Namaste from incredible, colourful India
Trip Start
Jan 01, 2007
1
11
17
Trip End
Ongoing
Jaisalmer,
India
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Exchange rate: $1US = 37.45 rupees
I arrived in Mumbai at 8pm on December 30th, and took a taxi to my hotel - The Taj President. I decided that I would splurge and stay in a nice place for my first two nights to ease myself back in to traveling, and to ease myself back in to India. The hotel was really nice, and my room overlooked the Arabian Sea. As we drove through the streets of Mumbai, the number of slums we saw was heartbreaking. It seemed that India hadn't changed at all since the last time I had been here. It stunk, it was crowded, it was filthy and dusty, it was noisy and I was absolutely thrilled to be back!
When I got up in the morning I contacted Sunil to make arrangements for going to Ahmednagar. Before I left China, I told him I would contact him the morning after I arrived in Mumbai. When I spoke to him, he said that he was expecting my call the night I arrived, and was worried that my program (plans) had changed. I assured him that I was definitely going to Ahmednagar, and that I would see him the next day. Before we hung up, he told me to call his brother, Sanjay, who would make any arrangements for me to take the bus to Ahmednagar. I went downstairs for breakfast, and reveled in having my first Indian meal - dosa. When I came back up to the room, I called Sanjay and we made arrangements for me to meet him at the bank where he worked at 3:30. This gave me a little bit of time to go for a walk along Marine Drive (aka the Queen's Necklace), a street that runs parallel to the Arabian Sea. There seemed to be a constant honking of horns while I was out for my walk, and it took me a while to get used to the fact that they were honking at cars on the road, and I no longer had to worry about watching out for cars on the sidewalk like I did in China.
I got to the bank and met up with Sanjay for the first time. He said that he knew all about me and had seen pictures of me from when I had visited Sunil and his family in 2003. He immediately took me on a tour of the bank and introduced me to the people in the bank. The first group of ladies I met presented me with a card, a calendar and a Union Bank wallet. I sat and chatted with a woman by the name of Jane. She advised me that the bank was government run, so it was okay for her to sit and chat with me. When she found out that I was from Canada, she told me that she wanted to immigrate to Canada, but in order to do so, she needed a job offer. In the next breath, she asked if I could offer her a job. I didn't have to GIVE her a job, just a job offer!
After our tour of the bank, Sanjay took me to the Gate of India, where we made plans to meet up the next day and he would take me to Badlapur where he lives with his wife and two boys.
As I sat in the lobby of the Taj President on New Years Day waiting for Sanjay to come and pick me up, I watched guests parade in to the hotel for New Years Day celebrations in all their finery - men in their brocade jackets, and women in their colourful saris and salwar kameezes. Young boys were dressed up like little princes, and one girl had so many beads and jewels on her dress that you could hear it swish every time she walked. I secretly hoped that Sanjay would be late so I could continue to watch this free fashion show.
I got my wish, and when Sanjay finally came and picked me up, we headed to the train station where we caught the train to Badlapur. It is a two hour train ride from Badlapur to Mumbai, and Sanjay does the commute every day. After we got to Badlapur and I had settled in a bit, his wife put makeup on me, then dressed me up in one of her saris. She put one on as well, then Sanjay got a professional photographer to come over and take pictures of us all dressed up.
Before dinner, we went in to town to go to the market to pick up vegetables for dinner. On the way home, I was introduced to pani poori. They are small, round shells that are filled with a mixture of lentils or potatoes. You get can it sweet or spicy, and the idea is to pop the whole thing in your mouth. They were sooo good! I lost track of the number that we ate, but we ate quite a few, and the grand total came to 10 rupees.
When we got back, I went around visiting with different neighbours in the building. Everywhere I went I was invited to have some chai, and everyone wanted to know where I was from, why I was traveling, and of course, if I was married. I'm still trying to come up with the perfect answer to give people when they ask why I'm not married. In a country where marriages are arranged, it's hard for them to understand the concept of not being married, never having been married, and not wanting to be married!
We had a wonderful dinner afterwards, and they insisted that I sleep in the only bed in the house when it was time to go to bed. There were three adults and two children who slept on the floor, and me in a double bed to myself. I couldn't believe I had only met these people a few hours earlier!
They next day, they saw me off with a gift of a hand-made bag, a snack of dosas and made sure I made it on the bus for Ahmednagar. In five hours time I would finally be seeing my Indian family!
