Big hellos from Pushkar,
We're currently sat in a natty little
internet cafe surrounded by Westerners with dread-locked hair and Thai
Fishermans trousers on... we stand out somewhat! I've put my Mexican day of the
dead skirt on especially - what problem could they possibly have with
skeletons dancing and riding push bikes??
We had a lush last day
and a half in Mumbai - wandered some more, ate some more, drank some
Indian Wine (surprisingly tasty but only came in 120ml measures, grrr)
tried to watch a Bollywood film but no seats left, saw some more art
(Tim, we saw one guys work and he's blatantly ripping you off - show
you the pic when we get home), saw some cricket, got asked if we were
Dutch, if we were Australian (look at the colour of me....) and if we
were Canadian (we can be whatever!), had more photo's taken by the
locals and met a dragon lady in the train station booking office...
proper old school matron (ooo stand by your beds) who told everyone off
and threw passports at people. I loved her!
We went to watch the Dabbawallahs at Church street train station - these guys ship in
hundreds of tiffin pots each day for the office workers lunches, after
their lady friends have made them at home in the suburbs. There's
literally 1000's of pots and 100's of men in little white hats, mental!
Even in the chaos all the pots seem to find their way to their rightful
owner and apparently less than 1% goes missing each year. It was great
to watch.
Went to the waterfront and saw the most lovely 1920's
buildings (I have photographic evidence should anyone require) and
promenaded like we were on Weston sea front... Also here I managed to
some how end up in a public toilet that unknown to me before I went in
was the local laundry and shower for the community - lots of unrobed
people and suds and me! No one batted an eyelid and I just got on with
it (well I had to!) Pill would have cried!
I am a bit cross about
one thing though, a chap asked us if we'd like to be in a Bollywood
film as we strolled past him... I immediately thought it was another
scam, so no thank you'd and we carried on our way. We bumped into some
lads from UK the other day who WERE in a bollywood film as cop's in the
back ground. Am gutted - I could have been a star! Damn it! Oh well -
casualty is on soon.....
The overnight sleeper train to
Aurangabad was easy peasy - our 6 berth booth was me & Pill, a
German lad, a Russian lad and 2 Indian chaps who seemed mildy amused by
all our caffufling.... Why can I not just do anything quietly??! Didn't
get much sleep as every two minutes the cries of 'hot-chai' would ring
out up and down the carriage as they marched past selling. I think Pill
put the photographic evidence on facebook of me looking super
'cheerful' in Aurangabad when we arrived at 4.30am.....
Got up
next afternoon and decided that a nice cold beer would be the answer so
trotted off to a kitsch place (aqua walls with pink grouting) called
food lover opposite the hotel. Spend 30 mins eating and drinking (YES!)
and then 30 mins having our photos taken by the staff, 1:1 in a group,
me & pill etc etc. Very odd but am glad I managed to get my mascara
on before we left the hotel room! Had a wander and then got too hot & sweaty so took a rickshaw
(the driver was about 400) up to Bibi Al Mahukarah - the mini Taj Mahal.
What a glorious place, the most beautiful grounds and bright bright
flowers. Ran the photo gauntlet again, this time with whole families,
one who insisted on plonking their v.small child on my lap... bet
that's a great photo, me looking petrified!!
Went to visit the
Ellora caves the next day. Stunning! A lad called Vicktel took us in
his car which was a real mix of old an d new India - a Ganesh statue on
the dashboard and then above it a squeaky pier prize duck head hung
from the rear view mirror. We spent 3.5 hours there being totally in
awe, as we traveled through the 34 caves (Jain, Buddist and Hindu) I
had a small tear when I saw a lifesize elephant that had been perfectly
carved from solid rock - even stone animals get me!!!
Viktel then took us to Daulatabad fort which was top, there were many cannons and battlements, but the besy bit was being led through a labyrinth of dark tunnels by an old man with a flaming torch, there were bats and everything, most spooky. there was also a very cool cannon with an animals head - pill was most impressed.
We decided that Aurangabad was the 'Exeter of india' due to its terrible transport links. so back to Mumbai was the only way that we could go on to our next destination, Udaipur. We decided while being hassled at a train station to get all our tickets to udaipur in advance and would not stop at a hotel in Mumbai... this seemed like a good idea at the time, 7 hours overnight back to Mumbai, 10 hours there stop over, followed by a 15 hour train to Udaipur. Obviously after the 7 hour over-nighter (which in itself was ok)we were feeling a touch ropey and grimey and in need of a rest, some breakfast and a shower. Now if you have been to Mumbai you know that its a bit (and I'm trying to be polite) of a grimey itself! There are Not too many places to get clean outside of a hotel room, and if you sit down anywhere for more than 30 seconds outside you are surrounded by salesmen, random oddities and nut jobs who just stare at you like you are an alien.
So in the interests of our sanity and due to the fact that we were still fairly new to the traveling game at this stage we wussed out, got a taxi to the airport and got a plane instead! It ate into our budget somewhat but it was needed people... it was needed!
So Udaipur is next... you will have to wait for the next thrilling installment for the tales of our adventures there, all I will say now is its an amazing place!
So thats about it for now
We miss everyone loads and wish you could be here with us
G&P x
animal watch: green parakeets, gecko's, big bats, little bats, flying bats, many many painted cows, more kittens and puppies (I Know!), and goats.
