After a spectacular day at the Taj, we were waiting to board another night train to Varanasi, the holiest place in the world for Hindus. I tried to book a hotel in Varanasi with a view of the Ganges, as that is what lonely planet says to do, but the nice ones were all booked up. So I splurged and booked a 5 star Ramada and it was worth every cent of the whopping $70. I got sick yet again, it seems like I am living on antibiotics here in India, but at least they are cheap to buy here and you do not need a prescription for anything.
Our first day we layed around and swam in the pool while reading books. I think I am on my 5th or 6th book of the trip. Without constant distraction of my iphone I read like a machine. We did the unthinkable and ate McDonalds, no beef though I had a chicken big mac with some incredibly salty fries and Ness is still on the Veggie kick so she had the veggie burger, but I had a suspicion all she really wanted was the fries.
Our second day we braved the outdoors of our Ramada compound and the onslaught of India overcame us yet again. Being stared at like celebrities and being asked, literally every minute if we need a tuk tuk, taxi bicycle rik shaw or tourist trinket is a way of traveler life here in India and it is full on in Varanasi.
We caught a tuk tuk to headed towards the Ganges river. Our driver dropped us off after he said he was not allowed to go any further, but yet there were lots of other tuk tuk driving past us as we walked trying to find the Ganges, ah India...
Varanasi is supposedly the oldest lived in city on earth and I think we much have found the oldest streets as it was about 1.5 M wide including the open sewers on either side. the streets were like a maze and we thoughally got utterly lost. We found the chicken butcher street which was perhaps the worst smell on earth and both of us were literally gagging as we walked aimlessly through the tiny streets. After about 45 minutes we saw another white person and hoped that they could lead us on the right path, but he was just as lost as us. We eventually found a wider road and followed it and eventually found the Ganges river.
Hindus believe that if you bath in the Ganges it washes away sin and also if you get cremated beside the Ganges it end the cycle of reincarnation. Or something like that. I just could not get over as everyone was bathing, doing their laundry, brushing their teeth, filling up their water bottles as bodies were being cremated and the ashes thrown into the river, along with all the sewage from the city and everyone's personal garbage. I even saw some Korean tourists jumping in. I guess they forgot to read their guidebook. The Ganges is something like 3000 times too dirty for human consumption.
We then watched some Hindu ceremony to bless the Ganges that was pretty cool, but neither of us had a clue as to what was going on. I think they need to spend more times worshiping they holy river by cleaning it up. Ness and I heading back to our oasis of our hotel and for some Pizza Hut to round off our Western food day.
On our final day we were supposed to get us at 4:30 so we could catch a sunrise trip down the Ganges, but Ness and I were too tired, so we went for a 10 am boat ride instead. The boat was neat, we luckily did not see any dead bodies floating down the river. I got sunburnt on my inner arms or the first time I can remember and the pair of us loved getting splashed by the oars full of Ganges water.
We then headed back to the hotel and got ready in ten minutes as we were a little late for our flight down to Goa, but we made it.
Hope everyone is doing well!
Monday, August 16, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
Jaipur- Forts and Garbage
After a wonderful time in Jaisalmer we took an overnight train and arrived in Jaipur at 5am, and luckily found a room at a hotel. After a couple hours of sleep, we headed out to explore the famous pink city. We explored the city palace and Amber fort in what felt like 45 degree heat. The city was nice but as everywhere in India they really have a garbage problem as it is absolutely everywhere. On every street there are tons of garbage mounds and the animals are always eating the garbage. On one heap of garbage Ness and I saw pigs, cows, water buffalo, pigs, dogs, and chickens all chowing down on garbage. Besides being a religious belief to not eat certain type of meat no wonder the majority of the India citizens do not eat any meat. Ness has been a Vegetarian the whole trip so far, but I have a weakness for tandoori chicken so I have been cheating a bit.
Agra - Taj Mahal and the city of touts
Visiting the city of Agra was a quick trip for us. We left on a train from Jaipur at 6am, arrived in Agra by 11:30am and then left on an overnight train to Varanassi at 11pm. A quick trip, but glad we didn't spend more time here.
