As they say in India... "Hello!"
I am now in the town of Udaipur, several hours' drive from Jaiselmer, through desert scrubland and lush hillsides. Udaipur is famous for a few things: a system of inter-connected lakes surrounding the town, the hotel in the middle of one of the main lakes that floats on the water, and the the James Bond film Octopussy, which was shot here!
Everywhere there is hustle and bustle and spectacular views. You almost expect Roger Moore to emerge from a doorway looking British, and clip a rickshaw driver round the ear for attempting to extort an extra ten rupees' fare out of him.
My package tour round Rajasthan has moved on at a pace. The last few days have been a hectic whirlwind of deserts, hotel rooms, bustling towns and majestic forts and palaces. All our travel arrangements have been taken care of, leaving Laura, Paul and I to enjoy the luxury of being ferried from place to place in an old Austin car, driven by our guide Viru.
After Jaiselmer we visited Jodhpur, which has another stonking great fort of its own. The view of the town from the top of the fort is amazing, looking down on a sea of houses all painted bright blue! After Jodhpur we came to Udaipur.
Every town I've been to in Rajasthan boasts a fort. Or a palace. Or something else big and ornate that makes you think, 'well I should have a look round it really, when will I be here again?' I've taken maybe forty photos of each attraction and I'm not sure I'll ever look at them again. My camera memory card is groaning under the weight of brilliantly colourful snapshots. This is sight-seeing overkill! (I will post the best ones on here as soon as I get some free time to burn a photo CD - sorry for the wait.)
As promised, on Monday (28th Jan) we went on a camel safari and enjoyed the unforgettable experience of an overnight stay in the desert. It was absolutely top! We set off from Jaiselmer in the afternoon and arrived at a little village called Khuri at around 5pm. At the village we found a group of camels resting in the sun, and we met our guides.
They helped us on to the camels - it's easy enough to swing your leg over the saddle when the camel's sat on its haunches. But the camel stands up and the sky rushes up to meet you, and suddenly you've rocketted six feet up into the air! Everyone on the ground becomes tiny, and you feel like a Norse god on horseback.
The three guides briefly led our camels over to another area in the village and loaded bundles of blankets and supplies on to the back of each camel. The guys, all of Rajasthani descent, seemed like experts and have been working with the camels for years. To be fair the camels at this camp seem to get treated pretty well too, though I'm not sure that's always the case.
We set off through the desert in the setting sun, riding on the camels as our guides led them on foot. The terrain was more like flat scrub-land than desert as you might picture it, with lots of plants and trees dotted around. The setting sun cast a beautiful golden glow over the scenery.
After about half an hour's travelling we arrived at our camp area for the night, a flat expanse of sand on the crest of a mighty sand dune. The guides led the camels up to the top of it and we dismounted. Then they started unpacking all the mysterious things they'd loaded on to the camels, revealing tents, blankets, cooking pots and food! One of the guys cleverly fashioned a fire from tree branches and they started cooking dinner on it. Ray Mears eat your heart out!
We weren't sure what to expect of the food but the meal was really good - a vegetable thali with yoghurt curry and something known as 'desert beans' on the side. They even made chapatis from flour and water. A hearty feed, and we gave them a good tip the next day for their troubles.
We spent that evening sat round the fire, talking to the guides and learning about their lives. I told them I worked with computers, but I felt unable to express much more about who I am or what I do. I just wanted to watch and listen.
Like most of the people in India they were really friendly and curious about us westerners. This curiousity is easy to confuse with nosiness and intrusiveness when you first get here, but this is a country that constantly challenges your perspectives on life.
It was a cloudy night, with a few stars showing through. The promised night-time chill never arrived, leaving us free to enjoy a good night's sleep. Laura, Paul and I slept in the tents, while the guides thought nothing of sleeping outside in the drizzle, huddled round the fire. They're accustomed to earning a living from this work, and take out three or four groups per week. Now that's what I call hard as nails!
In the morning we packed up and set off, riding briskly on the camels back to the village, where our driver Viru was waiting. A camp-bed was set up next to the car, in which he, like the guides, had been sleeping outdoors. Sleeping out in the elements seems like part and parcel of his work; I don't know how he keeps working so hard, day after day, so consistently. Pep pills maybe?
