Itinerary Part Two

Image: Thinking Man at the Taj Mahal

Just when I thought I was becoming numb to India’s “unique sensibilities” my family arrived to remind me that I live in the my own version of the Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, an upside-down, inside-out neosurrealist place where nothing ever happens in the order it should. Every time you think that, by golly, this city has its cow population under control, one just comes mumbling along out of nowhere.

My mom, an Austinite, and my brother, a Houstonian, visited two weeks ago, and having seen Slumdog, they were interested in partaking in the “slum tour.” I can’t say that it was entirely their idea. I presented them with options—and this one sounded like a step off the beaten path, and an interesting alternative to shopping in Bandra or getting Thai foot massages which my brother quickly vetoed.

This tour has been around for some time, but when people first started getting wind of it, many were outraged, for the same reason Slumdog Millionaire has gotten some slack: profiting on poverty. To be honest, I don’t think that the tour company is actually making much of a profit, but the fact of the matter is that the tour, and the film are “pro-slum dweller.” Reality and Slumdog have opened many an eye to the culture of begging and child prostitution in India.

The tour operators, Reality Tours and Travels, are actually trying to give visitors a new perspective on the lives of the poor and demonstrate that people living in this slum are not lazing around, as one might presume, but working very hard. Dharavi has an annual turnover of US$665 million, would you believe? Much of that comes from creating products for the West, or recycling our junk (old air conditioners and plastics from the US and the UK land here). As my mom said, “We are living off the backs of these people.”

It makes sense to try to understand how the other half lives--indeed this is how 55% of Mumbai's population lives--in slums. So, we went. This was just one of the "hotspots" I took my family to an effort to show them India's many wonders.

Here's the rest of our itinerary (starting from where I left off in my previous entry below):

Day 6: Taj Mahal...they LOVED it. At the end of the trip, they all said this was one of their favorite things. I think that they also wanted to say rug shoppping, which is what we also did in Agra. We didn't mean to buy 8x10 hand-woven rugs. It just happened. (Also visited Agra Fort, which was fantastic!)

Day 7: Breakfast in bed at the Imperial Hotel and three hours of Seinfeld reruns (this is our vacation, after all). Tour of Delhi government buildings, where several Indian tourists were much more interested in taking a picture of Scot's lady friend, than they were in taking a picture of the Parliament buildings. Verbal fisticuffs with our driver who was trying to pull the wool over our eyes. Shopping at FabIndia--Mom will now officially stick out in Austin upon her return. Dinner at Turtle Cafe in Delhi and then to the Old Delhi Railway Station in all its glory. Here, we took advantage of the porters dressed in red, who carried our luggage on top of their heads.

Day 8: Landed in Jodhpur after a night train ride--not everyone's favorite part of the trip. Banana pancakes for breakfast at Cosy Guest House. Wandering around Jodhpur's blue lanes to Mehangarh Fort. Guided tour and guided walk around old market. Home, nap, dinner, cards.

Day 9: To Rohet Garh, about an hour from Jodhpur. Lunch of Rajasthani food, Shirodhara massage--oil dripping on the head for 30 minutes--unbelieveably relaxing. Afternoon horseback ride on Marwari horses. Jeep to Wilderness Tents. Dinner.

Day 10: Early morning breakfast spread. Drive to Ranakpur, a huge Jain temple. Arrive Devi Garh. Cue music. Cue rose petals raining from the sky to honor our arrival.

Day 11: Udaipur. Palace. Mumbai. Sleep.

Day 12: Nothing like topping off a trip with a Dharavi slum tour. Lunch at Good Earth Tasting Room. Colaba Causeway. Indigo Deli. Home.

Day 13: Thai massages. Last minute shopping. Peshawari for dinner. Plane.

The sentiment, after this whirlwind of travel, seemed to be good. They liked India--in smallish doses. As I said goodbye, Scot's lady friend gave me a hug and said, "I survived!" No one got booted off the subcontinent.