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ENGLISH
So with one of the most traditional ceremonies under our belts, our first train ride and a dodgy taxi driver, we left Delhi for the 2nd time by train. We were heading South to a little city called Agra. Now in Agra there is a tomb. A tomb so grand that it moves the hearts of even the most hardened of men. It's a structure built only of love. Of complete and utter dedication and passion from one human being to another. A Husband to his Wife. No, it wasn't a hair salon or a shopping centre. We were off to visit the Taj Mahal.
The train ride was pleasant and we traveled, once again, in the air conditioned luxury of 3AC. In these carriages you're treated to all sorts of culinary choices when it comes to eating and drinking. We were also offered teas and coffees.... all the time. They also insisted on offering said beverages at 2 sometimes 3am. Cries of “CHAI, CHAI, COFFEE, CHAI” would disturb you from your slumber and give you the giggles as the voices were taken from a comedy sketch!
The train arrived in Agra in the late afternoon and
The Taj Mahal
First seen from our rooftop
Nas prvy pohlad Taj Mahalu zo strechy restauraciewe managed to grab a tuk tuk straight away (a 3wheelered motor taxi powered by at least 100 bumble bees or so the sound would have you believe). He took us to a guest house that we had selected out of the lonely planet as it had great views from the restaurant of El Taj Mahalios. Our room was on the roof granting us our first view of this quite remarkable building. It was a very special moment for us both. We'd been talking about traveling here for so long and that one day we'd see the Taj Mahal. Whenever the Taj Mahal has been in a conversation it's always discussed as one of the most romantic places on earth. Sorry la Tour Eiffel but I think you've had your day!
When we first saw the Taj we got all sentimental and both had a tear. It was a combination of achievement, romance and a little wish that our families were with us to share the moment. I turned to my girl and said that one day I'd build her something like that to show her how much I loved her.... I wouldn't but it got me a kiss
and a cuddle that night! I would really, just don't tell her. I don't want her getting too “comfortable”. Best kept on their toes these women!
We had dinner on the roof restaurant and, as had been the trend so far, the food was very good. We met a lovely Spanish couple and chatted to them for an hour. Sadly we lost their email addresses so if they're reading, please get in touch. They were heading to Thailand to work as Diving Instructors and said that if we were going that way to get in touch. We were planning to both get our PADI's so this would work out perfectly. Also while we were dining, I briefly got chatting to a couple of chilled out Australian guys that were keen to have a jaw jaw. One had joined the other for an 6wk trip while his friend was on a tour similar to ours. We spoke of our travel experiences and exchanged brief histories before continuing on with our evenings. Little did we know at the time that these two Aussies, later to be known as Young William and Brett'ly, would play a major part in our India trip.
Everybody has a business
A preco nesit na streche? We set our alarm for 5:45am with the intention to be the first to visit the Taj Mahal on the day. Sure enough at 5:45.. the sodding alarm woke us from our slumber. It's silly but you know you have to get up early but you still curse the sound of that 'time policeman' whining in your bloody ear! So we got up, got dresses and headed, in the pitch black, to buy our tickets. Our planning and preparation paid off and we were the first in the queue, the first to buy tickets and at 6:54am (sunrise), the first to enter the Taj Mahal complex! Let me brief you with a little history lesson from the Comprehensive Lewis Textbook, Vol.5, 'India and Stuff'. As I recall, the Emperor.... Steve, built this incredible tomb for his “favorite” wife (Betty?) who sadly died giving birth to child number 14. It took 21yrs from 1632 - 1653. It wasn't all Steve building the tomb, he'd managed to acquire a 20'000 strong labour force plus 1000 elephants to help him.. while he sat on his horse no doubt pointing and shouting. On completing his masterpiece, Steve's son.... Clancy, imprisoned his Father in
The Outer Gate
Na prichod do komplexu Taj Mahalu the Agra Fort across the river. He remained there until the day he died. His prison quarters were organised so that he could look across the river and gaze at the resting place where his wife had been entombed. Upon his death... Steve was placed in his own tomb beside Betty in the Taj Mahal. See? How very romantic. Even in the days without hygiene or florists, it was still possible.
So we were first in. We entered and high stepped it to the inner gate, walked through the archway and there it was. A marble structure of such beauty that it can only be appreciated in person. The sheer size and brilliance of the colour is something that requires hours of marveling. We took all the photographs from all the angles and to please Mother, we had our photograph taken on the 'Princess Diana Bench'. We were also lucky as there was no one in the picture apart from the two of us because we were that early. We began to walk towards it and it seemed to grow in size as we drew closer. Yes, I realize that this is simple physics but you really noticed its
size and began to realise the amount of work that had gone into it. The main building is pure marble, all of it! Inside there are intricate carvings and glass like coral decoration which you could fire a torch light through illuminate the decor. The Emperor even thought, when building the 4 towers on each side, to add a 7degree lean just in case there was an earthquake. That way these 4 giant pillars would fall away from the tomb and not on top of it. What ingenuous thinking for his day.
We spent 5hrs strolling around and appreciating this quite remarkable place and despite the thousands of other tourists there was peace there, so peaceful in fact, that I fell asleep in one of the giant alcoves outside. I was rudely awoken by a guard with a whistle who didn't appreciate me sleeping there.
Having all the photographs and now with the Taj Mahal permanently imprinted in our minds we headed out of the complex only to gaze again later when we grabbed some dinner on our roof top restaurant.
On the way back from the Taj Mahalahoolies we decided to take a walk through town
There you go Mum!
On the 'Princess Diana' bench.