Our day began at the relaxed Yash Cafe where you can store your bags for the day for a small charge of 50 Rupees or $1.15. They also have a shower so you can clean up before you head out of the city. Only problem is the bathroom was absolutely disgusting and full of spiderwebs, plus it had a lattice window that you could look perfectly out onto the street below and vice versa. So, no shower for us.
The Taj Mahal looked like a mirage from far away. We entered from the South Gate, which was really quiet with no queue line or touts (people coming up to you and selling you everything from post cards, marble Tajs, peacock fans, etc, etc, etc). We heard both could be problematic in getting into the Taj, but within minutes we were walking through the gates and on to the gardens that led to the Taj. It is a huge structure and really beautiful. The walls are marble and has such intricate shell designs of flowers carved into the marble. The inside didn't consist of much, but it did serve as a great shelter as we hung out on the steps of the Taj to wait out a 15 minute rain storm. You've probably heard the story about why the Taj was built... it's a love story, basically a monument built by a maharaja (Shin Jarah) in memory of his wife who died after giving birth to their 14th child. It was built in 1635 and supposedly only took 8 years to build, but other books say it wasn't really completed until 1653. The crowds weren't bad, we came to the conclusion it was probably because of it being the off season and the fact that most people who travel here in the summer are either crazy, like hot weather, or they are teachers. :) We walked around the Taj grounds for about 2 hours. It's quite spectacular and we're so glad we came here to visit it.
Next stop was the Agra fort. A huge fort that sprawls across the hillside. The same guy who built the Taj was imprisioned here after his son overthrew him. He literally finished building the Taj and then his son screwed him over for the throne. The fort looks directly onto the Taj, so a sorry sight for the guy. Lots of monkeys at the fort. Monkeys are crazy and scary little animals. We both try to avoid them at all costs. Even if it means avoiding a monkey that's hanging out on a sidewalk, and we'll walk to the other side of the road. In Jaipur, one guy cracked up laughing at Jack as he jumped 3 feet off the sidewalk just to avoid a monkey. The guy thought we were wimps. And yes, we are!
After taking in the two main sights, we hung out at an internet cafe and then went for a rooftop dinner that looked out to the Taj Mahal. No sunset for us as it was cloudy, but still a cool experience.
The touts were pretty tame. We heard it can get pretty bad here with them harassing you everywhere. There is an expectation from people to give them a tip all the time. For instance, you negotitate a price with an auto rickshaw and then when you get to your destination, they want a tip and they actually say that to you, "You give me a tip". Riiiggghhhttt. Happens all the time, no matter what the reason.
Traveling is tough when you're constantly bombarded by people. Everywhere we go, there's staring or people want you to buy something or give them money. Even on the train rides, when you're trying to go to sleep, people will fully keep staring at you like you're an alien. When you walk down the street, you attract a crowd of people all asking you for something. Somedays after a day out in the cities, you literally throw yourself into your room for some peace and quiet. And then you meet the nicest people who just want to talk or tell you a story. We met a great local shopkeeper who found out we were from Calgary and all he wanted to talk about was Bret the Hitman Hart and WWF. So we sat for a 1/2 hour talking about Hulk Hogan, the Undertaker, The Ultimate Warrior and of course, Bret. Hilarious!!!
Here's a link for Agra with a map of where we are and some photos for your enjoyment!
Take care,
Jack and Vanessa
Our day began at the relaxed Yash Cafe where you can store your bags for the day for a small charge of 50 Rupees or $1.15. They also have a shower so you can clean up before you head out of the city. Only problem is the bathroom was absolutely disgusting and full of spiderwebs, plus it had a lattice window that you could look perfectly out onto the street below and vice versa. So, no shower for us.
