Sunday, May 21, 2017

Namashkar India (Part 10: Delhi, You Crazy!)

So now, we have come to the end of our journey in India.

It's Delhi time!

It took almost 13 hours to travel from Jodhpur to Delhi. And we arrived in Delhi around 11 am that day.

Delhi Train Station in the Old Delhi

Once we reached the train station, the first thing to do is to find place/locker to keep our bags. Unfortunately, we can't keep our bags in the locker at the train station like we usually do because we don't have any upcoming tickets anymore.

So, we have to find locker service in Delhi for that purpose. Then we both started searching for the locker in the internet and thank God we found a place near the city to keep our bags.

And luckily we found out that there is luggage room run by Ajay's Place in Paharganj so from the train station, we took auto and headed there to keep our bags there while we explore Delhi that day.

FYI, we have flight on that day at 12 am so we really don't have much time left in Delhi.

Along the way from the train station to the luggage room, we observed there were so many stalls opening by the side of the roads and there were so many people cooking like they were preparing for some festivities. We would like to ask the auto drivers but then we just keep the questions to ourselves.

I thought it was normal in Delhi at first.

So when we arrived in the luggage room, we placed our bags there and pay for the fees. If I'm not mistaken, the fees are Rs 20 per bag per day. So for us, it's only Rs 40 since we only have 2 bags with us and you have to pay a deposit of Rs 20 or so...I can't remember.

After making sure that our bags are safely kept in the room, we then headed for our next adventure. Actually, prior to our journey to Delhi, Farah has contacted Kak Siti, who is a Malaysian traveler that has spend most of her time in India and Pakistan. And if I'm not mistaken, during our trip to India, she has been in Delhi for almost a month, or more! She has agreed to meet us in Delhi for lunch so from Paharganj, we then headed to Connaught Place to meet her.

Since the traffic was quite heavy, and we don't have much time to get ourselves stuck in a traffic jam, we then decided that it's better for us to just take the metro anyways. From Paharganj, the nearest metro station was 10 minutes away by walking and with the guidance from the from Ajay's Place, we walked to the metro station.

Oh, fun fact! You know, after finishing this trip, I have fallen madly in love with India that I started reading books about the country and I found this one book in BBW describing the red light district in Delhi and you know where it's located? Exactly the other side of the Paharganj area! I know I shouldn't be excited but I am! It was the oldest red light district area in Delhi and it was dying anyways. However, I didn't caught any side of the women who worked there, or maybe if I did, I wouldn't know anyways. Maybe if you ever come to visit Delhi, you may take a walk there.

Okay, back to our journey. So after some time, we arrived in Connaught Place. If I'm not mistaken, we only need to stop two stations away from Paharganj metro station, then change line to another station before arriving in Connaught Place.

In Connaught Place, we met Kak Siti at a coffee shop as promised. Yey! (Sorry, I couldn't find any pictures of Kak Siti)

So for you who didn't know (I don't!), this Kak Siti is so soft spoken and very demure. Guess looks can be really deceiving! Who would have thought such a demure lady like her have been going around the globe travelling by herself!

At first, we decided to eat at Nando's since it's near and we were starving anyways. But then, Kak Siti suggested we tried this new restaurant in Delhi that is famous for its delicious dishes as it was told that the recipes were all originally coming from the head chef who has served Shah Jahan during his era.

We're thrilled! The name of the restaurant is Karim's. You may found the restaurant near Jama Masjid area.

I think this is the Jama Masjid...or not?
So, we then decided to take a rickshaw to the Jama Masjid area for the food hunt.

The traffic here in Delhi was crazy during this time especially with all those stalls (as mentioned earlier) was starting to operate.

We have to walk for about 10 minutes or so before reaching the restaurant. And there were hundreds of people there since we have to go across bazaar selling preloved items and clothes. I was afraid that I would lost track of Kak Siti and Farah since I was at the back but thank God, we managed.

Haha drama kan.

By the way, the food in Karim's still can't beat Sha Chicken Hut of Varanasi. Best food ever! But you may want to try eating here cause, why not?

