Day Three: Jaipur

On the last day of our trip, we were in Jaipur. Since we only had one day (and a relatively short one at that) we didn't think we would be able to see much. The night before and in the morning before taking off, we were looking in the book and chose a couple of things that we figured we could do. When we met up with our driver, he recommended a tour guide for the day free of charge (I'm not completely sure how that works but we weren't going to complain, we did tip him at the end of the day). We said sure. I think it also helped the driver because I'm not sure how well he knew the city to get around.

Jaipur is knows as the Pink City because the walled city part is made entirely of sandstone which gives it a pickish color. The royal parts of the city were made of something else though because it was yellow which was a handy way to knowing what belonged to the royal family.

The first thing we saw was called Hawa Mahal or Palace of Winds. It was right on the street surrounded by all the little shops and people selling stuff. It was really wide but only one room deep and covered with windows of a sort. It was built for the veiled ladies of the Harem to be able to see what was going on in the market without being seen. So the windows were made so you can see out but not be seen. This is pretty common in the Muslim architecture in the area. I'm not completely sure why but we didn't go in this one, we only saw it from the street.

From there we went to Jantar Mantar which is an observatory of sorts. There were five of them built around India but this one is the largest and in the best shape. There were all kinds of large stone instruments used to tell time, chart the constellations, and planets, draw up horoscopes and calculate he angles of starts and planet from the equator. They were all really accurate and we could see the ones that use the sun in action. It was so cool that I had to remind Jason to take pictures. If it weren't so hot we would have spent more time there but it was really hot and there wasn't much shade.

From there we went to the City Palace. There were four parts that we went to: the museum that used to be a guest house and now has textiles, an open columned area with some big silver urns, a courtyard with ornate doorways and a shop with crafts in action. The museum with the textiles has clothes from the royal family. The most impressive was the outfit from the guy that was seven feet tall and so fat that his pants were wider than they were tall (I don't remember how wide). Another interesting thing was to see their woolen winter clothes. I guess it can get cold there although that was hard to fathom as we were sweltering. The big silver urns are in the Guinness Book of World Record as the largest silver objects and were used to carry water from the Ganges to London. I can only assume the Ganges was cleaner back then but probably not. Sacredness is not determined by cleanliness I suppose. One weird thing about the urns is the guy that was in our picture. I believe he is a guard but he seems to only stand around and jump in people's pictures then ask for a tip. Strange. The courtyard is outside the current palace (which we could have gone into for the same amount of money each as our hotel room cost) and has four different doorways. Each one is intricately decorated and depicts the different seasons. Of course their seasons are different here: the peacock season, the flower season, the sun season and the harvest season. In the shop, we sat and watched a man show us how they painted the miniature paintings that Rajasthan is famous for. He would take a colored stone and rub it on his table top (maybe marble) then add water and it would become like a watercolor paint. Then he had a really fine brush that was one hair thick at the tip.

Now it was time to leave the walled city. We stopped briefly and looked at the Water Palace. It's built out in the middle of the late and looks like it's just sitting on the water. There was no shade here so we left sleeping Anna in the air conditioned car and stepped out briefly to look and take quick pictures before moving on.

Then we drove up to the Amber Fort. I was worried we wouldn't be able to see it because I couldn't tell how far out of town it was and I didn't know how much time we would have. Fortunately, it's not too far and we moved quickly through the rest of the place (we don't dilly dally). It was up on top of the hill and the drive up was pretty. The view from the top was beautiful. We couldn't drive all the way up so we were dropped off and had to walk up the rest of the way. The fort palace was used as the citadel before the capital moved to Jaipur but rulers kept coming up on special occasions. After we got inside, I thought that the royal families would have been in good shape until I remembered that they were probably carried up by servants.

The fort was in the process of renovation so parts of it were amazing and parts were less than stellar. We walked all over it and I must confess I don't remember what everything was but it was cool. There were a lot of paintings on the walls that were being renovated and some beautiful inlay. One really ornate room we couldn't go in because it was too delicate.

Surprisingly, after all of this, we still had time so we did a little shopping (apparently guides can be a good call). Mostly we looked around but we did end up buying me a turquoise necklace. Anna already loves it. Then it was time to go to the train station to head home. While we were waiting for it, I looked at the board to see when it was due to arrive and noticed that were had misread the time by about 4 hours (stupid 24 hour time). So, rather than wait around in the hot, stuffy station, we took a rickshaw back to our hotel. We had already checked out but they have a roof-top restaurant so we hung out up there and ate a bit and rested. Then we took a rickshaw back to the station and caught our train.

Day Two: Agra

On the second day of our trip we drove down to Agra. When we were working on planning, the driver said it would take 5 hours to drive the 200 km. Fortunately it didn't take that long because we didn't leave Delhi until about 10:30. I think it took us more like three and a half. It rained while we were on the road but by the time we got to Agra, it had stopped. There was a lot of standing water though and at one point as we were going through the city there was a huge puddle and people were backed up in both directions trying to get through it. We made it but we passed a rickshaw that had gotten stuck.

