Day 31 - Calcutta

The last place on the tour - so sad! We are in Calcutta after catching the overnight train from Varanasi to Calcutta.

It has rainied here...

It is still raining here...

..a lot!

We had to check in to our hotel through the raised corridor - as the reception was waist deep high in water! Half the rooms were flooded, but luckily there was still enough for all of us. After settling in we went for an orientation walk and lunch in Flurys Cafe on Park Street. We had to wade through water one foot deep most of the way. Holes had been knocked through walled gardens, and the water poured out like a waterfall - craziness! Lunch was wooonderful. Flurys is like a typical upmarket English cafe - with amazing service and a huuge selection of cakes. We stayed there a while (so full now)

Tonight we are going to a nightclub called Underground, so whilst a few people went for the touristy exploring, most of us girls just went shopping (department stores - oh how I have missed them). We are eating dinner in one of the best and most exclusive restaurants in Calcutta (and it is actually affordable too) so that should be nice.

Ooh, I like Calcutta - despite the flooding!

Day 30 - Varanasi

Another day in crazy Varanasi.

We woke up at sunrise for a boat trip on the Ganges. The boatmen rode us along the Ghats, so we got a great view of everything going on. Hundreds of people were bathing - they all grinned at waved at us as we passed. There was also people washing their clothes - hundreds of saris of every colour were spread on the steps to dry in the sun - very picturesque.

The day was spent pottering about, and sitting on the rooftop cafe of the hotel, avidly reading Shantaram. The wind really picked up, and the sky clouded over, so it was nice and fresh (it's not truly cool very often - so air conditioning and rare cloudy days are relished!).

At sunset we went back out on the boat. We had a couple of musicians, a sitar and tabla player, and they played Rajas whilst we rocked in the boat. We had hundreds of candles with us to light and float on the river, but unfortunately the wind was so strong that every time we lit one it just blew straight out - ah well, was a nice idea.

Day 29 - Varanasi

I'm in Varanasi... holiest of holy towns, after an overnight train from Agra. Holy cows are everywhere (and holy cow poo too). Sadhus on every street corner, and begger girls sell garlands and candles to float on the river.

I can see the Ganges from my balcony - the river is wider and slower flowing than in Rishikesh, and a dull brown colour. Everything is going on here - births and deaths. 30 sewers feed into the ganges, and bodies are contantly being cremated on the burning ghats and sprinkled into the water, whilst right next to all this hundreds of people immerse themselves in the river and use it to wash out their mouths and eyes - it's craziness. But no-one bats an eyelid - the Indians believe that the Ganga is so pure that it cleans everything instantly. It is not rare to see a body float by the boat, thumbs tied to toes, whilst the boatman simultneously leans over to drink from the river.

Shiva's presence is said to be in Varanasi, and all the death ceremonies that go on here are due to the belief that if a Hindu were to have his ashes sprinkled in the Gangta he or she would skip 7 cycles of death and rebirth - even better, if they were to die here they would go straight heaven. So the city is full of people waiting to die - but everyone is somehow quite joyful because they know they will fast-track it to heaven! So, all a bit crazy.

We went to the ghats at sunset to see the ceremony - lots of clanging and music whilst Brahmin priest waves incence and torches around in synch, very cool. Then we had dinner and coffee in a Pizzeria, enjoying the smell of incence on the breeze and a cool wind after a day of burning sunshine - bliss!

Day 28 - Agra

Well... today I was blown away by the Taj Mahal, and I'm all Taj Mahal'ed out.

We got up at sunrise and walked around the Taj's outer gate to get a view of it from the river. The sunrise gave the Taj a warm glow, and we took a boat ride across the river and many pictures.

A gave the fort visit a miss, a instead relaxed and mooched around, saving my wonderlust for the sunset visit to the inside of the Taj Mahal area. We all met up at the hotel at about 3pm, then entered the Taj by the east gate. Initially all you see are the gardens and the red sandstone, so we sat in the shade and Hannah told us a bit about the Taj before we got our first look.

The Taj was built in 1630-1653 by the 5th Mogul emperor, Shah Jahan, as a tomb for his most beloved wife Mumtaz. When Mumtaz died giving birth to her 14 child, Shah Jahan's hair had gone white overnight. The Taj Mahal took 23 years to build, and you can't really tell from the pictures, but it is made from the finest marble, and inlaid with semi-precious stones. It looks exactly the same from all 4 sides, and the gardens and surrounding building are carefully arranged to enhance it's beauty. Shah Jahan had orinally planned to have a second Taj, made of black stone instead of marble, built across the river to house his own body. Unfortunately this never happened - the Emperor's son was a complete nutcase, and took over the rule by killing his brothers and locking up his father. When Shah Jahan died, his body was placed next to that of his wife, and is now the only thing that is not in perfect symmetrical alignment in the entire place.

