This morning gave my dry cleaning to the driver to drop off, along with a list of groceries to pick up (bread, eggs, yogurt, etc....). This afternoon gave the maid the material to sew the kids Halloween costumes.....
Gotta love it!! With this level of 'service' at my disposal..... I never want to come back!!!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
Priceless
4 Bagels from Au Bon Pain - 60 rupees ($1.30)
8 ounces of Philadelphia Cream Cheese Imported from Dubai - 400 Rupees ($8.80)
Bagels and Cream Cheese for breakfast..... PRICELESS
For most of you this may not seem like a big deal... but here in Bangalore... Bagels and Cream Cheese are hard to come by.... especially finding both at the same time!!
Now the kids have voted Fridays as Bagel mornings... This means I have to pick up the bagels on Thursday when I am at work... and we will keep our fingers crossed that we can continue to get cream cheese... even though it is over priced... it is well worth every bit!!!
8 ounces of Philadelphia Cream Cheese Imported from Dubai - 400 Rupees ($8.80)
Bagels and Cream Cheese for breakfast..... PRICELESS
For most of you this may not seem like a big deal... but here in Bangalore... Bagels and Cream Cheese are hard to come by.... especially finding both at the same time!!
Now the kids have voted Fridays as Bagel mornings... This means I have to pick up the bagels on Thursday when I am at work... and we will keep our fingers crossed that we can continue to get cream cheese... even though it is over priced... it is well worth every bit!!!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
The Trip... Summary...
The quick summary on the trip...
10 days, 6 cities, over 20 hours in the car, 12 hours in the train, about 6 hours on a plane.... and a whole lot of togetherness!!!
The key points....
- We realized that the kids were real TROOPERS!! They did an amazing job keeping up with all the running around.
- There is A LOT of history to see in India.... it is amazing. It really makes me proud to say that I am Indian!
- The kids loved hearing all the stories about the palaces and forts. Both Mira and Milan were amazed with the story from the Taj Mahal. They both were amazed to hear how the son turned on the rest of the family. Mira's comment 'couldn't they just talk it out and share the power' - a true peace maker. Milan's comment 'if anyone does that to me, I am just going to beat them up and shoot them' - a true confortationalist!
- In the car journeys we had some great dialogue with the kids. We learned that Boys start with B because boys are Bad. Girls start with G because girls are Good. Also, Boys go to Jupiter to get stupider, and Girls go to college to get more knowledge!!! The bonding time was great!
- Mira and I have tested the bladder capacity yet once again.... no public restrooms, no holes in the ground, and no train bathrooms!!!! SOOOO GLAD!!! Milan and Vim.... not so lucky!!
- Have experienced the irony of Delhi Belly in Delhi!!! Actually it started in Jaipur with Milan, then Agra with Vim and Mira and I were hit in Dehli. Milan has proven that he is definitely the biggest trooper when he was sick... it did not phase him and he did not skip a beat. Mira.... the other end of the spectrum...
- The kids have now experienced 5 star luxury hotels on this trip. At one place before we got there, Milan asked 'Mom, I hope this is a 5 star hotel'. I think that they have become 'hotel-snobs'!!!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Trip.... the continuation and finale!
I left off with Day 5.....
Day 5 morning took us on another road journey from Jodhpur to Jaisalmer which is in the 'Thar Dessert'.
We arrived to the hotel and quickly realized that the hotel was a huge let down coming from the luxury at the Taj Hotel..... We were disappointed... Thankfully only one night!!
The evening in Jaisalmer started with a camel ride into the dessert where we saw the sunset. It was really amazing...
Day 6 was touring of Jaisalmer which is also known as the 'golden city' because the stone that is local the area is golden in color. The big highlight was the fort and Haveli's. Day 6 wrapped up with the overnight Train Ride!!! I don't want to scare anyone... but it is far from 5 star... But, all in all, we survived and even managed to sleep a bit.