Sunil met me at the bus and we had to get a rickshaw to carry all my bags. We went straight to his house where Sarita was waiting for us. It was so good to see them again, and it felt like no time had passed since the last time we had seen each other. Just as they did last time, they welcomed me to their home with a bouquet of flowers. We spent many hours talking and getting to know each other. I told them that I had done the Macau Marathon, and when they noticed my Ironman tattoo, I explained to them what a triathlon was, and about the Ironman distances. After that, whenever they introduced me to someone new, even though they were speaking in Hindi, I always heard the words 'marathon' and 'triathlon'.
Not long after I arrived there was a steady stream of visitors to their home - neighbours, relatives, work colleagues, even the son of a work colleague who I had met the last time I was there. He was quite young when I met him, and I remember when I went to the bank where Sunil worked and they had a party for me, he had presented me with a stamp and coin collection. It's hard to believe that he is now studying to become a pilot. He is such a nice boy.
When I arrived at Sunil and Sarita's home, they showed me that Shubhada, their youngest daughter, had written a note for me on the chalkboard welcoming me to Ahmednagar. Not long after I got there, Sujata, their oldest daughter, got home from school. She looks exactly the same, but of course, she is five years older. After a while, I went out with her to pick up some food for dinner. It was strange riding on a motorbike with her, as she had been so young the last time I saw her. She was a good driver and I felt totally safe with her.
One afternoon we went up on the roof of Sunil's building to fly kites. Kite flying is very big in India, and there is even a kite flying festival in the middle of January. All the kites that I saw were very basic, small, square kites made out of fly paper, but they used a type of string that had glass in it. There is quite a technique to flying kites, and it looks like it's all in the wrist action. It's good to have two people flying the kite so one can control the string, and the other can control the kite. When we were up on the roof flying our kite, as I looked around, there were groups of young boys on other rooftops, also flying their kites. It took no time for Sunil to get his kite in the air and it wasn't long before it was soaring with all the other kites. It was fun to watch him tug on the string and make the kite dance. However, it wasn't long before there was a bit of a battle going on between our kite and the kites of the young boys on the next rooftop over. The idea is to cut down your opponents kite, hence the glass in the string. Sunil explained to me how to cut your opponents kite, but it wasn't long before the young boys had cut ours down. As we looked over to the next rooftop, they were jumping up and down, punching their fists in the air in celebration of their victory. We ran downstairs to get another kite, and it wasn't long before it was up in the air, and we were ready for battle. This time the victory was to be ours, and I reciprocated with jumping up and down and punching my fist in the air as well. I would have loved to be around for the kite festival in Ahmednagar, but I'm not so sure I would have been very sportsmanlike if I had.
Sarita cooked some amazing meals while I was staying with them, and I got to try so many different things that I never would have had the opportunity to try had I just been ordering off a menu. She had so many canisters and containers holding different spices or ingredients for the many different meals we had. Every time we had a meal, she told me what it was and how it was made, but I told her that if I ever got a job in India (and I have definitely been thinking about it!), she would have to come and live with me to teach me how to cook. I would never remember which spice goes in which dish, and which accompaniment goes with each meal.
Since I've been in India, I've been eating so much. The food here is such a fabulous change from the food in China. It is so flavourful and tasty! It feels like there is a party in my mouth every time I eat! I am the world's pickiest eater, but I have been trying everything, and there hasn't been one thing that I haven't liked. I'm a real snacker, and even the snacks here are so good!
While I was in Ahmednagar, I ended up buying myself a sari. I had told Sarita before we went to the shop that I wanted a red sari. Red is my favourite colour, and in China, it means good luck. However, in India, it means danger. When Sarita saw the look of concern on my face after telling me that, she reassured me that it would be fine for me to get a red sari. We went to many shops, and the drill was the same everywhere we went. There are large foamies all over the floor of the shops covered in white cotton sheets. After taking off your shoes and sitting on the foamies, they proceed to bring out a selection of saris to see what style you want, then they bring out many saris in the colour and style that has been selected. Each time they show you a sari, they open it up, and if it isn't selected, then it goes in to a bin where people are employed to fold them back up again. I was very picky about the sari I wanted, and knew in my mind what I wanted. I could usually tell before they opened it up whether or not I would like it, and I felt so bad that even though I gave it a 'no', they would still open it up. We went to many different shops before I chose a beautiful red sari with gold trim. After buying the sari, I had to have a blouse made, buy a petticoat, and have a lining put on the bottom of the inside of the material. I had no idea there was so much to buying/wearing a sari. Once I had everything I needed, Sarita showed me how to put on the sari, then made me do it by myself. Before I put it on, Sarita got some powder and put a dab of it on the sari, as she said they always bless new clothes. I also did a video of her putting her sari on, so that when I get back home I will be able to put it on without Sarita's help (hopefully!).