With this little introduction, we walked throught the main gateway and had our first, utterly surreal, view of the Taj.






So yeah - that was amazing. Below is cheesy photo of the group in front of the Taj - I've scanned it in so quality is not great - but you get the general idea!

Some Indian Recipies....

> See cooking class post

Khadai Paneer (serves 3*) (Khadai - an indian wok used for cooking fresh vegetables, Paneer - cheese - receipe below, but tofu, feta etc. can be substituted)

Ingredients

1. 2 tbsp oil (any type - but not butter)
2. 1 small onion, finely sliced
3. Spices*: 5 black peppercorns, 2 cloves, 1 black cardamom, 2 thin 1 inch pieces of cinnamon stick, 1/2 tsp brown cumin (don't crush or grind, put in whole and remove before serving)
4. 1 tbsp coriander seeds powder, 2 cloves garlic, 2 inches ginger - mixed together in a blender with a small amount of water to form a paste
5. 2 small tomatoes - crushed/ground with a little water, keep seeds and skin!
6. 2 green peppers - cut into smallish pieces
7. 1 small onion - peeled, cut into 4 pices and seperated
8. 100g paneer - cut in cubes (can substitute tofu, feta, mozzerella)

Method

• Heat oil (1) in pan and add onions (2)
• When onions start to brown, add all of the whole spices (3)
• When onions are brown, quickly add powder spices (4) and paste (5) and 1/4 cup of water (1 cup is approx 125ml)
• Simmer on low heat for 3/4 minutes until water has blended in and mixture is thick
• The oil will seperate and run on top of the mixture

-- you now have a basic curry base, and can add anything you like for an alternative meal--

• Add tomato paste (6) and cook again until mixture thickens and oil is on top

-- again, this is a basic curry base - this time tomato-based--

• Add green peppers (7) and onions (8) and mix on heat for about 2 mins (should still be a bit crunchy)
• Add paneer or substitute (9) and mix well for 1 minute
• Remove from heat
• Place in serving bowl,
• Sprinkle with garam masala and grated paneer (optional - see below for explination of Garam Masala**)

* - note on cooking for larger quantities - if you double the servig, you must double all the quantities except the whole spices - these you should just add a little more (say a 1/4 extra)

** - Garam Masala - Mixture of spices that can be made or bought ready made.

Paneer

Ingredients

1. 1 ltr milk - full cream
2. 1/2 lemon or lime

Method

• Bring milk to the boil
• When boiling add lemon/lime (2) and boil for 2/3 mins more
• Turn off heat and strain through cloth (cotton or cheese cloth)
• Take 4 corners of cloth and tighten
• Place on flour surface and put 4-5 kg on tom for between 1/2 to 2 hours
• Remove weight and open cloth, paneer is ready

Chipati* also called Roti (Makes 5-7 chipati/roti)

Ingredients

1. 100g wholewheat/wholemeal flour
2. Pinch salt
3. 125ml water

Method

• Put flour(1) in large plate
• Add salt (2) and mix
• Add 1/4 of water (3) and mix with hand
• Continue adding water by tsp until mixture is a dough (consistancy of chewing gum)
• Form into ping-pong size balls
• Roll in flour then roll into flat disc (about tea saucer size) with a rolling pin - always use flour
• Heat a pan (roti pan, frying pan will prob be ok) - high heat is necessary, the whole process below should take less than a minute per roti!
• Cook on one side till small bubbles appear, then flip
• Cook on other side till big bubbles appear then flip
• Roll up a kitchen towel, and use it to press and turn the roti all the way round - it should puff up like a little pillow, turn over at this point)
• Turn and repeat

*N.B - to make naan breads - recipe is same but use refined white flour instead and add 1/2 an egg to mixture. Roll out thicker than for a chipatti and cook on a lower heat for longer for longer

Well - that is all the recipes for the mo - maybe skip the paneer making if you think it sounds too arduous - I think the Khadai recipe would work just as well, if not better, with one of the mentioned substitutes! Oh, and try the Khadai recipe with other veg maybe, and definately attempt the Chipatis - yummy.

If you try one, put a comment to let me know how it goes. If you like these, I'll type the recipe for Palak Paneer/Aloo Ghobi - indian fast food!

