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I would recommend not eating street food if possible especially if you don't want to get sick. Unfortunately produce may not be washed with 'clean' water and cooking oil may be used for a quite a bit. That being said there are lots of places to eat things which will be new and exciting such as sweets stores. Keep in mind also that street food, aka vendors in the street, is different from food stalls and stores. Additionally, some things like lassi(s) sold on the street can be safe to have if coming from reputable advice. 

In terms of precautions, when my in laws came to India for our wedding, we had them booked in hotels with good water filtration systems and great buffets. They ate breakfast and lunch usually in the hotel and dinners out at the family events. Hotels like Ramada and Radisson are affordable and can provide good overall service. Going upscale to the Leela Palace, Taj Hotel group or the Oberoi is definitely worth it at several points in your trip if possible. As I've posted before, the quality is quite high and can be considered world class level. Additionally, having hotel recommend vetted transportation services or guided tours is worth the extra cost if you are not planning on going with a tour group. We were very lucky that my in laws did not get sick but it also took a lot of work to make it happen.

Definitely talk with your doctor about the vaccinations you will need to talk before you trip. 

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Lion, that's really good advice.  The sickest I've gotten in India was after eating street food just hours before my flight home.  This was 45 years ago and I've never forgotten the plane ride to Copenhagen...I'll spare the details, but it was horrible.  In Mumbai, I always stay at the Leela and eat the buffets...the quality the past couple of years has been superb, some of the best Indian I've had.  I always book directly with the Leela and have been quite fortunate to get excellent rates for very nice accommodations.  After leaving Mumbai, I consult with Western friends about safe eats.  They usually know the the quality and safety of most places. I've been really lucky for the past 25 years or so, having had no major digestive issues.  (Knocking on wood...going for a two month stay in January.)  I'm much more susceptible to respiratory illness and the pollution and dust make it necessary for me to wear a filtering mask when on the roads.

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i wanted to echo the comments above and say that i adore the Taj chain. the level of personal service is wonderful. examples--plate of chocolates by the bed. i only ate the dark ones, as i prefer them. next day--only dark. same thing happened for the fruit in the fruit basket they gave us every day--after the first day there was more of the stuff we liked and none of the stuff we hadn't touched. when we checked in, someone must've noted my long hair, and my sister's, as after the first day there was always extra shampoo and conditioner, even though we hadn't asked for any. 

one time i was staying there and was ill (not a stomach thing--the cipro worked--i had a bad allergic reaction and didn't have an epipen) and the hotel found out about it because my dad asked where the pharmacy was. the chef-unasked-sent up some curd rice (good for an upset stomach) that night, the house dr. stopped by, and for the next few days everyone was beyond solicitous, at breakfast the chef came out and asked if he could make me something special and got pomegranates to make fresh juice (because i guess sick people need juice?), when i walked out the doormen asked if i needed a water bottle or umbrella (for the heat), and  even the guy who pushed the button to get the elevator asked how i was, and if i needed any errands run. it was really sweet. 

and of course the facilities, rooms, etc are lovely. the Taj isn't cheapest option out there, but i think having a night or two there is well worth it. 

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Does anyone have experience hiring a car and driver for travel within India?  We would like to do this for travel from Delhi to Agra and then to several destinations within Rajasthan -- specific destinations still to be determined.  I'm just now starting to look into this, but if anyone has any experiences to share, or specific recommendations of car services, I would greatly appreciate your input.  Thanks!

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Your hotel should be able to set everything up - I think that's the ideal way to do it if you are in a bigger city. They know people want this and they will have set prices for the service, and also many possible routes (that are customizable). Plus, these drivers are at least somewhat vetted. It usually doesn't have to be far in advance, but if you can email the hotel before you leave, I'm sure that would be helpful. I found it interesting that the times people say to a destination can vary (the hotel may say something is 3 hours, and when you get in the car, driver will say, no, that takes 5 hours - that's what happened when we went Delhi to Agra).  Where my relatives live, I just have one of my cousins grab a dude from the corner and then find a jeep they can drive.

Despite what they tell you, won't always be easy to find someone "fluent" in English to drive. Sometimes the driver will be completely not fluent, and they can add hire a guide that is fluent for not much more money. Make sure you get an official tour guide for the Taj, I thought it was worth it. Try to press at the beginning that you don't want to go to the souvenir shop afterwards, and you really mean it (unless you do). If there is a way to line up your visit with a full moon, you can try to arrange a night tour (which you need to buy tickets for). 

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As just a note, I went with a group of at least ten people, and nine of us got sick.  We only ate at restaurants in Delhi that didn't seem sketchy, and some of us got sick, everyone who ate cooked street food got sick, and we got sick from cooked food cooked in a home where they were being very careful for us.  The only person who didn't get sick lived on a diet of whiskey the whole time.  I was very very careful, as was Matt, I expected to get sick because I have stomach issues and was being treated for Lymes at the time.  I couldn't take the amoxicillin as I am allergic to it, my best advice is just start it the first day and keep taking it throughout your trip.  I would avoid street food, as tasty as it may be, you can find some of the items prepared in restaurants.  But I was sick for weeks and just wouldn't wish that on anyone.  Our Indian friends we were traveling with said they always get sick when they go back, they just expect that.  Even the bride got terribly sick while she was there.  I think if we had stayed places I could control where and what I was eating more it may have been much better, BUT I would say it is not worth it no matter how good the street food is to eat that.  That is what really made most everyone really sick and the one out of ten who didn't get sick also didn't eat any street food.  

