More Indian delights

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At 6am in the morning you can understand why Jaisalmer is called the Golden city! It looked beautiful with the sun just rising over it- it made up for an early start. Once on the bus it was off to sleep, however nature always inevitably calls. When the bus stopped I mentally prepared myself to brave the squat toilet- only problem was I couldn't get off the bus. A cow had decided to walk straight in front of the exit and wouldn't move! Cows are so sacred in India, they can literally do what they want; lie in the middle of the road, trot through the traffic, hold up a market, stop people getting off buses to pee!!! Not sure what to do I was dancing on the spot until someone else shooed it along- only in India! Once back on the bus me and jo were both awake playing a word game on our phones. Out of nowhere this voice starts to join in!!! We had made yet another friend who was fully into our game, playing along for a good hour. Needing some peace and quiet I decided to 'sleep'. He continued to amuse Jo for the rest of the journey. Once in Jodhpur we checked in again to find we had a huge room- not one but two monster double beds!! I keep mentioning our rooms because we seemed to have the best rooms by far out of everyone else- it was becoming quite the joke! In the afternoon some people decided to do the zip lining around the fort, whilst me, Jo and another lad from the trip decided to have a walk around and find a good spot for a beer. The weather didn't look too good, so we made the most of the photo opportunities. Named the blue city for good reason, the view from Mehrangarh fort was beautiful. A gentle blue hue filled the view of the city below. We found a great spot for a beer just in time before it hammered down with rain. Once reunited with everyone else we popped down to the town for a look about. We managed to grab a bargain, buying saris for £1!!!! After that we had a private party in a spice shop, where we got to smell and taste some of the wonderful spice blends available. I have to say, I don't like tea but I am becoming quite accustomed to the chai tea here!! Another early start in the morning beckoned another early night.
Another bus ride- this time the back seat was empty and I was able to show my skills in sleeping. I slept the whole way, much to everyone's surprise and disgust/jealousy!
Udaipur is known as the Venice of the east, with good reason. Beautiful white palaces, a huge lake and vast expanse of miniature bridges crossing the canals. Our hotel was on the waters edge with stunning views from the rooftop terrace. After a short orientation walk and a quick dinner, it was onto the terrace for what turned out to be quite the messy drinks night. We had such good fun, getting to bed around 2am I think!!! The next day thankfully was much slower paced and we fully indulged in some Indian delights.
We visited an arts centre where we had miniature works of art painted on our finger nails, saw some of the fabulous art work they are renowned for here, had our henna done and finally had our palms read. Me and Jo have discussed this day at length and I'll tell you why. I can't explain why, but palm reading wasn't what I expected it to be. We certainly were not prepared for what came out either. It was a very emotional experience and very very interesting. As a quick summary of mine- good news, I won't be a spinster all my life, my career will be successful and just so you know diamonds are my stone- so feel free to buy me some!
Recovered from the emotional afternoon we again attended another cultural performance in the evening (it was never going to be bad was it now?) before a lovely meal on the river. Again we were early to bed, so we could be early to rise!
Phone ringing........bleary eyes.......answer phone.......'girls, where are you? We're about to leave!' What ensued was mass panic- we had set an alarm though!!! Or so I thought....! 5 mins later we were in a tuk tuk racing towards the train station. What a panic!
We arrived in Pushkar after a 45 minute jeep ride through the countryside. Pushkar is a very sacred place for Hindus as it is the only place you can worship Bhrama- the top dog in Hinduism. We wondered around the markets and visited the only temple in the world dedicated to Bhrama- Savitri temple. To end the day, we were sat on the waters edge enjoying the sunset.
Back in the jeeps the next morning we were headed to Tordi Sagar- a small village in the countryside to have a better look at Indian life. We visited a small settlement to meet and chat with the locals. The kids were so cute and particularly interested in our sunglasses. A photo shoot and a half later, I finally managed to get my sunglasses back. Playing/ chasing the kids was one of the highlights for me- so much so I had managed to rip a huge- and I mean huge hole in my trousers! I would prove it all to you but the photos are not for public viewing!!!
The next day we arrived in Jaipur- the red city. A crazy tuk tuk ride reminded us we were back in the hustle and bustle of an Indian city. We walked around the spice market and the veg market which was genuinely an assault on all the senses- from the smells (some good some bad) to the flys, the noise, the colour and the traffic! Next up our guide surprised us with a rickshaw ride- now if you recall from an earlier trip, we vowed never to get in a rickshaw again. Unfortunately we had no choice! However we did have the choice to split up and pick the skinny people to ride with. It worked out in our favour and we both actually enjoyed this ride around the city! Lauren and Jo 1 - 0 dead rickshaw drivers! We ended the tour at the best place to have a lassi in Jaipur before heading off to the cinema for our Bollywood experience! It wasn't true bollywood- it was a Disney version of Bollywood but it was good fun. The night was made complete by a girl on our tours absolute cackle and then the tour guide throwing a very cute strop about the end of the film! I think it's safe to say all enjoyed.
We visited the amber fort the next day and yet again it was another beautiful work of architecture, the water palace and palace of the winds. In the evening we were both very excited to go for a cooking class. This was a cooking class with a difference as it was actually in someone's house. We were made to feel totally at home and made some delicious things to eat before having to be rolled home. We're off to Agra in the morning for all things Taj!
Lots of love Lauren and Jo x

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