Na lavicke "Princeznej Diany" and visit the locals. In fairness we just love the celebrity welcome we always receive. We meandered the streets encountering lots of hyper charged children, buffalo families and all the smells ones senses could enjoy. We were really enjoying India and it's always a great thing to visit the locals and let them take a look at you. We took lots of pictures and shook lots of hands. Oh yes, these children actually respect their elders!
The next morning at some ridiculous hour, 5am I recall, we jumped on the train again only this time heading to Jaipur in Rajasthan. It was a sleeper train and we managed to share a compartment with 2 rather lovely Dutch girls, Roxanne and Nienka. We chatted and exchanged stories and it turned out they hadn't organized a place to stay so we suggested they join us. We arrived at Jaipur later that day and were collected by Mr Singh who owned the guest house we'd booked into. We checked in and had a lovely lunch in their homely garden before briefly popping outside to get some snack'y previsions. All seemed well in Jaipur.
In the morning we had some breakfast and
David and the Taj
David a Taj Mahal Zuzana was complaining of a little tickle in her tummy. Once we'd eaten she suddenly had the urge to 'go', so went. When she returned she had lost all of her colour and had to retire into the bedroom. We only had 3 nights in Jaipur and in that time Z was bedridden with a temperature of 39.5degrees for the rest of that day. Well with swine flu so rife in the air and me being so very over dramatic I called a local doctor and he said that she just had a slight bit of Delhi Belly so prescribed some Paracetamol and to take advantage of her dangerous temperature by fry a quick Daal on her belly. However, later that evening she gradually felt better and managed to eat dinner with me.
The next morning she felt as right as rain so with just one day left we dashed around Jaipur, with the Dutch girls, on a tuk tuk taking in all the sights and sounds. The Pink City which was, in fairness, now orange, the Windy Palace and the Rambagh Palace or the Jewel of Jaipur, crawling with Monkeys. The palace was grand and the architecture and
decor was as we imagine India to be. It was a bit of a whistle stop tour but we found it to be enough and the same day we booked a bus to take us West to Pushkar the following morning.
Now that was an interesting bus ride. Sure, it had all the usual adventure of an Indian Bus ride but this particular bus, at one stage, found a break in the central reservation and was driving the wrong way up a 3 lane highway in order to get to the drivers favorite truck stop. There were about 12 Westerners all, may I say, sh*tting bricks, as we navigated the oncoming traffic with some truly frightening maneuvers. All the Indians in the bus seemed undeterred by this irrational driving style. We reached the truck stop in one piece and refreshed. Now you'd think we'd just get back on the highway and head down to the same break in the central reservation in the right direction. But no, the driver knows of another makeshift split in the barriers not 500m up the road. The funny thing was, the driver who was leaning constantly on his musical horn, was adamant that
Sunrise over Taj Mahal
Vychod slnka nad Taj Mahalom all the oncoming traffic was clearly in the wrong.. driving straight at us. Eyes shut and breath held we made it.. unscathed but soiled.
When we arrived in Pushkar we were quickly surrounded by locals all with printed copies of their guest house, highlighted, in the Lonely Planet so us and the Dutch lovelies checked into a wee place called Everest Guest House at a cost of £3.50 per night. The guest house had a great rooftop restaurant that served purely vegetarian food and as it was situated up a slight hill and slightly higher that the city we had great views of our surroundings. When we entered the guest house, we quickly cased the joint and to my left, on the internet, was the Australian, Brett. We exchanged pleasantries and after checking in we carried on with our conversations from Agra. We spent a good few hours with them daily and they taught us the groundbreaking and joyous traveling game of Zilch. A game that is played with 6 dice or Runes of Runes of Destiny as they later became known. Well we had a real ball. The Dutch girls, the Aussies, Zuzana and I spent our first
The inner Sanctum
Vo vnutri Taj Mahalu night playing Zilch and exchanging stories. We also met a lovely English couple, Sue and Colin and had several fun conversations with them. We'd, sometime later, meet them again in Hampi.
We fell in love with Pushkar. It's not the prettiest of cities but we just had a great time as it had such a cool chilled atmosphere. The city is totally vegetarian with no meat being sold anywhere. You, also cannot buy any alcohol unless you ask for “special tea” in some restaurants. This tea or beer, as we know it, is served in a kettle to make it look like tea. Can you see what they did there? We spent a lot of time on the roof top and that's where I first learnt to fly a single string kite. The scene could have been taken from the Kite Runner, only in India. All these boys would be on top of their own roofs flying their kites several hundred feet in the air. Accompanying the boys were hundreds of monkeys stealing things from washing lines and the like while being chased by the locals. The idea of flying the kites was basically and all out kite war!
You had to cut the string of as many kites as you could. Quite brutal but great fun to watch. It's a real skill. I think my kite got to about twenty feet before it fell back to earth. It wasn't even high enough to get involved in the battle for the skies. Brett and Will also took turns but were about as good as me. The young lad who worked at the guest house spent a lot of time with us, teaching his masterful ways. Sadly I disappointed in every aspect so he took my kites away. However, when we would reach Mumbai in a month or so, I would have the chance to fly a kite again at a festival with style and great vigor. However, getting it over 20ft was proving to be a little too difficult in Pushkar.
We did the tourist thing and took in temples and local sights. One of the temples was on a hill giving us a great view of this little city. We even had an hours drumming lesson at a drumming school. This proved to be very difficult so we resulted to just jamming and creating our own beats
The internal intricate decor
Plus my gorgeous girl!
Ja a vnutorny dekor and have now formed our own band that will be touring when we return.
