Blogs from Rajasthan, India, Asia - page 348

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

Darjeeling is amazing. It's a little town built into the side of a mountain. The houses and buildings look like little Lego structures stuck the face of the hill. And there are tea plantations everywhere. It doesn't really seem like India at all - people dress western, and there's a mix of Nepalese, Bengali, Chinese, Tibetan all living there. It's just a happy place. One night, we went to a traditional folk dance in the park. A bunch of Nepalese kids grabbed me and forced me to dance with them. Anyone that's seen me dance knows that's not a pretty sight. We checked out the sunrise at Tiger Hill, from where you can see 4 of the 5 tallest mountains in the world. Mount Khangchendzonga dominates the skyline at 8600 m. Everest is just a tiny ... read more

Singhvi's Haveli seems to have a significantly higher foreigner density than the other places I've stayed, so having interaction with other travellers has not been a problem, though I was quite distracted at breakfast by a troop of monkeys that were bouncing, climbing, and generally frolicing on an adjacent house's washing lines. I went for a walk after breakfast, to try to get my bearings, and ended up hopelessly lost, due to having it fixed in my head that the hotel is to the east of Mehrangarh Fort, despite knowing full well that it's to the west. It was more by luck than navigation that I ended up at the Clock Tower, which is in the centre of town and tends to be the reference point for any directions that people give. The markets here are ... read more

I spent this morning wandering around in the Old City. It is much less commercialised than inside the Fort, so you receive a lot less hassle. I found an Internet cafe, which gave me my slowest connection of the trip (though still for Rs 30 per hour), and I couldn't even access the blogging site. Rather than get depressed at how much blogging I have to catch up on, I walked the short distance to Gadi Sagar Tank, which used to be a reservoir for Jaisalmer's drinking water but is now a tranquil lake, on which you can go boating in a swan-shaped pedalo if you so wish. The afternoon was spent lounging around on the rooftop terrace, shooting the breeze. These lazy days are welcome, I must say.... read more