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Solo Trip to India and Nepal
  • Happy Days Travel
  • Happy Days Travel

Solo Trip to India and Nepal

This is my first solo overseas trip since Mark died earlier this year. I'm excited to return to India and to explore Nepal for the first time, but it will be strange not to have Mark with me to share the experience with. Leggi altro
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  • Happy Days TravelSolo Trip to India and NepalViaggiatore

    Coffee with a view

    29 gennaio, India ☁️ 18 °C

    Later, I returned to the hotel, ostensibly to do some work, but I was too cold to concentrate 😂. That's a first in India!

    So, I had my leftovers from yesterday and ventured out again. I put socks and shoes on to see if I could, ahead of tomorrow's trip. The short answer is 'no'! I was soon in agony, so I went for a coffee and treated myself to a slice of walnut pie which was far too sweet for me. The view was nice, though!Leggi altro

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  • Happy Days TravelSolo Trip to India and NepalViaggiatore

    Day trip in a tuk-tuk

    30 gennaio, India ☁️ 13 °C

    I didn't sleep well for some unknown reason, so I was up in plenty of time for my trip today. I went for breakfast, and had the worst omelette in India so far! I think I was spoiled by Maya and Mandrem Beach Shack!

    By 9am, I was back outside Black Pepper waiting for Salim, my guide who was taking me on a tuk-tuk tour of the city. While I was standing there, I was being bothered by a very frisky street dog! Fortunately, plenty of local passers-by took pity on me and shooed him away (he wasn't taking any notice of my efforts!).

    When Salim arrived, he headed straight out of the city to our first stop at Fateh Sagar Lake. Once there, I had the opportunity to walk around and take some photos. This artificial lake constructed in the 1680s is named after Maharana Fateh Singh of Udaipur and Mewar. It's a favourite spot for families and courting couples, but at such an early hour, I had the place pretty much to myself.    Leggi altro

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  • Happy Days TravelSolo Trip to India and NepalViaggiatore

    Ahar Cenotaphs

    30 gennaio, India ☁️ 19 °C

    Our next stop was at the Ahar Cenotaphs, 250 marble cenotaphs belonging to the royal family and noblemen. The area is closed to the general public, but Salim stopped outside the gates to explain the horrific custom of suttee, a historical Hindu practice in India where a widow immolated herself on her husband's funeral pyre, embodying extreme wifely devotion, though often involving coercion or societal pressure. It was outlawed by the British in 1829 but continued to happen until around 100 years ago. The cenotaphs are marked to show how many women (wives and their maids) sacrificed themselves when their husband died. The most is 17!

    Although, the royal enclosure is off limits, another part of the graveyard is open to the public, so Salim dropped me off there to have a look around.    Leggi altro

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  • Happy Days TravelSolo Trip to India and NepalViaggiatore

    Garden of the Maidens

    30 gennaio, India ☁️ 20 °C

    Next, he took me to a much more pleasant place. Saheliyan Ki Bari (Garden of the Maidens) was created by Maharana Sangram Singh in 1730 for the entertainment of royal ladies and their maids. It is a beautiful space, full of green lawns, well-kept flower beds, and fountains. Inevitably, there were hundreds of Indian tourists taking selfies at every turn, but I found a quiet bench and read my book for a while. It was nice to have a breather in the middle of such a hectic day.

    Salim then drove me to Jhumar restaurant with lake views for lunch. He dropped me off and told me that when I came out, his son Sajid would be waiting for me to guide me for the rest of the day as he had to go to the mosque to pray. The restaurant was more expensive than anywhere I would choose for myself, but I went with it and had a mutton dish with jeera rice and flaky paratha.    Leggi altro

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  • Happy Days TravelSolo Trip to India and NepalViaggiatore

    Nehru Park

    30 gennaio, India ☁️ 23 °C

    After lunch, Sajid was there as promised. He took me to a newly built jetty (there was a strong smell of fresh paint!) to catch a ferry across Fateh Sagar Lake to Nehru Park island. This completely artificial garden is a magnet for Indian Instagrammers. It really wasn't my sort of place! After a long wait for a return ferry, I'd had enough, so I asked Sajid to take me back to my hotel. I refused his offer of a look around a textile shop on the way!

