We drove over to the house of a guy who works with eliot's dad. Vikram Sharan and his wife Shwetka invited us over for some amazing food and advice about travel to their home country. Besides having a great apartment overlooking the water, an adorable (and talkative) daughter, and a bunch of good advice, Vikrams wife is an amazing cook. We had two kinds of vegetarian dishes, a yogurt, rice, homemade bread,carrot dessert and curried chicken.
Before lunch, gathered around a small table in the living room, Vikram ran us through about a hundred little towns and cities we have to see. From simple straight forward advice like "the view of the north is that it's unsafe. It's really very safe. Even for westerners" to some lofty claims like "Fateh Pursikri is much better than the Taj." and in the contiuing tradition of people everywhere in the world loving Texans, Vikram smiled when he learned that's where I'm from and, with some prodding, proclaimed "Bihar (his birthplace) is the Texas of India!!" He made the motion of pulling out six shooters. The legend of Texas continues! All hail the mighty state!
Really, we talked about too much to sum up here
but I wrote down as much as I could and I'm sure we'll be referencing it throughout the trip. It sounds like we'll get to experience the festival of colors (Holi) when we first arrive, got some Great Advice about traveling and staying in Nepal, and perhaps best of all, Vikrams brother is a colonel in the army who we're assured will be happy to show us to the Golden Temple!
Glad to see you are easing toward roughing it! So far the trip to India looks pretty cush to me. I would be careful around a Colonel in the Indian Army. NEither of you has a reputation for discipline. Maybe I can dig up a "W" bumper sticker for your bikes. I think he is still pretty popular there. THe Colonel might be impressed. Dad
ReplyDeleteJust so you know I read in Conde Naste Traveler this morning about touring INdia by luxury train! INstead of three months ona bike, it takes about ten days, you have a first class sleeper car, gourmet meals and no snakes. To each his own of course, but I think the train option provides a much richer experience for meeting rich foreign women, hopefully lonely and looking for companionship. Out there on a bike, no showers,crappy tooth-paste, no clean clothes-I suspect the options for meaningful relationships are very-very limited. ANyway, just think about it. I guess it depends a little on what part of India you really want to "experience." Hot dusty roads, peddling a bike, snakes-big spiders, no baths (=no girls); or, rich, independent "Indian Cougars" looking for action on the train.