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

Day 13 - Old Delhi

What a day! I met my tour group for the Intrepid Adventure tour of North India last night. There are 12 of us, from many countries, and 2 leaders (one trainee) - so it is a nice number. We all are in India for the first time, and most on their own, although there are 2 couples. We attempted to learn each others names, then went for dinner in a nice restaurant (had my first beer in 2 weeks!)

In the morning we crammed our way onto a local bus for the ride to the Jame Masjid mosque. The mosque was amazing, built of pinkish stone with ornate towers and domes. We carried our shoes heel to heel, and padded across the cool stone of the large couryard. Some of the guys, feeling energetic, climbed the hundreds of steps to the top of the tallest tower for amazing views across Old Delhi (they promised to let ussee the pictures!).



Above: Jame Masjid mosque

After leaving the mosque we wove our way through the grubby backstreets, with power cables tangled above us like spiderwebs, until we reached the spice market. We stopped off on the way for chai from a street chai wallah (the cheapest and most delicious chai I've had yet!). After exploring the bustling and fragrant spice stalls, we took a crazy (suicidal) rikshaw ride to the train station. Many near misses with bikes/cows/automobiles.



Above: The chai man, rickshaws, delhi streets and spice market

The underground in Delhi is like another world, you decend on escalators from dusty, load streets, to pristine, echoing halls. The underground train system is very new (it was only built last year) and many local people are still wary of it - this was most evident in the people who approached the escalator gingerly, paused to watch the revolving stairs appear from nowhere, then lost their nerve and scurried away.

We then visited a sikh temple. Covering our heads and removing our shoes, we went inside and sat in the main area, and listened awhile to the chanting from the holy book. Hannah, our leader, told us a bit about Sikhism and the temple we were in. Next we visited the temples kitchens, where a group of men and women were making chipattis. There were a bunch of ladies sitting round a low, square table, rolling dough into flat disks and laughing and chatting. Another group were baking the dough and flicking the finished hot bread into waiting baskets. Some of us sat with the ladies and helped them roll out a few chipattis. My attempts were somewhat squarish, but passed the test and were baked, though I gave up after the fifth try with no improvement. The people in the temple were friendly and welcoming, which was a nice difference from the short-tempered men in the muslim mosque.



Above Left: The baking of the chipattis Above right: Me (far right) and Nicole rolling the dough

Lastly we went to connaught place, an upmarket shopping area, for lunch in the coffee house. The food was very yummy, but we were running late so ate quickly and rushed back out to the station to catch the tube back to the hotel.

We were due to catch a 6 o'clock train from old Delhi station. The jouney was to be a 19 hr, overnight, to Jaisalmer, far to the west. The train came quickly, and we hopped aboard and settled in to our booths. For a few hours we chatted away, watching the countryside crawl by. As we went further west the land flattened out into level, sparce scrubland, and the women's sari's became brighter and brighter. We eventually unfolded the beds at about 9, and crawled into our regulation sheets for a night of sleep disturbed by the load coming and goings, of people embarking and disembarking throughout the night.

Day 11 & 12 - Delhi

I'm in the smallest, grottiest internet cafe believable, in the Karol Bagh area of Delhi.

I arrived in Delhi at about 4 pm yesterday after a relatively easy journey to utterly torrential rain. Thankful that I brought my umbrella, I dashed for the nearest taxi and we sped off to Hotel Good Palace, where I would be meeting the tour group the next day. After asking about 500 people where my hotel was, the taxi driver dropped me at the hotel, sandwiched between saree and jewellery shops, in the busy shopping area of Karol Bagh. After some battle with the manager over my room price (which was 4 times that of my last room) the friendly bell boy showed me up to my room (hot water, clean sheets, room service - bliss) and proceeded to show me all 62 channels available on my TV.

After I had unpacked and settled in, it was still early, so I ventured out for some shopping... and 2 hours later I returned, exhausted, after spending all my money. The service in the shops is incredible - there must be at least one shop assistant per customer, and they all swoop in when you enter, and follow you round until you've bought more than you really need. In one shop I was hustled to the clothing section, and into the changing room. After trying on an endless number of Salwar Kameezes, I was handed an armful that passed the test, and told I "simply must buy them - perfect yaah". I bought just one, which was all I could afford with the money I had left (the shop girl was amazed at this - like everyone here she presumed that I, as a westerner, had an unlimited supply of cash). I then went back to my room and tried the clothes on again, wondered why the hell I bought them, shrugged, and ordered dinner. That evening I sat eating Sag Aloo, air conditioning blowing a gale, watching a hindi movie full of wailing girls and crying men - nice.

Today I have taken less money, and avoided the well staffed shops. I've also found a map of the Karol Bagh area so have located the ATM, this internet cafe, and the post office - where I will send some things home.

I'm meeting the tour group at 6pm, so until then here is not much to do but spend more money - sigh. Will try to be strong in face of incredibly pursuasive shop assistants.

Day 10 - Rishikesh

It's the last day today! I've been for a last wander and Hare Om'd all the sadhus, and done a few chores like get an Indian sim card for my phone, booked a hotel in Delhi and picked up my train ticket.

My yoga lesson yesterday involved handstands, a five-minute headstand, and shoulderstand with about a million variations. Far too much upside-downing for me! So tonight I'm going to give my poor, tortured body a rest and skip my yoga lesson. Instead I'll watch the sunset from my balcony, or maybe walk down to the Ganges to watch the evening prayers.

But now I'm going to attempt to do the one thing I haven't managed yet - find the beatles ashram! After some asking around I have received more precise directions and so hopefully it shouldn't be so difficult to find (famous last words)

Later:
Yaay - I've found it! What a mission. I almost gave up when I asked Navi (internet-lad) where it was and he gave me completely different directions, but then I decided sod it - I was going to bloody well find it.

I followed the original directions, and walked along the Ganga in a northerly direction. I cleared the swargashram area and continued through abandoned buildings, with the odd cow and mangy dog mooching around. Eventually I reached a path through weeds and bushes, and was about to give up when I spotted an amusing sign promising the Ashram to be 100m ahead! (It also pointed out that the Last Chance Cafe had good vibrations - see picture below)

I had to pick my way through Sadhus to get to the gate, which looked locked and had a NO ENTRY sign, but luckily a Swedish couple were just leaving, and slyly told me the gate was unlocked. Feeling like a rebel, I crept inside the creaky metal gate, and along the slippery, overgrown path that snaked up, through trees and pebble dashed huts, to the main area. On the right there was yet more huts, and as I picked my way through, I found hut number 11, where John and Cynthia Lennon reportedly practiced their transcendental meditation. The place was crumbling and in decay, and there was complete silence but for the chirrup of the crickets and the bird song. It was completely surreal, and felt more like a scene in Myst (computer game - teen addiction!) than real life. Below are pictures - hover the mouse over them for descriptions.