Attractions at Bundi- 84 Pillar Cenotaph

84 Pillar Cenotaph, The Information Board Bundi

As we can see this structure was built in 1740 and it is a place of worship for Lord Shiva.

When we visited it local people were playing cards there.

84 Pillar Cenotaph is one of the Attractions at Bundi

I thought I can discuss one attraction at a time. There are comments by Abhilash and Being Bindas asking why I went to Bundi! The short answer is that it is recommended on Indiamike and it is a little off the beaten track.

Gopi the Turtle at the Mangalam Guest House, Bundi, Rajasthan

I fell for Bundi by reading about it on the Indiamike Travel Forum. What I found most curious on that long thread was the description of a guest house that had a pet turtle! Then imagine my surprise when after landing and securing a hotel there, Brat 2 and I stumbled upon it as soon as we started up looking for breakfast. It is called the Mangalam Guest House. It is family run affair (most of the Havelis in Bundi are) and a huge place.

The Guest Book at the Mangalan Guesthouse, Bundi, Rajasthan

We rang the bell outside the Haveli and a girl called out. We asked if we would get some breakfast and she asked us to come in. She is a small girl studying in class 6 and has an elder and a younger sibling. We asked for Aloo Paratha (flat Indian bread filled with potatoes) and chai (tea) and while we were waiting the young girl kept chatting with us.

A Painting at the Mangalam Haveli, Bundi, Rajasthan

A specialty if Bundi is that every house if full of beautiful paintings and within the Bundi Palace there is a place called Chitrashala (The house of paintings) which houses some of the best paintings.

Gopi the Turtle at the Mangalam Guesthouse, Bundi, Rajasthan

And soon enough the turtle walked in, and was around for a long time. It is one animal that I did not felt afraid of, even went as far as touching its tough structure fleetingly, it felt like a stone.

Brat 2 was mildly amused that I knew of all this right from the start. But then he would tease me for every small thing that he would ask for and I would say I don't know. He would make the most exaggerated faces and say' "You didn't read about it on the internet?"

PS. I have written the Bundi article and sent it across to Gonomad yesterday! It is the Orchha one that I am finding difficult to write!

Which Bird is This?

Asian Pied Starling at Orchha (found the name via Indiamike)

Clicked at Orchha, No Clue What is the Name (when posted originally)

Uploaded the picture so that the good folks at Indiamike, who are having fun at my expanse as of now, could identify it. Somehow I have not been able to load it there.

More Power to the Internet! Missing Person Found in India through Indiamike

On July 28, 2009 I was browsing through my favorite travel message board Indiamike. They have a section for members where you can see unanswered threads. I was answering some posts which had no replies. I had started doing it recently. I read a thread about a missing person in India. It had gone unanswered for about an hour and 20 minutes. I knew not what to say in reply. So I wrote a lame- "I am extremely sorry to hear about your plight. Any updates on the situation?"

And then came many and then a super star by the name of Ronit who said-

Meanwhile I have several friends in Airlines and even in Kingfisher also. I will call them tomorrow morning and ensure that if He boards the flight,they will inform him about your plight. Also I would like to know the details of the Ticket number and PNR (Airline-Ref) of his Travel from your country )Hamburg) Germany to Helsinki, Finland and further to (Delhi)India.

Do write back and have faith in God.

And guess what he did just that, found the guy!

At Bagdogra airport with help of Kingfisher officials.

More power to the internet.

Bus Ride from Cannought Place to Yes You Read it Rgiht, Holland!

Came across a thread named Bus Ride from Cannought Place to Holland at Indiamike. Looks like it was possible to buy a ticket on such a bus in 1970s and some have tried to travel overland from Europe to India as late as 2007!

While talking to an old India hand few days ago I came across this reference about some direct bus service which use to ply, way back in 70’s from Regal cinema in Cannought Place to Holland. I am given the impression, they ply as late as 1972.

Another excellent thread at Indiamike about overland travel to India from Europe.

Jaigarh Fort, Jaipur

Jaigarh Fort, Jaipur, Picture Taken in November 2008

I had visited Jaipur in November 2008 along with my younger nephew. Our first stop was Jaigarh Fort and it makes for so many pretty pictures. But the one below is not pretty, taken by OrangeStreet and posted with permission.

