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Published: February 10th 2010
The Friendly Waiters @ Macs
I love subjects like this. Plus, they are cute, don't you think? I love the one that is fetching something from the shelf. :)Namaste!
Been busy busy busy with school. Term started a month ago. I am still adjusting to school. Apparently, I have to prepare proposals for my final year report, which sounds incredulous because I am barely finished with my second year, and I have to prepare for my final year already?! Tsk.
Anyway, previously, I mentioned that I will be spending two weeks in India, where I went to Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Kashmir, Gulmarg and Mumbai. Well, guess what? I'm back, and of course, with lots and lots of stories to share, so read on!
From Singapore, I took a flight to Chennai and spent a 3 hour transit at the airport while waiting for the flight bound to Delhi. At Chennai, I had my first encounter with the locals, at the immigrations of course. I hate to say this, but the one thing that I hate during travelling would be the tedious, inefficient and sometimes totally unnecessary immigration checks. Even as we were exiting the airport, we were being checked. After walking for about 2 minutes, we had to go through the censor again, and body checks were done every now and then, and it hovers on
McDonald's woohooo!
I told you, my first meal in India was at Macs. How anti-climax. the point of being really uncomfortable. I wonder if you have ever experienced such checks before? I sure didn't like it, of course.
But I digress. The point is, after we reached Delhi at about 5.30pm (local Indian time), we had to take a 6 hour bus ride to the city of Jaipur in Rajasthan, we had to bypass Gurgaon (which is the district with the multi-million dollar companies) and Haryana (pronounced as Heri-yana). We were all tired and hungry by then, so we stopped by McD's. Hahah how cool is that? My first meal in India and I eat at McD's. One would think that we would be making our way to a restaurant that sells proper Indian food, like chapati and naan! But uh-uh, all we had were Filet o Fish and some fries and coke. That's cos the meat and beef in the other burgers are non-halal, and I am sure not compromising anything just for hunger. Okay then.
The ride to Jaipur was full of traffic! I swear, I woke up and fell asleep and woke up again and fell asleep again and we're still not in Jaipur. As I've mentioned, the bus had
My Two Eyeballed Eggs
Someday, I will learn how to make my eggs like this. Yes I will! to stop every now and then because of the heavy traffic. Apparently, they only have one 'highway' that leads to Jaipur, hence the congestion. Also, don't trust the horns, I tell you. The locals blow their horns every now and then. Just to keep myself awake, I calculated the time between the first horn and the second horn and it barely goes beyond 10 seconds! And each horn is unique, I should have thought that they were customised by the owner. Hilarious, really! 😱
Also, along the way, we came across large Indian weddings. Definitely very festive indeed. Me likey! They had fireworks and lots of colours, that at one point in time, I actually wanted to gatecrash a wedding because it looks and sounds very inviting! There's the music of Ishq Hua playing at some places, one of my favourite Hindi songs ever (not that I ever listen to them on a daily basis, of course)!
And me oh my, the Indians love their trucks! Each and every one of their trucks is so beautifully decorated, that it might come across as over the top to some. It's colourful, no doubt about that. Oh and I actually
Oh hello!
I believe he is shy. Hence the reaction. Awesome man. :) have pictures of their trucks because each and every one of them is unique. Haha!
In Jaipur, we went to Hawa Mahal, which is the Wind Palace, but trust me, there is nothing in that palace. It's just a wall with nothing behind it! I was quite disappointed. Before that, I was thinking that this place is called Hawa Mahal because when you enter the palace, there would be wind blowing all over your face. But I guess not. It's something like a fortress, to put it simply. Nonetheless, the shops surrounding Hawa Mahal can be rather interesting if you got tired of looking at the palace. Try looking at the Hawa Mahal Nagra Shoes Shop if you are able to cross the road without endangering your lives. They do sell some fantastic shoes at awesomely affordable prices. Unfortunately, I did not get to buy any because the tour guide was simply shoo-ing us to go up the bus to make our way to the Amber Fort and Man Singh Palace!
The Man Singh Palace is huge and majestic! They do have audio guides, in case you decide not to engage a local city guide on your trip
Spotted on the Streets!