I am glad you are not traveling alone in Delhi, I was worried when I read that post.  Not that you couldn't do it, but I wouldn't recommend it.  I would also visit, the large Sikh temple: Gurudwara Bangla Sahib while in Delhi.  We ate at the temple and that was quite good and we didn't get sick from that. We visited the Lotus Temple, which is very pretty and potentially worth a stop.   The Red Fort is a must see (it will take you a long time, it is really large).  You will go buy the India Gate likely to see other sites and it is worth a stop.  Humayun's Tomb would be another thing to see.  We didn't really do any shopping in Delhi, but that would be fun- I think it would be well worth it to look into the services of a guide for your time there though- getting tuk tuks, cabs, telling them where to go, not to take a bad route, negotiating prices.  Traffic is really terrible, expect it to take a very long time to get between places, so we were limited in what we could see in one day.  We made it through well because we were traveling with Indian friends, if I was going there just as a westerner myself, I would hire a guide AND I am not normally a guide type of person, but I would definitely do it there.  It should likely be very inexpensive, I would hire a woman so she knew where good places to pick up souvenirs and etc would be.  Maybe your husband's clients know someone?  It definitely helps to bring a big scarf so you can cover your head, breathe through it when the air is bad or smelly and to distract from unwanted attention.  They have beautiful scarves there, but bring one with you just so you have it from the get go (I like them on the plane as a blanket too anyway.)  The air might be a little better in December than in November when we were there they were burning all the fields in Punjab.  Oh and get the water bottle I posted about up-thread if you are worried about getting sick.  I would even put my bottled water through it because in Punjab we were told by the family we were staying with that people would refill water bottles from the tap, seal them and sell them (that might not happen in Delhi and other cities.)  

In Agra, there is the Taj, the little Taj and other sites.  Can you take the fast train down there now?  It should have opened, I think we just missed it's opening.  We had a guide who took us in a car, and who also was a tour guide, arranged by our hotel, that was actually really nice.  Except as part of their service they take you to certain shops, but one of the ones we went to ended up being pretty cool.  

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My only suggestion is rather mundane.  If you're going to hire a car and driver for a long journey, make sure you specify you want an AC (air-conditioned) car.  And just as important, before you get in the car, have the driver demonstrate that the AC works, i.e., have it run long enough so that you're sure it will cool the car sufficiently.   

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On 9/14/2016 at 0:27 PM, SilverBullitt said:

My only suggestion is rather mundane.  If you're going to hire a car and driver for a long journey, make sure you specify you want an AC (air-conditioned) car.  And just as important, before you get in the car, have the driver demonstrate that the AC works, i.e., have it run long enough so that you're sure it will cool the car sufficiently.   

That is great advice!  Thank you!

On 9/7/2016 at 1:29 PM, ktmoomau said:

As just a note, I went with a group of at least ten people, and nine of us got sick.  We only ate at restaurants in Delhi that didn't seem sketchy, and some of us got sick, everyone who ate cooked street food got sick, and we got sick from cooked food cooked in a home where they were being very careful for us.  The only person who didn't get sick lived on a diet of whiskey the whole time.  I was very very careful, as was Matt, I expected to get sick because I have stomach issues and was being treated for Lymes at the time.  I couldn't take the amoxicillin as I am allergic to it, my best advice is just start it the first day and keep taking it throughout your trip.  I would avoid street food, as tasty as it may be, you can find some of the items prepared in restaurants.  But I was sick for weeks and just wouldn't wish that on anyone.  Our Indian friends we were traveling with said they always get sick when they go back, they just expect that.  Even the bride got terribly sick while she was there.  I think if we had stayed places I could control where and what I was eating more it may have been much better, BUT I would say it is not worth it no matter how good the street food is to eat that.  That is what really made most everyone really sick and the one out of ten who didn't get sick also didn't eat any street food.  

I am glad you are not traveling alone in Delhi, I was worried when I read that post.  Not that you couldn't do it, but I wouldn't recommend it.  I would also visit, the large Sikh temple: Gurudwara Bangla Sahib while in Delhi.  We ate at the temple and that was quite good and we didn't get sick from that. We visited the Lotus Temple, which is very pretty and potentially worth a stop.   The Red Fort is a must see (it will take you a long time, it is really large).  You will go buy the India Gate likely to see other sites and it is worth a stop.  Humayun's Tomb would be another thing to see.  We didn't really do any shopping in Delhi, but that would be fun- I think it would be well worth it to look into the services of a guide for your time there though- getting tuk tuks, cabs, telling them where to go, not to take a bad route, negotiating prices.  Traffic is really terrible, expect it to take a very long time to get between places, so we were limited in what we could see in one day.  We made it through well because we were traveling with Indian friends, if I was going there just as a westerner myself, I would hire a guide AND I am not normally a guide type of person, but I would definitely do it there.  It should likely be very inexpensive, I would hire a woman so she knew where good places to pick up souvenirs and etc would be.  Maybe your husband's clients know someone?  It definitely helps to bring a big scarf so you can cover your head, breathe through it when the air is bad or smelly and to distract from unwanted attention.  They have beautiful scarves there, but bring one with you just so you have it from the get go (I like them on the plane as a blanket too anyway.)  The air might be a little better in December than in November when we were there they were burning all the fields in Punjab.  Oh and get the water bottle I posted about up-thread if you are worried about getting sick.  I would even put my bottled water through it because in Punjab we were told by the family we were staying with that people would refill water bottles from the tap, seal them and sell them (that might not happen in Delhi and other cities.)  

In Agra, there is the Taj, the little Taj and other sites.  Can you take the fast train down there now?  It should have opened, I think we just missed it's opening.  We had a guide who took us in a car, and who also was a tour guide, arranged by our hotel, that was actually really nice.  Except as part of their service they take you to certain shops, but one of the ones we went to ended up being pretty cool.  

Very useful advice, KT.  Thank you!  I don't think we can do the all-whiskey diet, but we can certainly avoid street food and other sketchy food venues.  I really like the idea of trying to get a female tour guide in Delhi -- I'm going to explore that option with our hotel (part of the Taj group).  Yes to the water bottle -- based on your earlier post, I bought one for MrB last winter before he made his first trip to India -- he's taken it with him, but never used it because he only travels between the hotel and his clients' offices.  I will be buying three more for this trip.   

