India for the Clinically Insane

Best Of IgoUgo

Overview

Quote:

Ah, India. It's absolutely just as crazy and overwhelming as you've heard. Swimming with people, noisy, hectic, fascinating, and unlike anywhere I'd ever been before. A trip to India is a balance between insanity and calm, between frustration and delight, between riches and poverty, chaos and pristine order.I traveled for a month and kept only to Northern India—Delhi, Agra, Rajasthan, Maharashtra—and I still ran out of time.Imperatives:The Taj Mahal surpasses every expectation. Don't let the touristy-ness drive you off, or the insanely aggressive touts who try to sell you things. This is something you simply have to see before you die.Jodhpur, the Blue City, is ...Read More

Cheer!
Flag

Yatri Guest House

Hotel

Quote:

Located adjacent to the Delhi Heart and Lung Institute (which is handy—you can hop over after a day spent in Delhi's lung-clogging traffic,) and a couple of kilometers from Connaught Place. The neighborhood is nothing to write home about, but the staff is incredibly helpful and friendly—it is family run. Rooms are simple, and clean, with hot water. The beds are hard, but that's par for the course in India. There is free internet connection, which is a rarity, and a decent in-house restaurant. The setting is peaceful nice patios in front and back where you can sit, or eat dinner. For an extra fee, they will arrange to pick you up from the airport, which I strongly recommend—they can also arrange car to...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on March 2, 2006

Yatri Guest House
3/4 Punchkuin Rd.
New Delhi, India 1100055
+91 (11) 23625563

Cheer!
Flag

Hotel Pearl Palace

Best Of IgoUgo

Hotel

Quote:

There are cheap, super nice, and comfortable rooms. The owner, Mr. Singh, is very accessible and always working on improvements. The rooms have painted ceilings, TVs, and fairly comfortable beds. Our room had a balcony and cost only 350 Rupees, about $7 or $8 . Internet is available downstairs (though in a cramped little room) for (I think) 50 Rupees an hour. Stamps are also available, along with laundry service; drop-off in the morning, pick-up after 3pm.The rooftop restaurant looks out over Hathroi Fort and has unique wrought iron tables and chairs, all designed by Mr. Singh, in the shape of different animals. There is a decent menu, but don't believe them (or anyone else) when they s...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on March 2, 2006

Hotel Pearl Palace
Hathroi Fort
Jaipur, India 302001
+91 (141) 2373700

Cheer!
Flag

Devi Bhawan

Hotel

Quote:

Devi Bhawan is a peaceful oasis in the midst of the Thar Desert. It is located slightly outside the city, near the military base. Our room was $22, which included a shared porch, comfortable beds, and a bathroom with an actual shower (including shower curtains). The hotel is green and lush, with a swimming pool (the water was actually quite cold while we were there–no idea what it’s like during summer), gardens and fountains, a gazebo with a swing, and the list goes on and on. The hotel restaurant is in the garden and has an excellent dinner menu. The thalis are especially good. Internet is available in the lounge for a fee (less than 50 rupees per hour), which also has books, magazines...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on March 15, 2006

Devi Bhawan
Ratanda Circle, Defense Laboratory Road
Jodphur, India
91 (291) 2512215

Cheer!
Flag

Deoki Niwas

Best Of IgoUgo

Hotel

Quote:

Deoki Niwas is serviceable and generally okay, but it’s no great shakes. Rooms are plain and average, and seemed to tend towards mugginess which the air- conditioning did nothing to dispel. Not worth the $40 we paid.The location is nothing special. It’s on a shabby street nowhere near anything. One thing it has going for it is a great view of the Fort on the hill, especially from the rooftop restaurant (which is fine, but also nothing special).Bathrooms are the typical Indian variety. No shower curtain, just a drain in the floor, water sprays everywhere. The sinks drain through a tube that stops above a floor drain, so if there’s a lot of water, it just overflows the drain and gets...Read More

Deoki Niwas is serviceable and generally okay, but it’s no great shakes. Rooms are plain and average, and seemed to tend towards mugginess which the air- conditioning did nothing to dispel. Not worth the $40 we paid.

The location is nothing special. It’s on a shabby street nowhere near anything. One thing it has going for it is a great view of the Fort on the hill, especially from the rooftop restaurant (which is fine, but also nothing special).

Bathrooms are the typical Indian variety. No shower curtain, just a drain in the floor, water sprays everywhere. The sinks drain through a tube that stops above a floor drain, so if there’s a lot of water, it just overflows the drain and gets all over the floor. Towels are provided.

