Jaisalmer

I'm having the most amazing time in Jaisalmer and I've only been here since yesterday evening!
I checked into my hotel, Hotel Haveli and soon made friends with Illy from Hungary who is living here with her Indian bf who works in the hotel and Ishaak who is the manager. They invited me to their 'party' last night where we sat in the best hotel 'suite' and shared dinner and conversation in a circle on the floor. There was also an Australian woman and her Indian husband, and another girl from Austria.
Today I explored inside Jaisalmer Fort with Illy. It's amazing because unlike the other forts I've visited in Rajasthan, Jaisalmer Fort is still very much (over) occupied and the winding labyrinth of streets are full of shops, restaurants and hotels. I love it here!
I've been made to feel very much a part of the hotel crowd - this afternoon we're going to go to the lake, tonight I'm getting taught how to make dahl (a chickpea curry), chapati (like naan) and traditional Indian masala chai! Then tomorrow night we're all going out to the desert for dinner and to watch traditional Rajasthani dancing!
I'm staying 3 nights (at this stage) and then hopefully will be able to catch a lift to Jodhpur with my two French friends!
Amiee x

Nawalgarh

Took a local bus to the rural town of Nawalgarh in the Shekhawati region, known for its intricately painted havelis. The bus was surprisingly hassle free; the guy next to me kept his hands to himself so I didn't have to slap anyone (I haven't had to slap anyone yet! My death glare is working wonders!) I didn't see another foreigner the entire journey!

Got to Nawalgarh and the rickshaw driver decided to try and take me to a closer hotel rather than the hotel I'd requested, luckily I went inside to find out which hotel it was BEFORE I paid the driver. Turns out he'd taken me to an eco-resort owned by Ramesh, the father of Rajesh who ran the hotel I wanted to go to. The eco-resort looked lovely but out of my price range, and Ramesh was lovely too, suggesting that if I had been looking for Rajesh's hotel, I should insist on going there.

Was greeted at the front door by Rajesh, who owns/runs Rajesh Jangid Tourist Pension. His whole family is just so friendly and welcoming. The rooms are very beautiful and there's a big common room, as well as an incredibly peaceful shady courtyard where I spent most of my time reading. They grow their own organic vegetables and Rajesh's wife cooks delicious meals with them. They even make their own yoghurt, which I had for breakfast one morning. It was such an oasis of peace and it was great to not be hassled for a couple of days! Rajesh is incredibly helpful and kind, and I would highly recommend his place to everyone.
I spent the days wandering around the town and exploring the havelis - a town without touts!!. It was haveli heaven! There's over 200 in the town and several are open to the public to wander around. It was fantastic. I would have just stayed a week and chilled out if I had the time but I had to keep on going. There were two French cousins who were the only others staying at Rajesh's home. They had hired a private car and driver for their time in Rajasthan and I was able to catch a free lift for the 9hr drive to Jaisalmer! Luck!


Speaking of luck, every single day someone tells me I'm lucky, and each time for a different reason. The mention of 'luck' first started when a 'guide' at Fatehpur Sikri tried to sell me string to tie onto the lattice in the temple so that I could make a wish. They were asking something like $4 for a piece of string and some flowers to offer, and I told them that I didn't need it. He insisted that it was very important I tied that string on for luck. "I make my own luck," I retorted as a I walked away. The next day it started. The first day it was the Jaipur hotel owner; the gap in my front teeth means I'm lucky. Then the next day I'm told I'm lucky because the lines on my forehead are straight and go all the way from one side to the other. The next day I stepped in cow shit, and was told that I'm lucky. And then yesterday a glass broke next to me, and apparently that means I'm lucky too. Every day, and a different person each day, tells me that I'm lucky!

TAJ baby! + now in Jaipur

The morning train to Agra was AMAZING. Seriously. My seat was in the middle of the carriage which meant that my row of 3 seats had a full table in front of us, with another row of 3 people sitting facing us on the other side.. it was like sitting at a dining table! The Indian people that sat around me were very well to do and were asking me how I was enjoying their country and were very helpful in telling me which stop to get off the train at (there aren't really any signs nor announcements as to which station we're arriving at!). There was a 'busboy' in a railway cap and a vest who handed out free newspapers, free tea and biscuits, and free 'breakfast' (bread and jam, along with some indian veg cutlets). I felt like I was travelling first class!