Jaigarh Fort, Jaipur after a Night of Party

So imagine my horror when I stumbled upon the picture above at Indiamike (via Picasa). I mean how can we do this to a place like Jaigarh Fort? OrangeStreet writes-

On a recent visit to Jaipur this weekend, I happened to go to jaigarh fort on 28th Feb 2009. The fort was closed however. I was told that fort had been booked for a marriage function and was hence closed for the day.

Well, I went back on March 1st and the fort was indeed open. The plight of it though shivered me timbers.

What a sad thing to do.

Indian Railway Train Announcements

Train Announcements Recorded on a Trip from New Delhi to Agra, We Went to Agra to See the Taj Mahal (again) Of Course!

I had recorded 'mind the gap' on Delhi Metro a few weeks ago and I shared it on India Mike. steven_ber (resident Indian railway expert on Indiamike) suggested me to record the various train announcements on an Indian railway platform! So, here I am, sharing the recordings, wait till the end for 'asuvidha ke liye khed hai' (the inconvenience caused is deeply regretted). Enjoy.

Pleasantly Surprised with Passport Office New Delhi

Crowd Outside the Bhikaji Cama Place Passport Office New Delhi

I quite liked my experience of applying for the renewal of my passport at New Delhi. Dealing with government officials in India is no pleasure. I was wondering how should I go about getting my passport renewed. Some of my colleagues encouraged me to apply on-line. And that is what I did.

The official website for passport related information is quite comprehensive. It is easy to fill the form online and they give you an appointed time to present your form there. And you can choose a time that is convenient to you after the first one available.

They also have a checklist of proofs that are acceptable for residence, date of birth etc. One has to attach self-attested photocopies. Now last night I panicked. I knew I had to sign, but I was wondering if it has to be at a particular place, or if I have to write self-attested and then sign. So I hopped over to Indiamike late at night and asked the question. I came to know that I only had to worry about not signing over the text and can sign anywhere on the photocopied pages. I signed at the bottom of the pages and they have accepted the form.

There was another minor incident. I am extremely uncomfortable when I am facing the camera (my natural place is behind the camera) and I had to get my photograph clicked for the passport. The picture I had for the last ten years on my passport, I did not like it one bit. So I thought I can at least try to get a better one this time. When I went to the neighborhood market I found that my favorite photo shop was closed. I went up to a random one, got the picture clicked (I am a photographer's nightmare) saw it on his LCD display, told him to print it and I will collect it in a while as I have some other errands to run in the market.

When I came back I realized that they had edited my picture (printed the copies too) by heaping a ton of makeup on my face. I hated it. I told them I never asked for any editing. They smiled and said some editing (their definition of some editing and mine don't match) is normal. I didn't wish to argue so I came home thinking I will have to live with this for next 10 years! Even dad agreed that I look horrible in those photographs. Thankfully I had not left this for the last day.

Now I am not very finicky about the way I look but yesterday I balked at the idea of pasting those pictures at my passport form and look at it for the next 10 years on and often. So I went to the market yesterday too (after a long meeting at office, the picture was that bad, not me kind) and got another picture clicked at a third studio. And I told them in very clear terms that I will not tolerate any editing. Then I called home to say I will be a little late because I wish to take another picture, everyone agreed, the first set of pictures were that bad! The consensus at home (led by me) is that the current set of pictures resemble me well and I am OK with it. I still remain a photographer's nightmare.

So I set out today to the passport office, I had 11 am appointment. I was there at 10.40 and there was a mile long queue. I went up to the gate to see how my appointment would work. I figured out that people with appointments do not need to bother about the queue. But there was rush and lot of jostling around at the gate. At 10.45 the security guard (and what a tough job he has) asked the online appointees to form a separate queue. After a while, I was inside. In Hall 1 I could spot two counters catering to 'Online applications.' At one counter people had mobbed it and at the other there was a queue. I moved to the one that had queue. The time was 10.55. By 11.10 I was out, my application was submitted. Online counters are much less crowded than the token ones.

It was a single window process. The officer (very polite) quizzed me about my residence proof (I had many) and decided to accept my application after some persuasion. While I was at the window, an old man came asking about his pension! The officer told him the pension office was nearby very politely.

Let us see if getting the passport is also going to be smooth. But this definitely was a pleasant experience that I had with the passport office.

While I am Slogging ...