The beds are kind of hard, though not the worst you’ll find by far. Our room had a whole set of Queen Anne furniture (velvet, even) and a TV, which we spent a lot of time watching since there wasn’t much to do around the hotel. Internet is technically available, but the connection was so slow (in all of Jaisalmer, not just at the hotel) that I could never access my email (AOL gives you all kind of trouble on Indian Internet connections). Internet time is supposed to be charged by the hour (20-40 rupees, probably) but since I could never connect, they didn’t charge me.

The hotel also provides services such as Mehndi (henna), manicures, pedicures, massages, and facials. The henna was decent, if not spectacular, and cost 500 rupees (about $10) for both hands, front and back. A pedicure was 400 rupees.

The rooftop hotel has the standard offerings, nothing particularly outstanding. If you order eggs in the morning, make sure you ask for them extra cooked, since they were always unbelievably runny. If you order fried eggs, specify that you want them fried both sides, otherwise you get sunny-side-up.

The staff is very friendly and helpful, no matter how mediocre the hotel is. They were very available for any troubles or inquiries.
Read Less

Member Rating 1 out of 5 on March 15, 2006

Deoki Niwas
Opposite Krishna Ghat Prol
Rajasthan, India 345 001

Cheer!
Flag

Hotel Bhairon Vilas

Best Of IgoUgo

Hotel

Quote:

First things first, don’t stay at this hotel. Really, don’t. It was AWFUL. It looks cool and all, but don’t let it fool you, it’s horrid in almost every way.Admittedly, it looks like it’d be a fun place to stay: colorful walls, troughs of flower petals, vintage clothing and old photos hung on the walls, a garden and dining terrace, and a great location right across from the Fort.But otherwise? Suckfest. The website claims you can pay by credit card, but you can’t. The room had no hot water, the fan wasn’t actually wired into anything, the TV didn’t work, the beds were hard, dinner took 3 hours to arrive during which time we were endlessly harassed by the performers (a boy danced ar...Read More

Member Rating 1 out of 5 on March 15, 2006

Hotel Bhairon Vilas
next to Junagarh Fort
Bikaner, India
+91 (151) 2544751

Cheer!
Flag

Karni Mata Temple

Best Of IgoUgo

Attraction

rats Photo - Karni Mata Temple, Bikaner, India

Quote:

Yes, it's a temple of holy rats. It's going to sound weird, but really, it's completely awesome. Try not to be rat phobic, they're well-fed and well-behaved.This temple, in the town of Deshnoke less than an hour South of Bikaner and on the road to Jodhpur, was built in dedication to Karni Mata, an incarnation of Durga who was notable for dedicating her life to serve the poor. The story goes that she attempted to bring the dead child of a storyteller back to life, but could not because Yama, the god of death, had already reincarnated the spirit. She became so angry that she swore none from her tribe would fall into Yama's hands and would instead temporarily inhabit the body of a rat, before b...Read More

Yes, it's a temple of holy rats. It's going to sound weird, but really, it's completely awesome. Try not to be rat phobic, they're well-fed and well-behaved.

This temple, in the town of Deshnoke less than an hour South of Bikaner and on the road to Jodhpur, was built in dedication to Karni Mata, an incarnation of Durga who was notable for dedicating her life to serve the poor. The story goes that she attempted to bring the dead child of a storyteller back to life, but could not because Yama, the god of death, had already reincarnated the spirit. She became so angry that she swore none from her tribe would fall into Yama's hands and would instead temporarily inhabit the body of a rat, before being reborn into the tribe. Thus the rats are considered temporarily-reincarnated storytellers and are worshipped.

So now the temple is swarming with them (though apparently more so at night, since, you know, they're rats and all) and they're worshipped and fed and tiptoed around. Not a bad life, except for the odd, aggressive pigeon who tries to steal your food and probably looks at you disapprovingly from the rafters a lot.

So in the main temple, there is a shrine depicting Karni Mata as Durga. Pilgrims come into the temple to pray and offer food to the rats. Bowls of corn meal and milk are spread around the temple and worshippers add bread or bananas to the cornmeal (the rats seem to particularly like the bananas—they skitter up and snag them then disappear into the many holes placed in the walls for their use). Every few minutes one of the people manning the temple carries out a brazier of flaming coals from the shrine, and the worshippers wave their hands in the flame and touch their foreheads. Don't know what that accomplishes. Maybe it symbolizes reincarnation or maybe it's to sterilize your hands after you just touched all the rat-covered, possibly plague-ridden surfaces. I saw a few worshippers come in and immediately lie face down on the floor, their hands above their heads. Perhaps they stuck their faces in the fire afterwards for cleansing purposes, but if they did I missed it.

