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Six days in India

Six days in India
via Swiss, Emirates and BA First
February 2013

The Taj Mahal
Agra

After we checked in to the hotel, we headed out for our afternoon visit to one of the wonders of the world. You can't drive right up, but are shuttled closer by tuk-tuk and then walk the last 200 meters, past the now familiarly aggressive Indian hawkers of memorabilia and kitsch.

Once inside the gates, it is indeed spectacular.

An amazing people watching venue.

And entertainment on our walk back to the tuk-tuk.

Taj Mahal
Day 2

Sunrise at the Taj can be spectacular, except on a foggy morning like today.
Still interesting though and glad we got up early, although "wet paint" signs on the entrance queue lanes would be a nice idea. 

Agra Fort
Agra

When the Mughal Emperor Akbar established his supremacy in Northern India, he began his first architectural venture, rebuilding the fort as a beautiful fort palace. The work was completed by his son and grandson, highlighting the Mughal’s ability to blend defensive and decorative architecture. Richly decorated with marble and mosaic, it was in a part of this fort that Shah Jahan spent the last years of his life, imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb.

First the monkeys, now parrots have at it.

Fatehpur Sikri

Fatehpur Sikri was built by the Mughal Emperor Akbar to honor the Saint Salim Chisti who foretold the birth of Akbar’s’ son and heir. Built entirely in vibrant red sandstone architecturally it draws its inspiration from Hindu, Persian and Islamic styles.

Another shuttle site but these were the most colorful tuk-tuks of the trip. And three cute locals sneak aboard for the ride up the hill.

On the way to lunch near Bharatpur.

In middle of a town that made Agra look desirable, is an oasis of a resort with a very nice restaurant.

Lunch with a couple of Kingfishers.

Bharatpur to Jaipur
Shatabdi Express
First Class
5:05P-8:50P
February 6, 2013

Dodging cars, trucks, cows, people and bicycles, we arrived at Bharatpur Station at around 4:45p for our 5:05p Shatabdi Express to Jaipur.
Nonstop to Jaipur in only 2 1/2 hours.

Our luxurious train pulls into Bharatpur.

Not the most modern seats, but it was reasonably comfortable. And there were only two other pax in the First Class car.

"Dinner" is served by our male cabin attendant.

The menu varies by time of day.

2x2 seating.

Not sure why but the bases of each seat was still wrapped.

We arrived in Jaipur a little early. Our local guide was waiting for us as we stepped off the train.

Taj Jai Palace Hotel
Jaipur

Again decided to save money and not spoil Jr. No Oberoi today, but the very, indeed comically dated Jai Palace. In retrospect, probably not the best decision. On the other hand, wonderful staff with the best restaurant of the week, Cinnamon, where we ate twice.

On our drive from the train station to the hotel, we passed this wedding procession. They were on the way to the Jai Palace and celebrated into the night.

Unfortunately, our room was close to the festivities, the 1am clean-up, frequent middle-of-the-night train horns and 4:30am prayers.  Changed our room for the last two nights with an upgrade 2 bedroom suite for a nominal up charge.


 

Jaipur
Day 1

What a spectacularly beautiful morning sunny and +15 on the way to +21 today. Today we are off to the old city Jaipur, one of India's first planned cities... wider streets, grid like layout and mixed use commercial and residential. First stop is the extraordinary €œJantar Mantar”, the astronomical observatory built by Raja Sawai Jai Singh II in 1827. This is one of five observatories he built in northern India. The instruments resembling massive futuristic structures are actually highly sophisticated instruments which are accurate even today.

Nearby is the City Palace, a sprawling complex with multiple courtyards, public buildings, astronomical observatory and zenana mahals (harems). Within the palace complex are several museums including an interesting textile gallery exhibiting a fine selection of textiles and costumes from the royal collection.

We also had a private tour of the seven storey Chandra Mahal, visiting rooms which were not usually open to the public.

Thursday night, we decided to go to the movies and see the latest Bollywood hit, Race 2.
Classic and attractive single screen theatre...

...and apparently a One World member.

Amazing concession prices with two popcorns and two large bottled waters costing only $1.75.

Although the movie was in Hindi, there is enough English (or Hinglish) and a simple enough plot that it was pretty understandable. Didn't really matter as there was enough eye candy in this flick to make language a non-issue. I mean, does one really need to understand Hindi with Jacqueline Fernandez and Deepika Padukone on the screen?