So, after eating, we went for saree hunting! Yasss, people say sarees in Delhi is prettier and of different style from Varanasi. So we ride on another rickshaw and went to the famous Chandni Chowk to buy some more sarees.


Bhai sab tempting us with beautiful sarees
Okay, the price here is definitely a lot more expensive compared to Varanasi, but they have more designs and patterns. In Varanasi, the sarees are not as shiny but more subtle and the designs were of floral and not accessorized as much as the ones in Delhi.

But, expensive or not, we did swiped our cards here! Haha

It was almost 6 pm after we finished buying sarees and all, and we decided to go hunting for souvenirs to give to people back home but unfortunately, most shops that we went to are closed or too expensive for us.

Then we decided that we should just go back to Paharganj since Kak Siti said that there were a lot of souvenirs shops in Paharganj too.

And tell you what, when asked around for autos to take us to Paharganj, most of them refused to take us there. Masalahnya, bukan satu dua je tau yang taknak bawak kitorang, ada lah dalam 3-4 auto drivers yang geleng kepala when we said "Paharganj?"

After some time, baru kitorang jumpa yang sudi bawak. Itu pun dia bawak half way. We have to walk about 10 minutes to go to Paharganj.

You know why? Remember the stalls and everything? Rupanya memang ada festivals! It was some kind of Sikhs festival celebrating their gurus so most of the roads were closed no wonder lah those drivers refused to take us there.

Tapi I don't know lah kan, from my observation, these Indians kan they were so cool when they got stuck in the traffic jams. Probably because they have already anticipated that they were going to be stuck in jam (sebab tak keluar earlier) but they just tutup engine and keluar kereta bersembang dengan orang sebelah, some just tidur dalam kereta.

Crazy traffics!
So along the way, we got to see perarakan with decorated cars, ada pertunjukan lawan pedang, and they gave us free food too!


Decorated car with Sikhs gurus inside (I think)

Pertunjukan main pedang

Perarakan naik kuda pun ada!

But, despite all these people flooding the road in Paharganj, we still managed to do our mission to shop for souvenirs!

Okay, I don't have pictures for this, but you know what, we went to this one shop selling jewelries macam Lovisa tu but it was so freaking big! Faham tak every level is for different accessories? They have this one whole level selling only earrings and the next level for bangles, the next are for necklaces. It was crazy and I really couldn't help myself but to shop for a lot of things there! Dah lah murah!

Lepas tu kalau you guys nak cari capal kulit ke, kasut ke, boleh lah beli kat area sini. Banyak kedai jual. Also kat sini jugak we bought keychains murah like 10 pieces for Rs 100 (RM7) so apa lagi kan, borong lah! Hahaha.

Stall giving out foods (manisan) and drinks to visitors

Paharganj at night

So around 9 plus, we went to pick up our bags and then head to the airport and we did say thank you and big goodbye to Kak Siti sebab sudi luangkan masa siap ikut kitorang shopping sarees and souvenirs padahal original plan is for her to have lunch with us je! So baik.

Waktu nak pergi airport ni, we decided to take metro je sebab kalau naik uber or taxi confirm tak sampai sebab jam gilo lepas tu time beli token for metro tu, I yang kena pergi beli tau. Okay, I ni manusia paling lembab bab setelkan hal train, LRT, MRT, Metro and all so I tersalah beli token tau. Sepatutnya boleh je beli token straight ke airport tapi sebab I stupid kan, I beli untuk pergi satu station je.

LOL.

So, kat station baru tu, kena lah beli baru and kena keluar masuk balik dah lah lupa which token is for which. Sabor je lah Farah dengan I time tu. Hahaha.

Lepas tu, from the metro station tu, we have to go to Terminal 3 if I'm not mistaken and bila sampai sana, we were greeted by some kind of valet yang akan uruskan our bags meaning we don't have to usung beg berat all the way from the metro sampai lah depat departure hall untuk check in tu. And the service is cheap kalau tak silap I only Rs 400 kot so apa lagi kan badan dah sakit, orang offer nak bawakkan barang kitorang pun ambik je lah service ni. Seriously very convenient so if korang gi sana and jumpa service ni, ambik je okay. Senang.

