Welcome to India
Wednesday, September 7th, 2005I think the best way for me to do this is to write the entire trip in one long
entry, but have navigation links on the top, so it’s manageable. I hope you
guys enjoy …. there is much to read!
Living like a King
Traveling in style kicks ass! Can’t stress that enough.
It wasn’t all my doing though, and I had a lot of help from the folks over at Emirates Airlines. They had this promotion going on that if you traveled First Class before Aug 31st, you would get 2 free nights in the Ritz Carlton, and a complimentary desert safari south of Dubai, complete with a traditional dinner and a belly dancing show to cap it all of.
So anyways, I left Riyadh Thursday night, and en route to Dubai I met an extremely friendly, and affluent, Saudi businessman. This guy was so refined and so well spoke, it was an absolute pleasure. He completed his education in Creighton, where he got his MBA. Turns out, he owns his own IT company along with his brother, and has offices all across this part of the world. We started talking about various things, and he told me to contact his people if I ever got bored of working with the Navy. Dude was so loaded, he was on his way to his Sussex house for a week because he felt like playing golf. Must be the life! The trip to Dubai is short to begin with, but it seemed even faster having someone to talk to.
We get to Dubai, and as we’re turning to leave, I see this lady who was sitting behind me. She had to be one of the MOST beautiful women I have ever seen in my life. This is not an exxageration like my cuz Haider talks (”I have never seen this show in my life!” — yeah, ok!) - she was truly gorgeous. She was covered in the traditional black gown, and she was wearing her hijab, only her face and hands were showing, but every feature was so beautifully shaped, and the skin was like rich cream. Oh yeah, she had great taste in shoes, too! WOO!
Before long, I was in a limo on my way to the Ritz. Many of you reading this have probably seen the Ritz in NY and DC, or elsewhere, and thought WOW, this is nice! You’d need a new word for this Ritz. It is spectacular! I’d be insulting them if I said it was merely perfect :o) As soon as I got there, my bags where whisked to the back somewhere, I was seated in a plush, regally upholstered chair and a guy appeared with a glass of date champagne, some nuts and chocolates, and a hot towel while the check-in process was going on. Took about 5 minutes, and a bellhop was taking me to my room. The hotel is huge, and it literally took a good 7-8 minutes to get to my room - ALL the way at the end of one hall.
Before I get ahead of myself, let me describe the incredible lobby. The double doors open into the immense lobby, with a concierge to the right and the receptionist to the left. The area is flooded with soft light and the 2-story chandelier. The tilework is done using geometric shapes, resembling traditional Islamic architecture. As your eyes look forward, a grand 3-story French window foyer takes your eye to the sparkling blue water, surrounded by fine white sand. Grand, calming, soothing … all bundled into one.
So now to my room - er, deluxe room! Apparently, the Ritz doesn’t bother with a regular room, it’s deluxe and up. The place was about a 1/2 of my entire apartment in Riyadh, with the luxorious bath alone bigger than my kitchen. The room was furnished with very tasteful appointments, and again, the soft light brightening all corners.
The bathroom was equipped with a nice bath, along with some bathing salts, so I thought why not - might as well try this as well ;o) I lounged in the balcony as the water was filling up, and then I retired to the bath for a very relaxing and rejuvenating warm bath. I might have dozed off, I don’t know … but I found myself in bed around 2AM, after some light exercise.
I woke up early on Friday since I wanted to catch the 10AM bus to City Center Mall, take another bath, have breakfast, and then have some time to rest before the evening desert safari. I started the day with a refreshing bath, using some of the salts and potions provided by the hotel. From there, I went down for a very delicious breakfast. They had such a large spread, I didn’t even get to see all the stations.
Being the net junkie that I am, I was itching to get on the net, cuz you know I can’t wait to read all the junk email I get all the time! The charges were a bit outrageous, so I didn’t stay too long, and it was 9:40 anyways … time to catch the bus. I rushed outside, only to find out that today was Friday, and most stores open till 4, some at 2, including City Center. DAMNIT!
With nothing to do, I started roaming the vast hotel, walking aimlessly up and down the lobbies, and finally sat down on the balcony with a ton of papers. While reading the papers, I found out that according to a survey done by a British organization, more than 50% of men in their mid-20s percieve their most important priority in life to be finding a wife!!!! That really made me feel better … I’m not the only one, and on top of that … I’m not even in the minority!!! That was good for about 2 hrs - it was only 12! Still another 4 hours to go. Then I thought, why don’t I goto City Center at exactly 2, go only where I need to go and I’ll be done by 4 … no problemo. Only that I fell asleep and woke up at 2:30!!!
