Temples, Pickpockets, and Tapestries
Trip Start
Dec 27, 2005
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13
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Trip End
Jan 15, 2006
Jodhpur,
India
Sunday, January 8, 2006
Jodhpur
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Jodhpur was a 4 hour drive from the Hindu temple. As we progressed westward the landscape became rougher and more desert like. The area surrounding Jodhpur resembles Arizona, which makes a lot of sense since it is also right near a desert. The drive was long, dusty, bumpy and tiring. Jodhpur city is pretty unimpressive as it is like a typical town. Because we got there so late (~5pm) we could not visit any of the monument as they were all closed.
Side Note
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For some reason, Indian monuments are always in operations only from 9am to 4:30pm. They can open late but they sure as hell close on time
Hindu Temple 01
. Must be the bureaucracy...Fun with Pickpockets
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In the early evening we visited the old marketplace where many small stands operate. It is said that pickpockets roamed the area and that often tourists lose valuable possessions to these thieves. I have always been very careful of my surroundings when I am in a foreign location but I still was targeted by pickpockets most likely because I am the only Chinese (or East Asian) for miles and miles. Surely I would be an easy target for the thieves.
As expected I was targeted for pick pocketing while looking around the marketplace. Fortunately I caught the thief red-handed. When people think of thieves often images of scaring looking men pop into their minds. However in actuality it is generally somebody unassuming. In this case the pickpocket was a boy ~7 years old. I had felt a hand in my pocket and I immediately pushed it away. The kid looked at me and began to deny that it was him. Yet I knew it was him because I did not say anything nor did I indicate anything other than look at him. Kid looked around and I caught him looking at what seemed like his older relative. Both of them ran off into the crowd.
Yup, pickpockets everywhere. Samir says that it's part of the "real Indian" experience, whatever that means :)
Tapestries
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Finally today was a day, Gita found a shop that she trusted. She ended up buying a tapestry from the shop and promised to return for more. She felt it was legitimate because the shop did high volumes of export and did not need to screw her over a couple of bucks
Hindu Temple 02
. Moreover they were more honest in their starting price as it was only 150% more than the final agreed upon price. This is in contrast to shops with a ridiculous 300% mark-up. This once again highlights the business principle of integrity. Integrity of the merchant builds trust and a trust merchant can have higher volumes of sales. More sales equal higher profits. These small shop that rip off tourists will make a decent living but will never make it any bigger than that because they do not build a network of trust.Dinner
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Dinner was at another palace. I forget the name but it was a British designed palace. Basically it was designed by a British architect and built with Indian laborers. The architecture is a mix of Western Europe and Indian. While it was impressive to look at, it was also quite cold and museum like. It felt a lot like a boring museum or a bank vault. Regardless the food was great as it was nice to get some continental food for a change.
