The Worst Chauffeur in India

We wouldn't have been surprised to find our car up in a tree, like this one you pass on the way to the Mews at Udai Bilas Palace

When we tried to leave Dungarpur, our driver was nowhere to be found. What ensued has become a story we can laugh about…now.

We had heard that you should expect the unexpected in India — especially when it comes to travel plans. We hadn’t experienced anything too egregious, our two-hour wait for a driver to Dungarpur aside.

Well, that was nothing compared to what happened when we tried to leave Dungarpur.

“George recognized the word “police.”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” he said.”

The day started off pleasantly enough. After breakfast, we explored a temple complex not far from our heritage hotel, Udai Bilas Palace, where a brahmin greeted and welcomed us. The complex has several lingams (a phallic representation of the Hindu god Shiva) and a shrine to Krishna.

A lingam, which is really just a stylized penis meant to represent the god Shiva

“This Car Is Going Nowhere”

When we checked out at noon, we learned that our driver was unable to meet us, but that it he would be no more than an hour.

In the interim, we went and sat beside the pool and ordered some snacks to nibble on before our return trip to Baroda.

At one point, a supervisor stopped by our table and asked if we would be amenable to him contacting our driver to see what the situation was.

As the man was speaking on his mobile phone, George recognized the word “police.”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” George said.

The supervisor hung up the phone and told us that our driver had had an accident but was OK. Except that he was currently being held at the police station.

It became clear that we wouldn’t be leaving any time soon.

This prompted George to contact the company we had hired the driver through, TaxiForSure. They had a completely different account of the unfolding events: It was an accident. The car just had to be fixed, but we can leave soon. Maybe today. Tomorrow at the latest. Two days tops.

I was worried about getting back to Baroda in time for our flight the next morning. Wally, on the other hand, was enjoying himself, lounging in the sun and telling me repeatedly that there are worse ways to spend a day.

The supervisor left for the local police station with a promise to update us on the situation. When he returned, he showed us pictures of the badly damaged sedan. The driver’s side was crushed in, both windows smashed.

“This car is going nowhere,” he said.

We Get the Real Story

Turns out our driver was in jail, waiting for the commissioner, who would or would not show up within the next several hours. We learned that our driver, probably excited to be on his own with a vehicle, had left the complex and gone for a joyride. We’re not sure he was drinking — but it wouldn’t surprise us if he was eager to get some booze in his system, living as he does in Gujarat, a dry state (something to do with Gandhi being from there, George explained).

The car had gone off the road into a ditch and flipped over. Fortunately he was fine, but unfortunately for us, we no longer had transport back to Vadodara.

Thankfully, the hotel made arrangements for a new driver. Our driver took the state highway and we were back in Baroda within a few hours.

The ride was cheaper (and much more pleasant) than our trip to Dungarpur, and our driver was courteous, so we tipped him extravagantly. It wasn’t that much money to us — equal to a taxi ride across Chicago, say — but the man acted like he had just won the lottery. He thanked us profusely and offered us all bidis, tiny cigarettes hand-rolled in leaves. –Duke

Bizarre Foods Around the World

Weird food: Would you try crickets, scorpions, guinea pig…or dog?

 

I think of myself as adventurous when it comes to food. I’ll eat pretty much anything.

But when you start getting into Bizarre Foods With Andrew Zimmern territory, my stomach starts churning.

“I think we all just ate dog.”

I’ve gobbled down the delicious fattiness of pig cheeks, for instance. And when you really think about it, shrimp could be considered the insects of the sea.

Here are some of the foods I encountered on my travels — some of which I braved and others I chickened out on actually trying.

Guinea pig, or cuy, comes flayed open like something scraped off the road — you know, so you can sure you're not eating a cat

Guinea pigs

Known as cuy in Peru, these are a delicacy in the Andes. We visited villages where locals had tiny pens to keep in a few guinea pigs, awaiting a special occasion. 

I figured I had to try cuy at least once. It was on the menu at a restaurant in Puno, a town on the shore of Lake Titicaca (go ahead and giggle). 