You see, Pushkar is a very sacred place. It is the only place in India where Brahma, Lord and creator of all, came down to earth. We also visited the lake in the centre. It was empty as it was being cleaned… Apparently! It must be one rock at the time because the lake had been empty for about 9mths. As we walked in, we were accosted by a couple of local chaps that arrived on a motorcycle at the same time. They asked us if we wanted to receive a blessing. Without a discussion they separated us and took us to the lakeside. For 5 or so minutes they recited a prayer blessing all friends and family and loved ones etc. We were given a string made bracelet, a red Bindi (mark on the centre of the forehead) and a coconut as part the proceedings. It was quite lovely.
“So, how much you give?”, we were asked.
“I'm sorry?, came our reply.
“How much you donate to charity?” was the clarified response.
Now in fairness I did only have 40Rupees in my pocket which is
Inside the Taj
Vo vnutri Taj Mahalu about $0.80.
“Well I have 40R's that we can give.” Surely anything is a blessing.
“What? People usually donate 4, maybe 500R's.” How optimistic was he?
I then confirmed that I only had 40R's and that's all I had to give. I asked them where the money would go and he said to a charity. Disgusted, he snatched the money and this went straight into his pocket. Both men then retreated quickly to get back on their scooter. We were a bit dazed and confused as to what had just happened. It had clearly been a scam and wasn't going to any charity at all. They were doing this all the time so someone was making a pretty penny. In realising that Mr Saint of Good Wishes had just pocketed my money I chase them both out of the lake and demand my 40R's back. I tore my bracelet from my wrist. I then gave them a lecture about how their tricks were very very wrong and that they would receive some bad Karma, so they gave me my money back before scuttling briskly away on their steed. Sure it wasn't even a dollar but to me it's all about
the principle of the thing!
We spent 3nights in Pushkar and had decided to catch the night bus to Jaisalmer in the evening of our last day. The two Dutch girls left a little earlier and we said our goodbyes and promised to stay in touch and Facebook etc. We told Young William and Brett'ly of our plans and they said that they were going to grab a couple of motorcycles for the afternoon so we decided to join them. Will and neither of us have a license or can ride a motorcycle but we went anyway and so came the birth and the realization of the “Brahma Bikers”.
With bikes rented and after Zuzana's little test run that took her uncontrollably across the road and physically up two other parked motorcycles... we were on our way. The four of us took to the roads like fireworks to the sky. We tore dust from the seldom ridden highways and threw it into the air as our speedometers hit a whopping 40km/h. Our leather jackets with chrome studding embroidery flapped in the wind like capes on Superheroes. The Brahma Bikers had arrived in town and people were running to
the hills. We cruised for what seemed like weeks and once we were 6km out of town, we had our first chai and all complemented each other on our riding skills and biceps. Zuzana quickly found her groove and in the end was quite happily zipping in and out of the traffic like a bee on a pollen trail. We were Bikers... and we were free!
We had a great time. Will, Brett and the two of us got on so well. We really made some great friends in just a few hours and as they were heading to Goa too, we decided to meet up then also.
We rode back together, all having the opportunity to carry the Brahma Biker Flag. We'd each take it in turn to wheelie through villages and perform death defying stunts to the locals who clapped and showered us with gifts of gold, spices and women. We cut through the market place before Z and I had to return our bikes...on fire! Coming back down to earth we grabbed dinner and headed off to the night bus. The Brahma bikers would reunite in a week or so.
The night bus was
surprisingly comfortable and we were provided with a glass like cupboard to sleep in instead of the usual chair. In the early hours of the morning we arrived in Jaisalmer and were bundled with all the other white folk to a guest house at £2.80 per night in the actual fort which was like staying in a castle. Jaisalmer is in the Desert and is a sandy city surrounding an amazing fort. We checked in and decided to go exploring. With our confidence riding high, we hired a scooter and a motorcycle to tour our new surroundings. The city was a buzzy and colourful place. People selling anything and everything in their quaint little shops. The city was renowned for its camel leather goods and so I bought myself an Indiana Jones style hat as we had booked ourselves on a Camel Safari the next day. The morning soon came around and 7 of us consisting of 3 Spaniards, 1 Peruvian, 1 Slovakian, a Frenchman and I, headed deep into the Thar Desert.
On arrival our camels were loaded up with all the provisions we'd need for our overnight trip. It was great fun and we went with such
a nice group of people all eager to chat and joke around. We had two local guides. A young lad who had been a guide for a year and an older gentleman who had been working with camels all his life. We rode in the searing heat and our first stop was at a local desert village. Everyone was keen to look at the visitors except one of the older villagers that shouted at us and demanded that we leave as she threatened us with a stoning. We stopped for lunch near some trees and shrubs and the guys cooked us a fantastic meal over a fire and even made some desert chapattis. I say desert as they were normal chapattis but with the addition of a little sand. It was a very, very tasty lunch and afterwards, as is tradition for the Spaniards, we had a 30minute Siesta. We rode for another 4hrs before finding a place to camp for the night in the middle of the desert. Miles from anything or anyone. Saying that one of the guides did manage to go and grab beers for us all so we were probably just a few kilometers away from
David slept in that one
David si tam trosku schrupol civilization, but for arguments sake, we were miles away!
After watching a spectacular sunset we had dinner and then the guides told stories and we all had a great sing song with improvised percussion instruments. It was a great evening. With the cold night creeping in we were guided to our mattresses and settled in our sleeping bags under some blankets as it would get very cold.
