Rajastan is a state in India...popular for tourists; I combined my experiences in the following cities into one blog (about a week)
Made it to Jaipur at 10pm, didn't want to sort out a map, so paid $.40 for about a 1/4mile ride to my guesthouse which was again like $14/night and was quite nice. I had dinner and tea for another $3 and caught up on this journal and facebook pics as they had actual wifi and a nice rooftop terrace to chill out on. I'm finally getting used to India and starting to relax a bit...but it took getting out of Delhi and all its hassles. I've heard Indians are very nice people but again, it wasn't until today that I felt comfortable. The cast system is appearant as there are several people lower down on teh totem pole who fetch you tea and take your bags and open doors at the beckoning of the higher ups.
Jaipur:
I head towards the town center, only having the guide bookas a reference and not really knowing what is worth seeing. There are lots of rickshaw drivers competing for me and I ignore them. I wonder down the path recommended by the guidbook and it just leads me through markets and more crappy alleys with cows eating piles of trash. I end up in the kind of main area and sample a few of the local delicacies from street vendors. I do this a lot and never seem to get sick which is good. The best thing I had were warm sugar cookies. I start to buy souvineirs and practice the haggling with people. The best way to get the price down is just to walk away I find. I make it to the center palac thing. This is the Pink City but its not overly pink as a lot of it has chipped away over time and its just as drab as most other places I've been in India. I was reading up on the sights while sitting outside the main center. I local guy approches me. I immediately dismess him as everyone is trying to sell you something or strike up a conversation then take you to their shop. He seems nice enough though as he gives me advice on what's worth seeing and what's not. He recommends the observatory and then lets me know sort of casually that he can take me around to teh rest of the sights in his rickshaw. I told him I would think about it. The observatory was one of the cooler things I have seen this trip (in terms of ancient relics and what not). The worlds largest sun dial, several instruments that tell the exact date, time of day, angle of sun in the sky, zodiac phase, etc.
Afterwards I opted to go with the Rickshaw driver...so for the next 8 hours he drove me around and waited while I went into and explored temples and sights as long as I wanted... the whole day for $6. We headed to the monkey temple which was great because I hadn't gotten a chance to see any monkeys yet. They sell peanuts at the bottom before you walk up. The peanut selling kid walked with me and showed me short cuts and how to feed the monkeys without getting bitten. These were nice monkeys and would take stuff when offered unless they saw the bag of peanuts in which they went for it. The got one of them, but the boy (Robbie) had the other one hidden and after that he just gave me a handful at a time to pass out. One monkey had a small bottle of vodka he was playing with so that made a good picture. We made it up to the temple, took some photos, rang the bell, got a little orange dot of ink on my forehead, and headed back down.
Next stop was the floating palace...basically a flooded palace when they decided to build a dam up stream from it. Nice photo op. I heard they were going to make a resturant on the roof or something but it wasn't ready yet.
Off to the Amber Fort which was the coolest fort I have seen so far. Many little places to explore and rooms and halls that went on forever. This was the first time I experience celebrity status for being white. Loads of people wnated to take photos with me. I'm not sure why its such a big deal...there is certainly no shortage of white people around, but maybe some of these people at the tourist sights are visiting from from out of the way villages and don't get to see us as much. Kids say hi and want to shake my hand, people stare, take pictures, etc. Occassionally I'll catch a glimpse of someone trying to sneak a cell phone picture rather than ask...then when I turn my head they act as if they are taking a picture of something next to me or behind me. Its kind of funny and I actually enjoy the attention though it does get annoying after several more days. For blond girls, though, its a total different game. They are like goddesses and people just follow them around and beg for a photo with them.
The next and last stop on the city tour is this fort at the top of a hill. You have to walk up a mile path to get there. Its a trek for sure, but great views. Pretty empty in terms of tourists...probably because its later in the day and also due to the trek to get up there. I take my pictures and wonder back down. 4 indian guys in their 20s talk to me and its obvious they are on some sort of drug if not just drunk. When I keep walking, they start throwing rocks at me. I sort of speed up my pace down the path and they eventually catch up and keep yelling my name to get my attention. I didn't feel unsafe, just didn't want to deal with people fucking with me at the moment. So I started jogging and didn't stop until I got to the bottom and back to the safety of my rickshaw. Of course, then the little begger girls (6-8yo always carrying a baby) stick their hands in and ask for money or chocolate or what not. They really love chocolate as they seem to ask for it a lot. I'm exhausted, so I head back to the hotel. I had plans of going to a bar or something tonight, but I opt to stay in and relax, catch up on some internet and plan the next day.
