Day 8: Malaria vs Melanoma

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It was hot this morning. Really fucking hot.



We saw the sun for the first time during our stay, in full bloom as oppose to hidden behind a cloud. This meant the humid atmosphere we had grown accustomed to had been replaced by a dry baking heat you’d associate with a beach resort. Now this posed us a very serious question, as neither our sun cream or our mosquito repellent were to be used with each other, we had a very serious conundrum, hence the title of todays effort.



We chose the repellent, and we walked, through baking heat, 2 miles through town to the pink city, where we went to the national observatory. The observatory isn’t in use anymore but is basically an astounding collection of structures used to measure various things such as planetary alignment, or tracking the positions of constellations. It was only 200 rupees a piece to get in (less if you’re a student) and was remarkable.



We had a plan to get to Nahargarh fort. We were going to take on the tuk tuk drivers. Well I say we, I mean Meg, as she was in a particularly badass mood. The man said 500, Meg said 50. The man said 450, Meg said 200. The man said 350 and Meg said “K bye” (She may not have used those exact words…) and tuk tuk man folded. He took us to the fort, at the top of the hill about 5km up a steep hill which we’d originally planned to walk but were very glad we didn’t. We were dropped off at the gate and paid 200 rupees once more entry. Now we’ve been big on the forts so far during this trip but this particular one can be avoided. The tour area itself is effectively a modern art gallery, containing sculptures by various artists the vast amount of us haven’t heard off. The view from the edge of the castle wall is absolutely magnificent and on a bright day you can see the whole of Jaipur. An argument with the taxi man followed as he decided 400 there and back was not enough and asked for more money, but Meg gave him the kind of look she gives me when she finds a lone sock under the table where my playstation sits, and he kind of just said OK and took us back to the hotel.



We experienced our first proper rain that night. For about an hour it seriously poured, lightning every few seconds, and yet everything carries on as normal. I doubt there was half the city posting status’ about the weather either funnily enough. It was simply a case of push the rugs under the roofs and carry on. We had dinner on top of the hotel watching the gods rain down on the city (no beer this time. Chimps can learn.) before calling it a night, as tomorrow was to be an early day.



Steps:14,079



Bites: 13



Amount of rupees gained in arguments with taxi drivers: 470



Top tip: Go to Jaigarh fort instead

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