Thursday 16th May 2013
We arrived into
Delhi about 7am and had no idea where we were annoyingly all the taxi/rickshaw
drivers made it out as if we were on the out skirts of town when in reality we
were just around the corner from where we had previously stayed. We got a lift
to the train station and attempted to buy tickets to Jaipur unfortunately we
were at the wrong station so we got our stuff together and headed to the metro
to go to the other station the line for tickets at the metro was immense so we
were really grateful when a policeman queue jumped and brought tickets for us
even more of a bonus was that we got to ride for Indian prices rather than the
tourist price. At the station we jostled for a place in the queue and got
tickets after only a few minor altercations with pushy women. We had four hours
to kill so decided to head to Connaught place to get some breakfast and kill
time but much to our annoyance not a lot was open yet so we had to settle for a
an expensive coffee shop, it turned out to be a stroke of luck as we met a
really nice guy who chatted to us about hiring a driver for Rajasthan although
it felt like cheating we decided to do it as it would mean we would get to see
far more of the state then we could fit in our allotted space of time. The
booking agent was able to refund our train tickets and within 20minutes we were
on the road in an air conditioned car with our driver Bist (Beast to us) pretty
soon we were all asleep in the car we stopped for lunch and stepped into the
heat people really weren’t joking when they said Rajasthan was hot the heat was
intense and within minutes of being outside we were all sweating up a storm. We
arrived into Jaipur about 6pm and stopped to take a few photos of the lake then
visited a textile factory where Ayla brought a beautiful scarf and Alex and I
took advantage of the free cold drinks provided. We checked into a guest house
and I set about getting some washing done it was so hot everything was pretty
much dry by the time we returned from dinner. Beast took us to a local restaurant
and helped us choose some local dishes which were amazing. Despite sleeping all
day in the car I was knackered and so conked out early.
Friday 17th May 2013
Beast picked us
up about 9am for a full day out and about sightseeing our first stop was the
Amber palace. Beast parked at the bottom and we trekked up the hill to the top
where we brought our tickets we go composite tickets which allowed us entry to
five different attractions in Jaipur. The palace was amazing there wasn’t much
information about so we just wondered from place to place getting lost in the
maze of rooms in one room there was a strange smell, the room back in the day
was used to draw water up from below when we looked down the shaft used to haul
the water up we discovered the cause of the smell there was about a million
bats just chilling clinging to the walls. In another room we climbed into what
would have been the baths and also got up close to the old school squatting
toilets. We climbed up onto the forts walls and took in the view of the city
there were loads of monkeys hanging out on the roof and we got chased by one
when Alex got a bit too close for a photo.
We spent hours exploring the palace before heading back to the car and
getting some lunch. After eating we headed to a couple of shops specializing in
gem stones Ayla saw a ring in Macleod Ganj and was trying to find something
similar. Next we headed to the Jantar Mantar which is an open air observatory
Alex and Ayla sat under a tree whilst I walked about fascinated by all the
giant instruments used to tell the time or plot the planets positions all
hundreds and hundreds of years old but accurate to within a few seconds. On the
way back to the car we saw a snake charmer it was fairly unimpressive though as
the cobra had its fangs removed and was clearly sedated as it was so docile the
man was furious when I walked away without paying him for his act of animal
cruelty. Next on our sightseeing tour was the wind palace unfortunately we
could only see the outside as it was being renovated. Our last stop of the day was a Hindu temple
we had to leave our shoes outside so had to run across to the entrance as the
white marble was scolding in the heat. Beast dropped us off at a mall which was
my idea of hell but it gave Alex the chance to buy a new bra I took the opportunity
to get myself a huge ice-cream and sit in the corner whilst the others shopped.
Beast picked us up and we went to another local restaurant where we had another
amazing meal.