While I am slogging for a day or two more, I would leave you with this crazy idea that was floated at Indiamike by Downjim, he wants to hire an auto rickshaw to go to Ladakh-

A group of friends and I are considering getting hold of the some auto rickshaws and driving from Delhi to Manali-Leh-Srinagar-Delhi this summer. We are expecting people to say it is a ridiculous idea. We are all pretty clued up on the scene in India and in particular Kashmir and are not easily put off however- as have just come back from driving an ambulance across the Sahara and clearly the Rickshaw Run has several races across India each year all of which are 3000kms+.

How what do we say to that?

Bomings in Jaipur

7 bombs are said to have gone off in Jaipur. So many dead, the Indian news channels going their usual way, all cacophony, here is the discussion on Indiamike.

I have spent quite some time near Jaipur and Jauhari Bazar (Jeweler's Market) is quite a familiar place for me where I used to shop. Certain things make no sense.

Sticky Post: My Photo with Credit to Someone Else- Is it Time to Ping Again

This post is sticky for a few more days, regular posts continue below. I made it unsticky today (30/01/2008)

Compensation!

Remember that post-

Yesterday I took a flight from Delhi to Bangalore. I picked up the flight magazine (December Issue). I found that in their feature article they have taken a picture of mine with a credit to someone else. And of course there is no question of asking my permission as the credit is given to someone else. I am mad.

Well, I was promised a correction in the next issue and compensation too. Now I have not heard from then in a long while. This mishap happened in the December issue and I agree their January issue must have been in the press by the time we got talking. But now it must be time for the February issue and I have not heard from anyone. Should I wait or should I bother the editor again?

PS. This time the post remains sticky till the matter is settled.

Update (27/01/2008)- I wrote to the editor and asked what was the compensation amount.

He replied that they pay Rs. 500 per photograph normally. To me they would offer Rs. 1000. I am OK with that. I have been updating this at Indiamike too. I really liked this quote by Shakti (see message 85) when I posted the same there-

There is a much larger issue here in that corporations are becoming very casual about stealing imagery from unsuspecting photographers. If the penalty for getting caught is posting a clarification on the source and perhaps a token payment to the original photographer then there's zero incentive for them to change their practices.

So I sent it across to the editor too. Oh, well after reading the quote (I had quoted the source to the editor), the editor went mad and basically tried telling me that I was too small for them to buy pictures from me (I have no issues with that but still they ended up using one of my pictures and I thought I was the wronged party).

By this time I too was running think on patience and I told him it is probably time that I name the magazine and the airline on my blog and at Indiamike.

You would not have believed the complete change of tone in the next email from the editor. Of course, they appreciated that I did not name the magazine. Of course, they would mail me a check in a day or two. Of course, they were interested in my postal address and of course they would send me a copy of the February issue.

All I can say is THANK GOD FOR THE INTERNET. That gives an option to mere mortals like me to write.

Update (29/01/2008) Got that check for 1000 rupees, as promised, on time. The magazine has been promised after 2nd February. Thanks a lot for all your support.

Jet Airways- Making a Customer Run from Pillar to Post

Recently came across a post on Indiamike about Jet Airways making a customer run from pillar to post. They lost the luggage and then they are not responding through customer care. I thought I will do this small post about Jet Airways to say I understand. The entire thread about the Jet Airways not responding to the complain is here. Following is a short quote-

Let me preface this by saying that I consider myself a patient person. However, my patience is being tested by Jet Airways after they lost my luggage one week ago and have offered me virtually no assistance in recovering it. Their customer "service" is truly appalling!!!! Any advice on how I can get my luggage back??

Cross posted at Blogbharti.

When You See a Picture Taken by You in an In Flight Magazine with a Credit to Someone Else!

Note: This Post is sticky for the time being. The regular posts continue below. I will be updating this post as and when I get some new information.

Update (27/12/2007): I have made this post unsticky in honor of these pictures from Prashar Lake in December (pictures courtesy Anil, my colleague).

Yesterday I took a flight from Delhi to Bangalore. I picked up the flight magazine (December Issue). I found that in their feature article they have taken a picture of mine with a credit to someone else. And of course there is no question of asking my permission as the credit is given to someone else. I am mad.

After consulting a lot of people through mail and putting the same question at Indiamike, I have written to the airline but this being end of the year I doubt I will hear back soon. I will wait for a decent period of time (say January 15 or should I wait longer?) before putting a post with the name of the airline.