While there are some other things to do in Agra, our time was limited (especially with the late start) so we only had time to see the Taj Mahal. Which was still pretty cool. The way it's set up is, you have to park the car and then either walk, get a horse cart (which we did), a camel cart, or a bike rickshaw to the entrance of the Taj complex which is about 1.5 km away. Also at the parking place we decided to hire a guide. He started telling us the history of the place as we drove to the entrance.

The gate that leads to the Taj Mahal (after the ticket gate)

The Taj complex starts with a gate in a wall where you buy your ticket and go through security. One funny thing is that our ticket included a bottle of water (you couldn't take your own in, I don't remember why) and shoe covers so we didn't have to take our shoes off (although I kind of wish we had, I've found I like walking around barefoot).

Once through the gate, there is another gate that leads to where the Taj actually is. Because it was a Sunday afternoon, there were a ton of people there. Most of whom wanted to get their picture taken with Anna. A group would come up an take several pictures with just trading out who stood on either side of us.

So as everyone knows, the Taj Mahal is a tomb built for the man's wife. Apparently she was the second wife of three. I wondered how the other two wives (who have to share a tomb) thought of that but oh well. The man is also buried there. Apparently he was going to build a matching one out of black marble but he ran out of money so he had to go there. Unfortunately his tomb messed up the symmetry of the place but I guess we will forgive him. Other than that, the whole place is symmetrical. There is even a mosque to the left so they built a guest house on the right that matches the mosque.

The mosque to the left.

The guide said that the four pillars lean out slightly because if there is an earthquake, that way they will fall out and not on the Taj itself. Apparently there was an earthquake not long before he started building it but hasn't been one since then. I guess it's better to be safe than sorry.

Detail of the relief carving and inlay. The color is all inlay of semiprecious stones.

There was no photography inside the tomb and Jason didn't sneak any pictures this time. It was really dark and hot and stuffy and smelly in there though. We were glad when it was time to leave the tomb room. Ironically, what we saw were actually only replicas of the tombs which are underground. You used to be able to go down and see them and the replicas up top were for the peasants but that part has been closed off. Probably good because who knows how dark and hot and stuffy and smelly that would have been.

Another close-up of the marble carving.

We were for about two hours before getting back in the car and driving to Jaipur. This part of the journey was 235 km and the driver said it would take 5-6 hours. Fortunately it didn't take that long. By the time we got to our hotel it was more like 4. The road was not in good shape and it was worsened by construction but at least there wasn't traffic once we got out of Agra. One cool thing was that as we were driving through the country side, we saw a bunch of peacocks. I think the peacock is the national bird and they are everywhere here. Since they like to show off, they are easy to spot, usually in the middle of a field of on top of a building or something like that.

Getting to our hotel took a little while. Our driver didn't know where it was so he stopped and asked for directions several times. Sometimes the person didn't know where it was either but a couple of times they did. We only had to turn around once so that was nice. Our hotel was great but I will talk about that in the Jaipur post.

Now back to our trip: Delhi

So the first day we spent in Delhi. It was a beautiful city with lots of trees and really green. Of course that was probably just where we were which was the international section of the city (we stayed in a hostel) where all the embassies are and stuff. Either way, it was nice after the long train ride.

Our first stop was at the Red Fort. This was the seat of Mughal power until 1857 and where the first Indian flag was flown. It was a huge sandstone complex with a number of different buildings and beautiful grounds. The buildings were mostly all open so we could see inside even if we couldn't go inside. They also had a museum with things like clothes and paintings and other artifacts.

From there we went to the Baha'i House of Worship which is a huge, lotus shaped building. It's like a prayer house so the inside is just a big room with chairs and a pulpit at the front. All along the wall there were quotes that I assume relate to the Baha'i faith. They would let people in in groups and we had to take off our shoes, be quiet, and couldn't take pictures. Of courses Jason surreptitiously got a couple of the ceiling. This was Jason's favorite thing we did the whole trip.

That evening, after dinner, we saw the India Gate. It reminded me of the Arch de Triumph (not that I have ever seen it in person) and commemorates Indian and British soldiers who have died in war. It was really pretty seeing it at night and there were a bunch of people just milling around including, what else, people selling stuff. Jason let me get cotton candy. MMMM

The next day, before we left for Agra, we stopped off at Lodi Gardens. We didn't have much time but as we were walking around we stumbled upon a tomb and a mosque. They were really cool although they stunk inside. I think people have lived in them over the years. While we were there we got to see some parrots. There was also a bonsai garden but it was closed (Jason was way bummed).

We had fun in Delhi but I have a feeling we only scratched the surface of the city. Maybe some day when we live here again we'll come back and see more.

