Weekend Shenanigans: Palaces & Hipster Hangouts

Finally a free weekend in India! On my fifth trip to the country I committed to exploring Delhi beyond the tourist spots and getting OUT of the city for at least one full day. Friday night I caught up with my friend Aneesha and her colleague Surabi and ventured into Hauz Khas, the artsy, hipster, designer district in South Delhi. Aneesha suggested Tibetan food which I must say I knew little about, in my head I thought that I would clearly need to eat again as I pictured some highly evolved monk's diet arriving to the table. Boy was I wrong!!! Yeti had an endless menu, a dope bar, and some weird hiking gone wrong movie playing on the flat screens. Beyond the last detail the food was phenomenal. There are tons of after-dinner haunts in India's version of SoHo, we opted for Amour a rooftop patio lounge with great drinks and desserts. After indulging on a chocolate lava cake and a bailey's martini I thought "If this is Delhi Belly I'll have it every time!" After drinks the girls were a bit worn out, but jetlag on my side. We'd found a poster for a reggae/dubstep night in nearby Sajat market and I headed there. Zook, the nightclub was dope it definitely is for the non-mainstream crowd introducing me to "reggae rajahs" and Indian men with Jamaican accents. DJ's came in from the UK and France and there's a wall of hip-hop/alternative megastars that greets you at the door. I ended up staying until the place closed with a newly acquired friend from Cameroon by way of Germany (more on this in another post, wink wink).

Saturday began with "Zangoora" a mixed, medium musical showing at "Kingdom of Dreams", India's version of Broadway. It was sensory overload in every good sense of the phrase. The dances and music, especially the Punjabi inspired rhythms were phenomenal. Beyond that there was an interesting amount of mixed theatre and film being used, paired with the fact that all the songs were lip-synced (with fervor though!) it amounted to an entertaining if not weird experience at some points:) That evening we ventured out to Agni, the nightclub/restaurant at The Park New Delhi Boutique Hotel. This is where Delhi's hip fashionistas come to play. The DJ's plays a mix of hip hop, pop, electronic, and Indian tunes - I would put these dudes on tour any day. The Park also has a poolside bar called "Aqua" where you can do hookah and have cocktails as well. Aneesha and I outdid ourselves quickly befriending a group of Punjabi fellas, a hot British guy, and the DJ's too. If you're ever in Delhi on a Saturday night - get here! Be mindful, the party doesn't really get started until about 11:30PM and they can be a little picky at the door so have some rupees ready.

Opening Scene @ Zangoora

Leaving the club at 5:30AM you wouldn't have known that we were departing at 6 for Jaipur. But alas, I committed to getting out of the city so we quickly showered and hopped in our taxi for the day. A driver and car cost about 4,000 rupees (less than 100 bucks!) and gets you a decent, comfortable sedan and efficient service (w/ a few prods now and then). We headed out closer to 7am and reached Jaipur at about 11.Our first stop was the Amber Fort where we were greeted by some amazingly ornate elephants. Apparently there is an elephant "lodge" of sorts near the fort where the cities elephants are kept, we arrived at the beginning of their workday.

The driver insisted that we ride the elephant to the top of the fort, however elephants move just about as fast as a giant snail and at 102 degrees, my friend and I quickly opted out. We drove around the back of the palace and were amazed by even the scenery itself. Jaipur, also known as the "pink city", is surrounded by an amazing landscape of mountains, lakes, and beautiful earth tones. The state of Rajasthan translates to place of the kings and is dotted with the palaces and forts of India's pre-colonial empires.

Aneesha and I at the entrance to Amber Fort

The fort was AMAZING! I found myself daydreaming about life in a palace filled with jeweled inset walls, beautiful arches, and 3 public "entertainment" spaces. Here are some of my fave photos from the fort.

One could easily spend a full day exploring the nooks and crannies of the fort but with long work days ahead of us, Aneesha and I headed into "downtown" Jaipur to visit vegetarian/vegan hangout "LMB". A moonlighting "meatatarian" I was skeptical at first. A shopkeeper at the fort insisted we eat at the onsite restaurant for "1600 rupees" only (cue WTF face) but I went with Aneesha's advice and was not dissapointed. The place has a really chill vibe, there's a formal sit down restaurant side where we ate and a sweets and snacks shop that has an eggless bakery. Rajasthani cuisine is flavor-packed, cooked with all sorts of oils and gravies, these are not salad veggies. We went for the kidney beans, rice, mushrooms, peas, and gravy along with some mint naan. I think I just got hungry thinking about this. The service was excellent, they even accommodated my random craving for Atlanta style sweet tea!