Saturday 18th may 2013
This morning we
packed up and threw our bags in the car. We started the day with a visit to the
Nagargarh fort which was the last place on our ticket to see. We started off by
walking around the outside getting some great views and photos of the city then
we headed into the palace there are ten rooms one for the king and nine for his
nine wives there are even separate corridors so the king could creep about
without the other wives knowing where he was. It must have once been
spectacular but is now falling into ruin there is graffiti all over the walls
and rubbish everywhere which is really sad especially as it was last inhabited
until 1970. We were given a makeshift tour by a young security guard who seemed
pleased to share his knowledge. Back in the car we were on the road to Pushka I
was just in the middle of a nice nap when we stopped to see another gem/textile
shop I had no interest in looking at anything so just followed the others
around blindly. We were pretty hungry so Beast stopped at a roadside Dharba and
we had some beautiful dhal made fresh on a clay fire in front of us. Satisfied
we headed back to the car and kept on our merry way. Around 2pm we arrived in
Pushka we had to pay an entrance fee to the town as it is a holy site which was
a bit weird. We checked into a guesthouse on the edge of town which had nice
clean rooms and beautiful green lawns (the owner later bribed us with free Wi-Fi
to write him a good review on trip advisor) once we were settled in Beast drove
us into town and dropped us off by the lake pretty soon we were accosted by a “priest”
trying to sell me a photo permit to take pictures of the lake. We sat and took
It all in for a while before walking to the brahma temple stopping at all the
market stalls along the way, when we got there we couldn’t take anything in so
took turns going in whilst the other person held the stuff. When we came to we
stopped and talked to a young Indian guy for a while and he recommended a place
for dinner afterwards we walked back to the hotel the final stretch as a long
dark road so we convinced a rickshaw driver to let us drive back he obviously
didn’t trust my ability though as he held his hands over mine we got back and
sat and chatted to the hotel owner for a while before watching a movie.
Sunday 19th May 2013
This morning we
were supposed to leave at 9am but Ayla wasn’t ready on time it was really funny
as she was taking so long Beast thought she had an upset stomach. The drive was
fairly uneventful the scenery was unchanging dry flat scrubland. We pulled into
Jodhpur in the early afternoon. We checked into a guesthouse and agreed to meet
Beast in the morning then we walked to the Mehrangarh fort we got a bit lost
but eventually found the place we brought tickets and the cost included an
audio tour I found the whole thing really interesting and so walked along
listening to each number as well as the extras. By the end of the tour we were
all feeling really hot and hungry so decided to get some dinner we walked to a
restaurant recommended to us by Beas via the clock tower and a market. I had
the world’s biggest Masala Dosa for dinner but we all felt like a little
something else luckily for us there was an ice-cream shop across the road so we
all got a cone. On the way back to the hotel we stopped to watch the beginning
of an Indian wedding procession the groom was up on his horse baling his eyes
out and looking absolutely miserable whilst everyone around him was partying
seemingly oblivious to his unhappiness we stayed until the procession started
to move at which point we headed to a rooftop bar for a cold drink and a
beautiful night time view of the fort.
Monday 20th May 2013
We left jodhpur
at about 9am for a long day of driving we were heading for a town called Khuri
which is about 50km form Jaisalmer it’s a desert resort town which is known for
its camel safaris we rocked up and sat about for an hour or so until it got a
bit cooler before loading up our camels and heading into the great Thar desert.
After approximately 2mins we stopped and dismounted it seemed we were at one of
the camel guides houses and he needed to get his evening chores done before we
could go. When we finally got moving again we were only going for about 5mins
this time before we stopped again this time for the camels to drink and for the
guides to fill up on water the well was swarming with flies which kept getting
in the camels noses each time they drank they then shook their heads about
sending water and snot flying in every direction. When the camels had had their
fill we were on the move we made only one more stop which was at a village
where we stopped to play with some kids they got extreme joy out of continuously
reciting their ABCs. When we had been trekking for about two hours we stopped I
had expected to be in the middle of nowhere yet we could see a wind farm in the
distance and when the sun went down we could see the headlights of the cars
coming along the highway. We climbed onto a dune to watch the sunset it wasn’t
great as the sky was so hazy the sun just faded into nothingness back by the
camp the guides were cooing up a storm we sat and watched and Ayla and I made a
contribution by peeling the garlic finally dinner was ready it was delicious we
had dhal and desert beans and a potato curry rice and what we named poo bread a
delicious loaf cooked straight on the embers of a fire made with camel poo. The
guides set up our beds we had imagined sleeping in tents but we were out in the
open we fell asleep chatting and looking up at the stars but it was hard to
stay asleep when every time we opened our eyes the sky was alive. I have never
seen the stars so bright and so close it felt like we could touch them if we
tried.
