Jaipur in a day!
Trip Start
Nov 21, 2007
1
13
18
Trip End
Dec 30, 2007
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Jaipur,
India
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Jaipur- great city. LOTS of shopping, though I didn't really take advantage of it as much as I'd have liked to. I arrived on the bus at about 6am (as opposed to 1am- what I was told at time of booking) after a long night sitting upright (sort of) FREEZING my ass off, I mean FREEZING... I wrapped every pashmina that I've bought around me and still the wind was whistling in the window and from the driver's seat in front of me... And the bus honk honk honking all night- equals no sleep whatsoever.. So the whole "day in Jaipur" thing that was going to happen yesterday, didn't. Checked in to the hotel where they charged me for an extra day because I just couldn't see waiting til noon to sleep.. Whatever.. Not in love with that whole fact, but..
Don't worry...
I'm on Head Cold Redux now and needed to sleep. Slept until about 1:00 and then went out cruising the markets... Bought sweets, a couple little this and thats, wanted to revisit some of the market today but didn't get a chance to. Went to my first Indian movie last night- don't remember the Indian name of it, but it's "10 Stories" and it actually was really good! Not the dancing/singing/cheeseball musical Bollywood stuff that I've seen in passing on TV, but actually really good direction and story lines (it was all in Hindi, but there's enough English thrown in that I could pretty much figure out what was going on contextually.. and even guess at the outcome of the plots, successfully) and it was fun. Late dinner then bed. Today was spent going to the train station and getting a refund for the ticket that I was supposed to use last night- somehow, the bus thing (it taking a whole night instead of an evening) totally threw me, so I thought that yesterday was the day before... Long story short, I was in the movie when I was supposed to be on the train. Whoops. They refunded half the ticket- after two hours spent with a translator running from office to office in different buildings.. I mean like stupid pointless asinine are-you-kidding-me running around, there are no computers, there is no communication, there is no protocol in place for anything... Of course... Then the person you were supposed to get a signature from or whatever was at lunch (rather, breakfast, actually).. Etc.. it was a nightmare but hey, I got my 50% back.
Kunal, Jaipur
Exactly 100% less than I wanted back, but, what can be done. Then booked onwards tickets for tonight's Ajmer / Pushkar run and then the return back to Delhi leaving tomorrow night. It's rushed and everything, but at least I'm seeing Rajasthan. A little.After the ticket debaucle this morning, went on the LP's suggested walking tour of Jaipur... Up a minaret, through the king's castle, down around, etc., etc.. Madam, come to my shop.. Madam, autorickshaw? I am the center of attention everywhere.. Going home is going to be a serious blow to my now-inflated ego. Had some of the best Indian food I've had so far at a place right by the markets (moto driver's suggestion) Then grabbed a different moto and headed up the hills about 8k outside of town to Amber Fort, a very beautiful hilltop palace. As we drive up, we are sharing a narrow, winding road with trucks, cars, other motorickshaws, cyclists (not the kind you see in Bend-!!), horses pulling huge loads, donkeys carrying whatEVER, motorbikes carrying entire families... Camels, and of course elephants, carrying loads of what looked to be sugar cane (and eating some along the way). Dodging and winding up and down the hills through all this traffic, honking and blinking lights and swerving, people merrily clinging to the bars on the back doors of the buses... Once you finally reach the fort parking, you go up massive stairs and a winding stone path. Climbing up and up beyond the fort, I also got an eyeful of views of the villages just outside Jaipur- all old buildings, beautiful in fading sunset light..
Top of the world in Jaipur
Fantastic. And a great workout, to boot! I sit here dirty and sweaty before.. You- You, O Great Computer- ready to spend X hours getting to the next spot. Rumor has it that the train pulls in to Ajmer around 1am, and then I should find a bus to Pushkar, so.. We'll see. Rumor also had it that my bus would get me actually TO Jaipur instead of to two more buses and a freezing, sleepless eight hours. Anyway. Great photos and a whirlwind (self) tour of Jaipur, today. There are a few trinkets that I wish I'd picked up (I'll get it on the way back... No.) but hopefully I can do a little shopping in Pushkar- Rajasthan is known for textile work (equals cheaper here). Pushkar is also supposed to be fairly mountainous and very pretty- full-o-palaces, again- And I've booked a hotel on the lake. Although I will see very little of it, the idea of waking up and having tea right by the water before heading out for more breathtaking, ass-kicking hikes sounds awesome. Hopefully it will turn out well. And if things are REALLY going my way.. Oh, I dare not say, but I will... Might there be hot water?! ..Now that's just being ridiculous... Of course not.Tonight I had a snack at the hotel before heading down to the train station (from where I then had to hike back out of in order to find a computer.. Moto guy not knowing where- or, more likely, not interested in- my finding time on the internet) and there was an orange tomcat hanging out. I didn't see him until I had finished (nothing to give him) but reached out and called to him, and he came up but just swatted at my hand. Sad, poor little kitty. Nobody has ever been nice to him. People are so weird about animals- well, everywhere, but here, nobody relates to them at ALL. Just an oddity, to me. The tomcat seemed okay otherwise- he was a scrapper- and there's nothing I can do to help him, other than let the hotel guys know I thought he was cute- maybe if tourists like the cat, they will feed him, was my thought. I hope so. I've taken to always wrapping up any unfinished food and handing it to a beggar or leaving on the ground for a dog.. Someone's always hungry around here.
Okay, off to look at email, and then get to the station. Next stop, Pushkar... I hope there's nothing literal to the English phoenetics of that name!