Catastrophe Adverted (barely)

Last night we almost had to unwillingly wean Anna off her binkie. As I was putting her to bed, partway through the bedtime routine, I noticed that her binkie was gone. I figured she had just dropped it on the floor and I would get it when we got to the end of things and I was ready to sing to her and put her down (she was in a good mood so I didn't really need it just then). When the time came to sing, I couldn't find it anywhere. Her room is not that big and it's clean so there aren't that many places for it to hide. I retraced me steps and searched even where I was pretty sure it wasn't (like the rest of the apartment). Jason even looked in the trash with all the dirty diapers. Anna was intrigued with us running around but when we turned the lights off and she still was without the binkie, it wasn't funny anymore and she wasn't happy.

Now part of putting her to bed includes closing her window. I used to have her AC on all day because she was always in there sleeping but after a while it started being less effective. Now I only have it on at night and during the day we go with an open window and her ceiling fan. Seeing as there are no screens we thought she might have thrown it out the window. The problem with that was that she wasn't that close to the window and the curtain was in the way (or so I thought). I did check the ledge outside as well as the lower, bigger ledge and we didn't see it either of those places. As a last ditch effort, Jason went outside to see if it had made it to the groud and we just couldn't see it because it was dark.

While I was waiting for him to come back, I decided to try to calm Anna. While I don't usually pick her up after I have put her down I figured this time I could make an exception. It took a little bit to get her to stop screaming but she calmed down after a bit. Fortunately Jason came back with the binkie! It was in the parking lot and after we washed it off, Anna got it and promptly went sleep.

Now, the obvious question is why, oh why do we only have one binkie?!? I honestly don't know. I know we did have more (three others in fact) at one point but when we were moving we gave two away to some friends who are having twins and I have no idea what happened to the other one. Apparently it didn't make it to India. Besides, we haven't had this problem before thanks to the binkie tether which has, unfortunately broken. We did have a second one of those too but it's another thing that I don't know where it is. I thought it was here but I haven't seen it since unpacking. I guess we just need to get another one.

One of Jason's panoramas. This is the Amber Fort, just outside of Jaipur, from the road.

On a completely unrelated note, Jason has found a new toy. He was going through the pictures on our trip and started putting together the panoramas he took. Photoshop has a tool called photomerge and he loves it. All you do is choose the pictures you want it to merge and it puts them together mostly seamlessly into a panorama shot. He started merging pictures that he hadn't taken for that purpose but went together anyway. He had a fun night.

The Problem with Tourist Attractions...

is that not only is it full of tourists but people who cater to tourists. And in the case of the Golden Triangle, foreign tourists. When we got out of the train station in Delhi, we were mobbed by a bunch of rickshaw drivers asking if we needed a taxi. I was really glad that we had a car and a driver but we had to find him and our walking around looking kind of lost was practically an invitation. We were able to meet up with him and get in the car without problems (he had a sign with our name on it). The same thing happened when we got out of the train station in Ahmedabad. There was one rickshaw driver in particular who would not leave us alone and followed us almost all the way to the parking lot. It took us a while to find our driver that time because he was waiting at one exit and we came out another. Plus, he is hard to pick out in a crowd, he kind of blends in. Jason was saying he could easily be a spy, or he may already be one.

Then anywhere we got out of the car to go to wherever we wanted to go, there would inevitably be a bunch of people selling different things. For the most part I avoided them by not making eye contact. Sometimes they would still offer me things but usually backed off when I said no. This didn't bother me so much as the people who wouldn't take no for an answer. Fortunately that was the minority.

At one point, when we crossed the state boarder, we had to stop the car and the driver got out to, I think, pay taxes. Naturally a number of people then came up to the car with things to sell. I tried to focus on Anna with the hopes that they would go away while surreptitiously sneaking peeks at what they had to sell (what can I say, I love window shopping). There were two guys with necklaces, one with a mini wooden chess set, one selling peacock feather fans (which were really pretty, I fear I looked too long at that one so he was harder to get rid of) and some guys with monkeys on leashes. These were smaller than the monkeys we have here and I have no idea what he was going to have them do to get money out of us. One of them jumped on the outside of the car but I refused to look.

While I am good a avoiding things like this, Jason has a soft spot in his heart for the kids. Often they would talk to us when we got out of the car and Jason would talk to them a bit and tell them to find him when we get out. He figures if they do then they are committed to the sale and he can talk them down (he is a shrewd negotiator). This happened twice and we got some good deals on postcard books.

The other thing to look out for are the pickpockets. A number of places we went to had signs to be careful of your valuables. For that reason, Jason carried anything of monetary value and I had Anna. This especially was nice so I didn't have to worry about the people who were taking their picture with us wanting anything more than a picture. One time a guy came up to Jason and said he was an American too and wanted a picture with him. I have no idea why but was nervous when he stood on Jason's side with the diaper bag (where we had things like money and passports). So I got on Jason's other side and put my hand on the bag. When we left, we checked and everything was there. Of course, it would have been impressive if he had taken something of value out of the bottom of that stuffed diaper bag. I know I have a hard time finding the things I want.

