Blogs from Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India, Asia - page 71

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Asia » India » Rajasthan » Jodhpur February 10th 2006

Beach Traders Its possible, with a little imagination, to buy almost anything on the beach. You dont have to move your pestered all the time. Here's a list. Massages of all types, jewelery, clothing, toys, shoes, fruit, nuts, ice cream, newspapers-the list is endless. Also there are many beggers again ranging from young children aged from about 4 onwrds to the unfotunate lepers , polio victims and various down and outs. All forms of entertainment occur-tightrope walkers, jugglers, acrobats. There is even a man who has decorated his cow so you have your photo taken with it! Strange behaviour When I first arrived in India I became a little concerned that lots of men were walking around holding hands. I was too much of a gentleman to enquire what was going on but I looked up ... read more

Asia » India » Rajasthan » Jodhpur February 9th 2006

We have spent some time relaxing and ejoying the Goan beach near to our hotel. Its about 6km long on consists of a beautiful strip of golden sand about 150m wide. At the landward side tall cocunut palms protect us from any noise or pollution and the Arabian sea which is lovely and warm is in front of us. Its quite dangerous though with big waves and a nasty undertow- I believe a few are drowned each year. 100m back from the sea are what are descibed as shacks, they are bamboo and coconut palm leaf constructions fastened together with string and usually can seat about 30 people. They are superb-good compay, ice cold beers and the most delicious snacks ever. The occasional rat remindsyou that its all basic but who cares. Just outside the shack ... read more

Asia » India » Rajasthan » Jodhpur February 9th 2006

The worst hotel of our trip was in Amritsar. They wanted 1100 Rs (33$C), we ended up paying 450 Rs, still way to much. Nothing worked, it was noisy and not particularly clean but otherwise ok. We found another hotel the next day, more expensive but much cleaner. Later, Jamie and I took a bicycle rickshaw into the city centre anxious to see the famous Golden Temple, holiest shrine for the Sikhs. We had to check our bags, shoes, wear a cloth over our head and wash our shoes before entering. It was indeed beautiful, even after having seen so many Maharajah palaces and the Taj Mahal. There were many pilgrims, obviously taking the scene very seriously and religiously so we comported ourselves accordingly, with respect. We were virtually the only westerners - I should say ... read more
Street scene in Amritsar
Daily Marching Ceremony at Pakistan Border
Punjab: breadbasket of India

Asia » India » Rajasthan » Jodhpur February 8th 2006

Well at least I now know where those baggy pants got there name - welcome to Jodhpur, not only home to baggy pants but of course more temples and forts… First of all we toured around Jodphur fort which overlooks the old town, the fort itself was very impressive and has apparently never been breached although there are several cannon ball marks so at least someone tried. From the top of the fort the views were fantastic, especially of the old town which is painted blue to try and keep the occupants cool - and they need all the help they can get a it's pretty darn hot and it's not even summer. While we were touring the fort we noticed that they did evening meals so we made reservations for that night and toured around ... read more
Steve and Suzanne at Fort
Inside the Fort
Shaving Steve

Asia » India » Rajasthan » Jodhpur February 7th 2006

In Jodhpur I stayed at the Heaven guesthouse run by a lovely Jain lady, Nisha, and her family. She welcomes visitors with a smile and makes sure their travels run smoothly. She is enterprising and has built up her guesthouse over the last few years and now is planning to convert the ground floor into a German coffee shop. I was invited to go with the family to meet Nisha's inpiration, a lady Jain monk who lives in Beawar and has developed a charitable hospital for people in the area. The Jains respect the life of all living things and their monks wear masks so that they do not even breathe in small insect life. I found the lady monk to radiate a peace and kindness. She is 85 and has been living in austerity for ... read more
BlueCity
red fort
mosque

Asia » India » Rajasthan » Jodhpur February 7th 2006

Summary: After spending too much time on the beach and running out of time in India I hurtled through india sightseeing as I went and ended up landing in Hampi where I am now and have also spent too much time. So much has happened in the last few days so i'm going to have to be brief as I don't have much time but I'll do the best I can. After coming back from Chandrabaga I had a quick night in Puri where I met an English guy (tommy) who had his 50th birthday the day before so we celebrated with a few beers and got reasonably drunk (or at least I was - I don't know about him). He was another amazing character and although he works from the UK he always manages to ... read more
Dinner on the train

Asia » India » Rajasthan » Jodhpur February 5th 2006

Spending a few days on the beach prior to part two of our adventure in Kerala Some thoughts Rubbish- Much of the Indian nation has little notion of the concept of rubbish removal. All types of litter from the ubiquitous plastic water bottle to chicken carcasses litter the sides of the road and cattle graze on this waste, pigs forage amongst it and large black crows and kites scavenge-it eventually dissipates when little fires are lit, but the smell lingers on. Driving- The Indians, although skilful are the worst drivers I have ever come across anywhere in the world. I have tried to work out what rules they follow but there are none-its every man for himelf, horns blaring, swerving all over, passing anywhere and generally causing mayhem-there are lots of accidents Fenni- an old gentleman ... read more

Asia » India » Rajasthan » Jodhpur February 3rd 2006

We left Jaisalmer, five of us (including the driver Vicky) crammed into our small indian-made car. Here's one of the advantages of having a car/driver with flexible travel-mates: we can stop for various things of interest. I had neard about the small village of Khidgen (between Jaisalmer and Bikaner) in which there is a spot where the Demoiselle Cranes winter, thanks to food provided by villagers. We (I mean Vicky) had to ask about about 12 people before finally finding a dirt road leading to a large excavated depression, containing something like 300 to 400 cranes, not to mention some little eyed (?) plovers, redshank, shovelers and others. Strange site, in the middle of nowhere. Bikaner, our next stop, is a dusty desert town, with chaotic traffic as bad as anywhere else. At one point an ... read more
Scene from hotel balcony
Rats drinking milk in karna mati temple
At the camel farm

Asia » India » Rajasthan » Jodhpur February 3rd 2006

Leaving Bikaner, we headed northeast towards Delhi. We approached the Sekhawati region, and stopped in JunJuhnu (sp?) to have a quick look at a newish hotel that has sprung up hoping to catch the burgeoning tourist trade starting in Delhi and circling Rajasthan. All the rooms were elaborately painted in Rajput themes, very attractive. Expensive by our standards (over 30$ per night), but a good deal from Europe or North America. We continued driving through this part of Rajasthan. I noticed that many of the trees appeared to be "pollarded", which means that all the small branches had been cut or wrenched off, instigating new growth. I am guessing that the young branches were pulled off to provide forage for camels and goats, as well as for firewood. That provides a clue to what the animals ... read more
One of the many havelis near Mandawa
School kids in Mandawa

Asia » India » Rajasthan » Jodhpur February 2nd 2006

Off we set to Margao railway station to catch a train to Udupi in Karnataka (another state). We soon found out that Indian trains are different, they're grubby, uncomfortable and windowless but it was better than travelling third class where just had wooden benches. For the next five hours we travelled through some very beautiful countryside, mostly small farms growing rice and bananas with small fields of pulses and potatoes. There were many plantations of coconuts and betel nuts. At each station we saw women and children in their brightly coloured saris and occasionally by contrast women dressed in black burkas. We arrived at our destination tired and dusty and needed a good shower before we could eat. Next day we travelled through the lush green jungles and forests of Karnataka observing all manner of wild ... read more




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