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Published: March 5th 2011
(Day 1058 on the road) "Sir, what is your good name?" When I first heard this question here in India, I was somewhat puzzled. What, indeed, was my
good name? Did I have a
badone as well? Do Indian people have two names, one good, one bad? Might I in the end have to adopt a second name?
Like these little encounters, there are many things that are just that tiny bit different here in India than elsewhere, and which take some getting used to at times. Some are so small that you need delicate antennas to notice them, others (like a few things I mentioned in
my previous blog, ie. the hassle and the rubbish), are very much more in-your-face type of things. In total, I feel that they make India a very testing country to travel in, demanding a lot of energy from our part, but being extremely rewarding at the same time.
From Agra, our last stop, we made our way further west into the colourful Indian state of Rajasthan, certainly a known corner of the country to most people who have travelled here I assume. After all the hassle in Uttar Pradesh we were hoping for a
more relaxed time here, but it wasn't meant to be. If anything, the hassle was worth in Rajastahn, with the attention of touts being so extreme at times it was almost too much to take for feeble me. We even saw souvenir shops advertised as "hassle-free shops" - but of course that doesn't stop the sales personnel from the usual "Hello friend, where are you from" routine when you pass their premises.
On one journey the hassle began a good five hours before we even reached our destination, with hotel touts aggressively pushing their respective accommodation options, whilst at the same time shamelessly pretending to not work for the hotel, but that they just - what a coincidence - happen to have this hotel's business card in their pocket and that they heard good things about the place, so what harm could it do for us to just check it out? Very testing.
The fact that I was pick-pocketed off all my money on the bus from Jodphur to Jaisalmer didn't help much to ease our mood and didn't make for the best welcome to the city. Neither did a near-physical fight at our hotel in Jaisalmer, where
after staying there for five nights they didn't feel like honouring the beforehand agreed price, then physically threatened us by pretending to hit us in the face and pushing me around, trying to prevent us from leaving the hotel until we brought the police into the conversations and broke aggressively through their human barrier. Sorry India, we have already seen some amazing sights and places and I know you have a lot more to offer, but overall I am not too impressed so far.
Anyway, back to Jaisalmer and the desert. We had read about the annual Desert Festival that was coming up in a few day's time, and were eager to attend the festivities. We had mixed expectations about the whole thing, but all in all it was a decent three day act with many nice performances and brightly decorated camels and people. Maybe the most unusual part was a camel polo match, which was a bit slow due to the sluggishness of the animals, but nevertheless good fun to watch.
After the festival it was time for us three to hit our own camels' backs, and we booked ourselves a two-day desert camel safari. Despite the
operator promising us, in a very detailed manner, a lot of things which never even came close to materialising (what a surprise), it was still a nice experience, and we thoroughly enjoyed the two days on our trusted animals.
Our outing also happened to fall on Luc's third birthday, a concept which he wasn't quite able to grasp, although when his grandma Barbara asked him what he got for his birthday via online video chat once we were back in the city he replied, in perfect English of course, "two camels".
From Jaisalmer, which is located on the western end of the state, we backtracked east to Jodhpur, where we were duly impressed by the huge hill-top fort towering over the city below. Jodphur is often referred to as the blue city, and from the vantage point high up in the fort you could see that the city really is blue, with a lot of buildings being painted bright blue. A great sight!
In Jodphur, we also changed our approach of how and where we eat. Up to now, we had relied mainly on street food, from experience the best way to sample the varied cuisine a
country has to offer. For India, unfortunately, this does not hold true. Street food here is, for most parts and at least here in the north of the country, a sorry affair. The vast majority of such food on offer is of the fatty, deep-fried kind that gets most of its taste from strong chilly and little else. There is also very little variety to be had.
I guess when other travellers boast about the great food here in India, they refer to restaurants (or possibly other parts of the country), a practise which we have taken up now, despite the costs being considerably higher than eating on the street. What a shame really; for me, eating at street stalls is often one of the most enjoyable part of discovering a country and its regional difference. Anyone who has travelled in China for instance and sampled the amazing variety of finger-licking street food available everywhere in the country knows what I am talking about.
Our last stop in the state of Rajasthan was the lake city of Udaipur, often described as the most romantic city of India. The setting of the city, right on the shores of a
3 by 4 kilometre lake, is indeed spectacular, and from our hotel roof or from a nearby mountain we climbed one morning there were some great vistas to be enjoyed. Up close however, the dirt and the pollution of the lake hit home. Naively thinking that it would be nice to take a dip, the rubbish floating in the lake and the stench that hit our noses on the shore soon brought us back to reality.
The highlight of our stay here was a visit to the
City Palace, a truly magnificent building dating from 1559 and representing a mixture of Rajasthani and Mughal architectural styles. The palace and Udaipur itself also feature heavily in the old 1983 James Bond movie
Octopussy, which nearly every restaurant shows in the evening for the enjoyment (or the annoyance, depending on your point of view I guess) of its customers.
In the thick of it all, poor Luc must be the bravest three-year old child in India. Travelling across a foreign country where he barley speaks the language (though he is learning English frighteningly fast), he masters most situations like a true champion:
Uncomfortable night-trains which arrive at four in the
morning? Great sleep, what's up next. The heat and the dirt? Who cares. The unusual and sometimes super-spicy food? "Little spicy, yes?"-"You want more?"-"Yes please". The sightseeing and constant running around to places he has little understanding of? Easy does it. The lack of other children to play with? Not a complaint. The absence of any type of routine? Bring it on. Uncomfortable seven-hour bus rides on some of the worst roads in the country? Not a problem.
The only thing that does bring about regular fits on Luc's part is the constant attention from passer-bys, hawkers and touts. While "ordinary" Indians are just curious about him and hawkers use him in (vain) attempts to gain our trust ("look how good I am to your child"), he detests being touched 50 times a day by random strangers, who think it is very amusing to pinch his cheek or pat his head (usually both).
Understandably, Luc doesn't like that at all, and makes his disapproval known very vocally on many an occasion. The worst is when random people feel they have the right to simply lift him up like he is their toy. I have no idea what these
people think, but Jasmin and I wish very much they would just leave poor Luc alone. Luckily Luc is getting better at just ignoring these people rather than being wound up all the time, and nowadays manages to just ignore the constant attention and just walk or run away from these testing situations.
In general, travelling with Luc across India is much easier than I had anticipated. It does take a lot more energy to entertain a three-year old all the time and the times of pure relaxation are rather limited, unless Jasmin and I organise ourselves properly and in advance. But it is also extremely rewarding to deal with somebody who absorbs information like a swamp and who is just in the beginning of discovering the world; India offers plenty of opportunity for that.
Of course he does slow us down somewhat, but we feel that, considering the intensity of India as such, this is just as well. And when it comes to where to go or what to do, there hasn't yet been a place that was off-limits because of Luc. He simply trots along and focuses on the things he finds interesting. Taj Mahal over
there? Who cares when there are so many great stones to play with on the ground right here?
Next stop: Ellora Caves (Maharashtra, India).
To view my photos, have a look at
pictures.beiske.com. And to read the full account of my journey, have a look at the complete
book about my trip at Amazon (and most other online book shops).
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liliram
liliram
Hi Ben
Hi there, Ben. Must be a novelty for you to be traveling with a 3 year old. But they certainly liven up an otherwise dull day, don't they? Though traveling around India is not dull at all, for sure. You still write awfully well, and your photography has vastly improved. I should take lessons from you! Safe travels, Ben. Let me know when you swing by Manila again. Cheers all around, Liliram