Jaipur
Friday
Day 2

One of the best days of the trip, we stopped at a couple of photo op spots in Jaipur, on our way to Amber, the site of one of the most spectacular fort/palaces to date.

Before we got to the palace, we hiked surrounding the Aravalli hills and visit Meena tribal settlements, a ruined fort, and hidden shrines. This place is off the beaten track, hard to find and infrequently visited by tourists. But once there, an absolutely idyllic and beautiful setting.

Locals here live pretty much as their ancestors did, over a thousand years ago.

The fort at Amber is one of the finest examples of a fort palace, perched on a mountain overlooking the area. The fort and indeed the town of Amber is surrounded by 22 kilometers of walls which took 40 years to complete.

By this time, we were pretty much exhausted and toured out, so headed back to the hotel.
Some sights along the way...

... and lunch. Although Cinnamon has no terrace, the wonderful staff agreed to serve us on the main restaurant's outdoor terrace.  The food was simply amazing, even better with multiple Kingfishers.

Next up: The long and winding trek home, starting in beautiful Mumbai.

Jet Airways (9W) 2056
Jet Konnect
JAI-BOM
737-800 BSI
7:55A-9:30A (sked)
8:25A-10:10A (actual)
February 9, 2013

With a 7:55A departure, our driver picked us up at 6:15A. Fifteen minutes later, we arrived at quite possibly the smallest airport serving a city of 3 million. Tight security as at all Indian airports. Armed military in force outside the terminal, as only pax were allowed in the terminal.

Once inside, the 9W counter is on the left. Only a few pax checking in, and there was a blue carpet priority lane for Business pax. No priority security but this was not an issue this morning as there were only a handful of pax in the queue in front of us. Pleasant and seemingly efficient staff.

Our gate was the nearby bus gate, marked 1A and 1B. We arrived at the gate with plenty of time, about 6:45A and then waited more than an hour to board the bus.

Although the flight was delayed (late inbound) there was no communication from any 9W staff about the fight delay. That didn't stop dozens of pax from queuing as early as 7:20A. Seriously, bus gate lice? Why on earth would anyone queue for a bus, especially when the first ones on are usually the last ones off?

Didn't know what to expect from 9W on a domestic flight, but the seat, service and food were excellent, far better than any front cabin offerings on any similar 90 minute NA or European domestic flight. Only two rows in J on this plane. Spacious cabin with comfortable seats including foot rests. Row 2 was fine but row 1 had a ton of legroom and no one in front to recline into your space.

PDB. Hot towels. Nice menu with three different breakfast options!
My scrambled eggs were delicious.

As apparently with most BOM domestic arrivals, it is tarmac parking and we were bused to the terminal. Once inside, it was an quick and easy exit to our driver and vehicle.

The Oberoi Mumbai
Mumbai

After a couple of mediocre hotels (Agra and Jaipur), what a pleasure to arrive at the beautiful Oberoi, located on the coastline, on Marine Drive in South Mumbai. We booked a day room, giving us an opportunity to explore Mumbai and relax before the long flights home.

Mumbai

After dropping our bags in the room, we headed out for a brief guided tour of Mumbai followed by lunch. After Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, what a contrast Mumbai is. Modern and spacious, reminiscent of London, but with much better winter weather.

And before we leave India, no SFO777 trip report would be complete without a pictorial review...

The Girls of India

Going Home

Our driver picked us up at 11:00PM and we arrived at the dumpy old International departures terminal just before midnight. With the new International Terminal under construction beside the old one, traffic was pretty slow.  The same drill as at JAI with ticketed pax allowed in the terminal. As we had already checked in, we headed for passport control and security. There is priority passport control but not priority security. It took about 30 minutes total as multiple airlines crews kept cutting the lines.

Clipper Lounge
Mumbai International (BOM)

While Emirates and British have their own lounges, Jet and a host of others use something called the Clipper Lounge, located opposite Gate 14. Unfortunately my "same day EK Business flight from CMB and First flight from DXB" were not good enough to get us past the "only at the departure airport" EK dragon.

So we were stuck with this dump. Ratty seating, basic alcoholic and soft drinks, and food that falls into either the unappetizing or scary categories. Making matters worse, with a bunch of post-midnight departures, the place was packed.

Almost forgot a couple of iphone pics that I had taken when I tempted fate by actually trying to use the loo in the Clipper Lounge.  These pics are pretty representative of the whole Clipper Lounge experience.