Goyal Palace Hotel Jaipur

... to see happy, smiling faces wherever we go. At each orphanage we are greeted by a child who welcomes us in by putting a tikka on our heads. There are three for boys and three for girls each for a different age group. The kids are between 5 and 18 years old. They have quite structured days, mornings are for housework and chores, then they go to local school or to Ladli which is the vocational training centre run by I-India, they have an hour of outdoor play-time before ...

... made. Him and his nephew came and sat in the room with us and gave us a demonstration of some of the instruments. They even gave Erica and I some cymbals to play along with, and then for the next tune they tied bells to Erica’s feet and made her dance while they played! That was really good fun!

We stopped off at a restaurant on the way back to the hotel for dinner. The food there was mega spicy and the people at the next table ended up with a screw in ...

... I gave him RS$400 (which he said he felt was very fair). I went in, showered and had a nice afternoon nap. If you have an India SIM card and want a reasonable and reliable rickshaw driver/guide for Jaipur...call Rahul at 09829734120. The rest of the day passed uneventfully. I found a book called "The Prodigal Daughter' (the author's name escapes me right now) in the Evergreen restaurant and was pretty much engrossed in reading it until I discovered it was 2 AM and went to bed.

... In India whole families can work in a particluar craft and this is handed down the familt line. These familes for co-operatives and work together to produce quality products. They are supported to a certain extent by the Indian government to make sure the art does not die out. All work is down by hand. We were treated to demonstrations on how they hand make carpets, cloths and clothing. We had options to buy but felt that the pressure was fairly low ...

... The 12 year old boy, Abdullah, spoke fabulous English and gave us a running commentary of where we were going. They were so enamoured of us that when it came to drop them off at school, they all yelled and so their dad let them come with us! Amber fort is just outside Jaipur, and is pretty impressive. We've found that the audio tours for these kinds of places are well worth it - if you can avoid the guides hounding you outside ...

... more orderly, and get my ticket. I leave the ticket booth with the 3 guys still stuck in the window, and so frustrated that they are now slapping each other around the head with their free hand - it like something out of a 3 Stooges movie. Watching a film in India is quite an experience in itself. The crowd gets whipped up in to a frenzy of anticipation waiting for singing, dancing and action. They don't have the usual "Turn Mobile off Sign" because everybody ...

... although we never figured out what ethnicity they were. Let me also start off by saying the food in India was amazing. I never thought I would like dishes without meat so much. The majority of the Indian population is vegetarian. They compensate for the lack of meat with spices that make the food come alive.....no pun intended. It's bad karma for Hindu's to eat anything living, so the vast majority are vegetarians because they feel you're eating another life. Rachel ...

... other's bowel movements. Louisa won the toilet relay on our first day with a grand total of 11 visits. After a mildly delirious and restless night in our broom-cupboard of a room we decided to upgrade to a room triple the size for a surprisingly low additional Rs100. We suspect we were victims of a commission-inflated price for our first night - courtesy of the man at Sakura Hotel in Agra who found us the room (and who we can't help but suspect was responsible ...

... The scooter drivers (all men) wore helmets. Frequently on the back, sitting side saddle, was a woman but NEVER wearing a helmet. Are they more expendable? *The interesting and colorful nose blows brought on by extreme pollution *The constant hawking of loogies and spitting, another artform perfected by both men AND women. I feared for my life walking down the street sure I was going to get nailed. *Getting used to phone ...

... alla sala si sono aperti assieme. Come l'acqua cui aprono le condutture, il pubblico ha invaso la sala. Già immaginavo di dover litigare in italiano con un tipo piccolo ed incazzoso che mi urlava qualcosa in hindi, colloquio tipo "questo è il mio posto", "qua ci sono io cercatene un altro". Ma lo scrupoloso rispetto della burocrazia non porta solo disordine. Ci siamo rapidamente installati in poltrone semi-reclinabili mega-confortevoli che ci hanno fatto subito ...