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Published: October 12th 2006
wow, so much seems to have happened since i did this blog last, where to begin!!? well, after a few days in dirty smelly mumbai we gladly headed off to Jaipur better known as the pink city. it was a relief to get out of mumbai, and we were all dying to see india some more...so we got some train tickets (a mission in itself) to Jaipur, a journey that took us 20hrs..we stayed in 3 tier cabins, so there were 6 bunks in one compartment, we were slightly dubious at first as we were seemingly the only western girls there, with a whole load of indian men. but we got talking to some nice indian men and went to bed early listening to the delightful sound of them snoring! Upon our arrival in Jaipur i instantly felt better about being in india, it is dryer, hotter (40degrees) and jaipur is so vibrant and has a lot more about it than mumbai. we were met by Ricky the rickshaw driver (original or what?!!) who assured us he would show us the sights for minimal money and took us to a hotel with a lovely rooftop restaurant with fantastic indina food. i am now a pro at eating and ordering indian dishes, most of which taste really good but we're careful to avoid meat and dairy as much as poss as yet to get sick! Jaipur is amazing, the old part of the city is walled and is painted dark pink, going on a rickshaw ride through it is like being at the fairground as we dodged the millions of other people on the road, and whizzed past the thousands of shops selling sari's, spices etc. this is all mixed in with camel carts and loads of cows which are everywhere! there were also elephants randomly in the street loaded with goods. So on our first day ricky took us to see the water palace which was amazing, and so idyllic with water buffalo floating past it. he then took us to a textile factory to show us how its made etc(he clearly saw our shopping potential!!), of course we ended up buying about half the shop as the fabrics here are awesome....!our second day in jaipur was spent seeing all the sights such as tiger fort (the old maharajah palace), amber fort, monkey temple (we fed monkeys!) and the city museum. i was open mouthed for most of it as the sights are amazing to see, and being out here is just a completely different world with a completely different pace of life. so after a few days in jaipur we began to get itchy feet, once we'd seen the sights it was time to move on. The hustle and bustle of the cities can get a bit much as it is so hot and dirty. This was made all the more important when i woke up in the night (at our 1pound a night) hotel to find myself face to face with a big fat cockroach!!hysterical is not the word!!!!!thank god for caroline who squashed it as me and mandy stood jumping up and down, needless to say i didnt sleep much that night or the night after!!On friday we got the bus to Pushkar which is where we are staying for about 10 days or so, we had read great things and were happy to be moving on...me especially as the cockraoch incident played havoc with my nerves!!so after a sweaty four hour bus ride to pushkar we arrived in the middle of hills surrounding a holy lake. it is awesome here, more of a small town, none of the hustle and bustle of bigger cities and very chilled out. our hotel (less than a pound a night!) is great, painted blue with lots of hippies on the roof top terrace lazing aorund on cushions and lisening to good tunes...as soon as they saw us they put on madonna!pushkar is really cool, a hippy haven with a fair few mad old rockers who have come here to try special lassi's which is a yogurt drink with halucinogenic qualities...our first night was spent drinking these and i have to say it was pretty much game over for us all by 7pm!!!!!it was hilariuosly funny though and our psychedelic painted room made it even more of a giggle. the owners of the hotel (2guys) are very friendly and are taking us to the desert on camels tomo or the next night to camp out under the stars. the holy lake here is massive and a real sight to see, with cleansing qualities apparently, but im afraid i would need at least a year bathing in it before i could even pass as pure!!but we went down yday to the ghats (bathing points with lots of pilgrims) and were all blessed by a prist....how kind we thought! he chucked some water over us and gave us flowers...and then demanded payment for his services!!like so many people we have met they all want your money, but its fair enough as they have so very little here it is untrue, they literally have nothing and the poverty here is clear to see. we then strolled around the long bazaar full of amazing trinkets and jewellery...shopping paradise. i bought a camel leather photo album set with precious stones for 3quid!so today we got up after a nice lie in and went to read on the terrace with our breakfast and decided to wander into town and look aorund some more. all was going well, we went down to the lake to get a better look and saw some monekys up close. brilliant i thought as i snapped away until one came up to me and pulled my trousers down (the men loved it!) and proceeded to sink its fangs into my leg!!yes...i was a little shaken as it was bleeding so we went back to the hotel to see if i needed a rabies shot. turns out i did, so we hopped on the back of filter's (hotel owner) motorbike to Ajmer to go to the hospital (more of a ramshackle building really with a few rooms here and there) where i got some shots, i need another 4 injections so thank god i wont drop dead anytime soon but i was a bit dubious about getting treatment as i wondered how much it would cost....it all added up to six pounds and it was well worth it if only for the motorbike ride!after that we have been lying in the sun just chilling out. am really getting into the pace of life here, its great as we can do as we please and there is absolutley no stress at all!we head to delhi after this so we're enjoying this time as muich as we can before heading to the city. am beginning to really enjoy india, i have to say at first i was shocked at what we were seeing and felt like a fish out of water but we're all getting more streetwise and starting to feel like we blend in more (well as much as is possible)....its great to be telling u all this, am going to try to upload photos now as my words dont do this place justice, you really have to be here to see just how crazy it is!!miss u all, love Axxx
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Wow
Amazing babe.... It sounds like an amazing time your having..... Hope ya not going to turn into a monkey tho !! Loved reading this feels like i'm there with ya !! hee hee Me xx