Next day I am due to check out at noon, make the 1pm bus that takes me directly to my next destination...otherwise I have to switch buses and it just adds another hassle. I had a few more things to see in the city, so my driver meets me in the morning and we hit the museum and temple on the south side of the city. Much different temple, quite, all white marble, etc. The musuem has some Ok stuff in it but the building itself is cool. After this my driver takes me out of the main city and gives me a chance to drive the auto rickshaw around. Its a manual 4speed probably similar to driving a motorcycle so of course I stall it. He gets me going and I take over. Cool to say I did but not overly exciting. We stop by a factory where they make sarees and carpets adn things..watch some of the process, then I pick up a few things as gifts. We head back to the hotel to get my bags and just miss the 1pm bus. I sit there until 2pm and take the next one to Ajmer which is fine. This only means that I have to take a local, dirty, $0.20, bars on the window bus the remaining 12km to Pushkar. I make it there alive and call the hotel I'm staying at. A guy shows up on a scooter and I hop on the back, 2 backpacks and all for the short ride to Hotel everest. I take it easy that night, watch a little TV on my laptop, have a nice meal on the rooftop resturant and go to bed early as I plan on making it an early morning.
Pushkar is a holy city...a place Hindus people make pilgrimages to. Somehow its also filled with tourists. It manages to be a balance but there is more of a tourist presence than the other places I have been. I do meet several people in the shops and what not. It has a holy lake that people get naked and bathe in. The lake has significantly brown water in it. The whole thing makes me question religious rituals again. There is also a Brahman temple...appearntly these are pretty rare. Aside from that, this is a town in a valley and has great views. Its kind of a place for tourists to come and relax and get out of the craziness of the major cities.
Pushkar: I set my alarm for 5:30am to beat the sun up to this sivitri temple on top of this hill/mountain that takes about an hour to walk up the steps. I stopped along the way for breakfast. This consisted of cheese toast, expresso coffee/milk, mango juice, and water. After, I was able to make the hike, only stopping along the way to take pictures of monkeys. II'm wearing bluejeans and everyone else is wearing light cotton pants or lightweight sarees as they make the trek. I feel as if I'm the only westerner until I see a few others climbing down the stairs (in spite of my early morning wake up...there are still peo9ple ahead of me). I take pictures of the monkeys as they play. I like monkeys. They are fun to play with and fuck with. These aren't the monkeys that will steal your stuff...rather they are just interested in food. I take a few photos...they are oddly camera shy much like a celebrity would be in a paparazzi situation. I make my way up to the top of the stairway and to the temple at the top. As with most hindu temples, its rather unfullfilling. I feel out of place. People are taking pictures of me because I'm caucasion...though they pretend not to be filming/capturing me as they do so. I feel a confused sense of peace due to the surrounding views, intrusions due to my lace of faith, and materialism due to my new found celebrity status. I chill for a bit and head back down to the lake. I walk around, take part in a Brahman ritual full of lotus flowers and coconut (which cost me $0.80 for the privelage). I wonder around th lake and eventually start talking to a local boy around the age of 12 (he doesn't know his birthday or how old he is). We get to talking and he says he can show me around the areas. He asks what I do for a job and I mention that I'm an animal doctor. He says that there is an animal refuge about 8km from where we are (near the next set of shiva temples). We meet with a scooter rental place and arrange a scooter for 24 hours for a total of $3 with a $20 deposit. Basically I could have rode off with a brand new scooter for $20 but that's not the point. So, me and the boy drive off into the mountains on my rented scooter. He constantly asks if he can take a turn driving and I occassionally give in. We make it to the next village and eventually find the animal refuge hospital thing. Its founded by some british vet people and has an ambulance, vaccine, spay/neuter program, and about a dozen indian workers helping out. We roll up in the scooter, get a guided tour by the local help only to discover that all the british vets are out getting lunch at the moment. They have a rabies quarantine area and note that there is about 1 rabies case per week. They are not allowed to euthanize cows or monkeys, so there are several of them being held in limbo....awaiting certain death or a small shot at survival as a bovine amputee (they exist!). After a tour, me and the Indian boy (sorry, I can't remember his name unfortunately) go up into the mountains and find the temples. We spend a half hour or so, take some pictures, wonder around. He invites me back to his house for Chai and potentially dinner. I take him up on the offer. We end up back in town. I buy some potatoes, some sort of fruit thing, and tomatoes. He knows bob marley, so we have been singing it all day long. Only this time, I got my ipod and solo speaker from the hotel and we are blaring "Is This Love" from my backpack stereo. We drive the scooter through the crowds, occassionally seeing the odd looks on tourist faces. We stop and visit the Brahman temple which is one of only a few in the world. He takes me to the upper deck sort of area where no tourists or pilgrims for that matter seems to go. We wonder down and pick up the bag/scooter/stereo, and head back to his place for dinner/chair.