Well for me it was all about the night sky. I have never in all my short but eventful life seen anything as wonderful as the night sky in the desert. I never knew there were that many stars visible to the naked eye. There was no light pollution at all restricting your view. The pinprick lights were almost too much to take in and these were accompanied by many spectacular shooting stars, tearing the sky in two with their blazing tails as they broke up in the atmosphere many miles above us. Of course we capitalized on all the wishes granted and have won the lottery three times over! We lay there all cuddled up and snug watching the stars twinkle and sparkle in the, more blue than black, night
See?
Vidite? sky.
We woke up early the next morning, had breakfast and got ready to leave. Now Zuzana had become a bit of a desert girl. She'd had many conversations with the elder guide and he'd taught her how to catch and load up her own camel. They're bloody horrible animals and hate you, absolutely hate you! I called mine Colin and he never did a bloody thing I told him. Well Zuzana didn't name hers and took it by the balls I would say. She saw its stubborn nature as a challenge and before long it did everything she told it. That morning her camel had wandered off, but not miles away as its feet were tied close together. She walked over to it and threw the guide rope over its nose and attached it before unshackling the beast and walking it back to a round of applause at camp.
We wandered for another half day which included having a trot and a run on these humped beasts before having lunch and heading home. We had such a wonderful time, so good that we tipped the guide which is something we never do or can afford. We spent
the rest of the day in Jaisalmer and the early hours of the morning, we took another bus heading south to Jodhpur. For us Jodhpur wasn't a great place. The accommodation was OK though it had a bucket shower and the city was great for market shopping but we weren't pulled or drawn to see the fort that overlooked the city on a hill, we just took pictures. We did, however, have the best meal, in the whole of India at a restaurant opposite the railway station. Bellies full and spirits high we jumped on the train and headed to Mumbai.
Taj Mahal Credits:
Mughal Emperor Steve played by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan
Favorite Wife Betty played by Mumtaz Mahal
Evil Son Clancy played by Aurangzeb
Thank you all for your comments and please keep them coming as its always lovely to read! Lots of love
Columbus and Scott
SLOVENSKY
A tak s jednym z najtradicnejsich obradov za nami, nasou prvou cestou vlakom a riskantym taxikarom, sme Delhi opustili druhy krat vlakom. Mierili sme na Juh do maleho mesta zvane Agra. Ked hovorim maleho myslim tym 1,6 miliona ludi.
V
Some India visitors
Indicke navstevnicky Agre je hrobka. Hrobka tak velkolepa, ze pohne srdce aj tím najsilnejsim muzom. Je to stavba postavena z lasky. Uplné a naprosté odhodlanie. Vašeň jedneho človeka k druhemu - manzel k manzelke. Nie, nebolo to kadernictvo alebo nákupne centrum. Isli sme navstivit “Taj Mahal”….
Cesta vlakom bola prijemna a my sme opät cestovali v klimatizovanej 3AC triede. V tychto voznoch sme mali moznosť vyskusať rôzne delikatesy. Boli sme neustale ponuknutí kavou a čajom a títo chlapici trvali na predavani tychto napojov aj niekedy o 2-3 hod rano. Vykriky “Chai, Chai, Coffee, Chai” vas vyrušili z nočného spánku, az sme sa niekedy museli zasmiat, lebo tieto hlasy zneli ako keby boli prebrate z nejakej komedie.
Vlak docestoval do Agry v neskorsich popoludňajších hodinach a hned podarilo sa nam chytit tuk tuk (3 kolesovy dopravny prostriedok pohanany aspon 100 cmeliakmi. Alebo aspon mate ten pocit podla toho zvuku). Tuk tuk sofer nas zobral do nasho hostela, ktory sme uz vopred vybrali z nasej prírucky Lonely Planet, lebo mal dobry vyhlad na Taj Mahal. Nasa izba bola na najvyššom poschodi a poskytla nam náš prvy pohľad na túto pozoruhodnu budovu. Tento moment bol pre nas velmi speciálny. Vzdy ked sme sa
From the east
Z vychodnej casti Taju rozpravali o cestovani, sme spomenuli, ze jedneho dňa uvidime Taj Mahal. Kedykolvek bol Taj Mahal v konverzacii, vzdy to bolo diskasovane ako jedno z najromantickejsich miest na svete. Prepac Eiffelovka, ale myslim, ze ty si mala uz svoju slavu.
Ked sme prvy krat videli Taj, tak sa nam slzy hrnuli do oci. Bola to kombinacia uspechu, romantiky a tak trochu zelania, aby nase rodiny zdielali s nami tento moment. David sa ku mne obratil a povedal, ze aj on by mi take nieco postavil, aby mi ukazal ako velmi ma miluje. Ja si nemyslim, ze nie, ale v tej chvili to bolo velmi romanticke.
Veceru sme mali v reštaurácii na streche budovy a jedlo bolo velmi dobre. Tam sme stretli milu spanielsku dvojicu a asi hodinku sme spolu kecali. Oni mierili do Thajska pracovat ako potačskí instruktori a povedali nam aby sme sa s nimi skontaktovali, ked tam budeme. My sme planovali urobit si potapacsky kurz, takze by nam to vyslo vhod. Taktiez, ked sme vecerali, David sa sa dal do konverzacie s parom chlapikov z Australie, Williamom a Brettom. Jeden z nich sa pridal k tomu druhemu na 6 tyzdnov, zatiaľ čo jeho priateľ cestoval na 6
mesiacov. Rozpravali sme sa o nasich cestovnych zazitkoch, vymenili sme par tipov a pokracovali sme s nasim vecerom. Málo sme vedeli o tom, ze títo dvaja Australčania budu hrat velku úlohu na našej ceste Indiou.