Tuesday 21st May 2013
We woke up this
morning at first light before the sun had even risen in the sky the guides were
already up and making tea so we had a up in bed and took some photos in the
dunes around our beds were the tracks of so many animals including some quite
large paw prints! Before long we were being bundled onto our camels to head back.
The walk back was really cool as we saw some desert wildlife, loads of foxes
and antelopes and loads of birds of prey. The way back took us up and don over
many sand dunes which was more what I expected a desert camel safari to be.
Back at the resort we tipped our guides and headed inside for breakfast. Once
we had eaten our fill we jumped in the car to drive the 50km to Jaisalmer. We
drove into town and went straight to an Ayurvedic beauty salon for a massage.
It was a full body massage (including the boobs) which was just what we needed
after riding on camels. From there we checked into a guest house and set about
de-sanding everything we owned once that was done we headed into the city with
our guide Ram who is a university student who takes tors during the summer
holidays to improve is English and to get a bit of extra cash. He started by
taking us to we started in the fort which is the 2nd oldest fort in India
to still be inhabited because it was built so long ago it doesn’t have proper
drainage and what not so some sections are falling into disrepair due to water
damage. We started in a Hindu temple which we walked around before visiting a
Jain temple this one we didn’t go in as you had to pay and it was about to
close for the day anyway. Next Ram took us up to a point on the top of the
walls where we got a view of the city we sat in the shade and he told us some
facts about the wall and some local legends. We then went to see the palace but
just looked from the outside before heading up to a spot on the other side of
the walls where he pointed out the Havelis we were going to visit. We started
out at the former prime ministers Haveli, the houses stay in the family and now
the prime ministers family have one room open to the public as well as a room
full of his possessions (as well as some other items jewellery, bags etc.) that
they sell in order to maintain the house. It is all beautifully carved out of
stone and the designs are intricate and fascinating. Next we walked to the
merchants Haveli it is huge made up of five separate houses, three are owned
privately and two are owned by the government one had been completely re-down
inside, from the street you can see a room of mirrors up on the first balcony. Two
are open to the public in their original state but from the grim exteriors we
didn’t want to pay and see something in such a state of ruin. The other two
just sit there as far as I can tell. We took some hilarious photos on the porch
including one in which we look like we re modelling for some weird catalogue of
grimy travellers clothes. At this point we were all fading from the heat and
hunger so we popped up to a rooftop restaurant for some food we were the only
customers and yet our food seemed to take ages before it appeared (at least we
know its fresh) we ate and chilled out and a while later Ram reappeared and we continued
our tour. The last Haveli also belonged to a former prime minister going way
back this dude was a bit of a twat legend has it that he formed a law that
stated that all Brahma girls must sleep with him first on their wedding night
before their husband as they were so beautiful this sent the brahma’s into a
state of outrage and overnight 84 villages packed up and left the area to avoid
the law. This made the prime minster a tad unpopular but it wasn’t until a few
years later when he ordered a ridge be built from is house to the kings palace
so he wouldn’t have to walk on the streets when he had an audience with the
king that the king decided it was time to have him bumped. that Haveli brought
our sightseeing to an end but we hit up a cooperative shop all the goods being
sold are made from widows or other groups of people who have no way to earn a
living and sol in the cooperative shop, after uming and ahhing for 20 million
years Alex eventually brought a scarf and we headed back into the heat. Ram
walked us back to the hotel where we met Beast and headed out into the desert
to Kuldhara, it’s one of the 84 villages that was abandoned in the night and
now stands empty like a ghost town a lot of the houses have fallen down
somewhat and many don’t have roofs it seems a while back some guy came in with
a metal detector found a bunch of gold word spread and the place was ransacked
which is a shame these day it’s a protected site but the damage has been done
unfortunately. The town is really quite big and way in the far corner a few
houses have been rebuilt they stand next to a temple which has no damage I
guess as it’s a holy building pillages left it alone. The reconstructions are
cool in the sense that they give you an idea of exactly what the houses would
have looked like but it’s a shame that although original materials were used
