We woke up at around 8 in the morning. After the regular morning activities we left for Dakshineshwar at around 10-10:30. We had to stop for Breakfast at my Masi's place which was on the way. The breakfast was a typical Kolkata one with Radha Ballabi (a kind of Poori stuffed with Dal), Aloo Dum, Sandesh, Rabri and Mishti Doi.
After the hearty breakfast we headed towards the Dakshineshwar temple. We took two Autorickshaws to arrive at the temple. For those who are used to metered Autos, the Autos in Kolkata will surprise you. The Auto there do not run on meters and need to be shared with other people. There are fixed routes and one can get on and get down anywhere within the route. After the intial shock of having to share the Auto, Sreejith and Vinay finally got on to it. Our Auto had three people sitting on the rear seat and four on the front including the driver. One of the many firsts that Sreejith and Vinay will experience in these two days.
By the time we reached the temple the afternoon heat was at it's peak. Sreejith was too exhausted from the heat to see the temple. He waited in the shade outside while me and Vinay took a quick look around of the place. We met Sreejith outside and in his own words he was "getting steam cooked" and "melting away". To escape the heat we took a Taxi to my Nanihal (Mother's maternal home) at Beadon Street.
After taking some cool refreshing drinks there, we dozed off for a while to recharge ourselves. Our next stop was Golbari at Shyambazar Crossing. We took a Tram (another first for Vinay and Sreejith) to Shyambazar. Sreejith instantly took a liking to the Kassa Mangsho that this place is famous for. After filling in there we then took an Auto to the nearest Metro station and took a Metro to Park Street. We were to meet our Bhua who stays on Royd Street (close to Park St.). On the way we saw the Stephen's Building which was in news recently for the tragic fire that killed 43 people (and still counting).
At my Bhua's place we had some snacks, fruits and sweets and then headed to Flurry's where we would be meeting Gaurav, an old friend of mine. The original Flurry's is on the ground floor of Stephen's building and was closed down because the debris clearing work was in progress. The place we went was a temporary arrangement at Park Hotel. After having some cakes and sandwiches there we headed to Trincas right next to it.
Trinca's is an old and popular restaurant cum bar famous for the live band which is a regular feature there. We stayed there for a while and unwound listening to some old Hindi and English numbers that the band was playing that day.
After an hour there we dropped Gaurav to his place and headed back home. This was a close to our first full day in Kolkata. Sreejith and Vinay were getting a hang of this place. The plan for Day 11 is to take them to the (in) famous Burrabazar area, New Market and the Fort William Area. Come back here to see what's in store for Day 11.
PS: We have stopped uploading snaps as we are running short of time. We have a lot of pictures to share and will do so once we reach Bangalore.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
28-03-2010
Unlike Day 8, Day 9 went mostly as planned for us. We got up in time. Checked out of the Hotel by 7 in the morning and after doing some cleaning of our car, we were on our way. Our first stop was for breakfast at one of the countless roadside eateries in Varanasi. The breakfast there was one of its kind and the Jalebi we had there was made of Jaggery. It tasted so different that it could count as a different sweet altogether.
The breakfast was really good and far exceeded our expectation. After the breakfast we halted to take a few snaps of the Ganges from the bridge. By 8 we were truly speeding on our way to Kolkata. In no time Bihar arrived and passed and we were well within Jharkhand by 11:30. For lunch I decided that we go to Sikharji. It's a Jain pilgrimage, where I had been with my parents a countless number of times.
I very vividly remembered the free lunches that were served there. A 20 KM detour brought us there well in time for the lunch. Now before you guys brand us as cheapoes I would like to state that we donated a good amount of money there; enough to buy us lunches many times over :). After offering our prayers to the local diety, Bhomiyaji, having the warm, simple and delicious lunch and buying a few kilos of Pedas as Prasad for folks back home, we got back on our journey.
Our other stops on the way to Kolkata were the scienic Topchanchi Lake and Shakitgarh, famous for its Langcha's. We arrived at the Dunlop Bridge (entry to Kolkata) by 6 in the evening (a good 2 hours before schedule). However, by the time we could get through the notorious traffic of Kolkata and reach Vrindavan Apartments on Christopher road (our home for next 2 days), it was well over 7. My Dad (who was flying to Silchar the next day), Babasa (my Uncle: Dad's elder brother) and Badima (my Aunt) were waiting for us there.
En route, Sreejith and Vinay got a first hand experience of the legend that Kolkata is. For a stranger there can be only two reactions to this city: you either hate it or, if you have a sense of humor, you laugh at it. The later option is preferable if you would like to survive through your stay here.
Since we had arrived at our destination well before dinner time, I decided to take Sreejith and Vinay to a restaurant at Chinatown in Tangra, literally a stone throw away from our place. For the uninitiated, this is the origin of the Indianized Chinese food being served in India. After a hearty dinner we headed back home. We chatted for a while, took a much required shower and then crashed on our beds.
Day 10 and 11 are planned to be a crash course introduction to Kolkata and it's food for Sreejith and Vinay. Come back to check out how they shape up.
