udaipur.
bus ride to udaipur. instead of the promised luxurious bus a visibly 'smaller' edition appears (in fact it's a wreck on wheels). as usual we argue about the best place to store my backpack :'i was told that it's ok to take it with me. so it's ok.' ignoring the moaning of the conductor i push him away and simply take it with me on the bus despite the loud protest. i really don't like it if somebody yells into my ears from a distance of half a metre. i'm fed up now with their childish behaviour to make extra money. no more useless discussions. the conductor freaks out and yells at me. i just smile and tell him that it's time for the bus to leave. too bad that the other passengers agree because it shortens the discussion a bit. every time we stop he returns to my seat and tries to 'convince' me with lots of shouting and waving arms that i have to put my backpack outside. i relax and give him a hard time: 'dude, do yourself a favour and calm down. you will get a heart attack by the time we arrive.' after several tries he finally gives up and tries to fraternize, realizing that he won't win this battle. the area is a bit boring, even at the stops it's not interesting. arrival at udaipur.
perfect sunrise at 6am. shopping tour in the morning. i want one of these miniature paintings. as usual they demand incredible prices. can't make up my mind. reservation for the dinner at the famous lake palace (james bond octopussy) doesn't work out. instead we have dinner at another of indias best hotels: the city palace. at 6 pm we have our 1st drinks with sunset and view to the lake and the hotel. although the hotel is very luxurious nobody seems to mind our jeans and t-shirts. 'in india the guest is god, in the us just a customer'. it's luxury for a tip. the menu contains lots of goodies. but i'm hungry and can't make up my mind. so i ask for 1 starter, 3 main courses and 2 deserts. the waiter can't believe what i say. annik has already given up to wonder. for the price of 2 menus it's ok. for an indian that would be the equivalent of 500$ for a dinner - for me it's just 40$. i ask if anybody has done that before. no, nobody was so crazy. for the fun of it we take pictures of each course. the head waiter is in a good mood and joins in. after the 3rd course half of the other waiters are part of the fun too. every body tries to be on the picture. i ask if it's possible to get the recipes. 'no that's a secret'. so i give it a try and tell him the ingredients. his face tells me that i have 100 out of 100 points. in disbelieve the waiter runs into the kitchen and comes back with the top chef. 'where do you cook?' - 'heidelberg' - 'which hotel?' - 'no hotel just at home'. i tell him i just like to cook and eat for pleasure. he's impressed. he gives me a short summary of his global career at top hotels. now i'm impressed too. chat between colleagues :-). we're offered a special indian dish for lunch tomorrow. cooked especially for us and special places reserved for us sounds good to me. annik is surprised by the casualty in this luxurious environment. i doubt that they have guests like us every night. finally we're lead in the ballroom with the huge crystal chandeliers that they light up just for us so we can take a picture with the whole group. the director of the hotel himself who by now is informed about this crazy german guy takes the pictures. what a remarkable evening. i'm sure they will talk about it for a while too. i leave them with a special statement on the comment paper. 'more is not enough'. i could hear them laugh in the back.
short trip to one of the painters. 275$ for a truly outstanding piece. too expensive but he doesn't want to go lower. his brother goes spontaneously down to 250. the painter is visibly angry about this sabotage. can't make up my mind. it's an incredible amount for indian standards. lunch at the hotel. the byriani is a sensation. on the way back i decide to buy the piece, even when it's too expensive. i have a feeling i'd regret it if don't do it and it's obvious i can't reduce the price anymore. annik tries to organize a flight to delhi. her visa runs out and she needs one for myanmar. i decide to take the bus with her instead of going to jaipur for a hectic day. surprise: the bus is excellent (for indian standards). the area is dusty, dry, mountainous. i fall asleep all the time.
perfect sunrise at 6am. shopping tour in the morning. i want one of these miniature paintings. as usual they demand incredible prices. can't make up my mind. reservation for the dinner at the famous lake palace (james bond octopussy) doesn't work out. instead we have dinner at another of indias best hotels: the city palace. at 6 pm we have our 1st drinks with sunset and view to the lake and the hotel. although the hotel is very luxurious nobody seems to mind our jeans and t-shirts. 'in india the guest is god, in the us just a customer'. it's luxury for a tip. the menu contains lots of goodies. but i'm hungry and can't make up my mind. so i ask for 1 starter, 3 main courses and 2 deserts. the waiter can't believe what i say. annik has already given up to wonder. for the price of 2 menus it's ok. for an indian that would be the equivalent of 500$ for a dinner - for me it's just 40$. i ask if anybody has done that before. no, nobody was so crazy. for the fun of it we take pictures of each course. the head waiter is in a good mood and joins in. after the 3rd course half of the other waiters are part of the fun too. every body tries to be on the picture. i ask if it's possible to get the recipes. 'no that's a secret'. so i give it a try and tell him the ingredients. his face tells me that i have 100 out of 100 points. in disbelieve the waiter runs into the kitchen and comes back with the top chef. 'where do you cook?' - 'heidelberg' - 'which hotel?' - 'no hotel just at home'. i tell him i just like to cook and eat for pleasure. he's impressed. he gives me a short summary of his global career at top hotels. now i'm impressed too. chat between colleagues :-). we're offered a special indian dish for lunch tomorrow. cooked especially for us and special places reserved for us sounds good to me. annik is surprised by the casualty in this luxurious environment. i doubt that they have guests like us every night. finally we're lead in the ballroom with the huge crystal chandeliers that they light up just for us so we can take a picture with the whole group. the director of the hotel himself who by now is informed about this crazy german guy takes the pictures. what a remarkable evening. i'm sure they will talk about it for a while too. i leave them with a special statement on the comment paper. 'more is not enough'. i could hear them laugh in the back.
short trip to one of the painters. 275$ for a truly outstanding piece. too expensive but he doesn't want to go lower. his brother goes spontaneously down to 250. the painter is visibly angry about this sabotage. can't make up my mind. it's an incredible amount for indian standards. lunch at the hotel. the byriani is a sensation. on the way back i decide to buy the piece, even when it's too expensive. i have a feeling i'd regret it if don't do it and it's obvious i can't reduce the price anymore. annik tries to organize a flight to delhi. her visa runs out and she needs one for myanmar. i decide to take the bus with her instead of going to jaipur for a hectic day. surprise: the bus is excellent (for indian standards). the area is dusty, dry, mountainous. i fall asleep all the time.