Also, worth to note that dekat Delhi airport ni, hanya orang with tickets je boleh masuk dalam Departure area as in kat tempat you guys nak check in tu. Bukan masuk dalam hall tu. So kalau you takde boarding pass, you duduk lah kat luar tu nanti guard tak bagi masuk dalam so awas ye sila make sure you have boarding pass or tickets siap siap.

And since we were super hungry and kat dalam airport tu takde makanan halal, so kitorang pun pergi lah makan McD since McD kat sana ada untuk vegetarian kan. Farah went for fish fillet while I makan Spicy McDeluxe versi cheese. Hahaha sedap lah jugak even rasa aneh sikit sebab dah biasa makan ayam kan.

So, after settle everything, kitorang pun berangkat dengan hati yang berat dan kembali ke Kuala Lumpur.

Overall, India trip ni memang best gila. I did not regret a single thing pun going to this trip. Faham tak tempat ni best yang teramat? It was like a soul searching experience for me. Also, sebab I dapat partner travel yang best and cool so that's why lah kot trip ni jadi makin best. So, nasihat I, kalau you nak pergi India ni, make sure you mentally prepared and make sure your travel partner pun jenis yang sekepala jugak. Kalau tak, nasib lah nak.

So, I guess, this is goodbye. Lama I contemplate to finish writing about my India experience sebab I taknak say goodbye but I guess this is a closure. I still go through the pictures and keep posting it in my Instagram sebab memang banyak gila gambar cantik. India is really a very beautiful country. Kalau ada rezeki, pergi lah. Serius tak menyesal.

Okay, till next time. Have fun in whatever you do peeps!

And byeeeeee INDIA! YOU'VE BEEN SUPER GREAT TO ME!






Namashkar India (Part 1: Preparation)
Namashkar India (Part 2: Kolkata Here We Come!)
Namashkar India (Part 3: Mystical Varanasi)
Namashkar India (Part 4: Magical Varanasi)
Namashkar India (Part 5: Agra, The City of Love)
Namashkar India (Part 6: A Night Under The Sky, Jaisalmer)
Namashkar India (Part 7: A Night Under The Stars, Jaisalmer)
Namashkar India (Part 8: Starry Starry Night)
Namashkar India (Part 9: Majestic Fort)
Namashkar India (Part 10: Delhi, You Crazy!)

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Namashkar India (Part 9: Majestic Fort)

Like I've told you in the previous post, we were going to Jodhpur by bus. So lepas makan sedap sedap, one of the staffs from Abu Safari then took us to the bus station and he even made sure that we get to our seat safely.

And the price he charged for sending to the bus station in town? NONE. FREE OF CHARGE!

One thing about the bus, in my case, tiket kitorang tu takde tulis pun seat kitorang nombor berapa. So, bila kitorang naik bus tu, the driver looked at us, and asked us where we want to sit? And since we're both girls, he advised us to sit in front, like the first seat just behind his. For protection. And I'm like, awhhh thank you!

I told you, I was really grateful for the trip. Banyak jumpa orang baik baik okay.

Oh just FYI, bus yang kitorang naik ni offered beds too. So, kalau perjalanan jauh and taknak duduk lama lama takut sakit belakang, you can buy bus tickets for beds, different price lah of course. I think the price is twice the price of our seats. I can't really remember.

After dah settle with everything, bus pun memulakan perjalanan at around 3.30 pm or so. Destinasi, Jodhpur. The journey supposedly took around 5 hours plus. Well, ideal case lah.

Eh, sebelum apa apa, let me make it clear, bus yang kitorang naik ni memang lah murah, sebab dia TAKDE AIRCOND! So, kena lah bukak tingkap kalau nak angin, or kalau tak nak angin pun boleh, tutup je lah tingkap tu kan. Also, bus ni bukan macam tipikal bus express yang you naik dekat TBS tu okeh? Bus ni macam bus lompat lompat, maksudnya dia akan berhenti sepanjang jalan and there always be people yang turun naik bus tu ALL THE TIME. Jadi, mohon bertabah lah ye.