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PSA for anyone planning to travel to India in the near future:

 You may be aware that PM Modi's 'demonetization' program has resulted in a currency crisis, such that it is extremely difficult to obtain any amount of Rupees.  I have been in Delhi for the last 5 days and I can confirm that the situation is even worse than it may appear through media sources.  I would encourage anyone with travel plans to India to make every effort to exchange money in the U.S. BEFORE leaving for India.  Once in India, it will be next to impossible to obtain anything more than very small quantities of cash in Rupees, if you can get any at all.  Trying to exchange money at a bank or ATM is nearly hopeless as all banks have limited funds and what the media describes as 'long lines' waiting to get in.  I would characterize them more as 'crowds,' or even 'mobs.' (My daughter described one scene we witnessed as a 'mosh pit.') Our driver told me on Friday that he had waited outside his bank for more than 5 hours the day before, only to be told that the bank had run out of cash by the time he made it inside. Theoretically, you can exchange cash dollars at your hotel.  In practice, however, the hotels are on strict rations and frequently have no cash at all or limit you to exchanging no more than $20 and can't tell you when they will receive their next cash delivery.  Further, if you are bringing U.S. dollars with you in hope of exchanging them, make sure they are in pristine condition.  I attempted to exchange a $20 bill -- the maximum allowed that day -- and was told that they could not accept it because it had a crease down the middle (it had been folded in half).  (We arrived in India with a healthy supply of rupees, but felt the need to increase that supply once here and seeing the situation firsthand.)

The demonetization program is supposed to end on December 30th, but no one knows what that means or whether or when the cash supply will return to normal levels. 

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I'm leaving for India for a month.  I called my hotel (Leela Mumbai) and was told that I could get $80 worth of rupees at the airport exchange, but not to count on anything from the hotel.  After a couple of nights at the Leela, I'll be leaving for my ultimate destination about 200 miles away...I've been told that my driver will take dollars in lieu of rupees, but I have no idea how I'll fare otherwise for the remaining two months of my visit.  I'm taking a lot of small dollar denomination instead of the more convenient hundreds and fifties.  Friends who lived where I'm going assure me that'll I manage somehow...a lesson in detachment and faith, maybe?  I had about 4000 rupees to use as tips and incidentals until I could exchange more...3000 are now worthless, but luckily I have nearly 100 Rs. in hundreds.  And thank goodness for plastic....

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I definitely would make sure I had accounts with the top payment apps- not sure what most people there use, but Paypal, Paytm, etc.  Goodness, given how much we relied on cash for all transactions, this cannot be easy.  And the electricity and wifi outside of certain places aren't incredibly conducive to square readers, etc.

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On 12/15/2016 at 2:34 PM, ktmoomau said:

I definitely would make sure I had accounts with the top payment apps- not sure what most people there use, but Paypal, Paytm, etc.  Goodness, given how much we relied on cash for all transactions, this cannot be easy.  And the electricity and wifi outside of certain places aren't incredibly conducive to square readers, etc.

I'm not sure how helpful this would be.  We used cash mainly to tip our drivers, guides and hotel staff.  None of them accept Paypal or other online payment services.  Otherwise, we used credit cards to pay for hotels, restaurants and purchases.  

We were finally able to get cash from an ATM using a credit card on December 20th.  At that time the limit was 2500 rupees per transaction and you were limited to 2 transactions per day, although somehow my daughter was able to make 5 withdrawals within a matter of minutes.  The rest of us were not so lucky.

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We spent almost 3 weeks in India in December. This was my first trip to India and there is so much to say about India, but I’ll focus on the things that a prospective first-time visitor would like to know.  I am happy to report that none of the 4 of us got sick!  We accomplished this by dining primarily in high-end hotels and at restaurants recommended by our guides.  We drank only bottled water and even used it to brush our teeth at the high-end hotels, although I suspect that was an unnecessary precaution. 

New Delhi

We spent our first 5 days in India in Delhi while MrB worked with his clients.  Due to his need to be close to his clients’ offices, we stayed at a hotel on the southern outskirts of Delhi (Taj Vivanta Surajkund).  This hotel was superb in every way, but due to its location, I don’t think that it would be of interest to most people traveling to Delhi as tourists. The hotel supplied my daughters and me with a car, excellent driver and superb guide and for 3 solid days we were able to see the sights in Delhi.  You really haven’t lived until you’ve experienced the traffic in Delhi! It’s completely normal to be in a traffic jam composed of all manner of vehicles from large trucks to tuk-tuks to motor scooters, and all kinds of animals including cattle, stray dogs, monkeys, pigs, horses, camels and the occasional elephant. Oh, and people: pedestrians make up a good part of the jam, including small children, often unaccompanied by adults.  And passengers disembark from busses directly into oncoming traffic (not onto the sidewalk, if there is one).  At first, you’re pretty freaked out by this experience, but you quickly adjust and within a day you don’t even blink an eye when a large vehicle appears to be barreling down on you – you just know that it’ll squeak by with millimeters to spare and everything will be fine.  I will NEVER complain about DC traffic again!

And let us not forget the honking horns!  I joked to my family that I was going to record a musical piece consisting entirely of various honking horns and title it ‘Delhi Symphony.’

Sightseeing: If you have time for only one major sightseeing excursion in Delhi, make it Humayun’s Tomb – truly breathtaking.  Follow that up with The Red Fort, Jama Masjid, Qutub Minar, India Gate, Lodhi Gardens.

Dining: 

Indian Accent: If you have only one dinner in Delhi, make it Indian Accent at the Manor Hotel in a leafy section of Delhi.  Everything here was great from the food to the service to the ambience, which was quiet and understated.  The two best dishes we had were the Chicken Phulka Taco (from the Starters menu) and the Tamarind John Dory from the Entrées menu.  These were sublime.  Everything else was wonderful as well.  Recently Indian Accent opened a branch in NYC, if you can’t make it to Delhi.  I understand that it’s extremely expensive. 

Bhukara: Located in the beautiful ITC Maurya Hotel.  We had lunch here and were underwhelmed.  Given that this restaurant has been rated as one of the best in the world, we were flabbergasted.  Frankly, we didn’t consider it to be much better than a kabob place in NoVA.  Be forewarned: you have to eat with your hands here; fortunately, they provide you with a bib that covers the upper half of your body.  When I’m paying these kind of prices, I don’t want to eat with my hands!  Also, we ordered Gin & Tonics: they served us glasses with a small amount of gin and a can of Schweppes Tonic water that we could pour in ourselves.  I later learned on my credit card statement that I’d been charged $60 for 3 servings of gin!