I got off the train and was heading out to the rickshaw drivers when a voice started asking me a question, I turned around looked at person the voice belonged and recognised them... there was a moment of "hey... don't I know you..." when we both realised that we'd shared a table in a restaurant in Mcleod Ganj a few nights earlier, neither of us realising we'd be heading to see the Taj on the same day! So Linda and I became Taj buddies!

I'd booked a hotel because I'd heard bad stories about places being full and having to pay ridiculous amounts for a room, and there was a rickshaw driver waiting out the front of the train station with sign that read "AMIEER". Lol. Checked into my room, looked out the window and BOOM! there's the Taj!!! I was so excited I actually jumped up and down and did a little dance, much to the amusement of the hotel worker. We went and had a cool drink on the rooftop to admire the Taj some more.. it's SO BIG!! And it was RIGHT THERE!

Linda only had the day to spend so we decided we'd first catch a bus out to Fatehpur Sikri to see the Fort/Palace complex there and then explore the Taj in the cooler afternoon. Well, it was alright. The main gate was really awe-inspiring and impressive but the rest was alright. One of those things where you enjoyed some aspects, but wonder whether it was worth coming to see. In one of the complexes, Akbar had built three palaces for his three favourite wives, a Hindu, a Muslim from Turkey, and a Christian from Goa. Well, they might have been his three favourites but you could tell who his number one favourite was; the Hindu wife's palace was about 5 times the size of the other two! If I were the Muslim or Christian wife, I'd be pissed. There was a building which once housed the treasury... not quite as splendid as I'd imagined (I'm thinking huge marble room with piles of gold like in Aladdin). We also saw where Akbar carried out public executions by elephant stampede. Charming.

Headed back to Agra, had lunch, got food poisoning.. then went to the TAJ!

I loved it. It is so beautiful. Yes, you see a thousand photographs but the actual sheer size and scale of it is really the impressive part... and did I mention it's really beautiful??

I adopted a strict 'no photo' policy for the Taj as I've gotten to a point where it isn't really funny and a novelty anymore.. it's just time consuming and often very, very annoying. It probably means I'm evil but I kinda got a kick out of the reactions of men when I refused to get photographs with them.. some conversations went a little like this:

"Excuse me madam one photo"
"No sorry"
"No charge!"
"Um what?? NO"
I found that line the funniest.. "no charge".. as if I was saying no because I thought they'd charge ME for a photo with them?? Are you kidding?

The majority of conversations went like this:

"Excuse me madam one photo"
"No"
"... no?!?!" *incredulous stare, mouth practically hanging open* <-- my favourite part
"No"
*pause*
"Just one photo"

"I said. NO."

It's harder saying no to the women that ask, they're a lot nicer. The men I just know will use the photo to show all their mates and make up stories about their easy Westerner girlfriend. I had one guy at the Golden Temple even have the audacity to put his arm around me when I agreed to a photo (this may sound like nothing but that kind of touching is just not done here!). I protested with an "UH!" and he ignored me and kept his arm firmly around my shoulders, wanting his friend to take the photo despite my protests! I removed his arm, gave him my new improved death glare, told him to go away, and sat facing the other direction. Hehe.

Anyway back to the Taj. It was beautiful. And it was so good having Taj buddy to share the experience with! Linda left about 8pm and I spent a beautiful evening with my head in the toilet bowl.

The next day I was feeling a lot better and headed out to see Agra Fort. Not bad, I could live there (back in its glory)! Indians really know how to do palaces. Went and saw where Shah Jahan was imprisoned. For those of you who don't know the story, Shah Jahan was the emperor who built the Taj Mahal in memory of his favourite wife who died given birth to their 14th child (man, that woman would have spent most of her life pregnant!). After the Taj was completed, one of his sons, Aurangzeb, took over as Emperor by imprisoning his father in Agra Fort where he stared forlornly out the window to the Taj until he died there something like 8 years later. When I've heard this story, it's always told as "Poor Shah Jahan, isn't this such a sad story" but on further exploration.. it's really not that bad. For starters, everyone glorifies Shah Jahan and makes his son out to be a real dick for imprisoning his own father... but earlier in history, Shah Jahan had killed something like all of his brothers in order to be Emperor. Not so innocent! At least Aurangzeb didn't kill his father! Also, I went to where Shah Jahan was "imprisoned"... the place is a beautiful palace built out of marble, amazing views out over the river to the Taj, and he had his own mosque in which to worship... I can really think of worse places to be locked up. Really, it's not the dramatically poignant story it's made out to be! I think one of the most interesting parts of the Agra Fort was the building that once housed Akbar's (I think it was Akbar..) 500 strong harem! And they each had their own room! 500 women. Wow. Really?