This is what you would normally see on the roads of Jaipur. Oh trust me, the flurry of activity can get even 'flurrier' than this! to Jaipur (especially you backpackers out there!). I'm not sure what languages are available, but I should think that English would definitely be available. Oh did I mention, to get to the palace, you have to ride an elephant up Amber Fort? A bumpy 20 minute ride on a huge elephant with its trunk coloured with chalk? Oh yes. You can opt to climb up the hills to reach the palace, but that might take you ages. Plus, there are elephant poo and pee on the ground, and you might risk getting stamped on an elephant, so it's best that you just take an elephant. Of course, the grey animal moves very slowly, and I probably should warn you that along your way, you will meet lots of local photogs who would ask you to look into their camera lens and say Cheese! They will take your photos, and would print it as soon as possible, and then the moment you step down from the elephant, they would chase after you with your ready photos and sell it to you. I really didn't want to buy my pictures, and the man who took my photo kept chasing me around, getting
Hawa Mahal
Hawa Mahal. No winds. But definitely quite a sight to behold! me to buy it. First it was Rs 50 for 2 pieces, and the Rs 50 for 4 pieces, and then when I refused, he just shoved it in my hands and walked off. So I guess if you want to get your photos for free, you have to keep refusing? I mean, they have no use for those photos, so they might as well give it to you. I felt guilty though, but definitely not for long.
Trooped over to the Water Palace. I think it's called Jai Mahal. It's surrounded by an artificial lake. According to Raj, the palace is haunted. Who knows? And yes, it hasn't rained for 7 years in Jaipur, hence the artificial lake. If I could recall, he was saying that the lake prevents the animals from coming to the palace to eat the king. Haha. Laughable, but could be a true story. Maybe it's just a myth. I don't know. One of my friends said that the palace looks like it is half-sunken, but really, it's still floating cos of the strong structures under that lake. But really, the thought of consuming water from an artificial lake is akin to consuming crayons
Puppets and Dolls
Beauty is Subjective, hmm... for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Now how does that sound to you?
Ooh, and I must mention, Jaipur is uber colourful! Despite it being labeled a "Pink City", the walls are technically terracotta. But the saris and the clothes that the Rajasthanis (I think that's what they are called) wear are colourful! Each sari is unique, you most likely won't find another person wearing the same design prolly within 20km radius, or even more. Of course, I just had to pay a visit to the Rajasthan cottage industries, where they actually sell the saris. They are the manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers all rolled up into one! Awesome or what? The moment I entered the shop, there were shelves reaching for the ceiling high above, stacked with saris and arranged according to their price ranges. I do ogle at some pretty expensive pieces, of course. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to take photos within their shop walls for fear that their competitors might catch up to them. But really, it would be difficult, don't they see that? Managed to get a couple of saris for myself, not that I intend to wear that as saris, because I don't see how
Hellooooo Shoesssssssss
I desperately wanted to get a pair (see the one on the most colourful one, second from right, the one with a golden yellow front). But the Rajputh was already asking us to go up the bus to head for our next destination. But damn, now I wish I had bought it! that's possible with my faith, but rather, I'm using the cloth to make a gorgeous two-piece dress. I got them in burgundy and teal. Me loves. 😊)
The one thing that I regret not doing in Jaipur was doing some night walking. It would otherwise have been fun. We spent so much time in the sari shop that by the time we left, it was already dark despite it being just 1830h. Sunset is early because of winter, you see. It sets at around maghrib, which is around 1730h. So yes, we have to go back to the hotel because we have to be up bright and early for our journey to Agra!
More adventures up next, so stay tuned!
P.S.: I wouldn't have had such an interesting holiday if not for Mr Ghulam of Travelways Pte Ltd. He has been so kind as to help us to plan our itinerary, and definitely, kudos to Mr Ghulam for making our Iran and Morocco holidays enjoyable too! Yes guys, if you are in Singapore, and you wish to plan your own customised itinerary, Mr Ghulam would definitely be most willing to help. InsyaAllah, it will be a holiday
The Auto
Which runs on CNG, which is difficult to get because the access points are limited. I did intend to get on one of these, just to see how it is like, but perhaps I wasn't ready for India's traffic jams to be able to sit in this Auto. that you will never ever forget. 😊 By the way, I am not paid to advertise. Teehee.
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