Day 27 - Fatehpur Sikri/Agra

Yeeees! My last grotty bus ride is finished!! Today was the worst travel day to date (maybe excluding the puking bus)...

We left about 5.30 in the morning - it was still dark and the strees were eerie and abandoned. The sun rose about 6.30 and it got hooot. We hopped on an early bus (supposedly luxury - only true in comparison to local buses that is) and travelled for 4 hours until we reached Fatehpur Sikri, the abandoned city. We were heading to Agra, but stopping for lunch and to visit the amazing Moghul-built fort in Fatehpur Sikri. Sweat dripped off our faces the whole journey, but I managed to snatch some sleep, and read the first part of Shantiram (fantastic book, read it read it - and incidently it's about to be made into a movie starring none other than Johnny Depp!).

To reach the fort area we all took horse and carridge, and then met our slick guide, Peter, who would show us round the fort. The fort was built in the 16th century, by the Moghul Emperor Akhbar, and was the capital of the Moghul empire for a brief 10 years. The whole thing was built with great care, and different palaces and temples built in different architectural styles for Akhbar's wives and concubines. His bed was huuuge, and was wide enough to sleep twelve (the real king-sized bed!!)


The day was very hot, and when took our shoes off to enter the mosque, we had to run across the couryard to avoid burning the souls of our feet. I wondered around with my umbrella to avoid getting sunburn!

After the fort we ate homemade thali in a small cafe and caught our last bus. Our destination was Agra - home of the famous Taj Mahal. (I have an amusing picture of me and Lisa crammed into the back of the local bus - will borrow it at some point so I can upload it). Our hotel for the night is a few paces from the East Gate of the Taj Mahal itself and although the Taj is hidden from view, we will wake up at sunrise tomorrow and walk to the lake for a free view of the Taj in the morning light.

Day 26 - Jaipur

Today was a free day - and we did not a lot! I got up early-ish and spent a large amount on a substandard breakfast (India never ceases to amuse me - my experience thus far is the more you spend on your meal, the worse the food is... Anna jokes that we pay for air conditioning). I then joined a few other girls for a browse of the cities high-end shops.

We hopped aboard a waiting rickshaw (they hang about our hotel all day waiting for use to come out) and went to Anokhi, an English style shop with no hassle, higher prices, and a small cafe attached selling the most delicious carrot cake I've ever tasted. We relished the air-conditioning, until the power went out (work on the lines) and we decided to move on.

On foot this time, and sweating like hell (it really was very hot), we traipsed to the next shop, FabIndia, and again languished in the cool air-conditioning. After we were done there, we decided to finish for the day, and grab some lunch. We risked eating a small restaurant that hadn't been recommended on the sheet, but was just across the road. The food was pleasantly suprising - cheap and very delicious. We vowed not to be so worried about which restaurants are recommended and not - Hannah calls the Lonely Planet the 'Lonely Panaroid', and it is sometimes easy to see why!

After lunch we walked back to the hotel, showered, and raced downstairs to join the bollywood contingent. Bad news... we were due to visit the most luxurious cinema in Asia, the Raj Mandir, but the new film, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, is so much anticipated that there have been riots and fights for the tickets (these guys really love their movies - can you imagine that happening in England?), so we are forced to go to Space Cinema instead. Ajit, the trainee guide, queued for tickets for us all day (now that's dedication) so we got tickets in the front row. We loaded up with popcorn and drinks, cranked back our seats, and enjoyed the bollywood goodness for 3 great hours. The film was in Hindi, with no subtitles - but the storyline quite easy to follow, and we roared with laughter all the way through (although usually at different times to everyone else!). People all got very excited - they were cheering, clapping, laughing and crying - it was definately the craziest movie experience ever! I recommend it for some bollywood hilarity...

Day 25 - Jaipur

We are now in the capital of Rajistan, Jaipur. It is a big city, bit like Delhi, and quite hot. We arrived after catching yet another bus at about midday. We are staying in Diggi Palace - a hotel slightly removed from the chaos of Jaipur in a small, green boulevard. The staff all wonder around in blue shirts and berets - the whole place is strangely clean and unfriendly after cheerful, grotty Pushkar.

The whole city is called the pink city, because some time a long while ago someone important was visiting the city and the Maharajah ordered all the houses to be painted pink, the colour of welcome (at his expense of course). The pink is really a odd dirty salmon colour that doesn't hold up well to close inspection, but it looks nice from high up.