The breakfast was really good and far exceeded our expectation. After the breakfast we halted to take a few snaps of the Ganges from the bridge. By 8 we were truly speeding on our way to Kolkata. In no time Bihar arrived and passed and we were well within Jharkhand by 11:30. For lunch I decided that we go to Sikharji. It's a Jain pilgrimage, where I had been with my parents a countless number of times.
I very vividly remembered the free lunches that were served there. A 20 KM detour brought us there well in time for the lunch. Now before you guys brand us as cheapoes I would like to state that we donated a good amount of money there; enough to buy us lunches many times over :). After offering our prayers to the local diety, Bhomiyaji, having the warm, simple and delicious lunch and buying a few kilos of Pedas as Prasad for folks back home, we got back on our journey.
Our other stops on the way to Kolkata were the scienic Topchanchi Lake and Shakitgarh, famous for its Langcha's. We arrived at the Dunlop Bridge (entry to Kolkata) by 6 in the evening (a good 2 hours before schedule). However, by the time we could get through the notorious traffic of Kolkata and reach Vrindavan Apartments on Christopher road (our home for next 2 days), it was well over 7. My Dad (who was flying to Silchar the next day), Babasa (my Uncle: Dad's elder brother) and Badima (my Aunt) were waiting for us there.
En route, Sreejith and Vinay got a first hand experience of the legend that Kolkata is. For a stranger there can be only two reactions to this city: you either hate it or, if you have a sense of humor, you laugh at it. The later option is preferable if you would like to survive through your stay here.
Since we had arrived at our destination well before dinner time, I decided to take Sreejith and Vinay to a restaurant at Chinatown in Tangra, literally a stone throw away from our place. For the uninitiated, this is the origin of the Indianized Chinese food being served in India. After a hearty dinner we headed back home. We chatted for a while, took a much required shower and then crashed on our beds.
Day 10 and 11 are planned to be a crash course introduction to Kolkata and it's food for Sreejith and Vinay. Come back to check out how they shape up.
27-05-2010
The Day 8 started early for us. We got up by 6:00 AM as we had a long distance to cover ahead of us. Our original plan of reaching Varanasi via Lucknow required us to travel close to 900 KM. I went to get the car from the place we had parked the previous night so that we could load our luggage. I was shocked to see that our car was surrounded by at least 5 cars on all sides. Apparently this is an expected thing in Delhi.
Sreejith and my brother in law, Nitin arrived to help me out and we finally got out of the maze by 7:30. Having been delayed a little we thought we will try to make up for it on the way. Boy, were we wrong on this one. It took us a good 2-2.5 hours just to get out of NCR. Maybe the entire Delhi decided to travel to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal. I can't think of any other reason for the kind of traffic we saw on our way. Anyways, what it ensured was that we would not be able to cover the distance we had earlier imagined.
We decided to skip Lucknow and with that went our dreams, of having Tunde Kebabs and Biryani, in smoke. We then aimed to reach Varanasi by 9 PM. The byepass of Kanpur and Allahabad greatly helped us in achieving this revised target. Both those roads are really good reasons to skip these cities :). The Allahabad by-pass appeared to be a newly constructed road with hardly any traffic.
We reached Varanasi by 8-8:30 PM and stayed in the first hotel of our trip so far. The hotel was booked by my wife, Nitika, just a couple of hours before we arrived. We checked out the lanes around the hotel for some time and had Rabri and Lassi while we were at it. Needless to say, they were both very good. After that we arrived in our Hotel and after a few adventures with the airconditioning of the rooms there, we finally got our well deserved rest.
We would be leaving for Kolkata on Day 9. Hopefully this plan would not have to be delayed for any reason whatsoever.
Sreejith and my brother in law, Nitin arrived to help me out and we finally got out of the maze by 7:30. Having been delayed a little we thought we will try to make up for it on the way. Boy, were we wrong on this one. It took us a good 2-2.5 hours just to get out of NCR. Maybe the entire Delhi decided to travel to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal. I can't think of any other reason for the kind of traffic we saw on our way. Anyways, what it ensured was that we would not be able to cover the distance we had earlier imagined.
We decided to skip Lucknow and with that went our dreams, of having Tunde Kebabs and Biryani, in smoke. We then aimed to reach Varanasi by 9 PM. The byepass of Kanpur and Allahabad greatly helped us in achieving this revised target. Both those roads are really good reasons to skip these cities :). The Allahabad by-pass appeared to be a newly constructed road with hardly any traffic.
We reached Varanasi by 8-8:30 PM and stayed in the first hotel of our trip so far. The hotel was booked by my wife, Nitika, just a couple of hours before we arrived. We checked out the lanes around the hotel for some time and had Rabri and Lassi while we were at it. Needless to say, they were both very good. After that we arrived in our Hotel and after a few adventures with the airconditioning of the rooms there, we finally got our well deserved rest.
We would be leaving for Kolkata on Day 9. Hopefully this plan would not have to be delayed for any reason whatsoever.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
26-03-2010
Having been to Chandni Chowk on the previous day and eaten whatever we could lay our sights on there, we decided to take it a little easy on Day 7. Our original plan was to visit Delhi Haat opposite INA Market and do some shopping there and then visit the Akshardham Temple. But before all this Sreejith and I decided to visit the Azadpur Wholesale Fruit and Vegetable Market in the morning.