I found camel riding a bit shit-scary 'cos the only thing preventing you from tumbling down on to the ground is a small brass peg you hold on to at the front of the saddle. The trick seems to be to hold on and relax and trust the guides' intuition with the creatures!
So now I'm here in Udaipur, Octopussy land. Tomorrow we move on to Pushkar. After that, we spend two nights in Jaipur (capital of the Rajasthan district). Then my package tour is at an end, while Paul and Laura continue onwards to other places.
Thanks to a chance meeting with some dodgy touts in the car park at Udaipur train station, Viru procured me a ticket on a train that was advertised as 'full', to take me to Mumbai. The next leg of my journey is taking shape.
But nowI must dash. As always I'm keeping folks waiting! Farewell for now.
Thursday 31 January 2008
Monday 28 January 2008
Rajasthan: into the desert...
And that's "desert" as in sand, folks, not as in ice cream.
I am now in the desert town of Jaiselmer in Rajasthan, north-west India. The town is festooned with sandstone buildings and colourful people. Camels prowl the streets pulling gigantic carts, while their pampered animal cousins the cows doze contentedly in the midday sun. Miles of desert surround us on all sides. 50 kilometres away lies the eastern edge of Pakistan.
Jaiselmer is well-known for its giant sandstone fort, which dominates the skyline, constructed on the crown of a hill that overlooks the town. I've just been for a wander round the fort with my travel buddies Laura and Paul, and next we're off for lunch, followed by an overnight camel safari through the desert! This promises to be an exciting day.
I booked to go on a two-week tour round Rajasthan, paying an oily little man in Delhi a rather large sum of money. I'm travelling with Laura from Holland, who I met working on the volunteer project, and Paul from London, who is travelling round India on his own.
So far the trip has gone well. We visited the towns of Mundawa and Bikener on our way to Jaiselmer, and stayed in swanky mid-range hotels. ('Mid-range' being Lonely Planet speak for 'not an absolute dive, not a penthouse suite, but good enough to show your mother'.)
The 'fortnight' actually lasts 11 days from start to finish - I realised too late that the cheating bastard had conned us! I feel powerless to do anything - getting a refund off a Delhi agent is like getting blood from something which contains no blood inside. Like a stone. Still, this gives me more time to visit other areas, and get ripped off by other people.
After I left off last time, we returned to Delhi from Dharamsala. The return journey on the bus seemed even colder and draughtier than the journey there. The coach's limited supply of blankets were all taken and I shivered my way through the night with the solitary comfort of my music player. It was a definite relief to return to the heat and smog of the city!
And along with a few other people in my group I finally came down with Delhi Belly, aka 'the shits', and earnt my traveller's wings. It was caused by a glass of pomegranite juice in a Korean restaurant we ate in; everyone who had the pomegranite juice has fallen ill. It's never a good idea to have fruit juice in India - there is a big risk it's been topped up with dirty water.
So there was nothing for it but to drink plenty of mineral water and take the Himalayan herbal tablets I bought from a Pahar Ganj pharmacy (which got everything running ship-shape again pretty soon).
There's been a lot of problems with our volunteer project, which was badly organised. In the second week, after protesting very strongly to Daya, we got to change accomodation to a more convenient area of Delhi. This cut our daily travel time and freed up extra time to work with the street children.
After getting to know them we also visited the slum area where they live. Our visit to their cramped and difficult conditions caused a great stir of excitement among the local people. The couple who run the school (under a charitable organisation called Tejas Asia) finally returned from Mumbai to assist us.
It was sad to leave the kids behind on the last Friday, but I was glad it was only a two-week project, otherwise it would have been even tougher to say goodbye.
Anyway, I have to go now as my friends are waiting. Speak to all y'all soon!
I am now in the desert town of Jaiselmer in Rajasthan, north-west India. The town is festooned with sandstone buildings and colourful people. Camels prowl the streets pulling gigantic carts, while their pampered animal cousins the cows doze contentedly in the midday sun. Miles of desert surround us on all sides. 50 kilometres away lies the eastern edge of Pakistan.
Jaiselmer is well-known for its giant sandstone fort, which dominates the skyline, constructed on the crown of a hill that overlooks the town. I've just been for a wander round the fort with my travel buddies Laura and Paul, and next we're off for lunch, followed by an overnight camel safari through the desert! This promises to be an exciting day.
