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Namaste from India! We left off last week after just touching down in Delhi. It's my first time visiting India and there's so much to explore so let's not waste any time! Let's dive right in and see what's out there!
INDIA: FAST FACTS
It would be impossible to tell you everything there is to know about India in this newsletter but I've gathered some fast facts that I thought were interesting to share:
India is in South Asia and borders Bangladesh, Bhutan China, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan.
India is the world's largest democracy.
India is the second most populous country in the world (an estimated 1.14 billion).
India is the seventh-largest country by geographical area (1.27 million sq. miles).
India has 28 states and seven territories.
In 1947 India gained its independence from Britain, which is also when the Muslim-majority areas were partitioned to form a separate country of Pakistan.
India is home to 7.6% of the world's mammals, 12.6% birds, 6.2% reptiles, 4.4% amphibians, 11.7% fish, and 6% of all flowering plant species.
India's largest cities are Mumbai (formerly Bombay), Delhi, Kolkata (Calcutta), Chennai (Madras), Bengaluru (Bangalore) – the anglicized names were changed back to their original ones in 1996.
India's main religions are: Hindu (81.4%), Muslim (12.4%), Christian (2.3%) and Sikh (1.9%).
India's official languages are Hindi, English and 16 others you've probably never heard of.
Oh, and I can't forget about the currency: It's the Indian Rupee (INR) which was trading at press time at 1.00 INR = 0.02 USD or $1 USD = 48 INR. For the current conversion rates, log on to XE.com.
For more background information on India, click here.
IS INDIA SAFE?
I am asked this question all the time since I was in India during the November terror attacks. To be honest, I don't know quite how to answer it. The American, Canadian and British governments are not advising travelers to avoid going there. However, Australia's government is. One security expert recently told USA Today that, "India is no more risky than it was before." No one really knows if India is safe ... or any country for that matter ... but if I had the chance, I would go back tonight.
TAJ PALACE HOTEL
Natalie and I spent three nights in New Delhi at two different hotels. The first two nights were at the eight-storey, two-tower, 462-room Taj Palace Hotel. There are three Taj Hotels in New Delhi, which by the way, is the capital of India. The Taj hotel we stayed at was the Taj Palace, which is on Diplomatic Row, so as you can imagine, lots of heads of state from around the world stay here. Even Bill Gates. Before our taxi went into the driveway, the undercarriage was searched and the trunk checked for bombs -- and this was a few days before the November 26th terrorist attacks. The moment we pulled up, an army of Taj staff, all wearing colorful and beautiful traditional attire, greeted us. They're ready to help and make sure you never have to open a door. The lobby is incredibly grand, full of white marble and ornate furniture. It's huge and sprawling and the staff is polite almost to a fault. For example, when I called down to the front desk to see if I had a package, the clerk would wait for me to say it's okay for them to put me on hold while they checked.
THE ROOM
I was excited to be in India and staying at such a prestigious hotel (though this isn't Delhi's grandest). But the moment I walked into the room, I found myself wondering if I was still at the same Taj that had just moments before greeted me with its lavish lobby. The room was so outdated and in need of a renovation (the same goes for the pool area). In turns out that the rooms on floors six through eight had already been remodeled and our floor (five) was next. Don't get me wrong: The room was comfortable but I bet it was nothing like the plush, renovated ones on the floors above. For those addicted to TV, there was a flat screen with a ton of English, American and foreign channels: HBO, National Geographic, Discovery, Travel & Living, Animal Planet, Hallmark, Fox History/Entertainment, Australia Network, TV5 Monde ... All I cared about was Wi-Fi Internet, which they had for 749.00 INR ($15USD) for 24 hours.