    I got Sajid to drop me off a little way from Black Pepper and went for a coffee. I then spent what was left of the evening editing photos and updating Penguins.    Leggi altro

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  • Happy Days TravelSolo Trip to India and NepalViaggiatore

    City Palace, Udaipur

    31 gennaio, India ☁️ 17 °C

    My plan this morning was to visit City Palace, just a short walk from where I'm staying. All the advice was to go early, so I was up in good time and went for breakfast at the Namaste Café just across the alleyway. It looked like a bit of a dive, but the Puri Bhaji was delicious and thie coffee wasn't half bad, either!

    After breakfast, I walked up to the palace. It is an imposing building that you catch glimpses of wherever you are in Udaipur. The main gate and location of the ticket office is Badi Pol. The inscription written in Persian dates it to 1616. The chatris (towers topped with domes), located on either side of the Badi Pol, were added at the end of the 1600s.

    Once you are through the main gate, you arrive at the Tripoliya, an exquisitely carved triple arched gate built in 1711. It provides a spectacular entry into the Manek Chowk, the main public courtyard of the palace complex.

    Unfortunately for me, much of both the outer and inner courtyards were hidden from view by construction work. This isn't part of any necessary renovation programme. Instead, it is preparation for a huge wedding which is costing millions of rupees to stage. The family of the bride have hired the entire city palace. Work on the set up and staging is taking a month and involves hundreds of contractors. I've never seen anything like it! I'm just glad I was able to visit at all. I'm told that if the wedding party pay enough, the whole place can be shut to tourists completely for several weeks!

    The reason why the palace is here at all is an amusing if apochryphal story. On March 16, 1559, Rana Udai Singh was blessed with a grandson, Amar Singh. The Rana took his grandson to pay a customary visit to the Shrine of Shri Eklingji in order to receive blessings from the family deity. On his return, the Rana went to hunt. He killed a hare at the spot marked just inside Badi Pol. He placed a stone to mark it, considering it an auspicious location. The Rana saw smoke coming from a nearby hill. He climbed the hill and met an ascetic who told him to build his palace and capital city on the spot where he had killed the hare. So, the foundation stone was laid!

    Elephants are an integral part of the historic army of Mewar. They struck fear into the hearts of the enemy and represented the strength and strategic might of the Mewar legacy. They were well looked after and were regularly assessed to make sure they were battle ready and in the best condition. A striking sculpture has been erected in their honour. 

    Tigers were also housed in a cage in the courtyard to represent the Mewar Kingdom's dominence.

    The Mewar family is the longest serving dynasty in the world. They are direct descendants of Shree Ram, considered the Supreme Being in Rama-centric Hindu traditions.

    The City Palace today is actually a series of palaces linked by elaborate courtyards and corridors. There are hundreds of rooms to explore. It can feel quite overwhelming to visit. I limited myself to things I was particularly interested in (like the horse armour with added imitation trunks to create the illusion that the horses were baby elephants to deceive the enemies elephants into not attacking them!) and spent a very pleasant three hours wandering around.    Leggi altro

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  • Happy Days TravelSolo Trip to India and NepalViaggiatore

    Rajasthani cooking class

    31 gennaio, India ⛅ 22 °C

    From the palace, I walked down the street to buy some fruit, and then went back to my hotel to work for a few hours before my Rajasthani cooking class with my host here at Black Pepper.

    The class started at 5. It was me and an Australian couple, Barry and Ann. It was good fun, and I enjoyed chatting with them. Durga, my host, was feeling a bit under the weather, but she still helped us to create a feast of traditional Rajasthani vegetarian food. We had masala chai and poha to start with. The latter is traditionally eaten for breakfast. It is steamed, flattened rice stir fried with spices and lemon and topped with sev and red onion. It's very tasty. For main course, we made Dal Baati Churma. This is hard wheat rolls (bati) broken and dipped in ghee, served with lentil curry (dal) and topped with crushed poppadoms. It was another tasty dish, but very carb heavy! I tasted the sweet doughballs we made for dessert, but didn't have a whole one 😀.Leggi altro

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  • Happy Days TravelSolo Trip to India and NepalViaggiatore

    Jagdish Temple, Udaipur

    1 febbraio, India ☀️ 19 °C

    I had booked a 'non-touristy' walking tour this morning with Manish. We were meeting at 9.50 on the steps of Jagdish Temple just down the road, so I went to the nearby Legacy Café for breakfast. I've had my eye on it for a few days. I ordered poha like we made last night and black coffee. It was delicious and only cost me 60 rupees (about 50p!).