I booked to go on a two-week tour round Rajasthan, paying an oily little man in Delhi a rather large sum of money. I'm travelling with Laura from Holland, who I met working on the volunteer project, and Paul from London, who is travelling round India on his own.
So far the trip has gone well. We visited the towns of Mundawa and Bikener on our way to Jaiselmer, and stayed in swanky mid-range hotels. ('Mid-range' being Lonely Planet speak for 'not an absolute dive, not a penthouse suite, but good enough to show your mother'.)
The 'fortnight' actually lasts 11 days from start to finish - I realised too late that the cheating bastard had conned us! I feel powerless to do anything - getting a refund off a Delhi agent is like getting blood from something which contains no blood inside. Like a stone. Still, this gives me more time to visit other areas, and get ripped off by other people.
After I left off last time, we returned to Delhi from Dharamsala. The return journey on the bus seemed even colder and draughtier than the journey there. The coach's limited supply of blankets were all taken and I shivered my way through the night with the solitary comfort of my music player. It was a definite relief to return to the heat and smog of the city!
And along with a few other people in my group I finally came down with Delhi Belly, aka 'the shits', and earnt my traveller's wings. It was caused by a glass of pomegranite juice in a Korean restaurant we ate in; everyone who had the pomegranite juice has fallen ill. It's never a good idea to have fruit juice in India - there is a big risk it's been topped up with dirty water.
So there was nothing for it but to drink plenty of mineral water and take the Himalayan herbal tablets I bought from a Pahar Ganj pharmacy (which got everything running ship-shape again pretty soon).
There's been a lot of problems with our volunteer project, which was badly organised. In the second week, after protesting very strongly to Daya, we got to change accomodation to a more convenient area of Delhi. This cut our daily travel time and freed up extra time to work with the street children.
After getting to know them we also visited the slum area where they live. Our visit to their cramped and difficult conditions caused a great stir of excitement among the local people. The couple who run the school (under a charitable organisation called Tejas Asia) finally returned from Mumbai to assist us.
It was sad to leave the kids behind on the last Friday, but I was glad it was only a two-week project, otherwise it would have been even tougher to say goodbye.
Anyway, I have to go now as my friends are waiting. Speak to all y'all soon!
Sunday 20 January 2008
Dharamasala: freezing my nuts off!
Hello from up in the mountains!
It is bloody freezing here. India has cold winters just like the UK! I'm in Dharamasala (close to the Tibetan border), having braved an overnight bus journey from Delhi in what must surely be the draughtiest bus on the planet. I'm lucky I made it here. Me and another guy got stranded on a roadside in the middle of bloody nowhere during a midnight toilet stop. Thankfully a bright spark on the bus (Tanuj) alerted the driver to come back for us!
But boy, the difficult journey was worth it. This is an isolated mountain paradise. The air is so clean compared to Delhi! The scenery is stunning; wooded ravines, winding mountian roads, and rolling mist. Snow-capped mountain peaks roll up and away into the unfathomable distance, giving the impression Everest is in our own back yard. (That's actually very far away, in Nepal.)
We're staying in the town of McLeod-Ganj, a short vertical drive up the hill from Dharamsala. My volunteer group and I have accomodation at a chilly but welcoming guest house, run by a very jolly man who is friends with our project leader Daya. I visited the Dalai Lama's temple and the Tibetan Museum today. These were both amazing experiences; the latter was incredibly moving and haunting.
I'm wearing all my clothing (including two pairs of trousers) to combat the chill - the temperature has not risen above 5C all day. With impeccably bad timing, my camera chose to stop working just as we were about to embark on these once-in-a-lifetime sightseeing opportunities. Bastard!!! I took dozens of fuzzy pics on my phone camera in a vain attempt to capture the memories.
We spent the remainder of the day warming ourselves by a brazier, gulping down piping hot chai. I was wowed speechless by the awesome surroundings as much as the intense cold. Heat insulation is a rare luxury in the Indian hills. The cold gets in everywhere, through the windows and doors, so you lie in bed with the blankets wrapped round you, still shivering. (I imagine winters would have once felt like this in the UK before the advent of central heating. No wonder people in Victorian pictures look so tired and bloody miserable!)