The same night I bought my sari, I bought a salwar kameez (aka Punjabi dress). A salwar kameez is a long tunic that is worn over a pair of oversized pants with a scarf, known as a dupatta, which is draped in front of the tunic. Some of them are absolutely beautiful, and they come in every possible colour you could imagine. I could easily live in India just so I could wear a salwar kameez every day! I bought a salwar kameez, and when I went to pay for it, Sunil said that him and Sarita also wanted to buy one for me. As if they hadn't done enough for me already!
The same night that I bought my new clothes, Sunil took me to the bank where he works. He is in a different branch from the last time I was here, and as he did last time I was here, he introduced me to everyone in the bank, then they welcomed me to Ahmednagar (and their bank) with a bouquet of flowers. Soon after I arrived in Ahmednagar, Sunil's home was beginning to look like a florist shop!
In the building where Sunil and Sarita live, there is a table tennis club in the basement, and Sunil asked me if I would talk to the kids in the club about my travels. He also had a friend who was cycling from Kanyakimuri (the very southern tip of India) to about 100km from Ahmednagar, and while he was passing through Ahmednagar, asked him if he would talk to the kids about his cycling trip. Sunil introduced both of us to the kids, then had one of the kids present each one of us with a flower. After we gave our talks, the kids wanted me to play table tennis with them. I embarrassed myself for about three minutes, then asked to watch them play. The coach and one of the boys got a game going, and boy were they good! They sure put me to shame.
After talking to the kids at the club, Mugdha, a 24 year old girl who lives down the street, asked me if I would go to her house to meet her parents. It was so funny, because she was so excited to be talking to a foreigner. In fact, she was so excited to be talking to me that she said she hoped I would come to India for her wedding. She wasn't sure when it would be, but her parents were in the process of looking for a husband for her, so it could be any time soon.
Shortly after we got there, a bunch of the kids from the table tennis club stopped by Mugdha's house, and were asking for my autograph, my mobile number and my e-mail address - I felt like a celebrity. One of the girls from the club then wanted me to go to her house. I felt bad because I felt like I was being pulled in so many different directions. I'm sure that Mugdha wanted me to stay a little longer, but I wanted to make a quick visit to Ashiwarya's house before heading back to Sunil and Sarita's house for dinner. On the way to Ashiwarya's house, she commented that 'it's going to be hard to show you my house madam with no current' (power). It just so happened that that night was when there was a power outage - a common occurrence all over India. Of course when I got to their house, their mother was cooking dinner, and they insisted that I have something to eat. It's a wonder that my clothes still fit after all the eating I've done since I got here.
While I was staying in Ahmednagar, I was invited to go to Pune to visit Sunil's sister and his uncle. I had met his aunt and uncle during my last stay, but I had never met his sister. Deepak, his 19 year old nephew, contacted me. What a nice kid! He came and picked me up at the bus station and took me to his home. Of course the first thing we did when I got there was have a cup of chai. After that, Deepak's sister Dipti, gave me a mehndi on my arm - it was absolutely beautiful! After that, they dressed me up in a sari and we took pictures. Later on, they took me out to some temples in Pune, then we met Deepak's dad for dinner. The next morning, I went to a yoga class with Sunita, Sunil's sister. I didn't understand a lot of what was said, but the teacher was very good at showing me what I needed to do. Later in the morning, we headed over to Sunil's uncle's place. The last time I was there, their son Sachin was about to get married. Even though they had just met me, they invited me to the wedding. I was told that they even had a sari I could wear. I really wanted to go to the wedding, but I had already booked my flight to Nepal. Once I got to Nepal, I looked in to getting a flight back to India, but was unsuccessful. It was strange to be there five years later meeting his wife, and their three year old daughter. I explained to his wife that I had wanted to go to the wedding, so she got her photo album out and showed me their wedding photos. They were absolutely beautiful! Indian weddings are so colourful, and the brides wear so much jewellery. The next thing she did was bring out her jewellery box with all her wedding jewellery, dressed me up in her jewellery, then we took pictures. Their daughter Rhea was quite shy with me when I first got there, but it didn't take long before she warmed up and started showing off for me. Of course before I left, I was told that the next time I come to India, I have to set aside at least three or four days aside so they can show me around.
