After one week in India, we felt we were getting the hang of things. We were getting used to the underdeveloped streets, sights of poverty, and cows on the road. We were ready for whatever Bangalore would throw at us.
Flying in India within more relaxing than flying within the United States.
The first of many personal drivers Quarup would have in Bangalore.
Thirty minutes from the airport, we experienced our first taste of culture shock. We had heard that Bangalore is the Silicon Valley of India, but we weren't prepared for how similar they are. American cars were mixed in with the motorcycles, a lot of Indians were dressed in western clothes, large malls were advertising western clothing brands, and I even saw a Santa Cruz, California "Mystery Spot" sticker on a passing car (a popular bumper sticker in the SF Bay Area). Besides the auto-rickshaws and occasional cow, we started to feel like we were back in the Silicon Valley.
Our hotel was right across the street from a new mall.
Best of all, the mall had a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (an LA based coffee shop) inside!
Even the cows "refuel" at the gas station.
Each morning after Quarup and I enjoyed a complimentary hotel breakfast, Quarup's driver would drop him off at work and I would explore the city alone. Each day I would master skills like crossing the street (which looked more like a freeway) and haggling over fares with auto-rickshaw drivers. We would meet up each night for dinner and I would share my triumphs and failures with him. Here are a few more pictures from Bangalore.
Bangalore is known as the Garden city of India.
Young couples holding hands and cuddling on park benches are common sites in parks.
Typical traffic along MG Road.
The ceiling of a customized auto-rickshaw. This particular driver totally pissed me off.
Fish Spa pedicure.
The fish snacked on dead skin while I resisted the urge to laugh from the tingle.
Russell Market's fresh chickens.
My all-time favorite place was the KR Market. It was everything I wanted India to be; a bit exotic, a little grimy, large, and crowded. The flower section of the market made my heart skip a beat with excitement each time I visited - and yes, I went more than once. People were yelling trying to sell their goods, it was so packed with people that bags needed to be carried on top of their heads, it was hot, and the fragrant colorful flowers added to the excitement. As a surprise to Quarup (and as an excuse to buy something at the market), I bought several strings of flowers to decorate our hotel room in celebration of our four year dating anniversary. I spent four US dollars on several bags of flowers and felt pretty proud of myself. My driver told me he could have gotten a better deal - oh well.
This place was a nice change from the high end new malls in Bangalore.
Individual flowers sold by weight.
Individual flowers are hand strung and sold by the arm length.
A calm corner of the market.
Happy Four Year Dating Anniversary.
The main point of traveling to the other side of the world was for Quarup to get to know his Bangalore Google teammates. They were a lively group that wanted to show Quarup a great time and encourage him to get to know more about their country.
One of the restaurants where we had dinner with the Google team.
A true hidden gem only steps away from the busy road.
Google Bangalore trying to convince Quarup to take a few days off to visit the Himalayas.
We were invited by one of Quarup's coworkers Piyush to his house for a home cooked traditional Indian meal. Piyush's wife, Shaily prepared us a wonderful spread of vegetarian dishes.
Shaily, Piyush, and their son.
Shaily giving us a tour of her kitchen.
Laure couldn't take her eyes away from her plate long enough for a photo.
Our friend Sidharth from Delhi connected us with a friend Nikhil and his fiancée Natasha. On our last two nights in Bangalore, we went out on double dates to some of Bangalore's delicious local restaurants. We had a great time chatting about traveling and sharing stressful stories about wedding planning, which is a universal topic among young couples. After three weeks in India and cruising around town with new friends, we started to feel like locals.
Gulab jamun for dessert. There was always something new to try.
At Bangalore's local favorite ice cream shop, The Corner House.
There are two popular stops between Agra and Jaipur: Fatehpur Sikri, a giant abandoned city and Chand Baori, one of India's largest stepped well and only below ground temple. We chose the lesser traveled sight and saw the well. It’s located in a rural village not far off the highway with no one trying to sell you souvenirs.
That white dot on left is Quarup.
Once at the Royal Heritage Haveli Hotel in Jaipur we were ready to relax and we couldn’t have chosen a better hotel to do that in. Our room was gorgeous! No sooner that we arrived in Jaipur, the monsoon rains arrived too. Good thing our awesome hotel offered a delicious set dinner menu.
By the time we dragged ourselves out of the hotel room, the rainfall had stopped and the sun was quickly drying up every last puddle. It was getting hot - and fast. By the time our cab driver got us to our first stop, Amber Fort, it was very hot. We bought the audio tour and a couple bottles of water. The audio tour wasn’t worth the two bucks but the water was.
Making friends on the way up to Amber Fort.
Too bad we gave up on the boring audio tour
before it was over because we'll never know
the significance of this beautiful room.