Tapi seriously, kalau korang jenis semput or tak tahan habuk, better jangan naik bus. Pergi lah naik flight ke, or naik train ke sebab serious habuk dia teruk gilaaaaa and banyak gilaa kena tutup muka dengan tudung okay or better, pakai mask lah kalau dah desperate tu.

Sepanjang perjalanan, kitorang disajikan dengan pemandangan padang pasir, pekan pekan kecil, dan juga tanah lapang. Interesting thing is, we actually saw a few kereta kebal on the road. A FEW okay, so maknanya bukan satu je. Tetibe rasa macam dalam war zone which is quite thrilling tapi macam takut pun ada jugak lah.

Well, like I said before, this is because, Jaisalmer is very near to the border between India and Pakistan, that's why lah it looks like military zone.

Since perjalanan masih jauh, we both sempat lah tertidur kan. After some time, bus berhenti kat satu station minyak ni and it was almost 9 pm waktu tu. Then (thank God) Farah asked around about where was our location and then we were told that we have already arrived in Jodhpur!

Yeay!

But, tahu tak kalau kitorang tak terjaga, and Farah tak tanya orang kan, kitorang maybe akan terlajak sampai ke Jaipur! Tahu tak sebab apa? Kitorang ingat kan final destination for the bus was Jodhpur, but we were not told that actually the bus was going to Jaipur too! Nasib baik laah kalau kitorang buta buta je percaya yang final destination kat Jodhpur tapi lepas tu bus berhenti kat Jaipur tak ke naya namanya?

But Alhamdulillah, all is well.

So, we unload our bags from the bus and guess what? Bag kitorang BERHABUK GILAA! My bag yang warna merah tu dah jadi warna kelabu dah punya lah banyak debu yang dia kumpul!

Puas gak lah ketuk ketuk bag tu nak bagi hilang habuk.

After that, kitorang pun pergi cari autorickshaw untuk pergi ke our homestay which is the KK Family Homestay.

The thing is, Farah called the homestay owner and asked about the usual price from Jodhpur town to the homestay and it was around Rs 80, but when we asked all the autos, they cited price at Rs 200! Mahal gila okay, sama mahal dengan harga tiket bus kitorang!

So we agree to refused the autos and started looking for another autos. We tried for Uber too, but to no avail. But there's this one rickshaw driver who insisted that the cheapest he can gave us is Rs 150 and still we don't agree.

It was almost 9.30 pm, and we still haven't found our auto and there were a bunch of guys started cat calling us. Time tu I dah cuak dah terus teringat semua rape cases and all okay sorry jahat tapi serius I dah takut time tu.

The auto driver keep coming back to us and he finally agree for the fees to the homestay to be Rs 120. Itu pun lepas we made him talk to the homestay owner! Hahaha faham tak kitorang pun time tu sebenarnya dah takde duit sangat, that's why lah kena berkeras.

So, we took the auto and went to the homestay. Sampai je at the homestay, our host, Kuku has waited for us outside the house.

He then did talked to the driver, and told us, that Rs 120 was too cheap because our location was actually very far from the homestay but we really don't care sebab tengah cheapskate and just paid the auto driver Rs 120, as promised! LOL

So sampai je kat bilik, Kuku showed us our room and asked us to settle the payment tomorrow as it was very late at night and we should get our rest first.

But before that, kitorang sempat lah demand macam macam because we're basically starving! Also, Farah tak berapa sihat sangat sebab exposed to too much habuk atas bas tadi. So we asked for hot water and salt for the sore throat.

And thank God lah Farah ada extra bubur, so we both makan bubur je and I makan nestum jugak because too hungry and after that we just rest and can't wait for our next exploration!

So, the next morning, we woke up and we ate our breakfast at the rooftop of KK Homestay. For your information, dekat Jodhpur ni, most of the homestays memang ada rooftop restaurant, because Jodhpur is known as the blue city and the view from the top is seriously very beautiful and you can see the whole Jodhpur city too. Tapi, in KK Homestay ni, we could see the beautiful Mehrangarh Fort tersergam indah depan mata.

