Sari shopping

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The feeling of excitement and optimism vibrating in the air with the build up to Diwali intoxicated and seduced me, finally making the allure of a beautifully colourful sari too much to resist.

With the main celebrations only a day away I threw myself into the unknown world of sari shopping with gusto! With absolutely no idea what we were doing Simon (who was very patient and helpful, and could probably now offer you some good advice on Indian textiles) and I allowed ourselves to be led into one of the hundreds of sari shops in the bazaars of Jaipur. Following the shop keeper upstairs we found ourselves surrounded by shelves of sparkling fabrics of every imaginable colour. With no notion of desired fabric or design we began with the only criteria I had decided on: colour, it must be bright blue (or maybe purple)! When shopping in the bazaars sari sellers will inevitably begin showing you the most expensive fabrics first, working our way down from intricately embroidered yards of silk to the polyester/silk blends and finally cotton. We ended up surrounded by mounds of material with a vague idea of what one may be able to purchase for 1000 rupees (about £13). We thanked the shop keeper, making vague promises to return and accepting his business card stepped out of the door.

We repeated this process at a range of establishments until we felt well versed in the variety of saris available and how much they could be bought for. A sari that you are being quoted “final price” 1000 rupees for inside can become a desperate “ok, 400 rupees!” as you walk out the door.

At around the 5000 rupee mark you can acquire a stunningly decorated pure silk, crepe or net sari with beautifully embroidered borders, ornamented with sequins, beads and appliqué flowers. For 1000-2000 rupees you can purchase a range of saris in silk, chiffon, or georgette (a silk and rayon blend) with some lovely embroidery although obviously lacking the detail of the more expensive saris. For under 1000 rupees (you do have to bargain) you can still choose from a beautiful selection of patterned polyester silk, block or hand printed georgette or rayon, and vibrant tie-dyed and printed cotton cloths (the cheapest option – you could probably beat the price down to around 200 rupees). Of course more elaborate and expensive saris can run into the hundreds of thousands of rupees, and the more you pay the better the quality should be, however I was happy to compromise on quality for cost!

For the novice sari wearer a sari is a length of fabric around 6 m long and 1 m wide that is wrapped once around the waist, then folded in a concertina fashion to form pleats at the front of the skirt, before continuing around the upper body and draping the final length (the palloo) over the shoulder. The skirt of the sari it typically tucked into a drawstring petticoat, whilst a cropped, fitted blouse (a choli) is worn under the top part. Most saris come with enough extra fabric for the blouse to be cut from (it may be worth asking before buying), alternatively you may be able to purchase some complimentary fabric to have a blouse fashioned from or even possibly buy a pre-made blouse.

Having successfully chosen your sari you will need to take it to a tailors to get the blouse made up and the sari hemmed. The shop keeper will probably be able to recommend a tailor and give you an indication of price and how long it should take. Wanting my sari for the next day I didn’t have time to shop around for a tailor so I went through the shop who guaranteed to have it ready in three hours. It’s worth bearing the tailoring costs in mind (my sari cost 500 rupees and the tailoring an additional 550 rupees) when haggling for the fabric. As an inexperienced sari wearer I opted to have my sari made “ready to wear” meaning that the tailor sewed the skirt complete with pleats and lining so there is no need for me to deal with the intricacies of folding and tucking (and inevitable unravelling…).

The thing to remember when buying a sari is not to get carried away, if like me you just want something beautiful to wear a few times and to remember your time in India by you really don’t need to spend more than a few hundred rupees. Take your time to explore the different colours, textures and designs before settling on one, remember to haggle and don’t feel pressured to buy something just because they offer you an amazing price as you walk away, buy the sari you want and enjoy it!

Laura

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Jodphur – part and parcel of India

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Before departing Jodphur on our previous visit we had taken the time to scout around for better (and cheaper) accommodation for our return. We succeeded with the Hill View guest house which provided both beautiful views over the city and a shorter hike up the hill to the city’s main attraction: the fort.

The fort looming 50 m or so above enticed us back for a second visit. Having before toured the fort interior (still the best out of the four forts we’ve now seen) we decided to explore the grounds from a different perspective – the air! For our return visit, we each donned a harness and clipped ourselves in turn to six zip-lines suspended in the hillside surrounding the fort. Zipping around (our instructors seemed to be on a mission to complete the course in record time) we took in some breathtaking views of a hitherto unknown lake, the lesser seen (and perhaps more beautiful) side of the fort, and again the city of blue buildings below.

After retreating back to our guesthouse for a couple of hours we made our third trip up to our home-from-home, this time to enjoy the delights of the Jodhpur Riff, a Rajasthani folk festival set in various locations throughout the fort. The ‘living legends’ performance to which we had acquired tickets was set in the beautiful Maharajah’s reception room, one of the very rooms whose glowing stained glass windows and carved marble screens had made me gasp before, imagine my delight! We were treated to the sounds of rare Rajasthani instruments such as the sarangi, India’s answer to the violin; the santoor, whose strings produced a silky soft sound reminiscent of a harp; and a drum-like instrument (which after lengthy google searches on both our parts we believe to be called a khamak), held under one arm whilst producing an incredible range of reverberations via the plucking of a single string. A fantastic performance enjoyed in the cushioned comforts of a royal chamber to the setting sun!

