India 2025

Tag: food

  • DAY 9

    DAY 9

    February 5, 2025

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAREN – Number 82!

    By the way – June 20 will be our 60th Anniversary – and we fooled around 10 years before that!

    We celebrate all day long. She is gifted bouquets of flowers wherever we go. We started in the morning with a beautiful breakfast on the hotel lawn. Actually this was the former entrance to the Palace. Birgid has arranged a “Cake Cutting” ceremony including “Happy Birthday” spelled out in flowers.

    Off to the airport by 10 for our 1 hour flight to Delhi. I am curious – how many motor scooters/motorcycles in India? The trusty internet (by the way we 5g everywhere) says 260 million. It always looks like all the 260 million are on the street with us each time we go out. Another interesting fact – India is 1/3 the land mass of the United States. We have 300 million people – they have almost 1.5 billion.

    We climb two flights of stairs (the elevator is inoperative) to our gate – wait almost an hour – then back down those same stairs for a gate change. We are on Air India Express today. I took a photo of the checkin area of IndiGo across from us – check out the clever titles.

    I also took a photo of the baggage collection area in the Delhi airport. We are belt number 4. Looking the other way I cannot even see the end. This is a HUGE terminal!

    As always, Shruti briefs us about the history and monuments of Delhi. One thing that stuck with me was the huge monument of Gandhi leading his followers to the coast to gather salt, which the Government had banned. I will include a writing about Gandhi that Karen had previously written. 

    Delhi is so different from Mumbai. Although there are 24 million residents Delhi is spread out – horizontal rather than vertical Mumbai. There are so many trees – truly a green city. It is the political center of India vrs the business center. Many streets are tree lined vrs lined with an endless stream of small shops.

    Although our flight was only one hour it was almost 4:00 when we arrived at our hotel. Total elapsed time 6 hours. We should have taken the 4 hour drive in our van. I am ready for something to eat and a Long Island Iced Tea. NOPE – the last two days have been local elections – no alcohol until 7:00.  

    The Imperial Hotel is our home away from home in India. This may be our fourth stay. I always remember the tall Sikhs wearing their red turbans. This is another elegant hotel – modern elegance rather than the old world elegance we have previously enjoyed. If I had to choose the old world would be my choice. We very much enjoy “high tea” in a new private lounge.

    Dinner and cocktails in the “Spice Market” Asian restaurant is over-the-top great! We are so very very fortunate!

    R

  • DAY 7

    DAY 7

    February 3, 2025

    We began our 6:00 AM departure with news that Todd as sick and vomiting all night. He certainly is not the bright and happy man we know. Everyone is quick to blame the street food he enjoyed yesterday however, Shurti had the same food. Perhaps it is just so different from what we are used to. In fact, we know some Mexicans that got sick on the food in the United States – not bad food – just different.

    On the hours drive to the airport we see something new for this journey – an elephant on the roadside. We love this country!

    All our internal India flights have been on their largest carrier IndiGo. It is a fun experience – great graphics – marketing that makes you smile. Today we have an ATR turboprop to Jaipur. Our travel company – Banyon, is worried about the lack of business class seats so they have purchased an empty seat next to each of us. Talk about spoiling us.

    Todd elected to go directly to the hotel with the luggage van to rest.

    Jaipur – the “pink city” is one of our favorites. Actually so far each city has been our “favorite”. The walled city was built for a population of 50,000 in 1727 – now there are 1,000,000. The metropolitan area is 4,000,000. Lots and lots of people everywhere.

    Our first stop is the Jewlery Business/Museum that we visited two years ago. The deceased Father/founder built a substantial art/antique collection. Much of the second floor of the business is a Museum. They employ 250 designing, cutting, polishing fine jewelry. The building is very contemporary designed by a French architect.The two sons that currently rum the business were extremely attentive to our ladies. Both Karen and Connie found some beautiful pieces.

    Once again our hotel is over-the—top located on large beautiful grounds I will say it again – the hotels in India are consistently among the finest in the World. We enjoyed a relaxed lunch on their spacious lawn. Life is good for the Duncans (well except for Todd at the moment).

    In the afternoon we journeyed outside the City to an old fort high on a hill and the site of a temporary art show. The fort is a terrific venue for both sculpture and two dimensional work. There were many small rooms surrounding a courtyard and the starkness of it all really makes the art shine. We asked Birgid to follow-up on a couple of pieces.

    Back to the hotel and drinks at the Polo Bar an exquisite large room. Hotel’s today cannot replicate the splendor of these historic palaces. And the DuncanTini’s were great! A wonderful dinner then off to bed – tomorrow will be a busy day.

    Robert

  • DAY 5

    DAY 5

    February 1, 2025

    Another travel day.

    We really hate saying goodbye to Varanasi and our beautiful hotel – however we know more great adventures lie ahead. Todd decides to join Shruti for a “street food” breakfast. He reported the it was delicious and it cost only $1.50.

    The hours ride to the airport is full of sights and sounds that are a World apart from what we know and experience. A man getting a shave and haircut outside by the road – cattle sleeping by the roadside – unbelievable congestion. Still, life goes on.

    We have two flights today – Varanasi to New Delhi then New Delhi to Udaipur. We leave our hotel at 10:00 and do not arrive at our new hotel until almost 9:00 that evening. So far the airlines in India have a perfect record – always late! The kids are hungry. They try KFC and Pizza Hut in the Delhi airport with moderate success. I am fortunate to get a few pictures of the people, but nowhere near the number I would like.

    We have a luxury van pick us up at the Udaipur airport for the hours drive (they are always an hours drive). Shruti spends the time talking about families in India, the arranged marriages, and the cast system which was outlawed many years ago but continues to function. In some ways it provides more family stability yet in other ways it restricts individual incentive and success. As our Grandson Duncan would say “it’s complicated.”

    Karen and I have visited Udaipur twice before staying at one of our very favorite hotels in an ancient castle 20 minutes out of the city. This time we are booked at the Lake Palace, the former Summer Palace of the Maharaja. Of course we had observed the hotel on an island out in the lake but had never visited. As our little Girl on the airplane said “OMG”.

    This is certainly one of the very most beautiful hotels we have ever seen. Again words cannot do it justice. I will keep taking pictures. We retire to the bar for one more hour of enjoying fabulous bar food – great DuncanTinis – and spirited conversations. The hotel has turned a long boring travel day into another unforgettable experience.

    Robert