In many senses Tibet has been all but wiped out, but it's heartening to see the exiled people continuing to survive in isolated pockets in neighbouring countries. Here in Dharamasala there is a large Tibetan community. Everywhere there are pictures of the Dalai Lama decorated with blue ribbons - the hero of the people. Buddhist monks in maroon and orange robes flock round the town. Also there are monkeys scampering between the roof-tops. Monkeys seem to thrive everywhere in India! It's surreal in a way.
I'm about to walk back to the guest house, down a steep hill, in the pitch black night. One step in the wrong direction and I'll be sent plunging down a steep drop. Thank God my Auntie Margaret bought me that travel torch for crimbo! Tonight I want to party with my group and enjoy some beers. It's been a while since I had a proper drink and boy am I ready for one!
Tata for now!
It is bloody freezing here. India has cold winters just like the UK! I'm in Dharamasala (close to the Tibetan border), having braved an overnight bus journey from Delhi in what must surely be the draughtiest bus on the planet. I'm lucky I made it here. Me and another guy got stranded on a roadside in the middle of bloody nowhere during a midnight toilet stop. Thankfully a bright spark on the bus (Tanuj) alerted the driver to come back for us!
But boy, the difficult journey was worth it. This is an isolated mountain paradise. The air is so clean compared to Delhi! The scenery is stunning; wooded ravines, winding mountian roads, and rolling mist. Snow-capped mountain peaks roll up and away into the unfathomable distance, giving the impression Everest is in our own back yard. (That's actually very far away, in Nepal.)
We're staying in the town of McLeod-Ganj, a short vertical drive up the hill from Dharamsala. My volunteer group and I have accomodation at a chilly but welcoming guest house, run by a very jolly man who is friends with our project leader Daya. I visited the Dalai Lama's temple and the Tibetan Museum today. These were both amazing experiences; the latter was incredibly moving and haunting.
I'm wearing all my clothing (including two pairs of trousers) to combat the chill - the temperature has not risen above 5C all day. With impeccably bad timing, my camera chose to stop working just as we were about to embark on these once-in-a-lifetime sightseeing opportunities. Bastard!!! I took dozens of fuzzy pics on my phone camera in a vain attempt to capture the memories.
We spent the remainder of the day warming ourselves by a brazier, gulping down piping hot chai. I was wowed speechless by the awesome surroundings as much as the intense cold. Heat insulation is a rare luxury in the Indian hills. The cold gets in everywhere, through the windows and doors, so you lie in bed with the blankets wrapped round you, still shivering. (I imagine winters would have once felt like this in the UK before the advent of central heating. No wonder people in Victorian pictures look so tired and bloody miserable!)
In many senses Tibet has been all but wiped out, but it's heartening to see the exiled people continuing to survive in isolated pockets in neighbouring countries. Here in Dharamasala there is a large Tibetan community. Everywhere there are pictures of the Dalai Lama decorated with blue ribbons - the hero of the people. Buddhist monks in maroon and orange robes flock round the town. Also there are monkeys scampering between the roof-tops. Monkeys seem to thrive everywhere in India! It's surreal in a way.
I'm about to walk back to the guest house, down a steep hill, in the pitch black night. One step in the wrong direction and I'll be sent plunging down a steep drop. Thank God my Auntie Margaret bought me that travel torch for crimbo! Tonight I want to party with my group and enjoy some beers. It's been a while since I had a proper drink and boy am I ready for one!
Tata for now!
Friday 18 January 2008
Delhi - one week in...
Hello there,
Well I've been on my travels for seven days now and I'm pleased to say I've not been shot, stabbed, mugged or bum-raped yet - so far so good.
I've spent a whole week in Delhi and it is an incredible place. I've never seen somewhere so chaotic and noisy and so utterly congested with people, cars and animals. Cows roam the streets, while pedestrians run the gauntlet of rickshaws and a million-and-one buses packed to the rafters with people.
Believe what you read - the city is over-run with dust and pollution, and everywhere you look it is crowded to an insane degree. But it is a very beautiful place at the same time, and often I find myself just standing and staring in awe at everything around me.
Soon I'll try to post some pictures (this computer has no visible USB orifice for me to insert my camera, so no pics today I'm afraid) - and to tell the full story of what I've been getting up to! So far I haven't had a moment to spare.
To quickly sum up my week, after I arrived I spent three days in a hotel (reasonably clean but a bit of a rip-off) and visited the Taj Mahal (amazing). Now I'm working for two weeks on an international volunteer project teaching street children, with some people from Holland, America, Korea and India.