When Cameron, one of my fellow travelers, ordered it, I sighed in relief. 

“I’ll just try a bite of yours,” I said, and ordered the alapaca medallions for myself.

We were all horrified when the cuy came out. It sat upon its plate, flayed open, ribs visible, head still on, teeth bared, looking more like roadkill than dinner.

Once Cameron had dug in, I reached across the table and grabbed some with my fork. It stretched like a rubber band before it broke off with a snap. And a rubber band was exactly how it tasted. 

“Why do they serve cuy like that?” I asked the waiter.

“That is how it is served everywhere,” he informed us. “The head is on to show that you are not eating cat. A lot of restaurants try to serve you cat, but not us.”

“That’s good,” I said, happy to return to my alpaca. Which was delicious, by the way.

Crickets are popular snacks all over Thailand

Crickets and scorpions

I stayed with friends in Bangkok, Thailand, and at the end of their street was a small cart that sold crickets as well as pitch-black scorpions.

I was glad to see that the stingers had been removed from the scorpions. But as someone who has an irrational phobia of these creatures (all that power to kill in one small, creepy crawly package just gives me the shivers), you couldn’t even get me to consider trying one. 

Every time we passed by, I said I’d try a cricket, though. And every time I wimped out. I just couldn’t see the appeal of noshing on a dried insect, and the inevitable crunch just wigged me out. Part of the fact was that my stomach was still adjusting to the intensely spicy Thai food, and I was afraid that forcing a cricket down wouldn’t help matters.

That being said, there were carts all over the country, and they were always busy. Hordes of passersby would buy a bag full of crickets or a skewer and would gobble them down like popcorn.

The Perfume Pagoda in northern Vietnam is a region known for a dish called thit cho, which consists of dog

Dog

Before we traveled to Vietnam, I had read in the guidebooks that there’s a region up north that specializes in thit cho, or dog. Duke and I learned the phrase and made sure to avoid it.

We stayed in Hanoi and took a day trip to the Perfume Pagoda. On the way there, I had noticed a lot of the restaurants had signs out front proudly touting the specialty of the house: thit cho.

On the return trip, we stopped for dinner. They sat us in a room to the side of the restaurant, and served us family style, passing around big platters of entrées and sides. One of the dishes was indiscernible — the meat was like gamey, gristly beef.

“OK,” I announced to the table. “Here’s a dish of mystery meat. Everyone try it.”

It made the rounds, and after everyone had taken a bite or two, I dropped the bomb.

“This region specializes in serving dog. Did anyone else notice the two statues of German shepherds on the way in? I think we all just ate dog.”

Almost everyone grimaced, or protested the possibility, or mumbled a curse in my direction.

But the girl from Sweden piped up with, “That was good! Can you pass it back this way?”

As we left the restaurant, I asked our tour guide if we had eaten dog.

“No, no,” he said. “Pig.”

Well, I can assure you that was certainly not pork.

So we’re not certain we’ve eaten dog — we just have the sneaking suspicion we did.

What's the weirdest food you've seen on your travels? And did you try it? –Wally

The Crumbling But Majestic Dungarpur Palace

The reception hall in the Juna Mahal

One of Rajasthan’s lesser-known sites, the Juna Mahal is filled with brightly painted rooms — and a naughty collection of scenes from the Kama Sutra.

I first learned about the former royal residence from the book India: In Word and Image by photographer Eric Meola. He described the Juna Mahal as one of his favorite under-the-radar places, a faded old palace (indeed, that’s what its name translates to), located in the quiet town of Dungapur.

No longer occupied, visits are arranged upon request, which our hotel coordinated for us in advance.

“Hidden inside a cupboard on an upper floor were scenes from the Kama Sutra.”

The colorful town of Dungarpur

Perched on the brow of a hill with a panoramic view of the colorful village of Dungapur sprawled out below, the seven-story palace exterior resembles a narrow, dilapidated fortress. The façade is embellished with friezes carved from bluish-gray pareva stone.