Update 1 (24/12/2007): I heard from the airline and the editor who handles the work for the airline. I must say they are prompt. I wrote them over on the weekend and by Monday morning I got the reply. The editor says they got the picture from the person who they have attributed it to. According to the editor the person is one of the top travel writers in India. The editor has asked for one week's time to get back to me. So far so good.

Update 2 (25/12/2007): I had googled the author to whom the picture was attributed and I wrote a mail to him asking if he had any idea how he got the credit for the picture? I got a reply. He says he was away and an assistant sent the pictures. When one of his was not opening, the assistant simply downloaded a picture from the internet and sent it to the magazine editor that turned out to be mine. He admits there has been a mistake and says he is willing to write to the editor and also pay me out of his own pocket. I agreed to writing to the editor but of course not to paying out of pocket. Looks like the thing will settled quickly? I will now wait to hear from the editor and the airline again.

Update 3 (26/12/2007): Heard from the editor again. He says they will print a correction in the next issue and pay me for the picture. Also said they would try to put a system in place so that such incidents can be minimized. I asked if I could get a copy of the issue in which the clarification occurs. I hope I will! The editor didn't mention what they would pay I didn't ask. But I think this should be the end of the matter.

I will make this un-sticky only when I see the correction. The worst part in this whole episode is the role of chance. Had I not taken that flight with the particular airline , I would have never known about this whole stuff.

World's Highest ATM at Thegu (Sikkim, India)?

Just a little before Nathu-La (India-China border in Sikkim), at a small place called Thegu, I saw a sign saying "High Altitude ATM." It belongs to UTI Bank(Unit Trust of India) and my hunch is that the people from the Indian army are its only users. The sign gave the height of the spot as 13200 feet (4023 meter). It crossed my mind that it could be the highest ATM in the world. Because even though Leh (J&K, India) has a SBI ATM (State Bank of India) the altitude of Leh is less than Thegu at 11500 feet (3500 m).

Unfortunately, our jeep did not stop there, anyway the movement on that road is regulated so I did not even think of requesting the driver to make a stop so that I could take a picture of the ATM. But here is a good one that I found on the internet.

When I searched for world's highest ATM I got this article in Taipei Times (read under the heading India, the article is dated June 16, 2004)) saying the Thegu ATM in Sikkim is indeed the highest ATM in the world. Do you know of any ATMS higher than this?

PS. I also remember they used to close the ATM at 5.00pm in Leh in 2005! Now that is a little strange for an ATM but maybe opening it beyond 5.00pm is a 'security concern' in J&K?

Update: I had posted the same query at Indiamike. Vistet replied saying there are two ATMs at Naqu (Altitute, 4500, Tibet) and VISAs ATM Locator lists two ATM there (listed Under China, Tibet obviously is not an option). So this is probably the highest ATM for us?

Indiamike and The India Tree

Update (August 22/08/2008) Once again I do not know why the Indiamike site is not loading today. I have not been able to access it too. Hope it will start loading soon.

Update (November 14, 2006): If you have come to this blog looking for why the Indiamike site is not loading on November 14, I am equally clueless. If fact, I used the site this week for information on Sikkim. If you know something about why it is down, I would be highly obliged if you could leave a comment.

There used to be a super place to hang about for all those who love traveling in India. The place is called Indiamike. Then something happened to the forum and the owner Mike archived it. I had got so much help from Indiamike forum for planning my trips to Bharatput and Bharmour. Thank you all. (As per May 12, 2006, Indiamike is up and running again.)

Now we have a new India travel forum The India Tree and it is a relief to see many of the familiar faces around. I have to start planning the trek which we would do in June. I will soon head to The India Tree for advice now.

Update: Indiamike is up again and now we have two forums, Indiamike and Indiatree for travel lovers. I think this is good news.

Touts Touts Everywhere?

Get down at New Delhi railway station, they will flock you and they are an aggressive lot. As soon as a 2X2 bus reaches the private bus stand in Manali they start running and pasting small piece of papers on the windows to claim the occupants as their own. You go elsewhere in India and you meet them. I am talking about touts, and if you come to India, you cannot escape them.

How do tourists react to them? I found a goldmine of information about this on India Mike. From many of the responses, I can also see, the tout issue touches a raw nerve.