I have never had the perspective of living under a quilt supported by sticks until today. I rode around with the Indian boy, went to his family's house (shack) for tea and potato curry dinner. I could actually taste the grit/dirt as I ate the Chapoti meal. That is homeade cooking.....if there is dirt when you bite down. I was treated like royalty. The father was busy making another instrument for the kinds to sell. I forget what they are called, but it is the traditinoal instrument of the Rajastan people made of 1/2 coconut shell, goat leather, bamboo, brake cable wires for strings, and horse hair. I admire anyone who can play this instrument, but regardless, I have no use for it in my souvineer bag.
I spend a few hours with the boy and his family. I wish I knew his name at this point....I keep thinking it is Robbie as that was the name of the boy at he monkey fort in Jaipur. We play a card game....basically like spades, but the trump is whatever the first card played is. I win most rounds thanks to my history with cards as a teenager (instead of going on dates, I was at home playing spades). I loan my aviator sun glasses to the father of the group....he continues to play he homemade instrument which sounds better than any guitar I've ever played. I look around at the scenery. I try to balance the location with the level of lifestyle I've just experienced. This property in America, I thought, would go for like $200/sqft. Here, it is like $0.01 or so. I watch as a group of tourists go by on a camel "trek" with cameras in full view....taking pictures of my new friends as well as myself. For all the places I've been and all the things I've experienced, this rings most true. For once I feel like a travler rather than a tourist...
Jodhpur:
I missed the 12pm deluxe bus from Ajmer to Jodhpur....so I had to decide on waiting 2.5 hours for the next one or take a local bus (bars on teh windows, no a/c, etc). I tried to go to the post office...actually I made it there, but they didn't have any boxes so they just shrugged their shoulders and looked at me like I was wierd for wanting to pack something there. I asked if they knew where to get any boxes, tape, or if there was a UPS/FedEx/DHL nearby and the just stared at me. So I went to an internet cafe and killed 2 hours. Finally got on the bus and it was a nice ride. I finished a book today....Agassi's biography. It was the first book I've finished in over 2 years. I relate to a lot of the stories in it. I make it to my destination and take a rickshaw to the Cosy Guesthouse. Basically a family's house converted to a hotel with rooftop restuarant that actually has beer and wifi! I haven't had wifi in a while...my only opportunity to use skype. So I drink 3 beers and skype people for the next 3 hours. I also watch the NFL scores as they happen. A good chill night that I needed. I sleep in a bit the next morning and then hit the tourist sights. Giant fort on a giant rock that dwarfs the acropolis in Greece. I took the audio tour only becuase it was included in the price of admission. I actually got a lot out of it as I usually just breeze through these sorts of places. Of course I felt like a super tourist. There is a temple at the end of the fort where like 18 people died in 2008 due to overcrowding/stampede effect. They have a zip line from the fort across the city that leads to 4 more zip lines...I kind of wished I had done it, but I ran into some british girls and ended up spending the rest of the day with them. We went to the next temple (forget the name, they are all starting to look the same....this was one of my favorites so far). Then we took a rickshaw down to the town center/clock tower. We ran into another pair of british guys, one of whom looked, sounded, and had the same name as the lawyer character in vanilla sky. He had never seen the movie so I recommended it to him. We had some lassi (the local drink) then decided to meet later for drinks. We started at their guest house (very similar to mine, but more centrally located) and had a few drinks. We opted for a "pub crawl" but at 10pm, everything is closed. We eventually find a hotel bar or something. Quite the atmosphere...paint peeling off the wall, electrical wires hanging loose from the elevator. We had another beer or two...$2 for 650mls of 8% beer. $0.60 for a shot of wiskey. I'm still a bit confused as to why there are not more drunks in india...more bars at least. After we leave there, everying is closed down....only the actual drunks remain. We say goodbye to the girls and sit on the curb and make some whiskey and pepsis and just watch the actual drunks fall all over the place. They all want to meet us, give us a few stares, then wonder on. One drunk follows us for a bit, but he isn't cooridnated to keep up and ends up falling over on the curb and never really gets up. We walk to the town center (where the brits hotel is), but the gates are now closed. We wonder down a street and find people having some sort of ritual with music and lights and what not....a parade at midnight. We join in temporarily and then find an alley that connects to their hotel. From there I take a rickshaw back and not wanting to waste my buzz, I sit up on the internet as well as write some of this long as freaking journal. All in all a good little trip in the Blue City. I kind of wish I had gotten up to do the zip line thing, but alas my old friend the hangover. I sleep in until noon, then catch my bus to Udaipur.