Day 7 started with the train arriving in Jaipur at 5am!! We were quickly met by our travel agent and car and quickly taken to our hotel. After a bit of rest... we were off sight seeing. We saw the Amber Fort, Jantar Mantar which is built around astronomy and Havwa Mahal. Jaipur is known as the 'Pink City'. Now, I thought that it was because the stone was pink... no, not that simple. The buildings are painted a 'pink' color.
Day 8 was yet another road trip from Jaipur to Agra. This was taking us to the well known Taj Mahal. Enroute we stopped at Fatehpur Sikri. This is the fort and palace for Akbar. He was the mughul king and grand-father to Shah Jahan (more about him below). We arrived at the hotel and we were fortunate to stay at a hotel where every room boasts a view of the Taj!! It was amazing.
Day 9 started with an early start with sunrise at the Taj Mahal. We had a tour guide that took the time to share all the details of the Taj. A brief summary for those of you that don't know the full story. The Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan the king of the Mughul Empire for his wife, Mamtaz. He had designed and built this palace to show is love for his favorite wife. Yes, he had many wives... the other ones did not get a momument in their honor! Mamtaz died while giving birth to their 14 child at the age of 38. At the time of her death, she had no idea that there would be such a grand palace built in her honor! It took over 20 years to build. Shortly after it was built, Shah Jahan's son Aurangzeb (one of 3) decided that he wanted his father's power. Instead of going about it diplomatically, he killed his brothers and their sons, and imprisoned his father in the Red Fort. Ironic, isn't it. Shah Jahan builds a palace for his wife to show his love, and his son kills his brothers and nephews and put him in jail for the desire of power.
The day wrapped up with a tour of the Red Fort and another road trip from Agra to Dehli.
Day 9 was also significant for few other reaons... it was Diwali (Hindu Celebration) and it was Vim's Birthday. Needless to say, this will always be a memorable birthday for Vim.
Day 10 At this point, the Patel family ran out of steam..... we were exhausted. The day started with a quick trip to Akshardam, the Swaminarayan temple, and then we quickly retreated back to the hotel for some relaxing. The day wrapped up with another journey.... the last and final one. It took us from Dehli back to Bangalore!!! PHWEW!!!
Day 5 morning took us on another road journey from Jodhpur to Jaisalmer which is in the 'Thar Dessert'.
We arrived to the hotel and quickly realized that the hotel was a huge let down coming from the luxury at the Taj Hotel..... We were disappointed... Thankfully only one night!!
The evening in Jaisalmer started with a camel ride into the dessert where we saw the sunset. It was really amazing...
Day 6 was touring of Jaisalmer which is also known as the 'golden city' because the stone that is local the area is golden in color. The big highlight was the fort and Haveli's. Day 6 wrapped up with the overnight Train Ride!!! I don't want to scare anyone... but it is far from 5 star... But, all in all, we survived and even managed to sleep a bit.
Day 7 started with the train arriving in Jaipur at 5am!! We were quickly met by our travel agent and car and quickly taken to our hotel. After a bit of rest... we were off sight seeing. We saw the Amber Fort, Jantar Mantar which is built around astronomy and Havwa Mahal. Jaipur is known as the 'Pink City'. Now, I thought that it was because the stone was pink... no, not that simple. The buildings are painted a 'pink' color.
Day 8 was yet another road trip from Jaipur to Agra. This was taking us to the well known Taj Mahal. Enroute we stopped at Fatehpur Sikri. This is the fort and palace for Akbar. He was the mughul king and grand-father to Shah Jahan (more about him below). We arrived at the hotel and we were fortunate to stay at a hotel where every room boasts a view of the Taj!! It was amazing.
Day 9 started with an early start with sunrise at the Taj Mahal. We had a tour guide that took the time to share all the details of the Taj. A brief summary for those of you that don't know the full story. The Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan the king of the Mughul Empire for his wife, Mamtaz. He had designed and built this palace to show is love for his favorite wife. Yes, he had many wives... the other ones did not get a momument in their honor! Mamtaz died while giving birth to their 14 child at the age of 38. At the time of her death, she had no idea that there would be such a grand palace built in her honor! It took over 20 years to build. Shortly after it was built, Shah Jahan's son Aurangzeb (one of 3) decided that he wanted his father's power. Instead of going about it diplomatically, he killed his brothers and their sons, and imprisoned his father in the Red Fort. Ironic, isn't it. Shah Jahan builds a palace for his wife to show his love, and his son kills his brothers and nephews and put him in jail for the desire of power.
