. I don't have to walk too far for anything. I'm really beginning to like this lifestyle! It took me a while to get used to how everything is and how everything's done around here (servants, maids, meal times, ways of shopping and bargaining) but it's such a calming lifestyle when you get used to it....besides the hustle and bustle of all the rickshaws and taxis of course!

Hopefully when I have more time free, I can pick up some salwar kameez outfits. They're so comfortable! Salwar kameez are outfits made of Indian fabric that consist of a long top usually having gorgeous designs, stones and details on them and baggy cotton pants. Since Mumbai can get so hot and humid, these kinds of outfits are perfect for the weather.






And except for rent, everything here is so cheap that I can afford to buy a few outfits and treat myself :) My grocery bill that night came out to be $1,140 rupees, which is only about $29! And all the groceries will last me about a few weeks. I already bought some tops which were about 100-150 rupees each (only $2.50-$3.75) and some pants which were about 200-300 rupees ($5-$7.50). It's great!