After a quick tour of the city (aargh - worst touts ever!) we levered our way onto a packed local bus for the 5R ride to the Amber Palace, where the Moghuls lived. Again, more fighting our way through touts trying to sell us paintings/models/postcards and wouldn't take no as an answer. We paid for a guide, and he showed us round the palace, pointed out the artwork and explained the ingenious air conditioning system in broken English. The fort was amazingly decorated, and the views beautiful. But we were in a hurry, so it was back down the steps, fight through the touts/beggers/crazy stoned indian ladies (yeah, the latter was a scary first experience).



In the evening we ate at an air conditioned restaurant with the most expensive, but worst food and surliest waiters to date. Oh dear! Still, it was Nicole's birthday so we had chocolate cake. Tomorrow we are going to see a bollywood movie - much fun!

Day 24 - Pushkar

It probably comes as no suprise to anyone that I did not manage to get up at 5am this morning to climb a huge hill. Instead I had a lie in, washed some clothes, ate masses of muesli and fruit salad for lunch and have spend most of the day pottering round the town and bumping into people laden down with purchases. I have been quite restrained - and have only bought a few little things (no need to sell the house yet ma - well within my daily budget).

The funny indian doctor popped in to the hostel today to see one of the delhi-belly guys, so I managed to grab him for a quick look at my bites. There is no such thing as prescription in India, everything can be bought over the counter - and the doctor just suggested antibiotic tablets. Hannah and I looked at each other then said "just creme, thankyou", so the doctor is bringing me some cream later on - all sorted for next to no price. And my poor nose - it looks as if I've been in a brawl! To be honest - i'll take a bruised nose and blisters over Delhi belly any day. I am slowly getting more exerimental in my food choices - today I risked a fresh smoothy from a juicebar - yum.

I will spend the rest of the day pottering around, trying to not spend all of my money! I may go to the Brahma temple, as it is the only one, and Brahma, the creator, is one of the three main hindu gods along with Vishnu, the preserver,and Shiva, the destroyer.

On a further note - I have discovered why it is the only one in the world: Apparently Brahma went down to the lake in Pushkar one morning for his puja (morning prayers). His wife attended puja with him every morning, but this particular morning she was running late. After waiting for her for a while, Brahma get very angry and married someone else (like you do) and took puja with his new wife instead. About an hour later his original wife turned up, she had been inadvertantly delayed. When she found Brahma with his new wife she was very annoyed and cursed her husband "you will only ever be worshipped here, in Pushkar" then went off to live a life of solitude in the mountains.
So now Brahma has no temples but the one here, and is not worshipped anywhere in the world but Pushkar. That's a true story :-)

Day 23 - Pushkar

Somewhere different again! Today we are in Pushkar after a jeep ride, two local buses, and a walk. We are staying in the Purple Garden hostel - frequented by chilled out staff who have drunk too many Bhang Lassis (bhang is a derivative of marijuana - they make them into deadly Lassi's, omelettes, everything. You see a "special" on the menu that is about 10 times the price of the other items, you know it's got bhang in it)

Pushkar is great for shopping - it also is a very holy town because it is the home of the only Brahma temple in the world. It has a beautiful lake, where we sat eating our dinner (pizza) and watched the sun go down to the music from the street entertainers.

Tomorrow morning some people are getting up at 5 to hike the hill behind the city, and watch the sun rise from the temple on the top. Not sure if I can wake that early - but will try!

Day 22 - Jojawar

Well, now I am in Jojawar - a village that is really in the middle of nowhere, staying in a Maharajas palace (well, big house really!) called Rawla Jojawar

Bit of a mission to get here though. Last night we had a birthday meal with cake and candles, then pancakes at the Rainbow rooftop cafe. We got to bed quite late, then had to wake early to catch a bus for the 4 hr journey to the town nearest to Jojawar, our next location. The maharajah and one of his lads picked us up in a couple of jeeps, and we were driven across bumpy, bad roads for about an hour before reaching his home. The maharajah was a baad driver (to much being driven around all his life I guess) and at one point he nearly spun the jeep after cutting by a lorry too fast. On the mountainous, jungly way to Jojawar we passed a wildlife reserve. We tried to spot the Grizzlies and wolves we were told were there, but all we say were tonnes of monkeys gazing at us with their furry,black faces as we whooshed by.

We arrived at the huge house and a little boy beat on the drum and the porters rushed out and took our bags. We were ushered into a marble room, and given cool clothes and glasses of pepsi - really was heaven. Me and Lisa shared a room, and it had air-conditioning, a balcony, and a huge marble shower room. Bit posher than we were used to! We met everyone for late lunch (buffet style) then raced to the pool (yes - pool) to claim the best sunloungers. The day was just relaxed - sunbathing and swimming - I got my henna tube out and henna'd some ankled (Murrey had "I love India", which has earned much interest - don't think Indians get irony). The boys brought us lassis and water, and in the evening we drank (very expensive) wine and were entertained by musicians before our delicious meal.