I'd love to add some photos right now but unfortunately my SD card is full of viruses (thankyou internet cafes) and the files are simply not showing up! Trying to remedy the problem with some downloaded file recovery programs and will hopefully have my photos back soon!

Took the train to Jaipur last night and arrived after 10pm. It's so much more expensive travelling by yourself as a female because not only do you not have anyone to share the cost of rickshaws/hotel rooms etc, but you have to pay extra for things for the sake of safety. The hotel I'd booked was in walking distance of the train station, but I took a rickshaw because there was no way I was walking by myself in the dark! The hotel room last night was brilliant. It was the cleanest most spotless room I've seen in India, and the bathroom was so clean it almost sparkled! It made me so happy! It was like I was staying at someone's house in Australia! No dirt/scum/mould on the walls! The toilet bowl was WHITE!!!! Someone in India HAS heard of bleach! I did a little dance about the room too.

Spent the day today seeing the "sights" of Jaipur. In a word.. exhausting. I have a love/hate relationship with "sights". The entry charges are so expensive and most of the time I'm left feeling like.. yeeeah was that really worth the money? Most of the sights have their good parts, but sometimes you just feel like you're forever wandering around looking at things, taking photos, and leaving. I was amused in the City Palace by the Indian tourist group that all wore red caps in order to find each other. Women wore beautiful traditional saris.. and red caps. It was a hilarious juxtaposition (ooh big word!). I particularly enjoyed the ornate painted frescoes on some of the doorways, and the traditionally painted portraits of some of Jaipur's maharajas.

My favourite sight of the day was the Amber Fort. Even better than the Agra Fort! I really enjoy it when you can explore around inside the fort rather than having to stick to a roped off tourist path, although I realise this is probably more detrimental to the preservation of the fort. I spent a couple of hours weaving between rooms and passages and climbing up winding staircases. Some of it was really like a maze and I actually got lost and couldn't work out where to get out for a while! I particularly liked exploring the Ladies Apartments where all the wives/harem and their attendants lived, with a direct walkway from the Maharaja's chambers, for discreet night time visits. I really can't imagine that kind of relationship, living with all these women whom you're sharing the one man with! Although looking at some of the portraits of the Maharajas, the women probably didn't mind sharing certain duties around! I saw in the City Palace gallery, the robes of one of the Maharaja's and man he was FAT! Apparently almost 7 foot tall and almost 4 foot wide across the chest. Blimey. Yep, I'd be happy to have a group of other women to satisfy that guy's needs!

Anywho, I'm off to the more rural Shekhawati province in Rajasthan tomorrow to go and stare at some painted haveli frescoes!

Toodles! x

Amritsar and back to Delhi!

Helloooooooo!
So the bus to Amritsar was interesting. The taxi I had to take at 4am to get to the local bus station in the next town actually cost me more than the bus. The bus left at 5am and got to Amritsar about lunchtime. The road wasn't too bad considering once we came down from the mountains it was all flat and smooth(ish). I had a Polish girl sitting next to me who kept falling asleep on my shoulder (lol).

Arrived in Amritsar, I've got to be honest, it's pretty average. The Golden Temple though, is the exception. It was very beautiful and calm (for India) inside the walls, even with the occasional spear wielding Sikh guard making sure everyone had their head covered (or else, apparently!). I spent a few hours there people watching sitting by the big 'lake' of holy water. I'll add photos soon.

Took my first Indian train today and it was sooo much better than a bus. I was in a 3rd Class AC compartment and I loved the leg room, the little table for me to put my food/book/water on and the minimal jostling! Definitely travelling by train as much as I can. I'm back in Delhi now and it was really nice going back to somewhere familiar - knowing exactly where you are when you hop off the train and where you need to go! It's amazing how much ring roll you have to go through just to use the internet in some places! I had to give this guy my passport, he took a 'profile' shot of me with his webcam, and then I had to sign up for an 'account' here even though I'll rarely be here!