We reached the market at about 8-8:30 AM. The trucks were all arriving from different parts of the country carrying Fruits and Vegetables. Each truck was normally carrying only one type of fruit or vegetable. We first visited the Vegetable Market and then the Fruit Market. The market is so huge that we could see only a small portion of it in the 2 hours that we spend there.
Sreejith took a lot pictures and was attracting a lot interest from the buyers. sellers and the labourers there. They thought of him as journalist and were mostly happy about their pictures being clicked assuming that they would appear in some Newspaper or some News channel. A couple of them were shy and only one seemed to have taken offense. He questioned us, suspecting us of being journalists, trying to show the plight of poor labourers there. But once he was sure that it was just as part of some hobby he got all pally with Sreejith and even posed for a snap.
After the eventful morning we headed towards the Delhi Haat were we would meet Vinay, who had spent the night at his cousin's place. Our day was pretty much downhill from here on. I won't describe the details but we ended up spending huge amount of money without much of our mistake. The reasons varied from sudden pot hole on an express way to a brake applied half a second too late. But the worst part was the amount of time we ended up spending waiting for the repairs.
This meant we had to skip Akshardham and even the Delhi Haat was nothing but quick lunch for us. The lunch itself was also a experience for us. I liked the food, Vinay was OK with it but Sreejith did not enjoy it at all. We did not buy anything there as we found most of the things unreasonably priced.
We reached the market at about 8-8:30 AM. The trucks were all arriving from different parts of the country carrying Fruits and Vegetables. Each truck was normally carrying only one type of fruit or vegetable. We first visited the Vegetable Market and then the Fruit Market. The market is so huge that we could see only a small portion of it in the 2 hours that we spend there.
Sreejith took a lot pictures and was attracting a lot interest from the buyers. sellers and the labourers there. They thought of him as journalist and were mostly happy about their pictures being clicked assuming that they would appear in some Newspaper or some News channel. A couple of them were shy and only one seemed to have taken offense. He questioned us, suspecting us of being journalists, trying to show the plight of poor labourers there. But once he was sure that it was just as part of some hobby he got all pally with Sreejith and even posed for a snap.
After the eventful morning we headed towards the Delhi Haat were we would meet Vinay, who had spent the night at his cousin's place. Our day was pretty much downhill from here on. I won't describe the details but we ended up spending huge amount of money without much of our mistake. The reasons varied from sudden pot hole on an express way to a brake applied half a second too late. But the worst part was the amount of time we ended up spending waiting for the repairs.
This meant we had to skip Akshardham and even the Delhi Haat was nothing but quick lunch for us. The lunch itself was also a experience for us. I liked the food, Vinay was OK with it but Sreejith did not enjoy it at all. We did not buy anything there as we found most of the things unreasonably priced.
Friday, March 26, 2010
25-03-2010
Day 6 started with a lot of anticipation. This was the day when we would be visiting the famed Chandni Chowk area of Delhi. We started the day a little lazily. After a having a hearty breakfast we rested a little, giving our stomachs some rest before the assault which it would have to stand in the coming few hours.
We started at about 2:30 PM and took the Metro to Chandni Chowk. Our first stop were Dahi Bhalle (known as Dahi Vada at many places) at Natraj. Its very close to the Metro Station. Those were the best Dahi Bhalle's (Vadas) we had ever had. The taste cannot be described and needs to be experienced first hand.
After the Dahi Bhalle's we went to Parathe Wali Gali. Its same lane that houses two Paratha places which are both more than 135 years old. We had Aloo, Dal, Paneer and Mirchi Paratha there. Next we had some amazing Lassi in Kullarhs (cup/glasses made of clay). The cold Lassi was the perfect way to counter the spicy and hot Parathas.
Sreejith then wanted to check out the famous eatery Karim's near Jama Masjid. After asking for directions from various people we finally found the place. Sreejith ordered some Burre Kebabs and enjoyed them thoroughly. He would have wanted to have more but there wasn't any space for it. From there we went back the Dariba Kalan Lane to have some Jalebis. The shop there is actually named 'Old & Famous Jalebi Wala'. The Jalebis there were big and soft and not like the usual Jalebis.
After satisfying our food hunger we went to the the Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib to satisfy our Spiritual quest (yeah, you believe us right). There while depositing our shoes, we were called inside by a gentleman who showed us a group of some other gentlemen who were cleaning/polishing the shoes and sandals that were being deposited there. Apparently most of these were millionaires, performing Seva, a concept of 'selfless service' practiced by Sikhs. After that we entered the Gurudwara and sat there for a while. We met the gentleman again inside who then gave a little historical background of this place and it's Guru.
We had a few drinks of what is called Banta. After the refreshing drinks we headed to a very old perfume shop named after a person called Gulab Singh. We bought same amazing smelling perfumes like Khus, Gulab, Jasmine, etc... We then took a Metro to CP. There we had a bottle of milk at Keventers. Then, me Sreejith headed back home and Vinay took a rick to his cousin's place.