Nastavili sme si budik na 5:45hod rano s úmyslom navstivit Taj Makal prvi. O 5:45 hod nas ten prekliaty budik prebudil zo spánku. Je to fakt hlúpe, lebo viete ze musite vstavat skoro rano, ale ked vam ten prekliaty policajt zacne ricat v uchu tak sa vám nechce. Vstali sme, obliekli sa a zamierili v tme kupit listky do Taj Mahal. Nase plánovanie a priprava sa vyplatila, lebo sme boli prvi vo fronte na listky a ked bolo 6:54 (vychod slnka) brány sa otvolili a my sme prvý krát vstúpili do komplexu Taj Mahal. Dovoľte mi, aby som vam dala stručné historické ponaučenie o tomto tejto romantickej budove:
- Cisar Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan postavil túto neuveriteľnú hrobku jeho “oblubenej” zene Mumtaz Mahal, ktora bohuzial zomrela pri porode ich dietata cislo 14. Stavba trvala 21 rokov on 1632 do 1653. Nebol to ale on, kto budoval túto krásnu budovu. Nadobudol 20.000 otrokov a 1.000 slonov, ktori mu k tomu pomohli, zatial čo on sedel
na koni a daval pokyny. Ked bola stavba dokončená, syn Aurangzeb uväznil svojho otca v Pevnosti Agra, ktora bola cez rieku, lebo sa chcel zmocnit vlady. Emperovo miesto vo vaznici bolo zorganizovanie tak, aby mohol pozerat cez rieku na hrobku, kde bola pochovana jeho zena. On tam zostal az do dňa, kedy zomrel a po jeho smrti bol aj on umiestneny v jeho vlastnom hrobe vedla svojej zeny. Vidite? Aj vtedy existovala romantika.
Jedni z prvych ludi vo vnutri sme boli my. Vstúpili sme cez obrovske brany, presli tranzitom a tam to bolo. Mramorová štruktúra, ktora moze byt ocenena len osobne. Samotná veľkost a krasna farba vyzaduje hodiny obdivovania. Fotili sme zo svetkych uhlov a aby David uspokojil jeho mamu, mali sme fotografiu urobenu na tej istej lavicke, kde Princezna Diana. Mali sme stastie, pretoze sme tam boli skoro rano a nikoho sme nemali vo fotke. Ako sme sa priblizovali, zdalo sa, ze tato budova rastie vo velkosti. Ja si uvedomujem, ze je to jednoducha fyzika, ale naozaj si vsimnete tuto veľkosť a začnete si uvedomovat koľko práce do toho šlo. Hlavna čast budovy je čistý mramor. Cela! Vnútri su zlozite vyrezby a koralove vyzdoby, ktoré sa rozziaria ked
prejdete cez ne svetlom z baterky. Cisar myslel aj na to, ze pri stavbe vezí dá 7 uhlovy sklon, v pripade zemetrasenia. Tieto 4 obrie piliere by takto nespadli na ich hrob. Velmi mudre!!
Stravili sme 5 hodín prechadzaním sa okolo tejto pozoruhodnej stavby a aj napriek tisicom turistov tam bol pokoj. Bolo to v skutocnosti tak kludne miesto, ze David tam zaspal vonku v jednom výklenku. Bol ale drzo prebudený píštalkou jedneho zo straznikov, ktoremu sa nepacilo, ze tam spal.
Po všetkych fotografiách a Taj Mahal teraz natrvalo poznaceny v nasich mysliach sme zamierili von z arealu a mohli sme uz len nanho nakukat so stretchy restauracie v nasom hosteli.
Na ceste naspäť sme sa rozhodli prejsť po meste a navstivit miestnych obývateľov. V skutočnosti sme si len uzivali, ze nas vzdy vítali ako nejake celebrity. Túlali sme sa v uliciach a stretavali hyper-aktivne deti, rodiny byvolov a rozne pachy, ktore si človek moze len vychutnat. Naozaj sme si uzívali Indiu a vzdy to je velka vec navštívit miestnych a nechat ich nech sa na teba dobre pozrú. Urobili sme vela fotiek a potriasli veľa rúk. Ach ano, tieto deti skutočne rešpektuju starších.
Druhy den,
v niektoru smiesnu hodinu rano (5hod, ak si dobre spomínam) sme opäť skoncili na vlakovej stanici a tentoraz sme mierili do Jaipuru v Rajasthane. Bol to spací vlak a podarilo sa nam zdieľať priestor s 2 Holanďankami, Roxanne and Nienka. Dali sme sa s nimi dokecu a ukazalo sa, ze nemaju zorganizovany ziadny pobyt. Tak sme im navrhli, aby sli s nami. Ked sme dorazili do Jaipuru neskôr v ten den, boli sme vyzdvihnutí Panom Singhom, ktorý vlastnil pension, do ktoreho sme sa rezervovali. Zapisali sme sa do hosťovskej knihy a dali si dobý obed v útulnej záhrade a potom sme sa narychlo sli prejst po meste. Všetko zatial islo ako po masle.
Rano sme mali raňajky a ja som sa začala stazovať na bolesti v bruchu. Akonahle sme sa najedli, zrazu som mala nutkanie íst na WC. Ked som sa vratila, David mi povedal, ze som bleda ako stena a šla som si ľahnúť do spálne. Celý den som strávila priputaná na lozko s teplotou 39.5 stupnov. Jedna z tých Holanďaniek sa tiez necitila dobre uz pár dni, tak sme všetci zostali celý den doma. S prasačou chripkou rozšírenou po celom svete a s Davidom velkym dramatikom, on
zavolal miestnemu doktorovi, ktory povedal, ze je to len “Delhi Belly”- vyraz, ktorý sa dava hnačke alebo vracaní v Indii. Doktor taktiez doporucil paracetamol na znizenie teploty a piť veľa tekutin. Avšak neskor vecer som sa postupne zacala cítit lepšie a podarilo sa mi aj nieco zjest.