At a couple of places we hired guides to show us around. They turned out to be very helpful in pointing things out and giving us context. Plus, we could comfortably give them our camera and get pictures of all three of us. They also helped with things like buying tickets in Jaipur and at the Taj Mahal the security guards pulled some things out of the diaper bag that we couldn't take in with us (I have no idea why) and the guide left and put them in a locker for us then got them back at the end.

The Trains

We are back from our whirlwind trip. I'm thinking I'll talk about it by category rather than chronologically so I can remember things and to give us time to get our pictures in order. So, first, our train experiences. To get to Delhi, we took an overnight train. I had never been on a train before and was kind of excited after all of the movies I've seen involving trains (and not just the ones where people die or disappear). Our driver took us to the station and found out which platform to be on and then waited until the train arrived and told us which compartment was ours. He was very helpful and I have a sneaky suspicion that Grace put him up to it (she called us while we were waiting for the train to make sure things were going smoothly). He was also helpful because if the people looking at Anna got too close, he would tell them to back away.

For going out, we weren't able to get first class so we were in the next best thing called two-tier AC. That means that there are two beds, with AC, but only a curtain separating you from the walkway. Our compartment was on the end by the door which means we didn't have anyone across from us, it was like having a private compartment which I really enjoyed. The beds folded up for when we were awake and there was a little table and plenty of space between us and the wall.

Anna thought the train was pretty cool. When we first got on, she was jumping and looking around. Then we put her on the seat and she was scooting and rolling. Unfortunately, sleeping on the train wasn't as much fun for her. I put her in her car seat and put her on the floor. She slept ok but she is getting to the point where she doesn't sleep so well in her car seat. I think it's because she can't roll onto her tummy. She woke up a number of times in the night so naturally I did too. Once Jason woke up, he watched her for a bit while I rested until we arrived. I don't know how much sleep I actually got but I did feel a bit better.

There was another little girl near us and she kept coming over to see Anna and then to offer us some of her food. She was really cute but got a little bit annoying after a while. Her mom would come over and take her back. At one point, she had no interest in going back and resisted it for a while. I guess we were pretty fun.

When we first started on our journey, there were a ton of people coming along with all sorts of things. First there were the bedding people. They brought pillows, blankets and sheets. Then people selling food: bottled water, tomato soup, chai tea, cold tea and other cold drinks, omelet sandwiches, and finally dinner. We were hungry when we first got on so we got a couple of omelet sandwiches. They came wrapped in newspaper! We kind of hoped there was something like foil under it but no, only the newspaper. We tried not to think about it as we ate our sandwiches which were pretty good. After a little bit, Jason was hungry again so he got some tomato soup. The guy selling it had it in something like a cooler with a spigot and held it in his legs while he dispensed it into the cup. Dinner, in true Indian fashion was at around 9 pm. It had a couple of dishes with rice, roti and some digestive plain yogurt. It was pretty good even if it was all yellow (they only have three food groups here, the yellow group, the green group and then red group). Breakfast was more omelet sandwiches.

On the train back, it was another overnight sleep but this time we were in first class. The main differences were that it was bigger and had a door that we could close. Unfortunately, we had to share it with two guys. So while the beds were bigger, I was less comfortable. I did have Anna sleep with me rather than her seat that time and I think it helped both of us sleep better. She did so-so but they guys were pretty tolerant of her cries. Our train was later and we ended up missing dinner. It was also earlier and we didn't have time for breakfast. All in all, I enjoyed our trip out better.

While the driver who picked us up was there, he was waiting at a different place than we came out so after getting rid of all of the rickshaw drivers trying to give us a ride and walking over to the parking area, we called Bindu who called him and told him where we were (we didn't have his number). Then we went home and Anna and I took naps while Jason got ready for and went to work.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Our little goodwill ambassador in Udaipur.

Other than the plane part, that pretty much sums up our coming weekend. Jason is taking Monday off work and we are leaving tonight to take an all night train to Delhi. (Side note, Bindu said it used to take 3 days in a non-A/C coal-powered train. When they got there they would be completely black from all the soot because everyone wanted to sit by the window.) From Delhi, we have hired a car and a driver to take us down to Agra where the Taj Mahal is and then it's off to Jaipur. From there, we come home on another all night train.

It's going to be a LOT of time in the car but that seemed like a better idea than taking the train. Plus, Bindu and Grace are worried about us enough as it is. They might just die if we were on the train and had to use rickshaws to get around at our different locations. Yesterday Grace was giving us advice along the lines of "don't trust anyone". She even asked the driver to follow us when we were going around in the different cities and make sure we were safe.

I'm really excited to do this but a little apprehensive at the same time. I've never been on a train before and don't really know what to expect. We do have places to stay which look good but somehow our schedule is such that we do an obscene amount of driving on the middle day. Hmmm. Plus, I have a lot to do today before we leave.

So we are off to exotic locations (although the longer we are here, the less exotic the locales seem) and I will be back on Tuesday and will eventually tell you all about it.