Day 6 was in all a culinary journey for us. The day exceeded all our expectation and our guess is is that it will be one of the most memorable days of this trip.
We started at about 2:30 PM and took the Metro to Chandni Chowk. Our first stop were Dahi Bhalle (known as Dahi Vada at many places) at Natraj. Its very close to the Metro Station. Those were the best Dahi Bhalle's (Vadas) we had ever had. The taste cannot be described and needs to be experienced first hand.
After the Dahi Bhalle's we went to Parathe Wali Gali. Its same lane that houses two Paratha places which are both more than 135 years old. We had Aloo, Dal, Paneer and Mirchi Paratha there. Next we had some amazing Lassi in Kullarhs (cup/glasses made of clay). The cold Lassi was the perfect way to counter the spicy and hot Parathas.
Sreejith then wanted to check out the famous eatery Karim's near Jama Masjid. After asking for directions from various people we finally found the place. Sreejith ordered some Burre Kebabs and enjoyed them thoroughly. He would have wanted to have more but there wasn't any space for it. From there we went back the Dariba Kalan Lane to have some Jalebis. The shop there is actually named 'Old & Famous Jalebi Wala'. The Jalebis there were big and soft and not like the usual Jalebis.
After satisfying our food hunger we went to the the Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib to satisfy our Spiritual quest (yeah, you believe us right). There while depositing our shoes, we were called inside by a gentleman who showed us a group of some other gentlemen who were cleaning/polishing the shoes and sandals that were being deposited there. Apparently most of these were millionaires, performing Seva, a concept of 'selfless service' practiced by Sikhs. After that we entered the Gurudwara and sat there for a while. We met the gentleman again inside who then gave a little historical background of this place and it's Guru.
We had a few drinks of what is called Banta. After the refreshing drinks we headed to a very old perfume shop named after a person called Gulab Singh. We bought same amazing smelling perfumes like Khus, Gulab, Jasmine, etc... We then took a Metro to CP. There we had a bottle of milk at Keventers. Then, me Sreejith headed back home and Vinay took a rick to his cousin's place.
Day 6 was in all a culinary journey for us. The day exceeded all our expectation and our guess is is that it will be one of the most memorable days of this trip.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
24-03-2010
After all the shopping and eating of Day 4, Day 5 started a little late at 8:30. We had our breakfast, got ready, packed our bags, said our goodbyes to Masi and Masaji and headed towards Delhi. The plan was to see Hawa Mahal, Jal Mahal, Amer Fort and Nahargarh Fort on the way.
Hawa Mahal is in the old city. We drove past it and took a few pictures. Next we stopped at the Jal Mahal for a few more pics and then headed towards the hills for Amer and Nahargarh Forts. On our way saw a man dressed in whites waving at us. It turned out that he was a guide named Birbal. We decided to take his services and took him in our car.
He took us first to Amer Fort. He first showed us the biggest Canon in the world, Jaivan, with a range of 22 miles. It has been fired only once till now, and that too for testing. Legend has it that man who fired it died due to the sound of the explosion. It has never been used again because the fort has never been attacked (no wonder). After this he showed us the museums and the different parts of the forts were Royals stayed at different time of the year. If I were to describe everything it would run into pages so I'll keep the descriptions out.
Next we headed to Nahargarh. Nahargarh Fort was constructed to keep a watch on Jaipur which had started growing towards the other side. The highlight of this Fort are the nine rooms constructed for the nine special Queens. The nine rooms were constructed in exactly the same way so that the Queens would not complain of partiality towards any one particular Queen.
We finally headed towards Delhi at 2:30 PM. We stopped for lunch in between and reached Delhi by 7 in the evening. In Delhi we would be staying at my in-law's place in Shalimar Bagh. Though we had just had a heavy lunch a couple of hours back we were greeted with more food. After giving our stomachs a little rest we headed to Netaji Subhash Place. We tried the Aloo Tikki at BTW there. Even though I've had Tikki at this place umpteen number of times, I can't seem to get enough of it. After the Tikki's we headed for some Kulfi. We had multiple flavours of Kulfi: Rose Petal, Black Currant, Sugarcane, Chiku and Kewra water.
We then headed back home, caught a few glimpses of the IPL match and headed towards our beds thus finishing Day 5 of the trip . Day 6 is one of the most anticipated days of the trip as we plan to go to Chandni Chowk on this day and taste all its delicacies. We might even visit Akshardham if time permits. Will keep you guys posted here.
Hawa Mahal is in the old city. We drove past it and took a few pictures. Next we stopped at the Jal Mahal for a few more pics and then headed towards the hills for Amer and Nahargarh Forts. On our way saw a man dressed in whites waving at us. It turned out that he was a guide named Birbal. We decided to take his services and took him in our car.
He took us first to Amer Fort. He first showed us the biggest Canon in the world, Jaivan, with a range of 22 miles. It has been fired only once till now, and that too for testing. Legend has it that man who fired it died due to the sound of the explosion. It has never been used again because the fort has never been attacked (no wonder). After this he showed us the museums and the different parts of the forts were Royals stayed at different time of the year. If I were to describe everything it would run into pages so I'll keep the descriptions out.
