Rajasthan Pictures Pt.1

Monkey Temple in Jaipur - Feeding the Monkeys was so much fun!



A monkey feeding Jake



We went to the movies in Jaipur to see the new huge Bollywood Blockbuster RA-ONE starring the 'King of Bollywood' Sharukh Khan. He's so dreamy! Anyway, during the intermission, yes all India movie theaters have intermissions, this crowd of young men decided to have a photoshoot with me. Jake did his best to capture the awkward moment.

 

Here Jake looks to be having the time of his life at this odd Rajasthani carnival in Jaipur. There were games to play like a carnival you would go to in Canada (i.e. throwing darts at a balloon) but there were no prizes?!? You could also ride a ferris wheel, a camel or an elephant!



Very itnteresting dance number at the carnival. This girl would whirl around with this huge pot on her head then go and stand on something different whether it was a bowl, some knives or tall cups then stomp her feet. I don't know.  



Our prison cell on that bus hah

The sign from that restaurant Jake mentioned.

A debate: Jake believes that the at home we put pepper into the shaker with more holes on top and I think this is not the case. I believe that, like India, we put salt into the shakers with more holes. Thoughts?

A week in Rajasthan

Leaving behind the terrific markets, poor cuisine and played-up Rajasthani culture of Jaipur, Erin and I headed west across the Thar Desert for the more remote city of Jaisalmer. We were unable to get a train ticket for this leg (a constant struggle in India we've found) but found bus tickets at the last minute. A sleeper-class ticket laned us a cozy double bed. With the two of us plus our bags the quarters were incredibly tight. We quickly realized how smooth the train rides had been; on bus you feel EVERY pothole (India has as many as people) or speedbump or pump of the brakes. We both would just break out laughing sometimes in the middle of a particularly bad set of jolts which would toss us around like sardines. All you can do is laugh in India sometimes.

Jaisalmer is everything one might imagine about a desert city. Think the movie Aladdin. An incredibly elaborate fort stands atop an 80m hill at the centre. Its walls, bastions and towers made of a brownish-beige stone and the pathways you walk on are of interlocking sandstones. Its pathways are mazelike and turning every corner finds a new Jain temple, or another Haveli (Indian mansions), shops and so on. The tapestries, pajmina's, blankets and other woven work seem particularly beautiful here so far.

Erin has been sick a couple days now and pretty much bed-ridden. I went for breakfast alone this morning to a place called Mid-town restaurant. A sign inside charmed me into staying: "We accept that some of our competitors charge lower prices. They realize what their product and service costs." In a country full of desperate vendors, this show of smug confidence felt reassuring.

Over a coffee and an American Club Sandwich almost too big for my mouth to bite, a parade of locals dressed in orange scarves arrived below my rooftop perch, chanting and singing. They quickly set up a sound system and began playing tabla and a sort of Indian accordion while a few others sang vocals overtop. The rest of the parade sat cross-legged in reverance (I found out later it was a Hindu festival lasting 7 days in which they read/sing out verses from the Vedic scriptures). Elsewhere below me was the market with fruit vendors on one side, vegetable vendors on the other. Behind that lay the first set of fortress walls, with further walls and bastions rising up and up again and again further on, giving a terrace-like effect. I couldn't help but feel lucky to be able to casually gaze around at these incredible sights.

On wednesday we finally get to go on the camel-trek, something Erin has been talking about since she first mentioned going to India. It will be a two day and one night trek into the dunes of the Thar desert, visiting gypsy and untouchable villages as well as fort ruins. After a campfire we sleep overnight in the desert on cots under the stars. My goal is to see a scorpion. Erin's goal is to not see one. That's all for now so long everyone!         

Pictures of Rishikesh

Jake looking at the view of Rishikesh from the roof of our hotel. 

Erin checking out the pedestrian/cow/monkey/motorcycle bridge that crosses over the Ganges.

Street.

At the gas station with our rented motorscooter!

Playing with the police dog that got us out of a ticket. 

Trains

Trains are the essential mode of travel in India. Erin and I so far have only travelled in Sleeper Class, which, though luxurious as it may sound, is second from the bottom of the classes. This is because the next class up (which is identical but air-conditioned, and probably cleaner) is typically 3-4 times as expensive, which works out to being another $10-20 Canadian. Not a lot of money yes, but saving that much goes a long way here!