Druhy den rano som sa necítila na 100%, ale kedze som nechcela zmárnit ďaľší den v posteli, vyrazili sme s Holanskými dievčatami na prieskum rôznych pamiatok. Ruzove mesto, ktore bolo teraz oranzove, Veterny Palac, Palac Rambagh, ktory je šperkom Jaipuru a hmyri sa stovkami opic. Tento palác bol veľkolepý a jeho architektúra a vyzdoba bola taká, aku sme si predstavovali ze v Indii bude. Jaipur bola velmi rychla zastavka, ale citili sme, ze to bolo dost nato aby sme si zajednali autobus na nasledujúci deň rano do Pushkaru.
Teraz, tato jazda autobusom bola velmi zaujimava. Iste, kazda jedna jazda v Indii je dobrodruzstvo, ale tato konkrétne bola ešte viac. Ako sme tak cestovali dialnicou vo vysokej rychlosti, okrem toho, ze sme sa museli vyhybat stovkam krav, zrazu sofer nasiel medzeru v zvodidlach a mieril v protismere všetkych aut a nakladiakov do jeho oblubenej zastavky obcerstvenia kamionistov. V autobuse bolo asi 12
Monkeeeeeeeeey!
India ma miliony takychto opic! zapadniarov a mozem povedať, ze všetci sme srali bobky. A Indom? Tim to vôbec netrhalo zily. Do reštaurácie sme dorazili v jednom kuse. Po pätnástich minutach sme zase nasadli do autobusu. Teraz, mysleli by ste si, ze šofér zamieri dole dialnicou a napoji sa v tom istom prerušeni zvodidiel. Ale nie, on pozná ďalšiu medzeru v zvodidlách a opäť si do dávame v protismere. Sranda na tom ale bola, ze na všetkych trúbil ako keby oni boli tí, čo sa rutili priamo na nás. So zavretymi oťami a zatajenym dychom sme po 500 metroch sme opäť mierili správnym smerom.
Ked sme konečne v jednom kuse dorazili do Pushkaru, v okamihu sekundy sme boli obklopeni miestnymi vlastnikmi penzionov s kopiami vytlacku z prirucky Lonely Planet. S Holanďankami sme si vybrali jeden, ktorý sa nam pacil najviac zvany Everest Guest House. Cena za jednu noc boli 4 Eura. V penzione mali zase reštauraciu na streche, z ktorej sme mali nadherny vyhlad na mesto a tato podavala len vegetarianske jedla. Pretoze Pushkar je posvätné miesto, nenajdete tu ziadny alkohol a vsetky restauracie podavaju ciste vegetarianske jedla. Ked sme vstupili do penzionu tak po lavej strane bol na internete Australcan Brett, ktoreho sme
Ludo, Indian style
Clovece nezlob sa! stretli v Agre. S velkým prekvapením sme sa pozdravili a zapisali do knihy hosťov. Stravili sme s nimi kazdy den pár hodin a naučili nás hru s kockami zvanu “Zilch” co v preklade znamena “Ništ”(nič). Všetci sme sa dobre nasmiali. Holanďanky, Australčania, David a ja sme naše večery stravili hranim a vymienanim rôznych príbehov. Tam sme sa tiez zoznámili s anglickym párom Sue a Colin, ktorí boli v ich päťdesiatke a na ktorých narazime neskor v Hampi.
Do Pushkaru sme sa ihned zamilovali. Nie je to jedno z najkrajsich miest na svete, ale atmosféra je tam uzasná. Strávili sme vela času hore na streche a tam sa David snazil učit lietať šarkanov. Asi stovky chlapcov bolo na ich vlastných strechách a nad nimi vliali reťazce drakov. Taktiez na tychto strechach bolo stovky opic, ktoré kradli bielizeň zo sušiacich šnúr a potom ich mladí chlapci odhaňali preč. Cieľom tychto šarkanov bolo vyprovokovať vojnu a odrezať šnury čo najviac superom. Bolo to dosť brutálne, ale dobrá zabava. Je to skutočné umenie. Davidov šarkan sa dostal asi do 6-tich metrov predtym nez spadol opäť k zemi. Ani to nebolo dost dobre na to, aby sa zapojil do boja. Brett a William sa
tiez pridali k Davidovi, ale dopadli tak isto. Mladik, ktorý pracoval v penzione strávil veľa času vysvetlovanim ako na to, ale David ho asi musel sklamat, lebo mu jeho šarkana zobral.
Cez tych par dni v Pushkari sme, ako správni turisti, šli pozriet na rôzne chrámy a miestne pamiatky. Jeden z chramov bol na kopci a mali sme krasny vyhľad na toto malé mestečko. Tiez sme isli na hodiny bubnovania. Navstivili sme posvätné jazero, ktore je veľkým lákadlom v Pushkari. Toto bolo ale vtedy skoro prazdne, z dôvodu čistenia. Neviem teda ako dlho trvá čistenie jedneho jazera, ale toto bolo suché uz asi 9 mesiacov. Pushkar je ako som uz predtym spominala velmi sväté miesto v Indii. Je to jedine miesto, kde Brama (jeden z Hinduickych Bohov) zostupil na Zem. Preto veľa ludi príde k jazeru, aby tam dostali posvätenie od Hindov. Ako sme prišli k jazeru, hneď nás oslovilo pár miestnych, ktorí tam dofrčali na motorkach v rovnakom čase. Pýtali sa nas, či by sme taktiez chceli dostat pozehnanie. Bez diskusie nas oddelili a vzali blizšie k jazeru. Po dobu asi 5 minut nám predniesli modlitbu a pozehnanie pre všetkych členov rodiny a blízkych. Náramok okolo zapästia, červené
Bindi (značka v strede čela) a kokos boli súčastou tohto obradu. Bolo to od nich velmi milé.