Unfortunately the day in paradise was not all sunshine and roses, several of us are suffering from Delhi belly. My stomach is just pootling along normally so, in a bid to even things out a bit, I managed to swim into the side of the marble pool (bruised nose, bump on head) and get eaten by something I seem to be fiercely allergic to (many many blisters - eech). All good fun!

Day 21 - Udaipur

Relaxing day today - I had a lie in, then after getting up I pottered down to the german bakery. I bumped into Kay on the way down - she had gone to have a swim, but there was loads of guys there so she chickened out.

After brekkie myself, Lisa, Kay and Eric wondered to the city palace - we had heard that for 125 rupees you could get a boat ride across the lake. Unfortunately we must have gone to the wrong place, because they tried to charge us about 3 times that amount. Kay and I decided to go in anyway, and we also bought tickets for the museum, and had a wonder round. We tried to find the lake, hoping that there would be a cheaper boat there, but didn't have much luck (more gates, more silly prices).

Afterward we wondered back, looking in the tiny shops. When we exited the palace we suddenly saw a painted elephant, with its handler sitting astride its neck, ambling up the steet toward us. Kay turned to me - "lets ask for a ride yeah". Eeek - this thing was huuuge. But it was her birthday - so I just nodded. We walked up and asked for a ride- "300 rupee, half hour" - sold. The elephant sat down, and we bothe scrambled up its backside and made ourself comfy in the little seat. When it satood up I really thought I would fall off, and gripped the seat with all my might. The walk of the elephant was extremely rolling, and occationally we had to duck under trees/power lines/banners, but it was great fun, and we had a good view from high up. The tourists all lauged, the shopkeepers all waved, and the kids all cheered and ran after us - much fun. We got someone to take a picture (below).



Tonight we are going to go to a culture show for Kay's birthday - and we have promised we will all drink beers and dance, so that should be fun. I've uploaded a few more pics of the Bishnoi villages and other bits and bobs from Kay's camera, and they are added to the entries below, but you can also see them on my Flickr album.

Day 20 - Udaipur

> See cooking class recipes

Finally - a lie in. I got up at 9.30 this morning and had the enjoyment of having to be any where at any time! Gave aaall my grotty, disgusting clothes to the Colonel for washing (despite excessive amount of rainfall here recently, it may not rain again for 48 years, so cannot waste water washing things in room - plus, of course, so much easier to let someone else do it :-)

I went off for a wander, put my films in for processing and just explored the streets and the wonderful shops. At 10.30 we met outside the spice box for our cookery class. There were 8 of us in total, and we were let up to a tiny room across the road and given a comfy seat and a wodge of recipes. For the next 3 hours we spent the time learning how to make chai, curries, and even chipatti (so incredibly easy - never realised). Our teacher had an excellent sense of humour, and kept us laughing whilst we took it in turns to cook. We ate huge amounts, drank huge amounts, and took huge amounts of notes as we went along. The food we produced was wonderful, and so different from the food in restaurants that it was worth it just to taste that. They really are so incredibly easy - Ma & Lynda, chipatti'd are like small wraps, I promise you'll never buy the packets again when you see how easy they are to make!! Anyway, we were allowed to keep the recipes, so may scan them in tomorrow so you at home can try them.

After the cooking I returned to my room for some chill out time. Then I got bored - yes, you guessed it - I went shopping! I bought a ganesh tshirt and some baggy trousers (aargh, awful, but I literally had nothing left to wear). Then I pottered along to the art shop I had visited the previous day. The owner was so friendly, he sat me down and gave me chai, and we chatted away for a bit. He is one of the 'master' artists of the gallery, and when I mentioned I wanted Henna handpainting, he offered to do it - for free, one of his hobbies apparently (think it was just a long, quiet day). For about an hour he drew the most elaborate patterns on my hand whilst I drank chai and looked at the artists work. Itis amazing stuff, they paint with squirrel hair brushes, and the strokes are so fine that you cannot even see them under a microscope. Well, feeling guilty I only went and bought a few pictures (the only thing that the amazing palmist got wrong about me was when he said I was good with money - that's a bloody laugh!). Anyway - I bought a picture of a elephant (good luck), a horse (power) and finally a really cute camel (the guy says "it means love"... quizzical expression from Katie... explanation: "it is the hardest thing to love a camel" - my backside still aches, so very true). Oh, and one for me too (whoops) - a beautiful picture of Krishna & one of his 489 girlfriends (what a player) - very bling and Indian, will look good with bedspread!