Sarita belongs to a ladies group where every month they do something different. When I was visiting, she asked if I would like to join her for the day's program, and I gratefully accepted. First of all, we went to the meeting spot where we would be driven out to our venue for the day. She introduced me to her friends, and I immediately felt comfortable with all of them. The day was spent with a lot of laughs. Many times I couldn't understand what they were saying, but one of them would say something, then they'd give each other a high five and burst in to fits of laughter. Even though I couldn't understand what they were saying, I could help laughing myself.
There were many great memories created while I was in Ahmednagar, and I couldn't believe how fast eight days flew by. Just before I left to catch the bus to start my travels around Rajasthan, Sunil told me to get my camera out one last time. As I was leaving, they were going to perform a long life ritual for me. Once they started, I burst in to tears. I guess it finally hit me that I was leaving and I had no idea when I was going to see them again. The last thing they did before I walked out the door was put a dollop of curd in my hand, as Sunil said 'this will make the man come sooner'. I sincerely hoped that what he meant to say was that I would meet a man sooner, rather than later.
When I was on the bus going to Udaipur, a guy by the name of Tarun came and struck up a conversation with me just before we got in to Udaipur. He seemed nice enough. He was on his way back from Ahmedabad where he had been taking French lessons. He is in the tourism business, and there are lots of French people visiting India. We talked about many things, and he told me about his NGO (non governmental organization) that he had set up to help poor kids. When we got to Udaipur, he said he would help me get settled in the place I was going to stay which I thought was very nice. I called him up a couple of days later and got together with him. Seeing as he was in the tourism business, I asked him about things go see. He recommended watching the sun set from the Monsoon Palace, and he said that his friend could take me there. I asked him how much his friend would charge, and he told me between 250 and 300 rupees. Out of curiosity I asked at my hotel how much it would cost, and they told me 150 rupees. It finally hit me that no wonder this guy was being so nice to me - he was making commission off me. I also figured that I probably got charged more for my room, as he made it look like he was the one that had recommended that I go there, in turn, getting commission. I can't believe that I let that happen!
The day before I left Udaipur, I went out wandering just outside of town. While I was out walking, I met an older gentleman by the name of Sampat Lal Jain. He was very excited to meet me, and invited me to have chai with him. He kept calling me Gaye Gibson (instead of just Gaye), and wanted me to stay for at least another day so that he could show me around Udaipur. I told him that I had already made my plans to move on to Jodhpur the next day. He told me that he goes to that same place every day, and the next time I came back to Udaipur, I would find him there, unless he had died. We chatted for a bit, then hiked up to a temple that was close by. After that, he dropped me off close to my hotel, as he had to go to work.
From Udaipur, I took a six hour bus ride to Jodphur, but only ended up staying two nights. The fort at Jodphur was pretty interesting, but other than that, I can't say that I was really impressed with Jodphur. I guess the coolest thing was seeing one of the guides at the fort in Jodphur wearing Jodphurs. He looked like he was off to play polo after his day at the fort. While I was at the fort, I went to see a palm reader, Mr. Sharma, who was recommended by the Lonely Planet. I'm not sure if I really believe all that stuff, because he told me some things about my personality that just weren't true. He asked me if there was any cancer in my family and when I told him yes, he told me that I wouldn't get cancer. I have decided to believe him on that one. He then asked me if I was married, and when I said no, again, I had to try and explain why I wasn't married. He seemed quite sad that I wasn't married, and said that he thought I would get married soon. So much so, that he gave me his e-mail address so that I could let him know how things worked out. He seemed to be rooting for marriage and me!