A single staircase connects all seven floors of the Juna Mahal, or Old Palace

Once we entered the palace, an elderly man with leathery skin and a smiling face, most likely the Juna Mahal’s guardian, ushered us from room to room.

Our silent guide led us from room to room

Late afternoon light streamed through the windows, lingering upon the colorful murals, frescoes and an interior apartment that contains a glass and mirror inlay.

Hidden inside a cupboard on an upper floor were scenes from the Kama Sutra, India’s revered treatise on sexuality.

A cabinet on one of the top floors of the Juna Mahal depicts naughty scenes from the Kama Sutra

The rooftop is covered with a mosaic of broken pottery pieces and offers a magnificent view of the landscape.

Wally in the Juna Mahal

This extraordinary structure is the embodiment of both splendor and decline. It was in use until the mid-20th century and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited buildings in the country.

The brightly painted but fading walls of the Juna Mahal in Dungarpur, India

It is currently on the watch list of the World Monuments Fund, a New York City-based nonprofit organization whose goal is to preserve architectural and cultural heritage sites around the globe.

A room at the top of the Juna Mahal

The vividly painted and decorated rooms are fun to explore — and the luxe accommodations nearby make this a great stop on a tour of Rajasthan. –Duke

Best Guacamole Recipe Ever

Maybe this guacamole tastes so delicious because it's served in a pig-shaped molcajete

Es la verdad. Wally’s famous guacamole never fails to please. Just make sure you get a molcajete.

 

One of the most essential ingredients for guacamole is a molcajete — the mortar and pestle made of volcanic basalt first used by Aztecs and Mayas thousands of years ago.

I went to a restaurant in Chicago and was served guacamole from a molcajete shaped like a pig. I decided then and there that I would one day possess one just like it.

“Yes, this recipe is a little spicy. Deal with it.”

So when I stayed with my family in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Mexico one Christmas, I made it my mission to find a pig-shaped molcajete. I explored the market in Bucerías, the neighboring town, looking in each and every stall.

As I neared the end of the market, I began to give up hope.

Then, in one of the stalls, I saw a grouping of molcajetes. Alas, none of them were pig-shaped. And really, how could I ever be content with a regular one, knowing that there were pig-shaped ones out there?

But then, sitting on the ground underneath one of the shelves, there it was. I bought it immediately, and lugged that heavy mofo back to the States.

Would I ever serve guacamole in anything else? Maybe when pigs fly.

This is all you need to make a crowd-pleasing guacamole

Ingredients

• 2 avocados

• ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

• ½ cup white onion, minced

• 2 serrano chiles, minced

• 1 lime, juiced

• 1½ teaspoons salt

Preparation

Mix all the ingredients together in the molcajete. I leave half of an avocado to the end. That way you can have some chunks mixed in with the smooth texture.

You do know the trick to getting the pit out of an avocado, don’t you? Slice it open lengthwise, then thrust your knife into the pit in a chopping motion. Turn sideways and pull it out. It doubles as a party trick and makes you look pretty badass.

And yes, this recipe is a little spicy. But I can’t in good faith recommend cutting down on the spice level. Deal with it.

Every time I’ve made this for people, it has gone over extremely well. I’ve even won dip contests at work with this recipe.

Pair it with an all-natural margarita (though I'd try agave sweetener instead of maple syrup). 

Simple but ¡que rico! –Wally

Heritage Hotels: Dungarpur Edition

The stunning One-Pillared Palace inside the courtyard of the Udai Bilas heritage hotel in Dungarpur, India

At Udai Bilas Palace, you can literally live like a king — or Hercule Poirot.

 

After a rocky start, we arrived at the historic Udai Bilas Palace, a 19th century summer palace-turned-heritage hotel and were greeted by its manager, Kalvendra Singh.

As we went to gather our luggage, he stopped us and told us that the porter would take it to our suite — which, incidentally, was amazing. The time-weathered hand-carved wooden doors opened into a spacious, high-ceilinged room with a sitting area near an open window, where a panoramic view of the royal family’s private temple seemed to float serenely upon a small isle in the waters of Gep Sagar Lake.

