Hotel Clarks Amer Jaipur

... culture I guess, unfortunately I'll still have a good 30 years of work to look forward to when I get back!!

It was a really interesting chat and I was glad that I'd done so much reading before I came out and was able to hold my own on everything from Indian politics to religion, the caste system, geography etc.

On arrival in Jaipur I bumped into 3 people who'd been on the same train as me- a couple from Venezuela and Argentina, who live in Spain, and ...

... the video at what actually happened. Right after that impressive performance we were urged to join them on the dance floor. Thanks to the lessons from our Indian MPAID-crew back home, I did get some “woo-hoos" (ok, only claiming that because nothing was documented). Anyhow… in development there is a lot of talk about capacity building and empowerment... concepts whose popularity is mainly owed to its vagueness. I ...

... nice too. After we got back to the bus/coach (reverse process), it took us into downtown Jaipur where we went to a "sweet shop" for lunch. I was a little nervous about the meal because I'm suddenly paying more attention to my stomach. I really do not want to be ill. At least not as ill as some. Oh, I forgot, after the fort and before lunch, Indira took us to a handicraft place where we observed the process of block printing fabric and how they hand-make carpets on ...

... sweet! Anyway he took us into the courtyard of the hotel, and even though it was very dark we knew this was going to be a somewhat swanky place to stay in. Which was met with great approval by all, especially Ben lol. Got lead to my room first and when I walked in I thought they must have mixed up mine with Ben and Amanda's as it was very spacious and the bed was well freaking huge (enough for three of me easily). General decor was also nicely understated and ...

... par les contre fort et la vue que l'on avait sur tout l'horizon, c'est magnifique! En redescendant nous tombons sur des charmeur de serpent avec leurs deux cobras qui nous regardent, je prefere rester bien en retrait, on ne sait jamais !!! Petite musique a la flute, leve du cobra, ah tiens, le plus curieux des deux essaie de voir du pays, un petit coup sur la tete et le revoila dans sa boite. Ensuite nous voyons une marmite geante et on se dit qu'il failait avoir de ...

... was actually agreeable with me (it was probably 15 degrees with lots of cold cold desert air). So after enduring about 5 minutes of being followed around by a persistent dude in a neon orange shirt, I caved. "Take me to cheap hotel, yeah? 100 rs, yeah?" Well, I got 200 rs. a night for a massive cement block with a shower and flush toilet and a fan- pretty sweet deal, I'd say. It's in a place called Chit-chat [I have only been here 1 day so I can't say ...

... merchant navy captain who had some great tales of their trips around the world - on one of which they ended up with a puppy from Duluth. The house was loaded with people giving us tea and snacks, cleaning up and making some great smelling food. Each night was a formal dinner where every time you finished one portion someone would be there to offer you another serving of it. We cleaned up and were later met by Shakti, our soon to be dear ...

... 000 euro!! Just goes to show you how far your money goes in India. For this reason, all foreigners in India are charged more than the locals. You are usually charged anything between 5 times and 10 times the price for locals. This is the main reason why you get so much hassle on the streets. You can imagine what it's like for a taxi driver cruising down the street, he sees two fares, one an European and one an Indian. Guess who he goes for??