The majestic Mehrangarh Fort
By the way, we actually have packed everything and check out from the homestay before we went to have our own adventure and as usual, KK Homestay offered locker for us to keep our bags so yeay!

Lepas breakfast, we went to Sardhar market which located only 5 minutes from the homestay. Sardhar market ni famous dengan spices, clothes, and accessories. Also, dekat sini lah for the first time ever, I baru tau macam mana rupa saffron tu.


Macam ni lah ghopenye saffron tu

Nampak saffron tu kecik je kan? Tahu tak harga dia mahal gila? I rasa ni dalam Rs 1000 kot. Dalam, RM70 gak lah. So I senyum je tengok. Baru ingat nak beli, tapi I dah sengkek time tu.

Kalau tak silap I, this thing is gula. Tapi I tak ingat apa nama dia

Gula/manisan, same like above

Bahan bahan untuk masak lemak! 

SPICES!

Okay, I have one funny story. Waktu dekat Sardhar market ni, kitorang jumpa this one guy yang approached us and introduced us to the spices here. Cara dia approach tu sangat lah common, like he asked us if we are Muslims and then he said he's a Muslim too, and Muslims should take care of each other so he'll take care of us. Katanya. After a while, Farah went to another shop, and I stuck with this guy. So, he took me to his shop, which is sebelah je dengan kedai yang Farah masuk and showed me all the spices, and tea.

Lepas tu kan, he said something bad about the shop owner (the one that Farah went to). He said that the owner is a mafia and he likes to forced people to buy from him. Also, yang paling kelakar, he said that if you went to his shop, he'll offer you chai, and he advised me not to drink the chai sebab katanya tuan kedai tu dah ludah dalam chai tu.

And then he proceeded to sell me his chai and spices.

I politely backed off and said I better go to 'save' Farah.

Then, when I arrived to the shop, I saw Farah was happily drinking some flower tea and I joined her too because, hey bila lagi nak minum flower tea for free?

LOL. The survival in places like this. Terpaksa burukkan competitors kan.

Also, dekat Sardhar Market ni ada banyak leather products. Sama macam dekat Jaisalmer.

One of the shop selling pretty leather bags and capal

Sardhar market ada jual accessories too, and I can't help but buy myself bindis! Haha saje lah nak feeling like a local.

Pretty churiyas!
Gelang kat sini pun banyak yang lawa and very bright colors too.

Also, based on our observation kan, people in Jodhpur likes to accessorized themselves, especially the women. Women here wears big nose rings, bangles, pretty bindis, big necklaces, and their saree pun very heavy with ornament but still very pretty!

So after puas jalan jalan kat Sardhar Market, we went to our most desired location, which is the Mehrangarh Fort!

Farah menyusuri the Blue city
Untuk pergi Mehrangarh Fort ni actually you can go two ways, but we went using the easiest way sebab tak tahu jalan lagi satu tu kat celah mana and this easiest way is usually used by the local and people yang jalan kaki to the Fort.

By the way, nak pergi Fort ni basically you kena 'hike' for about 5-8 minutes and for someone like me yang sangatlah tak pernah exercise agak menderita jugak lah untuk I panjat ye.

So, sampai je kat atas, kitorang pun pergi lah beli tiket and also audio tour guide to help us understand the fort.

Total untuk tiket and all, is around Rs 600 so let's take a tour!

Oh lagi satu, untuk masuk Mehrangarh Fort ni kan, you kena bayar extra for camera okay nanti dia bagi pass for you to wear.

The gate inside the fort

One of the palaces inside the fort

Basically, you boleh baca sendiri lah the history of Mehrangarh fort ni, or kalau you malas nak google, let me tell you a bit about the fort.

The fort is among the largest fort in India and was built in 1460 by Rao Jodha. Dalam fort ni ada a few palaces but now the fort is converted as museum and ada banyak palaces, and palanquins museum, and also period rooms dalam ni for you to see.

Audio guide yang kitorang pakai tu kan, the voice is actually the Maharaja of Jodhpur himself.And for your info, Maharaja of Jodhpur own the LARGEST private residence in the WORLD! and if I'm not mistaken, it can be seen from the top of the fort too.