Wally with the impressive backdrop of the family temple on a small island at Hotel Udai Bilas Palace

“When you first turn the corner into the dining room, you honestly cannot help but gasp.”

Best of all, we got to stay in this luxury for what equated to about $75 a night.

The interior courtyard contains a magnificent mini-palace pavilion know as the Ek Thambia Mahal or the One-Pillared Palace — so named as it is built around a single pillar.

The gorgeous pool at Udai Bilas

The grounds were amazing. You can enjoy refreshments by the infinity pool or take a walk through the gardens, which have a menagerie of exotic fowl, including a pair of emus.

Keep your distance from the emu, part of the menagerie at Udai Bilas Palace

As I was passing through the courtyard to return to our room, Mr. Singh asked if I wanted to meet the maharajah. I'll admit I was a bit star-struck. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I certainly was a bit surprised to see that the maharajah was wearing a burgundy nylon tracksuit and sitting behind the manager’s desk, reviewing a ledger.

I shook his hand and told him what an impressive place the palace was. He told me he was not the maharajah of Dungarpur but was instead from Sirohoi, Rajasthan. He owns the Bikaner House located on Mount Abu, Rajasthan's lone hill station.

He asked if the accommodations were suitable and if I was having a pleasant stay.

Of course the answer was yes.

Murder Most Foul

Wally is a bit (OK, completely) obsessed with the BBC Agatha Christie series. So it was no surprise when he suggested that Udai Bilas was exactly the sort of place Hercule Poirot would stay — and end up solving the mystery of the corpse found floating in the dining room’s water feature.

I agreed: The palace was like stepping into the exotic setting of an Agatha Christie novel. Many rooms contained taxidermied animals, the prized trophies from various royal hunting expeditions.

While we were staying at Udai Bilas, I imagined a plot out of a Christie novel.

Cast of Characters

(In order of appearance)

Daphne Beaumont, an aging and fading actress and central character

Gemma Marsh

Emily Grey

Julia Woolgar

Margaret Trout, a dowdy American tourist on holiday

Nathan Grey

Dr. Trevor Marsh

Jasper Tennant, ornithologist

Patrick Cook

Cecil Hawthorne, ethnologist

The players include a group of wealthy elderly tourists. This was inspired by real life: Sharing the palace with us was a small group of tourists from Oregon on a tour of Rajasthan. The local attraction, the Juna Mahal, happened to be on their guide’s list of must-see sights. George affectionately referred to them as “the raisin ranch.”

In my murder mystery, which I’ve titled Birds of Paradise, the group of tourists is led by Jasper Tennant, an ornithologist who promises this group a glimpse of the rare bird species, the great Indian bustard, which has been hunted nearly to extinction.

I never got around to penning a plot, though. Suffice it to say, the weapon most definitely would have been the small bronze statuette that stood at the end of the dining table holding a votive.

After the sun had set, we enjoyed pre-dinner cocktails inside the Mews, the old stables, which have been converted into a museum for the maharajah’s classic car collection and a small airplane with a motorized propeller.

George and Duke enjoy the hydraulic lift, part of the fun of pre-dinner cocktails at the Mews at Udai Bilas

There's a bar at the end that features a hydraulic lift. After some of the raisin ranchers had cleared out, we were able to have a seat on the platform, which raised up for a bit.

When you first turn the corner into the dining room, you honestly cannot help but gasp.

The epic open-air dining room at Hotel Udai Bilas Palace. A quick swim before supper, anyone?

Dinner is served at a monolithic white marble table inlaid with pietra dura and a water feature that could double as a lap pool running along the center. Our roof was the expansive, star-filled sky. –Duke

In Search of Bahamian Food

Wally sure would have loved to have tried some conch fritters like these in the Bahamas

Wally tries his hardest to sample conch fritters, conch chowder — heck, anything conch.

