Wednesday January 18 - Lucknow to Delhi

Lucknow is a very surreal place.  Parts of it remind me of Ashgabat, Turkmenistan in that they are so intensely artificial with pink stone walls and modern highways, roundabouts and gardens, and other parts that are as primitive as anywhere in India.  Everywhere and every day the air is a gray haze.  I notice that all of India seems to smell of burning rubber.

On our way to the airport we sped along one of the empty modern roads ringing pink stone walls that surround "gardens". I put gardens in quotes because these are the most imposing walls you've ever seen; it is impossible to glimpse the alleged gardens within. They're probably built to deter the poor suffering Indian peasant from entering.

Took an unorthodox detour through a village on the way to the airport. Saw several brides on their way to wedding ceremonies.

Somehow Spirit of India travelers didn't make the list.

Complete pandemonium in the small regional Lucknow airport; each of us had crazy experiences either in the waiting area or going through security. It was like trying to coexist with a herd of feral cats. We found seats but if anyone got up if even for a moment someone would come and take their seat. We tried to spread ourselves out to fill in for the person who had to use the "loo" but that didn't work.  A lady came and lay down on the seat she'd taken from Ferris. People rush to cut in front on the security line.  How many people can go through the metal detector at once?  Bags were disappearing. Ferris struggled to get her breathing machine through security and accepted as carry-on. We were the only Westerners there.

The actual Kingfisher flight was fine but we all noticed that the days of having an entire meal served during a 1/2 hour flight seem to be over. Kingfisher has gone the way of American Airlines with food perfunctorily served and for sale. Quite a change from just one year ago.

It was a delight to return to Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, a modern and well functioning place, and to return to our oasis in India, the Imperial Hotel. I suppose we we were all tired because we had an hilarious episode in the hotel lobby when checking in. We all owed extra money to the tour company for the change in plans and somehow or other got completely mixed up about who'd paid what. I ended up laughing so hard that tears were rolling down my face. I'm still not entirely certain whether I paid $250 too much or $400 too little! And neither is anyone else which is what's so frightening. I suppose you had to be there.

Entering the Imperial Spa.

Ferris and I had booked a spa appointment (massage) for 7 pm but because our flight from Lucknow was delayed we were slightly rushed to make it on time. We hadn't eaten since breakfast so we had soup and a few nibbles at the bar with Cliff and Cathy then dashed off. Fell asleep reading about Chennai where we will be tomorrow night!

Tuesday January 17 - Lucknow

Last night over cocktails in the hotel bar (whose walls are incongruously covered in Arabic script) we decided as a group to condense our stay in Lucknow to only one day from the two originally planned.

We spent the majority of today walking around what is arguably Lucknow's main attraction, the Bara Imambara. The Bara Imambara was built by Nawab Asafuddaula as a kind of public works project to put this subjects to work during a time of famine in 1784. What remains of this complex is a reminder of the past glory of Nawab of Oudh.

The Imambara complex is famous for its magnificent architecture. The complex is made up of the Shah Najaf Imambara  (a majestic white domed building housing the tomb of Nawab Ghaziuddin Haider, and his family.

The tombs are plated in silver and gold and the interiors are decorated with floral designs and chandeliers); Jama Masjid (a grand mosque built by Muhammad Ali Shah in typical Mughal style with tall minarets and onion-shaped domes); Chhota Imambara (built by Nawab Mohammed Ali Shah ( 1837 – 1842 ) to the left of Rumi Darwaza, fabulously designed and adorned by Chandeliers, gilt-edged mirrors, colorful stuccos. The king’s throne is in the interior of this tomb).

We climbed to the top of the Shah Najaf Imambara for a beautiful view of the entire Bara Imambara complex. Had lunch at a local restaurant filled with giggling Indian girls. Every so often deafeningly loud birthday music played through massive speakers.

Cliff being sworn in as the Mayor of Lucknow.

We all ordered appetizers (chicken tikka) but when they arrived they were ample dinner sized portions. Then headed off to find a perfumery that specializes in natural fragrances made up of local ingredients.

On the way got stuck in one of the most incredible traffic jams any of us had ever seen. A girls' school let out around 3:30 and families were double parked waiting to pick up their daughters. Every manner of rickshaw, motorbike, car, bicycle and pedestrian were all vying for a channel to inch along the road. Finally female traffic cops appeared and unsnarled the traffic. What probably was a 5min route took us about a half and hour to get through!