So I’m thinking that I would cancel the safari so I could go shopping, and I called the Arabian Adventures people , and the lady on the phone was like “Sir, you do realize this is a complimentary offer, you’re not paying anything - you’ll miss out on this! You cannot redeem this at a later time” And I’m thinking ‘hmm, you know what … she’s right … screw shopping … but wait … what if … what if” She told me that if I went to only one store in City Center I would be ok - so off I went in search of a taxi. The search lasted to the front door, lol … hopped in the cab and on the way.
The cab driver was a really nice guy, and we kept talking about this and that, and mostly I kept whining “Are we there yet? How much longer? I need to be back by 4!!!!” And the guy kept saying “I promise you’ll be back by 4, don’t worry … I promise sir!” City Center is this huge central mall of Dubai and from the little I saw, it looked more like a mall in America than in the Middle East - I saw more white people than Arabs, in fact, I only saw a handful of locals, mostly foreigners.
So anyways … I did’t find what I came to look for, and I wasted a good chunk of money on the taxi too … but oh well, I got to see City Center in the process. The way back was like a race against time — we’re changing lanes, honking, braking and zooming down the highway to get back by 4. As the car clock goes to 4, the bellhop opens my door! I went and grabbed my camera real quick, and came down to find my safari guide, Abhay, waiting at the front desk. At first I thought it was only going to be a small group, but more than 25 4X4s were lined up outside.
I wasn’t expecting much from the safari, but it was an excellent adventure. I sat upfront, and Abhay and I kept going back and forth with idle talk. When we finally got to the real desert is when the fun started. We stopped early on to lower tire pressure, and to take some pictures (see link above) and then we really got going. The entire landscape is plotted with all sizes of dunes, and we sped up and down all fo them … many times completely parallel to the ground. You could feel the cars lose control for a few and drift downwards. It was almost like being in a rollercoaster.
At sunset we stopped at a very nice location for some more shots. The UAE is known for it’s 7 colors of sand, and all of them were easily visible in the last rays of light. From there, we were taken to the main event of the night … a big feast in a desert camp and the highlight would be an “enchanting belly dancer” - a first for me! They had all these stalls setup where the folks could get henna tattoos, this that and the other. The henna stations were busy all night, men and women alike lined up. Some got the tattoos on their hands, some on their lower backs, some on their ankles. I was thinking about it, but it’s considered such an unmanly thing in our culture.
I kept roaming aimlessly thru the camp — probably the only time on my trip where I felt alone, because everyone had company. I got some appetizers and went and sat down in the most remote area. A few minutes later, another guy came and sat at the next table - I asked him “you’re alone also?”, he nodded yes and joined me at my table. At least I had some company for the evening - didn’t have to eat by myself. Vishawanath was on his way back to Bombay from a business trip to London - good guy. Dinner was announced, and although it wasn’t anything exceptional, it wasn’t bad.
As dinner was winding down, the lights on the kneel down tables were dimmed and music with a thumping baseline started. The main area lights came on, and everyone started cheering! BELLY DANCER TIME! Here comes this lady dressed in a green outfit, with a veil covering her face and not much else, lol. Since it was my first time seeing a belly dance performance, I was pretty amused. Roxy, as I found out from Abhay later, was Russian, and she put on one heck of a show. She did things with her body that left you shaking you shaking your head. For example, she took this sword, thrust out her left hip, balanced the sword on it and proceeded to dance up a storm! Everyone is going nuts, clapping, hooting! Mucho entertaining!
We got back around 11PM from the camp, and since my flight was at 4:30AM, I decided not to sleep and took yet ANOTHER bath! Watched a bit of tennis, and then went downstairs at 2 to take the complimentary limo to the airport.
The Emirates First Class Lounge is something else! Free food, drinks, internet, satellite TV, plush leather couches, showers, beds - you name it, they have it. I chilled there for a good 1.5hr and reluctantly left to board my plane around 4. I was alone in my row … *phew* Just 3hrs away from India …
Welcome to India
We passed by the Lotus Temple, a beautiful structure made by the adherents of the Baha’i faith. The building is called the Lotus Temple, because it looks like a white lotus flower opening up. Eventually, we entered the more developed part of Delhi, teeming with cars, auto-rickshaws (aka autos), rickshaws, motorcycles, cars, buses, beggars, animals, everything! It takes a little while to get used to the frantic pace of traffic. Everyone has the right of way, and they aren’t afraid to assert it either. You’re sitting there pumping your feet as if you’re in control of the brakes.