I then took an autorickshaw with a bunch of other guys up to the monsoon palace. It is high up on a hill over Udaipur - and the place where the Maharajah would go to avoid the monsoon craziness. The view was aaamazing, and there was monkeys everywhere with their cheeky black faces. We took lots of pictures, watched the sun set behind the mountains and then hopped back into the rickshaws and white-knuckled our way round the hairpin bends in the free-wheeling descent down the mountain.



Above left: Autorickshaw stops to cool down Above right:Sunset at monsoon palace



Above left: View thorough window of Monsoon Palace Above centre: View over Udaipur Above right: Cheeky monkey

For dinner we went to rainbows - sadly no octopussy showing, but food was yummy. Oh, and Murrey & Julie kindly showed us where to get the most perfect coffee and cake. Cafe Edelweiss for Brekkie tomorrow methinks. It is Kay's birthday tomorrow also - she has promised to go swimming in the lake ("gone swimming in the mekong - no worries"), so I shall go and cheer her on (and take amusing pictures - hoho)!

Day 19 - Jodhpur/Udaipur

Wow - no posts in a while! I've put in the backlog of posts from my journel, and also added a few pics from Lisas digital camera (what a star). There's some added on the entries as far back as Old Delhi, so maybe worth a look!

Today I hauled myself out of bed at 6am and gobbled down a bowl of porridge before packing my backpack and heading out of the hotel.

We were catching the 8am bus for the journey to Udaipur, in the East. Luckily the bus was far less crammed than before, and the journey passed in relative comfort. As we travelled I gazed out of the window, watching the scenery change from flat landscape to rocky, steep hills and green jungle. As we neared Udaipur we passed hundreds of marble stores, selling the wonderful marble that was used hundreds of years ago to build the Taj mahal.

At about 3 we arrived in the clean streets of Udaipur with their wonderful little shops and friendly people. We are staying at a hostel that I can't remember, but it is more like a b&b than a hotel, with the Colonel (30 years in the military, wonderful moustache) to provide a warm welcome and ensure we were settled down ok. Marble is everwhere in the hostel - I'm sharing with Lisa this time and our shower room is sheer luxury!

We met after dumping our bags, and Hannah showed us round the town. Udaipur is famous for its marble, and also the perfect minutures that take many weeks to complete. After our quick tour (sooo many nice shops - raah) I went with Hannah, Ajid and Anna to a little art shop, and we sipped chai and examined the beautiful paintings under a microscope - not a brushmark to be seen, the most perfect detail. One of the painters working away gave me a demonstration - he took my hand and in about a minute painted a perfect minuture portrait on one of my nails. We left with complimentry cards, and promised to come back tomorrow for henna hand painting.

Several of us also booked a cooking class the next day, and a ride up to the monsson palace in the hills. Very excited. Hannah also pointed the palace on the lake. It is now a hotel and one of the most luxurious places in the world, for 1800 rupees you can have a boat ride there, fireworks and a luxurious banquet. Bit out of my budget, but sounds wonderful. Incidently it is also where octopussy was filmed (we may be watching the film tomorrow night in on of the rooftop cafes by the lake).



Above Left: The Lake Palace Above right: A palace facade in Udaipur

In the evening we ate a meal beside the lake. The food was yummy, but we kept getting dive-bombed by hundreds of (non-biting thank god) mosquitos!

Day 18 - Jodhpur

What a busy day!

I was staying in the same room as Julie the previous night, and a group of us had arranged to visit the Bishnoi villages, the small villages out of Jodhpur. The seven of us hopped in 2 jeeps (me, Kay and Julie bagged the open-topped jeep) and zoomed out of smelly, busy Jodhpur, the wind blowing in our hair.

