Blogs from Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India, Asia - page 76

A visit to the railway station was in order this morning, so that I'd definitely have a ticket out of here tomorrow. The train doesn't have 2AC on it, so I had to go for AC Chair, which is cheaper and I believe resembles the inside of an aeroplane. The reservations counter was the usual anything-goes, but there were only a couple of people in front of me. A lady did try to push in just as I was about to get served, but the ticket seller waved her away and brought me forward. So only one breach of queuing etiquette was encountered - in Jodhpur, of all places, I'd have expected at least a pair of breeches. My internal compass then decided to go haywire (actually its normal state) so the short cut I intended ... read more

I appear incapable of leaving the hotel without getting lost, and this morning was no exception. I'd noticed yesterday that the dogs here were extremely territorial, and in the dawn quiet I managed to wander into the domain of one of the most aggressive of them. As soon as it saw me, it started barking away like crazy, as well as following me as I quickly retreated, and the commotion attracted a host of other yapping mutts plus several amused locals. Given the manginess of most of the animals, I'd be surprised if any of them had the energy to actually launch an attack, but at times like this you do start to think about your non-existent rabies injections. Undeterred, I continued my aimless searching for the Mehrangarh Fort entrance, and was soon rewarded by finding ... read more

Namaste from the Blue City! Yesterday after leaving the Taj Princess, Suno took me first to the Canadian Embassy to "check in" - basically I registered with them so that they would know that I was in country, in case of any sort of trouble. It took us a long time to find it, but it was beautiful and tranquil - seeing the big Canadian flag just about brought tears to my eyes! Inside was all steel and marble, very quiet. I filled out a form quickly and that was it. We drove around more in the rickshaw and I saw so many different things - people especially are so varied here. I had seen a huge statue of Hanuman - a Hindi god who looks a little like a monkey - the day before, and ... read more

I spent the morning trying to take unposed photos of people passing by on the street below. It had been quite difficult getting such shots (unguarded or otherwise) because so many people expect payment. I managed a couple but they do lose something from being taken at maximum zoom. It's a shame, because the village people here are so striking - the men, some with very light eyes, wearing their orange turbans, sporting earrings and enormous moustaches, the women in their colourful saris, with nose-rings and henna. Fifu gave me a CD of the gypsy music as a parting present, which was both thoughtful and a good memento. This place has definitely been a winning combination of a very good room, and a management keen to keep customers happy. I was given a Jeep ride to ... read more

I started this entry about a week ago, but never finished it. We're in Darjeeling now, eating Momos (tibetan dumplings) and staring at Mt. Kanchendzanga (8560m - 3rd highest in the world). Not a bad place to be. A little cold by indian standards (5 degrees), but i'm sure I won't get any sympathy from any of you back home. So here we go... My Sis and I spent 3 days on the beach at Puri, an Indian tourist destination on the east coast. It's gorgeous there. Not much there, but the food was unreal. The fish was unbelievable. From there, we went on a tour of Konark and Bhubaneswar. Bhubaneswar was the highlight of my trip so far. We went to Udaygiri caves, which has a bunch of monkeys running around. They act as de ... read more