Walking Tour

Almost two weeks ago now, we went on a walking tour of downtown Ahmedabad. I know it's been a while but we only just took the pictures off the camera. It was a lot of fun. We were in a group of maybe a dozen people, mostly foreigners (although there were a couple of Indians). There were a few French people there and they had an interpreter for what the guide said into French. We walked a total of 1.5 km and saw parts of downtown that we would never have seen otherwise. It was really cool.

Where it all started.

Inside that gate. I don't know if you can tell in this picture but it was really colorful.

A bird feeder with our tour guide. Talk about fancy.

A column at a Hindu Temple.

I don't remember what this was but it looks cool.

This is the interior of one of the many houses we walked by. We did a lot of walking around in neighborhoods called pols. This house has a distinctly European influence.

The stairs of that same house.

Inside the dome of a Jain temple. This was the second Jain temple we visited, we weren't allowed to take pictures in the first one which is too bad because it was lovely.

The outside of that same temple.

This was a tomb that reminded us a lot of the other tomb/mosque that we visited a little while ago.


Here is the entrance to another Mosque. It was huge with a large courtyard (this is inside the courtyard) and a pool in the middle of the courtyard. This one was really cool with a separate place for the women to pray.


Here is the inside of that mosque. They are really into columns.

And domes.

And the boys that were following us around. So cute.

The Pancake Fiasco

Someday I need to remember that I don't have enough knowledge about what different ingredients do in a recipe to leave things out or try to substitute. This morning, I tried making pancakes from scratch (the mix pancakes here don't sit well with Jason and we are out of cereal). Let's just say, he ended up having oatmeal for breakfast.

I wanted to make oatmeal pancakes and use applesauce but not use eggs. I wasn't able to find a recipe on Allrecipes.com that fit those requirements so I found one with eggs and changed it up a bit. I searched online a little bit about substitutions for eggs. A few websites said that as long as it's only a couple of eggs, I can just leave them out and add a touch more liquid to compensate. I had also heard that vinegar can be used in place of eggs so I figured I could add some if the first one didn't turn out.

Then the recipe called for baking soda and baking powder. All I have is a container of something called cooking soda. I figured it was about the same as baking soda so I would just add a little bit more that the amount in the recipe but not as much as the two combined (seeing as baking soda is stronger). Although as I don't have measuring spoons, how much I actually put in is anyone's guess.

I also used some baby apple puree that I had in the freezer and regular milk in place of buttermilk.

So I mix it all together and try to cook it up. The flame was low because the batter was thick but the pancakes never cooked. Even after the outsides were done/borderline too dark, they were still gooey in the middle. I figured it was either not enough baking soda or the lack of egg causing problems. So I added another more baking soda and tried another one. Same problem. This time, along with the more baking soda, I did add some vinegar. The batter got little bubbles in it and when it started cooking, it looked like it was kind of rising like it's supposed to. Alas, it seemed to fall. More vinegar and baking soda, same result.

By this time, Jason, while playing with Anna, was getting ready for breakfast (hungry and he needed to get back to work). After a few more rounds of additions, I told myself that if the next one didn't work I would just make him oatmeal. Same result. So I started the oatmeal in the microwave but kept trying to tweak the pancakes.

I hate making oatmeal in the microwave. Unfortunately, the pot was dirty (yes we only have one pot) so I had to. The bowl was pretty full when I put it in and the oatmeal and milk just bubbled up over the side. After the amount of time it said on the package, it was still really runny. I put it in for another minute and after more bubbled up over the side, it was ready.

The pancakes never did turn out. I ended up making at least 6 before I was pooped and just dumped the batter. So after this experience, I vow to never try to make pancakes without eggs again. I also vow to only tweak things like nuts or fruit or chocolate chips in baked goods. Maybe then they will turn out.

C is for Cookie

I love cookies. Since living here I have noticed that I totally miss baked goods. Call me crazy but I don't really see "baking" in my microwave and the grocery store has a very limited and kind of pricey (relatively) selection. So when I went to the grocery store this week, I decided it was time to try out the packaged cookie aisle. Naturally, they didn't have Oreos (mmm, Oreos) or anything else I would recognize so I got a little creative.


They had a lot of different flavors of sandwich cookies. I bought some with vanilla cream and a touch of some kind of red jelly on the top (even after finishing the package, I still don't know what kind of fruit it was) which were fabulous. Then I went with pineapple cream sandwich cookies. These were fabulous as well (as you can tell, I've been watching a lot of Project Runway lately). I think I liked them more than the ones with jam. The cream in the center was yellow with green specks and the flavor was very pineapple-y. I wish I had pictures but they didn't last long.


The other ones that I got but we haven't tried yet are orange sandwich cookies (made by the same brand as the pineapple ones so I have high hopes), mango sandwich cookies and oatmeal cookies. I'm excited to try the next ones out but am waiting for Jason to be home. He's working on a big project at work and isn't home much (when he was going over his time card with his boss, his boss's comment was "you're a hard worker"). Personally, I think dessert should be more of an event than just people eating whatever is sweet in the house. That and with my sweet tooth and getting munchy during the day, otherwise they would all be gone at an astonishing rate. So I am waiting for him to be home to open the packages together.