The Taj Mahal looked like a mirage from far away. We entered from the South Gate, which was really quiet with no queue line or touts (people coming up to you and selling you everything from post cards, marble Tajs, peacock fans, etc, etc, etc). We heard both could be problematic in getting into the Taj, but within minutes we were walking through the gates and on to the gardens that led to the Taj. It is a huge structure and really beautiful. The walls are marble and has such intricate shell designs of flowers carved into the marble. The inside didn't consist of much, but it did serve as a great shelter as we hung out on the steps of the Taj to wait out a 15 minute rain storm. You've probably heard the story about why the Taj was built... it's a love story, basically a monument built by a maharaja (Shin Jarah) in memory of his wife who died after giving birth to their 14th child. It was built in 1635 and supposedly only took 8 years to build, but other books say it wasn't really completed until 1653. The crowds weren't bad, we came to the conclusion it was probably because of it being the off season and the fact that most people who travel here in the summer are either crazy, like hot weather, or they are teachers. :) We walked around the Taj grounds for about 2 hours. It's quite spectacular and we're so glad we came here to visit it.
Next stop was the Agra fort. A huge fort that sprawls across the hillside. The same guy who built the Taj was imprisioned here after his son overthrew him. He literally finished building the Taj and then his son screwed him over for the throne. The fort looks directly onto the Taj, so a sorry sight for the guy. Lots of monkeys at the fort. Monkeys are crazy and scary little animals. We both try to avoid them at all costs. Even if it means avoiding a monkey that's hanging out on a sidewalk, and we'll walk to the other side of the road. In Jaipur, one guy cracked up laughing at Jack as he jumped 3 feet off the sidewalk just to avoid a monkey. The guy thought we were wimps. And yes, we are!
After taking in the two main sights, we hung out at an internet cafe and then went for a rooftop dinner that looked out to the Taj Mahal. No sunset for us as it was cloudy, but still a cool experience.
The touts were pretty tame. We heard it can get pretty bad here with them harassing you everywhere. There is an expectation from people to give them a tip all the time. For instance, you negotitate a price with an auto rickshaw and then when you get to your destination, they want a tip and they actually say that to you, "You give me a tip". Riiiggghhhttt. Happens all the time, no matter what the reason.
Traveling is tough when you're constantly bombarded by people. Everywhere we go, there's staring or people want you to buy something or give them money. Even on the train rides, when you're trying to go to sleep, people will fully keep staring at you like you're an alien. When you walk down the street, you attract a crowd of people all asking you for something. Somedays after a day out in the cities, you literally throw yourself into your room for some peace and quiet. And then you meet the nicest people who just want to talk or tell you a story. We met a great local shopkeeper who found out we were from Calgary and all he wanted to talk about was Bret the Hitman Hart and WWF. So we sat for a 1/2 hour talking about Hulk Hogan, the Undertaker, The Ultimate Warrior and of course, Bret. Hilarious!!!
Here's a link for Agra with a map of where we are and some photos for your enjoyment!
Take care,
Jack and Vanessa
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Camel treking in Jaisalmer
Jaisalmer has been one of our favorite places so far! The only downfall is...that it's located in the middle of the desert. The people and the city were awesome, small cobblestone streets, sandstone buildings and a smaller city compared to Delhi and Jodhpur. The temperature was ranging from 35 - 40 degrees during the day. For fun, we timed how long it would take for us to be completely soaking in our own sweat...it came down to anywhere between 15 - 30 minutes depending on how much sun was out. Ugh.
Our first day we ventured out to the Jaisalmer fort, a huge structure with 25% of the city living within the fort walls. Unfortunately the fort is slowing sinking. When it was built it wasn't intended to support the number of people and the amount of water that its' currently pumping through. They encouraged travellers to stay outside the fort, so we hunkered down at the Shahi Palace, a wonderful guesthouse with a great rooftop restaurant that had a view of the fort lit up at night. Vanessa had her henna done (finally!) by 'Bobby's Henna House' on her foot and leg (looks like a lotus flower and peacock meaning love, luck and life) and we bought a tablecloth from Bobby. All the proceeds go towards the village women in the surrounding areas, as they usually don't make an income and if they're married to a loser husband, it can create some dire circumstances.
In the villages, girls are married as young as 7 - 14. When you hit 14, you're an old maid. The roles are also very traditional, women stay at home as housewives to take care of the home and children. You rarely see a women working anywhere outside of selling food at the markets. Everything else is run by men. The women that do break out of the traditional roles, from what Bobby was saying, get harassed by the men in the area. This isn't necessarily the case in larger cities like Delhi. How lucky we are to live where we do.
