Om Tower Jaipur

... for the main event.<br> Now when I say we booked tickets, this is just one great big auditorium and we had no idea what film we were going to see - but who cares when the building looks like a giant pink cup cake with neon lights all over it like multi coloured hundreds and thousands. The entry fee was worth it just to see the entrance lobby so garish it was fabulous, a masterclass in tacky kitch pulled off to perfection :) We ...

Remember how your history teacher in high school tried to motivate the class? History repeats itself, so the story goes, and although the circumstances we are living under are different, we can always learn from the great lessons of history by analogy. Great! Only problem that it's somehow hard to relate lessons like "Don&#8217;t invade Russia in the winter" to your daily life. Maharaja Man Singh I, on the other hand, provides insights into a topic that some readers may find more ...

... had devised an ingenious ventilating shaft near his bed to stay cool to survive the desert heat. We were not as clever in managing the heat in the abandoned city and very happy for the air conditioning when we returned to the car. We made one more stop on our way to Jaipur at the hillside town of Galta. There are two temples here to Vishnu and Ram and the buildings have wonderfully preserved frescos depicting ...

... om met de auto naar het hotel gebracht te worden voor dezelfde prijs. We vonden dit wel een goed idee en bij het hotel vroegen de bestuurder en zijn vriend of ze ons rond konden leiden de volgende dag. Ook dit leek ons wel een leuk plan. De volgende dag stonden Mubarik en Shakir precies om 11 uur klaar met de auto. Die dag hebben ze ons wat mooie plekken in hun stad laten zien waaronder een apentempel en een verlaten paleis. Deze plekken waren erg indrukwekkend omdat er ...

... needed in the shape of food so, we catch a bite further down the road. Late afternoon sees us tour the City Palace. We decide on the tactic of headset commentary to block out any unwanted bargaining. It works. Damn, I should have traveled India with my I-Pod on constant. Anyway, the tour is okay and when we exit me lovely Missus is thoroughly spent. It's back to the hotel and rest for this evening. We head back to Delhi tomorrow and only 1 day from leaving India for China. We've almost made it.

... i'm living in the moment, of every moment. <br><br>i do feel like i'm meant to be here. experiencing it all. it all feels so right. to be surrounded by the jeweled-colored saris and the cows and goats wandering the streets. how else are you supposed to live? <br><br>so i've been eternally grateful to be here, enjoying it all. even if it's more frustrating than i could have ever have imagined. but then you get these crazy moments of beauty. that completely steal ...

... truley amazing. After seeing the temples there just wasn't much more to do. We spent that night there and lit some sparklers for the 4th of July. The next day I ventured out alone, which was really nice. Being in groups constantly can take its toll on a person. I actually went to a restaurant and had chai and aloo parathas by myself. If the white girl sitting alone in an Indian restaurant wasn't enough of a ...

... through windy streets is a sure way to void your travel insurance! I got up early to climb a nearby mountain with the Savitri temple atop (thanks Lonely Planet - one hour? ********, make it two!), blocking out my lack of sleep headache caused by an Israeli couple arguing about something next door (probably money) and a Spanish couple on the other side, I had earlier shared a 'herbal refreshment', doing the horizontal salsa in a rather loud fashion. You ...

... only a few dollars, we decided to get off at Jaipur, our original destination. We left around seven pm, sharing our seats with two Indian couples, one young and one much older. Sleeper class works like this. During the day light hours, everyone sits on the bottom seats, facing each other. Bags are shoved under the seats as best as possible. Throughout the day, men travel the length of the train yelling "Chai! Chai!", the sweet milky Indian tea that is a ...