It’s been a busy few weeks since we left off at the Taj and nearby Fatephur Sikri. Traveling in a group affords us some benefits, such as splitting the costs of transportation. With economies of scale on our side, we decided to skip the efficient but cumbersome train system and hire a private car and driver to zip us around what Lonely Planet calls India’s most “flamboyant” state, Rajasthan.  Our driver, Sirgit, deserves a shout out. Over the course of 11 days he was not just our driver, but our guide, bathroom inspector, negotiator, chai delivery man and security guard. When traveling India with three women in tow, a large Indian man with some attitude is a good way to keep the touts at bay.  Our car was our safe haven and we were spoiled to be riding in AC along the polluted roads with our snack bag always an arm’s reach away. On a side note, Lonely Planet has been our bible along with Trip Adviser over the last few weeks, and sometime we rely too heavily on it.  We have been pleasantly surprised and disgustingly disappointed with LP in India and have formed a love/hate relationship with its writers.  LP likes to sugarcoat everything and as a traveler and not a vacationer it can be very frustrating at times.

Rajasthan is well known for its grand palaces and forts, where some Indian royalty still reside to this day, such as a 15 year old king. Our first stop in Rajasthan was Jaipur, the “pink city”, which turned out to be more like the “terra cotta” city, but don’t try to argue that with a local.  Along with many palaces, including a lake palace, summer palace, winter palace and monsoon palace we also visited Jantar Mantar an outdoor observatory built by one of the kings.  Jantar Mantar had an impressive display of scientific prowess for an area little known for its technical mastery. We checked out the world’s largest sundial, which actually was incredibly accurate. It was a nice change to visit something so unique compared to everything else we had been seeing.  Next up was Pushkar, home of the only Brahman temple in India and a very holy lake. We did a morning hike to a mountain temple and took in the views of the small, but congested city.  Pushkar was the type of city where westerners come for a few weeks to take yoga/raiki/meditation classes, therefore the town had a crunchy vibe to it.  It also had an incredible selection of western food including some of the best muesli, fruit salad and yogurt we have ever tasted.  In the evenings we retreated to a hotel called Seventh Heaven and enjoyed rooftop views in a lovely garden setting eating fresh salad (something very rare in India).  This was a LP pick that served us well! . We then headed South to Udaipur, the “lake city” and home of the filming of James Bond’s Octupoussy. We enjoyed the countless rooftop restaurants and cafes to escape the narrowly packed streets below.  At night, with the palaces and temples illuminated below, a quick squint of the eyes and for an instant you might think you were in Western Europe.  Jaipur, Pushkar and Udaipur were all walk-able cities in Indian standards, although we were still walking among the cows, donkeys sometimes elephants and camels we were still able to walk down the narrow alley ways and into shops and restaurants.

In route to Jodhpur, we stopped in the mountainous area of Ranakpur and visited the intricately designed and impeccably maintained Jain temple. After deciding this was the cleanest temple in all of India, we considered converting to Jainism; however, once we realized we could never again kill a spider or eat root vegetables (no more potatoes!), we changed our mind. Last stop on our Rajasthan tour was the dessert city of Jodhpur. We visited the mammoth Mehangrath Fort and cruised through the Bishnoi village on a safari. While there, we witnessed a population whose purpose is to protect the nature that surrounds it and uses opium thrice daily. Not bad, except for the mud huts and being on government welfare. We even spotted a mongoose, one of the only known animals who prey on king cobra snakes.  In Jodhpur we decided to stay in the less touristy part of town, recommended by LP… We stayed in a 500 year old Haveli (Indian Mansion), which was great while inside the walls, but once we stepped outside we were faced with a chaotic local market that we did not care to peruse. From a distance, Jodhpur was very picturesque. The entire city paints the exterior of their houses blue to cool their homes and repel insects. We are not sure this theory of repelling insects worked as we inhaled flies each time we walked down the street; however, the colors were great for picture taking.

After traveling in the sweltering heat of Rajasthan, we hopped on a plane and after a harrowing three hour taxi driver through the mountains, arrived in the “Hill Station” (mountain town) of Shimla. At an elevation of 2500 meters and night time lows in the 30’s, it was quite a change from the dessert conditions we left behind. Shimla is known as the honey moon capital of India; however, we arrived at the very beginning of the tourist season, so the city wasn’t too busy.  We may have been a day’s drive from Delhi, but it felt worlds away. With autos banned from the pedestrian friendly city along with spitting and littering illegal and being surrounded greenery, we were thankful to breathe fresh air. With one of India’s most educated populations, its residents resemble more Western styles and manners than elsewhere in India.  We were able to walk the streets without worrying if we were going to step in urine, cow dung or spit and we actually even ventured off to go on a hike through the mountains.  It was a nice treat to experience this part of India as the rest of the country is quite chaotic.  The only downfall was our hotel did not have heat and the evening temperature  was about 30 degrees.  However, after escaping the winter back home it was nice to cuddle up in a blanket even if it hadn’t been washed since last winter.

Correction: While writing this post while riding the train with the windows open, someone has just thrown a bucket of water into our window soaking us and our computer. Luckily, the computer appears OK, but my pride is not.  It is the holiday of Holi today and our train is continually bombarded by colored and uncolored water bombs.

In short, it was an incredibly comfortable visit and a great respite from the hustle and bustle of Rajasthan. We spent our days window shopping, hiking and enjoying the incredibly authentic India Coffee House where formally dressed patrons greeted each other with handshakes and sugary coffee. The most uncomfortable part of the visit may have been the far too friendly monkeys who patrol the town in packs. We quickly learned why residents carry their belonging over their shoulder and not down near their waist. After being approached by a rather large and long tailed monkey who looked like he was on a mission, I quickly through our bag of waters and watched the monkey dive in and attack the bag only to be disappointed with its contents. With two bottles of water lost to the monkeys, we learned our lesson and adjusted our habits.

We are writing this post aboard the Shimla – Kalka toy train that is slowly traversing the mountains and tunnels and heading south towards our next destination of Chandigarh.