Imperial Hotel: If you want a view into India under British colonial rule, come to the Imperial Hotel.  You’ve got it all: the lawn, the rattan furniture, the overhead ceiling fans, the dark wooden paneling, the impeccable service by the turbaned wait staff.  And, if you’re looking for good cocktails this was the only place we found them in India: Gin Gimlets were fantastic.  We had originally planned to have High Tea here, but our schedule dictated lunch instead.  Our lunch was mostly good.  I don’t recall the exact dishes we ordered, but all but one were good.  I ordered an Indonesian dish that I found incredibly salty and didn’t eat much of it.  I wouldn’t have said anything, but when asked, I said it was too salty.  Well, that resulted in the Chef himself coming out to inform me that the dish was not too salty.  I was treated to a very public lecture about the nature of the dish and it was highly embarrassing.  The good news: they didn’t charge us for the dish. 

Lodi Gardens: The Restaurant: Our guide suggested lunch at this place.  This is by no means a destination.  What appealed to us was the fact that it was in a tree-shaded, garden environment.  It was an oasis in the middle of the chaos of Dehli.  And, while we could still hear the honking horns, we felt somehow shielded from it.  The outdoor dining area was lovely.  The food was average.  Again, we mostly appreciated it for the location and setting.   

 

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After our stay in Delhi, we traveled through northern India from Agra through several locations in Rajasthan.  We had the great good fortune to have selected EasyTours to be our guides.  We could not have chosen better.  

I had been in communication with 3 tour groups in India and we decided on Easy Tours because of the ease of communication and the price.  It was not the most expensive, nor the cheapest, it was somewhere in the middle. And it delivered the best service,

I want to say that we traveled as a family of 4 (2 adult children, 2 parents) in a 9-seat van with a driver and his assistant.  There was plenty of room for all of our luggage in the back of the van.

Easy Tours was incredible!  I can't recommend them highly enough!  

(I'll have more to say later.)

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12 hours ago, LauraB said:

Bhukara: Located in the beautiful ITC Maurya Hotel.  We had lunch here and were underwhelmed.  Given that this restaurant has been rated as one of the best in the world, we were flabbergasted.  Frankly, we didn’t consider it to be much better than a kabob place in NoVA.

Bukhara has GOT to be one of the single most overrated restaurants in the world.  We were severely underwhelmed seven years ago and I am surprised they are still coasting on their incredibly inflated reputation.  There are hidden kabob shops in Old Delhi where you can get better food for 1/20 what you pay at Bukhara, easily.

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15 hours ago, Kanishka said:

Bukhara has GOT to be one of the single most overrated restaurants in the world.  We were severely underwhelmed seven years ago and I am surprised they are still coasting on their incredibly inflated reputation.  There are hidden kabob shops in Old Delhi where you can get better food for 1/20 what you pay at Bukhara, easily.

Twenty years ago friends mentioned it was a good restaurant but even then it seemed like a place NRIs went to be seen. Over the last decade never heard it mentioned at all in social circles. 

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On 1/9/2017 at 1:56 PM, LauraB said:

 We drank only bottled water and even used it to brush our teeth at the high-end hotels, although I suspect that was an unnecessary precaution. 

New Delhi

We spent our first 5 days in India in Delhi while MrB worked with his clients.  Due to his need to be close to his clients’ offices, we stayed at a hotel on the southern outskirts of Delhi (Taj Vivanta Surajkund).  This hotel was superb in every way, but due to its location, I don’t think that it would be of interest to most people traveling to Delhi as tourists. The hotel supplied my daughters and me with a car, excellent driver and superb guide and for 3 solid days we were able to see the sights in Delhi.  You really haven’t lived until you’ve experienced the traffic in Delhi! It’s completely normal to be in a traffic jam composed of all manner of vehicles from large trucks to tuk-tuks to motor scooters, and all kinds of animals including cattle, stray dogs, monkeys, pigs, horses, camels and the occasional elephant. Oh, and people: pedestrians make up a good part of the jam, including small children, often unaccompanied by adults.  And passengers disembark from busses directly into oncoming traffic (not onto the sidewalk, if there is one).  At first, you’re pretty freaked out by this experience, but you quickly adjust and within a day you don’t even blink an eye when a large vehicle appears to be barreling down on you – you just know that it’ll squeak by with millimeters to spare and everything will be fine.  I will NEVER complain about DC traffic again!

And let us not forget the honking horns!  I joked to my family that I was going to record a musical piece consisting entirely of various honking horns and title it ‘Delhi Symphony.’

At high end hotels bottled water is unnecessary since they have specialized filtration systems and protocols for employees to follow that limit any potential bacterial contamination. 

Driving in India is no joke!  We had rented a car and driver for my in laws and after picking them up at the airport, my father in law sat in the front passenger seat. After a while had to tell the driver to go slower as it was making him sick! :lol: 

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Thanks for a really nice summary of your trip!  I love India, having visited many times over the past 45 years.  The traffic has gotten much worse, but like you said, after a few days you just fall into the new frame of reference.  If people drove like this in the states, we'd go nuts...but in India, it somehow works.  As for the horns, didn't you love the Indian "truck art", including "Horn Please" on the back of almost all trucks?  We blow horns out of impatience and sometimes anger, but Indian drivers do it to let you know they're there.  There's never a need to be offended by a horn in India.  My last few times in India, I've gotten brave and rented a motor scooter.  I drive it on rural roads and small villages and towns, but NEVER is a traffic-heavy city or town.  

I was supposed to leave for India tomorrow, but have had to postpone my trip because my wife is getting new hips soon...so it'll be the fall before I can go.  How was the currency situation?    

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On 1/11/2017 at 0:19 AM, JeffC said:

How was the currency situation?    

As I described upthread, it was pretty bad.  Finally, on December 20th, we were able to get money out of an ATM in Udaipur.  We were limited to 2500 rupees 2x per day, supposedly, but one of my daughters was able to get 5 extractions of that amount.  The rest of us tried it, but did not have her good luck. I just read this article in the NYT and find it really discouraging.  I feel very badly for the Indian people, for whom I developed a great fondness during our trip to India.

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Thanks, Laura!  As the article you linked noted, people are really suffering, especially those who have never had bank accounts and who have only dealt in cash--farmers, small merchants, produce sellers, etc.  Then there are those who, living in very remote areas, didn't even know about Modi's edict.  I have friends who spend six months out of the year in India who have managed by going to local ATM's and getting their 2000+ rupees out on a daily basis, but the lines are long and the people are losing patience.  You are right about the Indian people.  They are, as a whole, as hospitable and wonderful as one could ever want.  Over the years, I've shared many meals with people I only met in passing, but who insisted that I join their families for a meal.  Many in India are suffering greatly.  Modi has made one of the great blunders ever...wonder if his brand of Hindu nationalism will carry him through.  