The Crowne Plaza at Surya, New Friends Colony is a very beautiful hotel. The entrance is grand, and I love the way they’ve made their lobby. It’s very different from most places I have seen - right in the middle, is an open terrace like area that looks down to the coffee house, and a very large staircase leads you down. There is a bakery on-site, too. The room was also very nice, but not as nice as the lobby would lead you to believe. Whatever tho, I was only a guest for one evening, and it was more than adequate.
Soon after I had settled in, and was going thru the gazillion movies on every channel, I got a call from an acquaintance of my sister-in-law whose family I was supposed to meet that day. She insisted on sending her son to pick me up, and although I protested, she wouldn’t take no for an answer. We agreed on the time, and I got ready quickly. Precisely an hour later, a very polite Dr. Farrukh called me up and introduced himself and off we went. Their house was only a few blocks up the road, so it was a quick ride.
Dr. Farrukh and his family have to be some of the nicest people I have met. Very welcoming, and very soon I felt at home, completely at ease. I spent the afternoon with them, and enjoyed dinner at a very nice Chinese restaurant - Memories of China. I wonder if these are the real memories or the ones we see in the US. I think I would really like to taste REAL chinese food. Everywhere you go, the taste for the same dishes are so different .. makes you think which one is the real dish. But regardless, the food was tasty, and the company was great too.
It was sooooo freaking hot - I mean, I was just sweating looking outside. My hosts insisted on showing me around Delhi - I felt extremely bad to put them thru this, but they kept saying it had been awhile for them too so it was all good. We visited Lal Qilla (The Red Fort) first. Unfortunately, the old Indian government doesn’t take their job seriously when it comes to preserving it’s Muslim monuments built by the Mughal emperors. Even still, the fort is gargantuan in size, and still looked decent. Aquick look at the beautiful buildings within gives you a vague idea of how beautiful the original must have been. The finest marble was used for these buildings, and to this day, some 400 years later, it is still shiny and smooth.
It is absolutely amazing how accurate and intricate these places are designed. From the delicate and detailed frescoes, to the complicated underground water systems, and building designs to keep living quarters naturally cool and relaxing in the oppressing heat.
Speaking of the oppressing heat - imagine the scene from ‘Airport’ where the pilot is dripping like a faucet - that was me, literally! It looked like I was made from ice, and would melt away in a matter of minutes. My shirt was so wet, sooooo incredibly wet, it looked like it was doused in water and put it on me. VERY HOT!
I really wanted to see a temple, so Tahira Aunty took me across the street from the Red Fort into a big temple. We had to take off our shoes, socks everything. They were even after my belt, but I lied that it wasn’t real leather - I know, so bad - but whatever, I’m not Jain. I was so disappointed man, what a letdown, I swear. Mediocre, and boring. - psssh! I was expecting a scene from the Indian movies, this huge Goddess statue, and a clean marble floor, etc. None of that!
Since it was hot, and it was getting late, we went directly towards home and I was dropped off a the hotel to freshen up, and Farrukh was going to come pick me up again in time for dinner. As agreed, he picked me up again around 8. It was time for an enjoyable dinner, and meet the rest of the family. We talked late into the night, and I think Tahira Aunty noticed my eyes closing and suggested that I be dropped off - WOOHOOO - sleep!
I wanted to spend the next day on my own, not because I didn’t enjoy the company, but because I didn’t want to hassle them any further. They wouldn’t hear it, and I was set to have breakfast with them the next morning. Once back in the hotel, I was out in less than a second. Although it was extremely hot. I found out why the next morning - I had turned off the AC by mistake 
Off to Hyderabad
Connaught Place is the foundation of what is now known as new Delhi. It was developed by the British to be a modern capital, and it fits the bill well. A bustling center of activity - literally. CP is laid out in a circular pattern, with the roads bearing the British trademark - traffic circles everywhere. In these parts, that’s like a death trap. You enter at your own risk … getting out is not always guaranteed!
Anyhow, the Janpath was sooooo nice. They have all sorts of handicrafts from all over India - woodwork, cloth, marble trinkets inlaid with semi-precious stones, brass, silver, everything. Most of the items are guaranteed to have been made in small villages by local craftsmen. That somehow adds more charm to the already beautiful things. If I could, I would have bought one of everything.
I think the best thing was no one was after us pestering us to buy this, buy that, come here, there .. none of that. It was nice and cool inside, and we must’ve spent a good 3hrs inside. Around 2, Farrukh started thinking about what to do for lunch - already?!?