Some of the practical responses on the question ‘How to Deal with Touts.’

Be polite and smile, but once only.
Don't shake hands or tell them your name or where you're from.
In built up areas, if it gets bad, threatening to call the police works well.

Stop walking and remain silent ... If you are catching a taxi in Mumbai etc, after getting the right price, get them to put it in writing (keep a small book for this or a voice recorder). This works a treat and though you may have to put up with some whining, there is no sudden increase in the price at the end of your journey. It works for railway porters, rickshaw drivers too.

Only put up with what a local would. In a very touristy area like Varenassi, have some touts adopt you and the others will stay away. Have fun. Don't lose your temper.

talskeddy at India Mike

It's hard to have a catch-all rule for touts... so often you want to avoid them, but sometimes (when you're in a remote part of the country, for example) you might want to use them.

Never had I experienced anything like the touts in Delhi on my first trip to India. Oh, I was so green and they saw it right away. I could write a story just on my experiences trying to find the New Delhi Train Station reservation office for foreigners without having a map or otherwise any idea of where it was. I got sucked in by almost a dozen touts that afternoon alone. At least I can laugh about it now.

picklepak at India Mike

Wear a BIG earphone and walk 'through' people - they will think that you are listening to music - so it will discourage people from trying to make a conversation with you.

mountaingirl at India Mike

Headphones might work but some of the touts are a bit more persistent and start touching you. That really ticks me off.
I am a lot taller and bigger than the average Indian male. I look mean to them and they leave me alone in no time. I hear the Eunuchs (Chakkas) can be quite a problem to Indians. Is this true?

oldhippie at India Mike

Here are some reactions that surprised me:

Persistent and irritating touts deserve to be manhandled, not handled !!

Just joking, of course !! The best way is to ignore them. If they are shameless enough to pursue you, then join your hands and say "Maaf karo", which is the term usually used to shoo away a beggar.

The tout will be made to feel like a beggar and if that dosen't make him slink away, then he is really thick skinned and deserves a place among the rhinos of Assam !!

SHIMLA at India Mike

Taxi and auto rickshaws: My wife made the observation that if you say "No thank you sir", then 99 times out of 100, they would leave us alone. Don't know why this works. Just make sure to include the "sir" part. "No thank you" is not good enough.

04274108 at India Mike

I usually try to look pissed off and mumble things to myself and occasionally swing randomly into the air... that seems to scare the touts away

nomadelmundo at India Mike

Pretend to try and sell them something, they soon get pissed off

goangoangone at India Mike

I agree. That also works very well. Can't say that I've seen people get pissed off but many of them will turn and walk away. Don't let them go. Follow them and bargain with them until they start to run.

Also had a great time in Delhi. With this technique One rickshaw driver wanted to take us for a ride to the Jama Masjid. I told him that I would take him there for 500Rs. We haggled for a bit and I got it down to where I would take him for free. Well needless to say, I had a blast driving him around for a few blocks. I had to stop well before the mosque though because my nerves couldn't cut the traffic. Some coppers gave us some really long unapproving glances too.

So, can you see the creativity? And I have just scanned four pages of the responses available. There are many more such gems in the discussion thread and run up to 10 pages. Explore it and you will be rewarded.

H and I have shown the whole gamut of emotions in dealing with touts. We have ignored them, we have got irritated, we have felt intimidated, we have felt cheated and angry and what not. That too, when we are Indians. I wonder how it would feel to land in a foreign country and have the Paharganj/New Delhi Railway Station experience. As our traveling experience has accumulated, I feel they trouble us less. Maybe they can guess we are not so green anymore?

But two incidents stand out in mind. When we went to Bharmour in December 2005 it was the off season and there was not one tout around as we got down from the bus. We had not pre-booked anything and this lack of touts left us completely bewildered. We did not know who to ask the directions for! We took a path (there were just two roads going into the town) and reached the Chaursai Temple Complex and the local folks guided us to a hotel.

Then again, we traveled to Bharatpur in the last week of January 2006 and we arrived there at 11 in the night. There were no touts around and this was the season. One tempo guy took us around and all the guesthouse owners were sound asleep! The tempo guy did ask for a price that may have been little more than the normal fare but he did not dump us at the first guesthouse and run away. He made sure that we got a room and only then went off. We tipped him extra for his moral support. These are my two most surprising incidents where we experienced a lack of touts.