Viator Viator Travel Blog

Amber Fort outside Jaipur

Last month I took a quick trip to India. I, like most sensible travelers, realize that India is a huge country, with billions of people, a complex and amazing culture and tons to see. So naturally I thought that, when I go to India, I should go for awhile, at least a couple of weeks to get started. It took 20 hours to travel there from San Francisco (not to mention how much the ticket costs!). That merits a lengthy stay. How long was my trip in July? 6 days. How do you see India in 6 days? The answer is, you don’t. And being a sensible traveler, I limited my trip to two cities — Hyderabad (where my husband was working, and hence, why I came to India for only 6 days) and Jaipur.

If you’re a Westerner and you haven’t yet experienced India, there is definitely an adjustment period. That was the major regret of my 6 day jaunt, around day 3 I was just getting acclimated to the dust, the traffic, the noise, the crowds, being stared at (women with short hair are a novelty), the etiquette, and how to eat properly with just my right hand (tricky, but practice makes perfect) and it was nearly time to go home. But let’s not dwell on the shortcomings! Sights were seen! Tapestries were bought! Yummy yummy food was eaten!

Kelly’s 6 Favorite Things in India (one for each day):

1. The food in Hyderabad. Spicy and delicious. Sitting on the plane we discovered that we were seated next to the owner of a chain of Indian restaurants in San Francisco (Naan N’ Curry) , who was headed to Hyderabad to interview chefs. Food is a big deal in Hyderabad, and they are famous for excellent biriyanis. For a classic biriyani, hit Paradise. My other favorite? Angeethi.
2. The Pink City. Jaipur is known as the Pink City, and yes, it is pink, or at least the
   buildings of the old town are made of pink stone. The pink looks delightful at sunset, and is generally very pleasant.

Made with Bombay Sapphire, naturally.

3. The Polo Bar. If you are looking for the perfect gin and tonic to refresh you after a long day of hot sightseeing on the dusty town, you cannot miss the Polo Bar. Sip your g & t and wait expectantly for Prince Charles to stroll in for his.
4. Textiles (I know it doesn’t sound fun, but keep with me here). Jaipur is a shopping mecca and Rajasthan is renowned for its textiles. We got some great custom made shirts (for way less than the price of an off the rack shirt in the US) and a gorgeous wall tapestry. Kicky elephant place mats and napkins were bought as gifts. Want a sari? Head to Jaipur.
5. Our autorickshaw driver in Jaipur, Shyam. Riding in an autorickshaw takes some
   getting used to, traffic is crazy, roads are dusty and sometimes drivers are unrealiable or a little on the untrustworthy side (shopping kickbacks are common). We got very lucky and had a great driver who took us to the shopping we wanted, all the sightseeing to see, and even got us into the cinema before everyone else (and out of the long line and heat!). If you’re in Jaipur give Shyam a call (91-9314899552), you can often find him parked by the Samode Haveli hotel.

Shyam and my favorite autorickshaw

6. Monkeys. Oddly enough in my day to day life in San Francisco, monkeys do not regularly crop up. Dusk in India? Primetime for primates. You can find them wandering by your hotel pool, running across rooftops of Samode (a village outside of Jaipur), and I hear, hanging out at Jaipur’s Monkey Temple. I regret not having my camera handy when a monkey knocked over a bucket of water, causing an 80 year old woman to chase him with a broom (ok, she was maybe not 80, but she was old, and very spry with a broom).

While 6 days doesn’t seem like much time to see anything, I ended up coming away with a fairly satisfied feeling from my brief time in India, which just reinforces my firm belief that despite what you might think about how a trip might go, it is always better to travel than not.

– Kelly G