    Manish was on time and we were soon joined by the only other participant - a guy from Mumbai. We began by visiting the temple itself. Manish proved to be an excellent guide and provided information on the local area, as well as India as a whole. 

    Jagdish Temple is one of the most architecturally and artistically significant temples in north India. It was built by Maharana Jagat Singh in 1652. Construction took 25 years. All of the thousands of intricate carvings on this marble structure were done by hand.

    This temple was the only 'tourist spot' on this tour. From now on, Manish led us through the back streets of Udaipur where ordinary people live and work away from the prying eyes of tourists (except me! 😂).    Leggi altro

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    Local artisans in Udaipur

    1 febbraio, India ☀️ 22 °C

    Our first stop was at a metalworker's workshop. He was beating copper by hand to make water carriers that are used in the winter months. (Clay ones are preferred in the summer as they keep the water cooler.)

    As we walked on through the residential streets, Manish pointed out the paintings of elephants and horses in procession around the doors and on the outside walls of some of the houses. These indicate that someone in the family who the house belongs to has got married. The fresher the paint, the more recent the wedding.

    We then stopped to watch elderly ladies making disposable plates and bowls from leaves. Traditionally, these were used at weddings. Sadly, couples now tend to prefer plastic alternatives.    Leggi altro

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    Potteries and a parade

    1 febbraio, India ☀️ 23 °C

    Potteries were the next thing we saw. Single families do the whole process from beginning to end.

    We then walked headlong into a noisy, colourful parade with people of all ages dancing, playing instruments, and wearing orange. The occasion was joyous. I was dragged into the action. When the procession had finally gone by, I asked Manish what it was for. He said it was to promote relugious faith and remind everyone to attend the temple, especially children.Leggi altro

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    Fruit, veg, and spice markets

    1 febbraio, India ☀️ 23 °C

    Our next stop was at a local fruit and veg market, where I saw gram seeds in their raw state - I think for the first time. These small bright green 'fruits' are dried to become dal or dried and ground as garam flour.

    Nothing that we saw at the market is grown in Rajasthan. The state is too dry. So, farmers or their agents from other states come into the city early every morning and sell their produce to the ladies at the market, who then sell on to the public.

    At the nearby spice market, we watched mustard being pressed to make mustard oil. The farmers bring their crop to the guy who owns the press who extracts the oil for them at no charge. He then makes his money by keeping the waste product and selling that as animal feed. 

    The crisp maker was amazing! He was creating a range of flavours, frying them in a huge wok. He was mainly using potatoes, but was also producing banana and mango varieties. We got a mixed bag to try. They were delicious! I particularly enjoyed the mint flavour.    Leggi altro

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    Local grocery market and snacks

    1 febbraio, India ☀️ 24 °C

    We then walked through the local grocery market. There was a lot of jaggery on sale. This is a concentrated product of cane juice and often date or palm sap without separation of the molasses and crystals, and can vary from golden brown to dark brown in colour. It contains up to 50% sucrose, up to 20% invert sugars, and up to 20% moisture, with the remainder made up of other insoluble matter, such as wood ash, proteins, and bagasse fibres. Jaggery is very similar in taste to muscovado sugar. Manish explained to us that jaggery is only sold in the winter months when it is an important source of heat-producing calories.

    Our route then took us along a whole street of metal pot sellers - the kind we saw being made earlier in the tour. This led to a street of wedding shops selling everything needed for the reception party. Being a Sunday, many of these shops were closed, but we still saw groups of tribes women who had come into town from outlying rural areas to shop for wedding paraphernalia. 

    We stopped at a sweet shop to try some traditional Rajasthani confectionery. I passed on these - they are basically 100% sugar. I did try a kachori at the next stop, though. These are dough balls stuffed with a spicy lentil mix and deep fried. They are served in a tamarind syrup. They sell for just 20 rupees each and are a filling snack.    Leggi altro

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    The workshop that wasn't!