The set up has eight beds to each little "quarter" of the train car (with maybe 12 quarters). Your bed is either the low, the middle or the upper one. We've taken a liking to the upper as it gives you some privacy and distance from the chaos 6 feet below you. Beds are meant for one person, but its not uncommon to see two to a bed (with any combination of the sexes) or even three when small children are in the mix. 

Three fans, caked in dust probably older than I, adorn each quarter. Nevertheless they are your best friend. They usually require someone to poke a pen through the cover and give them a spin to get started, like old propeller-driven planes. 

The train is very loud. Parallel tracks mean you pass other trains often and the oncoming sound of one is bone-rattling. The locals talk and argue at alarming volume levels. My favourite are the peddlers selling Chai tea, coffee, and various snacks and meals. Like at a baseball game, they don't just blandly shout what they're selling so much as sing it: "Chai-ii, chai-ii, chai-ii, chai-ii.......Chai-ii, chai-ii, chai-ii, chai-ii" over and over again up and down the aisles. Or "coffeeeee yes, coffeee...(repeat in Hindi)..."Coffeeeee yes, coffee". 

The smells can be suffocating at times. We haven't pinpointed as of yet if its fellow passengers, babies in need of being changed, or just the area we're passing through, but it can strike at any moment. 

The experience is a memorable one, one that I myself loathe in the moment but will look back at fondly in time (Erin takes it with more grace). The people are typically very friendly on trains, and love to get to know you, with the first question almost always "What country from?" They have no qualms with staring either, with Erin getting it the worst. I've taken to staring back until they look away. Erin realized she was sending the wrong message when she tried the same. 

Trains are perhaps the quintessential Indian experience we've found, and its one of the few places where you meet Indians who are honestly not trying to sell you anything or introduce you to their Uncle's store. I still prefer flying however. 

Cool India

Rishikesh just has that cool factor going for it. Situated precariously between Himalayan mountains and strattling the Ganges river, the town is a beautiful and (by India standards) quiet getaway. It's visitors are either the in-the-know, Lonely Planet reading type, usually in their 20's or 30's and reeking of Bohemian tendencies, or else vacationing Indians looking to escape big cities like Mumbai. The locals, largely ethnically Nepalese, are the snowboarder/surfer type you'd expect to find in Whistler or Hawaii - laid back thrill-seekers whose perpetual happiness proves contagious.

The shopping is beyond cool here. The goods are the most unique we've found in India so far, and the made-in-Nepal winter wear with its goofy Nepalese patterns and prints perfectly appeals to a couple Canadians like us.

The food is equally cool. We feel slightly ashamed that we keep ordering western dishes (spinach mushroom pasta, potato-carrot burgers, muesli, pizza) but they make it soo much more deliciously than we do, so what the hell? The tomatoes here are the most tasty I've ever had (seriously). When you order an apple juice...you literally get an apple that's been juiced with chunks at the bottom - and it rocks! The chocolate however just isn't the same in India; we've learned not to bother.   

The attractions are suitably outdoorsy. Our second day we met up with a couple (a Californian girl married to a Montreal boy) and went on a roughly 7km hike to a waterfall up on one of the mountains around here. The next day was white water rafting down the Ganges. Grade 3 rapids for 26 km, an all-day event with a beach stop for lunch (cost - $10 in all). Today we rented a motorscooter and after a couple shaky test runs and with Erin's nails deep in my flesh, we scaled a few mountains and did some monkey watching. Our rentee warned us not to ramble too far because of cops and sure enough we got stopped. They wanted to fine us 500 rupees for not wearing helmets, but we weren't having it. We pleaded ignorance and assured them we were on our way to get them, Erin frollicked with the police dog and soon we'd charmed their pants right off and got off scott-free.

Tonight we play cards with the same couple and try to find a TV playing the World Rugby final (anything besides cricket is unlikely). Our bodies are pretty sore from the hike and rafting, but we're hoping to be fit enough for one more hike tomorrow before leaving for Delhi Monday. Till next time!