travels of chelsea.

18 February 2011

INDIA - DAY 13: gurgaon & delhi.

After that unforgettable overnight train ride, we took a bus back to the same hotels in Gurgaon that we had stayed in at the beginning of our journey. That afternoon, after naps and showers, some of us decided to venture out into New Delhi on our own. We mastered walking through the busy streets to the metro station, we got our own metro tokens, and found our way to the right gate. Impressive, right? Robyn & Josie led the way. They had already made this excursion on their own at the beginning of the trip, and they knew what to do and where to go. On the metro, there are separate cars for the women and men. This is meant to protect the women from unwanted attention and possible crime. A lot of the creepster men hang out at the dividing line between the cars, staring in at the women [ahem...jonathan...ahem]. We got lunch at some sort of Japanese-ish restaurant and managed to order vegan food with no translator [don't worry...we gave big rupee tips]. Then we went shopping in an underground mall place for CDs and textiles. It was quite an adventure.

laura, darlene, rik, me, blair & amandy waiting to buy our tokens [michael lu]

johanne, jonathan, jennifer & peggy at the metro station [michael lu]

sparkle vest! these are glittery & hip with some indian men [rik ahlberg]

jonathan, peggy, me, jennifer, blair & kathryn at lunch [jennifer turner]

josie, robyn, amandy, darlene, laura, rik & joel at lunch [jennifer turner]

INDIA - DAY 12: udaipur.

I woke up this morning to a massage appointment at the hotel spa. Apparently, they had booked to full capacity to make sure all of us were able to experience an Indian Ayurvedic massage. We had to strip down until we were completely nude and lay on the table with no sheet or separating curtain. It started out with just me and Darlene, and we figured, what the hell, nothing to be ashamed of; we'll just end up seeing more of each other than we thought. However, by the end of my massage, there ended up being five of us in the room at one point, with four of us butt-naked. Haha! It was quite the experience. But the massage was great, even though they tend to be a little more rough on the muscles, and they rub pretty much EVERYWHERE on your body. No spot is too personal. Some other group members had chosen to take an extra outing to the Marble Pavilion for one last yoga session. I wish I could have gone but I was concerned about making it back in time for my early appointment.

After the massage and breakfast, Blair and I headed out to do some shopping. Today was a free day for all of us, so we were allowed to roam the streets of Udaipur on our own. Blair and I decided to spend our time getting souvenirs for others, as we really hadn't had much time for shopping. We must have gone into ten different textile stores, and we found a really great home decor store. The man who owns it said he used to live in Portland, OR and worked for Pier 1 Imports. So I was getting fairly expensive knick knacks for about an eighth of the price in the U.S. It was nice. We met up with Landin at the Savage Garden restaurant for lunch. Then more shopping, until we had to go back to the hotel to pack up and leave. Blair introduced me to Dilip, who works at a travel agency right next to the hotel, and we have remained friends through facebook ever since. He's really the only person from India that I keep in touch with besides Singhji and Ranjeet.

last yoga session on the marble pavilion [jennifer turner]

cows [jonathan dipratna]

and more cows, lining the bridge with peggy [jonathan dipratna]

and even more cows...they rule udaipur [blair stirek]

rooster in doorway [michael lu]

udaipur [michael lu]

octopussy, playing EVERYDAY [jonathan dipratna]

alleyway [joel kraut]

jewelry shop [jonathan dipratna]

homeless dog outside of hotel - we named him gus & fed him toast [blair stirek]

getting some ranjeet love [blair stirek]

INDIA - DAY 11: udaipur.

We woke up to another beautiful day in Udaipur. Blair & I ordered room service and ate our breakfast on our balcony. We accidentally ordered a vegetarian breakfast instead of vegan, so we didn't get to eat most of it. But, what we did eat was delicious, and looking out at the lake was a great way to start the day. Our first stop for the day was Animal Aid, an animal rescue organization just outside of Udaipur. Animal Aid is a hospital, home and sanctuary for abused and abandoned animals in Udaipur and the surrounding areas. The founders, Erika, Jim & Claire, are an intelligent, kind and generous family, who have lived in India for the last fifteen years. I really admire all the work that they have done and the sacrifices they have made in order to dedicate their lives to saving and caring for animals. Everyone should check out their website and read about their efforts.

breakfast [blair stirek]

animal aid [jennifer turner]

the pig area [colleen holland]

jim [jennifer turner]

mud [colleen holland]

erika [joel kraut]

donkey with cast [jonathan dipratna]

this cow was obsessed with kathryn [blair stirek]

some of the workers [jonathan dipratna]

dog in tub [jonathan dipratna]

minnie! she only has two legs but she's the happiest dog [jennifer turner]

blair with one of the puppies [blair stirek]

this man has polio and says that gives him a deeper connection to the sick animals [joel kraut]

the puppy i wanted to steal [blair stirek]

a sign at animal aid; the family are all vegans [michael lu]

INDIA - DAY 10: udaipur.

We woke up to a gloomy morning. My tummy was hurting a little, but it stopped after an hour or so. I was lucky that I didn't have any other stomach issues on the trip. I assumed that with the change in diet I would be sick at some point, but I was surprisingly adaptable. Because of the rain from the night before, yoga was cancelled, so we ate breakfast and left for Udaipur.

a tree full of bats on the way to udaipur [jennifer turner]

so creepy but cute [jonathan dipratna]

i'm not quite sure what this is advertising... [jonathan dipratna]

Udaipur is called both "the City of Lakes" and "the Venice of the East". It seems like a big tourist area, especially with the European set. It was a very picturesque and romantic town, and a great last stop for our tour. Udaipur is also Singhji's home, so he was happy to be back. We stayed at Lake Pichola Hotel, directly on the banks of Lake Pichola. The owner is actually the aunt of Sudarshna, the Raja's niece from Bhadrajun. It was a stunning hotel with a large porch, an amazing rooftop area, and private balconies off our lake-facing rooms. We were living like royalty again.

entrance to lake pichola hotel [jonathan dipratna]

lobby [jennifer turner]

view from the porch [joel kraut]

another view from the porch [joel kraut]

self-portrait on the lake

hallway to the rooms [jonathan dipratna]

one of the rooms [jennifer turner]

view from the balcony [jennifer turner]

the other balconies [jonathan dipratna]

the hotel rooftop [jonathan dipratna]

udaipur from the hotel roof [jonathan dipratna]

lake pichola hotel from the lake [jonathan dipratna]

INDIA - DAY 9: ranakpur.

Happy Valentine's Day from India! This will definitely be the most memorable Valentine's Day, for the sole reason that I was in India, surrounded by all my new loves. VegNews and Veg Voyages decorated our breakfast table with big paper heart cutouts, and gave us each a Pirates of the Caribbean valentine with a dark chocolate bar. So sweet! We had a yummy breakfast, then Blair and I went up to the part of the fort where they keep the chickens. Kundan got Sudarshna to bring out the beautiful cats that live with the royal family in the fort. They were super fluffy, frou-frou cats, too. We all gathered in the courtyard for pictures and goodbyes. This is when Kundan sidled up beside me with one of the paper heart cutouts with a yellow flower hidden behind it. He snuck it to me while all the little boy aides watched and giggled. Oh lord, his wife better keep an eye on him. It was sad to have to say our goodbyes, but we did and then continued on our journey.