Sept 21st (I think)
Bus to Udaipur was Ok, no a/c, but you don't really need it. More importantly, its basically a public bus that picks up people and drops them off along the way. I have an assigned seat, but along the way there are various people standing and sitting in the isle...always staring at me of course because I'm watching TV on my laptop or writing this blog. Its too bumpy to read a book. I listen to some pod casts and dose off for an hour or so. I keep wondering why I don't take these buses at night. I guess its just that I want to check out of my hotel in the morning, go straight to the bus station, and leave...arrive around dusk at the next destination. I'm at the sort of end of the route that I had planned through rajastan. I decide I'm spending a couple of days here as there are several things to see/do around the city (animal parks, mountains, a few other cities). I'm also trying to decide which part of India to head to next. I can go down to Mumbai or up to the himalayas...I can meet up and do a 4 day rafting trip run by british people...or I can go ahead and wonder eastwards towards varanasi and kolkata. I guess I'll figure it out. I've also got to start thinking about my exit from india to Thailand...my friends want to meet me in Thailand in November but its early october...my visa also expires in india on the 11th so have to keep that in mind. I currently have a flight out of delhi, but i'm thinking about just scrapping that and leaving from kolkota instead. Anyways, just starting to think about it more without trying to worry too much. Goa is out as its not the right season yet (monsoons) and it is quite a trek to get down to that part of the country...if I did I would feel compelled to sort of keep going further south. I'm beginning to think that S. India would have to be anothet trip. 1 month just isn't enough...I've already been here 8 days and they have flown by.
Enough thinking outloud... So I arrive in Udaipur after dark and take a rickshaw to my hotel. This is as cool as any place I have stayed...rooftop overlooking the river/lake that Udaipur is built around. Its supposed to be the romantic city of India and I can see why. The buildings are lit up nicely along the waterfront and makes for a picturesque scene. Weather is perfect as the lakes seem to provide a cool breeze. Enough foriegners around to feel comfortable, but not touristy as most of them seem to be french or spainish or something. Food is as good or better than any indian you would get in America and for only $1.40 including dessert. I like it here. Also, there is a 100lb beautiful male yellow lab that lives in the hotel. I immediately make friends with him and I think people are looking at me strange because I have him sitting by my side while I'm eating and occassionally rubbing his ears. By far the best looking dog I've seen in India. He's gentle mannered as labs tend to be...but almost in a depressed way. I wonder he if would prefer to be out with the strays making random puppies and chasing monkeys and cows around in the sewage. In any event, he seems to have a nice life. I try to get him to sit and shake, but obviously he only speaks Hindi and is probably a vegetarian as well. I've been a vegetarain 90% of the time over the past month. I can't say I really miss meat that much, its just that there aren't that many opportunties here to eat it. Even the McDonalds doesn't serve beef or pork...only chicken. I wonder if they would continue to worship the giant trash eating cows in the streets if they knew exactly how much they could sell them for.... Let's see, $1000/yr average annual income for Indian people, 1000lb cow, steaks go for like $1-$2/oz at a resturant....hmmm. Not to mention all the leather products and what not. Religion contributing to poverty...that doesn't seem right. I actually saw a cow eating a cardboard box today. I guess they are the main source of waste disposal, so if they started killing them all off I suppose India would look more and more like the future in Idiocracy with Luke Wilson. Just observations...