Bellies full, we explored the surrounding market and I purchased more bangles than I care to admit here! We even caught a glimpse of the Hawa Mahal "Palace of the Breezes" where the special design allows wind to move through in specific patterns.

I've got a few more days left here until I takeoff for London. Happy Monday Good People!!!

Rickshaws, Angry Birds, and Fried Chicken?!

16 Million people have got to find a way to get around right? Enter the rickshaw, the man vs. pedal driven cousin of the taxicab. Arrival in Dhaka, Bangladesh was a serious initiation in green transportation 101. Now under attack from the government for their part in the "jams" of the city, activists are fighting for the survival of the rickshaw as the only zero emission vehicle in this growing South Asian "megacity".


Driving from Dhaka on the 11 hour journey to Ranjpur on the northwest side of the country I couldn't help but notice the vivid designs on each rickshaw and my mind eventually wandered to contemplating a "Pimp my Rickshaw" competition. There are even motorized rickshaws. I've seen them in India before but the Bangladeshi's have taken it to another level. Jokes aside, I do think a coffee table on the subject is due.

Arriving in Ranjpur was amazing, every cash crop known to man grew there from bananas to tobacco to sugercane, maize, wheat, rice, and more. It's amazing what better supply chains could do for the economy of the country. Technology goes a long way when applied directly and even small changes have huge benefits for farmers.

Going from village to village I met lots of people, mostly farmers but also teenagers headed to college, newlyweds, and mothers whose abandoned coop had their rural homes looking like the latest episode of "flip that house". By far my favorite person I met was Majid, a 10 year old boy who had the with and personality of a rockstar! Majid spoke a bit of interest and promptly interviewed me on the whereabouts of my mother and father, he introduced me to his entire family with his mom asking why I was 27 and husbandless (I let her know we'd need another week to explain lol).

Majid and I's new friendship was developed via Angry Birds! No one had ever seen an IPad and I soon was sharing the game with everyone. It was cool watching them do video and take photos but Angry Birds opened everyone up. They taught themselves quickly and soon surpassed my game levels. This was def the crowning moment!

Leaving Ranjpur (and Majid) was a bit sad, so many moments shared under the banana trees but back to Dhaka I went. I have a friend in Atlanta from Bangladesh that once told me that Bangladeshi's were the blacks of South Asia. Thus far I hadn't quite figured out what she meant and then I saw this:

 That's what she meant!

And with that I sign off until next time....ciao!

Sasyrae

If we organize...they can't ignore us



Lumbini Gate marking the road to Buddha's Birthplace



I write this with arms and legs so tight I can barely move - a slight exageration but I spent most of my day hiking up the steep hills of Nepal meeting with women in farm cooperative groups. Nepal is a small country in South Asia bordered by China and Tibet to the North and India to the south, it is also the birthplace of Buddha. This cultural mashup of Indian and Chinese culture is evident in the food, religion, ethnic makeup, and unfortunately the preservation of the caste system.






Me in front of the entrance to the women farmers co-op

 

The majority of the women in the co-ops are members of the Dalit class, the lowest members of a system that places poor (and often times brown) people in a permanent state of disadvantage within society These women have come together to find better ways to feed their families, send their children to school, earn an income, and prevent their daughters from beign married away as children as young as 10 years old, which was the case with one member a few years back. The co-op gives them a voice, one woman put it bluntly "If we organize, they can't ignore us". [This hit home as we reflect on the recent execution of Troy Davis and the need to ban the dealth penalty in the US but I digress]



An hour away from Tibet

Dalit woman near her field in the hills

All was not doom and gloom, my visit was amazingly refreshing. One member of the group, a girl of 13 named Jashaipuri and I hit it off. After interviewing her she and I did a mini-photo shoot which quickly reminded me of my days as a 13 year old. Eventually she proposed that my colleague and I kiss for the camera while balancing yellow flowers on our heads, I opted out of that shot but obliged her request for me to shoot up the peace sign in consequent photos.

Hospitality in Nepal takes priority and it was truly an amazing experience. I took special note of the fact that the young girls and women, especially took to me making sure to layer extra flowers on me during the welcoming ceremony. I was even gifted an authentic scarf! My colleague later explained that it isn't often that they see a woman so young (and brown) being addressed in such a manner. This made me especially proud, this life is not our own and you never know just who is looking to you for an example.

Right after an official Nepali welcome ceremony!