When I was leaving Jodhphur, there was a guy at the bus station who was telling me about good places to stay in Jaisalmer. He gave me a brochure for his hotel, and he warned me about touts in Jaisalmer. His name was Abdullah. When I got to Jaisalmer, a guy got on the bus and came up to me saying that he was Abdullah's brother, and he was going to take me to his hotel first before we went to Abdullah's hotel. I couldn't believe that he ended up being a tout, and after they showed me their hotel, I decided it was definitely a place that I didn't want to stay. I had originally planned to stay at a place called Shahi Palace, as it had been highly recommended in the Lonely Planet guide. I gave them a call, and not only did they have a room, but they said they would come and pick me up to take me there. They showed me a couple of rooms, and I decided to go for the cheaper one. The rooms were pretty nice, but it was the rooftop terrace that sold me. It was made up of a number of balconies, all which had a view of the fort. At night when the music was on, and the fort was lit up, there was nowhere else on earth that I would have rather been. In fact, I think I can safely say that the rooftop terrace at Shahi Palace is one of my favourite places in the world. I had originally planned to stay for three nights, and ended up staying for eight. I just found it really hard to tear myself away. There isn't a lot to do in Jaisalmer so there was much time spent on the rooftop terrace just whiling away the hours. Evenings were the best when I would sit on the terrace under the stars, wrapped up in a warm, fuzzy blanket, listening to the music and gazing up at the fort. And to think that I wasn't even going to go to Jaisalmer because it seemed so far away.
From Jaisalmer, I went to Pushkar, but it wasn't really my cup of tea. It's a very hippy dippy town, and every other person had dreadlocks. I've never been a fan of dreadlocks - you never know what might be lurking in them! The shopping was the same as every other place I had been, and although the ghats were interesting, I just didn't feel the need to linger in Pushkar.
After Pushkar it was off to Jaipur for two nights, where I went to the Raj Mandir Theater to see a newly released Bollywood movie. After that it was on to Ranthambhore to hopefully spot some tigers. I stayed at a place called Ranthambhore Bagh, and the best part about it was the heater in the room! Everywhere I had been in Rajasthan had been freezing cold, and I found that I was wearing layers of clothes just to try and stay warm. Getting out of bed on those cold mornings and having to hop in the shower was extremely unpleasant, so it was nice to have the warmth first thing in the morning to take away the chill.
Ranthambhore was a nice, relaxing two days made up of a safari in the early morning, and one in the afternoon. The one in the morning was absolutely freezing, and it was hard to focus on anything other than keeping warm! As luck would have it, I saw a tiger on our safari in the afternoon. It was pretty far away, and I would have much preferred to see it walk across the path of our canter, but I was glad to see one just the same. I'd still love to see one up closer, but I guess I can now check off the box 'see tigers in India'.
After Ranthambhore, I went to Agra to visit my friend Sameer. We had met in Nepal in 2003, and had kept in touch ever since. I went to Agra when I was in India in 2003, and even though I was only there for a day, I was sick the whole time. I arrived in Agra on January 31st, and on February 1st, I started to feel sick, just as I had five years before. Thank goodness Sameer and I were able to have a good visit on my first night there, because most of the rest of my time in Agra was spent sick in bed. After the second day in bed, Sameer made arrangements for the doctor to come and see me at the hotel. I ended up having a fever of 101. The doctor prescribed five different tablets and a bottle of cough syrup. After about 4 days of being in bed, I decided to go and spend a couple of hours at the Taj Mahal. It wasn't far from my hotel and I figured it would be a good way to ease me back in to the land of the living. I wandered around for a bit and would take breaks where I would just sit there and think about how this amazing place had been built out of love. I bet every single woman that goes to the Taj Mahal wishes they had someone who would build a Taj Mahal for them!
After Agra, I spent another wonderful five days with Sunil and Sarita in Ahmednagar. I flew from Agra to Mumbai, and I had asked Sunil to organize a car for me from Mumbai to Ahmednagar. Not only did he arrange it, but both he and Sarita made the trip from Ahmednagar with the driver to pick me up in Mumbai - a seven hour trip there, and seven hours back after they picked me up from the airport! It was good to see them again, and I felt like I was home.
After more late night chats, delicious meals and lots of visiting, Sunil told me that he thought I was one of a kind from Canada, and they felt very lucky to have met me. I have to say that I feel lucky to have met them as well. My experiences in India wouldn't have been near as good as they have been had I not spent time with Sunil and Sarita. I just wish there was a way that they could come and visit me in Canada.