Sept 22nd:
Udaipur.
First night I get in and just chill out at the hotel. this is the most beautiful place I've seen in India so far. A full lake with 2 "floating" palaces is the center of the tourist area...
23rd:
I got up at my usual noonish hour. I decided I was going to see the sights today. I made my way to the palace overlooking the lake. Nice palace, a bit dilapidated as with everything in India. I took an hour or so to go on a llittle toursit boat ride thing out to the island hotels. Some scene from octopussy was filmed at one of these places. I met a few British girls and walked around with them for a bit. I'm getting a little bit palaced and templed out so I walk by but don't bother going into whatever temple is in the middle of the city there. I do come across a sort of parade thing. Turns out its the last day of Summer so I think that's what was going on...but otherwise they kept calling it Holi or Ganesh festival or something. So there was a long run of tractors and trucks pulling kids around. Each was throwing different colored powder on the crowd but mostly on themselves...so there was the pink group, the green one, purple, etc. Fireworks were lit off here and there. They were mostly loud cherry bomb types or bottle rockets and it was a bit annoying due to the noise and proximity factor...one went off about 3 feet from me at one point. I was happy to be decorated with various colors and was pulled from the street to dance with a group...they were happy to have me. Another group of kids dragged me up onto the float and I got to ride along wiht the parade for a bit. They asked if I had any american money and I found a penny in my backpack. This caused a bit of a trampling amongst them so I got down off the float and threw it back up in the air for them to fight over. They also give away food so I had samplings of a few different tasty sweets. After loads of photographs, I headed back to the hotel for my first shower in about 5 days. Unfortunately I had to actually wash my hair with shampoos twice to get all of the powder out. I was testing out this theory that shampoos isn't actually necessary in the whole hair cleaning process (I was finding it very true at the 2 week point). I chilled on the rooftop, watched the sun set and had a couple of beers before turning in. A full day with good experiences. Not sure where I'm heading to next, but I heard there is another animal hospital so I planned on getting up in the morning and heading over there to take a look.
24th: Alarm went off at 8:30am, I got out of bed at 1:30. I decided since the day was mostly wasted I would go ahead and ship some things as my bag was getting heavy with souvineers. I did all then, cost me about $55 for a 10lb package, then headed back to teh hotel. I went with teh hotel owner to the animal pharmacy and picked out a 3 in 1 ear medicine for Zee's otitis. Just the experience of riding around on the back of a motorcycle with some Indian guy is fun. Just running errands in the chaos of the city was the most exciting thing I did all day. I spent some time on the internet, met an American woman and talked to her for a bit. On the walk back to the hotel an Indian guy stopped me and said he overheard me asking about the Animal Hospital. He mentioned that he used to volunteer there and that he could drive me there on his motorcycle in teh morning. He took me for a cup of chai and a chat. He gives tours for a tour group in both german and english. After that I was walking back again and another guy stopped me to talk. he offered me some bee so I sat and hung out on these plastic chairs watching the nightly process of dumping trash into a pile where the cows could eat it. Next to this was a little entryway sort of thing that people used as a toilet. Across the lake about 100yards were people bathing in the same lake. To get beer he had to make a phone call and a few minutes later a guy showed up with a bottle of beer wrapped in newspaper...black market beer as it wasn't really for sale outside of resturants. We drank this and chatted a bit, then headed over the the same resturant that delivered it to us and had another but this time it was after hours so again, poured into coffe mugs in the kitchen and brought out in secret. We drank until about 11:30 then he brought be back to his place to show it to me (it was a 2 minute walk whereas my hotel was a 1 minute walk). The downstairs was his shop where he painted and sold his work from right there. He sat on the floor and his friend and him just painted all day...little cards and cloths with nicely done artwork. The whole room is about 10ftx10ft. Up a small stairway was a similar sized room with a padded quilt on the floor and not much else. In the corner sat a little shrine with a picture of a girl, some incense, and a little statue thing or two. It was his wife who he told me died in a car accident. He had just moved here to start a new life...working for himself, living on his own... I liked how empty his place was...how little space one actually needs to live. He paied $2/day rent and he rented out the work space for $1/day to his friend. This is about 100 feet from the amazingly beutiful lake that I mentioned before. I wondered home to find thaht I was locked out of my hotel...appearantly they have a lock out policy at like 11pm. I had to wake up some old man who then unlocked the gate for me (I was happy to climb onto the roof to get to my room, but had already woken someone up). I can't remember the guys name I hung out with all night, but I told him I would stop by the next day to say hi. He seemed like he really wanted to socialize, meet new people, etc.