“Tak koľko dáte?” zrazu sme boli ziadaní.
“Pardon?” príde naša odpoveď.
“Koľko dáte na charitu?” bola nam objasnená otázka.
David mal len vo vrecku asi 40 rupees, čo je asi 0.60 Eura.
“Ja môzem dať 40 rupees” znela Davidova odpoveď.
“Coze? Len 40 rupees? Ľudia normálne daruju medzi 200-500 rupees” hovori tento chlapik.
David mu dal najavo, ze mu mozeme dat len 40 rupees a to je všetko. Ked sme sa ho spýtali kam tieto peniaze idu, tak povedal, ze na charitu. Znechuteny, zobral peniaze a pichol ich rovno do vrecka. Obaja muzi potom nasadali na ich motorku. David a ja sme boli trochu omameni a zmätení, čo sa práve stalo. Bol to zjavne podvod. Toto zjavne nejde do ziadnej charity. Takto to robia kazdy deň a zarabaju slušné peniaze. V uvedomeni, ze tento Sväty Pán šlohol naše peniaze, David utekal za nimi. Roztrhol jeho náramok a ziadal naše peniaze späť. Potom im dal prednášku o tom, ako ich triky boli velmi zlé a ze im to prinesie zlú karmu. Nakoniec nám naše peniaze vratili a rychlo odfrcali na ich motorke. Jasne, nebolo
Street Shops
Poulicne obchodiky to ani jedno Euro, ale pre nás to bol princíp veci.
V Pushkari sme stravili 3 noci a rozhodli sa chytiť nočný autobus do Jaisalmeru pri Pakistánskych hraniciach. Dve Holanďanky nas opustili v to ráno a slúbili sme si, ze zostaneme v kontakte cez Facebook a email. William a Brett nam povedali, ze si na popoludnie idú vypozičat par motocyklov a tak sme sa k nim pripojili. William a ani jeden z nás nemame šoferák na motorky a ja som predtym bola na scooteri asi raz. No, ale takto prislo zrodenie “Cyklistov Brahma”.
Po prenajatí dvoch motoriek (David a Brett) a dvoch scooterov (Will a ja) a po mojej skušobnej jazde, ktorá ma nekotrolovatelne zobrala cez cestu a fyzicky vybehla hore na daľšie dva zaparkovane motocykle… sme boli na nasej ceste. My Štyria sme vyrazili na cesty ako ohňostroj k oblohe. Odhadzovali sme prach do strán ciest ako naše tachometre vytiahli neuveritelných 40km/hod. Naše kozene bundy s chrómovou vyšivkou našich mien sa trepotal vo vetre ako Supermanova plaštenka. Cyklisti Brahma dorazili do mesta a ľudia utekali do kopcov. Kruzili sme, čo sa zdalo ako týzdne a po 6-tich kilometroch sme zastavili na náš prvý Chai. Ja som velmi
skoro objavila moje kvality a šťastne klučkovala medzi prevádzkou ako včela na stope peľu. Boli sme motorkari a boli sme volni!
Mali sme sa skvelo s Williamom a Brettom. Vsetci štyria sme si velmi dobre vychádzali a kedze aj oni mierili cez Vianoce a Novy Rok do Goa, dohodli sme sa, ze sa tam s nimi stretneme.
Všetci sme sa spolu vracali naspäť do mesta a kazdy mal moznost niesť našu vlajku “Brahma Cyklistov!. Všetci sme sa vystriedali v postaveni motoriek na zadne kolesá a v predvadzani rôznych kaskadérskych kuskov pre miestnych ľudí, ktorý nas zasypali darami, zlatom, korenim a zenami. Dali sme si to cez trhy a David a ja sme čoskoro museli nase motorky vratit - v plameňoch! Keď sme sa vrátili naspäť na Zem, narychlo schmatli veceru a zamierili na nočný autobus. Brahma cyklisti budu opat zlúčení za tyzden alebo dva.
Nočny autobus bol prekvapivo pohodlný a my sme boli umiestnení v takej sklennej skrini namiesto obvyklych stoličiek, v ktorých sme sa mohli vyspať. V skorých ranných hodinách sme dorazili do Jaisalmeru a ubytovali sme sa v guest house za asi 3 Eura za noc. Tento hostel bol v skutočnej pevnosti a mali sme
Two old Dears
Starsie obcanky pocit, ako keby sme boli ubytovaní na nejakom zamku. Jaisalmer je v púšti a všetky budovy sú postavené z piesku. Rozhodli sme sa preskúmať mesto a po našej poslednej skúsenosti sme boli dost sebavedomi na to, aby sme is opäť vypozičali motorku a scooter. Mesto bolo plné zivota a farieb. Ľudia predávali všetko mozne v ich útulnych obchodoch. Mesto bolo veľmi zname predavanim tovarov vyrobenych z ťavej koze a tak si David kúpil Indiana Jones klobuk potom, ako sme si rezervovali Tavie Safari na ďalši deň. Rano čoskoro prislo a naša skupinka, ktora sa skladala zo 3 Španielov, 1 Peruanku, 1 Francúza, 1 Angličana a Slovenku mierila hlboko do Púšte Thar.