Heading to Agra very early tomorrow morning to finally see the TAJ MAHAL!! WOO!!! :D
x

Leaving tomorrow

Decided to move on tomorrow after nearly a week here I think. Still sleeping ridiculous amounts but am recovering. I could easily stay here longer. In fact, most people you meet here are here longterm doing yoga training or meditation retreats or teaching English to monks. I've done a couple of yoga drop in classes with Yogi Sivadas who completely looks the part and is also a very good teacher. After over a month of only walking a lot.. the muscles in the rest of my body are really feeling the yoga! Looking forward to not huffing and puffing so much when climbing staircases.. the first day I got here I thought, Wow I must be really sick if I can't even climb a few flights of stairs without being so out of breath! But then it was pointed out to me that we're at an altitude of something like 2800m so hence the breathlessness!
Descending down to Amritsar near the Pakistan border tomorrow morning via local bus. Should be an interesting trip. Also experienced my first 'video' photo shoot today. Was sitting eating breakfast watching a rotund Sikh man videoing the scenery, then the curtains, then the table.. then he just stood there less than a metre away with his video camera trained on me.
"Uh. Hello."
He then proceeded to sit with us, along with his brother in law, and tell me about his son in Melbourne, show me photos of house, family, and of course pose for the obligatory chummy photos. Gotta love India.

One of the things I really love about McLeod Ganj...

..No plastic bags!!
Everything is given to you in recycled newspaper bags. I pick my laundry up in brown paper bags. I even went to send some excess items home the other day, but first I had to get it 'post packed' which involved an old Tibetan guy with a foot peddled sewing machine making a calico 'pillow case' putting the cardboard box of my stuff inside, and then sewing it up and sealing the seams with wax! If only people everywhere had the level of patience and time to go the extra effort to not use plastic!

Cost of Travel - Bali

BALI - 25 nights

Total Spend $536 - roughly $21.45/day (AUD)

Accommodation - $229.65
Food + Bev - $165.60
Transport (bus, taxi, moto rental, bike rental) - $46.75
Purchases (sarongs, sunglasses, massages, medical etc) - $60.70
Internet - $22.65
Laundry - $5 approx
Entry fees etc - $5 approx

Kullu Valley and Mcleod Ganj

So we finally managed to get out of Delhi on an overnight bus to Bhuntar in the Kullu valley. Well it was an 16hr overnight bus ride so naturally it was pretty crap. I didn't want to have to get out to go to the toilet so I didn't really eat or drink and as a result was not feeling the best the next day. Bit of a stupid idea in hindsight. The scenery was amazing though. I remember waking up at one point at around 2am and looking out to see the valley below me, with low whispy clouds and studded with house lights, then looking up to half clouded starlit sky above me... it was like there was sky above and below! Such a beautiful sight!

We arrived in Bhuntar in the early morning and organised a jeep to take us to Manikaran where we planned on visiting the Sikh temple and bathing in some hot springs, as suggested to us by our Sikh travel agent. We shared the jeep with another traveller we picked up along the way, the French and dreadlocked (and very amusing) Rashid, as well as a couple of young Indian guys. Well, the jeep ride was interesting. I was at times not very impressed with the driver's apparent lack of focus and concern whilst speeding around corners on the edge of a cliff, but we ended up getting to our destination in one piece. There was a lot of smoking of a particular substance coming from the front seat and as a result, things accidentally got very hysterically funny for a good portion of the drive. Enough said.

Manikaran was beautiful. Situated in the Kullu valley, surrounded by soaring mountains, with the raging Parvati river running through it. Very quiet little village and lovely people. Unfortunately I started feeling very unwell with a burning stomach and fever whenever I ate. I slept A LOT. I went to the only 'doctor' in town, an ayurvedic healer who diagnosed me with a stomach infection and gave me a mountain of herbal medicine to take.
"You crazy girl!" Rashid tells me, in a very strong French accent. He doesn't trust the herbal medicine. "For me, it is not possible!"
I'm starting to feel better today but it's been suggested that it's perhaps a stomach ulcer rather than an infection.

We left Manikaran and Rashid and took another overnight bus to Mcleod Ganj. The bus was even worse than the first one, I was unable to sleep as the driver sped around constant corners. I had to hold tight onto my arm rest in order to remain in my seat! Luckily it was only 8 hours.

We arrived in Mcleod Ganj before sunrise. Here is the home of the Tibet Government in Exile and also a majority of Tibetan refugees. It was lovely sitting outside watching the sunrise and the Tibetan people walking passed with their prayer beads and their smiling faces. They are such a lovely people. Mcleod Ganj itself is beautiful too, up in the mountains. It rains a lot but it is a beautiful cool temperature. As I write this I'm watching a misty rain cloud descend over the mountain in front of me. There are also big hairy monkeys that climb through the town on electrical wires and clamber over the guesthouse which are very amusing to watch. There is yoga, massage, great food, and a small 'cinema'. I'm already in love with the Tibetan steamed Aloo Momos which are like dumplings filled with mashed potato. Oh how I'd been craving mashed potato! I can buy a plate of about 5-6 momos for about 20c. I looooove this town. I'm going to stay here for a bit to fully recover before continuing on my travels!