We booked ourselves in for a sunset camel trek from 3pm - 11pm. A jeep takes you out to three different stops before the trek, so we visited the royal centotaphs (where they cremate the maharaja's bodies and build crazy monuments in the middle of nowhere), a Jain temple, a village of local people (literally in the middle of nowhere that supported 50 families and we were told the water well was really close at a distance of only 1km away) and a swimming hole. Needless to say we were skeptical about the swimming hole in the desert, given the whole bacteria and crocodile factors but supposedly it was the cleanest water in the area and there were no crocs. After spending two hours in a hot Jeep with the windows rolled down, Jack fully jumped in while Vanessa wadded in and dunked her head. So worth it!
When we saw our camels, we decided to name Jack's camel 'John' and Vanessa's camel 'Maria'. Unfortunately Maria turned out to be a male, so we had to revert to 'Mario' instead. The trek was surreal, walking through the scrub of the desert and into the hills and sand dunes. John and Mario had some flea problems, and proceeded to brush up against anything (cactus, old tree, weeds) that would relieve their discomfort. We quickly found out Jack's camel, John, was the rogue camel as he kept rubbing up against Mario. At the last bit of the trek, the rope broke that was bidding our two camels together and John smelt freedom. Jack on the other hand, decided his life was worth more than being on a crazy camel that was going to tear into the desert, and jumped 8 feet to the ground into the sand dune. Luckily, no dislocated knees. It was awesome doing the treking, after an hour on a camel though, you're done. Its pretty uncomfortable as your feet dangle (no stirrups) and there's not a whole lot to hold onto.
We had our dinner cooked over a camp fire on a sand dune, the meal was great and consisted of a potato curry, with pakora, chapatis, rice, a spicy curry and two Kingfischers. Our real treat was a beautiful sunset of pink and purple hues and then a red lightening storm which lasted an hour over the desert. No thunder or rain though. The real adventure began on our road back to the town. It hadn't rained where we were on the dunes, but the rest of the area got hit hard with the monsoon rain. Since the desert can't absorb the water at the rate that the rain falls, it literally turns into instant lakes and raging rivers. The road was sketchy to say the least. Our jeep passed over at least 20 rivers and lakes, where the road no longer existed. The water was spraying over the roof of the jeep and was thigh high at different points. At one point, our driver pulled over and said "too much water". It looked like raging white rapids where the road once was. We were completely fine with waiting it out rather than the alternative of stalling out in the middle of the river, capsizing and getting washed away down the river. Jack quickly settled down into a nap since it seemed like we were going to sleep on the side of the road until the river cleared out the next day. Out of nowhere, two minivans decided to give it a go, and booked it across the rapids. Our driver gunned it then and followed about 2 inches from one of the vehicles and we luckily made it to the other side. Yeesh. It was far from over though as we still had to cross many more rivers and lakes on the highway and our lovely driver had a tendency to gun it right before hitting the river, so our windshield was covered with water, we were jolted back and heard the rain hitting the roof of the jeep. By the time we got back to our place at close to midnight, we were sand covered, tired, and wide eyed from the ride home. All the guys who worked at the hotel had a great time laughing at the two Canadians that got stuck in the middle of a full out rain storm. Obviously not a big deal to them.
Since we haven't had a chance to download any photos, you can click here to see a link for Jaisalmer with a map and photos.
We spent a quick day in Jaipur, arrived in Agra today by train at 12pm and will post some info soon about the cities and the spectacular Taj Mahal, what an amazing experience. We leave tonight for Varanassi for two days on the 11pm over night train. Then we're off to Goa for a week on Saturday!
We'll be in touch sooon. Hope you're all doing well!
Our first day we ventured out to the Jaisalmer fort, a huge structure with 25% of the city living within the fort walls. Unfortunately the fort is slowing sinking. When it was built it wasn't intended to support the number of people and the amount of water that its' currently pumping through. They encouraged travellers to stay outside the fort, so we hunkered down at the Shahi Palace, a wonderful guesthouse with a great rooftop restaurant that had a view of the fort lit up at night. Vanessa had her henna done (finally!) by 'Bobby's Henna House' on her foot and leg (looks like a lotus flower and peacock meaning love, luck and life) and we bought a tablecloth from Bobby. All the proceeds go towards the village women in the surrounding areas, as they usually don't make an income and if they're married to a loser husband, it can create some dire circumstances.
