Aside from volunteering, I’ve been getting to know the city of Jaipur. As I mentioned before, it’s the Pink City, and it is kind of awesome. It is definitely less crazy than Delhi, but less glamourous than I thought it would be. It is beautiful, but still dusty, noisy and crowded.
In addition to the main sightseeing attractions, I’ve been able to taste and see some local parts of the city, which is what I was looking forward to spending time in one place for.
On Monday, we went to Seema’s house for lunch. She is one of the students in the women’s class and is very good in English and enjoys practicing it! She made us a dal and idli (steamed rice cakes). The dal was super spicy and soo yummy and the idli was interesting, but good. Today, she brought us some more home cooking to the class. It was a spicy pasta for which I’ve asked for the recipe.
This past Sunday, we went to a restaurant called Barbecue Nation. It was amazing, having not eaten meat in a long time! It was a mix of Brazillian barbecue (all the meat) and Korean barbecue (grill at your table). The meat was already cooked though, so I’m not sure why the grill was at your table. I guess it looked kind of cool. They served the meat on skewers and then there was a regular Indian buffet and dessert. Everything was so spicy, even the papad! Sooo much meat. And soo good!!
Also on Sunday, Monica (another volunteer from Switzerland!) and I went to the Mansingh Hotel to use their pool! It was a nice afternoon of (in my case) wading in the pool, drinking yummy drinks and reading in the sun. Did I mention it was an outdoor pool and 29 degrees on the weekend with no humidity? LOVE IT. Queenie, Stanny (my roomie) and I actually went on the Friday to use the pool there as well. It was much of the same. I had yummy margaritas, poolside. The waiter was kind of annoying though. He was always looking for tips and asked like four times if we liked his service. Dude, go away! We are trying to relax here. He also mentioned on multiple occasions that it was a five star hotel. It was a nice hotel, but seriously… go away!
On Friday and Wednesday of last week, we went to a restaurant called The Peacock. It is a nice local place and CHEAP. I had a massive meal, with appetizers and dessert and non-alcoholic drink for under $10. It was sooo good. The first night I had lamb rogan josh. VERY yummy. And the second night I had butter chicken. BEST BUTTER CHICKEN I’ve ever tasted. And it was spicy! There is something about making fresh food. Ru asked me if the tastes were the same as what we get in Ottawa, and there is no comparison. Everything here is so much more flavourful and SPICY. Yes, the base tastes the same, but here there is a certain something that makes it so much better!!
Last Friday I also went to visit a Hindu temple that our translator Archana goes to. We took the children for a “fun” day in the park, and the temple was right beside it. It was interesting, learning about the mythology.
I also went shopping around MI Road (a famous shopping district), and had some KFC. I know, I’m in India, but it’s a guilty pleasure that I have when I’m at home, so I thought I would check it out to see how it compares. It was just as yummy, but SPICY. Love it. I also ordered a virgin mojito from there, which wasn’t too bad!
I also discovered a bakery/coffee shop near where I am staying at the volunteer guest house. I had an orangesicle and some dessert. There was the best chocolate ball there. It was kind of like a thick dense brownie consistency but not overly sweet at all. It was the perfect amount that made everything go together. I’m disappointed I haven’t tried more Indian sweets though.
Random sweet:
And, I’m happy to say that I found some filter coffee after drinking nasty instant for the first week here. At the above mentioned bakery/coffee shop I asked them where I could get coffee beans and dude said he didn’t know. Thanks! On a trip to the Amber Fort (story and pics later!), there is a coffee shop at the exit and I was so happy to find some beans! I actually found a premade filter coffee though, which is kind of like a tea bag but with coffee in it. It is Indian coffee with chicory. It tastes really good! Yay to no more instant!!
So, so far so good. I head to Delhi on Saturday where I will stay at the volunteer house until Monday when I catch my flight to Nepal. I will be here for the holi celebration, but am not sure if I will get to see the colour throwing. It is a huge celebration for two nights, the first being a burning ceremony, and the second being the colour celebration. There will definitely be pictures if I get covered in colours. LOL.
Hope everyone is doing well!!
–Bea
PS: Here are some more photos around Jaipur!
Bea Vongdouangchanh 