Amiee x

The Jaisalmer Bus Fiasco - otherwise known as "This day is JOKING"

Otherwise known as - How we wound up in a car, in Delhi, at 2am, with a Sikh man and his 16yr old assistant that we had met earlier that day, driving down the wrong side of the highway towards oncoming traffic.

Wow. What a day. I woke up this morning thinking - did that really just happen?

Yesterday we decided we wanted to go to Jaisalmer in Rajasthan as it's Tal's last week in India and she hasn't been yet.. and it's beautiful there. We first tried to book the overnight sleeper train, but it was booked out for 2 days. So instead I walked into a travel agent come internet cafe and enquired about an overnight sleeper bus. Success! We booked a luxury Volvo sleeper bus with air-con overnight direct to Jaisalmer. Later that evening we returned to the travel agent with our bags to go to the bus station, to be told that the bus company had called and our luxury air-con Volvo bus was not available due to the rain (yeah, right) and that instead we would still have a luxury sleeper bus but just with fan. The travel agent, a lovely and sincere Sikh man, was very apologetic us and refunded us the difference is price. We then had to wait for the correct driver, who I think was from the bus company, to take us to the bus station. We waited for nearly an hour but he finally showed up, only to just find us the nearest rickshaw and tell us to pile on. The rickshaw driver wanted 150R to take us there but we refused, because our Sikh travel agent had told us 50R. Meanwhile, the 'driver' from the bus company took our travel agent ticket and wrote us out a bus ticket, except he wrote 'Jodhpur' rather than 'Jaisalmer'...
"No no no! We go to JAISALMER. Not Jodhpur!"
"Ok Ok"
"No, not ok. Change the ticket."
So he crossed it out and wrote Jaisalmer. Warning bells started ringing.
Meanwhile, we told the 'driver' to call our Sikh travel agent about the cost of the rickshaw so he came down and started yelling at the rickshaw driver on our behalf. They were unable to reach a resolution so our Sikh travel agent ended up telling us to wait there while he got his car - he was going to drive us instead! We dodged and weaved through the traffic and were dropped off at the bus terminal. We thanked our travel agent and said goodbye. We waited for about half an hour at the bus terminal with the other passengers (all locals, no tourists - warning bells) until our bus finally arrived. We were told to follow as we walked down the street to where our bus was parked. As no-one checked our tickets before being told to follow, we were asking other people in our mob where they were going but we kept hearing 'Jodhpur'. This was unsettling. We thought maybe it stops at Jodhpur and lets people out and then continues on to Jaisalmer. So we decided that we were definitely going to not get on the bus until we spoke to the driver. We arrived our bus. It was definitely not luxury. I'm not even going to describe it any further other than it was.. shit. We asked to talk to the driver, we're not sure exactly who the driver was but we ended up talking to a DH who told us that no the bus was only going to Jodhpur but it was same same, we'd just buy another onward ticket to Jaisalmer!! Well that was not going to be happening! We had paid for a direct trip the WHOLE way to Jaisalmer on a LUXURY bus (I'd like to add at this point that this bus trip would take at least 15hr so it is worth being fussy) and it was NOT same same for us to be taking this shit bus and then buying another ticket in Jodhpur. We demanded they ring our travel agent, who told us they he would refund us for the Jodhpur - Jaisalmer leg of the ticket if we still wanted to go, but we decided instead that we wanted this all sorted out and would go back to his office. First we had to go back to the bus station to get our other ticket back (it had been swapped AGAIN) at which point Tal demanded to talk to the person in charge. She was given a phone and proceeded to give the scamming bastard a piece of her mind. Awesome.

We took a rickshaw back to our Sikh travel agent. He was very upset and apologised profusely. He paid our rickshaw driver and handed us back all our money. He explained that the man he had booked us the bus ticket through had scammed him/us and he had ripped up his business card saying he'd never deal with him again! We think we might even go to the tourist police with his details.