In the villages, girls are married as young as 7 - 14. When you hit 14, you're an old maid. The roles are also very traditional, women stay at home as housewives to take care of the home and children. You rarely see a women working anywhere outside of selling food at the markets. Everything else is run by men. The women that do break out of the traditional roles, from what Bobby was saying, get harassed by the men in the area. This isn't necessarily the case in larger cities like Delhi. How lucky we are to live where we do.
We booked ourselves in for a sunset camel trek from 3pm - 11pm. A jeep takes you out to three different stops before the trek, so we visited the royal centotaphs (where they cremate the maharaja's bodies and build crazy monuments in the middle of nowhere), a Jain temple, a village of local people (literally in the middle of nowhere that supported 50 families and we were told the water well was really close at a distance of only 1km away) and a swimming hole. Needless to say we were skeptical about the swimming hole in the desert, given the whole bacteria and crocodile factors but supposedly it was the cleanest water in the area and there were no crocs. After spending two hours in a hot Jeep with the windows rolled down, Jack fully jumped in while Vanessa wadded in and dunked her head. So worth it!
When we saw our camels, we decided to name Jack's camel 'John' and Vanessa's camel 'Maria'. Unfortunately Maria turned out to be a male, so we had to revert to 'Mario' instead. The trek was surreal, walking through the scrub of the desert and into the hills and sand dunes. John and Mario had some flea problems, and proceeded to brush up against anything (cactus, old tree, weeds) that would relieve their discomfort. We quickly found out Jack's camel, John, was the rogue camel as he kept rubbing up against Mario. At the last bit of the trek, the rope broke that was bidding our two camels together and John smelt freedom. Jack on the other hand, decided his life was worth more than being on a crazy camel that was going to tear into the desert, and jumped 8 feet to the ground into the sand dune. Luckily, no dislocated knees. It was awesome doing the treking, after an hour on a camel though, you're done. Its pretty uncomfortable as your feet dangle (no stirrups) and there's not a whole lot to hold onto.
We had our dinner cooked over a camp fire on a sand dune, the meal was great and consisted of a potato curry, with pakora, chapatis, rice, a spicy curry and two Kingfischers. Our real treat was a beautiful sunset of pink and purple hues and then a red lightening storm which lasted an hour over the desert. No thunder or rain though. The real adventure began on our road back to the town. It hadn't rained where we were on the dunes, but the rest of the area got hit hard with the monsoon rain. Since the desert can't absorb the water at the rate that the rain falls, it literally turns into instant lakes and raging rivers. The road was sketchy to say the least. Our jeep passed over at least 20 rivers and lakes, where the road no longer existed. The water was spraying over the roof of the jeep and was thigh high at different points. At one point, our driver pulled over and said "too much water". It looked like raging white rapids where the road once was. We were completely fine with waiting it out rather than the alternative of stalling out in the middle of the river, capsizing and getting washed away down the river. Jack quickly settled down into a nap since it seemed like we were going to sleep on the side of the road until the river cleared out the next day. Out of nowhere, two minivans decided to give it a go, and booked it across the rapids. Our driver gunned it then and followed about 2 inches from one of the vehicles and we luckily made it to the other side. Yeesh. It was far from over though as we still had to cross many more rivers and lakes on the highway and our lovely driver had a tendency to gun it right before hitting the river, so our windshield was covered with water, we were jolted back and heard the rain hitting the roof of the jeep. By the time we got back to our place at close to midnight, we were sand covered, tired, and wide eyed from the ride home. All the guys who worked at the hotel had a great time laughing at the two Canadians that got stuck in the middle of a full out rain storm. Obviously not a big deal to them.
Since we haven't had a chance to download any photos, you can click here to see a link for Jaisalmer with a map and photos.
We spent a quick day in Jaipur, arrived in Agra today by train at 12pm and will post some info soon about the cities and the spectacular Taj Mahal, what an amazing experience. We leave tonight for Varanassi for two days on the 11pm over night train. Then we're off to Goa for a week on Saturday!
