The flight to India was awesome with most of the seats empty so although we got up early I had 3 seats all to myself to stretch out and sleep whilst Jase had his one ;-) we were rather nervous about arriving in Delhi as the guide books tell you how the taxi drivers try and scam you every which way they can. In hindsight the whole experience was really easy but the biggest thing was the 2 ATM’s at the airport were broken and after leaving the customs hall, we were advised that we could get a cash advance from inside customs hall. Well that I can say was a fun experience running through the airport back and forth getting the wrong card, forgetting the passport, whilst persuading armed Policemen to let me back in and having to use the staff entrance to get our money.
Found a hotel really quickly in the main backpacker area but we just weren’t prepared for the shock of the country. Parts of SE Asia really were bad, especially Cambodia and Vietnam but this was a whole new level. We decided not to waste the day and walked to the Red Fort and Jama Masjid Mosque which was a few kms away. Bad idea... I got eye raped the whole time with what I was wearing which made Jase get defensive and angry but walking in the non tourist parts really opened our eyes to the city. The traffic is just 10 times worse than Vietnam; the smells weren’t too bad although when you walk past a public toilet (tiles on a wall in public view) then that can really mess with the senses. We even saw one poor guy passed out 3m from the toilet on the main road with his frank and beans hanging out lying in the road... bet the Athletes are looking forward to the Commonwealth Games later this year!
Both the fort and the mosque were amazing to look at but everyone is trying to charge/scam/sell you and nothing is ever free which along with the staring just wore on us both. After a rather gruelling walk to the sites, we decided to get a rickshaw back to the hotel and being good on money, opted for the cheapest option which was this 60/70 year old guy cycling me and Jase for about 1 hour straight up and down hills and weaving and out of the crazy streets all for 60 rupees! ($1.50). We did give him a tip although at one point Jase got out of the rickshaw and helped the old guy push the thing!
As we hadn’t done any planning at all for India, we spent most of that night and the next day figuring out the route and how the hell to get out of Delhi! At 4 we decided to go and see Humayun’s tomb which was a relaxing haven from the city and then see Ghandi‘s grave as we were too late for the museum. On the way home we went past the local horse and goat fair, as you do, and I swear had the craziest, scariest, funniest tuk tuk ride back to the hotel through the main bazaar which was just around the corner. It’s all fun to laugh at NOW but really it was totally insane and we had to stop and think about what we had just been through for 5 mins before we headed inside to have an early night before we headed out to Agra the next morning.
The train was reasonably decent, other than the fact they don’t announce which stop you are at! We arrived in Agra to a mad group of 100 drivers all fighting for our business and being off season, it was fierce competition. So we decided to hire a guy for the day to take us out to Fatephur Sikri and then to the Taj Mahal. The drive to Fatephur Sikri was nearly as interesting as the place itself with cars driving on the wrong side of the road and our driver just laughing going “That’s India, don’t they do that in Australia?!” The ruins were really well maintained and we decided to splurge on a guide to give us some more info about the place but also to help fend off the beggars who are infamous at this site. The guide was fairly funny and informative when you could understand him and to be honest brought more attention to us with the touts than if we were doing it alone.
After Fatephur Sikri, we headed back to the Taj Mahal in the 47 degree heat and we must admit weren’t looking forward to it as much as we might if the weather was cooler. The price for tourists was extortionate at 750 rupees where locals only need to pay 20 but as soon as we got in there we were in utter awe of the building, it truly was breathe taking and hard to believe we were actually there. After taking a million photos with all the locals getting in the way, we headed to the hotel ready for a very early start to Jaipur at 5.10am! On the way back, we encountered all the touts we had heard about and did well at avoiding them except this one little girl who for about 500m followed me and Jase demanding that we buy something off her. It wasn’t too bad at first but after the first 300m, Jase’s patience had snapped only to find him yelling at the girl telling her “You’re just a pest - get a job” and “someone needs to tell them so they don’t end up as adults touts”...lucky Jase is here to share his wisdom with India! We didn’t stay at the nicest hotel but as it was so close to the train station we put up with the urine smell that you could just taste every time you went into the toilet! We decided to eat out of the hotel, a smart move we thought, and go to one of the restaurants overlooking the Taj Mahal but so found out that we were in a very dangerous area an couldn’t even step outside the hotel without the Station Master pulling us back in and telling us to wait because we were his responsibility... doesn’t a station master look after trains! Agra turned out to be just as shitty as Delhi, if not worse, which didn’t encourage Jase to start liking the place.