Even though my visa for India was good until February 26th, I had originally planned to stay in India until the end of January, then move on to Thailand. However, the more I traveled around India, the more I realized that I just wasn't ready to go at the end of January. When I was in Agra, I decided that I would extend my stay in India, and go back to Jaisalmer for the Desert Festival.
When I made my arrangements to go back to Jaisalmer, I decided that I would stop in Udaipur for a couple of nights not only to break up the journey, but also to see if I could find Sampat Lal again. I ended up staying at Udai Niwas, the place I had stayed the last time I was there, and it was so nice that everyone recognized me and welcomed me back. The next morning after I had my breakfast, I went out in search of Sampat Lal. I wasn't 100% sure how I got to the place I met him last time, but I went with my instincts, and they turned out to be right. I walked the length of the boardwalk, but alas, there was no Sampat Lal. I couldn't remember what time I had met him last time, so I decided to wait for a bit to see if he would show up. After all, the last time I met him, he said he goes there every day and would be there the next time I came to India, as long as he hadn't died. True to his word, about ten minutes later, he came sauntering down the path. I recognized him by his coat and his cap. At first he didn't recognize me, but then I reminded him about the last time we had met, and he was thrilled that I had come to Udaipur just to meet up with him. Soon after we met up, three of his friends started walking towards us. He introduced me to them, and explained that they met there every day for tea and to get some exercise walking. However, this time, instead of having tea, we went and picked up some snacks, and then we were going to head out to a lake nearby. On the way to the lake, one of them asked me if I 'would take some beer'. At first I just thought that they were curious if I liked beer. I didn't realize that they were actually going to pick up some beer to drink right away. After all, it was still only 11:00 in the morning. We drove to a lake just outside of town, and there I was, sitting on the bank of a beautiful lake, with four older Indian gentlemen, drinking beer - my forehead perspiring, my nose running, and my lips tingling from all the spicy Indian snacks we had just consumed.
In the evening, Sampat Lal took me to his friend's jewellery shop. His shop was next door to his home, so he called his granddaughter to come and get me, and she took me to their home and introduced me to her brothers and sisters. Soon after, Sampat Lal and his friend, Mr. Prem, came to the house with snacks and a bottle of whiskey! Mr. Prem couldn't speak English, but Sampat Lal translated for me that Mr. Prem wanted me to stay for a couple more days so he could throw a party for me! He also wanted me to stay for a month so I could teach him English. The night was spent eating spicy Indian snacks, drinking whisky and taking many pictures.
After two nights in Udaipur, I flew to Jaisalmer. It was great to be back in Jaisalmer, and even better to be back at Shahi Palace. I was there for a few nights before I met Ida from Denmark who was also staying at Shahi Palace. We yakked for a couple of hours over a couple of beers, then went out for dinner. After dinner we went back to Shahi Palace and just hung out on the rooftop terrace. The next day we met upstairs for breakfast, then we went to watch the procession for the start of the Desert Festival. As we headed to the procession, a guy in a white gown and turban came running up to us to ask us if he could take our picture. There were a lot of dignitaries from the bank across the street, and they wanted a picture of a foreigner changing money at their bank during the Desert Festival. I was more than happy to oblige, and they actually got me to sit on a camel that was all dressed up, for the picture. After that, they wanted to interview both Ida and I and told us that we would be on the news the next day. First, my fifteen minutes of fame in China, and now my fifteen minutes of fame in India!
We walked over to the stadium where the day's festivities would be taking place and waited for the procession to arrive. After about 45 minutes of waiting, we could finally hear the music from the procession, and could see men riding camels high above the crowds of people. There were lots of camels all decorated and you could hear them coming by the bells attached to their legs. The men riding the camels were dressed up in different traditional costumes. India sure knows how to put on a parade - nothing like we have at home! I followed the procession in to the stadium and wandered around just soaking up the atmosphere and watching all the camels. As I was admiring them, a young boy by the name of Amin came up and asked me if I wanted to go for a camel ride. Of course I couldn't say no, so he helped me on the camel, and away we went. Instead of just wandering around the stadium, he took me through the streets of Jaisalmer, and we ended up at the stadium where the festivities were going to be held the next day. It was absolutely amazing and better than any organized camel safari I've been on. As we were riding along, there were tons of kids coming up saying hello and walking alongside the camel. We also came across a funeral procession as we were heading to the stadium. There must have been about thirty men dressed in their white garments, and the ones at the front were carrying the dead body. The body was in plain sight, but was covered up to the neck in a white sheet, with flowers scattered over the sheet. Amin told me they were taking the body to the cemetery for their caste, where they would burn the body. On our way back in to town, we could see the smoke from the burning of the body.
