Glorious, remarkable India....

I traveled with my nephew Charlie, his friend Steven, and my friend Deborah.  We arrived in Delhi late and spent the night at the Centaur, a hotel near the airport.  It was a good introduction to the country; the rooms were less then clean and the facilities were not always operational, but the staff was kind and helpful and the food was very good and spicy.

We flew the next morning to Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan (Photo rows 3-5) where we spent an afternoon.  The town reminds me of an ancient merchant bazaar, hawking textiles, gemstones and other fine crafts.  Then we were off to the first of two Aman resorts (www.amanresorts.com) in Rajasthan.

Aman-i-Khas is an amazing enclave of luxury tents, campaign style, bordering on The Ramthanbore National Park (Photo rows 6-11).  It is one of the most special places I have had the pleasure to be a guest.  Rajasthan is a relatively rural area where farming and tourism predominates.  The people are physically and inwardly lovely with the women wearing bright metallic and gem colored saris.  Ramthanbore is home to tigers, leopards, antelope, deer, gazelles, monkeys, peacocks and a vast array of birds.  We participated in two safaris, highlighted by the site of four tigers and the hand-feeding of pistachios to wild black-face monkeys.  A blessing by a holy man moved us all.

Amanbagh (Photo row 12) is further north in Rajasthan and a more formal resort.  I had an amazing Reconnection Session with Robert and our farewell dinner in an old, abandoned Mosque in the middle of a field was both lovely and memorable.  Charlie and Steven left for Paris the next day, while Deborah and I were off to Agra.

Agra (Photo rows 1-2) is all about the Taj Mahal.  It is beautiful, intense, and a bit obsessive in my opinion.  We went out at sunset and again at sunrise.  I highly recommend sunrise since it is much less crowded and easier to enjoy.

We then traveled to Delhi (Photo rows 13-14) where we spent Christmas at The Imperial (http://www.theimperialindia.com/), a wonderful art deco hotel from colonial times.  Delhi is organized chaos.  I know that is an oxymoron, but it seems to fit.  The masses of humanity, the dance that is traffic and pedestrian movements, the poverty, smog, and dirt all seems to work well; it is as it should be.  That chaos is at its zenith in the Old City, the market to Delhi's poorer inhabitants.  I say poor in a financial sense only.  It is alive, and vibrant, and smelly, and crowded.  We visited by rickshaw, which is the best way to cover the most ground.  A small side alley leads to the very odorifous Spice Market.  It is a step into another, older world. 

Off to Cochin in Kerala, which surprisingly has a large Christian population; protestants from Syria and Catholics from the Portuguese.  We went to an an Ayurvedic Retreat in Chamundi Hills (http://www.chamundihillpalace.org/default.htm) situated in a rubber plantation (Photo rows 15-16).  Ayurvedic treatments are derived from an ancient Indian tradition where toxins in your body are loosened and released.  We stayed for six days of rejuvenation.  I slept very deeply in a Banyan tree which supposedly has heeling powers.  

Our trip ended in Mumbai (Bombay) at New Years (Photo rows 17-18).  Mumbai is so very different from Delhi; cosmopolitan, more ordered, and higher energy. 

I look forward to returning one day.