When I travel, I enjoy experiencing authentic traditional cuisine. So when I visited Grand Bahama Island one holiday season, I felt it was my rite of passage to sample conch, a local favorite.

“Technically, they’re sea snails — but I’m afraid that if I say this, no one will want to try them. ”

Conch (pronounced “konk”) is similar in texture to a clam. The shells, with their flared, thick outer lip and pink-colored orifice, are commonly sold in souvenir shops. Heck, you’ve probably held one up to your ear to “hear the ocean.”

Technically, they’re sea snails —  but I’m afraid that if I say this, no one will want to try them.

You might also recall conch as the shell the boys in Lord of the Flies use as a trumpet to call meetings and the item you had to hold if you wanted to speak — before all hell broke loose. Which brings me to my first meal on the island.

Shell Shocked

I found a Bahamian restaurant specializing in conch. It was small, no-frills and empty.

Ten minutes later, a skinny girl emerged, handed us menus and disappeared into the back of the restaurant. 

Ten minutes later, she returned, presumably to take our order.  

“We’ll start with the conch fritters,” I said.

She wrote the order down carefully and disappeared again.

Ten minutes later, she reappeared.

 “No conch fritters,” she told us.

I was a bit disappointed, but persistent, so I replied, “We’ll have two cups of the conch chowder then, please.”

She wrote the order down and strolled back to the kitchen.

After another 10-minute lapse, she returned. “No conch chowder,” she said. I was beginning to understand what they mean by “island time.”

Hungry and determined, I scanned the menu and replied, “Oh, OK, we’ll have the crack conch.”

With great concentration, she wrote this down.

As she began to walk away I decided to call her back. “May I ask: Do you have anything conch?”

She shook her head. “No conch. Bad weather.”

This struck me as particularly absurd — not only because she could have told us this half an hour ago, but because the weather in the Bahamas is pretty much gorgeous year-round, with the temp barely fluctuating between the high 70s and the low 80s.

Later in the week, as I was wandering the island, I came upon a man collecting conch. Next to him was a huge pile of the beautiful, pinkish, coral-colored shells. The weather must have improved.

To this day, Duke and I will use that refrain to get a laugh out of each other, like the Soup Nazi on Seinfeld: No conch. Bad weather. –Wally

The Unpleasant Experience of Hiring a Driver in India

Darkness turned to daylight as we awaited our driver. At least we had stray dogs to keep us company

Our road trip from Baroda to Dungarpur taught us not to expect your driver to speak English, show up on time or care about your sanity.

We weren't having any luck finding a driver who spoke English. (Prakash informed us that people who spoke English got the good jobs, and apparently “chauffeur” doesn’t fit into that category.)

An online search revealed a company called TaxiForSure. It seemed professional. It was also pretty much our only option. So we arranged transport to Dungapur. We requested a pick-up of 5 a.m. According to Google Maps, it’s a pretty straightforward four-hour drive from Baroda.

“A sullen, if handsome, 20-something driver showed up, playing what seemed to be techno versions of Bollywood music blared at full volume.”

At 5 the next morning, our friend and host George got a confirmation text from TaxiForSure, which provided the driver’s name, license plate number and estimated arrival time.

A few minutes later, he received a call from someone at TaxiForSure, who regretted to inform us that our original driver would not be coming — his car broke down.

I’d like to point out that no matter how much you try to plan, things can change unexpectedly (and inevitably, it seems), for India moves in its own unpredictable way.

We were waiting outside in front of George’s apartment building (he calls it his “tenement”). George saves his kitchen scraps to leave outside for the cows. As he was tossing a bag onto the heap, a neighbor who was up early yelled at him, telling him not to just throw it there — that there’s an actual place to leave food scraps down the street near the ashram. The neighbor was just doing his part to attempt to reduce the ridiculous amount of garbage strewn about. Indeed, everywhere you go, you see cans, paper and plastic bags picked at and chewed on by rats, jackdaw birds, stray dogs and cows.