Po našom prichode, ťavy boli nalozené so vsetkym, čo budeme potrebovat na prezitie cez noc. Bola to veľká zábava a boli sme fakt so super skupinkou ludi tuziacich po dobrom pokece a par vtipoch. Mali sme dvoch miestnych sprievodcov. Mladý chalan, ktorý bol sprievodcom asi jeden rok a starsi chlapik, ktory pracoval s ťavami jeho celý zivot. Išli sme vo veľkej horúčave a nasa prva zastavka bola jedna miestna púštna dedina. Kazdy v tejto dedine bol vasnivy pozriet sa na navstevnikov, okrem jednej zo starsich obcaniek. Ta na
nás začala kričať a ziadala aby sme odisli. Inak nam hrozi ukamenovanie. Tak sme pokračovali v ceste a ďaľšia zástavka bola na obed. Urobil sa oheň a začalo sa varit. Ja som sa pripojila k čisteniu rôznej zeleniny. Dokonca urobili aj pustny chlieb zvaný “chapatti” Bolo to velmi chutne a ako je tradícia pre Španielov, po obede sme mali 30 minútovú Siestu. Na ďalsie 4 hodiny sme pokračovali v ceste a uzivali si krasy púšte na tavich chrbtoch. Potom sme nasli miesto v strede puste na nočné táborenie. Kilometre on všetkeho ostatneho. No asi to nebolo az tak daleko, lebo jeden z nasich sprievodcov isiel pre nas vsetkych vecer kupit pár pív. No ale zdalo sa ze sme veeelmi daleko od všetkej civilizácie.
Po zhliadnuti velkolepého západu slnka sme mali večeru a v noci sa pri ohni rozprávali rôzne príbehy a spievali pesničky a pomohli sme si s improvizovanymi bicími nastrojmi. Bol to fantasticky večer. S pomaly sa priblizujucou zimou sme sa neskoro vecer rozisli do naších postelí vyrobených len s hrubych matracov. Noci v púšti su veľmi chladné a niekedy teploty klesnú aj pod nulu. Ale nase spacaky a teplé prikryvky nam umoznili mat teplú noc.
No,
ale pre nas to vsetko bolo pre nočnu oblohu. Nikdy v mojom krátkom, ale rusnom zivote som nevidela nic take krásne ako túto nocnu oblohu v púšti. Netušila som, ze tam je tolko hviezd viditelnych voľným okom. Nebolo tam ziadne znecistenie ovzdusia, ktore branilo nasmu vyhladu. Tak sme tam lezali v objati a pozorovali ako sa tieto hviezdy trblietaju vo viac modrej ako ciernej oblohe. Aj sme zhliadli neskutocné mnozstvo padajúcich hviezd a samozrejme vzdy sme si zelali nieco ine.
Prebudili sme sa skoro rano, naranajkovali a nachystali k odchodu. Ja som sa za tychto par dni tak trochu stala ťavou zenou. Mala som vela konverzacii so starsich sprievodcom a on ma naucil ako chytit a osedlat tavu. Podla Davida, ťavy sú hrozné zvieratá a naprosto vas nenávidia. Jeho ťavu nazval Colin a ta mu nikdy nerobila, co jej povedal. Ja som tú moju nepomenovala, ale ako sa povie, chytila som byka za rohy. Videla som ako su tieto zvierata tvrdohlavé a toto bola pre mna len vyzva. Čoskoro tato tava robila vsetko co som jej kázala. V toto rano moja tava bola dost daleko, ale nie velmi daleko, lebo jej predne nohy boli zviazane dokopy. Ked som k
Tuk Tuk
Tuk Tuk nej pristupila, hodila lano cez krk a pritiahla jej hlavu blizšie aby som jej potom toto lano mohla priviazat k nosu. Ked som prisla naspat do tabora, prijala som kratky potlesk.
Putovali sme ďaľším dňom, ktorého sučastou bol klus a beh na tychto zvieratach. Poobede sme sa potom rozlucili s nasimi sprievodcami a vratili naspät do mesta. Mali sme sa tak dobre, ze sme dali naším sprievodcom tringelt, čo sa skoro nikdy nestane, lebo si to nemozme dovolit. Zvyšok dňa sme stravili v Jaisalmeri a skoro rano sme sadli na ďaľši autobus do Jodhpuru. Pre nas Johdpur nebolo az take super miesto. Ubytovanie bolo OK, namiesto sprchy sme mali len vedro s vodou. Ako kazde mesto v Indii, Jodhpur bol super na nakup na trhoch. Taktiez tam bola obrovska pevnost, do ktorej sme ale nesli. Len sme ju z diaľky odfotili. Na druhej strane sme ale mali najlepsie jedlo z celej Indie v restauracii oproti zelezničnej stanice. S plnými zalúdkami sme naskocili na vlak a mierili do Mumbai.
Tak ako sa vám páči naš blog? Nikdy od vás nedostaneme ziadne pozdravy, alebo komenty. Neviem, či vlastne naše usilie vlastne k niečomu je. Z anglickej strany vzdy niekto napíše a zo slovenskej nič. A preto vás srdečne ziadam, aby ste mi dali vedieť, či sa moje hodiny prekladu vyplácajú. Dole pod textom je mala kolonka, do ktorej môzete napisať vaše príspevky. Velmi pekne ďakujeme a všetkých pozdravujeme.
Kolumbus a Scott
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Catherine
non-member comment
A most romantic story
Namaste cute couple - that was a most romantic story of your journey to Agra - and beyond (well, except for the part about Z's Delhi Belly - I am sure that wasn't very romantic) I loved the pics - nice one of you sleeping D -you'd think they'd let royalty-look-alikes take a rest now and again.