Apparently to make a name 'Indian' just add mischief to whatever the flavor is and viola!

An interesting thing about the cookies packaging is I didn't see any large packages there (these are all under 100g). They were all in small tubes of less than 10 cookies. Which was how I ended up getting so many different kinds. Yeah mix and match. This was also good because they had lots of other kinds so we can gradually work our way through the whole aisle. If only we had started sooner we might have had time to make a dent in the crackers too.

Kind of going along with the small packages of snack-ish foods, the nut aisle is out of control. They have put flavors on nuts, mostly peanuts but other kinds as well, that I don't even know what they are. We got one that was coconut flavoring but it wasn't sweet at all. I've also seen all kinds of masalas (basically a mixture of spices). We haven't tried any of these ones though because I have a feeling they are likely to be spicy and that's not usually what I'm in the mood for in my snack. As with the cookies, they come in small (1-2 servings each) packages that are pretty cheap (less than 20 rupees or 50 cents). As I am always looking for things to send with Jason to work for snacks, these are great. Especially since they barely have zip lock bags here (one size and brand and almost all of the boxes are already open).

Road Trip

We are back from Udaipur. It was a lot of fun but now I have a bunch of stuff to catch up on. Things like laundry, grocery shopping and going through all of the many pictures we took of our trip. Once we get the pictures under control, I'll post about our trip in detail. For now though, I'll just say we had a lot of fun while still having a relaxing trip. Anna did fabulously especially considering the lack of napping. I fully expect her to sleep all day today.


One thing I did that I will talk about today is I started a book. In the lobby of the hotel, they had some books in different languages and I found The Friday Night Knitting Club which I have wanted to read. On Saturday night, I put Anna to bed early while the other people stayed out later. While I was just hanging out in our room while she slept I started reading (which is why I volunteered to go back to the room). I've missed reading. I haven't read a book since the week after we got here and it was a lot of fun. The book is pretty good too even if I am not quite half-way though. I am a little worried that the main character's daughter is going to die or something like that. On the cover, it was compared to Steel Magnolias and the back mentions something about the unthinkable happening. Hopefully not though. Unfortunately I had to leave the book at the hotel. I have high hopes that I can find it in a bookshop here though and will look for it the next time I go to the store. They do have American books and as it was a New York Times Bestseller, I'm pretty sure they will have it.

Stupid Rain

The rainy view from our balcony. The misty distance is not that distant.

It has rained steadily since Tuesday morning. Apparently the monsoons have finally come in earnest. They were a little slow starting. People were saying that it was being unusually dry. We didn't mind so much. Now, no more dry weather.

I wouldn't mind this time except that I was planning on doing laundry on Tuesday. In fact, I kind of had to, we were running out of clothes. The problem is that with the lack of a dryer, I can't really do laundry when it's raining because the clothes never dry. I put it off as long as I could to see if the rain would stop and it would clear up but it never did. Eventually, I had to wash a mini load of essentials and put it out to dry overnight and hope it would get dry.

Our soggy street.

Come morning, it was mostly dry but not quite. So I left it out to dry more. Unfortunately the rain wasn't done and the wind blew it past the over hang and onto the clothes. I think they were actually more wet when I took them down before going to bed last night than they were that morning. We took them down because we realized that they were never going to dry if we left them out so we brought them in and hung them over our chairs. This morning they are almost dry.

Jason having breakfast amongst the drying clothes.

I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do now because we are actually going somewhere this weekend. For reals this time, we have the hotel reserved. Friday is the Indian Independence Day so Jason has a three day weekend. A bunch of people from his office (the Americans and Grace and her family) are going to Udaipur in Rajastan and they talked us into going too. We weren't sure if we would be able to get away but then they changed the due date for the project Jason is working on so we are out of here.

This is the view from the rooftop terrace of our hotel. Cool huh?

They rented a car for everyone (it's about a four hour drive) and had gotten rooms at this one hotel that was really cheap (700 rupees a night, about $18) and that made us nervous. So rather than get a room there too, which would have been convenient but potentially scary, we found our own place that looks great and is not too expensive (2500 rupees a night, about $60) and has all positive reviews. Jason was sold on the fact that it has a spa, he's already planning on getting a massage. We also talked two other people from our group into going to this hotel also (they hadn't yet committed to the other hotel). I am so excited. I think it's great that we are going with a group, part of which speaks Hindi which I think will be really helpful.

Who are you and what have you done with Ellen?

We finally had our camera the same time we saw monkeys. So here are the monkeys we have here. Don't be fooled, they aren't cute.

I'm so proud of myself. Yesterday I did two things that I rarely do and always wish I did more. First off, I caught a rickshaw and went down to the store all by myself. I've been in rickshaws before but had always depended on Jason to tell the driver where we want to go. The main reason I've always been wary to take a rickshaw alone is because although I'm sure I can tell the driver where I want to go, I'm scared that I won't be able to tell him how to get me home.