How “OK, OK” Can Mean Anything But

We waited. George called back after a half-hour had passed, and then again every 15 minutes. The conversations went something like this:

“The driver is in the area.”

“The driver is very close.”

“The driver is 3 to 5 minutes away.”

“The driver is 2 to 3 minutes away.”

George hung up in a huff. “Indians will always tell you, ‘OK, OK,’” he said. “But that doesn’t mean anything. It can mean he’s hours away, or he could be here in 5 minutes. I’ve learned they tell you what you want to hear — even if it’s not the truth.”

Two hours in total had passed before George received another text from TaxiForSure.

Your taxi has arrived.

It was now 7 a.m.

Beep! Beep! A sullen, if handsome, 20-something driver named Pankach, who only spoke Gujarati showed up, playing what seemed to be techno versions of Bollywood music blared at full volume, which we endured the entire trip.

Before we left Baroda, he pulled the car over, and a man approached and gave him a bag full of clothes. Then our road trip was in full swing.

Road Trippin'

Once we were outside the city limits, the scenery changed, and we began to pass rural homes, which were transformed into hand-painted advertisements for the sturdy but humble materials cement and brick.

Many of the signs touted Ambuja Cement. The company's logo is a comically proportioned man with a tiny head and a ginormous right bicep embracing a pair of buildings.

Elaborate conical Hindu temples dotted the landscape, confections in bubblegum pink, white, mint and lemon yellow. Cloth flags atop spires fluttered in the breeze.

We weren't sure we were ever going to make it. But we were finally en route to Dungapur, otherwise known as the City of Hills, located at the southernmost Aravalli mountains of Rajasthan.

We almost got used to the Bollywood Molly dance party in the car. Almost. –Duke

RELATED: 3 Tips for Hiring a Driver in India

“No matter how much you try to plan, things can change unexpectedly (and inevitably, it seems), for India moves in its own unpredictable way.”

Holy Cow! Sacred Cow!

Cows like these have free rein in India, where they are revered by Hindus.

Why are cows in India revered as holy? A look at Hindu history reveals why bovines are so blessed there.

Let’s face it. Cows aren’t the most noble of beasts.

If you were to tell me that the world’s 900 million Hindus revered horses above all other creatures, I’d get it. They’re fast, graceful, gorgeous and more than a teensy bit intimidating.

“As cows amble along those dirty, dusty streets, you see them chomping away at the ever-present piles of garbage.

It’s enough to make you think that Indians have a funny way of showing their devotion.”

But their gangly, cud-chewing brethren? I really don’t get it.

Don’t Have a Cow, Man

Historian Mukul Kesavan helps reveal the Indian mindset: “For Hindus, the desi cow is a beautiful thing,” he writes. “Its large eyes, its calm, its matte skin tinted in a muted palette that runs from off-white to grey through beige and brown, its painterly silhouette with its signature hump, make it the most evolved of animals.”

Seeing cows in action in India made me think otherwise. Sure, they have the ultimate right of way on the chaotic, congested roads, causing many a traffic jam. But as they amble along those dirty, dusty streets, you see them chomping away at the ever-present piles of garbage. 

It’s enough to make you think that Indians have a funny way of showing their devotion.

Despite this, though, Hindus do take their beliefs seriously. In September 2015, a 50-year-old man in Uttar Pradesh was lynched by a mob. His crime? There were rumors that his family had been storing and eating beef.

Where’s the Beef?

I decided to investigate the root of this bovine reverence.

Turns out Hindus don’t worship cows so much as forbid worshippers from killing them, according to ReligionFacts. 

Some of the Rigveda, ancient Sanskrit hymns, refer to the cow as the goddess Devi as well as Aditi, the mother of the gods herself. Cows were also a favorite of Lord Krishna.

“He is said to have appeared 5,000 years ago as a cowherd and is often described as bala-gopala, ‘the child who protects the cows,’” PBS reports. “Another of Krishna’s holy names, Govinda, means ‘one who brings satisfaction to the cows.’ Other scriptures identify the cow as the ‘mother’ of all civilization, its milk nurturing the population.”