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Here's something fun...my friend Meherwan Irani, who owns Chai Pani restaurants in Asheville and Decatur, made a six-part series called "Cutting Chai", named after one way that chai is served in India, when the order is split into two smaller cups so it can be shared.  Meherwan took his two chefs and a camera man on a whirlwind tour of (mostly) street food destinations in India...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t3abfVBxfU&sns=fb

 

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Delhi

i recommend the e-Visa.  $60 for a one time entry 30 day tourist visa. Took 24 hours to process, all online.  Best part was the seperate e-Visa immigration  line at the Delhi airport, which had no line at all, just walked up and was processed.  Longest wait was at baggage claim.

so far the lasagna has been great.  The cook our friends just hired has a thing for Italian pasta and western baking.  A sheet pan of lasagna was waiting for us when we arrived!  

The Jain food on United Airlines was also decent, portion size was small.  But I would definitely recommend booking a special diet meal, and go with Indian vegetarian.

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Hotel Saravana Bhavan, Connaught Place location, or as the locals say CP.  Excellent dosa, especially the paneer dosa.  Lunch for 4 people = 1,000 rupee or less than $4/person.

obligatory stop at FabIndia.  Followed by coffee at Starbucks next door.  Don't judge.

A walk thru Lodhi Garden, very pretty.

The cook made chicken korma, dal, cauliflower, potatoes, naan, and rice pudding with saffron.  Stuffed!

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Turns out the US has a beautiful embassy campus in Delhi, designed by noted mid-century modernist architect Edward Stone, who also designed the Kennedy Center.  The employee canteen serves Indian lunch, 120 rupee (roughly $2) gets you three vegetarian dishes, rice, two roti, and pappadum.

Humayan's Tomb complex is a must see when in Delhi. 

And our new favorite thing: Kashmiri morel mushrooms eaten at Indian Accent, which did not disappoint.

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Falling behind on my India updates!

The Taj Mahal was as wonderful as I hoped/dreamed.  We went for a sunset tour (we arrived around 4:30 and left around 6:30) and watched as the evening colors changed on the white marble.

Now in Jaipur for a couple of days and excited to try some Rajasthani food.

the ITC hotal chain is very nice.  Their Peshawri restaurant, a Bukhara clone, has excellent paneer and butter naan.  The dal bukhara also very rich, creamy, and smoky.  If you want a safe hotel meal, Peshawri is a good option.

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On 4/1/2017 at 9:36 AM, Tweaked said:

The Taj Mahal was as wonderful as I hoped/dreamed.  We went for a sunset tour (we arrived around 4:30 and left around 6:30) and watched as the evening colors changed on the white marble.

I agree, the Taj Mahal, unlike other iconic sites, does not disappoint -- it exceeded our sky-high expectations. Did you make it to the 'Baby Taj?' in Agra?  It is stunningly beautiful and we enjoyed our visit there as much as the Taj Mahal itself.  We visited first thing in the morning and basically had the place to ourselves!  The tile work there is amazing -- we took hundreds of photos.

On 4/1/2017 at 9:36 AM, Tweaked said:

Now in Jaipur for a couple of days and excited to try some Rajasthani food.

Jaipur was our favorite city of the several we visited in Northern India (Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur).  I hope that the Amer Fort and Samode Palace are on your itinerary.  There were so many highlights of our trip, but those two really stand out.

In Jaipur we stayed at the Jai Mahal Palace hotel and it was easily the most fabulous of all of the very nice hotels we stayed in. None of us wanted to leave.   

Tweaked, I am enjoying your dispatches from India.  Keep them coming!  By the way, how's the currency situation there currently?

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Thanks Laura.  The currency situation appears to have stabilized.  Fortunately our friends are State Department and we accessed the Embassy's Bank of America branch.  But we have had no problems using money, making change etc.

Amber Fort did not disappoint.  Great morning trip.  It's really hot in Jaipur (104 degrees) so early morning tourism followed by late lunch by the pool! Tomorrow we tackle the old city.

last night we had dinner at Virasat.  It had all the hallmarks of a tourist trap, but had tasty Rajasthani thally.  700 rupees for all-you-can eat, including three dals, two vegetarian dishes, pickles and chutneys, two types of roti and two types of naan, and dessert.  And the musicians sounded great!

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Jaipur round up.

Jaipur is a crazy nutty place to experience "smaller" city India, population is only 3 million.

The old section of town called the Pink City is a cacophony.  You'll see plenty of wildlife: cows, camels, horses, monkeys (macaques), peacocks and a few snake charmers. If you want to get around tuk tuk is the way to go.  Motorcycles are everywhere.

Two days is plenty of time to get a good feel for the place and Jaipur offers sightseeing in town and in the surrounding hillsides.  The above mentioned Amber Fort is definitely worth visiting.

Hawa Mahal (The Palace of Winds) is the main city site, not spectacular but worth the 200 rupee entry fee.  The top level provides nice views of the surrounding hill side.  In Jaipur elevation is a key.  

Galtaji is a hillside Hindu complex. To be honest its pretty dirty, but if you want to see macaques connonball diving from temples into holy water pools, this is the place to go. 

The shopping in the old city gets pretty repetitive, so unless you have something specific to buy save your rupees.

Outdoor dining is popular.  Most of the best rated restaurants are attached to hotels and fairly safe.

Peacock Rooftop Restaurant as the name suggests is a rooftop restaurant with a wacky 7 page menu, everything from Mexican to Italian to Asian to Indian.  The Singapore noodles are pretty darn solid.  A good choice if you are tired of Indian food.

Forresta Kitchen & Bar is a outdoor garden restaurant also with a broad international menu.  The Hakka noodles were decent. I thought Peacock was better.

the Baradari Restaurant at the City Palace is very nice, with a lovely patio and handsome dining room.  Check out the "dal of the day" for 200 rupee.  Todays simple yellow dal was excellent.  Their pizza is also surprisingly decent.  A good choice for a respite from the afternoon heat.