We'll be in touch sooon. Hope you're all doing well!
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Jeep safari's and desert oasis in the blue city of Jodhpur
After spending two lovely days in Udaipur, it was time to move on to the blue city of Jodhpur. We talked about flying or taking a bus, but given how Vanessa fares on buses with motion sickness through the mountains, we then determined to hire a driver to take us the 6 hours to Jodhpur. Great decision and worth every penny!!
The scenery was worth it along. We traveled through mountains on a newly paved four lane highway, to a single lane country road winding through the mountains, across the desert and then arrived safely in Jodhpur. Let me explain the driving here: car/truck/motorbike/a person walking overtakes your vehicle, you can a.) pull onto the shoulder to let them pass you in the middle of single lane where three cars are already sharing the lane, b.) speed up and pass other vehicles at the same time as the car behind overtakes you, c.) honk your horn a thousand times to say I'm here, don't kill me and d.) flash your lights to say I'm passing you, you better move over because I'm coming through. Small vehicles yield to big vehicles and somehow everyone is okay with the constant horn honking and driving on the shoulder the whole time. Good thing we had a good driver, although he kept throwing garbage out the window the whole time, much to our dismay.
Interesting sights included: camels walking in the desert, women working in the fields in beautiful colourful saris and seeing the landscape change.
Jodhpur was a big, dirty city, tons of garbage everywhere. India makes you a vegetarian just by seeing the cows and pigs mowing down on garbage. We did take in an awesome fort which is way up on the hillside with walls as high as 6m to 36m high, called the Mehrangarh fort built in the 16th century. The old city is enclosed within the walls and the walls are pained blue to keep the buildings cool and free of bugs. Amazing architecture, artefact's and history of the royal maharajas.
The clock tower is where the main markets are located, more for locals than for tourists, although we did buy some spices and took in the local tradition of having a makhania lassi (saffron lassi), very delicious!
The jeep safari was awesome. A 1952 land rover was our safari vehicle and we had a great guide named Raj. We were gone for a few hours to see the wildlife and the local villages, which consisted of visiting a local pottery maker (Vanessa got to make a little pot!), a rug maker (Jack threaded a few stands), a textile workshop made up of local people and we visited a Bishnoi village. The Bishnoi people have been revered as conservationists from hundreds of years ago and have done quite a bit to save the trees in the area. Considering that they're in a desert and there's not many trees, we could see why this is a big deal for them. They did an opium ceremony, which was crazy. Don't worry we didn't partake.
Our stomachs are doing better, had a great meal at a place called "on the rocks", where you literally had a table on a bunch of rocks, nice atmosphere and a busy place which is a good sign.
The place we stayed at, Devi Bhewan, was like a desert oasis in a big city. The rooms were beautiful and we had a pool!! Ah, the pool. We didn't want to leave the place, although we didn't mind leaving Jodhpur. The gardens were absolutely stunning so you could relax and not feel hassled.
Still getting lots of stares from people. We took a overnight train to Jaisalmer and just from walking the platform, people would fully stop, stare and start taking pictures. Not just a few seconds of staring, but literally staring until you leave. A little unnerving for Vanessa. Most haven't seen a white person before. It actually gets quite annoying as most times when you're out and about, people usually see you as a huge dollar sign or a freak because you're white. They think you use the whitening lotion and hair dye to get light skin and blond hair.
We arrived in Jaisalmer at 5am, it's freaking hot. Literally has to be 40 degrees. We're in the desert and boy, it feels like it. Camel trekking tomorrow, yeah!
I've attached a link of a map and pics of Jodhpur from google, so you can see where we were.
Unfortunately we haven't downloaded any photos, the computers are dicey. Hope to do this though in the future.
Take care!
The scenery was worth it along. We traveled through mountains on a newly paved four lane highway, to a single lane country road winding through the mountains, across the desert and then arrived safely in Jodhpur. Let me explain the driving here: car/truck/motorbike/a person walking overtakes your vehicle, you can a.) pull onto the shoulder to let them pass you in the middle of single lane where three cars are already sharing the lane, b.) speed up and pass other vehicles at the same time as the car behind overtakes you, c.) honk your horn a thousand times to say I'm here, don't kill me and d.) flash your lights to say I'm passing you, you better move over because I'm coming through. Small vehicles yield to big vehicles and somehow everyone is okay with the constant horn honking and driving on the shoulder the whole time. Good thing we had a good driver, although he kept throwing garbage out the window the whole time, much to our dismay.