The day wrapped up with a tour of the Red Fort and another road trip from Agra to Dehli.
Day 9 was also significant for few other reaons... it was Diwali (Hindu Celebration) and it was Vim's Birthday. Needless to say, this will always be a memorable birthday for Vim.
Day 10 At this point, the Patel family ran out of steam..... we were exhausted. The day started with a quick trip to Akshardam, the Swaminarayan temple, and then we quickly retreated back to the hotel for some relaxing. The day wrapped up with another journey.... the last and final one. It took us from Dehli back to Bangalore!!! PHWEW!!!
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| Camel Ride is Jaisalmer |
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| Dessert Sunset |
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| Fort in Jaisalmer |
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| The Havelis in Jaisalmer |
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| Jaipur - Hawva Maha |
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| Sundial at Jantar Mantar |
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| Amber Fort in Jaipur |
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| Jaipur City Palace |
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| Fatehpur Sikri |
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| The TAJ MAHAL!! |
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| The Red Fort |
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| Arches at Red Fort |
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| A View from Red Fort |
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| Dehli India Gate |
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Happy Diwali!!
Wishing all of you a very Happy Diwali! May the New Year be filled with the best of everything!!
We celebrated Diwali in Dehli. We saw fireworks from our hotel room! It was wonderful to see how it is celebrated here! However, we did realize that Diwali is just not the same when you don't have your family near by!!
Hope you all enjoyed!!
We celebrated Diwali in Dehli. We saw fireworks from our hotel room! It was wonderful to see how it is celebrated here! However, we did realize that Diwali is just not the same when you don't have your family near by!!
Hope you all enjoyed!!
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Jodhpur - the City Tour
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| Mehrangarh Fort |
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| Jaswanth Thada |
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| Inside Jaswanth Thada |
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| A view of the Fort from the Thada |
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| The Blue City |
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| The Clock Tower |
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| Inside the Fort |
The others were the Mehnragarh Fort, which was the old palace for the royal family before Umaid Bhavan was built, and the Jaswanth Thada, which is the area for cremations for the the royal family.
From the Fort you can see pictures of 'the Blue City'. The city is called the blue city because the houses were painted blue. The blue color is known to repel bugs, and keep the houses cool.
So the city tour was all on Day 4....
Day 5 took us on the road trip from Jodhpur to Jaisalmer....
The Trip - Jodhpur - Hotel
OK, in the last post I left of with day 3.
Day 3 took us to Jodhpur to the Umaid Bhavan Palace. The hotel that runs inside the palace is the Taj hotel. There is still the royal family that lives in the other side of the hotel. This Taj property is what they call their 'luxury' service, and let me tell you.... it was ALL THAT.... AND MORE!!!
The best was having our own butler, Sikander. He was at our service... I can not say enough about the great things that he did for us... from bringing us coffee and tea in the morning, to running the bath for the kids, to packing us a lunch box for the road trips, to just being around when we needed him... it was GREAT!!!
So, this post is dedicated to Umaid Bhavan Hotel and Sikander.
Umaid Bhavan Palace is high above the desert capital of Jodhpur, Umaid Bhavan Palace is the last of the great palaces of India and one of the largest residents in the world, on 26 acres. Umaid Bhavan was built between 1928 and 1942 for H. H. Maharaja Umaid Singh, the grandfather of the present Maharaja of Jodhpur. It was constructed by to replace the Mehrangarh Fort, give people of that period employment during the great drought and famine. The palace is built with influence of Hindu and Buddhist architecture, exterior inspired by the holy temple of Angkor Wat and Borobudur; whilst the interior followed the layout of an Indian palace, with the ‘mardana’ – Gentlemen’s wing to the North and the ‘zenana’ – the private Ladies wing, to the South.