And saving the best for last...Rawat Mishthan Bhandar for your snacks and sweets.  You'll be looking for the kochari, or fried snacks.  Go to the far left counter, look for the round flat onion filled pastries and the tuber shaped pastries filled with potatoes and green chili peppers.  Both are excellent.  The samosas are good and intererestingly stuffed with potato and a scattering of white raisins and pomegranite seeds.  Near the cash register is a wide selection of jewel like sweets.  Also really good snack mixes.

Jaipur, we'll never forget you.

BTW Don, thanks for adding the links, it's tough to do from India on a small iPod!

 

 

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Final day in Delhi, and everyone is sad to leave.  A morning of shopping, late lunch at Cafe Lota, and a blow out dinner at Masala Library before heading to the airport.

Khan Market is a good shopping district, especially if you are tired of haggling.  Store fronts line a city block with an alley down the middle. Seek out the trendy boutiques which are usually up narrow stairways, great for clothing, textiles, home goods, stationary, all better quality than the street markets.  Look for FabIndia, Anokhi, Jaipor Cotton, and the tiny Play Clan.  

Lunch at Cafe Lota is highly recommended.  Great vegetable curries and appam.  Decent Indian French press coffee.  Lunch for 4 peole ran 2,000 rupee (approx. $7.50 per person).  Although currently under renovation, the ajoining Texile and Craft Center is an interesting place to walk off lunch.

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We had two "blow out" dinners while in Delhi:  Indian Accent and Masala Library.  With the current exchange rate of $65 to the rupee, it's possible to have the chef tasting menus at both restaurants for under $50 per person.  Both restaurants are "contemporary" Indian, taking global ingredients and techniques from an Indian point-of-view.  Indian Accent is more straight forward, you could easily see Western cooking influences mixed with Indian spicing, while Masala Library is going the molecular gastronomy route (deconstructed samosas anyone?).  Both restaurants are very nice, Indian Accent has a more quiet low lighting vibe while Masala Library is a large splashy contemporary room with plenty of glass and hard surfaces.  

Indian Accent ($49) served up the best bite of the trip:  a lovely Kashmiri morel mushroom with a creamy cashew sauce (like a korma).  The morel had a faint hint of truffle scent and intense mushroom flavor.  We all swooned.  The baked mutton aloo chila with bome marrow curry was also outstanding. 

Masala Library's ($35) menu was more playful.  Dinner started with a series of one bite dishes, which featured the molecular gastronomy tricks.  This was followed by a series of entree courses.  We let the chef pick our dishes and the pepper lamb with a black appam was one of the highlight dishes along with a mushroom tea soup, a riff on chai masala, but intense mushroom and truffle flavors.  A braised mutton chop with maple and kokum was also really good.  Unfortunately, the final main course called curry bread was the weakest dish of both restaurants, a dish of splattered makhani, korma, and palak curry sauces served with paratha and roti.  The curry sauces were actually rather bland and the dish didn't have the joyfulness of the previous courses. 

My small quibble with both restaurants was several dishes needed a hint of salt or a touch of acid to bring it all together.  

At Indian Accent we went with the wine pairing, which was not great (Kendall Jackson?). Unfortunately, the wine situation in India is very poor.  At Masala Library I stuck with Old Fashions, which were serviceable.  The Whiskey Sour on the other hand was not very good. 

At either restaurant you're going to have an enjoyable meal.  Neither are at the level of the top tasting menus in DC, maybe equal to second tier, but your also going to spend a lot less and you won't leave hungry.  I'd say the cooking at Indian Accent was probably a little stronger, while Masala Library was more fun.  If you're going to be in Delhi for several days you might as well consider hitting both.  At these prices, why not?        

Indian Accent Non Veg Menu.pdf

Indian Accent Veg Menu.pdf   

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Final thoughts

We were pleasantly surprised with Delhi, it's a lush city with plenty to do, with lovely monumental tourists sites, Humayun's Tomb in particular is wonderful, beautiful gardens (Lodhi), and we didn't even get to half the things we wanted to see.  We could have easily spent another 3 or 4 days exploring.  We were also very fortunate that our friends live in South Delhi, near the US embassy, in a lovely apartment.  It helped that they live in a gated community and we could escape the crazy.  They also have a cook/housekeeper and driver, as well as a water purification system...clean water!  Needless to say, we weren't roughing it.    

I would say that the end of March/beginning of April is about as late in the first half of the year that you will want to visit Delhi.  Afternoon temperatures were in the high 90s to 100 degree range.  Although mornings and evening were still pleasant, we quickly abandoned mid-afternoon activities.  Consider January-early March. 

Delhi is also a good jumping off spot to hit other places:  Agra/Taj Mahal is about a 2:30-3:30 hour drive, Jaipur and the rest of Rajasthan are easy to get to, and with some advanced planning you can visit Hill Station towns and the Himalayas.

We also ate excellently the whole trip.  From low-end to high-end, really delicious food.  The paneer was amazing everywhere and we ate more than our fair share of butter naan.  Unless you are hitting a high end restaurant (See Masala Library or Indian Accent) you can eat cheaply...for lunch you can easily get away with under 500 rupee ($7.50), go to a dosa joint and it's going to about 250 rupee ($4)...and that's not uncommon for dinner either.  Routinely our total dinner bill for 5 people was 2,000 rupee ($30).

Unfortunately the alcohol situation is not good.  You're just going to have to accept that you aren't going to drink well in India.  Wine is expensive and the selection is poor.  For some reason, Kendall-Jackson and Chateau St. Michelle are the go to American wines and both sell for $15+ a glass and sell for $60-$75 a bottle.  Rieslings also seem to be popular in Delhi, your basic bottle of Dr. Loosen, $75+.  A bottle of Veuve Clicquot, $200.  Indian wine is just not very good, but at least you can get a glass for under $10.  Beer is no better.  The best beer I saw all trip was Hoegaarden.  Most places sell King Fisher (The Bud of India), and Heineken, or if you are lucky Corona.  Cocktails are also generally poorly mixed.  By the end of the trip I was buying shots of gin and mocktails and making my own mixed drinks.  My best advice is to stay sober and spend your rupees on something else.  