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Jodhpur also provided us with an education in India’s postal system. Having purchased two lovely but slightly cumbersome bedspreads we decided the only course of action was to parcel them up and ship them home. It turns out that in order to send a parcel in India there are a whole host of hoops to jump through. Obviously the post office could aid you in your quest by providing in-house help, but where would be the fun in that? Or indeed the entire street’s worth of trade outside?! The first task to be completed, having made your way to the front of the queue, is to turn around and walk right out of the post office. You walk down the street with your bundle soliciting quotes from various tailors for the cost of encasing your treasure in white cloth. Having selected your tailor of choice you sit to one side whilst he completes the job in hand, carefully sewing up your package and sealing the seams with wax. You return to the post office a second time to address your parcel and fill in the requisite forms before hitting the street again to acquire three photocopies of the customs declaration form. On your third visit you successfully hand over your parcel, forms and money and leave satisfied in the belief that in about a month’s time your parcel will arrive home…. hopefully!

Laura

Nepal to India, another bus journey, another border crossing

From Pokhara we embarked on yet another 8 hour bus journey, this time landing us at the border with India at Sunauli. The bus dropped us in town from where it was a short cycle rickshaw journey to the border, which we crossed on foot. Passing beneath one archway marking the end of Nepal we ambled across 100 m or so of no man’s land, complete with two lines of slum shacks facing each other going into the distance each side of the border itself. A second archway welcomed us to India. The snack shop-lined road entering India was jostling with people, trucks and rickshaws and somewhere, hidden amongst the shops, was border control (once again easily missed). It turns out however, that in order to enter India you first have to officially leave Nepal. So after only a couple of minutes in India we scuttled back through no man’s land into Nepal to be stamped out (if only somebody had suggested visiting the Nepal immigration office on the first pass through…).

Upon officially entering India we once again boarded a bus, this time for a short (3 hour) bus journey, accompanied by a fantastically confusing Bollywood film, taking us to Gorakphur (a town in Northern India). For us Gorakphur didn’t have a whole lot going for it but served its purpose as a stop for the night before tackling the 17 hour train journey to Delhi. On the way, we encountered the many colourful tented temples, a grubby hotel with empty (and dirty) swimming pool, and our first taste of spice.

Unfortunately I succumbed to food poisoning in mere anticipation of ‘Delhi belly’ so not the most enjoyable train journey! Of course the guy in the bunk across from me (not Simon) snoring like a pneumatic drill (I’ve never heard such penetrating snoring) did not serve to make me feel any better. Nevertheless we arrived at Delhi in one piece (ok maybe two pieces) ready to begin our adventure in India…

Laura

Our lost days in Nepal

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With its lush green hills and snowcapped peaks Nepal is certainly a far more beautiful country than I had ever anticipated. But Nepal also has much more to offer than just its magnificent mountains…

Upon reaching Kathmandu, after several days of long bumpy bus rides from Tibet, the bustling streets of Nepal’s capital city were definitely a shock to the senses. The streets of Thamel (the tourist district in which we’d been deposited at the end of our tour) were full of life with brightly coloured shops spilling onto the roads, selling everything a tourist in Nepal could possibly desire from fake North Face jackets, to Buddhist and Hindu statues, and beautiful skirts, dresses, bags and beaded jewellery.

Overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu we rapidly departed for our 7 days trekking in the Langtang National Park. Having recharged our batteries we returned to Kathmandu for a fresh assault to find no longer a city to be endured but rather one to be enjoyed.

During our second visit we toured Durbar square, visited the monkey temple (Swayambhu) and paid homage to the royal family by visiting both the old and new palaces. Durbar square, the centre of old Kathmandu, is actually a collection of squares housing several temples and shrines to Hindu gods and goddesses (some of whom double up as Buddhist deities), including one temple that is supposed to have been built from a single tree. On one side of Durbar square is Kumari Che, the home of the living goddess (mentioned in an earlier post), a beautiful courtyarded building with intricate woodcarved screens masking the glassless windows.

Swayambhu is commonly known as the Monkey Temple due to the large number of monkeys that have made this hill top temple their home. As you climb the steps to the golden stupa (and the all-seeing eyes of the Buddha), pairs of monkeys sit inspecting each other, swinging from tree to tree, clambering up railings, snacking on tourists’ litter, or simply watching the world go by. From the top of the steps, having undertaken a clockwise pilgrimage around the stupa you can truly appreciate the vastness of the Kathmandu valley.