We then spent a couple of hours with the Sikh travel agent (and his 16yr old assistant who is the son of his friend who had passed away) trying to work out a plan B and what transportation we could possibly get that night. By this time it was after 10:30pm but as Tal has very limited time left in India, time is at a premium! So we really wanted to get a late bus or train that night. It got to 11:30 and the train website closed, so we then had to wait until 12:30am until it opened again and we could check the timetables. We toyed with heaps of different itineraries and options.. none of which really seemed to work. Our Sikh travel agent offered us some of his food and even went and bought us icecream. Such a kind man. We eventually decided that we would try and get on a local bus to Jaisalmer that night. The Sikh said we could get one by going to the local bus terminal and that he would drive us. We left about 1am.

We drove through the transport suburb of Delhi. All the rickshaw drivers were parked on the side of the road and were curled and cramped up attempting to sleep on the back seat of their rickshaws. The median strips were filled with people sleeping everywhere we drove. Hundreds of people sleeping on the pavement. Eventually after a very bumpy ride we arrived at the bus terminal, only to find out that none of the buses there left for Rajasthan, we had to go to the OTHER terminal. We drove for probably another 45 minutes, weaving between trucks, drifting and screeching around corners, slamming into pot holes. At one point the road was wet as we went around the corner, we slid a bit and then ploughed into practically a lake of water across the road. I'd also like to mention at this point that Tal's battery had run out and she slept practically comatose through this entire thing. We had to keep stopping and asking for directions. At one point we stopped and asked a guy on the side of the road for directions. He had a cast on his arm, and was also sporting fresh cuts all up his arm dripping with blood. We then stopped and asked a couple of policemen with automatic weapons. Then a few rickshaw drivers. Eventually we found the bus terminal but it was on the other side of the highway, and we had to do about a 10km loop before we could do a U-turn. We arrived at the terminal, only to find out that we had gone slightly too far and were in some sort of carpark rather than the actual bus terminal. We did the 10km U-turn loop again. We pulled into another driveway, only to be told that we had gone one driveway too far. Rather than do the 10km loop again, we then proceeded to drive the wrong way up the highway to get to the right entrance.

We pulled into the Rajasthan terminal. A guard whistled at us told us to park over to the side. Our Sikh driver asked him (in Hindi) when the bus to Jaisalmer would leave. The guard said he didn't know, he just knew he was not allowed to drive in through the terminal (very knowledgeable). Our Sikh travel agent sent his 16yr old assistant out to the terminal office to get information. He returned a couple of minutes later to give us the news that they did not know when there would be a bus to Jaisalmer.
"THIS IS FUCKING HELL," exclaimed our Sikh travel agent.
I agreed.
We turned and heading back to the hotel.

A few minutes later we were all laughing with exhaustion and frustration (apart from Tal, who was still comatose).
"This day is JOKING!" laughed our Sikh travel agent.
I agreed.

He drove us back to the hotel where Tal had been staying. Luckily the reception is always open. Zombie Tal and I thanked him, gave him some fuel money and told him we'd come back in the morning. The hotel gave us room 211, the room directly below where Tal had been staying.
"Weird," we thought.
We settled in but then realised the air-conditioning wasn't working, so we had to go and ask for another room.
We were taken to room 311. The room that we had left that morning! Cue ex-files theme music.
Apparently we were just not supposed to leave yesterday.
India.

Delhi Sight Seeing

We (Tal, myself, and our other Aussie Chris) decided that we should probably see some of Delhi's sights. So we went to the Red Fort. I thought it was very beautiful. We spent quite a large chunk of our time there posing for tonnes of photographs with Indian men, Indian women, Indian children, Indian families. One guy wanted to pose with my sunglasses on. Fair enough. One woman in a beautiful sari wanted to pose shaking my hand, I call it 'diplomat style'. Fair enough. A whole family swarmed around me wanting me in their family portrait. Fair enough. I had to sit and pose with each of their children and then each of the men. Fair enough. Some people wanted both me and Tal in the photo. Others wanted just Chris because he is a giant. Fair enough.
I will be adorning the mantelpieces of hundreds of Indian households.

After what seemed like several hours of Red Fort, we had just jumped into a rickshaw home when Chris spotted what to me looked like a Nightmare Horror Freakshow Fair, but to him looked like Disneyland... so we went in. There was a handful of people there at most, none of the rides were going, the merry-go rounds were pushed by hand and weren't mechanical... I was happy to get the hell out of there but Chris wanted to try some of the games. Fair deal, I had just dragged him around looking at buildings in the Red Fort. The photography sessions started again but at this point it was just men and I was hungry and had enough. I posed for one photo but then a girl with down-syndrome came and grabbed onto me like a spider monkey. Usually that would be borderline OK but I had just a minute earlier watched in horror as she demonstrated picking her nose and eating it to the crowd of people around me. I waited for her to let go. She didn't. The man that was trying to pose with me for a photo told her to get off me. She then proceeded to blow spit bubbles at him. I pushed her off me and ran for Tal and Chris, who were completely oblivious to the down syndrome mucus spider monkey incident.

