Checked out with time on our hands
Trip Start
Oct 09, 2007
1
23
42
Trip End
Nov 16, 2007
Jaipur,
India
Monday, October 22, 2007
The auto-rickshaw driver was waiting for us as promised outside our hotel. As we got in we noticed the driver from last night - the one who insisted Alan was here on business. He gave us and our poor driver such murderous looks, and said something in Hindi to our driver. Our driver did not speak a word to us the entire trip! Even when we paid him - nup, just shut-up, took the money and looked sheepish. I felt so sorry for him as he was very friendly earlier. That other guy is such a bully. I was a little scared of him to be honest.
While waiting for our parcel to be 'stitched' (all parcels have to be covered in calico and stitched up) we started chatting to the people waiting their turn. There was a Japanese lady with 3 MASSIVE boxes, followed by an Indian mother who looked like she was sending her beta (son) a box of sweets. And an old retired colonel from the Indian Army who was deaf. Plus a random man who decided to just join in our conversations.
The whole waiting for stiching took an hour. Yes, can you imagine - we did not even get as far as getting the box weighed in that time. Anyway, this deaf colonel ... HAH??? HAH? is what he kept saying as he could not hear us. Apart from that, he kept mishearing what we said and this Alan kept getting closer to him and repeating louder and LOUDER and I think I was the only one amused as the conversation veered off from one tangent to another. The other Indians kept wagging their heads and smiling, the Japanese lady frowned and looked nervous mostly. Alan being the gentleman sibok helped carry her large boxes to the counter.
Poor thing, she had every reason to have that look I noticed earlier, as two of her boxes were rejected by the postal nazi who weighed and measured them - and after all that stitching waiting, hers had to be repacked and restitched! Plus she was there waitng since 10.00am. We got there at 10.30am so even after we had finally finished and left, she was still there.
We finished at 11.45am and had to check out of our hotel at noon! So picture us running, weaving in and out of people and traffic, crossing roads, saying 'nehi' to people offering us goods and services and then Alan has the cheek to bargin when we finally get to the point to catch a ride. I felt like slapping him! He said he did not want to spoilt the market. WHO CARES ABOUT THE BLOODY MARKET?! Anyway, we made it back with just a minute to spare. The hotel manager who is also the receptionist/guard just smiled and said "No rush, it's okay."
The owner Mrs Singh came out to bid us farewell, we told her we hoped to return.