WATER
Each room comes with a bottle of water which wasn't enough for Natalie or me because we were both paranoid about getting sick. We even brushed our teeth with bottled water, which the hotel representative said was unnecessary ... but we weren't taking chances. In fact, when I take a shower, I usually love to stick my mug under the spout and let the hot water splash on my face with my mouth open. Not here. Instead, when I took a shower, it was as if I was under water -- I held my breath when shampooing and rinsing my hair and kept my pie-hole shut. The windows weren't soundproofed so I could hear horns beeping most of the night and a train every once in a while but nothing too bad. What's interesting is that the Taj has designated certain rooms as Earth Rooms. Ours was one of them, which meant that the linens were changed every two days instead of daily, the pad of paper was made from recyclable paper and there are no plastic bags. I know it's kind of a joke but hey, at least they are trying to be aware.
FOOD AT THE TAJ
Breakfast is served in the 24-hour Mediterranean eatery Kafe Fontana. There's no dress code here though one of their restaurants is semiformal. Inside Kafe Fontana we found a number of wealthy travelers and fantastic service. The breakfast buffet had everything a high-maintenance American could want ... and then some. There were fresh smoothies, pastries, pancakes, eggs, omelets, bacon, beans ... you name it. There was even a dessert table and a salad bar. I thought the people eating salad were nuts because everything I had read and heard before going to India had advised travelers to stay away from cold stuff, especially salad (since the lettuce and veggies have to be rinsed). But we sat next to a Canadian tour group with 30+ travelers who were in India for three weeks and were just wrapping up their journey. The seasoned travelers said it was their best trip ever and not one of them had gotten sick from the food -- and they were eating the salad in the hotel. That eased some of my fears but not all of them. The hotel has a restaurant called Masada that serves Indian artistic style cooking and they use olive oil to make it healthier. You also don't want to miss having tea or coffee in the lobby. The hotel offers 94 different teas and 18 coffees. Taj Palace Hotel, 2, S.P. Marg, Diplomatic Enclave, New Delhi, Tel: 011-26110202.
SHANGRI-LA DELHI
The other place we stayed was at the Shangri-La Hotel, New Delhi, which opened in 2001. Shangri-La has 58 deluxe hotels and resorts worldwide (mostly in Asia) and the ones I have been to were all fantastic (especially Abu Dhabi, Chiang Mai and Hong Kong). This hotel seemed to be the same but unfortunately, we arrived very late at night and left really early in the morning so I didn't have a chance to use any of their facilities or dine at any of its restaurants. But I can tell you that the room was really styling. The 19-floor hotel has 320 guest rooms and though the rooms are compact, they are luxurious. They are modern-chic with an Asian flair. Decorated with rich colours and luxe fabrics, these rooms are elegantly appointed. The desktop was glass so you can see what's in the drawer without opening it. Favorite features: Fresh flowers; blackout curtains; hypoallergenic pillows. This room had the most comfortable bed you can possibly imagine. I didn't want to leave. The only thing I didn’t like was the smoke detector’s green light constantly flashing (I prefer a room to be pitch black).
SHANGRI-LA BATHROOM
My favorite part might have been the marble bathroom and its soft, oversized towels. There was a window (with a curtain) in the shower so you can see what's going on in the room or on the flat screen TV while washing up, using the complimentary L'Occitane products. The website says there's free Internet but maybe that has changed in the past few weeks because I paid 300 Rupees ($6 USD) for two hours. The other option was 880 Rupees ($18 USD) for 24 hours and they use Ethernet cords not WiFi. One interesting observation is that the people at the front desk take pictures of guests upon check-in with a digital camera for recognition purposes. It's the first time I've seen this since Vatulele in Fiji (they used a Polaroid). Shangri-La Delhi, 19 Ashoka Road, Connaught Place, New Delhi; Tel: (91 11) 4119 1919.
DELHI TOUR GUIDE
I arranged a tour guide through India Safaris. Ms. Neelam Rajmalani (Nraj0705@yahoo .com) arrived right on time with a well-dressed, attentive driver in a clean car. On the way to our first stop, she told us a lot about the history of India and how people are greeted here with a Namaste. Namaste literally means "I bow to you." The word is derived from Sanskrit and is commonly accompanied by a slight bow with the hands pressed together (palms touching and fingers pointed upwards) in front of the chest.
RANDOM THINGS I LEARNED