Next we headed to Nahargarh. Nahargarh Fort was constructed to keep a watch on Jaipur which had started growing towards the other side. The highlight of this Fort are the nine rooms constructed for the nine special Queens. The nine rooms were constructed in exactly the same way so that the Queens would not complain of partiality towards any one particular Queen.
We finally headed towards Delhi at 2:30 PM. We stopped for lunch in between and reached Delhi by 7 in the evening. In Delhi we would be staying at my in-law's place in Shalimar Bagh. Though we had just had a heavy lunch a couple of hours back we were greeted with more food. After giving our stomachs a little rest we headed to Netaji Subhash Place. We tried the Aloo Tikki at BTW there. Even though I've had Tikki at this place umpteen number of times, I can't seem to get enough of it. After the Tikki's we headed for some Kulfi. We had multiple flavours of Kulfi: Rose Petal, Black Currant, Sugarcane, Chiku and Kewra water.
We then headed back home, caught a few glimpses of the IPL match and headed towards our beds thus finishing Day 5 of the trip . Day 6 is one of the most anticipated days of the trip as we plan to go to Chandni Chowk on this day and taste all its delicacies. We might even visit Akshardham if time permits. Will keep you guys posted here.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
23-03-2010
Day 4 started early for us. Sreejith and I got up at 6:00 AM because we had to pick up my friend Ravi, (Ravi and I've been friends since the time my memory goes and my memory goes back till 1982) who was arriving in Jaipur from Bikaner and had a flight to catch at 6 in the evening. After picking him up from the station our GPS took us around Jaipur back to the place we were staying (the GPS was configured to take us via the route with lesser traffic so it took the by-pass).
After taking in a shower we had another elaborate breakfast. Our meals have started to become so elaborate that I will no longer attempt to count them or name them. I'll just post a picture of each of them whenever I have time. After the hearty breakfast the four us went into to the city for some shopping. Vinay and Ravi got themselves some really cool shades from Shopper's Stop at GT.
After GT we went to Johri Bazaar, the oldest market in Jaipur, and all its pink shops. Sreejith bought some bangles, dress material and Jooti for his wife and a couple of Ghagra-Cholis for his daughter (he is like the perfect Husband/Father, isn't he?). Just to ensure that my wife does not get back to me on this, I would like to say that he spent 4 times the money on his Jooti than he did for his wife's. I would never do anything like that :). Ravi too got a few dresses for his kids.
In between all this shopping we had lots of cool (literally) stuff. We had Kulfis and Golas at GT and had glasses of Nimbu Pani and Jal Jeera on the road side at Johri Bazaar. Our lunch was at very well-known place called LMB. Vinay and Ravi had Shahi and Rajasthani thali respectively. Sreejith had his favourite Roti and Dal. I just had a glass of Lassi for lunch (I was preparing myself for the evening).
We then headed towards the Airport to drop Ravi. After dropping him and saying our goodbyes we went back for a shower to get some relief from the heat and refresh ourselves. We took some rest and then went to probably the biggest non historical attraction of Jaipur: Chokhi Dhani.
How does one describe Chokhi Dhani? Well, let me try. Chokhi Dhani is like a typical Rajasthani village, or at least the way it was supposed to be. To be more specific its like a village during the festive time with a mela (fair) visiting it. You had everything happening there: from puppet shows to traditional song and dance. From camel rides to elephant rides. From bow and arrows to air guns. From bullock cart rides to horse cart rides. From mazes to joy rides to champi tel malish (head message) to magic shows to almost anything that was a mode of entertainment during centuries gone past.
Last but not the least was the food. And there was lots of it. Every possible Rajasthani dish was there to be had. Bajara, Makai and Wheat Rotis. Dal and Kadhi. Gutta, Aloo Pyanz and Gobi Mattar Subzi. Kair Sangri, Chawla, Chanch, Kichda, the list was endless. And all this was with lots of butter and Ghee. I ate my heart out (now you realize why I had only Lassi for lunch :)). Sreejith seems to enjoy food from this part of the world. He seems to have been a Gujarati or Rajasthani (or both) in his past lives. By the way Sreejith and I both drank the extra Ghee left in our bowls (I've done this before but it was the first time for Sreejith). Vinay who has been digestively challenged for the last couple of days was a little more cautious.
With this our Day 4 for the journey came to an end. This was the first of our rest days with no long drives, we drove only within the city. Tomorrow we will be back on the roads on our way to the National Capital.
After taking in a shower we had another elaborate breakfast. Our meals have started to become so elaborate that I will no longer attempt to count them or name them. I'll just post a picture of each of them whenever I have time. After the hearty breakfast the four us went into to the city for some shopping. Vinay and Ravi got themselves some really cool shades from Shopper's Stop at GT.
