We have now been in Jodhpur for 2 nights.  Jodhpur is a good mix of the Delhi/Mumbai hustle bustle and the village experiences.  The old city is walled with the Meharangarh Fort rising above.  Here I got my way and we got to stay in a Havali.  :)  Havali's are old buildings in the old city that are converted into guest houses.  Well, this is a 5 star beautiful Raas Hotel/Havali that is like staying in a spa.  At night when the fort above is lit up and we are sitting enveloped in candlelight, there is nothing better!!   Next door is a mosque where 5-6 times per day the people are called to prayer over the loud speaker.  Atmosphere of the area, or an interruption, it is quite unique and adds to the experience!

Yesterday we ventured to the Meharangarh Fort and toured with guide.  Rajisthan is an area imbedded with history of kings and queens and palaces.  The fort is absolutely gorgeous and you can touch artifacts that are 500 years old.  Actual breaks in the stone where cannons had hit and stories of British rule, it was very much another learning experience for me.  Looking down onto the blue city and seeing the wall, looking across to other palaces in the distance, lakes, and desert, it is quite the view!  Later we took a tuk tuk down to the Jodhpur clocktower and old city market.  Cows sitting in the middle of the road watching the tourists and locals exchange rupees, it was fun.  A coupl.es massage at the Raas and another dinner under the lit Fort, our time here has been an overload of the senses.  After 2 weeks in the desert sleeping on a bed that is reminscent of a summer camp mattress, the thick mattress and pillows of the Raas will be surely missed.

Today we leave India and head to our next stop in Australia.  Leaving for me is bitter sweet.  I have surely enjoyed my time in India and have appreciated a culture that I have known little about.  I look forward to my return and to see and learn more.  Where otherwise I would be intimidated on a 1st visit, I'm learning enough Hiindi to be pushy back.  I can return with confidence and experience to not be a typical "Gori" (white woman)!!

Pseudo American Meal

So my Cheeseburgers and Scampi extraordaire didn't turn out exactly how I had anticapated but it was good enough.  We had ordered ground buffalo, in lieu of hamburger, and shrimp and we were to have mashed potatoes and asparagus.  The highlight for me was that they found iceberg lettuce and I could have a salad that included lettuce!!  I went to the kitchen to begin my prep work only to find more men who didn't quite know how to take me.  They walk a fine line of being polite and wanting to do everything for me, to not being able to take direction from a woman, to allowing me to do everything because that is the role of the women in their homes.  Very interesting dynamic!  I fought hard to make the mashed potatoes myself.  In the end the chef asked if these are the "American potatoes" that are served with chicken fried steak.  YES! - I taught him something.  I was able to season the shrimp and season the buffalo to include the seasonings from home.  No garlic powder only garlic paste and a few other modifications.  I brought Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce so it was close.  :)  Once all the prep work was done I informed the chef as far as how to cook the rest and left it in his capable hands.  The picture above is what was served.  The potatoes were not heated up and were served ice cold.  The buffalo burger was a bit on the rare side, a little too much for me.  The asparagus was as good as you can get from a can.  The bun fell apart as if it was in the freezer wayyyyy too long.  BUT oh the iceberg lettuce... YUMMY!!!  We were close and it was good!!

Now, I won't go into detail about how the US regulates food safety and how the entire world should!  I won't tell you how OCD I get about washing my hands and cross contamination.  I won't mention about how they don't have a proper potatoe peeler or how there is only 1 pairing knife in the entire kitchen.  I won't tell you about the one spoon they use for ALL their seasonings or the one knife they use for all non-veg regardless of origin.  I will say that I am thankful for our drinking straws being in a paper sleeve and thankful for hairnets and proper sanitation techniques we have grown accustom to.  I will say that I am thankful for all the inspections that restaurants receive and I will never complain about my OCD of using a different cutting board for each item.  Tonight when I go into the restaurant and order food I will order something that gets boiled for a longgggg time and will think twice about how my food has been prepared. 

Signing off with love from India!