Jodhpur and Udaipur

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Hello again! ok, Jodhpur- yes like the trousers, no I didn't buy any. Actually I didnt do alot in Jodhpur, met up with Natalie, walked around the town and went to the impressive-looking fort. There are alot of forts in this region. I didnt feel too well and to be honest didn't have the usual interest i would when looking around a place. Started to perk up late afternoon though and ended up going to a resturant/bar with Natalie and a couple of guys from the Jaisalmer safari. I didnt drink (feeling sick at this point) but did end up getting up for a dance. Fun times. They even played the Macarena :-s.

The following day was tiring- a 6 1/2 hour bus journey to Udaipur. I finally really actually needed my shewee! And the bus was so hot I was just pouring water onto my clothes to cool me down everywhere- i was always dry within 10 mins. Had a good chat with a local guy. It gave me some greater insight into money and attitudes here. We worked out I only take home 2000 rupees (25 quid) more than him each month! He is a pharmaceutical rep so he is obviously earning above average, but still, it makes me really very annoyed at all the indians that try to cheat tourists every day. They think we are rich! In reality we buy different things. When an indian women gets married she recieves 1kg of gold!! I said how much I would think a reasonable price for my personal future wedding (ok, you all know I'm more frugal than some but...then we converted to rupees) and he said that is what a begger would pay for his daughters' wedding. CRAZY. We spend our money on travelling- and a nice house I guess, they would rather have gold and sleep with rubble in their houses! Totally crazy. Especially considering how poor some people really are in India. People in Bihar are very poor with few resources....thus I have been informed by Jan Isler, who I met on the bus and have become friends with (another Swiss!) He runs an NGO called One Action, who are trying to tackle poverty in Bohdgaya;Bihar, amongst other places. Seems to be doing good work, check it out www.oneaction.ch

Jan and I became friends anyway, and spent the next day with Natalie around Udaipur. I LOVE Udaipur! It is fantastic, really beautiful and serene and definately my favourite place in India so far. They filmed Octopussy there, so watch it for some idea, but its just fantastic. Best vibe. Boat trip at sunset was very worth it! 100% recommend everyone to go there. It is just so so nice, cant say much more! Although remember to insect repellent on, my feet have got 8 bites on them, and are itching like crazy. I will really miss Natalie and Jon, the swiss duo with their cameras! Hopefully will be able to catch up with Natalie in Goa, and we have already made plans to all meet together in switzerland! Although this will be some time since Natalie is simply on the first leg of her RTW.

Well, i'm in Pushkar now, holy city. Think I will write about that when I'm finished here. Sorry I still havent put any pics up, acutually just popped into interent cafe to escape the heat and dont have my cable on me... Internet seems much faster here though so i'm sure it wont be tooooo long!!

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