You can see the intricate details of the palace 
The guard inside the palace


Fun fact, semua guard dekat dalam fort ni ada misai lentik!


Pakcik Misai!
So dalam ni like I said, ada banyak museum and period rooms, so here are some of them:

Sheesh Mahal of Palace of Mirror
This is my favorite. Bila tengok ni, terus I teringat scene dalam cerita Bajirao Mastani. Lawa gila okay.

Oh, also, dalam ni ada Opium museum. You know, India is actually very famous with opium and it was one of the entertainment in the palace too. So dekat sini, ada tunjuk the bongs they used for smoking opium. They even have the opium master here!

The opium master/expert



One of the palanquins in the museum

The ceiling in the peeping hall (Jhanki Mahal)
The royal ladies watched the official proceedings, going on in the courtyard, from the Jhanki Mahal. It houses a rich collection of the royal cradles, decorated with gilt mirrors and figures of fairies, elephant and birds. (Taken from website)

Moti Mahal
Moti Mahal is the largest period room of the Mehrangarh Museum. It was built by Raja Sur Singh. Moti Mahal was where the king used to sit on his throne and meet all his subjects. The palace has the Sringar Chowki, The Royal Throne of Jodhpur. The Moti Mahal has five alcoves leading to hidden balconies. It is believed that the balconies were built for the five queens of the Maharaja to enable them to listen in on court proceeding.
(Taken from the website)

Palaces only for women
Okay, kan I cerita I beli Bindi kan? So, sempat lah I feeling feeling macam Aishwarya Rai dalam Devdas kat sini. Gigih okay pakai nose ring and bindi kat sini.

Takde kening
One thing about bindi kan, rupanya bindi ni only dipakai oleh wanita yang dah berkahwin so sepanjang I kat sini, bila I pakai bindi ni, a few people asked me, are you married? So when I said no, the proceed to explain it to me.

Feeling feeling lagi

Farah enjoying the music

Bye you majestic thing!

Nasihat I, kalau you into architecture, history, and art, you datang lah sini. Setiap kali I enter the palaces and the museum kan, mesti I jaw dropped sebab in awe with the beauty of fort itself. Memang lawa gila!

So lepas habis jalan jalan around 4 plus macam tu, we all pun decided to balik and go for makan sebab last makan tadi time breakfast pukul 9 tadi kot. Hungry!

We went for lunch at a rooftop restaurant that was located betul betul bawah Mehrangarh Fort tu which is the first rooftop restaurant you'll see when you turun kat jalan tu. And the view is...SPECTACULAR!

Feeling uols

Blue city view for you
Kitorang stay dekat rooftop restaurant ni sampai Maghrib. And for your info, Jodhpur ni located inside Rajasthan and in Jodhpur also is mostly populated by Muslims, so bila masuk waktu je kan, you boleh dengar azan bersahut sahut and bergema di bumi Jodhpur ni.

So after sun sets, we went back to KK Homestay to collect our bags and head back to train station for our final stop, Delhi.

But before that, kitorang have a ligh dinner first and then tapau some food for breakfast in train for tomorrow.

Mehrangarh fort at night

Lawa gila view fort ni waktu malam!

Rasa macam taknak balik boleh tak?

After makan, Kuku called the auto for us and we head straight to the train station. Our train is departing at around 10 pm, and we are expected to arrive in Delhi at around 8 am or so.

Okay, itu je lah for now, see you in next, or probably my last post for India!



Namashkar India (Part 1: Preparation)
Namashkar India (Part 2: Kolkata Here We Come!)
Namashkar India (Part 3: Mystical Varanasi)
Namashkar India (Part 4: Magical Varanasi)
Namashkar India (Part 5: Agra, The City of Love)
Namashkar India (Part 6: A Night Under The Sky, Jaisalmer)
Namashkar India (Part 7: A Night Under The Stars, Jaisalmer)
Namashkar India (Part 8: Starry Starry Night)
Namashkar India (Part 9: Majestic Fort)
Namashkar India (Part 10: Delhi, You Crazy!)