Well I'm happy to say that after a little hippy energertic healing, today was a better day! Actually, after yesterday when I was feeling so crap about all the awful men around, I went to bed and decided to create a good energy bubble around me that will block all the awful energies and only let in good energy! I was very determined that I create this as I knew that otherwise I am not going to have a good time.
And crazily enough, when I reflect on my day, some incredible things have happened! This morning I got a decent auto rickshaw driver who didnt try anything dodgy on me and I was satisfied with him. Then this afternoon I got another auto rickshaw driver to take me to the Raj Majid (the oldest cinema in India) to see a Bollywood film. I told him I would pay him 50 rupees and he didn't ask for more, and then when we arrived at the cinema I didn't have change from 100 and neither did he so I told him just to accept the 100 - and CRAZILY he refused and wouldn't accept anything more than 50 from me even when I insisted he just take the 100!! So he called over a guy selling puppets and we arranged that he would give the driver 50 and I would get change and give the puppet guy back his 50. Incredible!!!
Then on the way back from the cinema, a cycle rickshaw driver also only wanted to accept 50 rupees from me! I really hope this energy healing thing sticks with me!! And it was really nice being cycled back to my hotel on this lovely cycle rickshaw doing good for the environment while at the same time getting to see all the lights of Diwali (Diwali is the big Indian festival that is celebrated in a similar way to christmas - lights everywhere, fireworks and present giving). So tomorrow I arranged to meet him at night so he can give me a tour of Diwali as tomorrow is the big day. So thats nice :)
As for the Bollywood film - well the cinema was gorgeous - like a bigger and grander version of The Orpheum, or something like that. But the film!!! I actually didn;t last the 3 hrs - it was a modern film of course and it was TERRIBLE!!!!!!!! Good for the experience but crazy in terms of what it was showing - it was a film about gangsters and strippers and high class prostitutes where the women wore outfits out of a western porno film - and there were little boys watching this!! None of this over 18 business!! I'm talking 5 year olds watching violence and (almost) sex and blatant objectification of women!!!!! Aaahhhhhhhh!! Unbelievable. And yet in complete contrast, Indian society is extremely conservative and women are definately not supposed to drink etc etc. It doesn;t make sense that they make and love these films which you would think would be frowned upon...I guess this is India! A country of extreems.
And speaking of things I don't understand, when I went this afternoon to find an auto rickshaw driver to drive me to the cinema, I found one guy who took me to his auto rickshaw and told me to get in and then proceeded to ask me a whole lot of questions (whats my name, where do I come from, do I like cricket, etc etc) without even turning the engine on. So after a bit I look at my watch and ask him if we can get going cause I have the movie to watch, and what does he do? He says, "oh, ok" and tells me to follow him back out of the rickshaw and he takes me to another vehicle with a different driver to take me to the cinema! ?? What did he think I was asking him to do??? Quite bewildering really.
Another weird thing is that I was talking to a jewellery shop man and when he found out I was from Australia he said that he has lived in Australia for a bit - and where does he say he lived of all places? Byrne Ave Elwood Melbourne!! (Galit's previous residence!) Weird!!
So, thats been my day and I'm happy to say it has been better!
Re my travel plans, well I did work with the hotel guy yesterday to arrange things but I must say it was one of THE MOST FRUSTRATING experiences!!!!!!!! It took hours because he kept going off on tangents talking about his guru and some temple and everything he had to repeat at least twice!! It was definately a teeth gritting experience!! I kept saying, "ok, good, lets book it now, lets do it" (rather then just talking repeatedly about it) and then by the time he got around to finding train tickets for me the website had closed down because apparently this happens after 11:30pm!! Arrrgggg!! Annoying!
Anyway, the plan is that I get a driver recommended by the hotel to take me from Jaipur to Jodhpur to Jaiselmer to Udaiper and then to Pushkar. Then I make my way to Ajmer where I get a train to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. Then I will get a train to Varanasi. It's all quite complicated because tickets are booked out months in advance and it's very difficult to get a confirmed ticket (you can go on the waiting list for tickets but you will never know for sure that it will be confirmed and that can stuff up other plans). Accommodation is also often booked out way in advance and so this is complicated too!!
Anyway, after Varanasi I am either going to go straight to Kerala probably by plane, or to Kolkata if I can get a volunteering placement with an organisation that I just found out about called New Light India - http://www.newlightindia.org/AboutNewLight.html check it out. I found out about it from reading the book called "Half the Sky. How to change the world" - which is also a must read because it highlights through personal stories the atrocities that are happening to women and girls in developing countries and how educating them is the solution to so much of the world's problems including terrorism - http://www.halftheskymovement.org/. So, I am going to apply to volunteer with them and see what happens...
Until then, HAPPY DIWALI!!
xxx Orna