Interesting sights included: camels walking in the desert, women working in the fields in beautiful colourful saris and seeing the landscape change.
Jodhpur was a big, dirty city, tons of garbage everywhere. India makes you a vegetarian just by seeing the cows and pigs mowing down on garbage. We did take in an awesome fort which is way up on the hillside with walls as high as 6m to 36m high, called the Mehrangarh fort built in the 16th century. The old city is enclosed within the walls and the walls are pained blue to keep the buildings cool and free of bugs. Amazing architecture, artefact's and history of the royal maharajas.
The clock tower is where the main markets are located, more for locals than for tourists, although we did buy some spices and took in the local tradition of having a makhania lassi (saffron lassi), very delicious!
The jeep safari was awesome. A 1952 land rover was our safari vehicle and we had a great guide named Raj. We were gone for a few hours to see the wildlife and the local villages, which consisted of visiting a local pottery maker (Vanessa got to make a little pot!), a rug maker (Jack threaded a few stands), a textile workshop made up of local people and we visited a Bishnoi village. The Bishnoi people have been revered as conservationists from hundreds of years ago and have done quite a bit to save the trees in the area. Considering that they're in a desert and there's not many trees, we could see why this is a big deal for them. They did an opium ceremony, which was crazy. Don't worry we didn't partake.
Our stomachs are doing better, had a great meal at a place called "on the rocks", where you literally had a table on a bunch of rocks, nice atmosphere and a busy place which is a good sign.
The place we stayed at, Devi Bhewan, was like a desert oasis in a big city. The rooms were beautiful and we had a pool!! Ah, the pool. We didn't want to leave the place, although we didn't mind leaving Jodhpur. The gardens were absolutely stunning so you could relax and not feel hassled.
Still getting lots of stares from people. We took a overnight train to Jaisalmer and just from walking the platform, people would fully stop, stare and start taking pictures. Not just a few seconds of staring, but literally staring until you leave. A little unnerving for Vanessa. Most haven't seen a white person before. It actually gets quite annoying as most times when you're out and about, people usually see you as a huge dollar sign or a freak because you're white. They think you use the whitening lotion and hair dye to get light skin and blond hair.
We arrived in Jaisalmer at 5am, it's freaking hot. Literally has to be 40 degrees. We're in the desert and boy, it feels like it. Camel trekking tomorrow, yeah!
I've attached a link of a map and pics of Jodhpur from google, so you can see where we were.
Unfortunately we haven't downloaded any photos, the computers are dicey. Hope to do this though in the future.
Take care!
Udaipur - the lake city
Jack and I arrived in Udaipur after a crazy time in Delhi. The lake just flowed in two weeks ago as it was completely dry before. Hello monsoon season. The rain hasn't been too bad, in fact it gives us a rest from the heat, and only comes in for 10 minutes then disappears for another hour.
In Udaipur, we visited the grand City Palace (built in the 1600's) and decided to spoil ourselves with 'high tea' with scones and biscuits. We felt very posh even though we were sweaty and in our backpacker clothes. The palace kind of reminded us of the Banff Springs, but older. No Octapussy island for us (the lake palace island), I guess you can take a boat trip there but you can't actually get off due to fear of terrorist attacks, unless you're a paying guest willing to fork over $5000 dollars for one night.
One morning we signed up for hatha yoga with a group of 8 travelers. The room was pretty scuzzy and I tried not to focus on the dirty mat every time I went into downward dog. Our yoga instructor did a lot of talking, unfortunately most of which I totally couldn't understand, so the yogi knowledge was lost on me. We signed up for a nice ayurvedic massage which has a lot of oils and pressure points but helped work out the knots from the traveling. We also had lots of little coffees at Cafe Namaste, ate cinnamon buns and read our books.