By this time, our presence had drawn quite a large crowd of people into the Fair and all the rides had started up again. Tal and Chris decided they wanted to go on the Ferris Wheel that was spinning around like the Zipper. I told them there was no way in hell I was going on that thing. I'd also like to mention at this point that there had been thunder and lightning only 10min prior and they wanted to jump onto a giant metal wheel. They bought their tickets..
"Come on Amiee!!",
"You want to go on that thing... look how freakin fast it is going! You will die for sure!"
"It won't go that fast when people are on it!" reasoned Tal.
I still refused.. until they started to board the ride, at which point I realised I'd be left alone with the hoard of men and the mucus spider monkey. Not wanting to be a bad sport (and for the aforementioned reason) I quickly bought a ticket and hurried up the steps of the Ferris Wheel. Chris and Tal had just hopped into a carriage.
"Wait, wait, our friend!" exclaimed Tal and Chris.
"Yes, yes," said the Ferris Wheel operator as the ride started and Tal and Chris disappeared.
He stopped the ride at a different carriage and I hopped on, along with what seemed to be my Indian date.
The ride started. In all fairness, my date was very well behaved and didn't say anything or try to grope me. Brilliant.
"This isn't so bad" I thought. The Ferris Wheel was moving at the speed a Ferris Wheel should move at, Tal was right afterall, and there was a great view of the beautiful Jamah Masjid (a mosque built by Shah Jahan.. same guy who built the Taj Mahal.. not personally.. I mean he got people to make it for him......).
The speed picked up. The carriage was swinging around violently. When we'd go over the top, we almost got air. My stomach turned. I actually thought I may die. At this point I would also like to add that the bottom of my carriage was so rusted that it had broken off in the corner. I was imagining what the structural parts of the Ferris Wheel must look like and pictured the rusty carriage breaking off and plummeting to the ground.
"Great. I just survived a bombing and an earthquake to die on a Ferris Wheel. What a freaking joke," I thought.
I was imagining the newspaper headlines in my head. It seemed a disappointing way to die.
"Not. Good," I said to my date. He stared at me.
"Tell. Him. To. SLOW DOWN," I appealed to my date. He stared at me.
"Tell. Him. STOP. STOP," I tried. I had decided that this was not how I wanted to die. He stared at me. I don't think he spoke any English.
Eventually the ride stopped, I didn't die, and I stood silently waiting (fuming) for Tal and Chris. I think they could tell I was not a happy camper. I may have mentioned it.

Later, I had calmed down, and we went to a Muslim mausoleum to watch the Sufi people sing qawwali. It was somewhat nicer than the Ferris Wheel of Death. I eventually got fed dinner and the world seemed nice again.

Bomb blasts and earthquakes

So during my first 24 hrs in Delhi there has been a bombing and an earthquake... I think that's good luck? Right?
I didn't mention the earthquake in my post this morning because I didn't actually know that there was one for sure.
Last night at 11:35 I was lying in bed reading when I felt the building shake. My initial thoughts were, ok this is either another bombing or an earthquake. I went downstairs to the reception expecting everyone to be moving outside or something but when I went down the men were all just sitting around watching TV.
"Earthquake?"
"What?"
"Earthquake?"
"I no understand..."
"Earthquake. Like, shake. Building move.."

With another puzzled look I then began to enact an earthquake by grabbing onto a wall and shaking.
Still nothing.
I went upstairs and wrote in my diary: "11:35. Just felt the building shake. No one else seemed to notice. I think I'm going nuts."
It wasn't until I met up with my friends today that they told me it was actually on the news and they felt it too. Originally reported to be a 6.6 but downgraded to a 4.2. My first earthquake!

Delhi = awesome.

I had prepared myself for the absolute worse when I arrived in India and so far it's been nothing but awesome (I'm using the word awesome a lot today.. you'll just have to deal). I had prebooked a hotel (Surya Plaza) with airport pickup so when I arrived at 10pm Delhi time after travelling since 9am Bali time it was a big relief to not have to think. I arrived at the hotel to be treated to the most expensive and yet absolute worst room I have ever stayed in whilst backpacking. Services included complementary heap of shit on the toilet seat, air con that was set to 'ice age' with no remote control so there is no escape from frostbite, and promised but non-existant 24hr hot water. None of these things (bar the shitty toilet seat) usually matter to me, I haven't had aircon or hot water the entire trip, but when I pay for them I want them to be good damnit! Lol.