The problem is, places don't really have addresses here. While a few main roads have names, the smaller ones (and not always that small) don't. So without street names, it makes it hard to have house numbers. The apartment buildings around here have names and then there is the apartment number within the building. So the way anything is found (including mail) is through landmarks. Our address includes "Opp. Setu Bungalows". I have no idea who decided the Setu Bungalows would be our landmark. I'm sure it makes sense to someone. Of course the rickshaw drivers may or may not know where those are anymore than they know where my building is.

I have learned from the other Americans that Jason works with that a hospital near us is a good landmark that people should know. It's also a good landmark because I know how to get us home from there.

So yesterday I decided I wanted to go to the store and explore the mall a little bit. I found a baby store and got Anna some more spoons. I thought about a sippy cup too but I want to start with a regular cup first and they only had the sippy variety. There were some cute clothes too but I wasn't there for that so I restrained.

Then I went to get what I went out for. While the checker was ringing it up, the price was different than I was expecting. So I did the other thing that is out of character for me, I asked about it. This may not seem like a big deal to other people but it is to me. While some argue to the contrary, I'm pretty shy and have a fear of looking stupid/being wrong. As a result, I often just go with what comes up. But this time I asked and after a little bit of figuring out what I was asking, we were able to get thing figured out and explained.

Now it was time for me to get home. Finding the rickshaw wasn't hard but at first, he wasn't sure what I was saying. He repeated it to make sure but I wasn't completely sure that what he said was what I had said (I didn't want to be taken some place wrong) so I repeated myself to make sure. There was a little bit of back and forth and then he called over one of the guards at the store to see if he had a better idea of what I was saying. He wasn't quite sure either so he called over another shopped and his family. In the end, I spelled where I wanted to go and we were able to figure it out and I was on my way. I did feel a little silly with the crowd that we had attracted but oh well. I suppose that's preferable to being taken somewhere completely wrong. Once we got me home, he did charge me a little bit more than the guy who took me out but after everything it took to get me home, I didn't want to argue.

We never thought it would happen for you

(My Big Fat Greek Wedding) I have to admit it, I seem to have turned into a mom. I know you're thinking "um, didn't that happen 6 months ago?" but that's when I had the baby. Now I see myself doing all kinds of things that I thought other moms were crazy for doing. Things like letting her slobber all over my face in the form of "kisses". Or not thinking twice about drinking out of my water bottle after she has just been chewing/drooling on it. Or letting her have pens/paper/my finger/whatever she wants to chew on (I do draw the line at pencils though). Or worrying that she will poke her eye out or perforate her palate with said pen. Or tuning out her screaming, within reason. Or liking my finger and washing something off her face. Or feeling horrible when she gets hurt. Or spending an inordinate amount of time just staring at her and watching her explore her world. Or doing just about anything to make her laugh.

It kind of reminds me of a scene from the movie Baby Mama. The Tina Fey character is visiting her family and her sister, who has kids, is telling her that kids are messy. Then her little boy comes up with something brown on his hands. She asks him if it's chocolate or poop and when he doesn't answer, she smells it and then licks it. Fortunately it's chocolate but the Tina Fey character is aghast and points out that it could have been poop. Her sister just laughs and says "see, messy".

While I don't think I would EVER do that, it was kind of funny and points out how people get crazy when they become parents. The kind of crazy that non-parents are just shocked at and parents are just like, well yeah. I think it's partly the love that you have for the baby that non-parents don't understand. Love that strong drives you to do and worry about crazy things. Also, when you're with someone as much as you are with your baby and do everything for them, there is a level of comfort that makes anything seem reasonable. I knew of someone who would stick their finger in the diaper to see if it was poopy. So far, I stick with just looking.

Not so cute

Well I had a bit of an adventure today. I had just finished feeding Anna her cereal and put her in her seat and gone back to get the empty bowl to put it in the sink. I glanced out the kitchen door and there was a monkey sitting on the wall on the edge of our balcony. I thought about getting the camera but he was pretty close to the open door and I didn't want to risk him getting in the house by taking my eyes off of him. As I was figuring out how to reach out and close the door without getting any closer to him, he ran into the kitchen.

Naturally I was freaked out. Anna was between me and him, I didn't know what kind of temperament he was going to have and I had no idea how to get him out. Plus I had food on the counter and didn't know where he was going to go. And, these are not cute, little monkeys, they are big (sitting, he probably came up to the counter) and ugly. So we stared at each other for a while while I was thinking about how to coerce him to get out without getting any closer to him or making him mad and rushing at either of us. I started trying to shoo him out and raising my arms. After staring at me for a little while, he ran into the pantry (away from the door).

I was worried, not knowing what kind of havoc he would create in the pantry. Fortunately, he just pulled a bag of dried garbanzo beans off the shelf ripping the bag open and spilling them on the floor. I stayed out of the line from the door to the pantry and tried to shoo him out. He came out and looked at me for a little bit before finally going out the door and down off the balcony. As I was watching him go, I saw that there was another monkey sitting on a ledge outside Anna's bedroom window. I was worried he would come in too so I tried to shoo him away as well while closing the door. He followed the first without coming in.

