The Lap of Luxury?
Travelling on a tight budget in a developing nation has resulted in a serious lowering of our standards of living. For example, I don't think twice about going 3 days without a shower, a week without hot water, or 2 weeks without washing the shirt I wear almost every day. I don't mind that I can't get a decent cup of coffee whenever I want it, and I've even grown to prefer the sweet milky taste of chai over a black cup of Assam tea (which is surprisingly difficult to find in India given that they grow it here). If you want the hotel to turn on the air conditioner in your room you have to pay double the rate for the room, so we usually go without. We understand that "deluxe bus" simply means that the seats recline, but only if they are not broken.
But sometimes we want those comforts we took for granted at home. At those times of need we do not deny ourselves -- we head straight for the nearest 5 star hotel and live it up! Although the prices seem outrageous in local currency, when we convert to US dollars, it all seems like a bargain.
At the most expensive places we've limited ourselves to tea, a drink, or the occasional spluge on dinner. We've had $4 high tea at the Imperial Hotel, eaten a $65 dinner at Bukhara, the "best Indian restaurant in the world" according to UK magazine, and had Oban scotch for $8 at the Rambagh Palace. Sometimes the food is worth the price (at Bukhara), other times we go just to see the hotel. The buffet at the Lake Palace in Udaipur, for example, was mediocre, but the building is an incredible palace that once was used by the Maharaja as his summer residence. If you want to see it in its full glory, it features prominently in the movie Octopussy.
It seems that the more you pay for something in India, the closer the cost-value ratio comes to that of the US. That is to say, a $250 5-star hotel room here isn't much better than the same amount gets you in the US, but a $40 mid-range hotel room is much better than the $40 Motel 6 we stayed at in Bend, OR. So, when we are sick of cold showers, flimsy toilet seats, and hard beds, we spend a night or two in a mid-range hotel. You get about what you'd expect for $100-$150 in the US, except that there is always something oddly missing. In Jaipur we had a beautiful, huge room with TV, air conditioner, and a big, inviting bathtub . But there wasn't enough hot water to fill the tub. In Udaipur, the pool was great (on the roof!), the room bright and clean, and the shower even had a curtain (not a luxury deemed important in this country). But there was no trash can, and the shower curtain was moldy. You just can't be too picky.
But most days we are perfectly happy to pay $5 for a room, $5 for dinner, and 10 cents for tea. Sure, the shower gets the toilet wet, the tea doesn't have a geographical designation, and I avoid the meat at dinner, but the value is so much better. And on the occasion that it's not, it's easy to rationalize with an "I've spent more for a hot dog at Fenway."
By the way, our most expensive hotel room so far was $90. It was the cheapest room we could find in London. It included breakfast, and at least when the roof caved in from the rain we weren't on the top floor!
...
We are now in Kochi, Kerala, on the southwest coast of India. It is intensely humid here -- none of our laundry will dry! We'll take a tour of the backwaters from here, then maybe head to the hills to see tea and spice plantations before heading to the southern tip of the country. Our room costs $6.60.
More pictures are at fderekf.dotphoto.com.
But sometimes we want those comforts we took for granted at home. At those times of need we do not deny ourselves -- we head straight for the nearest 5 star hotel and live it up! Although the prices seem outrageous in local currency, when we convert to US dollars, it all seems like a bargain.
At the most expensive places we've limited ourselves to tea, a drink, or the occasional spluge on dinner. We've had $4 high tea at the Imperial Hotel, eaten a $65 dinner at Bukhara, the "best Indian restaurant in the world" according to UK magazine, and had Oban scotch for $8 at the Rambagh Palace. Sometimes the food is worth the price (at Bukhara), other times we go just to see the hotel. The buffet at the Lake Palace in Udaipur, for example, was mediocre, but the building is an incredible palace that once was used by the Maharaja as his summer residence. If you want to see it in its full glory, it features prominently in the movie Octopussy.
It seems that the more you pay for something in India, the closer the cost-value ratio comes to that of the US. That is to say, a $250 5-star hotel room here isn't much better than the same amount gets you in the US, but a $40 mid-range hotel room is much better than the $40 Motel 6 we stayed at in Bend, OR. So, when we are sick of cold showers, flimsy toilet seats, and hard beds, we spend a night or two in a mid-range hotel. You get about what you'd expect for $100-$150 in the US, except that there is always something oddly missing. In Jaipur we had a beautiful, huge room with TV, air conditioner, and a big, inviting bathtub . But there wasn't enough hot water to fill the tub. In Udaipur, the pool was great (on the roof!), the room bright and clean, and the shower even had a curtain (not a luxury deemed important in this country). But there was no trash can, and the shower curtain was moldy. You just can't be too picky.
But most days we are perfectly happy to pay $5 for a room, $5 for dinner, and 10 cents for tea. Sure, the shower gets the toilet wet, the tea doesn't have a geographical designation, and I avoid the meat at dinner, but the value is so much better. And on the occasion that it's not, it's easy to rationalize with an "I've spent more for a hot dog at Fenway."
By the way, our most expensive hotel room so far was $90. It was the cheapest room we could find in London. It included breakfast, and at least when the roof caved in from the rain we weren't on the top floor!
...
We are now in Kochi, Kerala, on the southwest coast of India. It is intensely humid here -- none of our laundry will dry! We'll take a tour of the backwaters from here, then maybe head to the hills to see tea and spice plantations before heading to the southern tip of the country. Our room costs $6.60.
More pictures are at fderekf.dotphoto.com.
posted by Derek at 7:16 PM
2 Comments:
It sounds like you know how to treat yourself. I hope you're staying away from the monkeys!I just saw the "white city" phots, and was impressed with the balancing ability of the natives. I trust you've been inspired to try some balancing yourselves.
The first comment was entered by the once again anonymous Father of Lizzie- signed the Mothe of Lizzie
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