After GT we went to Johri Bazaar, the oldest market in Jaipur, and all its pink shops. Sreejith bought some bangles, dress material and Jooti for his wife and a couple of Ghagra-Cholis for his daughter (he is like the perfect Husband/Father, isn't he?). Just to ensure that my wife does not get back to me on this, I would like to say that he spent 4 times the money on his Jooti than he did for his wife's. I would never do anything like that :). Ravi too got a few dresses for his kids.
In between all this shopping we had lots of cool (literally) stuff. We had Kulfis and Golas at GT and had glasses of Nimbu Pani and Jal Jeera on the road side at Johri Bazaar. Our lunch was at very well-known place called LMB. Vinay and Ravi had Shahi and Rajasthani thali respectively. Sreejith had his favourite Roti and Dal. I just had a glass of Lassi for lunch (I was preparing myself for the evening).
We then headed towards the Airport to drop Ravi. After dropping him and saying our goodbyes we went back for a shower to get some relief from the heat and refresh ourselves. We took some rest and then went to probably the biggest non historical attraction of Jaipur: Chokhi Dhani.
How does one describe Chokhi Dhani? Well, let me try. Chokhi Dhani is like a typical Rajasthani village, or at least the way it was supposed to be. To be more specific its like a village during the festive time with a mela (fair) visiting it. You had everything happening there: from puppet shows to traditional song and dance. From camel rides to elephant rides. From bow and arrows to air guns. From bullock cart rides to horse cart rides. From mazes to joy rides to champi tel malish (head message) to magic shows to almost anything that was a mode of entertainment during centuries gone past.
Last but not the least was the food. And there was lots of it. Every possible Rajasthani dish was there to be had. Bajara, Makai and Wheat Rotis. Dal and Kadhi. Gutta, Aloo Pyanz and Gobi Mattar Subzi. Kair Sangri, Chawla, Chanch, Kichda, the list was endless. And all this was with lots of butter and Ghee. I ate my heart out (now you realize why I had only Lassi for lunch :)). Sreejith seems to enjoy food from this part of the world. He seems to have been a Gujarati or Rajasthani (or both) in his past lives. By the way Sreejith and I both drank the extra Ghee left in our bowls (I've done this before but it was the first time for Sreejith). Vinay who has been digestively challenged for the last couple of days was a little more cautious.
With this our Day 4 for the journey came to an end. This was the first of our rest days with no long drives, we drove only within the city. Tomorrow we will be back on the roads on our way to the National Capital.
Monday, March 22, 2010
22-03-2010
The third day of our trip started at 8 in the morning. We started our day with some tea and Newspapers (I don't drink tea, so it was just Newspaper for me). Vishal Bhaiya, my cousin, who stays close to Nidhi Didi's place picked me up for a cup of coffee and some snacks at his place. I was back in 30 mins and took a shower before starting with our breakfast.
And boy what a Breakfast it was. We had like...let me count, 15 dishes to choose from. But we did not make any choices; we had them ALL. This was by far the best meal we've had in this trip and one of our best Breakfast ever. They were all mostly the typical Gujarati dishes, the ones Kareena Kapoor describes in 3 Idiots.....Fafada, Dhokla, etc...
We ate till our stomachs were full, then filled up our liver, then the kidneys, in fact we ready to trade our brains so that we could fill up our heads too, but decided against it. With tears in our eyes we finally had to part with our food. We then packed our stuff, said our goodbyes, had a brief stop at Sanjay Jijaji's office to write yesterday's blog and then were on are way to Jaipur but not before visiting Sabarmati Ashram and the Dada Hari Vav (Stepwell).
Sabarmati Ashram was quite, green and a very peaceful place on the banks of the river Sabarmati. 
We saw a few historical pictures, Gandhi's house were few of his belongings are still kept and then lazed around a little next to the Sabarmati river.
From there we went to the Dada Hari Vav. A very interesting historical monument but in total ruins. A sad example of what years of neglect can do to a marvelous structure. The fact that it's still standing has a lot do with the engineering that was put behind it when it was constructed. After exploring the well we were invited by Moulvi Mohammed Ibrahim to the tomb and Mosque next to the well. He gave us a historical background of the entire place. He has been looking after this place for the last 40 years.
After this we set towards the next leg of our journey. We started at around 3:00 PM and had to cover close to 650 KM to reach Jaipur.
We reached the outskirts of Udaipur by 5:30 PM. We had our worst meal of the trip yet at restaurant in a resort there. By 6:30 we were back on the roads and then the first time during our trip our GPS let us down. Instead of showing us the Golden Quadrilateral it took us to the older highway. We realized the mistake and by the time we could be back on the GQ it was already 7:30. Jaipur was still more than 400 KM away and we had to reach Jaipur on this day cause I had to catch with a friend who was traveling through Jaipur only because I insisted.
I drove like crazy (crazier than even Vinay) and almost non stop to arrive at Jaipur by 12:15 AM in the night. Masi and Masaji were waiting for us there. Also awaiting us was a nice spread of dinner. The day that started with amazing food ended similarly.