Amin advised me that he would be racing his camel the next day two days, as we watched a guy at the stadium practicing for the races. He told me that the winner of the race on the second day at the Sam sand dunes, would receive 11,000 rupees. We took a bit of a break at the stadium, then started heading back to his home where he took the blankets off his camel, and we walked the rest of the way back in to town. While he was getting things organized for his camel, I received a call from Sampat Lal in Udaipur. He was asking when I was going to be leaving, and wanted to know if I could go to Udaipur one last time before leaving India. He said he really liked me, and thought I was very polite! He is going to Malaysia with his wife in April, so I told him that we might see each other there, and I assured him that if I didn't make it back to Udaipur this time, that I would definitely visit him the next time I came back to India.
Amin and I wandered back to the stadium to watch the festivities continue - the Mr. Desert Festival, and the Ms. Moomal competition. After a while, I couldn't stand the heat any more, and headed back to the hotel for a bit of a rest before the afternoon activities. In the evening, we met back at the stadium to watch the cultural show.
The next day started a little bit later, so I was able to sleep in a bit. Ida and I had breakfast, then walked out to the stadium, about a kilometer out of town. It was still pretty early when we got there, but it was so neat just seeing all the camel drivers with their camels waiting around for the festivities to begin. Things in India move very slowly, and even though the day was supposed to start at 10am, it was much closer to 11 before anything actually commenced. I wandered around the grounds taking tons of pictures of the camels - I absolutely love them! It was pointed out to me that the army camels were much bigger than the privately owned camels. It was explained that the army camels eat free meals, whereas the privately owned camels eat when the owners have been working and have money. If they don't have money, their camels don't eat. There were many camel owners at the festival giving free rides in hopes of getting some business for camel safaris. Every time I was offered a camel ride, I just couldn't resist the opportunity - I could have ridden all day long. The day was supposed to end at 12:30, but with the way things run in India, the program didn't end until close to 3pm. By that time, I was pretty tired from all the sun and dust, and just wanted to go back to the hotel. I had hoped to see Amin in his camel race that day, but I didn't get a chance to talk to him. After a rest and a bit of freshening up, Ida and I went back to the stadium at 4:30 to watch the camel tattoo show. It was absolutely amazing, and made me fall in love with the camels even more. It was just like the RCMP musical rides that we have back home, but the only difference was that it was with camels. Photo opportunities were amazing with the lighting just right, and a view of the fort in the background. Too bad I didn't have a decent camera. I ran in to many of Amin's friends that evening and they advised that he was on his way to the Sam sand dunes, where the camel races were going to be the next day. They don't have camel trailers here, so Amin had to ride his camel out to the dunes that night, as it was about a six hour trip. It was important to do it the night before instead of on the day so his camel (Elton) would be well rested for the race. As Ida and I were leaving the stadium one of Amin's friends insisted that I have a ride on his camel before going back to the hotel. Of course I couldn't resist, so I told Ida I would meet her back at the hotel. In the end, we rode around the stadium for a bit, then he took me back to the hotel on his camel. A wonderful ending to a wonderful day.
The last day of the festival was spent lazing around in the morning, as the festivities didn't start until 4pm in the Sam sand dunes, which were about 40km out of town. Shahi arranged a jeep for a bunch of us to go out there, and we made it there just after 4. Even though the program said that the races started at 4, they didn't actually start until 5. When we left the hotel, it was really windy, and unfortunately, it was windy out at the dunes as well. There was sand and dust blowing for most of the day, and we ended up with sand everywhere! There were thousands of people at the dunes, and I figured that it would be pretty hard to try and find Amin. However, I took my place close to the finish line in hopes to get a chance to see him. Between all the people and the dust, it was pretty hard to see anything. There were three heats of races, then the last race with all the winners of the heats. Waiting for the last race to begin seemed to take forever, but I was thrilled to see Amin and Elton galloping across the finish line to a number one victory. No sooner had he crossed the finish line than he was whisked away by the organizers - he was now a celebrity! The crowds of spectators swarmed the winner, and it was hard for me to get close to him to congratulate him. When I finally got to him, he seemed a little dazed, but had a smile a mile wide. We stayed to watch the awards ceremony, and I was thrilled when they called his name and presented him with his trophy and prize winnings of 11,000 rupees. Amin makes 100 rupees a day doing camel safaris, so the money will really make a difference in his life. We talked to him briefly and made plans to meet the next day before he went off to bask in his glory.
