Today marks our anniversary of arrival, one month ago. We are currently in Bundi, a small (by Indian size) walled town in Rajasthan, with the fortress walls and palace dominating the belt of hilly lands surrounding the still modest market town. The population stands at around 100,000, relatively tiny for Indian standards, yet a vast increase from its former 3,000. We managed to get up at dawn today to beat the heat and "stroll" up the hill to view the palace and its grounds. We ventured down at 0830 exhausted and dripping in sweat. When the guide book says; average daytime temperature in Rajasthan 45 degrees C, I think it means it.
We arrived during the afternoon heat yesterday from Pushkar on an old non air con taxi through the middle of the desert. That was pretty hot but when we got to our first floor room, (with perfect view of the palace from our balcony) the solitary fan blowing around the stale 40 degree heat (just like an Indiana Jones movie) was a little too much to bare. We managed to change rooms and now are blessed with a fan and air cooler (the cheap version of air con) so the temperature drops to around 31 degrees at night, while it's still around 34-35 outside. Apparently the locals tell us this is cool! In 2-3 weeks time temperatures hit the 50's...but by then with any luck we will be in the Nepalese hills. The Bundi Palace is an impressive sight tearing its way up the steep slope of the hill. A walk to the top - Taragarh tower - (which we will attempt later when the heat has slightly dropped) takes around 25 minutes. Bundi itself is relatively untouched by tourism and the locals are so friendly. We still managed to catch a rare glimpse of local custom; a child dropping the kids off literally on his door step. In his defence though, he was using the open sewage network which navigates itself ever so conveniantly alongside the main streets. For those of you wondering, and I know a few are, what if he lived on the other side of the street, would he have to use his neighbours door step? Well fortunately the network flanks both sides of the road so such a predicament wouldn't occur. Well unless one of the holy cows or stray dogs is scavaging for food or having a drink near by, then one might have the moral courage to switch sides as it were. Anyway yes Bundi is a lovely little town and very peaceful and calming compared to other tourist cities in India.
Pushkar too is also a relatively quiet place. Busier than Bundi but it is on the tourist radar for both westerners and Indians alike. We spent 4 nights in Pushkar, 2 is enough but finally I caught the dreaded Delhi belly and had 2 days of what I can only describe as an exorcism, bodily fluids leaving through which ever exit they could. It was pretty horrid but swiftly over and did not linger. Trudy again caught the milder version (just one exit) for the second time. So on the points table Trudy is ahead with 3 cases of Delhi belly and I am trailing with a feable one.
Pushkar is a lovely little place and the best way to experience it is at the rivers edge while the sun goes down. It is one if India's most religious sights and is surrounded by 500 temples. At sunset many bells can be heard ringing throughout the town and it becomes somewhat erri yet very calming.
I did see a sea snake during our time in Palolem. I informed Trudy who subsequently screamed, swam/ran out of the water as soon as she could and started hyperventilating. I initially thought it was an act, but no men, this is what women do when they are scared. Learn by my mistake - don't laugh. Now we are far enough away from Goa so as not to scare myself or Trudy. Later that night I flicked through my SAS Survival Guide (don't laugh we've all got one) under the dangerous animals section (page 346 if you're interested) and there she was; the banded sea krait, with venom twice as toxic as the cobra. But apparently sea snakes aren't vicious and they find it hard to bite their venomous back teeth in to our large bodies (not worth testing by the way). Still it's little head was only one meter or so away from us but did flee once it saw us.
It turns out that our Dr in Jaipur is the Dr of the Jaipur Royal Family. I assume he visits them though as his surgery wouldn't pass the most relaxed health and safety Nazi. The Colonel we stayed with is infact the descendent of the Royal Family who's father was a Baron and they own the Shahar Fort near Agra. Like most of the once ruling class, after the government took control in 1947 they had to lease their estates off and move in to smaller dwellings. If we would have stayed at their guest house another night we would have met the Royal Family including the Queen mother as it was Mr and Mrs Colonel's wedding anniversary. I'm sure the chance will arise again.
