GET IT INDIA - PART II

  Udaipur, India
Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Well, we've almost forgotten there is a world out there somewhere in which beer is cold, showers are hot and power stays on for more than an hour at a time. We smell bad, our matted hair is threatening to form dreadlocks and we haven't washed our clothes properly in almost a month. It's so hot our sweat has turned the permanent film of dust on our skin into mud and we've barely seen anything but sand, cows, camels and the occasional elephant for a week.

Life is bloody great.

Namaste everyone,

We've just completed the second week of our induction into Institution India and we must say, we're feeling thoroughly enriched. We've seen and experienced so much it's hard to believe we've been in this crazy country just a fortnight.

Our last update came the day after our slumber party in the desert in Jaisalmer and since then we've encountered even more sand and camels - and turbaned men bearing steaming cups of masala chai.

So let's backtrack a bit...

GO FORT YOUNG MAN

We had three nights in Jaisalmer in total (two of which were in an actual hotel with proper beds!) and we spent our time wandering through the markets in the tiny backstreets nestling in the shadow of the city's main attraction, Jaisalmer Fort. Built in the 12th century, the Fort rises 76m above the town and a quarter of Jaisalmer's inhabitants still live inside its walls.

"...AND THIS IS MY KINGDOM"

The Fort sits atop Trikuta Hill and has a plethora of rooftop restaurants and bars from which to take in a view of the entire city at sunset with a few Kingfishers - and we spent both our nights there doing just that. Meanwhile, Chris, who has taken a particular interest in the Hindu gods because they remind him of superheroes, trawled the markets in his continued search for a statue of the elephant god Ganesha.

KAHLUA AND MILK ANYONE?

Jaisalmer, as in every Indian town we have already visited, was home to hundreds of cows that plodded happily through the streets as if they own the place. Our group almost had it's first bovine-related injury here one night when a particularly frisky bull decided to say hello to Phil, a fellow Aussie, with a swift headbutt during a pitstop at the bottleshop. Fortunately though, both Phil and the bull managed to part ways without any serious injury.

THE INDIANS SURE DO LOVE THEIR FORTS

Last Wednesday, we took a four-hour bus trip west to Jodhpur - home of the famous horseriding breeches. Known as the "Blue City" because of the predominance of blue-painted houses, Jodhpur was built around the towering Meherangarh Fort. Looming 125m over the city, author Rudyard Kipling described the Fort as "the creation of angels, fairies and giants" - and it was certainly something out of a fantasy novel with its ominous towers, intricate carvings and complex passageways.

NOT-SO-SECRET SQUIRREL

We heard some pretty interesting stories about life here for the royal families, such as how when a maharaja, or king, died, his many wives would lead a procession out of the Fort - stopping to leave an imprint of their hands on the wall near the main gate - and down to the town where they would throw themselves on the cremation fire to join their king in death. Now that's commitment!

EVEN BACKPACKERS GET THE BLUES

Walking through the through the narrow, blue-house lined streets that wound their way down the hill from the Fort, we made our way to Sadar Bazaar, the bustling market centre of Jodhpur where we stopped into a little cafe for what is supposedly the best Makhini (butter) lassi in India. Sounds a bit gross, but the winning combination of yoghurt, cream, saffron and sugar, while not much good for our waistlines, was certainly a treat for our tastebuds!

HE TOLD US HE'S A HIT WITH THE LADIES

Perhaps it was the sugar rush, but we managed to blow half a week's budget here on a cashmere rug which we were told was a design made for the fashion label Hermes. Whether the salesman was telling the truth or not (we erred on the side of believing him after he produced photo evidence of a recent transaction with devout Buddhist and India regular Richard Gere), we both fell in love with the rug and simply had to have it. Of course, finding space to fit it in our already bulging backpacks was another story entirely. We also purchased some locally made perfumes from a strange man with an unusually long fingernail.

GURU SMARMY

We spent two nights in Jodhpur in a motel that would have looked at home on the Central Coast. It also was in this town that our love affair with Indian cuisine came to an abrupt end. Faced with sampling something from the tandoor at Jodhpur's finest restaurant or choosing something off the alternate menu, we opted for fried rice and a green salad. Then, we are almost ashamed to admit, the next night we had our tour leader translate the entire menu for the local Pizza Hut and to his horror, we hosted pizza and beer night.


We won't lie, it was divine and just what we needed to cleanse the palette of 10 days of non-stop spice. It's not to say there wasn't a future with Indian cuisine - it's just that we needed some space, maybe spend some time with other foods and see how things pan out.

I'M GONNA GET HIGH, SO HIGH...

Friday, we took a jeep to Bhenswara, stopping along the way at Bishnoi villages. The Bishnoi people follow a creed to protect every living being and also, it seems, to indulge in regular Opium sessions. As we sat and received visual instruction on how to harvest, blend and consume the drug that is illegal in every other part of India except this particular community, we pondered whether the Australian government would sanction a tour company that took their groups to Kings Cross to watch junkies shoot up.

INSTANT FAMILY

Visits to other villages along the way gave us the chance to meet some of Rajasthan's poorest, but happiest, residents. Full of kids who all crowded around to catch a glimpse of these strange white Westerners and request photo after photo after photo, the villages were an unexpected chance to see a different part of India.