(the same big square-ish blocks) the building has been done bricklayer style
with cement used to hold the blocks in uniform position rather than the
traditional stacking method which is common I all ancient Rajasthan buildings. Back
in town Beast took us to the lake its entrance gate was donated to the city by
a wealthy prostitute. There was a lot going on by the water with loads of Indian
families taking short boat rides or floating round in paddle boats. There were
also a bunch of dogs cooling off by standing in the lake and a crazy man who insisted
we came to look at the cat fish swimming around. We sat there for a while
enjoying the cool breeze that came off the water before Beast dropped us off at
the entrance to the fort and we walked up to a view point to watch the sunset
at first we were the only ones up there and it was so peaceful but pretty soon
there was about five couples or groups milling about in the small space the
stones were burning to sit on but we held out and watched the sun set into the
haze. We walked back to the hotel planning to grab dinner in the rooftop restaurant
but after sitting there for half an hour the guy finally came to take our order
and couldn’t make the food we wanted he didn’t actually work in the kitchen and
all the kitchen staff had been given the night off to go to a wedding so
disappointed we headed out to find somewhere to eat, we stumbled across a local
Indian place where the food was amazing and had hands down the best naan bread
we had eaten. Back at the hotel we sat in the lobby to enjoy the cool air as we
hadn’t forked out the extra for an air-con room.
Wednesday 22nd May 2013
we set off at
7.30am this morning for the long day driving to Ranakpur we got a few hours in
before we stopped for breakfast we had just ordered and were waiting for our
food when a guy came walking from the kitchen through the restaurant carrying a
rat by its tail. Beast said that unless there is an infestation of rats that Indian
people won’t kill them as they are the vehicle of Ganesh as in the giant
elephant god rides on the back of a rat. No one in the busy restaurant seemed phased
about the rat so we just got on with it and ate our food. Back on the road the
drive was fairly non-eventful we stopped for lunch at a truck stop and had an
amazing bhindi Masala (okra) the place was rammed but all eyes were on us
evidently no white girls had ever set foot in this otherwise male dominated
place. We arrived in Ranakpur about 4pm and checked out a hotel the owner was
rude barely greeting us when we came in and refusing to haggle with us the room
he offered was tiny and we would have all three had to share a bed and yet he
wouldn’t budge on price so we walked out we ended up at a beautiful resort just
down the road with lush gardens a swimming pool, AC in every room and a
beautiful restaurant, after some
haggling he owner agreed to cut us a deal and slashed the room more than half
for us (although it was a secret and we weren’t allowed to tell other guests)
we checked in and Alex went to lounge by the pool and Beast took Ayla and I to
the temple Ranakpur is famous for it’s a Jain temple complex comprising of
three temples one main one which is huge and then two smaller ones. The main
temple was by far the most beautiful temple I have ever seen its 600 years old
and took 63 years to complete its all carved out of pure white marble and is
dazzling. We walked about in pure wonderment it was a shame we only got to
spend about 15mins there as it closed for foreign visitors at 5pm, we still had
time to visit the two smaller ones and unlike the main temple we could take
photos in the other two, one was a karma sutra temple and the figures carved on
the outside were all intertwined in some very odd positions. We walked bout the
complex taking in the gardens and the monkeys that were in abundance back at the
hotel we rushed to the pool and spent about 90mins swimming and reading in the
early evening sunshine. Then we got dressed and hiked up a hill to the lake to
watch the sun go down the lake was huge surrounded by forest covered mountains
that reminded Ayla of Scotland. Some guys told us that around the corner there
were crocodiles on the lake shore so we trekked around but when we got there
they were gone. We hiked back down just as it was getting dark and headed onto
the lawn where the hotel was serving dinner. We ate a wonderful meal and by the
time we were finished we were the only people left outside we ordered some
desert and then lay on the grass and looked at the stars our food arrived and
we ate whilst chatting to the waiter when we had finished he took us up onto
the rooftop and showed us the mountain it was alive with a forest fire that he
said had been burning for close to a month it started in the distance and was
getting closer and closer but because no one lived there the government didn’t do
anything to stop it despite the fact that it was home to leopards, bears, a
whole host of birds, deer etc. he said it would burn itself out or would stop
when the monsoon arrived . It happens every year but this is the worst they