You have to walk very carefully, as the rats have free reign (the perks of being a holy rat) and you really don't want to step on one. The floors are all black and white checkered. Why, I don't know. I guess holy rats have a thing for 1950s linoleum patterns. It's considered good luck if a rat scampers across your feet. Also good luck is seeing a white rat. You also have the option of eating some of the cornmeal from their bowls, caked with rat saliva, and presumably riddled with intestine-wrenching germs, which is considered a high blessing. Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on March 15, 2006

Karni Mata Temple
NH 89
Deshnoke, Rajasthan
09898467264

Cheer!
Flag

Meherangarh Fort

Best Of IgoUgo

Attraction

fort Photo - Meherangarh Fort, Jodhpur, India

Quote:

Jodhpur's fort is up on top of the hill, looming over the old city, most of which is painted with an indigo wash, a color used initially to indicate the Brahmin caste, the adopted by others for its cooling and insect-repelling effects. The fort itself is awesome. First of all, you have to pay to get in, and you know what that means? Nobody hassling you to give them your money! Second, the current Maharaja established a trust to administer the fort, so it's very well-maintained and has an excellent, in-depth audio tour. Sure, you feel like a dork wandering around with a keypad thinger hanging around your neck and headphones on, but everyone is equal in their dorkery, so you're not, like, the Lo...Read More

Jodhpur's fort is up on top of the hill, looming over the old city, most of which is painted with an indigo wash, a color used initially to indicate the Brahmin caste, the adopted by others for its cooling and insect-repelling effects.

The fort itself is awesome. First of all, you have to pay to get in, and you know what that means? Nobody hassling you to give them your money! Second, the current Maharaja established a trust to administer the fort, so it's very well-maintained and has an excellent, in-depth audio tour. Sure, you feel like a dork wandering around with a keypad thinger hanging around your neck and headphones on, but everyone is equal in their dorkery, so you're not, like, the Lone Dork or anything.

Upon entering you can either walk up the incredibly steep path, through the gates, or take the elevator for a cool 15Rs (30 cents plus you get a ticket saying "Elevator, at user's risk" which is fun).

The outermost gate is scarred by cannonballs and gunfire from a battle with the Maharaja of Jaipur, giving it the name of Jaipol. Next up is Lohapol. Imprinted on the gate are hand prints from Maharaja's widows who dipped their hands in vermilion and touched the gates for the last time before climbing onto the funeral pyre and being burned alive in the ritual of sati. Fun for the whole family!

The fort is composed of courtyards with buildings clustered around - the names are almost the best part. There's Coronation Courtyard, the Courtyard of Treasures, the Palace of Glimpses, Pearl Palace, Pleasure Palace, and Flower Palace. You wander along and punch in numbers on your little audio thinger, then stare upwards.

The tour goes through an exhibit of howdahs (the elaborate seats used on elephants), an exhibit of cradles, a weaponry exhibit, a painting gallery, all manner of things. You have the option of finding out more about specific areas, or listening to the current Maharaja speak, or the conservationist working on the fort, and even the Maharaja's wife and daughter at one point. One of the most interesting pieces was an eyewitness account of the coronation of the current Maharaja, when he was only 4 years old. A man describes the tradition of peasants bringing the new Maharaja offerings of money and coins. The boy spontaneously took the offered money from one man and gave it to the next, took the offering from him and gave it to the next, and so on through the line. This, the man said, made everyone sure that he would grow up to be a great Maharaja.

In less stirring affairs, the fort has its very own palm-reader, Mr. Sharma. You can get a short reading (10 minutes, 350R) or a long reading (20 minutes, 500R). I had mine read as a bit of a lark, but he ended up being scarily accurate. The process involved a protractor, a ruler, and a calculator. Palmistry is a science, dammit.
Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on May 8, 2006

Meherangarh Fort

Jodhpur, India

Cheer!
Flag

Haggling How–To, and How!

Best Of IgoUgo

Story/Tip

Quote:

First off, get used to being seen as an ATM. Very few people will talk to you without wanting you to buy something or pay them for some service, particularly in the tourist areas. Even if they start out asking your name and where you’re from, they’ll usually get to the hard sell sooner or later. When dealing with touts: SHOW NO WEAKNESS. If a tout speaks to you, ignore him unless you want a good long hassle. Mirrored sunglasses can help, as well as pretending you don’t understand whatever language with which they’ve addressed you. They will try several languages (these guys have it down to a science), so make up your own if you feel like it. Certain cities have more aggressive touts than other...Read More

Cheer!
Flag

IgoUgo

India Journals

Upload Photos