25th:
I actually woke up at 9am today as I had gotten ahold of the Animal Aid Hospital owner person (an american from Seattle) and they recommended I show up at 10am for a tour and if I wanted to stay and volunteer I could. Since I didn't have any real plans I figured thats how I'd spend my day. I got a ride out there for $2 from a rickshaw driver. Of coure he pulled the old "I don't have any change" scam so I said I would find him later and pay him then (whic I did). This hospital is a bit nicer than the other...just bigger, more organized it seemed. By american standards, its still the equivilant of a very bad shelter but it works. They have 4 areas: treatment for dogs, mange area for dogs, puppies, and large animals. There is also this upsatirs sort of area for post ops and recovering amputees. There is a dog named Mini who appearantly has a Youtube video. She has not hind legs and loves life. I made my own video of her dragging her vulva around. Feces just sort of smear out of her as she goes. Great dog though....sheltie sort of mix. She reminds me slightly of Hoser in her enthusiasm. Another less fortunate amputee has had post op complications and her incision is just open and pus covered. It needs a second surgery, but instead I imagine it will get the 2-4 month granulation treatment instead.
After chair and lunch break, they knock down a cow with a recurrent hoof problem and proceed to amputate its leg below the hock. It was crude but respectable. They at least had a sterile pack and what appeared to be sterile gloves....though the continuous curiosity of the surrounding cows lead to various pieces of grass and what not landing on the sterile instrument field. After the carfeul dissection by the young indian vets, iodine was poured over a hacksaw blade and a bystander handily took his turn at sawing through the bone with a rusty saw. It worked pretty well, there was minimal bleeding (much less than my average surgery), and the end result had nice closure of skin. You don't see 3 legged cows in the U.S....they are called cheeseburgers. Here, cows can't be killed so it was a salvage proceecure. Amazingly, they seemd to do just fine on 3 legs....limp around a little bit but otherwise do fine. Obviously they face a retired sort of life, but that's what the animal hospital is for. There are about 40 full time dogs living there...I'd say about half are amputees. The rest, I'm not sure what ails them (although there are a few cases of appearant Ricket's, former distemper, etc.). I saw about a dozen things I've never seen before in vet medicine today. I imagine that he dogs that do survive have amazing immune systems and are tough as nails. The ones with wounds that got cleaned out daily didn't have to be sedated...they just stood there and took it as a gloved finger washed and probed the various holes in the skin ( proabably teh most common ailment). They don't really take private animals, but someone brought a dog attack in on emergency. While the pomeranian was there, it sort of freaked out and jumped off teh second story (amputee ward). We weren't sure how injured it was after that, but it was cage confined with a large open dog wound over its neck. I'm not sure if it was actually helped by being brought to the clinic...
26th: wasted day, slept until 1:30, debated on sleeper bus vs sleeper train...opted for bus due to it leaving earlier and me wanting to get out of town ASAP.
The sleeper bus is nice. it has normal chairs like any other Coach, then a top layer of sleepers...doubles on one side and singles on the other. Perfect cubby for isolating myself to watch movies and zoning out the Indians which can certainly be hit or miss. It doesn't really save me a night's accomodation, but it it kind of fun...the way camping in the back yard is fun even though its your back yard. Its a 12 hour journey...my laptop battery lasts 8, I have another 4 hours of pod casts waiting to be listened to. Otherwise, I can always sleep.
