janu of jaipur

The next morning, we woke up to meet our driver, Janu... little did we know we were in for a huge treat. Besides being impossibly charming and attractive, his perfect English, which he taught himself, and absurdly impressive knowledge of ALL of Rajasthan made him the perfect addition to our group for the day. He showed us his journals, two notebooks FILLED with tourists singing his praises as we traveled through Jaipur. He also informed us that he was pretty famous on Google, so being the professional googler that I am, I gave it a shot and it turns out, he is. Click here for my favorite article.

 

Snake charmer!

 

Another great thing about Janu was when we got ahead of ourselves asking, "so what's the significance of this?" or "where are we going next?" Janu replied in typical Indian style, "if I start telling you about all of these things you will be seeing later in the day, you will miss what you are seeing right now and I don't want you to be distracted."

Anyways, he took us to the palace, through the pink city and finally to a textile factory, where we were able to see the hand embroidering, stamping and dying of fabrics that would ultimately be made into beautifl clothing, quilts and other home accessories. Needless to say, I went crazy for the custom made tunics and dresses and beautiful wall hangings.

 

Hand stamping textiles...

 

Janu!

Obviously we had to go...

After several hours and a small fortune dropped, oops, Janu took us to eat and then for ayurveda massages, which were quite the bargain coming in at $25 for an hour and a half of pampering.

After our showers and a little primping, Janu picked us up again for a late dinner at his hotel, Hotel Moonlight Palace. It was impeccably clean and the rooftop was situated high over the city so that you could see for miles. The roof was decorated with lights and beautiful Rajasthani pottery... and the food was pretty awesome too.

Finally, we had to say goodbye to our new friend, Janu, as he departed for a business trip (what a catch!) to Barcelona.

 

Kingfisher and good company!

some things are overrated...

...the Taj Mahal is not one of them. Yesterday, we left the hotel at 6 a.m. in order to catch the Taj as the sun rose. Like a little kid on Christmas morning, I woke up at 3:30 a.m., too excited to sleep. When we finally got to this beautiful building I've been dreaming about seeing for most of my life, I was actually in awe. I'm not usually one to spectate for hours, especially over a structure, but the Taj and its presence are just so spectacular, it's hard to stop looking at it. We took photos for a while, went up close and inside to see all the intricate carvings and details and then I just plopped myself on a bench and stared for a good 45 minutes. It was absolutely breathtaking. Since I'm already planning a trip back to India, next time, I think I'll bring a lunch and disguise a bottle of wine because I couldn't help but think it'd be the most perfect place for a picnic.

 

 

So excited!!!

 

Sunrise...

 

An attempt at being artsy...

For the rest of the day, we vegged by the pool and then went to a fabulous spot for a delicious dinner of Kashir biryani (new favorite food), beer and an unbeatable roof top view of the Taj at sunset.

That evening, we headed to Jaipur. After a long and tiring train ride, we got off and I heard my name. Who the HECK do I know in Jaipur, India? I'm wondering to myself. And then I see Kelly, from the Whole Foods trip who had stayed behind to travel a little more after the project was over. As it always does, it shrunk the world by a factor of a thousand and it was fantastic seeing a familiar face within the hustle and bustle of the Jaipur train station.

the agra fort and a meal to die for

After a quick night in Delhi (and from what I saw of the city, I cannot wait to go back and explore), we met Tyla and Austin for breakfast and boarded a train for Agra.

  

Upon arrival, we headed to our incredible hotel. From the outside, it looks like nothing special, just a sturdy, fort-like brick building. But inside awaits an oasis; a getaway from the chaotic streets of India and the touristy city that is Agra. The premises are filled with gardens and fountains leading you in to an architecturally amazing interior, filled with furniture I was lusting after to decorate my ficticious house with.

 

 

Hanging couch? Can this be my bed?

Soon after, Tyla, Austin and I headed to the Agra Fort. I was really blown away with how interested I was in the history of the fort... but mostly, I couldn't get enough of the views of the Taj. My favorite part of the fort was peering through the "lookouts" located all over the fort in order to see the Taj from different angles.

 

 

 

 

     

 

We finished our audio tour of the fort, we headed back to our hotel to celebrate Austin's birthday...

...and prepare for one of the best culinary experiences of my life.

 

 

Aprons instead of napkins!

In Delhi and Chennai, there's a famous restaurant called Bukara. For about $100 a person, you can enjoy some top-knotch wines and out of this world Indian food. My dad has raved about it and Mary Ellen, Caroline and Jasdeep told me it was so worth the trip. Obviously, this restaurant was quickly added to my Indian bucket list for "must eats." I've googled it, I've begged my dad to take me there when he comes (because clearly I cannot afford this on my own)... but despite my research, it just wasn't looking like Bukara was in my future.

But again, the Indian gods were on my side (I've been pretty blessed so far). At our beautiful paradise hotel, a sister restaurant (and also much cheaper version of Bukara), Peshawri, was waiting to greet my insatiable appetite.