We saw a few historical pictures, Gandhi's house were few of his belongings are still kept and then lazed around a little next to the Sabarmati river.From there we went to the Dada Hari Vav. A very interesting historical monument but in total ruins. A sad example of what years of neglect can do to a marvelous structure. The fact that it's still standing has a lot do with the engineering that was put behind it when it was constructed. After exploring the well we were invited by Moulvi Mohammed Ibrahim to the tomb and Mosque next to the well. He gave us a historical background of the entire place. He has been looking after this place for the last 40 years.
After this we set towards the next leg of our journey. We started at around 3:00 PM and had to cover close to 650 KM to reach Jaipur.
We reached the outskirts of Udaipur by 5:30 PM. We had our worst meal of the trip yet at restaurant in a resort there. By 6:30 we were back on the roads and then the first time during our trip our GPS let us down. Instead of showing us the Golden Quadrilateral it took us to the older highway. We realized the mistake and by the time we could be back on the GQ it was already 7:30. Jaipur was still more than 400 KM away and we had to reach Jaipur on this day cause I had to catch with a friend who was traveling through Jaipur only because I insisted.I drove like crazy (crazier than even Vinay) and almost non stop to arrive at Jaipur by 12:15 AM in the night. Masi and Masaji were waiting for us there. Also awaiting us was a nice spread of dinner. The day that started with amazing food ended similarly.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
21-03-2010
After a good night's sleep at Vishal's place, we got up by 7:00 AM. We finished all the morning activities including yesterday's blog and left his place at 10:00. We then set out for Vohuman Cafe for breakfast. We reached the place after a little bit of hunting but found it closed on arrival. After this disappointment we decided to continue with our journey and have our breakfast on the way.
Bombay-Pune Expressway was the best stretch of road I've ever driven on.
We averaged close to 120-130 KM/Hr there with highest speed being around 200 KM/Hr. Reached Bombay 12:30 and by the time we could get out of Bombay, it was 2:30 PM. The initial part of the highway after Bombay was under construction and had a lot of traffic.
We had our lunch on the way. It was a Parsi fare. Nice food. After stuffing myself, I headed for the rear sit for an afternoon siesta. Sreejith continued with the drive after that. After negotiating the traffic for sometime he handed over the steering wheel to Vinay. Vinay, who by his own claim had never driven more than 70 KM in a day, was a different beast on the road. The next 2-3 Hrs were what could be best described as 'Road Rash': remember that game where you ride a bike through traffic with zero consideration to rules. He drove like there is no tomorrow. Crisscrossing lanes once every 5 seconds. His rage was finally stopped by a traffic jam before the bridge on Narmada River.
I took over the wheels after that. The jam was at least 6-7 KM queue of mostly trucks and some cars. Having a little experience in driving through such traffic, we took the 4th lane (read the dirt track). Negotiating the sand, stones, pot holes and some errant truck drivers we finally made it through the jam in 1.5 hrs. If we had stuck to the tarred roads it could have easily been 3 hrs.
Once we crossed the bridge it was smooth sailing till Ahmedabad. We once averaged around 120 KM/Hr stopping only to have a light dinner on the way. We reached Nidhi Didi's place by 11:30 in the night. She, her husband Sanjay Jijaji and her son and my nephew, Utkarsh were waiting for us. After taking a shower and chatting with them for a little we crashed into the beds. This was Day 2 of our Bharat Bhraman yatra.
PS:Still no pics guys. Sorry. Will do it in all probabilities once we reach Jaipur.
Bombay-Pune Expressway was the best stretch of road I've ever driven on.
We averaged close to 120-130 KM/Hr there with highest speed being around 200 KM/Hr. Reached Bombay 12:30 and by the time we could get out of Bombay, it was 2:30 PM. The initial part of the highway after Bombay was under construction and had a lot of traffic.We had our lunch on the way. It was a Parsi fare. Nice food. After stuffing myself, I headed for the rear sit for an afternoon siesta. Sreejith continued with the drive after that. After negotiating the traffic for sometime he handed over the steering wheel to Vinay. Vinay, who by his own claim had never driven more than 70 KM in a day, was a different beast on the road. The next 2-3 Hrs were what could be best described as 'Road Rash': remember that game where you ride a bike through traffic with zero consideration to rules. He drove like there is no tomorrow. Crisscrossing lanes once every 5 seconds. His rage was finally stopped by a traffic jam before the bridge on Narmada River.
Once we crossed the bridge it was smooth sailing till Ahmedabad. We once averaged around 120 KM/Hr stopping only to have a light dinner on the way. We reached Nidhi Didi's place by 11:30 in the night. She, her husband Sanjay Jijaji and her son and my nephew, Utkarsh were waiting for us. After taking a shower and chatting with them for a little we crashed into the beds. This was Day 2 of our Bharat Bhraman yatra.
PS:
Saturday, March 20, 2010
20-03-2010
Update: Pictures uploaded :)
The day started early. Woke up at 4:20 in the morning. Our initial plan was to start at 5:00 AM from my place but by the time Sreejith and I got started it was already 6:00 AM.
We picked up Vinay on the way from the Satellite Bus Station at Mysore road and then took the BMIC road from Mysore Road to Tumkur Road, thus joining the Golden Quadrilateral.
The road was under construction till Nelmangala. but after that it much pretty much 4 lane Highway all the way till Chitradurga.
