Travel
with the Wine Skinny:
Mildly Bewildered but Totally Enchanted
in India
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Open-minded and mildly bewildered are probably
the right states of mind for seeing this
overwhelming country. In other words, if
you're not sure you can live without your
morning Starbucks and newspaper delivered
at exactly 7am, you should probably consider
a different destination. At the same time,
D'Lesli and I agreed that we had never been
so completely tended to and fussed over
in our lives. And we were certainly never
bored.
Our guides took us to forts, palaces, ruins,
markets, temples, gardens, mausoleums and
shops (where we quickly learned the deal
- if you let the shopkeepers do their whole
dog and pony show, you're expected to buy).
Here are a just a few of the highlights:
We made a loop from Delhi, flying first
to Udaipur, then driving to Jodhpur, Jaipur
and Agra, with stops at points in between,
ending back in Delhi.
 Delhi
is the second-largest city in the country,
with a population of 13 million (give or
take a couple of million). One of the oldest
continually inhabited cities in the world,
it offers numerous ancient monuments and
historic sites, including the Old City that
was built by the Mughals.
India's history - from the time of the
Mughal emperors, who reigned for nearly
two centuries beginning around 1525, through
the British Raj and into the country's current
independence - is visible everywhere, often
in layers on the same structure. At innumerable
forts, we were able to see original Mughal
architecture, sometimes in partnership with
Hindu architecture, and empty spaces where
precious stones had been looted by the British
- now painted in bright enamel by the post-independence
government.
Crowded with people, cars and cows - all
moving in different directions at more or
less the same moment - we were surprised
that Delhi also offers a number of peaceful
green spaces, including numerous parks and
the Raj Ghat, a memorial at the site
of Mahatma Gandhi's cremation.
The Delhi
Oberoi hotel is very nice, if not exactly
bursting with charm or personality. Get
into the culinary swing of things with an
upscale version of traditional Indian breakfast
at threesixtyº -- one of the sleek
restaurants in the hotel - like the masala
dosa, crisp rice and lentil pancakes stuffed
with curried potatoes.
Also the Kandahar Restaurant at
the Oberoi, for a memorable yoghurt (yoghurt
is delicious in India - I recommend getting
all of it you can!) dish generously studded
with red chilies and mustard seeds. I could
make a daily meal of the stuff, especially
when paired with the hot naan (bread) coming
out of the open kitchen.
(right) is a soaring 238-foot-high
stone tower that was built by Qutub-Ud-Din
Aibak in the 12th century. The tower has
five distinct stories, each with a projecting
balcony. At its base is the Quwwat-Ul Islam
Mosque, the first mosque to be built in
India. A 23-foot-high iron pillar, which
was built in the 4th century, stands in
the courtyard of the mosque.
Chandni Chowk is one of the oldest
markets in the area and is well worth a
visit. So congested that it makes the rest
of Delhi feel positively wide open, its
narrow lanes are crammed full of stands
and shops selling Indian street foods, a
vast array of sweets, saris, books, shoes,
electronics, wedding supplies and much more.
At one point, there was a shift in the crowd,
and we saw a flower-strewn, sheet-covered
corpse being held aloft on a stretcher of
sorts and hustled down an alley… It's
that kind of place.
Then we were off on a totally confusing,
totally entertaining domestic flight to
Udaipur...
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