Magical Udaipur

We arrived to Udaipur in the evening and had dinner at the City Palace.

Wildlife.

This was the first time we managed to walk around and explore. So far it has been impossible and life threatening.

City Palace.

Wildlife.

Lunch at a lovely healthy and allergy-aware little restaurant. They even did gluten-free chapatis!

Udaipur is very colourful with paintings like this on the walls all over town.

Wildlife 🙂

City Palace.

Lake Palace at night.

Tonight’s dinner. Starters – chicken tikka, tandoori stuffed potato and spinach-chickpea kebab.

A good selection of mains (smoked mutton curry, stuffed tomato masala, vegetable jalfrezi, mushroom and pea curry, sun dried split green lentil dumplings with potatoes).

Gulub Jamun with ice cream – yum.

Old Delhi – an assault on the senses

If you want to experience a traditional bustling Asian city, it doesn’t get much more authentic then Delhi.

It was one of the most bizarre experiences we’ve had in India so far. We spent 4 hours in traffic to get from Gurgaon to pick up Jason and head to Old Delhi where we scheduled a street food tour. But that was just the beginning…

Crazy Old Delhi.

First stop – Aloo Tikki (fried potato and pea patties)

Some bizarre fruit called kiwi (?!) Wasn’t safe to try though.

Jalebi – deep fried doughnut-like spiral soaked in sugar sirup. So sweet I felt sick for a while. Don’t think I’ll be having that ever again!

Pea samosas.

Gurudwara – a Sikh temple during service.

Looking ridiculous but respectful.

At the Sikh temple they provide a free meal to everyone who attends the service. They feed more then 15000 people every day! The chapati makers are a well oiled machine 🙂

Burfi, David’s favourite Indian sweet.

Crazy Old Delhi.

Spice market. Supposed to be the biggest in Asia but I thought that was a slight exaggeration.

Last stop – mutton korma (has nothing to do with the English idea of a korma) and mutton kebabs.

At this point we were already an hour later then planned and were sure we’re missing our afternoon flight to Udaipur. By some miracle and the shortest car journey of all week we just caught it and started a new adventure in Udaipur – city of lakes…

Jaipur and Agra

After the day with the elephants we spent a few days sightseeing in Jaipur and Agra.

Amber Fort in Jaipur.

Amber Fort.

The view.

Jantar Mantar observatory.

Traffic.

The only time we got bullied into taking a guide was at Fatehpur Sikri, an ancient city 40km west of Agra. He insisted on some incredibly touristy pics but this one I quite liked.

Agra Fort.

The view of the Taj in the distance.

At Agra Fort.

The Taj Mahal.

Looking from the Taj towards the entrance.

Wildlife.

Akbar’s Mausoleum.

Elefantastic!

David loves animals and wildlife so today we spent the day on an elephant farm near Jaipur. When we arrived we were given a lovely 28 year old lady elephant (elephantess?) and spent a while getting to know her and feeding her millet plant bundles. Then came the painting (we are not at all artistic), washing and a ride. Of course while we were riding, the sky opened up and we were completely drenched so no pictures of that part.

They helped with the outline and we coloured it.

David was a bit more artistic.

We gave her a a good scrub.

David needed a wash too 🙂

We both ganged up on him.

We had an amazing day!

First day in India

Last night we started our Indian adventure. We managed to get a good deal with BA Premium Economy which made the flight more comfortable then usual. We were also lucky with food, curry for dinner and breakfast, was great.

Cheers!

Dinner in the sky.

We must admit, for a first-timer, India is really overwhelming. Hot, humid, sticky, loud and crowded are definitely the first impressions. Not to mention cows, goats, pigs, camels and elephants walking on the motorway.

Thank you to Subhash Gubta (one of the top Indian bridge players) for meeting us at the airport and helping us with the arrangements.

Our first stop is Jaipur where we are staying for three days.

Tonight we had our first meal in India. We went for a safe option of a “Trip Advisor approved” slightly touristy but extremely charming Peacock rooftop restaurant not far from our hotel.

Hungry David.

It was the best Indian meal we have ever had. We went vegetarian (as we probably will for most of our stay here) and ordered a Chana Masala (chickpea curry), a Kadhai Paneer (Indian cheese with tomato and onion gravy and peppers), a Mushroom Matar (mushroom and pea curry) and a Tandoori Fish Tikka Masala. The clarity and intensity of all dishes was superb and we are going to sleep two happy, well fed people.

Marusa insisted it was too much food but David wouldn’t listen.

We almost managed the whole lot!

Our ride back to the hotel.

On our way to India

Waiting for our flight at Heathrow T5.

With the Bermuda Bowl starting in Chennai in a little over a week, Marusa and I are going to India early to see some sights and enjoy some local food and culture.

We are planning to visit Delhi, Jaipur and Agra on our own and in a few days our friend Jason Hackett is joining us for a food tour in Delhi and a few days in Udaipur.

During the competition, Marusa will try and update the blog every day with pictures, news, results and interesting bridge hands.

With the current scandals ripping through our precious bridge world, hopefully we can have a nice clean tournament.

Of course as always I look forward to competing and to seeing my friends from around the World!