Advertisement
Published: June 16th 2010
Edit Blog Post
India 2009 018
Sleeper Class Delhi to Jaipur Exciting train journey at 3am to Jaipur from Delhi. Met up with Charlotte and Emily two other British travellers for the journey. Train station was an adventure in itself, blanket covered people, literally everywhere (having wisely arrived earlier than us!) so had to be very careful walking about. Rats were also enjoying a good scuttle about as we picked our way through to our platform. Had been told that the trains can be quite complicated and our ticket certainly didn't give many clues. Had some warm chai and bought a pack of biscuits to tide us over on the journey.
The journey seemed to go in a flash, as i'd been looking forward to the experience. We were in sleeper class which means 6 beds (3 one above the other on one side, 3 on the other) without air con but there was a good breeze passing through and since most of our journey was early morning we didn't have a problem. Once we'd figured out the beds, which were really very comfortable we enjoyed the chance to chill and read up on where we're going. The local people travelling were very friendly and chatty and we got talking to a
guy setting up his own company and looking to expand....'to places like UK! Do you have any contacts'...uh no. The families were well prepared for the trip with complicated meals in little pots. We made good use of the chai-wallah. Came to love chai, sweet and spicy tea which comes in small glasses or plastic cups. Good for an energy boost/refreshing the mouth. We also ordered a meal which was a delicious biriyani dish.
Must just say absolutely LOVING the food so far, so delicious in restaurants, street foods, food on the train, it's all great. I think indian cuisine is the most diverse, complex and enjoyable I have yet to experience!
A bunch of very smartly dressed school children were singing really catchy repetitive rhymes on the train as I woke. We were just enjoying the view rolling by as we noticed loads of people squatting by the train tracks. Apparently everyone sees the railway track as somewhere ideal to come for their daily morning shit! Well, no accounting for that cultural idiosyncracy!
We met Papiha (Papi) at the station who was to be our guide for the next 2 weeks. A very chilled out Goan with a
India 2009 044
City gates, Jaipur talent for winding us all up, he told the most amazingly elaborate and convincing lies then laughing uncontrollably when we fell for them!
First stop was the Jaipur Observatory, we had a great local expert called Eugene who was very informative and stayed with us for the next 2 days as we explored the streets of Jaipur, the Hawa Mahal or 'Palace of the Winds' and the Jaipur Palace and Fort. He had a great extra posh English accent which I enjoyed a lot and made the trip more than just sightseeing, bringing the history of these imposing places to life with his stories, although some it has to be said were rather on the tall side, but what the hell it adds to the fun!
On our last night in Jaipur we went to watch a Bollywood film in the famous Raj Mandir cinema. This place seems quite an odd contrast especially inside with it's art deco interior! The experience of watching a film with an Indian audience was also great fun as it was so interactive! In response to what was showing on the massive screen there was laughing, shouting, booing and everyone joined in! As
India 2009 095
Flower stall, Jaipur we are not that hot on our Hindi yet, we had an elaborate game of chinese whispers which attempted to explain what was going on. Have to say it is quite easy to get the gist but the whispers had us in fits of laughter anyway!
After the film we had THE best meal in a thali restaurant near the cinema. The food was absolutely divine and the amazing bit was the way our various dishes were repeatedly replenished as we ate. Papi explained the range of coded hand movements between the waiters to let them know what is low! Amazing! Great food, great service, I may never leave!
Loved Jaipur, it was all I hoped it would be. Tomorrow we move on to Pushkar via bus, can't wait.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.041s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 9; qc: 23; dbt: 0.021s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
gaurav
non-member comment
Jaipur - pink city
really, after reading this now i am remembering my trip ti jaipur that was excellent in most of my trips.i enjoyed a lot there ,i like the hawa mahal and jaipur fort most.i am very thankful to http://indiantravel.info/answers/ , for providing indian travel info.