Memorable Anniversary

Calamari

Pomfret

Didn't Buy Here - but lots of Gold

Crab in Chili Pepper Butter Sauce

Clever Use of Re-Cycled Bottles at Art Show

Yesterday was spent traveling from Devi Gahr to Udaipur so there was really nothing to Blog about. It is a short ride less than an hour. Before we left, we met Ahktar our guide. He gave us some gifts (Shumon will be glad to hear he gave us a turban, you can show us how to wind it). Nancie had asked me to pick up some toe rings, so Ahktar and I hopped on a motorcycle and drove to the silversmith. We drove back thru the village and then sadly Cathy and I left our Palace and adjacent village. I can’t image a more perfect way to really experience India, or at least experience it the way we like to – then to stay in Palace and be able to walk to a real Indian village. It comes with a sense of obligation to assist the people of the village. We made a generous contribution their school, and will continue to help them. They all were wonderful.

We drove to Udaipur, we were too early to catch our plane, so we did some shopping. Finally we arrived at the airport, cleared security and waited for our flight. And then we waited for our flight some more. And then we continued to wait, as the flight kept getting delayed, due to fog in Delhi.

Eventually we arrived at Mumbai Airport and the chaos ensued. It was a sea of humanity. There are lots of young men, pushing and shoving trying to get you a taxi or load your luggage, even when we don’t want them to. Our driver stopped, and one of the guys started loading someone else’s luggage in to the trunk of our car. We finally exited the airport and headed for the Taj Palace. This is the height of wedding season in India, and everywhere there are huge wedding celebrations. To avoid the congestion on Marine Drive, our driver drove thru the back streets of Bombay. It is amazing. After 11pm, no one obeys red lights, and everyone just drives madly everywhere, horns blazing.

We finally arrived at the Taj 5 hours late, at midnight. We were supposed to have the same fabulous suite that we had last year when we stayed at the Taj. When they showed us the suite, we were to stay in, it was then 1pm. It wasn’t the same suite and although it was very nice indeed, it wasn’t the same. I stated to the receptionist that we were supposed to have the other room, but to no avail. We were hot, sticky, hungry, tired, exhausted and not up for a fight, so we accepted the suite, ordered some Thai food and wine and finally went to sleep.

When I awoke in the morning, the more I thought about it, the more upset I got. I guess the lessons of the previous week with the Dali Lama, hadn’t quite set in. But he did say you should try to work things out before accepting them. So in the morning, I went down and talked to the people at registration. The apologized and said I was correct, we shouldn’t have been given the room we were in. They would move our bags to a better room at noon. I felt vindicated, soon to feel, elated. When we retuned to the hotel after, some shopping and a great lunch at Indigo (the food was as good as Lucque), they said our room was ready.

The butler took us to our suite. They put us in the Bell Tower Suite (which is also used for heads of state)!  They knew it was our anniversary and decorated it with hearts. This is a huge suite, the dining room  and living room are bigger then ours at home. It covers two floors, rather like a house. It is the only suite in the hotel that has been restored to exactly the way it was before the terrorists took over and the subsequent fire. Take a look at the two videos below.

1st Floor

2cd Floor

We are completely blown away. It is so expansive and over the top (for example it has 7 phones in it), that we were literally giggling.

Some more shopping in the afternoon, followed by a drink poolside. We then read, and finally went out for a late dinner at Trishna, our favorite restaurant in Mumbai. The seafood there is fantastic, Crab, Calamari, Pomfret all delicious. We walked thru an art fair, then returned to the Taj, for a nightcap, then headed up to bed. It was a memorable anniversary.