Ra, Ra, Rajasthan - Jaipur

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So with two main Agra attractions in the bag we decided to head west to the state of Rajasthan, an area famed for its desert cities, lake palaces and less romantically a reputation for being a bit of a tourist trap.

So, with yet another early start we attempted to catch the 6AM train to Jaipur…….. well actually make that 10.30 by the time it actually left! The delay was not what we needed, but we did meet Dave and Mig whilst we were all trying to figure out the somewhat random reservation system. They helped pass the time and made us feel better as they recounted tales of other trains that had been an hour late, then 2, then 7 etc. etc. until eventually people had given up and stayed another night!


Arriving at Jaipur rather later than planned we just had time to get some accommodation (a rather hot and demanding process that dragged us over a fair part of the city and eventually back to within 200 yds of the station), before heading out with Dave to checkout the nightlife, otherwise known as getting lost in the backstreets and eventually finding a rather overpriced dirty restaurant.


The following day we headed out on our own; after the usual game of guess the correct counter at the Post Office we managed to send a parcel home and rewarded ourselves with a meal in the famous Jaipur revolving restaurant. It took about 45 minutes to do a full revolution and about that to find your table again if you went to the toilet…. luckily the waiters were very helpful and pointed us in the right direction. We did have a moment of excitement when Geoff got the straps of the rucksack jammed in the gap between the wall and the revolving floor! It was probably only a few seconds before the waiter helped us free it, but long enough for us to imagine it dragging around the entire restaurant taking all the tables with it - it would have made a great Mr.Bean sketch.


That afternoon we went to see some solar/astronomical sculptures made by this famous bloke we can’t remember the name of and generally soaked up the atmosphere of the old town.

With a sleeper train to catch that night we headed back toward the station for some food and whilst a crowd of drummers came past I decided to record the scene on camera. By not using the flash and mingling subtly into the background, I thought I would capture the raw moment without the crowd reacting to the presence of a tourist. Hmmmm…. it took them about 10 seconds to spot the tall white bloke in the shadows and start shouting, drumming louder and showering me in marigolds!

The day was almost over, but we still had time for one last interesting experience, that of sitting in an amazingly spangly new internet place at the station (weird enough on its own in this country) and having a whole bunch of people pressing their faces up against the window to read what we were writing! It was a real juxtaposition of cultures, the hundreds of locals sleeping on the station floor just outside a glass box with a handful of Westerners typing messages to people 1,000 of miles away, in hindsight it was no wonder they were staring at us weirdo’s!


On the subject of locals and travel, Indians always seem to be on the move and normally with more than they can easily carry! Maybe it is just due to the fact that there are a billion of them and it only takes a small percentage to hit the road to cause near chaos on the transport system. Luckily for us, tourists have the means to buy tickets for reserved carriages, which can be an experience in themselves, but are relatively sane. For your average Indian it’s a case of joining in the crush to get your square inch on the train, in a free-for-all bundle. You can see from the pictures what I mean…. I haven’t got any shots of people hanging out the doors and being pushed back out by others already on the train - not for the faint hearted!


So with our quick glimpse of Jaipur over and agreeing that 24 hours had been enough, we caught our on-time 3AC sleeper train to Jaislemer.

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