have seen it. By this stage it was late so we headed to our room where I went
to sleep in my window bed (which was full of jumping spiders)
Thursday 23rd May 2013
This morning I
was up early and headed to the pool before too long the others joined me and we
all went for a swim after which we ate breakfast on the lawn whilst drying off
we only had a three hour dive today so we had agreed with Beast we would set
off at 10.30am when we had to check out. After eating we lounged by the pool
reading and then swimming to cool off before long we only had 30mins till go
time so we quickly rushed through showers and packing and were ready to go, the
hotel was calculating our bill so we went across the road to look at the hotels
stables and its horses, they were beautiful and by far the most happy and healthy
working animals we had seen. Eventually we were on our way it seems that all
the swimming had tired us out and soon we were all asleep we woke up when Beast
stopped for us to see a garden it was formally the queens private garden and
apparently in its heyday was right up there as one of the best gardens in India
now although nice its nothing super spectacular but was a pleasant place to
stretch our legs and get some fresh air. From there it was just a short drive
into Udaipur where we stopped for lunch in a fancy hotel which did unlimited Thali's
it was really tasty but I ate way too much and felt super lethargic for the
rest of the day. We checked into a guesthouse and then went with Beast to a
travel agent to try and book our train ticket there were no direct trains to
Mumbai so the man came up with and alternative route but we couldn’t get
tickets as they were only issued the day before. Back at the hotel we said our farewells
to Beast and wished him a safe drive home. We then took ourselves around the corner
to a café for a cold drink we ended up sitting there for ages and when we
finally did make a move to go and see the city palace it had closed for the
day. Instead we decided to walk to the sunset point we got a tad lost along the
way but made it in time to see the sun setting over the lake not wanting to be
walking down the hill in complete darkness we headed down and watched the last
bit of sun sink into the water on the edge of the lake. Then we slowly walked
back towards our hotel for the ever exciting chore of laundry with that hanging
up to dry we headed to the rooftop for a disappointingly bad dinner.
Friday 24th May 2013
We got up this
morning and headed to the travel agent to try and get our tickets first of all
the dude who was supposed to get was late and then I was sitting there thinking
he was booking them but when I asked he said he was having trouble logging in
by this stage it was just after 10am and the likelihood of getting the tickets
was slim so I walked out and found another place we couldn’t get on the train
but he got us tickets on a non-ac public bus it actually took less time than
the train so at least that was a silver lining. From there we went to breakfast
which was another disappointing meal. Finally we got ourselves moving and went
to the city palace I was really beautiful but annoyingly as I refused to buy a
photo permit I had to surrender my camera to security luckily it was still
there at the end as it was the most ridiculous policy of claiming it back all
you had to do was point an take the camera you wanted. The palace is set up
like a museum with different sections of armour, weapons, clothes; cooking
equipment etc. towards the end there was a painting gallery that had rooms of
different topics including one room of tiger hunting paintings which was a bit
sad. By the time we had finished in the palace and had a quick look at the gift
shops we just had time for lunch before we needed to head to the bus stop. We
found a cute little Indian restaurant but it was another disappointing meal and
so we headed to another café for ice-cream sundaes which were delicious. Then
it was a matter of getting our bags loaded into a thankfully large rickshaw and
driving to the bus stop we got there and had to wait for over an hour other
people came and went but they were all on the ac buses when we finally boarded
it was the weirdest set up with only eight seats (of which we had three) then
the rest of the bus was little sleeping compartments on two levels. The driver
kept touting for more customers along the way and by the end of the bus trip
there were 2-3 people in each sleeping compartment and then loads of people
spread out all over the floor. We stopped for dinner at a huge roadside rest
stop and we were soon surrounded by so many people helping us buy food we met a
guy from Mumbai who ordered something for us unfortunately we never learnt what
it was because it was amazing. While we were eating a family off our bus came
over and then looked after us for the rest of the trip. The journey wasn’t too
bad as all the windows opened so we got enough of a breeze but by the end of it
I was feeling really stiff after not having any room to stretch my legs.