The saving grace of Surya Plaza was 'Bill' who seemingly worked there and was very friendly and helpful, and even though he knew I was checking out and staying elsewhere, he walked me through the maze of the main bazaar to the hotel where my friend Tal is staying!

I met up with Tal and the group of backpackers she's picked up along her way through India and we grabbed a couple of rickshaws out to the Swaminarayan Akshardham, a 'temple' complex set on 100 acres dedicated to the child-yogi, Neelkanth Varni. It was a bit odd. We went into an 'exhibition' that used animatronics to take us through the life of Neelkanth, then a 45min film that was pretty much the exact same thing again, and then a 'boat ride' (like one of those Dreamworld log rides inside a building with knee deep water) through "10,000 years of Indian history" in which they boast about various things like inventing democracy, the game chess, etc etc.
We caught the Metro home afterwards, and posed for some photos with locals at the train station. I decided to be a bit interesting and go for the 'cross-eyed fish pose' rather than a boring smile, which won many cheers and laughter from the kids hehe.
I think the one advantage of being a woman in India is the women only train cars that are MUCH less crowded and smelly! We had to change trains at one point and hopped into a normal carriage which was absolutely crammed full. You hear all these stories about being groped in crowds, that didn't happen to me, but I actually inadvertently forced someone to 'grope' me! I had my backside resting on what I thought was the pole of the train.. until it shifted under me and I realised I'd been resting my bum on someone's hand that was holding onto the pole.... and he was moving it away! lol.

I'm staying pretty much in the Main Bazaar of Pahar Ganj and the streets here are really fascinating. Whilst walking around I've seen a room full of horses and a couple of rooms full of garbage (seems to be the local garbage dump). All of the buildings along the main bazaar have had parts of their front facade (awnings, balconies) ripped off to widen the street for the Olympics. The shops here are amazing. I could really buy a LOT here but I remained disciplined and only bought some silver earrings and a shawl. The jewellery shop was a lot of fun, one of the girls I was with was buying up big because it was her last night, and so we got to sit in the air-conditioning perusing the jewellery and having chai bought for us!


The local Indian people I've interacted with have all been very friendly and accommodating. When I arrived at a potential hotel last night they told me that if I needed anything, just to ask. So I made them show me all the available rooms and picked the one with the cleanest bathroom. Then I asked them to change the stained bedsheet, and to my surprise, they actually did! Brilliant! There is nothing like a fresh bedsheet to help you sleep at night (although I haven't been sleeping very much because I keep waking up in the middle of the night and in the early morning and just wanting to go and see something!).

Off to the Red Fort today!
x

Meeting strangers

I find that as a solo female traveller, you have to obviously be a bit more wary of random strangers that talk to you. I find that each stranger that approaches you will have one of three motives:

1. They want your money
2. They want to get in your pants
3. They are simply just being friendly

I wish that everyone could just be a category 3, but I think going out with that assumption is probably a quick recipe for winding up in a ditch somewhere.

A lot of the time during an exchange with a stranger you'll jump between categories as the conversation progresses.
For example, there is an Indonesian guy who calls himself Fonda that calls out to me whenever I walk past. He tells me he's an artist. The first day I met him he told me he was an artist and wanted to show me his work (Cat. 1). I brushed him off and kept going. The next day he called out to me, remembering my name and we had a simple conversation (Cat. 3). Sometimes people can jump between categories in just a few seconds. Today as he called out to me I went and sat next to him for a quick chat. We exchanged talk about each others days (Cat. 3). He told me he'd been trying to sell a painting of his to an Italian restaurant but they hadn't bought it (Cat. 3). Then he asked he I wanted to see it (Cat. 1/3). "In this shop behind us?" I asked. "No, it's in my room," he replied (Cat. 2). I brushed him off saying I had dinner plans with a friend and said goodbye. A lot of people do seem to be genuinely friendly.. but it's always really quite difficult to work out if they are in the other categories too or if you're just being paranoid. Best to err on the side of caution I think. I was recently talking to Steve about he only has to worry about 2 categories... but it turns out random Asian men want to get into his pants too.. haha!