INDIAN "BUDGET' CLASS. LIFE'S TOUGH!

For our one night in Bhenswara, we were lucky enough to stay in a former palace, complete with swimming pool which we both took full advantage of, though this was mainly for the opportunity to wash our clothes, with Caroline smearing t-shirts with Sard Wonderstick and then wearing them in the water under the pretence that it was for modesty in this overly conservative country. Her whites have never been whiter!

SOME OF OUR YOUNG FANS

After an afternoon dip, we took a jeep ride to a lookout in the mountains to witness yet another glorious sunset and sip more cups of chai tea. The day was capped off by an evening leopard-spotting safari. Despite hours of "distressed lamb" calls from our enthusiastic driver, we never did spot a leopard though we did glimpse deer, plenty of rabbits, wild boar and an entire herd of camels.




The next day we were in jeeps again, this time heading south two hours to Ranakpur. FYI: "pur" means "village" or "place where people live" - also as in Kuala Lumpur or (the Westernised) Singapore.

THE JAIN TEMPLE WAS THIIIIIS BIG

Our only reason for visiting this tiny town was to see the Jain Temple. Jains, a faith born out of Hinduism after the religion split (300 years before it also produced Buddhism), are a rather dedicated bunch who believe in the preservation of life at all costs. They walk barefoot in case they tread on bugs and wear masks in case they accidentally inhale flying insects. Incidentally, they also build magnificent temples and the one we visited was among the biggest and most impressive around.

LARA CROFT EAT YOUR HEART OUT

Made of marble and containing more than 1440 pillars, none of which are the same, the temple was a awe-inspiring piece of architecture. Though possibly because of too many hours in front of the Playstation, we couldn't help notice it's similarity to a backdrop in the game Tomb Raider and, after spotting a rope dangling from the ceiling, Caroline did her best Lara Croft impersonation much to the internal angst of the observing devotees.

SPOT THE ELEPHANT

Sunday we were off again, taking a jeep east to beautiful Udaipur, our favourite destination so far. Situated on the banks of sparkling Lake Pichola, Udaipur is said to be the most romantic city in Rajasthan. Well, we certainly have fallen in love with the city's maze of colourful, hilly streets, treasure troves of secondhand bookshops and breezy rooftop cafes overlooking the lake. While a bigger town than we've seen in a while, the pace here is still quite slow - though India's underlying quirkiness filters in with cows taking precedence over cars and the odd elephant often seen clomping down the main street.

THE LOCAL LAUNDROMAT IN UDAIPUR

We've visited the enormous City Palace, constructed over 300 years beginning in 1559 and taken a boat ride around the lake at sunset to view the impressive Lake Palace, seemingly floating in the middle of the water. Another night, a wrong turn during a walk almost saw us as extras on the set of a Bollywood movie being filmed just around the corner from our hotel.

OCTOPUSSY...EVERY NIGHT

Still on the topic of movies and Udaipur was the scene for the James Bond movie Octopussy - a fact we can't help but to have noticed with every second restaurant screening the movie nightly. Caroline has also set the budget back again with the extravagant purchase of some lovely silver jewellery, Udaipur's most famous export.


Today (Tuesday) we have an Indian cooking class (yes, we have caved and given the cuisine another chance - so far things are going well) and then we catch an overnight train to Jaipur, Two nights there, one night in Bharatpur, one night in Agra (home of the Taj Mahal) and then we are back in Delhi where we must say goodbye to India before flying to Tokyo on Monday.

We're having a blast in India, but we are almost ready for a new experience and a cheeky, no-strings-attached, affair with some sushi. Can't wait!

Talk soon.

Love,
Chris and Caroline xx

P.S.
Happy Easter everyone: we hope the bunny comes!
Johnathon: Hope you enjoy your week in Sydney. Don't give Chris' parents too much grief and regardless of what cousin Ian says, the Toolshed is not a place where you go to pick up a hammer.

MONKEY MAGIC

ROUGHING-IT REVELATION:
Yes, just like every overly-laden backpacker before us, we have realised that you do wear the same clothes every day, but only because it's easier than unzipping your pack. These days, "dressing up" means putting on cargo pants, the cleanest t-shirts we have and our good thongs.

RAMBO: FIRST UDD

THUMBS UP:
1. The scarf that Laura bought Caroline from the Middle East - it's come in handy on so many occasions - as a pillow, shelter from the sun in the desert, cover-up for temples, a belt, and curtains to block out the sun on the early morning bus trips.
2. iPods - for those long, long bus journeys between towns.
3. The family size Chicken El Rancho pizza with extra cheese that gave us such guilty pleasure in Jodhpur.

THUMBS DOWN:
1. The blue with silver thread skirt Antonia convinced Caroline to buy at Paddy's Markets, swearing it would stay intact. After wearing it just one week, there's barely any silver threads left as they are scattered across northern India like some metallic breadcrumb trail, leaving the other members of the group to dub her "Gretel".
2. Dodgy Indian power circuits that give you an electric shock if you accidentally brush your foot on the end of the wrought iron bed while you are typing on the laptop. Ouch!
3. Horns. Loud rickshaw ones and pointy bull ones.

RANDOM JAISALMER LOCAL