    1 febbraio, India ⛅ 25 °C

    I had booked the workshop through Get Your Guide. The address was given as Tribe India, a ten-minute walk away along the side of the lake. When I got there, I was told I had to get on the back of a bike to go to someone's house on the other side of the lake. Had I known that was the case, I wouldn't have booked it! But I was there and I'd paid, so I went. 

    When we arrived, I was shown into the artist's studio and given a seat. What followed was a 40-minute demonstration. It definitely wasn't a two-hour workshop! I had no input whatsoever in the designs or colours used. The 'teacher' first demonstrated the tie-dye technique on a piece of white cotton, with no explanation as to why he was tying it the way he was. It was a quick process, and then the reveal came as a ta-daa moment - like the end of a magic trick! Then, without pausing for breath, he moved on to a block printing design on another square of white cotton. After lining the first corner up quite carefully, he rushed to do the rest of the piece resulting in a smudged and poorly executed design. To say I was disappointed was an understatement. 

    It was going to take 30 minutes for the fabric to dry. In the meantime, I had to get back on the bike and return to Tribe India to wait. There, they made me a coffee and we went to sit up on the roof. I took the opportunity to give the guys feedback on what I'd just experienced. They agreed with what I was saying and offered that I could return to do another workshop for no charge. I didn't commit myself. We were all distracted then by the appearance of a large crocodile in the lake just below us!

    Back downstairs, I asked about my two pieces (neither of which I particularly liked!). I was told I could get them when I came back. I said I would have them now. So, one of the guys went on his bike to get them for me. I sat outside the shop to wait.    Leggi altro

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    Solenne and folk dancing 😂

    1 febbraio, India ⛅ 26 °C

    As I was sitting there, out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone familiar walking past. I did a double take to make sure I wasn't imagining things. Then I jumped up and ran after her shouting her name. It really was Solenne, one of our group from our South America tour last year! I didn't even know she was in India, never mind Udaipur! What are the chances of us meeting like this? She was one of the last friends to see Mark alive. The three of us left the truck at the same time. We were heading to the airport to fly to Rio, and we dropped her off at her hotel on the way. That was in March last year. Neither of us could believe it! It made me forget the terrible workshop!

    Solenne didn't have much time. She was leaving  Udaipur very soon. So we walked back to the old city together. The guy from Tribe India caught us up on his motorbike to give me my samples and ask if I was coming back. I told him I wasn't. Solenne and I chatted as we walked and then had to say our goodbyes sooner than either of us would have liked. It had been a brief but memorable encounter! This is just one of the reasons why I love travel so much!

    I went back to my hotel for a while before walking down to Bagore Ki Haveli, where I had tickets to see the 6pm folk dancing show. It was a sellout, so I was glad to get a decent seat. The show lasted for an hour and was very entertaining.

    Afterwards, I went to Eidelweiss, the German bakery for coffee and a slice of blueberry cheesecake 😊.    Leggi altro

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    Ambrai Ghat - on the other side 😊

    2 febbraio, India ⛅ 24 °C

    I dropped off my laundry first thing and then went back to Eidelweiss for a breakfast of cheese omelette and coffee. I then spent most of the day in my room, working.

    I ventured out at 4.30pm and headed across the bridge to the other side of the lake to visit Ambrai Ghat, supposedly the best spot to watch the sunset in Udaipur. I thought I'd have something to eat and stay to watch the sun ho down. However, the only recommended restaurant over on that side wasn't serving food until 7pm. I didn't want to wait, and it was very cloudy anyway, so I had a walk around the neighbourhood, taking photos as I went.Leggi altro

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    Wandering and dinner

    2 febbraio, India ⛅ 24 °C

    I headed back to my side of the lake and went to Charcoal for something to eat. Barry and Ann from the cooking class the other night recommended it. I fancied something other than Indian, so I went Greek! My souvlaki with salad, tzatsiki, flatbread, and fries was going well until a squirrel fell from the roof above me right onto my plate! 😂

    I walked down to the ghat and watched some girls dancing for tips (Indian busking). I finished my evening with a coffee back at Eidelweiss.    Leggi altro

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