Thousands of years ago, Hindus stopped eating beef.

“This was most likely for practical reasons as well as spiritual,” ReligionFacts says. “It was expensive to slaughter an animal for religious rituals or for a guest, and the cow provided an abundance of important products, including milk, browned butter for lamps and fuel from dried dung.”

Panchagavya — a fermented concoction using cow’s milk, curds, ghee butter, urine and dung — is consumed by Hindu worshippers (shudder). 

“Most Indians do not share the Western revulsion at cow excrement,” according to ReligionFacts, “but instead consider it an earthy and useful natural product.”

By the early centuries CE, a cow became the appropriate gift to present to a brahman, one of Indian society’s high-caste priests. So revered were cows that killing one was seen as being equal to murdering a brahman. 

Gandhi went so far as to say, “If someone were to ask me what the most important outward manifestation of Hinduism was, I would suggest that it was the idea of cow protection.”

Keep It Moo-ving

Not all Indians view the cow so favorably, though.

“What is the greatest traffic hazard in Delhi today? Cows,” writes Bibek Debroy, a columnist for India’s Financial Express, according to PBS. “As our national animal, the tiger may be close to extinction. But the cow is very much around and may soon become our new national animal.”

How to deal with these menaces to society? Debroy offers a tongue-in-cheek solution, PBS continues. “Let them have reflectors and, if not license plates, at least identity cards. Only genuine Delhi cows should be eligible for social security and other benefits.” –Wally

Places to Visit in Vadodara: Ganesha Temple and Sayaji Baug

Visitors leave their shoes outside the Dhundiraj Ganpati Mandir temple in Baroda, India

The zoo is a popular attraction, while the Dhundiraj Ganpati Mandir Temple could be Baroda’s best-kept secret.

At the edge of Sursagar Lake, we asked an auto rickshaw driver if he could take us to the Dhundiraj Ganpati Temple, which is located deep within the city’s old quarter.

He responded with, “OK, OK,” which George warned us is what Indians say no matter what you ask. In this case, I’d like to point out that “OK’’ didn’t mean that the driver knew exactly where the temple was. We quickly realized this, as he proceeded to get lost and stopped frequently, asking for directions, bumming a cigarette off a couple of nonplussed college students.

“Patrons looked upon the mouse deity with reverence, genuflecting and kissing its feet.”

As we made our way into the winding streets of the old quarter, we passed innumerable buildings, some crumbling, while others have collapsed into rubble.

George commented, “They don't even know how to get around their own city — but how could they?" And he’s right. Baroda’s labyrinthine lanes are as if a child imagined it, with every usable square foot of space occupied.

When we finally arrived, it turned out the Mandir was closed. Our driver got out and knocked on a doorway not far from the temple entrance to ask what time it opens. That’s not something that would have occurred to us Westerners. We would have just looked for a sign, and not finding one, would have left disappointed.

Check out the snouts on these gharial crocodiles at the zoo in Baroda

Zootopia

We had hours to kill before the temple opened, so we headed off to the zoo.

En route, we passed the Baroda Museum and Gallery. The structure was designed to resemble the Victoria & Albert Museum of London. Built in 1894, it contains a collection of art, sculpture, ethnography and ethnology.

The zoo is part of a large park called Sayaji Baug. We strolled past a small mound with a sun motif that turned out to be a clock made of flowers.

We also crossed over train tracks. The train was a gift to the children of Baroda from the Gaekwad dynasty and has since been replaced with a larger version that also accommodates adults.

Our favorite part of the zoo was the gharial crocodiles. The name originates from the Hindu word ghara, which is a clay pot with a long neck, much like their narrow snout shape. The male crocodile has a bulbous growth at the end of its snout.

Time for a Temple Run

Later that day, we returned to Dundiraj Ganpati Mandir, which was built 169 years ago. One of the city’s oldest, most cherished temples dedicated to the elephant-headed god Ganesha, it’s the only one made completely out of wood.