Our Australian friends had told us that the royal palace was worth a visit, if only for a morbid understanding of a place where 11 members of the royal family (including the then king Birendra) were shot by the crown prince in 2001. Having concluded our tour of the palace buildings we were a bit bemused as to why we couldn’t find the gardens or other places that our friends had described. It slowly dawned on us that there were two palaces! The following day we made our way to the new palace in the north of the city. To fill you in on the history, after killing his family in a drunken rampage in 2001, the prince turned the gun on himself and died several days later, causing an outburst of mourning across Nepal, for whom the former King and Queen were held in very high regard. The crown passed to the King’s brother but in 2008 the monarchy was dissolved by the government. The new palace, built in the 1960s, had the distinct feel of hotel in its prime in the 1970s, with little of the opulence normally associated with a royal abode. As we stepped outside the palace doors the grey skies began to empty, setting the mood for visiting the place where the royal family had spent their final moments. Although the building from which family members fled as the prince brandished his machine gun has been razed, bullet holes can be seen in a nearby screen door and plaques mark the places where others died. A very sombre place to end our visit to the palace and the capital.

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Feeling we’d spent enough time in Kathmandu, and after our bungee jumping at Last Resort, we decided to end our time in Nepal with a visit to the picturesque lakeside town of Pokhara. We spent two and a half days relaxing at lovely little lakeside cafes and restaurants, soaking up the tranquil atmosphere. One afternoon we took four exhausting but enjoyable hours to pedalo around the lake, drinking in the lush green mountain surrounds. On our final afternoon we walked around the lake and up to the Peace Pagoda affording us beautiful views of the lake and town below. In the late afternoon, crossing back over the serene lake, the clouds parted to give our first glimpses of the snowcapped Annapurna mountain range, the perfect ending to our stay in Pokhara.

Laura

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Food for thought

It has occurred to us that perhaps one very important aspect has been lacking from the tales of our trip so far… The culinary delights that have been on offer!
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Peking duck (Beijing)
We started our very first night in Beijing with the classic amber-glazed Peking duck, a tasty treat already familiar to most westerners. The main difference between the Peking duck we experienced and that on offer in most Chinese restaurants at home was more in the presentation than flavour, with strips of the deftly carved duck beautifully aligned on separate plates so you could choose from crispy skin, succulent breast or the less tempting (to us anyway) fatty pieces. All to be savoured in pancakes with plum sauce, thinly sliced spring onions, cucumber and some purple vegetable with a radish flavour.

Fish and fat (Beijing)
One night we walked into a Beijing restaurant, threw caution to the wind and selected a range of dishes from the picture menu. The pak choi was a successful choice providing us with the desired steamed greens in soy sauce, the fish was fantastic: cooked whole in a delicious slightly spicy, tangy sauce, fantastic as long as the miscellaneous lumps if fat (not potato as first thought) were avoided. Unfortunately the third dish was less than successful, what had looked like tasty Chinese style ribs on the menu turned out to be inedible strips of fatty meat (believed to be duck). Nevermind – a success rate of two out of three is still a win!

Street snacks on-a-stick (Beijing)
I realise this has already been covered in an earlier post so I’ll just briefly touch on the offerings of Beijing’s street markets. Among the usual suspects were various varieties of marinated meat-on-a-stick, tofu-on-a-stick and glazed fruits-on-a-stick. Then you come across the increasing bizarre and less appealing options of small (shark-like) fish-on-a-stick, scorpions and crickets-on-a-stick (sometimes still wriggling), silk worm puppae-on-a-stick, snake-on-a-stick and yes even sheep penis-on-a-stick. Needless to say we did not sample all of these delights – we had to save something for our next visit to China, of course!

Momos (Tibet and Nepal)
Momos are fantastic as a snack, starter, main course or even a desert. Savoury momos are little parcels of seasoned meat (usually Yak) or vegetables wrapped in a thin pastry and either steamed or fried. We first encountered these little treats in Tibet, where the momos are smaller (one or two bites) with a thinner pastry/dough/batter (not sure what the correct term is) and supplied with soy and chilli dipping sauces. In Nepal momos tend to be larger, with a thicker casing and are most commonly fried. Up in the mountains Nepal also offers the sumptuous apple momo. Apple momos are perfect after a hard day’s trekking and are essentially a deep fried apple pie: nice, warming, hearty food. And for those with a taste for the sickly sweet may I present the snickers momo, Nepal’s answer to the deep-fried mars bar.

Bobbi/Bobby (Tibet)
Bobbis are essentially like fajitas: mixed vegetables, with or without yak meat, supplied with soured cream cheese to be wrapped in thin pancakes or chapati-like bread. Delicious!

Dal bhat (Nepal)
Whilst I was not a big fan of this dish I think that Simon was enamoured by the fact it came with free refills of each component. Dal bhat is a fairly simple dish consisting of mountains of rice accompanied by some vegetable curry, a bowl of (usually quite watery) dal (a slightly spicy lentil soup) and often a small amount of pickle.

Lemon/lime soda (Nepal and India)
I first encountered this drink a few years ago in Sri Lanka and was ecstatic to rediscover it in Nepal. Lime soda (sometimes called lemon soda despite the fact that it seems to in fact be made with lime) is a simple but incredibly refreshing drink consisting of the juice of one or two limes topped up with soda. Seriously, if you haven’t tried it buy yourself some limes and make it now!

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