8am, Pushkar bus station. Blocked nose and scratchy throat from swallowing too much dust. The word 'conjested' springs to mind. We board a bus so full that Matt falls out of the door backwards onto the road and I jump out behind him. We pile into the next bus and depart for Ajmer, interchanging for Nawalgarh. We sip Chai and munch on pakoras wrapped in newspaper. The journey from Ajmer is 7 hours but is only 200 km long. I went through 15 packets of tissues and 1 roll of toilet paper blowing my nose whilst a bus full of fascinated Indian men watched my every manuever, their eyes locked, unwandering, dare I return their gaze. In my feverish state self consciousness no longer occured to me. Hungry, ravenous in Matts case, we sat immobile with 20 kg worth of packs pressing down on our legs gazing at the packet of chips we'd placed so carelessly in the racks above. So close yet completely unnatainable it was in a bus packed more tightly than a tin of sardines.
At 6pm we arrive in the gentle town of Nawalgarh and walk to a place called "Apani Dhani" eco farm, with traditional mud huts, solar heating, organic food and peace and quiet. I knew I was in heaven when they served me a pot of black tea with lemon and ginger within 5 minutes of my arrival. We spent 6 nights in Nawalgarh, sharing conversation with other travellers over the communal, al fresco dinner table. We rested mostly and visited the local havelis (painted murals)and also learnt the traditional methods of cooking Rajahstani food, the healthiest and most delicious food i have ever eaten. Not quite fully recovered we decided to catch an ambassador taxi to Delhi, instead of a bus. I felt like the queen travelling in a car again. So luxurious!
Today, in Delhi we have been racing around Old Delhi in cycle rickshaws. Old Delhi is so filled with colour, activity and life as people busy themselves with their every day chores. The journey was a visual treat, and well worth the 3 dollars we paid our driver/cyclist (who was screaming cheek to all the other drivers on the road, making them all smile and laugh). We think he must have been a very funny man and were quite dissapointed that we could not understand any Hindi. A rickshaw carrying 7 school girls was stopped next to us in a traffic jam. The driver said to Matt jokingly, "which one would you like to buy". One of the little girls in the back started screaming at Matt in a very determined, panicked voice. "No, no, no, I hate you".
We leave for the airport at 3am, to fly to Kathmandu, and will be spending 5 weeks in Nepal. Not sure how great the internet access is there so you may not hear from us for a while. xo Love and hugs
