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First Class Passage to India
Steven Slon June 13, 2007
See a slideshow of first class India highlights.
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Marwar castle is built on the crest of a hill above Jodphur, and then rises 60 feet above that. At the entranceway, a clay mold of the small handprints of women who had chosen sati, the ritual suicide of the wives of a royal person upon his death. The handprints are so tiny, the size of a child’s hands. Our guide is at great pains to explain the historical context of the practice. He insists sati was never coerced. Rather it was a choice—frequently to escape from cruel enslavement by a conquering warlord; or from a future of abject poverty.
The castle offers a dazzling view of Jodphur, and is loaded with the most exquisite artifacts, including ornately carved palanquins, famous miniature paintings in searingly rich color depicting scenes from Hindu lore, and much more. At lunch, our guide extols the remarkable healing powers of opium, which he has procured in the past for tourists with upset stomachs. He opines that opium is good for the constitution as long as you don’t consume it every day. Once a week is good. Or, he says, growing reflective, possibly twice a week.
First Class Indulgence: After exploring Jodhpur, hop on the Palace on Wheels train for luxurious travel through Rajasthan. The train cars are hotel-like private rooms, and the train includes a full bar, two dining cars, and butler service. From Jodhpur, the train journeys to Ranthambhor National Park, a wildlife sanctuary touted as the best place in India to see tigers. Double occupancy October-March, $2695.00 per person for the full seven day trip.
See a slideshow of first class India highlights.
Mumbai, Day 8
Here’s an inside tip, it’s not “Mumbai” to most residents, but still “Bombay.” The name change was pushed through by the right-wing Hindu nationalist party Shiv Sena in 1995, but modernists—and in all of India, this melting pot city is the place for modernity—prefer the old city name.
Our hotel, the Taj, famous for being the first luxury hotel to open its doors to non-whites, is split in two. One side is 100 years old and features a grand, seven story tower with a stairway running around it that would have given Hitchcock a little shiver. A good one, I mean. Adjoining it is a new gleaming modern box. They’re connected at the base, with all kinds of neat shops, ranging from supertrendy clothing stores to high end jewelry stores.
We’re situated on the butler floor, in the old wing. Food is served by butlers in navy blazers, bowties, charcoal slacks and wearing white gloves. It seems they are trained to open every verbal exchange with “Thank you very much, sir.” At dinner, you drop your handkerchief and they swoop to pick it up. “Thank you very much, sir.”
After dinner, I take a short walk alone around the famous India Gate, which is a giant marble arch, just across from the hotel. It’s jammed with people, even late in the evening. This is a big tourist spot for Indians as well as foreigners. And a mecca for hustlers, vendors and beggars. As a foreigner, I seem to be a magnet for attention. A robed man walks toward me holding out something in his hand. I swerve to avoid him. He had been offering to drop a sweet into my hand, I realize, and now he is offended that I had presumed he was a beggar: “Holy man!” he says irritably.
Back in the hotel, all is serene. A very neatly dressed young woman stands by the elevator. So you shouldn’t have to labor, she pushes the elevator button for you. Smiles.
First class indulgence: Have the Taj Hotel rent a private boat to take you from India Gate to Elephanta Island. Includes a gourmet picnic prepared by one of the four restaurants at the Taj Hotel. The Island, about an hour’s ride from Bombay, is known for its cave temples with Shiva sculptures dating from the 5th century AD.
See a slideshow of first class India highlights.
Bombay, Day 9
We launch the most incredible tour of the whole trip, guided by the incomparable Rashida Anees. She is not part the standard tour service, but was recommended by a friend who sang her praises. Spending the day with her is like being taken around by an old friend. In fact, within minutes, it feels as if we’ve known each other for years. She takes us places that are quite off the usual tour grid: We spend the morning mingling with Koli fisher folk, watching them buy, sell, clean and auction the day’s catch; next it’s off to the bustling Crawford Market, where we chat with her favorite vendors; later we visit a Hindu temple for a prayer service. Lunch is at her private club. The day ends with tea at her elegant apartment. When we leave, she seems genuinely embarrassed to accept her fee.
First Class Indulgence: Take a temporary membership at the Cricket Club of India. Watch a game of cricket and enjoy a meal in this famous club with an ambiance of the colonial period (www.cricketclubofindia.org; $40 for a week’s membership).
Kerala, Days 10-12
We will continue through the south, into Kerala, the famous spice port, and down to Kovalum at the southern tip of the continent. Kerala, aside from its spice plantations and latticework of canals, is the birthplace of ayurvedic medicine. In the interest of research into ayurvedic body techniques, Estelle and I allow ourselves to be massaged within an inch of our lives at several rustic spas.
First Class Indulgence: Charter an overnight or multiday houseboat cruise through Kerala’s backwaters, a series of beautiful lakes, canals, and rivers abutting the Arabian Sea. [www.artisansofleisure.com / 800-214-8144 Contact: Ashley Isaacs Ganz; Cost: $600 per night]
Ananda, Days 13-16
Our travels end with a trip back north to Ananda, a modern, very luxe ayurvedic spa built alongside the maharaja’s palace, 3000 feet above sea level in the Himalayan foot hills above the sacred Ganges river. The spa is ranked as high as number one in the lists of the world’s leading spas. Outside your room, spectacular views of the treetops and the valley below. Not to mention, monkeys.
One wanders about dressed in the white pajamas everyone is issued, taking yoga classes every morning at 7:30, eating gourmet Euro-style cooking, attending lectures about Vedanta, and just sitting around thinking or writing. The focal point of each day is the massage that the Ayurvedic doctor has prescribed. I particularly recommend the four-hand massage, performed, as one might guess, by two masseuses at once. One simply melts.
At the end of the visit, one resolves to be more spiritual; to continue yoga; to read deeper in Vedanta; to appreciate art and poetry; and to take a stand to keep stress out of one’s life when one returns to the States.
My actions, following our trip, fall far short of that ideal. But, the visit to this strange, exotic country, so rooted in ancient tradition, so eager to embrace the new, has affected me like nothing else in the world.
See a slideshow of first class India highlights.
