Rajastan is amazing to visit, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Jaisalmer, you name it. The last one is a proper desert city near borders with Pakistan, you can have dune safaris with sleeping on dunes and watching various critters roam around. The food there is one notch more spicy above usual Indian already crazy level. They have these various family workshops - jewellery, daggers etc using old family traditions, you can see also workshop or kiln just behind shop. Similar to shopping around for quality nepalese kukri around Kathmandu.
But heat can be brutal out there - one day just sitting on camel around Jaisalmer, I've drunk 6l of water (literally 1l bottles one after another). No pee at all coming out, and even almost had a heat stroke.
India's diversity is stunning, its not just 1 huge country but rather a continent on its own composed out of... 1000 various tribes IIRC? To me, by far the most exotic country (as in different to environment I normally inhabit) globally. Not sure how much of that slowly evaporated in past decade with phones everywhere, I've spent some time there 15 years ago.
Best advice I can offer for dealing with the real and serious heat in parts of Pakistan and northwest India is to ensure that you're getting plenty of salts and minerals in your water intake. With a large intake of water, you will notice at the end of the day that your hat or shirt collar is literally encrusted in salt and dust.
Bring oral rehydration salts for the inevitable less-than-optimal digestion experience. You may not feel like you need it, but mixing oral rehydration salts into your water intake after an episode of bad digestion will help you a lot. ORS are cheap and scientifically simple and well proven.
Yes had those apart from tons of other medicine. I was so paranoid about hand hygiene that in 3 months mostly eating in dirtiest cheapest dhabas I didn't get a single stomach infection. Sight of a couple with hand sanitizing gels 12 years before covid. Second 3-month stint I got one in Rishikesh, 24h of pure hell.
It was some tiny slip up I didn't even notice, generally we were using disinfection but not as paranoid as first time. Ie catch some rail in the bus and then eat chapati with that hand, or maybe we hit some dhaba/restaurant that didn't have everything freshly cooked. Mental fatigue over time gets you, especially when in challenging environment.
Don't take it as negative comment overall, I can't express with words how much that backpacking experience there meant to me. I came back as different, dare to say a better person but listing reasons would take tons of time.
Love the culture, history, various coexisting religions, common people were always very kind and helpful, and overall intensity, even with few negative aspects. Learning to haggle a bit was very hard but it paid back itself later in life tremendously, ie managed to haggle down 60k $ from the price of apartment we bought from one CFO of major insurance company where I live now. Wouldn't have balls to do it without that experience. But whole list is massive and many things I don't even realize myself and never will.
I did the camel trek into the dunes from Jaisalmer, it was pretty spectacular seeing the juxtaposition of wind turbines and very rural desert communities.
Got completely soaked at night though because it was the one day in the year where they got a torrential downpour.
If you go, make sure to visit The Bhang Shop for a bhang mango lassi!
Ah special lassis, that was a different experience every time. Apart from that one time south of Agra where they only put some dried fruits in, and I kept waiting for magic that never came. Not the kind of special I was looking for :)
They're aimed at the domestic market in India. Most distilleries don't try to export abroad as it's a headache. The domestic liquor business is hard enough, throwing in export makes it a hellish proposition for a small business.
Most artisanal or regional liquors are near impossible to export in most countries (eg. finding Ruou or Lao Khao in the US) as these are primarily manufactured by SMBs, and the liquor industry globally is filled with protectionist regulations.
I was visiting Jaipur in the early 2000s and recalled the new law allowing heritage liquors had passed.
So I went to a local "wine shop" (which sell spirits, etc.) and asked for some "local liquor". The man handed me an Indian version of whiskey.
No, I said, I don't want IMFL; give me something that's traditional and local.
He sighed, reached down behind the counter by his feet, and pulled out a half liter bottle of a clear liquid which did not even have a label. It was about 25 rupees (around $0.30 today). And sure to blind anyone who partook in it.
There are a number of regional liquors across India, but most are looked down upon as the drivel of the poor or the working class.
If you want something that tastes closest to normal traditional North Indian liquor in North America, just drink some Arak or Raki with a side of cucumbers and a bit of tasting salt.
That said, I've seen that Total Liquor has started importing artisanal Indian liquors now too (btw, Old Monk is not artisanal nor are the beers served at Indian restaurants the normal beers that Indians drink)
> I was one of those beach trash DJs in Goa 30 years ago
Are you a coder/tech person now? It sounds like you'd have quite a bunch of stories to tell. Can't imagine too many former Goan DJs on HN, let alone one who'd dj'ed so long back.
I got in to coding when I discovered digital trackers back then. Now I mostly just corral k8s clusters but that was how I got my start.
It was a neat scene technologically because that was one of the few places that would book DJs from Russia/CIS, and they had a DJ tradition based on reel to reel rather than vinyl. It still explains a lot of the difference between psytrance and the various house descendants that come out of a vinyl tradition.
I've also seen it occasionally in packies on Boston's south shore in heavily Portuguese neighborhoods, but I assume it just came in somebody's luggage as you mentioned (it still had the Indian tax stamp on it).
> There are a number of regional liquors across India, but most are looked down upon as the drivel of the poor or the working class.
Definitely not these liquors from Rajasthan. I have Kesar Kasturi, Royal Jagmohan, etc. and you can tell they have some top-shelf ingredients in them like saffron, etc.
I mean, it's definitely more expensive than Saunfi or Jugni Santra, but it's still available in my ancestral village's liquor theka, and people would rather show off a Foreign liquor like Whisky instead.
The switch to heritage is definitely the right move from a branding standpoint.
