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Published: March 27th 2007
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Hi, guys! I'm in the dry and dusty city of Jaipur in the state of Rajasthan in an internet cafe in the back of a tiny dress and shoe shop with an old fashioned fan whirring away as I type. The shop is open to the street, so we hear horns blaring constantly as if they were carrying on a conversation (which in a way they are, because everyone uses horns to signal what they are going to do). Out the door I can see yellow and green buses, cows, camel carts, ox carts, bicycle rickshaws, and three-wheeled auto-rickshaws. I wouldn't even attempt to drive here. The traffic is sort of like bumper cars. Everyone just honks and squeezes in wherever there is room. Pretty wild!
Jaipur is called the "pink city" because of its pink medieval architecture, and the old city and fort are quite interesting. Today we rode on an elephants en masse up to the Amber Fort. We also wandered around an observatory (the Jantar Mantar) built in 1726, which has dozens of astronomical instruments (used primarily for astrological purposes) and the biggest sundial on earth. What I really love most in Rajasthan is the colorful
clothing and fabrics. All the women wear beautiful, brightly colored saris. The fabrics here are incomparable, and you can get clothes custom made in a day! Seeing camels and elephants is pretty cool, too. There is supposed to be a palace/hotel in the middle of a lake here, but because of global warming, the lake has dried up.
Our hotel in Jaipur is the Mansingh, which has a big waterfall in the lobby. Entering the hotel at the end of a long, dusty bus ride was like entering an oasis. As we stepped into the cool and dark lobby, the hotel staff dabbed our heads with oil and placed leis of yellow and orange marigolds around our necks. The whole experience was quite lovely.
Tim E. and I, were the guests of Rajneez (King of the Night, a name we kidded him about!), his wife, and their 18-year-old son (Wrickie) and 12-year-old daughter for dinner last night. Rajneez, the owner of a fabric shop we had visited and bought items from earlier in the day, is quite a dynamo. As a young man, he played on the national soccer team and worked briefly as a Bollywood actor. He
speaks English like an American, is fluent in Japanese, French, and Hindi, and is now learning Chinese.
Rajneez lives with his extended family in a single building, but the different generations have separate apartments. Rajneez, his wife, and their children share one apartment with a giant plasma TV screen in the living room and a collection of statues from around the world (e.g., of the Eiffel Tower, the World Trade Center). Rajneez's mother and father live in a separate apartment downstairs, as do his brother and his family. When we asked Rajneez whether his marriage had been arranged, he said his marriage to his wife, a lower caste woman he fell in love with, was "arranged" by him, not his parents. From all indications, Rajneez and his wife and children seem to be very happy together. His son wore jeans and his daughter listed to music that sounded a lot like MTV, so they clearly had been exposed to western influences.
Well, I guess I'd better get back to the hotel. We're moving off soon for dinner in a "rural-themed village," and we're supposed to wear socks and bring respiratory masks if we brought them. I guess that
means it's going to be very dusty. Luckily, so far I've had no health problems whatsoever. I'm continuing to take pills to prevent malaria, but I haven't seen a mosquito yet. I've also been drinking nothing but bottled water, wine, fresh squeezed juices. And of course eating all the delicious Indian curries, samosas, mangoes, pineapples, etc.!
Love,
Kerry
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Carmen
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Kerry! Sounds like you're having a wonderful experience there. its so nice to read about your journey. Can't wait to talk to you about your trip when you return. Cheers! Carmen