India - www.jennathan.com

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Delhi
Agra and Uttar Pradesh
Jaipur
Pushkar
Jodhpur
Ranakpur
Udaipur
Mumbai
Southern India

Links relating to
my trip

Tour Company Used in
India:

I ndian Travel Consultant -
Feroz was not only wonderful with
putting my trip together, he was so
hospitable by inviting me into his
home and even inviting me to a
wedding!

Accommodations:

Hotel Clarks Shiraz - Agra - A
typical tourist hotel.

Naila Bagh Palace - Jaipur - A
very traditional palace.

Master's Paradise - Pushkar -
Very clean and nice with a nice
garden courtyard.

Ajit Bhawan - Jodhpur - Another
great place to stay with a great pool.

Fateh Bagh - Ranakpur - A
beautiful palace set in the beautiful
natural scenery of the town.

Amet Haveli - Udaipur - This
place had the most perfect view!

Strand Hotel - Mumbai - Kind of
a dump...but it put a roof over my
head in the Colaba area.

JW Marriott - Mumbai - Far
from the center of Mumbai...but good
location to the airport. Unbelievable
spa, gym and restaurant options.

Malayalam Lake Resort -
Alleppey - My patio was right at
the backwaters. For two nights
(including all of the delicious food)
cost only $35!

Kaippallil Resort & Homestay -
Munnar - Great location as it is
near town yet up on a hill and has
great views.

Yuvarani Residency - A clean
and basic hotel in Cochin for only
$14/night. Great deal for the price.

Malabar House - A fabulous
boutique hotel in Fort Cochin.

Home | The Travel Bug | Resources | More About Me

Other Links:

The Spice Box - My Udaipur
cooking class.

Ashtang Yoga Class - The place
where I did my yoga class.

India Facts

Photo Albums

My Indian Experience...

Highs: The non-smelliness of Delhi; staying in an Indian home; seeing the Taj Mahal; Pushkar;
Meherangarh in Jodhpur; my time in Ranakpur; Udaipur (hotel, cooking class, art class, yoga classes,
etc.); easily being able to change my Russia plane ticket (and also obtaining my visa, for that matter!);
my time in Southern India.

Lows: Being in floods in Udaipur and having my train cancelled; taking an overnight sleeper bus.

Best Moment: It's hard to say a 'best moment'. I loved Kerala - both taking a small boat through
the backwaters and going up into the mountains and hiking through the tea plantations.

Smells: Street food aromas; incense; a bit of animal poop (but not nearly as bad as I was expecting).

Sounds: Horns honking; Hindi music; the soundtrack to Kabhi Alvida naa Kehna; bells being rung
at the temples; howling winds and rains of monsoons; thunder.

Sights: Lodi Garden; the U.S. and Russian embassies; the India Gate; Connaught Place, an Indian
home; markets galore; Taj Mahal (450 rupees); Agra Fort (250 rupees); Amber Fort (Jaipur - 75
rupees); City Palace in Jaipur (180 rupees); Jantar Mantar in Jaipur (50 rupees); Pushkar;
Meherangarh in Jodhpur (250 rupees); Jain Ranakpur temple (50 rupees); Lake Pichola (Udaipur);
ferry ride in Mumbai (55 rupees); backwaters; tea museum in Munnar (50 rupees).

Tastes: Noodles in a honey sauce; channa; chicken masala; chai; seafood soup; onion dosa; chatni;
sonf; paneer; chapati; chicken tikka; lassis; saffron tea; biryani; malai kofta; curry sauces (both yellow
and red); Keralan fish curry; idly; mango juice; crepe-like thing stuffed with coconut and brown sugar
and steamed in a banana leaf; tropical fruits; lime sodas; cashew stuffed dates.

Activities: Cooking class at The Spice Box in Udaipur (600 rupees); Ashtang yoga class in Udaipur
(by donation); Bollywood movie in Jaipur (60 rupees); art lesson in Udaipur (250 rupees); playing a
game called 'carrom' with locals while in Alleppey (kind of like playing tabletop pool with your fingers);
taking a boat ride through the backwaters of Kerala; hiking through tea plantations.

Purchases: An Indian outfit; a CD of the soundtrack to the movie that I saw; the books 'Holy Cow',
'Shantaram' and 'The World is Flat'.

Street Food: Curries; tandoori; fried puffs; ice cream; lassis.

Fun Food Finds: McDonald's offers chicken curry and paneer wraps. Baskin Robbins has a 'Mint
Chocolate' flavor with dark chocolate ice cream and green mini mint chips throughout; they also have
'Butterscotch Crunch' with butterscotch ice cream with a caramel swirl and toffee covered cashews;
their 'sugar cone' is a waffle cone - Makes me love Baskin Robbins even more!

Animals Seen Wandering the Streets: Cows; donkeys; pigs; camels; monkeys; elephants;
dogs; goats; sheep; water buffaloes (these were in the water just feet away from the street).

Western Companies Out Here: McDonald's; Ruby Tuesday; Domino's; Pizza Hut; Baskin
Robbins.

Other General Info...

Visa needed? Yes. I got this in San Francisco. I opted for the 1-year visa though there are many
options.

Type of currency? Indian rupee. $1 equals about 46 rupees.

Modes of Transportation: Rickshaw; auto-rickshaws; taxis; public bus; train; Kingfisher
Airlines; car with driver; overnight/sleeper bus (much worse than it sounds); ferries.

Things India Is Known For: Bollywood; being smelly; spices; Hinduism; yoga; Delhi Belly;
holy cows; Taj Mahal; monsoons.

Religion: Hindu is the major religion. The others include Islam, Christianity, Sikh, Buddhist,
Jainism and Parsi.

Language: There are at least 18 different languages in this country. The main one is Hindi. I also
experienced Malayalam when I was in Kerala.

Costs: $2,100

India...

August 10 - September 13, 2006

A woman cleaning in Pushkar

At the Taj Mahal.

Holy cows in the streets.