After my 26h trainride to Delhi life bacame much busier than before: I found the Hotel met with Rodney at the airport and then did some serious Delhi sightseing before/ while organizing our trip to Agra and Rajastan.
YES! We did see the Taj Mahal and YES! It is the worst tourist trap ever but: YEAH, it is beautiful. The marble, the tour guide, the day, all very hard to change, so we went along with it. Although, it being our (mine, too!) first exposure to this massive tourist feeling, I got a little overwhelmed and just wanted to scream at them. However, screaming is not allowed. Also, calmness is superior to agression, always. So we learned to look at the humor in things.
For that, we first went and bought the more local clothes. Then I adaped a few definite sounding terms that will convince most people (and also surprise: YOU SPEAK HINDI!!?!). Oh, and Rodney has the tactic of just changing direction in mid- stride ("look, over there!). All in all, we are quir\te good by now. An we look totally elegant. :)
Poor bicicle Riksha guy: he had offered us to take us for 10 RS, and my ego, my principles and I were not in the mood to change the price after he found out that Rodney was heavier that the average Indian man...He (riksha guy) got so upset, that he chased after us, so we did end up giving him 10 extra rs. He did have a hard time pushing the riksha.
We did book a tourist trap: a hired driver is taking us to Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Jaipur, Udaipur and Pushkar. In all these places, the hotels are taken care of (well, lets say they are MU*CH better than anything I had in Hyderabad)..;)
Now we are in Jaipur. Rod ney did run into some travellers "issues" this morning, so I ended up climbing a huge fort by myself. It is abandoned now, but history really comes alive. He was better in the afternoon, so we headed to the first locasl restaurant we could get hold of - and had our lunch on the roof of a beautiful 18th century building. Janta Manta is not something you repeat to yourself for feeling spiritua;;y free, but it is the location of the worlds larget sundial: it has a resolution of 2 secs! It was built in 1728, and the Astronomical stuff they did with that and other devices in this park is fascinating. Its like being ALice in wonderland:). Only, the guide actually explains what you are looking at quite nicely.
Alright, so next is Udaipur...actually: next is a 9h ride in out Tata-car:) with our slightly mad driver.
Jaipur is called the pink city. The actual color is orangy more than pink. it was colored like that as a symbol to prince Edward of Wales, when he came to visit: pink is the color of hospitality!!
I am tryinmg to keep up with the Yoga i learned...more or less successful..