Our last stop of the day was The Residency, a complex built between 1780-1800 which was once the political residence of the British officials. This has historical significance because in 1857 a major rebellion by the native Indian people against their British occupiers took place. You can still see cannon marks on the walls of the ruined buildings. It is a site of great national pride.

Returned to the hotel late afternoon, had cocktails and an early evening. Tomorrow we return to Delhi and leave the hotel around 11am.

Monday January 16 - Delhi to Lucknow

The Imperial Hotel is a majestic, gleaming white art deco beauty surrounded by manicured lawns and tall palm trees. Inside wood paneling and prints of British Raj India harken back to an earlier time. It is a grand place, elegant, and refined. But one of my favorite features of the Imperial is a phenomenon called the "Cyber Butler". The Cyber Butler, I kid you not, is on call 24/7 to provide tech support to guests of the hotel. Cliff of course discovered his existence and we had need to call upon his services on more than one occasion. One day we called him to assist us at the breakfast table and he arrived laptop open and ready. Unfortunately not all of my issues are solvable by the Cyber Butler such as the mystery of why I can't format paragraphs in my blog or edit anything. I've given up on trying to fix these things.  I will have to make the blog presentable when I get home.

This morning after a very early breakfast who did we run into in the lobby but Vivender, the representative from Spirit of India in Delhi who several years ago ably shepherded us around the city and helped us get to and from Agra. We took a group reunion photo at the airport and I must remember to email a copy to him.

He has a way of ushering us to the front of all lines, cutting through the red tape shall I say, so we can check in to flits without hassle. Go Vivender!

Portrait of Cathy and Cliff

Our flight to Lucknow departed (again from the beautiful new Indira Ghandi airport) at 9 am. Our Jet Lite flight looks like any other Boeing 737-700 flight I've been on except for one thing. I've never seen passengers milling in the aisles still searching for overhead compartment space while the plane was taxing on the Tarmac. Even the handsome young Indian flight attendant looked our way and muttered under his breath "unbelievable". I have pictures that unfortunately I can't post right now but you'll see them later.

As we roll down the taxi way for take-off...

I was shocked as we landed (after a very bumpy flight) that I couldn't see 100 yards through the thick hazy smog. I guess I won't be seeing much of Lucknow! At least from a distance anyway. The airport is small; a one carousel jobby and we were met by our contact, Praveen.

Checked into the hotel Taj Vivanta and quickly headed out for a few sightseeing stops. First was Dilkusha armory and former hunting lodge which is destroyed around 1850. We got a brief Hindi lesson: "doast" for example means friend, the literal translation of each syllable means "sad, happy, tension". The idea being that a friend is someone who sticks by you through sadness, happiness and times of trouble. Isn't that nice?

Lucknow is an odd looking city.  Because it was almost completely destroyed in 1857 and because it is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh, much of it has been rebuilt in a attempt to depict the city as a grand center. There are enormous parks - miles long and miles wide - bordered by pink stone walls, while outside people live in makeshift tents along the side of the road.

Most of the vehicles in Lucknow seem to be either tuk-tuks or motorbikes. Traffic is unbelievable (Indians do drive on the left by the way) and even a drive on a two lane road is hair-raising.

My favorite of the afternoon stops was the Claude Martin (la Martinier) boys school built in 1775. It was a strange experience being there. Imagine a what appeared to be, from afar, a huge decrepit prison-like building. Imagine nearing the building and realizing that you hear a cacophony of voices; young boys laughing and talking, echoing throughout the building. This is not a ruin after all, it's a functioning thriving school for boys - very nice looking boys of all ages dressed in uniforms with jackets and crests on the pockets.

The Claude Martinier School

At the front entrance of the building there were large lions and wide sweeping stairs. The whole scene was quite majestic and I had a marvelous time photographing the building and the boys.

Did a little obligatory chikan shopping (chikan is the speciality embroidery of this area) as rain periodically fell outside. Weather today has been chilly and I've worn my black windbreaker all day. By 5pm we realized that we hadn't eaten since breakfast and returned to the hotel for happy hour and dinner.

I think this photo speaks for itself.

Food was surprisingly delicious; had a dry rub Alwadi chicken, yellow lentil patties and vegetable buriani. Fell into bed exhausted at 10:30.