We entered the beautiful space, sat and knew immediately what we wanted to order: dal makhani, naan and paneer. We were able to watch the chef prepare the naan and a surprise serving of parota...

 

...and then, IT came. This meal was, like I said, one of the best culinary experiences in my 23 years of life and it actually brought me to tears. It was one of those meals where you savor every bite, all the while thinking, "how is it possible that something tastes THIS good?"

Our question was shortly answered as our waitor scooped a spoon into the dal to serve us and a bit of green came to the surface. The culprit of this mouth-watering, completely satisfying and decadent treat? Ghee. Aka... butter.

 

 

 

 

Super dorky, but SUPER HAPPY!!!

trip to kerala (part four)

During at last day in Kerala, we traveled to a cashew factory in a more rural area to see where Whole Foods sources their cashews sold in the bulk area of their stores. We were blown away by the clean and safe conditions at the factory and the benefits (A PENSION! VACATION! TRANSPORTATION!) that the workers receive. After seeing the very lengthy process the cashews undergo before hitting the shelves, I now understand why they're one of the most expensive nuts to buy. After sampling more than a few cashews...

...we headed to a beautiful hotel for lunch and then, surprise! a backwater river cruise, something Kerala is very famous for.

Finally, I departed back to Chennai and eventually back to my little village. It was emotional, saying goodbye to my new friends, they all inspired me in ways I didn't even think were possible. I came out of the trip feeling like I could conquer anything and completely proud and confident in the work I have been doing here and excited for the future which will most definitely include some service related career.

Of course this trip wouldn't be complete, though, without a small traveling disaster. After being stopped on the train tracks for two hours (en route back to the orphanage), I was informed there was a "crack" in the tracks and the train wouldn't be moving for a while. I called the nuns and after passing my phone around the train, we figured out I was actually not far from "home." So the nuns told me to get off the train and they'd come pick me up. Problem: we were at a train station, sure, but I had to actually climb down onto the tracks and then hoist myself up to the platform to exit. Of course mid hoist, I hear the sound of another train coming and quickly and throw my extra large backpack over the platform and thankfully get myself up safely. Soon after, the nuns came, but this train station was so small and nuggety that there wasn't really a place to drive up, so they had parked down the road and to get to the car, we had to walk, again, on the tracks. As we were reaching the road, again, we heard a train coming. So two nuns, myself, my gigantic backpack and Pauly, have to sprint across the tracks in order to save ourselves. Never a dull moment, I'm telling you.

The kids are currently on a two week long break, so I'm back in travel-mode. Before I left, I graded my 5th graders (yes, they are my favorites...) test grades and AGAIN we had another improvement: from the last test, seven outstanding scores to 11 from this test! So i was pleased to be leaving on that note.

I've spent the past few days shopping my heart out in Chennai, finishing up all of my Christmas shopping, making a few new Indian friends along the way and just enjoying a true, big Indian city. This afternoon, I'm headed to meet Barbara and some others to travel through various cities in the north including...dun da da dunnn... THE TAJ MAHAL! Stay tuned and as always, thanks for reading! Namaste

trip to kerala (part three)

We woke up early again this morning and headed to the state of Kerala. As soon as we crossed state borders, I was positive we weren't in India anymore. The landscape was lush and green and looked like that of a tropical island. As we exited the train and into the city of Trivandrum, I heard a sound that I hadn't heard once since I landed in India: silence. The streets were vacant and the usual sounds of horns and traffic ceased to exist. If you've ever been to India, you know this is not normal. It was an eerie sound, the silence, and then it was confirmed that the town was on strike. We spent the rest of the afternoon eating from a fabulous buffet (dal, dal and more dal for me!) and relaxing by/in the pool. That evening, we had a beautiful poolside dinner to welcome the Whole Foods suppliers that had joined us that afternoon and headed to bed for the night.

The next day, we piled into cars and headed off into a more rural area of town. In this village, we were able to sit in on a meeting of women who are currently receiving loans that are being funded by Whole Foods. Though we didn't understand much because of the language barrier, the women were incredibly hospitable offering flowers and coffee to all of us. After, we were able to tour their homes and see the looms and goats that the women were able to buy with their micro loans.

Finally it was time for lunch. Little did we know, we were in for a huge treat. We headed west to Kovalum Beach and arrived at a beautiful beachside restaurant, connected to the Vivanta by Taj Hotel. There were coconut trees for miles and huge waves from the Arabian Sea crashing against the rocks. This was yet another time I had to stop and ask myself, "Am I REALLY still in India?"

 

Arabian Sea

Can I live here please?

Barbara and I

Mary Ellen and Jasdeep

We proceeded to have one of the best meals of my Indian life: fresh squeezed mixed fruit juice, onion rings and potatoes with a delish aioli dipping sauce (we all know how much I love my dipping sauces), a beautiful vegetarian platter of curries, vegetables, rice and parota and, of course, warm chocolate cake for desert. It was the perfect end to a really wonderful and educational day.

Cheers!

Yum #1

Yum #2

YUM #3!!!!!!!!!!!!!