Next day, and up at a ridiculous time we raced to the train station as we were running a little late and of course had to cross a few train tracks, without the help of some old homeless guy laughing at us, to get to our train. We arrived in Jaipur to again another mass load of drivers all wanting our business and for a measly 30 rupees our driver would take us to the hotel, not realising that his charming story of his Aussie friend who had come to India to help with the caste system and give them jobs and freedom meant a trip to the factory so we could buy a load of crap and he would get his commission. When we demanded that we really didn’t want to go, he then muttered “but why”, Jase again flipped and yelled at the driver. So far I think Jase has argued with every Indian we have spoken to here!! That afternoon we headed out to the Sun and Monkey temples to watch the sun set. A bit of a hike up to the Sun temple but it was a great view over Jaipur until the lady in the temple was yelling at us telling us that the monkey had stolen Jason’s thong and run away with it. Luckily we managed to retrieve it minus a few chunks out of the back! On the way down we went to the monkey temple, which apparently housed over 3000 monkeys (they were either hiding from us or the driver was lying...hmmm) and were constantly followed by groups of teenage boys which was really odd. Not feeling rather motivated to do much the next day, and Jason constantly saying he hates the place and wants to go, we managed to make it to the City Palace and did a quick tour around there before heading back.
Next day we had arranged a bus to Pushkar to do a camel safari. We had planned to go to Jaisalmer but it was a 12 hour train each way for the same thing so we settled for the shorter bus ride. In saying that we had no air con and to start the bus 3 guys had to push the bus 10m for it to kick over... lucky we made it to Pushkar. As were we checking in to the hotel we saw a sign on the wall saying “No Meat, Not Alcohol” only to find out that we had arrived in one of the most religious places in India and it was illegal to eat meat, drink alcohol and eat eggs (50,000 rupee fine). Guess I missed that bit in the book... as you can imagine Jase was not a happy man, neither was I actually as my fondness for veggies is still at an all time low! Anyway we decided to have a couple of lazy days, which timed in quiet well as I got a little sick, so we just lazed around eating with quick bursts to the loo. At one restaurant we ate at, very touristy, we were offered beers and of course jumped at the chance but we had to hide them from view of the other restaurants around in case they dobbed them in. We then met 2 Irish girls who have been coming to India every year for the past 8 years and travel heaps, so picked their brains as well as organised a walk up to the temple the next morning.
Finally the day of the camel safari turned up and although it was only an overnight trip at the tour guides farm it was great and 3 hours on the camel that afternoon, was plenty. We arrived at the farm and we greeted by the very friendly family and some crazy Indian kids who just loved playing with us. It got rather tiring especially when they were snotty and the little girl found her comb, which I swear she uses on the rabid dog, to comb my hair! Then we had a home cooked VEGGIE dinner followed by drinks on the roof with the guide with candles and incense. We learned a lot about Indian culture and even got some wacky mustard oil massages from the guide before we passed out on the roof under the stars. I managed to get a visit at 4am from the rabid dog who wanted to play but was covered with fleas and didn’t realise that when I smacked it with my thong that meant piss off, I’m trying to sleep!
Next morning we said goodbye to the family and went back into town with our camel drivers: Balu and 11 year old Black commando! It was a really good experience to see how they live and they were so friendly even though there was the language barrier.
Really enjoyed Pushkar, considering it is in India but needed an urgent meat fix so it was time to head back to Jaipur to make our way South.