Chitradurga to Davanagere was under construction in patches. We drove non-stop till Davanagere except for taking breaks for answering Nature's call.
At Davanagere we had some amazing Benne Dosa and Khali Dosa
at Sri Eshwar Benne Dosa
. Both were some of the best Dosas I've had in a very long time. Though I liked the Benne Dosa more, Sreejith chose Khali Dosa as his favorite. There was a Coffee Day right opposite to this Dosa place. We went there more to use the restroom than anything else. Anyways, after filling ourselves (and relieving too) we hit the roads again.
The roads were not great till Haveri, but once we crossed that town it was non-stop 4 to 6 lane Highway right till Pune. On the way we visited the Kittur fort whose last well known occupant was Rani Chennama (Karnataka's Rani of Jhansi).
The fort and the palace are in total ruins 
and there is also a museum there with some of the artifacts from the 18th Century. After spending around 30 mins we drove till Belgaum for Lunch. We were looking for a typical North Karnataka fare but due to our lack of knowledge and time, were forced have a typical mini meals thali at a nondescript place. The thali was a poor cousin of what we get at any typical Sagar at Bangalore.
After the disappointment at Belgaum we drove almost non stop till Pune.
My friend from Calcutta, Vishal stays there and we landed up at his place by around 8:45 pm. We freshened up a bit and then headed to this famous Iranian joint called Blue Nile. The food was good and we were hungry. So after stuffing ourselves with Kebabs, Biryani and 'Custard Ice Cream' we headed back to Vishal's place for some well deserved rest. On our way back we saw the famous German Bakery (or whatever was left of it). The terror attack robbed us of an opportunity to taste some of the delicacies there. Hopefully, the German Bakery is back to business soon and we can get to experience their food the next we are around here.
In all it has been an exciting journey till now. We've covered around 850 Km. Vinay drove for 150-200 Km and slept through the rest of the journey.
Sreejith and I more or less drove the rest of the distance equally amongst us. We would be leaving for Ahmedabad now. Will keep everyone posted through this blog.
PS:Sorry for not uploading the pics. Will do it soon.
PPS: I've figured out that I've misspelled the URL, but I'm unable to change it now.
The day started early. Woke up at 4:20 in the morning. Our initial plan was to start at 5:00 AM from my place but by the time Sreejith and I got started it was already 6:00 AM.
We picked up Vinay on the way from the Satellite Bus Station at Mysore road and then took the BMIC road from Mysore Road to Tumkur Road, thus joining the Golden Quadrilateral.The road was under construction till Nelmangala. but after that it much pretty much 4 lane Highway all the way till Chitradurga.
Chitradurga to Davanagere was under construction in patches. We drove non-stop till Davanagere except for taking breaks for answering Nature's call.At Davanagere we had some amazing Benne Dosa and Khali Dosa
at Sri Eshwar Benne Dosa. Both were some of the best Dosas I've had in a very long time. Though I liked the Benne Dosa more, Sreejith chose Khali Dosa as his favorite. There was a Coffee Day right opposite to this Dosa place. We went there more to use the restroom than anything else. Anyways, after filling ourselves (and relieving too) we hit the roads again.The roads were not great till Haveri, but once we crossed that town it was non-stop 4 to 6 lane Highway right till Pune. On the way we visited the Kittur fort whose last well known occupant was Rani Chennama (Karnataka's Rani of Jhansi).
The fort and the palace are in total ruins and there is also a museum there with some of the artifacts from the 18th Century. After spending around 30 mins we drove till Belgaum for Lunch. We were looking for a typical North Karnataka fare but due to our lack of knowledge and time, were forced have a typical mini meals thali at a nondescript place. The thali was a poor cousin of what we get at any typical Sagar at Bangalore.After the disappointment at Belgaum we drove almost non stop till Pune.
My friend from Calcutta, Vishal stays there and we landed up at his place by around 8:45 pm. We freshened up a bit and then headed to this famous Iranian joint called Blue Nile. The food was good and we were hungry. So after stuffing ourselves with Kebabs, Biryani and 'Custard Ice Cream' we headed back to Vishal's place for some well deserved rest. On our way back we saw the famous German Bakery (or whatever was left of it). The terror attack robbed us of an opportunity to taste some of the delicacies there. Hopefully, the German Bakery is back to business soon and we can get to experience their food the next we are around here.
In all it has been an exciting journey till now. We've covered around 850 Km. Vinay drove for 150-200 Km and slept through the rest of the journey.
Sreejith and I more or less drove the rest of the distance equally amongst us. We would be leaving for Ahmedabad now. Will keep everyone posted through this blog.PS:
PPS: I've figured out that I've misspelled the URL, but I'm unable to change it now.
Friday, March 19, 2010
19-03-2010
After a wait for more than a month we (Sreejith, Vinay and I) would be starting our 7-7.5K Km journey on the Golden Quadrilateral. The tentative plan is to start at 5 AM in the morning and reach Pune (aka Poona) by evening. Will try to upload as many pictures as possible of our Trip. Keep coming here for the latest updates.
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