After the races, we went to watch the cultural show in the desert. As I sat there looking around at the crowds of people (apparently 40,000) and the camels, listening to and watching the cultural program, I couldn't help but think that life was good. My thoughts quickly turned to sadness as I realized that I would be leaving in two days time. I definitely was not ready to leave Jaisalmer, or India yet. And to think that originally, I wasn't even going to go to Jaisalmer, let alone go back a second time.
India is quite a place, and I've heard many people say that you either love it, or you hate it - there is no in between.
In India, when you meet someone for the first time, they will ask you 'what is your good name?' I'm always tempted to say 'well, I don't know if it's a good name because I always get teased about it, but in any case, it's Gaye'. It would seem that the name/word 'Gay(e)' has the same meaning in India that it does in North America, in China, and probably everywhere else in the world. It seems to get more complicated when they ask the next set of questions about my family - husband, children, boyfriend, etc. When I tell them that I'm not married (never have been) and don't have any children, they are shocked and always ask why. I attempt to tell them that I like my freedom so that I can travel, but I wonder what goes through their minds. Seeing as their marriages are still arranged, they must be thinking - hmm, her name is Gaye, she's not married and she doesn't have a boyfriend. Either she IS gay, or there must be something wrong with her if her parents STILL can't find a husband for her! I've finally resorted to introducing myself as 'Gayle'.
Many times when I'm out wandering around, I'll have people come up to me and strike up a conversation, as they want to practice their English. They ask all the usual questions, like 'what is your good name', 'what country', and 'what is your job?' When they ask where I'm from and I tell them I'm from Canada, they will either ask 'English or French part', or they will start rattling off the names of cities in Canada until they get the right one. I've even had some tell me the capital of Canada. They would have done well on my lesson on Canadian Culture at No. 1 Middle School.
The other day I met a couple of older boys who asked me all the usual questions. When they asked me my job and I told them I was an English teacher, they got all excited and heartily shook my hand, almost as if they felt they had won the English speaking lottery and would be able to speak perfect English after our five minute conversation.
I have to say that I've been quite disappointed with interactions with many of the kids in India this time around. I'm not sure if it's the difference between north and south or 2003 and 2008, but when I was here five years ago, kids kept asking for 'one pen'. This time they ask for one pen, and if you say no, they just come right out and ask for ten rupees. The worst part is that it's not just kids. I've had teenagers come up and ask for ten rupees as well. Here is a conversation I had with a little girl the other day. It went like this:
Little girl: 10 rupees?
Me: No
Little girl: 10 rupees?
Me: No
Little girl: 10 rupees?
Me: No
Little girl: 10 rupees?
Me: No
Little girl: 10 rupees?
Me: No
Little girl: 10 rupees?
Me: No
The conversation was finally ended when a man walking along the street said to the little girl 'NO!' Thank goodness for that!
It's interesting traveling this time around after having taught English in China. I have found that the English that people speak in India is much better than the English spoken in China (at least in Zhongshan). It surprises me how many people speak English and how well it is spoken (although it is certainly far from perfect). I'm amazed at how much English they speak when they don't have exposure to it every day. I also find it interesting that English is taught in schools, just like in China, but the level of English in India, to me, seems to be much higher than that in China. Maybe all that studying in China isn't such a good thing after all!
Even though it's only been a couple of months, China seems like a million miles away, and I have to admit that I don't miss life in China at all. Now that I'm away from it, I realize just how much I had been missing. It is such a treat traveling in India, compared to China. Pretty well everyone that you talk to speaks at least a little bit of English. The food is amazing, the people are extremely friendly, and even though there is so much poverty, I have never once felt threatened for my personal safety or security. Not only that, even though life can be tough in India, people always seem to be happy, and never complain. There is so much culture in India, and they really know how to celebrate life.
It is my last day in India, and I'm certainly not ready to leave. I absolutely LOVE India, and will definitely be back again. Hmmm, maybe I could go to Thailand and get another three month visa for India . . . .
Until next time,
Gaye
