Ode to Love

The magnificent Taj Mahal

I finally saw the Taj Mahal in Agra - one of the seven wonders of the world.  It is breathtakingly beautiful. 

Aunty Jojo @ the Diana Seat

This mausoleum was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jehan in memory of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal who died in 1631.  An ode to love - is what I've heard it described as, many times. Though in my humble opinion, any woman who has 14 children in a 19-year marriage totally deserves a monument built in her honour.  Just saying.

Yes, Aunty Jojo is perfectly capable of capturing cheesy tourist photos!

The Taj Mahal took 22 years to complete and almost emptied the treasury of the Mughal empire, with all the marble and precious stones that were required for its completion.  In the end, Shah Jehan was overthrown by his son Aurangzeb and imprisoned in a small room in the Agra Fort, where he spent the rest of his life watching workmen toiling to complete his mausoleum.  While Shah Jehan never set foot in the Taj Mahal, that is where he is buried to this day alongside his beloved Mumtaz Mahal.

View from the northern entrance

Street Foods of Old Delhi

Every first time traveller to India would no doubt be warned about the dangers of bacteria and intestinal parasites which result in "Delhi belly" - a nasty set of symptoms that has ruined many a holiday. Much of the apprehension is focussed on street foods, which while providing an authentic culinary experience on the one hand, also serves as a possible vehicle for contamination.  As I arrived in New Delhi, I too weighed the risks of eating street food but decided to take the plunge anyway - with a proper tour guide - Surekha Narain of Delhi Metro Walks.  Boy am I glad I did! 

It's possible to enjoy the street delights of Delhi as long as one takes some precautions such as:

• refraining from eating fresh, uncooked food (e.g. juices, salads, cut fruits & vegetables)
• buying cooked food from stalls with high customer turnover, where the wares haven't been left sitting out for too long
• bringing your own hand sanitizers & disposable spoons, and remembering to use them before every meal or snack stop
• not judging a stall too quickly by western standards of hygiene, maintaining a high level of tolerance and healthy sense of humour :)

 Aunty Jo Jo enjoying breakfast puri (deep fried bread) and potato curry at Chandni Chowk

As we traversed the ancient alleys of Old Delhi, I discovered some truly unique and delicious foods.  Here are a some of my favourites, in order of preference.

 Daulat Ki Chaat is a dessert of milk mousse topped with saffron and sugar.  It's a winter specialty in Old Delhi.  What a delightful plate of playfulness!  I only caught a brief taste of sugary milkiness before the pillow of mousse dissolved in my mouth.  This dessert requires a lot of preparation, often beginning with the churning of milk at 2am before setting it in the wake of morning dew. 

Next up we have Til Papri - a confectionary made of sesame which reminded me of some Chinese sweets which were a childhood favourite.  Since it can keep for several months, I bought some to take home.

Khurchan (meaning "leftover scrapes" in Hindi) is a gooey milk candy that is ultra sweet.  It is made by boiling milk, scraping the leftovers from the bottom of the pan and leaving it to evaporate. It's then packed into trays, cut into rectangles and topped with more sugar and julienned pistachios. 

Finally we have dahi balla - spicy lentil balls topped with sweet yogurt and tamarind sauce. The power-packed combination of sweet, savoury, sour and spicy flavours were a little too overwhelming for my palate.  Although I'm told it is the firm favourite of many Delhi-ites. 





We tried a few savoury samosas as well - one fried in pure ghee which was quite decadent and a Jain samosa filled with moong dhal (yellow peas).

I am so happy to have experienced the street foods of Old Delhi and lived to tell the tale!

Magical Mumbai

What a great party town Mumbai is!  My first night comprised champagne, bratwurst, potato salad, men in leiderhosen, dancing to 80's hits, making awesome new friends, a spell at "Please Don't Tell" club before ending at 2am with a dose of sweet paan.  Wow, these people really know how to have a good time!

Left:  Aunty & "Ah Boy" Harvey;
 Right: at Britannia with Harvey, Michael & Mr Kohinoor

The main reason I'd come to Mumbai was to visit my dear "Ah Boy" Harvey Koh.  We first met at Calvary Church in 1994 when we were cast to play the two main characters in a Christmas production. The finale saw us serenading each other with a song entitled "O, What a Love", Bollywood style.  How apt that we should be reunited in Mumbai - the home of Bollywood!  Harvey and Michael live in Bandra, the Beverly Hills equivalent, where the major movie stars have their homes.  In fact, Shah Rukh Khan's house was a mere 300m away from our apartment!

The next day, the boys took me to Britannia & Co, an authentic Parsi restaurant in the heart of old Mumbai. While the sali boti (mutton stew topped with potato chips), chicken berry pulao (chicken rice with fruit & nuts) and chicken dhansak (lentil stew with chicken) were all extremely good, the real attraction is a charming 93-year old gentleman.  Mr Kohinoor is the owner, and while he took almost 15 minutes to take our order, I was completely enamoured by his stories, jokes and devotion to Queen Elizabeth II.  She's even written him a letter to thank him for his loyalty! You won't have to ask to see the letter, Mr Kohinoor proudly parades it around the restaurant every hour.

At the Gateway of India & Taj Palace Hotel 

I also treated myself to a stay at the Taj Palace Hotel - the grande dame of hotels in India.  It was right next to the Gateway of India, a unique landmark built to commemorate to visit of King George V and Queen Mary in 1911.  The place was heaving with local and foreign tourists and security was tight.  Still, the monument and its eclectic mix of European, Mughal and Hindu designs is worth seeing.