Once they were gone, I closed all the doors and immediately sent a message to Jason to tell him all about it. Typing was a little tricky though because I was shaking. Anna, during all of this, thought I was hilarious as I was shooing the monkeys. I was glad that my fear didn't transfer onto her. Although maybe it did because she was pretty fussy afterwards. Needing to calm her down helped me to calm myself and I was able to laugh at the situation when I told it to Vernell.

All About Anna

Today Anna is six months old so I thought I would take a little bit of time and talk about what she is doing now and to sing her praises. I don't know how big she is now but she is getting really big. Noticeably heavier and longer. Her thighs are quite chunky but I think she is thinning out, especially in the neck. She still has her proper double chin but only two chins and the folds are getting less pronounced. That makes cleaning in them easier.


She feels the only way to truly explore something is with her tongue and her drool has cut down, at least on some days. She is really curious unless it involves moving beyond simply reaching in which case, few things are worth the trouble. Mommy and Daddy's things are infinitely more interesting than her own toys and she just knows one day she will be able to get a hold of the cell phone. Her hands are getting really effective at picking things up and holding on to them for the most part. She still drops stuff a lot, especially when it's becoming less interesting and she's almost done with it. Water bottles are fascinating even if the water in them isn't so fun.


Books are delicious which makes reading them to her a little bit tricky. When she isn't trying to eat the book, she turns her head when I turn the page, as if she is following along. She also turns her head when she hears sounds, especially Daddy's voice. She loves having him home. Sometimes too much so, like when I am trying to feed her. He can be more interesting than food. As can Vernell who she thinks is pretty funny.

Although apparently Daddy is not at interesting as the camera.

She rolls like a mad fool, especially in her crib. I never know, when I go to get here where she will be or which direction she will be facing. Unfortunately, this means sometimes she gets her legs stuck between the bars and that is very sad. The other day, she had pushed against the wall and moved the crib a little bit.


Mostly she eats well. Her repertoire of solids is growing slowly. Having to make all the baby food really slows down the process. Just about the only thing that she really doesn't like is the banana. I mushed one up and she made the funniest face after taking a bite. It was a really ripe banana so it might have been too ripe or the texture that she didn't like. I'll try again with a less ripe banana. Lately she has been doing this thing where she eats some and then starts crying after a few bites. I don't know what the problem is, she is definitely still hungry. If I calm her down, she will eat more so it's not that she doesn't like the food. I was thinking maybe she gets thirsty (it happened with oatmeal which was pretty sticky) but as she doesn't drink out of a cup yet I'm not sure what I can do about it. We'll have to see how she does today. I do want to start teaching her how to drink out of a cup soon. I just have to get one that isn't glass or metal (they have metal dishes here which I think is strange. The cups have sharp edges so that's right out).


She has learned that screaming will get my attention while I'm making dinner. Apparently grumpy mommy attention is better than no attention at all. I'm trying to not get so engrossed in making dinner that I just ignore her but keep her involved in what I'm doing by looking at her and talking to her. So far, it's so so.

Who says there's only one way to suck on a binkie?

She loves the Moby Wrap and gets excited when I put it on. It's a little tricky making dinner or doing dishes when she's in it because she kicks the counter. She gets freaked out when I bend over while she's in it and is just dangling. If I have to bend over, I keep a hand on her so she stays close. She also gets nervous if I toss her into the air. Maybe some day that will be fun to her. She does like it when I dance, especially when she's in the wrap. I can't tell if she likes to dance herself. I think it's hilarious wiggling her little bum and since she doesn't complain, we do that a lot when music is playing.

Her poor leg had a mark on it after this.

She sleeps through the night now, waking up at anywhere between 6:30 and 8 (at the very latest). Her naps are pretty good though not on a real schedule. I have to be careful not to have her take a late nap because the other day she was up rolling and talking to herself in bed for a while after I put her down. The late nap thing can be tricky though because she will often be tired around 5 ish and no one wants to try to keep her up for three more hours and try to make dinner when she is cranky. Someday maybe we'll get the naps more on a schedule. Of course by then, we'll probably just move and have to start the whole thing over again.

Before her bath. The baby in the mirror is a lot of fun. As you can see, Jason is working on teaching her to stand without us.

Baths aren't so much fun. We have a sink that is just right but Jason has to hold her while I wash so she doesn't slip. One problem is there is no sink stopper so we use a washcloth to slow the drain which she sometimes moves as she slides around. She can stop the drain with her bum but usually we have to move her before too long. The other problem with baths is that the water only has one temperature and it's kind of chilly. She gets all shivery and goose bumpy. There's not really anything we can do about it other than go fast and try to distract her. When she isn't being bathed, she loves playing in the sink.


And that is Anna's life right now in a nutshell. Well, I did leave out the pooping but I figure that's for the best. I don't know how interesting this all is to anyone other than family but I figured it would be better to do one long posting about her than several shorter ones.