I'm really enjoying the food here in India- am surprised I haven't got sick of it yet- especially since I was eating it in Malaysia and Singapore to make a change from noodles and rice. The flavours are amazing and am really appreciating their use of potatoes(!) -no more french fries needed to fill the void! I am really craving roast potatoes tho- i actually found them on a menu the other day but they were a complete let down- just cold boiled potatoes covered in a brown-indian-style sauce... don't like the indian version of them!
So after Agra we headed to Jaipur- via the former Moghul capital of Fatehpur Sikri- it was very pretty and the main facts I remember about the palace was the king had an ENORMOUS bed and he built a place specifically for hide-and-seek, pretty kwl! Jaipur is called the pink city and its pretty easy, even for the less intelligent(!), to guess why- basically all the walls in the old city are painted pink. Went to the bazaar where there was some serious pestering going on and managed to squeeze 3 of us into a tiny cyclo- felt abit sorry for the guy peddling it but he was insistent we could all fit in!
A hectic sightseeing day followed- went to star observatory, city palace and Amber fort. Our local guide talked amazingly slowly so I have to admit I got abit distracted... In the evening went to see a Bollywood movie at this awesome cinema that was like a seriously posh theatre- it was intresting and a tad odd- involving a guy who had come to india for the 1st time (so we could relate to what he was feeling) and a phantom monkey(!)- as you can tell it was just abit odd and, as it wasn't in English, some serious guesswork was involved. (incase u want to watch it the movie was called Delhi 6 :P)
The road to Pushkar reminded me of the road to Normanton- just a slap of concrete dumped in the desert. Pushkar was very chilled out- a real place for hippies (and yes, I did see the traditional dredlocks and jesus sandals(!)) To get the Pushkar passport (which was a piece of string that would supposedly stop people bothering us- it worked!) we did a ritual with a "priest"- slightly dubious about this- involving coconuts, flowers, rice, red and yellow powder, sugar and LOTS of chanting- i'll leave you to imagine the rest... it was quite amusing as we then all walked round with red dots (with rice stuck on to make the situation even better) on our heads- unable to rub it off as we were going to the priests house later. At his house we had a cooking lesson and had henna done by his wife- probably the most entertaining thing was being victimised by the priests devil child which involved 2 of us spilling tea down ourselves, a close call with a tomato and a cut in the head cause by a rock being thrown at one of the guys! (he did ask for it- kept the ball away from the child for a tad too long...!) Once we had escaped and could breathe again we sat outside overlooking the lake watching the sunset- very peaceful :)
The next day we travelled to Khajaria, where we stayed IN a fort- it was SO posh. Had a sitting room, bathroom and bedroom... We arrived at the hotel late as we got held up by an indian protest (its not everyday you can say that!) They were on strike and blocking the road- a huge queue of traffic had formed behind them. Our guide suggested going to take pictures so we got off the safety of the bus and, as a couple of us walked towards them, they rushed at us- Me and Kirsty stayed still and were soon surrounded- quite entertaining tho abit claustrophobic! (reassuring note for parents- we weren't likely to be in any danger it was a peaceful protest based on Gandhis work) All they wanted was for us to take photos! A couple of them said we could go past and just to drive offroad past the trucks- however as we came closer it was clear that many did not agree with this! So a few locals jumped on our bus and directed us a different way down narrow bumpy roads through some villages. When we arrived at our snazzy hotel we relaxed by the pool and I had a massage. Dinner was candlelit on the rooftop with clear skies and stars- AWESOME. They were all dressed up posh and in their turbans and they came round dishing up various curries etc- don't think I've ever had such good service! OH YEAH- how could I forget?! That morning I had dragged my arse out of bed at 5AM to walk up a mountain to a temple to see the sunrise (not quite sure what convinced me to do this- perhaps the treat of having a twix for breakfast- 1st chocolate bar in awhile!) It wasn't the best sunrise ever but at least the sun did rise (unlike Ankor Wat) and there were some amazingly cute monkeys to keep us entertained. I think the best view was when we got to the top and it was still dark so you could see all the lights from the town and some were relecting into the lake
Chandelao was the next destination- another posh hotel in a heritage property (so much for this being a basic tour!) Claim to fame- we and Rachel were staying in the room used by H.H Maharaja Sardarsingh of Jodpur! (far better than some of the other room uses e.g. meat storage!) Relaxed on the terrace then went on a "village safari" (they really should rename that) but felt like royalty as all the kids were running out to wave- even jumping over the school fence!
Visited a pottery workshop where a couple of people attempted to see what they could create- most common being "the blob". Kids were forever asking for their picture to be taken so they could see their face on the screen and were showed how to make opium tea- we did have a policewoman and a jail worker on our tour- but they tried it so, despite their fears when they asked what our jobs were afterwards, they really didn't need to worry. Went to a lake to watch the sunset- I had to climb over a sanddune as I was desperate for the loo- cleverly stood on a thorn and when I reappeared over the dune I had some people and scary dogs in tow- much to the others amusement! Had a candlelit dinner on the rooftop and chatted for ages- some pretty funny stories came out...
The following day we were somewhere in the desert- went to see some temples then on a camel safari- my camel was not right... probably had rabies?!? as it was gurgling and foaming at the mouth- went we sped up at the end for a race some of it flew at me- not pleasant- the ride went to some sanddunes which were SO steep but I just about managed to drag myself up them (abit like 1 step forward 2 steps back- so I settled on a rather elegant crawl!) The view was worth it tho. Also saw desert rat, deer and peacocks. The camp was incredible- nothing else in sight and the 1st time I've had a tent with a bed and ensuite bathroom! Could see LOADS of stars and sat out by the campfire chatting for ages
Jaisalmer was the next stop after a rather "interesting" jeep ride to the main road- thankfully I had dosed up on travel sickness pills! Stopped off to see some cranes (the birds not the machine) and attracted alot of attention to ourselves with kids appearing from everywhere to say hi. As we got nearer to the border with Pakistan saw lots of military vehicles including tanks.It was quite a calm town and had tea on a rooftop terrace. The town had RUNOUT of money tho!
My $1 alarm clock finally let me down the next morning so it was a pack of crisps for breakfast before going on a city tour to see a lake, fort- where people are still living and havelis. Went shopping in the afternoon as the ATMS were stocked up with cash again-yay!- sat on a rooftop overlooking the fort for dinner and then went drinking....
which finally leads me onto today! Its the Holi festival and people are covered with paint- I haven't been hit yet (one girl did a few days ago and still has green skin and stained clothes) but now I've written that I'll probably be covered the minute I leave! will keep you posted... We drove to Jodhpur and have looked around the fort- very pretty with an extremely entertaining audio guide (also meant I could skip anything I wasn't interested in) and went to a Lassi shop which was TASTY and have tried some indian style sweets.
Not too sure where we are going tomorrow (adds to the excitement!) but I think it may be Udaipur...
No comments:
Post a Comment