An intricately carved and painted door at the wooden Dhundiraj Ganpati Mandir Temple in Vadodara, India

The temple exterior is a pale green and quite dilapidated. But as you pass through the entrance doors and into a small courtyard, the temple itself appears in a lovely shade of blue.

Worshippers kiss the feet of Kroncha, a mouse deity, at a temple in Vadodara, India

The first thing we saw was Kroncha, the mouse. Instead of being in his usual spot at the feet of Ganesha, he was located atop a pedestal. Patrons looked upon the deity with reverence, genuflecting and kissing its feet. Perhaps one of the reasons he's a popular Hindu deity is that he is known as the destroyer of all obstacles. And here we thought elephants were scared of mice.

Worshippers inside a temple to Ganesha, the elephant-headed Hindu deity

The marble idol of Lord Ganesha is placed with idols of his wives Riddhi and Siddhi within the inner temple.

The Buddha's footprints at the Dhundiraj Ganpati Mandir Temple in Baroda, India

Off to the side of the temple, in a courtyard in the back, don’t miss the Buddha’s stone footprints, which were covered with scattered petals or puja, a ritual offering of flowers as a symbol of love and devotion.

The temple's not easy to get to — but it's worth the effort. –Duke

Safari Advice

What can you expect on an African safari? What are “the Big Five” animals to see? And is it dangerous?

Giraffes at Kruger National Park in South Africa

Wanderlust runs in the family. My cousin Kelly has taken two trips to Africa lately, including a safari at Kruger National Park in South Africa.

Here’s what her safari was like — and what you can expect if planning an excursion of your own. –Wally

“The main rule in Kruger is that you don’t get out of your car.”

What was the biggest surprise on your safari?

The biggest surprise was how many types of animals we saw. I expected to see elephants, zebras, giraffes, hippos, hyenas, etc. But I was so excited to see things like wild dogs, white rhinos, warthogs, kudus and even some cheetahs!

And, we saw so many babies — almost every type of animal had their babies with them. You see a lot of newborn animals in the summer (October through March). We were there in January. 

If you want to see babies, try going on a safari from October through March

What was your favorite part?

Seeing the animals. Some people feel they had a successful trip to the park if they see “the Big Five,” which includes elephant, leopard, lion, rhino and buffalo. I did see the Big Five! That’s what you go to Kruger for, and there isn't much else to do there.

What’s a typical day like on safari?

We would be on safari early in the morning and late in the afternoon. Then, once we were back in camp by 6:30 p.m., we would cook dinner and talk about what we saw that day.

It’s typical to go to bed early so that you can be out by 5 a.m. to start your safari.

What were the people like?

They were great. Of course you’re surrounded by tourists, but a lot of South Africans go to Kruger, too. It’s a special part of their heritage.

The park rangers are very knowledgeable and interesting to talk to about the animals.

Did you ever feel like you were in danger?

No. The main rule in Kruger is that you don’t get out of your car.

There could be a lion 5 feet away, lying in the grass. We even went on night drives with a ranger, and I never felt like we were in danger.

On our last day in the park, we saw two lions lying in the middle of the road. We got pretty close to them to take pictures and I finally decided I should roll up my window — got a little nervous there.

What was the most interesting thing you ate?

Our friends cooked boerewors [a South African sausage, apparently] on the grill, which was so good.

And malva pudding [which contains apricot jam and is topped with cream sauce] for dessert is delicious.

Learn any fun expressions?

Some of the slang phrases we picked up from our friends were:

just now, which really means “in an unknown amount of time.” For example, "We’ll be eating dinner just now" (don’t get too excited, as that could mean two hours from now).

shame is typically used as a response to something negative, but some people use it all the time: "I am feeling so sick right now." "Shame." "I missed seeing the leopard in the tree." "Shame." Or "Our plane doesn't leave until 8 p.m." "Shame."

torch is a flashlight.

biltong is dried meat, or jerky.

Any final advice for those who want to go on a safari?

Here’s a special tip: Don’t forget to take malaria medicine!