The room that we had was 1100 sq ft!! Yes... !!! It was HUGE!!! It apparently was previously the room of the king before the royal family moved to the other side of the palace....
As soon as we left, the kids kept asking when we were coming back... this is definitely one place they want to come back too!!
So, Sikander really made a lasting impression on the kids.... Milan proposed to the family that he would now become our butler. He started opening doors for us and opening our napkins on our laps when we sat for our meals (very cute!!). He also said, 'When I grow up, I want to be a Butler!'
The Taj explained to us, that in the days of the Maharaja, these things were taken for granted, and for them at the Umaid Bhavan Palace they still believe ‘Atithi devo Bhava’ – The Guest Is GOD. Cut a long story short…..it was our time to live an episode experience of ‘Fresh Prince of Bell Air’. Can you guess who was who in which role?
As we were leaving the hotel, the full staff came to see us off as we entered the car and made sure that we were OK. It really was touching, in just 2 nights, we got really attached to the Sikander and the rest of the staff
So check out the pics and you will see the place that definitely has made a lasting impression!!!
Day 3 took us to Jodhpur to the Umaid Bhavan Palace. The hotel that runs inside the palace is the Taj hotel. There is still the royal family that lives in the other side of the hotel. This Taj property is what they call their 'luxury' service, and let me tell you.... it was ALL THAT.... AND MORE!!!
The best was having our own butler, Sikander. He was at our service... I can not say enough about the great things that he did for us... from bringing us coffee and tea in the morning, to running the bath for the kids, to packing us a lunch box for the road trips, to just being around when we needed him... it was GREAT!!!
So, this post is dedicated to Umaid Bhavan Hotel and Sikander.
Umaid Bhavan Palace is high above the desert capital of Jodhpur, Umaid Bhavan Palace is the last of the great palaces of India and one of the largest residents in the world, on 26 acres. Umaid Bhavan was built between 1928 and 1942 for H. H. Maharaja Umaid Singh, the grandfather of the present Maharaja of Jodhpur. It was constructed by to replace the Mehrangarh Fort, give people of that period employment during the great drought and famine. The palace is built with influence of Hindu and Buddhist architecture, exterior inspired by the holy temple of Angkor Wat and Borobudur; whilst the interior followed the layout of an Indian palace, with the ‘mardana’ – Gentlemen’s wing to the North and the ‘zenana’ – the private Ladies wing, to the South.
The room that we had was 1100 sq ft!! Yes... !!! It was HUGE!!! It apparently was previously the room of the king before the royal family moved to the other side of the palace....
As soon as we left, the kids kept asking when we were coming back... this is definitely one place they want to come back too!!
So, Sikander really made a lasting impression on the kids.... Milan proposed to the family that he would now become our butler. He started opening doors for us and opening our napkins on our laps when we sat for our meals (very cute!!). He also said, 'When I grow up, I want to be a Butler!'
The Taj explained to us, that in the days of the Maharaja, these things were taken for granted, and for them at the Umaid Bhavan Palace they still believe ‘Atithi devo Bhava’ – The Guest Is GOD. Cut a long story short…..it was our time to live an episode experience of ‘Fresh Prince of Bell Air’. Can you guess who was who in which role?
As we were leaving the hotel, the full staff came to see us off as we entered the car and made sure that we were OK. It really was touching, in just 2 nights, we got really attached to the Sikander and the rest of the staff
So check out the pics and you will see the place that definitely has made a lasting impression!!!
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| The welcome at the Umaid Bhavan Hotel |
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| The unforgettable Sikander |
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| The Maharani Suite - Bedroom |
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| The sitting area |
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| Sikander at our service!! |
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| A full view of our hotel |
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| Back of the Hotel |
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| The hotel gardens |
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| Hotel courtyard |
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| Peacocks that joined us for breakfast |
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| Sikander running the bath for the kids!! |
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| Awwww |
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| A view of our hotel (the Palace) from the Fort |
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| Dancers in the Hotel Lobby |
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