Bishnoi means 29 (or is it49 - whoops, can't remember), which represents the 29 rules the village people live by (things like keeping the ground clean, looking after wildlife etc). In the villages it is customary to take opium, in the form of tea, for morning, noon and night. This has happened for centuries, and the village people even give it to babies (stops them whinging) and offer it to guests (makes them happy). So, as Hannah had warned us in advance, we were offered it in the first house we came to. We declined politely. The head of the family then showed us how he made the tea, and demonstrated by feeding it to our Indian guide from his cupped palm (sidelong looks between us - but he's ok, he's just the guide we told ourself. The guide coughed - "is stong" - oh dear). But theeen the lad driving our jeep, only 19 or so, bounced up and took some too! Hannah was like "nooooo, you are driving the jeep" but too late! The old guy bobbed his head "is good - make him more awake" - Hannah raises her hands in the 'I give up' gesture. Resigned to our fate, we continued chatting to the lady of the house and taking photos. A little later the three of who had come in the open jeep made our way back to it with great trepedation. We climbed back on, and gripped tight as we made our way to the next location - a small village. Our driver was grinning as he drove, and rubbing his head, and the three of us were just crying with hysterical laughter in the back. It was a surreal experience.



Above left: The jeep Above right: Opium man

At the next stop we swapped jeeps, and went to drink chai and try on Rajistani dress. Then we went to a carpet making co-operative, and watched them weave the intricate designes by hand. One carpet normally takes 2 people 3 weeks to make, and cost a mere 4000 Rupees (about 50 pounds). I restrained myself from spending yet more money, but Kay bought 2 and had them sent home.

Lastly we visited a house made entirely of cow dung, and ate Thali cooked over a cow dung fire. (Julie almost screamed when the lady cooking chipatti's picked up the cow dung fuel with tongs, then used the same tongs to flick & pat the chipatti).



Above: We wait for lunch

We jumped in the jeeps then, and rushed back to the hotel so that we would have time to visit the fort, and sighed with relief when we made it back whole!

We were dropped off at the fort overlooking Jodhpur, Mehranghar Fort, and wondered around like complete tourists with headsets on. The narrator had a wonderful, rich british-indian voice, and spoke in detail about the palace, Indian customs and many other things. Best guide yet. The view from the fort, across the blue washed buildings, was awe-inspiring. There was also some filming being done, and the whole fort was done up and camera crews, and little boys with painted blue faces, and giggling female extras in full traditional dress trooped around.



Finally 3 of us - me, Nicole and Julie - and arranged to visit the maharajas palmist (another one of Hannahs contacts!) at his house. After an epic journey of misdirection (2 confused rickshaws, 6 different sets of directions and much wondering around) we finally found the house. The reading was amazing, not at all airy-fairy - almost scientific in fact, and scarily accurate. We laughed about the predictions in the Rickshaw home, and when we arrived back we enjoyed the view from the rooftop cafe while we drank our evening lassi.

Day 17 - Jaisalmer/Jodhpur

We left the camp early, and hauled our aching backides onto our camels for the long ride back to the hotel. The journey was a tad uncomfortable, but luckily I had brought my MP3 player, so I plugged it in and listened to the Garden State soundtrack whilst the scenery bounced by - took my mind off the pain!

Back at the hotel we took a last lunch on the rooftop cafe, with the amazing view of Jaisalmer, then trudged downstairs to pick up our bags. We all crammed into rickshaws and rode to the bus station, where we would catch our 6 hr bus to Jodhpur (yet - it is where the trousers come from!).

The bus was aaawful. We had designated seats, but there was people in the aisles, people on the rook of the bus, hundreds of people crammed the sleeper cabines (the little nooks that are where the bags normally go above the seats on buses - they are designed for a person to sleep in for long trips, but often hold 3 generations of one family and about 5 bags of rice - myyy goood). The journey was hot and bumpy and men crammed the aisle. Kay and Karen - sitting in front, shared their double seat with an old lady and three children! Me and Nicole were almost more unlucky, a middle aged, rotund, sweaty Indian man just parked hus backside on the end of the seat and proceeded to interrogate us (you are how old? you are married? can I have your email? - head bobbing, wiping sweat from brow, Nicole almost fainting from wafts of body odour). It got worse when we hit a particularly rough area, and several of the people in the sleeper cabins above us were promptly sick out the window. As our windows where all open it just came right back in! Pleasant.
Oh - and all this was at about 90 miles an hour with the loudest horn ever (playing a delightful Om tune) blasting out every five seconds.

When we finally reached Jodhpur we were all traumatised, and had many showers in our rooms before heading to the roof top cafe above the hotel. The view was amazing, as the lights came on across Jodpur and the fort was lit up. After a good meal we had recovered enough to laugh about our earlier bus experience!

Day 16 - Jaisalmer

Ooh my poor knees!

Today I am sleeping in the desert, under the stars (which are behind the clouds). Anna and me spent the entire morning in a leather shop outside the main fort area whilst Vijay, the owner, showed us his entire collection of goods and his family photos of his father/wife/sons/brother etc. handmaking leather goods. Needless to say we both left after spending every last rupee we had with us. Oh dear. I did get a very nice bag though!

