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Merry Christmas!

Monday, December 25th, 2006

Cara making Christmas Chapati

We did not wake up at the crack of dawn to see if Santa came. We did not have a decorated pine tree overflowing with presents to open. We did not have cookies, pie, or bismarks. We did not have family to spend it with.

Staying in our hotel room until after noon with breakfast and pots of coffee served to us in our room was a nice change though. After we emerged, our host “family” that we’ve been staying with for the past week tried to make our Christmas as special as they could. We spent the afternoon preparing Christmas dinner with Farida and watching TV with her sons Faisal and Danish. In the evening, we feasted on Mutton Korma with Green Chickpeas, Vegetable Masala, Salad, Rice, Chapati, Gulab Jamun, and Chocolate Balls, all of the ingredients bought freshly that day at the markets. After dinner, the entire family curled up on the floor to watch the James Bond film Octopussy which was filmed in the area (one of the two English movies available – the other is Titanic). We stayed inside their home all day and felt like it was almost ours for the day.

Udaipur

Friday, December 22nd, 2006

View from our room Entrance to our hotel

We’ve been in Udaipur in the south of Rajasthan for three days now, and decided to stick around until after christmas.

We’re settled in a lovely guest house, where we feel more at home than we have anywhere in the past 2+ months. Last night we ate aloo gobi with the family on their bed, and tonight is mutton korma. The view of the lake palace (the centerpiece of udaipur) is beautiful, the room is quiet and clean (enough), and our hosts are some of the friendliest people you’re likely to meet. Back to our place for chai making lessons, we’ll post our findings soon.

Traffic

Friday, December 22nd, 2006
Anyone who likes playing racing games would probably enjoy driving in Indiai. Here are some valid driving techniques demonstrated by our various rickshaw drivers: Driving on the wrong side of the road Driving the wrong way down a 1 way street Ignoring red lights Fitting ... [Continue reading this entry]

Who is the Elephant?

Wednesday, December 20th, 2006
cara and chai for jj Despite a good amount of western tourists in India, the immense local population insures that we are ... [Continue reading this entry]

45 Rupees is $1 US

Sunday, December 17th, 2006
Taj Mahal Today's expenses: 4 Rupees - cup of yummy chai (tea steeped in milk with lots of sugar) 10 Rupees - bottle of mineral water 25 Rupees - basic Thali (rice, bread, daal, curry, ... [Continue reading this entry]

A Feast for the Senses

Saturday, December 16th, 2006
Cow and Chaos Mosque courtyard First impressions of Delhi/India: * Dingy, sparse airport * Persistent and dodgy touts * Zoo of taxis and more ... [Continue reading this entry]