I’m sitting in my room listening to fireworks pepper the night sky of Jaipur, and thought that whilst I wait to take the overnight sleeper train to Bikaner I might ‘pencil’ my thoughts down on Jaipur.
We arrived in late in the afternoon on Tuesday and I was feeling terrible. I managed to write my last post but I was mostly incapable of human interaction or coherent thought (I haven’t dared to read my last post. Hopefully the photos are good enough to get me by!). I went straight to bed, though attempted to get up for dinner. This meant that I stayed for an hour and didn’t eat. There were some beautiful dancers there though, apparently a travelling family who dance and sing for money. Their clothes, music and movements were incredible, though sadly their eyes were mostly dead/bored.
Wednesday morning meant that we were off to visit the Amber Fort, which in all actuality is a palace, not a fort. Apparently. We had the option of riding up on a jeep or an elephant, though Paddy was quick to point out that the treatment of these creatures is ‘questionable’. Grumble, grumble. Stupid conscience. We took jeeps up and met our guide who has been doing this for over 50 years. Needless to say he is the most senior guide.
We strolled around the fort and took in everything. Unfortunately the spoilt traveller in me filed this information under ‘Random sightseeing crap’ and I can’t seem to recall much useful information. It was beautiful and quite interesting to learn about the king who lived there who had 12 wives and 200 concubines (who apparently were there to look after the wives). My favourite part was learning about the Hall of Pleasures. No folks, it’s not as awesome and enticing as it sounds. It was a hall where the wives could relax after they ‘played’ in the garden. *snorts*
The other thing I remember is being told about the real fort versus the palace. The real fort sits up on top of a big mofo hill and apparently only 1 person knows how to get in and get to the treasure? Apparently some guy with servants equipped with metal detectors couldn’t get to it, so who knows? I also could have completely misheard what the guide said (highly unlikely considering my bat-like hearing).
So after the fort we headed back into town and as I was feeling quite good, I decided to have an afternoon of SHOPPING!!! Woot!! I had originally intended to only spend about $1000 whilst being here, but considering I think I spent about $200 yesterday…..perhaps I should revise!! I am quite thankful I packed next to nothing, because after I filled the backpack with my new sari, 4 shirts, 2 pants, 2 leggings, 1 traditional outfit, 6 scarves and some bangles, I am a little short on space. I had a GREAT afternoon though! We had dinner at a great place called Moto Mahari Deluxe on MI road, where we were further entertained by a pair of men playing instruments complimented by a young (perhaps 10?) boy dancing. Mind you, there’s something about a pre-pubescent boy shaking his non-existent hips at you and winking glistening eyes that’s not entirely right. Can’t put my finger on it right now, but I’ll get back to you on it.
I almost forgot – for me Jaipur has been about the tuk-tuks. Also known as auto-rickshaws, they are a cross between a bike and a car and function as a taxi. You bargain with the driver where you want to go (ALWAYS agree to a price before you step in) and off you bounce, holding on as you weave around traffic and potholes and animals and people and whatever else is on the road. I’m glad to have some experience with them now – I could legitimately throw my head back and laugh when a tuk-tuk driver offered to drive us back to the hotel for 50 rupees a piece. Doesn’t sound like much, but when you consider that there were 7 of us (yes, we would all fit in) and last time we paid 50 for the entire trip, he was trying to get a bit of extra cash from the presumably stupid tourists. Suffer in his jockey shorts. We got it for 75 with a liquor store stop.
So that leads me to today. Wonderful, relaxing today. Today is a public holiday in India known as the kite festival. I have decided for our country that we should also adopt this. Screw the Queen’s birthday or perhaps Labour Day, let’s have a day where we all get together in parks and on rooftops (where feasible) and fly kites together. It was amazing! But I digress somewhat. So, the kite festival. Nobody told me that this meant that they would be playing loud music at ten to six in the morning. Who’s got that TV on? Why at this time? Why is it still going? Is it just music? Oh…..
I eventually got out of bed and was finally able to use the internet to upload my photos. I can’t tell you how often the power went out last time I put a post up. I had uploaded photos, written descriptions for all but 2….then out. Grrr….aargh. *zombie walks across screen* After a great filling brekkie we all took a tuk tuk out to a boys shelter where Vanessa had been volunteering before she came. The boys were much older than I was expecting (mid to late teens mostly), and they were all very happy, clean and well dressed. Kites soared across the sky as they played on the rooftop, some even dancing for us to some Indian music with a western twist. It was wonderful.
However, we soon had to head off to meet Paddy at his cousin’s house for a relaxing afternoon flying kites. Okay, so I didn’t fly kites, I just watched, but it was incredible. The sky was dotted with a rainbow of swooping kites, all tangoing against the hazy polluted sky. Music blared from many houses, and people stood on rooftops as far as you could see. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to look at more – the people or the kites. It was so wonderfully relaxing; it was exactly what I needed. What we all needed I think. We stayed there for a couple of hours, kicking back and watching, thinking about what a glorious idea it is. The ambience was just magical.
At a late lunch the wind picked up and there were even more kites in the sky, and even some real kites, screeching as they swooped, avoiding the strings and scaring away the pigeons. It was just a very pleasant afternoon. On the way home we picked up some gloves for the camel safari which I am going on tomorrow.
One thing that really does strike me about the place is the poverty. I thought places like Bolivia and Ecuador were poor – India is an entirely different kettle of fish. Everywhere you step you are inundated with beggars, and usually it is easy to ignore them; many are quite clean – they are begging because they think you are a sucker, and Paddy also made a point of requesting that we don’t give money – apparently they are provided for with a decent welfare system (according to him) and many of you would know that if you give money to one beggar, you are flooded with dozens more. However, this doesn’t stop you from feeling callous each time you walk away. Some get you more than others. One child stopped us today – he was dirty and dishevelled, his eyes dark with sadness and futility. His father on a cart with two other small children, also imploring. It breaks your heart to walk away. I wanted to give them something. If there had been a food stall nearby perhaps, but there wasn’t. You just feel soulless. Who are we to hold onto such wealth whilst others suffer so? According to the brochure we got at the shelter, a child in India is more likely to be malnourished, live in unhygienic conditions, lack education and marry underage than a child in Africa or any other global region. It is just heartbreaking. I feel so selfish when I refuse to give to people this poor, even though I’ve been told that it’s better that I don’t. Better for who? Apparently it’s better that they don’t rely on tourists, but the government welfare system, but you can’t help but feel that this is an invented line to help keep the poor westerners from feeling confronted and uncomfortable with what they see. I made a donation to the shelter which helps to allay some of the guilt, but part of me feels that it will never leave – I think you take some of those dirty, hopeless faces with you.
Ah, food for thought. Just the thing I need for an overnight sleeper train.
Jaipur photos