The kids are lovable little scamps and I've been playing guitar for them. They loved Catherine Wheel! We've helped them to write the alphabet and taught them to brush their teeth. Also we've been teaching them some simple children's songs in English. It's going well, and we've been seeing plenty of the sights Delhi has to offer too (such as the Red Fort and Connaught Place).
This weekend my group and I are visiting Dharamsala in northern India, home of the Dalai Lama, and the exiled Tibetan government!
The weather is nice - sunshine and warm temperatures (mid-20s) nearly every day, but the city is constantly blanketed in smog and mist. The nights are quite cold, though nothing like the British winter. I'm having fun but I miss home, and it's crazy to think I won't see any of my friends or family for another 11 months or so. But I've been having great fun so far.
I hope everyone in the UK is well and good - until next week, auf wiedersehn!
Well I've been on my travels for seven days now and I'm pleased to say I've not been shot, stabbed, mugged or bum-raped yet - so far so good.
I've spent a whole week in Delhi and it is an incredible place. I've never seen somewhere so chaotic and noisy and so utterly congested with people, cars and animals. Cows roam the streets, while pedestrians run the gauntlet of rickshaws and a million-and-one buses packed to the rafters with people.
Believe what you read - the city is over-run with dust and pollution, and everywhere you look it is crowded to an insane degree. But it is a very beautiful place at the same time, and often I find myself just standing and staring in awe at everything around me.
Soon I'll try to post some pictures (this computer has no visible USB orifice for me to insert my camera, so no pics today I'm afraid) - and to tell the full story of what I've been getting up to! So far I haven't had a moment to spare.
To quickly sum up my week, after I arrived I spent three days in a hotel (reasonably clean but a bit of a rip-off) and visited the Taj Mahal (amazing). Now I'm working for two weeks on an international volunteer project teaching street children, with some people from Holland, America, Korea and India.
The kids are lovable little scamps and I've been playing guitar for them. They loved Catherine Wheel! We've helped them to write the alphabet and taught them to brush their teeth. Also we've been teaching them some simple children's songs in English. It's going well, and we've been seeing plenty of the sights Delhi has to offer too (such as the Red Fort and Connaught Place).
This weekend my group and I are visiting Dharamsala in northern India, home of the Dalai Lama, and the exiled Tibetan government!
The weather is nice - sunshine and warm temperatures (mid-20s) nearly every day, but the city is constantly blanketed in smog and mist. The nights are quite cold, though nothing like the British winter. I'm having fun but I miss home, and it's crazy to think I won't see any of my friends or family for another 11 months or so. But I've been having great fun so far.
I hope everyone in the UK is well and good - until next week, auf wiedersehn!
Friday 11 January 2008
Heathrow Airport: so here goes...
Hello from the UK for the final time! I am now in an internet cafe at Heathrow Airport - I'm all checked in at terminal 3, my flight leaves in less than two hours' time and I am just about to do all the tearful goodbyes with my family and go through security. My round the world trip is about to begin!
After an eight-hour flight I arrive in Delhi tomorrow morning, at about 11AM local time. I have a hotel room booked for the first three nights while I acclimatise to the five and a half hour time difference, and a day-long tour of the city to look forward to on Saturday. Then on Monday I start work at a volunteer camp working with street children.
So bloody hell, this is it, I'm about to go! Despite the attendant last-minute struggles I really am rather bloody excited now. Not sure what I'll make of Delhi - all the guidebooks describe it as indescribable, which helps. It sounds f**king mental and an unforgettable experience (for good and bad reasons). So we'll see.
I have to go now. See you on the other side campers!
After an eight-hour flight I arrive in Delhi tomorrow morning, at about 11AM local time. I have a hotel room booked for the first three nights while I acclimatise to the five and a half hour time difference, and a day-long tour of the city to look forward to on Saturday. Then on Monday I start work at a volunteer camp working with street children.
So bloody hell, this is it, I'm about to go! Despite the attendant last-minute struggles I really am rather bloody excited now. Not sure what I'll make of Delhi - all the guidebooks describe it as indescribable, which helps. It sounds f**king mental and an unforgettable experience (for good and bad reasons). So we'll see.
I have to go now. See you on the other side campers!
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