Camel safari

Don't you just love that one photo that sums up the entire holiday?  You know, the one photo that presents you as the adventurous heroine, ready to ride off into the sunset...

...like this photo of Aunty Jojo in her best "Lawrence of Arabia" pose?

Well, hold on to your horses, or in this case - your camels, here's a better picture of what REALLY happened...

Guess a picture really does paint a thousand words! :D

Gadsisar Lake, Jaisalmer

Water is a precious commodity in the middle of the desert.  This explains why Gadsisar Lake is the jewel in the crown for the residents of Jaiselmer, which is located in the heart of the Thar Desert.  For many years, it was the only reservoir supplying water to the town.

The lake is surrounded by temples and shrines, while the waters are teeming with catfish.  The local guide informed us that there's an overpopulation of catfish because they're not good for eating.  Sigh...guess it's time to move some Chinese chefs into Jaiselmer to solve that problem :)

Jodhpur

Panoramic view of Jodhpur from Mehrangarh Fort

The Blue City

Mehrangarh Fort, one of the largest forts in India

Top: King's quarters

Bottom:  Queen's quarters

Temple visits

You can be sure of one thing when travelling in India.  There will be temple visits - a LOT of temple visits.  The sheer number of gods, shrines, smells and colours, while spectacular, can get quite overwhelming.  Every village, city, peasant and king has a deity to worship, and a temple to house the deity.  One can't help but marvel at the incredible skill of the artisans and masons who built these magnificent structures.



Aunty Jo Jo at the Sas Bahu temple ruins at Nagda, Rajasthan

One of the first sites I visited was the Sahastara Bahu temple in Rajasthan, which was built and dedicated to Vishnu in the early 10th century AD. The temple is now in partial ruins because the statue of the gods were stolen in the 18th century and is presumably now on display at a museum or private art collection somewhere in the western world. 

The geometry and artisanry within the temple complex is really quite spectacular.  Walking into the round library of the temple, where sacred texts were once kept, I was amazed at the intricacy and beauty of the ornate carvings within the temple walls.

Our tour guide was also quick to point me (don't ask me why I was singled out!) to the many kama sutra carvings on the external temple walls.  Upon closer inspection, I found that most poses were the "same old same old" but a few were highly interesting and probably requires some degree of acrobatic skills to execute! :)

The magnificent Jain temple in Ranakpur, Rajasthan

This is really one of the most beautiful houses of worship I have ever seen.  Built entirely of white marble and set amongst green mountains, this 15th century complex is breathtaking from the outside but once you step into the temple, a sense of quiet and calmness envelopes you. 

Jainism is one of the oldest religions in the world and the 3 main principles are Ahimsa (Non-violence), Anekantvad (Non-absolutionism i.e. truth and reality are perceived differently from different points of view) and Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness).  Mahatma Gandhi's mother was a Jain, and he incorporated Jain beliefs into the fight for India's independence, notably ahimsa or non-violence.

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View of the interior of the Jain temple

It is said that the interior of the temple was inspired by the first Thirthankara's (Great Teacher) dream about what heaven looks like.  He spent several years describing the details of his dream to the architect, Deepaka, who followed the designs faithfully.  Intricate carvings cover every pillar, wall and cupola within the temple.  Out of the 1444 pillars within the temple, no two are alike! 

Isn't that amazing?



Dancing Queen of Rajasthan

Meet the dancing queen of Rajasthan - the star of the Dharohar dance troupe.  Whilst there were other younger and prettier dancers, she was by far the most confident and skilled dancer of them all.  The audience was held spellbound by her "Water Pot Dance".  She started by balancing two, then four, then six and finally eleven water pots on her head while executing the most elegant dance moves.  At one point, she even tap-danced on a brass tray and glass!  Truly amazing. 

 

Kudos to the dance troupe owner for valuing skill and experience, over beauty and youth.  Well done, sir.

 

It was also entertaining to watch the puppet master executing life-like dance moves with puppets during one segment of the show. The magic tricks were a hit with the kids especially.



 

The Rajasthani dance show is staged at Bagore Ki Haveli, a beautiful 18th century palace built by the Prime Minister of Mewar.  It's located in the heart of Old Udaipur, by the shores of Lake Pichola.  The palace has housed lower-ranked princes, consorts and guests of the royal household.  Today, the haveli is a museum that houses tourists :)

 

 

Udaipur - the city of lakes

The romance and grandeur of Rajasthan has loomed large in my imagination, thanks to the many books by Indian writers I've read over the years.  I've always wanted to visit and couldn't ask for a better gateway to Rajasthan than Udaipur - the City of Lakes.

 

A series of man-made lakes in the middle of the desert is a beautiful setting for the historic seat of the Mewar kingdom, which is proud of its Hindu heritage and title of "Venice of the East".

 

Enjoying views of Udaipur from Lake Pichola

View of Lake Pichola from the City Palace

Lake Palace - which is a luxury hotel today

City Palace - Udaipur

 

The City Palace in Udaipur was built by 22 kings over a period of 350 years.  Most of the architecture is not only stunning, but its displays provide interesting vignettes into the lives of the kings and the their harems.  For example, the last king of Mewar was thrown off his horse as a child and his living quarters contain modern conveniences such as an elevator, private toilet and a wheelchair.  Even the queens' quarters are fully decked with swings, beds, textiles, mirrors and fabrics. To my great delight, I realized that all the mirrors in the maharani's quarters are perfectly aligned to my height!  How does that saying go again?  "Some are born great..." Ahem...