Afterward five of us all crammed in one Rickshaw, and popped to see the lake out of town. With the rainfall it was very full, and kids were jumping off the buildings into the water.



Above left: View of part of the lake (and random people) Above right: The five of us infront of the lake arch (nice photo rickshaw driver!)

At 3pm we hopped onto the hotels jeeps and they drove us into the desert were our camels waited. We all had a camel each, and a boy to lead the way and keep our pesky camels in line. We rode for hours, and had a bit of trotting too (I was clinging on with my knees for dear life - so bouncy!). At about 6 we reached the sand dunes where we would be spending the night. We mucked around and had sand dune races (sand got absolutely everywhere) whilst the camel boys prepared the Thali for dinner, and brought us mugs of steaming chai when we stumped our way back to the camp fire. As we ate our dinner the sun set and the full moon came out. At about 8 the entertainment arrived - there were 2 musicians and 3 dancers, all Rajistani gypsies. The men played a pipe and drum, and the ladies, in ornate cloathing, demonstrated the Rajistani dancing (twist the wrists, shake the hips). After an hour or so of music (and cold beer) they dragged us all to our feet and we boogied away Rajistani style until we collapsed with exhaustion.

The 5 left at about 11 (with a very generous tip) and most people dragged the bed frames out onto the dunes for some sleep. Some of us still felt very awake, so we persuaded the camel boys to sing us some Rajas. The guide, who was about 70, sang whilst the other boys beat out a rhythm on an empty oil can, and accompanied him. His voice floated over the sand dunes and the fire crackled and glowed. At midnight the last of us climbed onto our beds and fell asleep - to be woken a few hours later by light rain, in the desert! Crazy.



Above: The group chilling out, drinking beers



Above left: The camel Above centre: The dancing Above right:THe camel guide showing us how it is done

Happy birthday Stuart!!

Day 15 - Jaisalmar

Today I spent aaaaalooot of money. I woke up early and had breakfast on the roof with Kay, Anna and Karen.

After we finished we worked our way through the windy streets and keen salesmen ("Good price, very cheap" or "Please come in and give me a chance to rip you off" - yes, one man really said that!) to an ornate Jain temple for the sightseeing part. It was very beautiful, built of sandstone and carved wonderfully by hand. We took lots of pictures of the amazing carved figures that were everywhere and in every size.



Above: The girls outside the temple, and the ornate sandstone inside

Then we went shoooopping. We went directly to a textiles shop recommended to us by Hannah, and proceeded to turn it into a big mess. We sipped chai and chatted away to the salesmen forabout an hour whilst they pulld out every rug, throw and cusion cover imaginable. The throws in particular were amazingly beautiful, made of silk and embroidered by hand. By 11 we had all drunk much tea and our eyes hurt with all the colours, but we had all given in to one thing or other. I bought a huge blue/silver silk throw and asked for it to be shipped home. It cost 6400R (about 80 pounds) but I justified it in the 'if I bought it in England it would cost ten times as much' way. Oops, thats it now, no more crazy spending. We shopped all morning (phew, so exhausting), spent all our money, then collapsed in a Tibetan restaurant at 1 and wolfed down some momos. Afterward we went back to the hotel to recover and relax.



Above left: Outside the main fort area Above right: People dancing at a street ceremony

Tonight we are all having dinner together in the very classy restaurant The Trio, and tommorow we go for a camel safari in the desert. We have been promised sand dune racing and sleep under the stars - very exciting!

Day 14 - Jaisalmer

We are now in the sandy town of Jaisalmer in Rajistan. It is dry and hot here, with lots of flies, but the town is beautiful.

In the midst of the Thar desert, Jaisalmer is a fort town built of golden sandstone. It served as a gateway for the Indian silk and spices going to Sindh and further west during the medieval period, so many of the building are very beautiful and richly carved.





Top: The group Above: Jaisalmer streets

We are staying in a hotel in the centre of the fort area. All the rooms are very different and interestng, and the corridors are so windy windy it is possible to get lost on the way to reception. From our room there is a wide view across Jaisalmer and out into the desert.

We did not do much as we arrived at about 4pm, but we had a quick walk around the town to get an idea of the layout (am so going to get lost in the confusing streets). In the evening we ate a meal on the top of the hotel, and watched the sun set as we sat munching our naan and korma, and sipping our cold beers. The night was so warm that we stayed on the roof for hours, chatting away.



Above: Me and Lisa on the rooftop cafe