Edit: it might be a brand thing too - "Kesar Kasturi" and "Somras" are generic names and based on some limited internet sleuthing, it looks like generics of these are made as well from Molasses+artifical flavoring
They (like other Indian heritage liquor producers) don't export abroad.
There is large enough demand for heritage liquors in India that there isn't much of an interest in dealing with customs.
Most Indian liquor abroad is exported by a couple specific conglomerates (Radico Khaitan, Mohan Meakin) that fell out of favor after 2013-14 because they were close with the Samajwadi Party, and thus pivoted abroad as they faced issues domestically. The liquor business is VERY dirty in India.
But heat can be brutal out there - one day just sitting on camel around Jaisalmer, I've drunk 6l of water (literally 1l bottles one after another). No pee at all coming out, and even almost had a heat stroke.
India's diversity is stunning, its not just 1 huge country but rather a continent on its own composed out of... 1000 various tribes IIRC? To me, by far the most exotic country (as in different to environment I normally inhabit) globally. Not sure how much of that slowly evaporated in past decade with phones everywhere, I've spent some time there 15 years ago.
Bring oral rehydration salts for the inevitable less-than-optimal digestion experience. You may not feel like you need it, but mixing oral rehydration salts into your water intake after an episode of bad digestion will help you a lot. ORS are cheap and scientifically simple and well proven.
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=oral+rehy...
If I understood you right, this was because you didn't sanitize your hands the second time?
Don't take it as negative comment overall, I can't express with words how much that backpacking experience there meant to me. I came back as different, dare to say a better person but listing reasons would take tons of time.
Love the culture, history, various coexisting religions, common people were always very kind and helpful, and overall intensity, even with few negative aspects. Learning to haggle a bit was very hard but it paid back itself later in life tremendously, ie managed to haggle down 60k $ from the price of apartment we bought from one CFO of major insurance company where I live now. Wouldn't have balls to do it without that experience. But whole list is massive and many things I don't even realize myself and never will.
Got completely soaked at night though because it was the one day in the year where they got a torrential downpour.
If you go, make sure to visit The Bhang Shop for a bhang mango lassi!
Gin is something that I always believed India would do well - given their expertise with herbs and spices.
Hopefully, one of the big Indian brands takes an interest and revive these liqueurs.
https://www.cntraveller.in/story/rajasthans-heritage-liqueur...
And helpfully compares this stuff to amaro.
So, where can i buy it? Neither Whisky Exchange nor Gerry's list it, so i'm stumped!
Most artisanal or regional liquors are near impossible to export in most countries (eg. finding Ruou or Lao Khao in the US) as these are primarily manufactured by SMBs, and the liquor industry globally is filled with protectionist regulations.
So I went to a local "wine shop" (which sell spirits, etc.) and asked for some "local liquor". The man handed me an Indian version of whiskey.
No, I said, I don't want IMFL; give me something that's traditional and local.
He sighed, reached down behind the counter by his feet, and pulled out a half liter bottle of a clear liquid which did not even have a label. It was about 25 rupees (around $0.30 today). And sure to blind anyone who partook in it.
No thanks, I said, and passed on that quest.
There are a number of regional liquors across India, but most are looked down upon as the drivel of the poor or the working class.
If you want something that tastes closest to normal traditional North Indian liquor in North America, just drink some Arak or Raki with a side of cucumbers and a bit of tasting salt.
That said, I've seen that Total Liquor has started importing artisanal Indian liquors now too (btw, Old Monk is not artisanal nor are the beers served at Indian restaurants the normal beers that Indians drink)
Are you a coder/tech person now? It sounds like you'd have quite a bunch of stories to tell. Can't imagine too many former Goan DJs on HN, let alone one who'd dj'ed so long back.
It was a neat scene technologically because that was one of the few places that would book DJs from Russia/CIS, and they had a DJ tradition based on reel to reel rather than vinyl. It still explains a lot of the difference between psytrance and the various house descendants that come out of a vinyl tradition.
> reel to reel
Thanks, as a buddying audio guy I learnt something new today!
> It still explains a lot of the difference between psytrance and the various house descendants that come out of a vinyl tradition.
If these genres came from vinyl, what were the genres coming from r2r? (Until now I thought everything was from vinyl.)
(Ps guessing from your username you're Indian too?)
Here's one of the best old school Russian DJs using a r2r: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg4VzVXKhAk
I'm not Indian, but I've lived more of my adult live in South Asia than out of it.
Is there any way to get it in the EU (or US), or is taking it in your luggage the only way ?
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/heritage-spirit-of-...
I've also seen it occasionally in packies on Boston's south shore in heavily Portuguese neighborhoods, but I assume it just came in somebody's luggage as you mentioned (it still had the Indian tax stamp on it).
If you're in NYC you might give Edison a shot?
Definitely not these liquors from Rajasthan. I have Kesar Kasturi, Royal Jagmohan, etc. and you can tell they have some top-shelf ingredients in them like saffron, etc.
Now rum, on the other hand, is terrible.
The switch to heritage is definitely the right move from a branding standpoint.
Edit: it might be a brand thing too - "Kesar Kasturi" and "Somras" are generic names and based on some limited internet sleuthing, it looks like generics of these are made as well from Molasses+artifical flavoring
There is large enough demand for heritage liquors in India that there isn't much of an interest in dealing with customs.
Most Indian liquor abroad is exported by a couple specific conglomerates (Radico Khaitan, Mohan Meakin) that fell out of favor after 2013-14 because they were close with the Samajwadi Party, and thus pivoted abroad as they faced issues domestically. The liquor business is VERY dirty in India.