The city has beautiful architecture, quite a few of the older buildings have intricate details and the streets are very narrow with cobblestones. You have to mind the cow dung, so after stepping in a few rain puddles of poo, I switched out of the flip flops.
The "Delhi belly" hit me on my second day here, but thankfully after many meds I came out of it on day four with Jack taking care of me. We had a nice A/C room at the Jaghir Niwat hotel, a great place to hang out while you're sick!
Click here for a map of Udaipur with some photos from the area:
In Udaipur, we visited the grand City Palace (built in the 1600's) and decided to spoil ourselves with 'high tea' with scones and biscuits. We felt very posh even though we were sweaty and in our backpacker clothes. The palace kind of reminded us of the Banff Springs, but older. No Octapussy island for us (the lake palace island), I guess you can take a boat trip there but you can't actually get off due to fear of terrorist attacks, unless you're a paying guest willing to fork over $5000 dollars for one night.
One morning we signed up for hatha yoga with a group of 8 travelers. The room was pretty scuzzy and I tried not to focus on the dirty mat every time I went into downward dog. Our yoga instructor did a lot of talking, unfortunately most of which I totally couldn't understand, so the yogi knowledge was lost on me. We signed up for a nice ayurvedic massage which has a lot of oils and pressure points but helped work out the knots from the traveling. We also had lots of little coffees at Cafe Namaste, ate cinnamon buns and read our books.
The city has beautiful architecture, quite a few of the older buildings have intricate details and the streets are very narrow with cobblestones. You have to mind the cow dung, so after stepping in a few rain puddles of poo, I switched out of the flip flops.
The "Delhi belly" hit me on my second day here, but thankfully after many meds I came out of it on day four with Jack taking care of me. We had a nice A/C room at the Jaghir Niwat hotel, a great place to hang out while you're sick!
Click here for a map of Udaipur with some photos from the area:
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Birthdays and Bella
In typical Jack fashion I booked Vanessa's ticket to India to leave on the 30th of July leaving a day before my birthday thinking that she would be in India in time for the blessed event. Oops, I need to learn a little more about time change... I spent the day cruising the city of Delhi counting down the hours until she arrived. I did go out for an amazing meal in which the butter chicken was absolutely mind blowing. I finished the night in a nice hotel drinking KingFischer watching the 'Remember the Titans' Movie with subtitles, ah the joys of traveling.
More importantly Vanessa finally arrived!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can not explain how awesome it is to be with her again, traveling without her is ok, but sucks at the same time as adventure is much better shared.
We cruised around Delhi and overwhelmed Ness with the smells, sights and unending sounds of Delhi. We celebrated my birthday by finding an incredibly out of the way restaurant that had me asking over 20 tuk tuk drivers to take us there over a 6 hour period. We ended up sight seeing in between just because we couldn't find it. My stubbornness is annoying and yet it pays off once in a while. Ness gave me an amazing gift of patience because I hate giving up when I want to find a place in chaotic cities.
We flew out of Delhi at 5 am to Upaipur where we currently are. The romantic, lake city of Udaipur, where the infamous James Bond movie 'Octapussy' was filmed. Ness and I are staying in a quaint little hotel overlooking the water, a nice change from my scuzzy backpacker hotels which I have been frequenting.
Hope all is well back home !
Jack and Ness
More importantly Vanessa finally arrived!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can not explain how awesome it is to be with her again, traveling without her is ok, but sucks at the same time as adventure is much better shared.
We cruised around Delhi and overwhelmed Ness with the smells, sights and unending sounds of Delhi. We celebrated my birthday by finding an incredibly out of the way restaurant that had me asking over 20 tuk tuk drivers to take us there over a 6 hour period. We ended up sight seeing in between just because we couldn't find it. My stubbornness is annoying and yet it pays off once in a while. Ness gave me an amazing gift of patience because I hate giving up when I want to find a place in chaotic cities.
We flew out of Delhi at 5 am to Upaipur where we currently are. The romantic, lake city of Udaipur, where the infamous James Bond movie 'Octapussy' was filmed. Ness and I are staying in a quaint little hotel overlooking the water, a nice change from my scuzzy backpacker hotels which I have been frequenting.
Hope all is well back home !
Jack and Ness
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