Rajhastan Update and the "How Many" Game

For the past week, we have been all over the place travelling at a rapid pace across Rajasthan.

To bring you up to speed, we arrived in Jodhpur (the Blue City) and concluded that this smelly, dirty city was by far our favorite spot so far. The Blue City is the old part of Jodhpur where it is inhabited primarily by Brahmins (priests/ teachers). On our first morning, we arrived at the entrance of the Mehrangar Fort a bit early where we just sat around and observed local rituals. The city is deeply spiritual so it is not uncommon to see gangs of cows hanging out, people feeding them chapatis in the morning, lots of cow patties, and many worship pit-stops. A Brahmin befriended us and brought us up to the main fort entrance. On the 10 minute walk up, he gave us a quick lesson on Hinduism. I'm a complete rookie at the religion as there are many gods to keep track of. The basic premise that Hindus believe in is that one's actions (karma) will determine one's next reincarnation in life. In the Hindu religion, there is the Brahman or the originator of everything. Brahman is formless and is not worshipped. There are three main representations of Brahman which are Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the preserver), and Shiva (the destroyer). The other god that I recall is Ganesh (lord of sucess) because he's the cute elephant figure (sorry, this is probably considered blasphemy) and that his parents Shiva and Parvati bestowed upon him the honour of being the god that Hindus need to pray to first.

I won't bore you with a detailed account of the fort. All I have to say is that this fort ranks in my top 3. The guy who handed out the audio tour guide sets had a wicked mustache and spoke in a booming made for television voice. He asserted that the audio tour would make our day to which I replied, "You have just made my day!". The audio tour had commentary from the maharajah about his past and present life that I found to be very interesting.

From the fort, we went on to the bazaar where we were pulled into a store that looked junky from the outside but inside, it was a total textile heaven. The owner of this understated textile store proceeded to pull out 20 bedspreads from cheap to chic, and testimonials/ pictures from celebrities and designers including Valentino, Bill Murray, Richard Gere, Greek royalty, Louis Vitton, etc. Needless to say, the glint in my eye sparked up and I left the store feeling a bit of post-buy mortem.

A day later, we made our way to Jaipur (the Pink City). Jaipur is totally overwhelming as it is the capital of Rajhastan. We met up with some fellow canucks from Kelowna and Victoria (Laura and Ryan) who made our stay in Jaipur super fun. For the first time, the guest house had a pool so we spent a few hours each day soaking in the pool until our skin was sufficiently shrivelled. In Jaipur, we did a whirlwind tour of the City Palace (not my favorite) and the Amber Fort (#1 fort!). The Amber Fort was really enjoyable because it was totally beautiful and we could freely wander all over the place which had maze-like passages.

From there, we now find ourselves in Agra. We have been here for 3 days resting and marvelling at the Taj Mahal. The Taj lives up to everything that has been said about it. It is a mausoleum built by Shah Jahan for his favorite wife who died during childbirth. It is made of marble and at one time was bejewelled all over. The Taj is impressive in its massive size and details.

As it is always the case, every couple of days, we subject ourselves to pure hell. This time, it was a day trip to Fatephur Sikri which was the old capital. A one hour convection oven bus ride later, we reached the ancient ruins. There is a mosque there. As with every sacred place, I have an expectation of serenity and holiness. That was not the case at this mosque. Upon entry, we were harassed by a guy who wanted to give us a tour and then have us visit his soapstone carving booth afterwards. I just wonder how Allah would feel about his sort of behaviour.

But alas, loss of privacy is all too common in India. As a traveller, you have to accept it and find it endearing or else your experience will be very tainted. I am happy to say that I have many more good days than bad days.

We are hoping that we can get to Varanasi tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, we didn't take a huge chunk of the Lonely Planet with us so we will be travelling handicapped until we find one. The boy down the street keeps changing his price and refuses to sell a 2nd hand version to us for half the cover price.

To end of this entry, here's a game of "how many".

1) How many cows were outside our guesthouse in Jodhpur? 6 just lazing around

2) How many times can the bus honk its horn at eardrum blowing leves in an hour? Hundreds

3) How many seconds can an Indian man stare at a foreigner (woman) at one time? Endless, without smiling, and quite creepy

4) How many Indian women are there compared to Indian men? I'd guestimate 50 to 1.

5) How many times can you be asked to take a cycle rickshaw ride in a 3 day stay in Agra? Every time Johnny sees you which is 2-3 times a day.

Pic 1 - The Cow Party

Pic 2- Jodhpur from the fort

Pic 3- Palace detailing in Mehrangar Fort

Pic 4- Ryan and Nico at the Jaipur City Palace

Pic 5- Palace and courtyard in Amber Fort

Pic 6- The Taj

Pic 7- The baboon that chased me at the Taj

Pic 8- One of the buildings in Fatepur Sikri

Pic 9- Snacks that may have gave us the runs

Pic 10- Camel Toes