This was my third trip to India, and first to North India.  It's a country of contradictions, it can be frustrating, you'll probably feel crappy, jet lagged, with a dodgy stomach.  It's dirty and loud and fragrant - usually not in a good way.  But it's an endlessly fascinating country and I feel fortunate that I've been able to visit and hopefully return soon.  Namaste.

58ebeea944dc0_TajDR.jpg.bc1468fb9b135616983e2d1c0c329f3e.jpg

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Thanks for your posts on your trip!  India is indeed a fascinating, confounding, but ultimately rewarding place.  I haven't spent much time in northern India, but other than my beloved buffets at the Leela Mumbai, I eat at out of the way places that serve wonderful food at ridiculously low prices.  The catch is that you have to do some research, asking westerners who are familiar with the restaurants about the safety of eating the food.  I stay at a pilgrim retreat that charges 300 rupees--$4.50--for three vegetarian meals p/day, but a few times a week I need more protein, so it's off to various local restaurants where, after a huge meal and a Kingfisher or two, the bill comes to around 7 dollars.  IMO, Indian wines are just awful...flabby and overly sweet.  I do like Kingfisher--not bad at all for an Indian beer.  Avoid beers like Knockout, a fortified beer that may be the most apply named drink, ever!

Again, thanks for your posts.  I love India, but am most happy away from the craziness of the big cities.  Despite the seeming chaos, it somehow works.

 

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I’m off to Delhi Sunday for work, and it will be my first trip to India. Not sure how much free time, if any, I will have , and while I usually loathe hotel food, I’ve heard plenty of first hand reports about food safety, so it’s likely I’ll have to break my own rule and eat in the hotel. I’ll be staying at the Imperial, which is supposed to be a wonderful “Heritage” (colonial style) hotel, and I’ve read the restaurant prices border on the obscene. Would be happy for any advice.

I am also rolling the dice and flying Air India direct from Dulles, since that route will save several hours. Air India’s reputation is not the greatest, and even though I’ll be flying business class, my expectations are low after reading many trip reports.  Has anyone flown AI recently?

 

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1 hour ago, reedm said:

I’m off to Delhi Sunday for work, and it will be my first trip to India. Not sure how much free time, if any, I will have , and while I usually loathe hotel food, I’ve heard plenty of first hand reports about food safety, so it’s likely I’ll have to break my own rule and eat in the hotel. I’ll be staying at the Imperial, which is supposed to be a wonderful “Heritage” (colonial style) hotel, and I’ve read the restaurant prices border on the obscene. Would be happy for any advice.

I am also rolling the dice and flying Air India direct from Dulles, since that route will save several hours. Air India’s reputation is not the greatest, and even though I’ll be flying business class, my expectations are low after reading many trip reports.  Has anyone flown AI recently?

 

Most hotel restaurants on the upper end will run at last $100 US for dinner. Avoid wines as they are usually overpriced and the quality is lower and mixed drinks are perfectly fine. Certain kind of cuisines like Japanese for existence I would not bother but something like Thai would definitely seek out. There are plenty of American chain fast food places within walking distance of the Imperial if you don't want to risk getting sick such as Pizza Hut, KFC, and McDonalds which I would definitely try out just for the experience of eating a chicken Maharaja Mac. There are plenty of hotels nearby which may be slightly cheaper in terms of the meal but Connaught Place is a major tourist area so a lot of places should be ok, a bigger issue will be traffic. Most likely you won't want to go to far as traveling will be a hassle. 

I've heard good things about Indian Accent but again keep in mind even a 5km trip and take a lot of time especially during rush hour. 

Have not flown Air India in over two decades! Of course the direct flight from IAD to DEL is the shortest trip around 14-15 hours, however the service has been lacking. A lot of Indians I know like Emirates for the layover in Dubai and the service. Personally, I haven't tried them out yet and have liked KLM or ANA. United is always a mixed bag, better than domestic travel but less amenities than other foreign airlines. 

Let us know where you go and how the trip goes!

(*Tweaked's recent review is pretty good. Didn't read it again before writing this one.*)

 

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You'll be fine eating at any mid to higher level restaurant in Delhi. 

Masala Library and Indian Accent would be considered at the higher end of restaurants in DC.  Both are very accustomed to serving business people/internationals.

Cafe Lota was serving much more of a locals scene and the food was very good.

just about every restaurant will have bottled water which is opened in front of you, or just bring your own bottled water.

As lion said, the wine sucks in India, don't bother.  At a higher end restaurant you can go with cocktails but mixology isn't their thing, I'd suggest sticking with something classic.

We found across the board, high-end to low-end, the food was very good in Delhi.

Finally I'm not sure what the current exchange rate is but it was great when went a year ago, and therefore things were fairly cheap, even tasting menus at the top tier restaurants were reasonable.

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On 2/17/2018 at 2:06 PM, reedm said:

I’m off to Delhi Sunday for work, and it will be my first trip to India. Not sure how much free time, if any, I will have , and while I usually loathe hotel food, I’ve heard plenty of first hand reports about food safety, so it’s likely I’ll have to break my own rule and eat in the hotel. I’ll be staying at the Imperial, which is supposed to be a wonderful “Heritage” (colonial style) hotel, and I’ve read the restaurant prices border on the obscene. Would be happy for any advice.

I am also rolling the dice and flying Air India direct from Dulles, since that route will save several hours. Air India’s reputation is not the greatest, and even though I’ll be flying business class, my expectations are low after reading many trip reports.  Has anyone flown AI recently?

 

Last time I flew (prior to their direct to India from Dulles), it was pretty good. In the ancient past (1980s-early 1990s) my parents said "no way" but I've flown them a few times as a grown up and found them to be pretty good. Let us know, b/c I want to try that flight next time I go.

Paratha alley! That's somewhere you definitely should go in Delhi. Tourists and locals have been going for years. Don't think you'll get sick. But, all small restaurant/street food is a a little risky there. 

Traffic there is so miserable. So so so miserable. There is a ton of stuff where you are near - high end hotel restaurants and fancy non-hotel restaurants, too, just ask the concierge and they will lead you to clean/safe places. It's a terrible walking city. Uber was pretty good in Bombay and Gujarat, not sure about Delhi. The navigation / app based payment makes it superior to taxis there, in my experience. Way less shenanigans. 

