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Published: December 29th 2005
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Indian Highway
Enroute to Jaipur I arrived in Jaipur after an interesting 7 hour bus ride on Tuesday night. The bus turned out to be a fairly standard Indian bus. It cost 140 rupees ($3.50) for the 250km trip from Agra to Jaipur. The bus was crowded - all the seats were taken, plus the bench around the driver. People stood in the aisles, and I suspect that there were people on the roof.
I sat in the front, which is a rather thrilling place to be on an Indian bus. It is slightly more comfortable, because of the bumps being lessened at the front, BUT you can see everything that is happening, which is SCARY.
We took awhile to get out of Agra, and then took a "highway" west. The highway was mostly paved, sometimes had a 'center' line (though by now you should know that this means nothing in India!) and was shared by buses, cars, jeeps, rickshaws, motorbikes, cycles, camels, goats, cows and pedestrians. Our bus driver liked to play loud Hindi music and his horn!
So it was after dark when I arrived in the so-called "Pink City". Two nice Korean girls got off the same bus and were
also heading to the Evergreen Guest House, so we squeezed into a rickshaw with our backpacks and bumped off. We were lucky to have a driver who took us right into the guest house, as it was in a maze of markets and shops.
The Fraval's had reserved a room for me, and I was able to settle into a reasonable sized but somewhat dirty room for 225 rupees. Knowing that they were at dinner, I decided to take a stroll, and headed out to the main road. Walking for about 10 minutes I found a McDonald's!!! I had to check it out, so I went inside.
Of course, no beef or pork is served, so the options were veg, chicken or fish. I tried some of the food, and the filet of fish tasted almost like home. The cheese and tartar sauce were a bit different (maybe no egg used?) and the fish was overcooked, but it was a nice touch of home. I walked back to the hotel and got lost! Once I finally found the hotel, I used the awesome internet cafe that is here for awhile before the Fravals returned.
It sounds like
they had a great time at their dinner (they met an Indian family on the train and were invited for a home cooked meal!), and we stayed up awhile drinking tea.
I slept well, though the bed was a bit hard, and was able to have a great hot shower. The power here goes out though, so I sneaked in jus before it went out I think. I had breakfast with the family at 930 and we discussed what activities were on the plan for the day.
I, of course, started to feel sick again, and made a few trips back to my bathroom before we left. They checked out, and left their backpacks in my room. As soon as we left the market area around the hotel we were swarmed by eager rickshaw drivers! Seriously, these guys are like pirannahs!
We found a rickshaw that could seat six and headed to Hawa Mahal (the Wind Palace) in the old part of the city. There we were able to catch a bus to Amber Fort (pronounced Ammer) for only 6 rupees. We even had seats!! The bus took abou 20 minutes, and let us off near the
View from Amber Fort
Amber Fort is surrounded by hills and hosts many pigeons! entrance.
We walked up a steep winding path edged with people selling postcards, trickets, and paintings. There was even a snake charmer! At the fort, we paid 50 rupees each entrance, plus 25 for a camera. The fort is massive and airy, with intricate lattice work, paintings and never-ending passageways. We clambered around for hours admiring it. Tired, I waited in the courtyard for a while, watching the elephants arriving. Lots of people ride the elephants up to the fort from the road, instead of walking, and there were dozens coming and going. A kind old indian woman sat down beside me, and we communicated a little in my poor Hindi and her limited English. She was very sweet, and I stayed with her until her son found her.
We all headed to the resteraunt for a bit of a break from the heat. Unfortunately I still didn't feel well, but the resteraunt at least had a bathroom!
We took the bus back to Hawa Mahal. No seats this time, and Marie and I sat on the steps at the back of the bus - bumping upwards every time we hit a pothole! We strolled the markets
there a bit, buying a few things, and then headed back to the hotel. We had a lovely dinner at the nearby rooftop resteraunt called Cocoon. I was still off food, so I only had a few bites, but I wish I had a bigger appetite!
The Fravals had to leave then, to catch their train to Udaipur, so we said our goodbyes! It sure was nice to spend time with them, and I'll miss the fun I had in their company!!I spent time last night examining the train schedules and trying to plan my last days here in India. Trains seem to be almost fully booked, and so Im worried about not making Delhi in time for my flight.
Today I woke up feeling more cheerful than I have for a while - but still sick! For a while there I was definitely getting tired of India, and frusrated with traveling, but today I was back to my old self, and had a smile all day!
After another long hot shower I had breakfast (a loosing propostion!!) with some great travellers from Israel, checked out and left my luggage in the left luggage room. I took
New Friends
Me and the nice Indian lady a cycle-rickshaw to Hawa Mahal, and enjoyed exploring this crazy Wind Palace.
Built in 1799, it is a five story building built of sandstone. It has intricately carved honeycomb windows, which enabled the ladies of the royal household to watch the happenings in the city and still remain hidden. Its very narrow, built like a pyramid, and maybe only 10 feet wide at the top.
From the Hawa Mahal, I went to the bus station, and got a ticket to Udaipur on a sleeper bus leaving tonight at 10pm. I also picked up a warm shawl (in case the bus is cold!)and another salwar kameez for 500 rupees total (they were asking 950 for the shawl alone to start!). Then it was back to the old city to see the City Palace Complex, a large area of courtyards and buildings. There were some interesting displays of art and weapons. I particularily enjoyed a musical puppet show and an exhibit of photographs done by the Maharaja of Jaipur around 1850.
Nearby is Jantar Mantar, a huge and comlex observatory built in 1728. One of 5 in India, this one is considered the best. There are sundials and instruments
Hawa Mahal
The Wind Palace for calculating eclipses and the positions of stars. It looks a little like a scientific childrens park!
From the observatory, a cycle rickshaw took me just outside the city to see a flooded palace (it was the same way we went to Amber Fort yesterday), and I was able to pay 300 rupees (including a tip) for a short elephant ride.
The elephant's name was Shanti, and she is 25 years old. Painted in bright colours, I found her friendly. I shared the ride with a little girl, and we rolled down the street and returned. The better part was at the end, when I was able to pat Shanti, "shake hands" and play with her a bit. Her skin was a little bit hairy and very wrinkled, but also soft and warm.
I had the cycle rickshaw drop me off at Iswari Minar Swarga Sal (Heaven Piercing Minaret) which is 50 metres high and gives a great view of the city.
I did a little shopping for the afternoon, but found the prices disappointing, as well as the lack of shopkeepers interested in bargaining their prices.
I ate some pizza here at the hotel,
and I'm leaving soon for the bus to Udaipur!
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Eric
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Happy New Year's!
Miss you lots babe. Have a geat New year's and I'll talk to you when you get home. Mouaaaaa! XOXOXOXO Love me :)