A common activity for tourists at Amber Fort is to ride an elephant up the hill to the entrance. We
decided to save our money because our next stop of the day was Elephantastic. Rahul, the owner provides tourists an opportunity to spend a day with the same elephants that tourists ride. Unlike the abused elephants that Q saw in Thailand and Laure saw in Cambodia, the elephants in India are well treated and cared for by their owners and regulated by the government.
No, we don't need an elephant's help to get up this hill.
We live on a steeper hill than this.
We arrived at 1PM and joined Belinda and Cathy (two Aussies) to learn how to care for elephants. We prepared their lunch while Rahul's mom prepared our lunch at her house. We also painted an elephant's trunk in the traditional style, went on an elephant ride, and gave an elephant bath in a local swimming hole. Here are a few more photos. Our day with Rahul and the elephants lasted for almost 8 hours and it was fantastic... no, no, it was ele-FANTASTIC.
Lunch is served.
Perfecting the wrapping of the elephant's nutritious lunch
Almost two hours of feeding.
Rahul's mom's delicious homemade lunch.
Laure learned to climb up the trunk.
And so did Q. We're ready to join the circus!
Testing our artistic skills on a moving canvas.
Believe it or not, turbans keep you cool and comfortable in hot weather.
Royal treatment.
Bath time for the elephant...and us.
Saturday we hired a private driver for the day and visited several of Jaipur's sights. We saw Jaipur City Palace (yawn), Jantar Mantar Observatory (interesting), and Hawa Mahal "Palace of Wind" (beautiful), all before lunch. We took our Lonely Planet Guide book's and Rahul's recommendation and stopped by Ganesh Vegetarian Restaurant for lunch. It's located on the roof of a few tourist shops in the old city and worth the extra effort to locate the stairs up to the roof. It was delicious and best of all it was very cheap.
Laure found the little bit of shade under Jantar Mantar's sundial.
Exploring the interior of the Palace of Wind.
The no-frills, open air kitchen at Ganesh Restaurant.
You'll have to trust us that the food at Ganesh to die for.
Before returning to our hotel to enjoy the pool, we stopped by Ladli. It's a non-profit organization that provides street kids with education, vocational training, and in cases of family abuse or forced prostitution they offered housing. We learned about the street kids being left behind as India races ahead to become an advanced country.
Q meeting the talented young lady that made several of the cards we bought.
Before heading to the airport, we made one last stop, Galwar Bagh, a.k.a. the Monkey Temple. With the a local young local kid tagging along we bought some nuts, which we handed out to lucky monkeys. Just as we're ready to head out, the kid informs us of his "helping" fee. We reluctantly give him half of his asking price of four US dollars. As we're walking out somewhat annoyed, a little girl (with the encouragement of her dad) puts her hands together and whispers "namaste" to Laure, whose heart melted instantly.
Another luck monkey.
"Where can I get a pair of those cargo shorts?"
A sacred pilgrimage of the Hindus
Here are a few more pictures from our adventure in Jaipur.
The best part about arriving in the airport early - a Cafe Coffee Day bended coffee.
With an amusing ride through Delhi traffic we were on our way to Agra. Our friend, Sidharth, arranged a private driver to take us three hours south to Agra. After two days on our feet in the blazing humid heat we were more than happy to sit in an air conditioned car and watch the country side go by.
We stayed wide awake as our driver raced around other cars and autos driving down both sides of the roads. We constantly heard horns blaring and occasionally saw camels pulling carts.
Morning traffic while leaving Delhi.
You can get a ride even if there are no available seats inside the bus.
There's plenty of room on top.
Before checking into our hotel, we stopped at Agra Fort. In the scorching heat of the afternoon, we took an audio tour of the complex. The fort provided a clear view to the Taj Mahal for Sultan Shah Jahan to remember his late wife, Mumtaz Mahal for whom the Taj was built.
Perfume water once flowed in this desert fort's fountains.
Our first view of the Taj Mahal from Agra Fort.
Once we checked into our hotel we didn't want to leave. Not only was the air conditioning an amazing relief from Agra's heat but our hotel was very luxurious and our plan to see the baby Taj that afternoon flew out the window.
ITC Mughal Hotel lobby
The next morning we took a guided sunrise tour of the Taj arranged by our hotel. Security to enter the Taj was tighter than our airports after 9/11. Metal detectors and pat-downs prevented any food, lotion of any size, or stuffed animals from entering. This included our travel buddies, Mochi and Rug, who had to stay behind.
The closest the boys got to the Taj Mahal.
An electric powered auto arranged by our environmentally conscious hotel.
Seeing the Taj up close was breath taking. We both agreed it is truly a world wonder.
Our guide knew the best spots to take photos.
Love
Checked another world wonder off our bucket list.
We made it back to our hotel before the sun had a chance to turn us into a sweaty mess, had breakfast, and packed our backpack. Our hotel arranged our next private cab for us and we were on our way to our next stop - Jaipur, Rajasthan.