 

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On 2/19/2018 at 9:58 AM, Simul Parikh said:

Last time I flew (prior to their direct to India from Dulles), it was pretty good. In the ancient past (1980s-early 1990s) my parents said "no way" but I've flown them a few times as a grown up and found them to be pretty good. Let us know, b/c I want to try that flight next time I go.

Air India was pretty terrible in that era. I remember taking Pan Am flights to India in the 70s, looking back at it the seat size would be considered business class for economy. 

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On 2/19/2018 at 9:58 AM, Simul Parikh said:

Last time I flew (prior to their direct to India from Dulles), it was pretty good. In the ancient past (1980s-early 1990s) my parents said "no way" but I've flown them a few times as a grown up and found them to be pretty good. Let us know, b/c I want to try that flight next time I go.

 

I was pleasantly surprised by my Air India experience. If you or your company can afford business class tickets, I think it's an easy choice for the IAD-DEL route. The fare for my flight was $3600. That's still a good deal of money, but it's much cheaper than other business class fares, and also cheaper than most economy plus fares. The coach fares are much cheaper, of course, but since I never flown Air India in coach, I have no opinion.

The cabin was a bit worn, but it was very clean. The biz seats are not truly lie flat seats, but they were extremely comfortable overall. The flight attendants were extremely friendly, and the service was more than adequate. Passengers were provided with a pillow, duvet, light blanket, amenity kit, slippers, and an eyemask.

The seat-back entertainment system was dated and slow, and it didn't offer much interesting english content. The offerings for Hindi speakers seemed interesting.

IMG_6014.jpg.1a251fb4cfcdeea4077ae843958f0b39.jpg

Two meals were offered, and the food was average at best. I ordered fish both times, and the fish was extremely overcooked. I tend to drink a lot of water when I fly, and the beverage offerings didn't make me vary from my routine. I did have a taste of Amlut, and Indian scotch, and it wasn't bad at all. The parmesan slices on top of the fish were an "interesting" touch. 

IMG_6016.jpg.e51dac687451f601ac24794404139592.jpg

The return flight was very similar in every respect, but the food was a little bit worse. 

All that said, I wanted to arrive well rested, and I managed to do that. As a matter of fact, I managed to get much more sleep than I have on any other long international flight. 

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My time in Delhi was all too short, and I didn’t have time to even scratch the surface of India. That said, I enjoyed two wonderful meals at restaurants our host recommended. The first was Delhi Durbar and the second was Gulati. 

The food in both places was incredible—the names of most dishes we’re familiar to me, but the flavors and spices were much more pronounced, and the preparation was better than any other Indian restaurant I’ve tried (USA, UK, Australia). I also learned that I could order a dosa for breakfast in our hotel, and that was outstanding as well.  

The hotel food was generally excellent, but the pricing was at least triple the cost of food served in the external restaurants I tried. 

I will post a few pictures after I reduce the size of the files. 

Edit: pics posted on Instagram. Look for #dontockwelldotcom hashtag

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We are currently in India attending a family wedding. Decided to try Emirates for the first time since reading good reviews for child options traveling with an almost 4 year old boy. Ended up being a good flight, service was pleasant and meal choices for plentiful for our combined individual needs. 

After spending 4-5 days in New Delhi and now, this second week in Varanasi unfortunately won't have much to report on food restaurants as my relatives are cooking fresh food every meal. It's hard to convince anyone to be interested in checking Indian Accent or other places when every family favorite is being cooked at home! 

We did try a chain South Indian restaurant in New Delhi called Shree Ramnath which was pretty darn good. And ice cream at McDonald's after seeing the Taj Mahal was rewardingly delicious during the hot mid day sun.

It is amazing how much growth there has been since my last trip here. 

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Delhi (Connaught Place area) is likely most famous for the Jantar Market and the close-by Jantar Mandar, an unwieldy, interesting, but ultimately somewhat baffling (at least for me) astronomical park/collection of buildings. The Market is not so interesting to me, and swarmed with hawkers trying to steer you into certain stalls, and away from certain streets towards "better" ones.

I stayed for the second time in the Le Meridien hotel; this time I wanted to have dinner at a restaurant right next door, Masala Library. But unfortunately it was closed for renovations. With the heat at 9 PM still at or above 100, I didn't really want to venture out much further, so I had dinner at Eau de Monsoon, the hotel's swanky Indian restaurant. I was very, very impressed--the service was formal but friendly, and the dishes were absolutely on par with the best 'high end' Indian that I've had. I don't consider myself a true connoisseur of Indian cuisine, by any means, but I know what tastes good and what combinations are interesting, at least to me.

The paneer wrapped around hazelnut nougat , served with mint sauce, was a great way to begin my meal. When it came to the table my impression was that the chef was making paneer scallops, and I don't think that was far off. My lamb korma, served with a side of spinach with mushrooms, was perfectly prepared and delicious. The spinach/mushroom combination, in particular, was a true standout. The mango sorbet, between courses, was nice but unnecessary.

One of my business colleagues joined me and after I raved about the meal during our meetings, asked to go back, so I did. This time, goat cheese-stuffed king mushrooms was a savory start, and the lamb curry just as good as the korma the night before. My impression of the kitchen is that they have a pretty good sense of how much pepper/heat to provide to the restaurant guests; our dishes were perfectly spicy and deeply flavorful.

I don't typically dine in hotels in interesting food cities, but with that much heat (and humidity) was more than happy to have had a few dinners in a beautiful, cool, and thoughtful restaurant.

I also had dinner at Haveli Dharampura, in Old Delhi. The restaurant there, called Lakhori, serves nice Old Delhi street food, but dressed up for the table. It's a nice place--even with the heat one sits outside, under the stars and in the quiet-ish courtyard. Its also fun to wonder around the Haveli--climbing the stairs up to the rooftop gives you a nice overview of the close-in neighborhood, and a hint of what it would be like to have lived there in the past (perhaps; how could I really know that? But it is fun to imagine).

For the second time, I intended to go to the Agrasen ki Baoli, the stepwell close to Connaught Place, and for the second time didn't make it. Not sure when I'll be back to Delhi, but this remains on my list. 

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