Balmy, barmy Rajasthani! (Sarah)

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So it's been a long time since my last blog and we've been busy bees these past few months! Having enjoyed the beautiful coastline and lush backwaters of Southern India and our inspiring stay at The Russ Foundation we headed northeast to explore the delights and very different aspects of this fascinating sub-continent.

Mumbai was our first stop and this quote from The Lonely Planet guide book really sums it up!... "Measure out: one part Hollywood; six parts traffic; a bunch of rich power moguls; stir in half a dozen colonial relics (use big ones); pour in six heaped cups of poverty; add a smattering of swish bars and restaurants; equal parts of mayhem and order; as many ancient bazaars as you have lying around; a handful of Hinduism; a dash of Islam; fold in your mixture with equal parts India; throw it all in a blender on high (adding generous helpings of pollution to taste) and presto: Mumbai.

Despite the chaos of this city we really enjoyed our few days there, the place had a distinct and infectious vibrancy and energy that made it feel very different to the other cities we've visited - we explored the lovely Hanging Gardens of Malabar Hill, high above the city; wandered the wide streets and gazed in awe at the architecture including the gothic style university, numerous larger than life Art Deco edifices and grand old colonial buildings housing the post office, police headquarters and various museums and galleries. As we ambled around we were stopped by a number of Mumbaites young and old wanting to find out where we were from and tell us a little about their city - so welcoming and proud of their home. The flip side - the slums - were truly shocking; more than half the population live in ramshackle, self built sheds/ shacks made of salvaged wood, corrugated iron and plastics; squashed in next to and on top of each other; with limited supplies of water or electricity and little sanitation these vast swathes of slum land were pretty mind boggling. It was fascinating to learn that within these areas different sectors have emerged and been colonised by tailors, weavers, leather workers and many businesses operate from within - it's like a microcosmic city within a city.

Another side of Mumbai we were lucky enough to experience was the wise words of the guru Ramesh Baleskar. Shortly after retiring as the Presient of The Bank of India he met the sage Nisargadatta Maharaj and soon experienced 'ultimate understanding'. Now in his nineties Ramesh opens his house virtually every day of the year between 9 and 11 to visitors from India and all over the world; one can simply listen or take the chance to ask this wise old man questions about his philosophies and the meaning of life! He is down to earth, compassionate, humorous and full of energy and it was an honour to spend some time in his company - he is a captivating speaker and his concepts are very simple and make life seem so easy in a world where we are complicating everything more each day! If you'd like to know more about this unique man visit

From Mumbai we headed to Rajasthan; this romantic state somehow captured the essence of my childhood fantasties of what the distant land of India might be like - colourful and glitteringly dressed people; men with tottering turbans and silver tongued charming sales pitches; bejewelled women balancing ridiculous numbers of water pots on their heads; giant Rajput forts; impressive fairytale palaces; museums with displays of ornate costumes and jewellery, elaborate weaponary, fine art work and the accumulated wealth plundered by the Rajput warrior clans of the past; cattle, donkeys, dogs, horses, camels and the odd elephant jostling in the streets alongside gaudily decorated auto and cycle rickshaws, brightly painted lorries, stately old Ambassador cabs and swanky new loudly hooting people carriers. The cities were hot, dusty and vibrant; the smaller towns were cooler, calmer and rather magical; the desert was vast, sun scorched and mesmerising; the bazaars were filled with a cacophony of sensory stimuli - rich pungent smelling spices, bright fabrics and housewares, soulful music and the shouts of market sellers; the food was deliciously rich and spicy and we feasted our senses as we travelled around this wonderous state.

First stop was Udaipur, the 'venice of the East' set on the edge of Lake Pichola, famous for its floating Lake Palace where a certain James Bond movie was filmed in the 80s - Octupussy was shown every night in most restaurants so once we'd seen it we were still serenaded each evening by the theme music blaring out in unison or more often in canon from around the rooftops! Unfortunately the floating palace is now a very expensive hotel and not open to the public so we could only admire from afar; however we visited the grand City Palace and marvelled at its lavish reception rooms complete with mirrored walls and ceilings and stained glass window panels - conjuring images of past Maharajas entertaining guests, puffing on opium pipes and drinking fine liquors. The Ganguar festival started while we were in Udaipur - an ancient celebration of local deities which filled the streets with colourful processions and brass bands; music and traditional dances were performed down on the ghats by the waters edge and fireworks were erratically set off from the other side of the river!

In Jodhpur, the origin of baggy riding trousers due to their world famous polo teams attire, we spent our time exploring the majestical Meherengarh Fort - an audio tour was included in the ticket and really brought to life the past residents, their battles and their constant fight for the honour of their clan. We saw into recreations of bedrooms, kitchens, ladies quarters and Maharajas reception rooms - this time made of colourful stained glass panels and sumptuous coloured fabrics. We also went back up to the walls of the fort to see the sun set over the magical blue houses of this interesting city.

Next was Jaisalmer right on the edge of the Thar Desert. The beautiful fort built of sandstone looked like a giant sandcastle, the narrow streets inside were full of enchanting shops and we were charmed by those silver tongued Rajputs into buying some beautiful embroidered bedspreads (only available in this part of the world - honest!) and some unusual jewellery carved of images of India - my pendant includes the Taj Mahal, the Meherengarh Fort, camels in the desert and more, all in great detail on a tiny piece of silver (also unique so they say!). From here we went off across the desert Lawrence of Arabia style in the searing heat in search of sand dunes - we weren’t disappointed, we spent two nights sleeping out in the desert, dunes stretching away from our camp as far as the eye could see and fantastic star watching opportunities each night. We stopped at villages along the way and got to see a little of peoples way of life - I even got made up with black eye make-up, a bindi and the red paint in my hairline that signifies that you are married! My camel Mangla was a one eyed bruiser who kept leading me off the trail away from the others and was quite tricky to get back on track, he was a beauty though!

We travelled to Jaipur next and lost ourselves in the never ending bazaars as we searched for the Pink Palace, prior to wandering the streets with some very heavy aforementioned bedspreads trying to find the post office - it was open but only for emergency mail!!!... whatever that is - we ended up going to a small town called Ajmer on our way to our next destination and availaing ourselves of the post office there. Posting anything in India takes a lot of time and patience - you have to go to the post office for the relevant forms (up to 5 per parcel!), take the items for posting to a tailor who will sew them into a white cotton parcel and melt red wax onto the seams (not sure what this achieves but it looks cool!), take the parcel back to the post office and queue for minutes or hours, depending on how many people manage to push in front of you, deposit your paperwork and cloth parcel and leave with your fingers crossed that the whole shebang will actually leave the post office, let alone make it all the way to Wivenhoe! The postal service is a bit of an Indian institution and I would encourage anyone that visits the country to try it out just for the entertainment value!!!

From Ajmer we went to Pushkar to relax (and unfortunately to be ill again - par for the course in India really!!!) after the burst of sightseeing, shopping and travelling! It was peaceful and calm in this small holy town set on a lake surrounded by pilgrims bathing ghats - perfect for some R&R - recovering and reading; this was our last stop in, balmy barmy Rajasthani before we headed further north.

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