in the fort

backpacking in nw india, part 1

so. i spent the last 2 weeks with sol and peter (the american and german previously mentioned) budget-backpacking through rajasthan and up to kashmir. it was pretty freaking amazing.

our first stop was jodhpur, a desert city in the state of rajasthan with apparently incredible sights. peter basically picked out our destinations, and sol and i obediently followed suit. we booked a flight and headed out. the flight had one stop in udaipur before reaching our destination, and all was going along swimmingly until we were to take off from udaipur. the pilot came onto the intercom and announced that due to high wind/sandstorms in jodhpur, we were going to have to disembark and take ground transportation for the remainder of the journey. well, this did not sit well with most of the men on the plane. a large group of them stormed the cockpit, and a noisy discussion ensued. in true india fashion, the majority was able to convince the pilot to fly anyway! and to agree that if when we reached jodhpur it was still bad, he would fly us to the next big city and we could take a bus from there. freaky! so we took off again, flew over jodhpur (which was indeed nothing but a blur of sand below us) and landed in jaipur. jaipur had originally been at the top of our list until we realized that due to the recent bomb blasts there, most of the city was still closed down with a very strict curfew. so we got to see a little of it anyway, via the windows of the bus ... which drove overnight 6 or so hours to jodhpur. we arrived tired and bleary at about 4am. luckily we had a semi-decent guide book with us, so we were able to call hotels. the first place that actually answered the phone gave us a room and we gladly collapsed, so exhausted that the ants, dirty bedsheets, clunking a.c. and urine stench didn't even affect us. ... speaking of stench, let me give you just a tiny bit of advice. if you're ever here and are taking a road trip, do not be tempted to use the public toilets anywhere, especially the roadside gas stations. i won't go into much detail, let it suffice to say that they usually consist of little more than a hole in the floor, and i think i'm traumatized for life.

we only spent a day in jodhpur, and after moving on, we all kinda wished we had spent more time. our day consisted of wild rickshaw rides around the city, eating odd and new (to us) desert foods, taking waaaay too many photos, and touring mehrangarh fort. the weather was easily in the 100s farenheit, but with none of the humidity of bombay it was actually quite nice. if we didn't move very fast, we didn't overheat. the people in jodhpur (and in fact any indian city that is not bombay) were in awe of us. white skin seems to be absolutely fascinating. everywhere we went people blatantly stared, standing as close to us as they could. at one point while touring the fort, we took a break and sat down on some benches lining a courtyard. almost immediately we were surrounded. people plopped down beside us and they all started taking pictures. they thrust their babies into our laps and in between us, snapping away. they all had to shake our hands. they made all their children and babies shake our hands. about 15 minutes into this, we realized they weren't going to relent and we had to flee!

the fort itself is stunning. built in the 1400s, it holds several intricate and elaborate palaces and courtyards with huge, imposing walls protecting it from the rest of the world. we bought the audio tour which turned out to be very well organized (!!!!!), super interesting, and well worth the very few rupees it cost. it's funny ... most touristy things have two prices. one for indians, one for tourists. for example, to get into the taj in agra, it's about 20 rupees for locals, and 750 for tourists. that's about 50 cents compared to almost 19 bucks!

anyhoo. at the end of the day we jumped on an overnight train that took us further north and west, to jaisalmer...

went on vacation

and took loads of pictures.  there are many, many, oh so many more to come.

spent about a week in rajasthan, riding camels and sleeping under the stars in the desert, not far from the pakistan border.  then headed to kashmir, to a tiny town called leh at the foothills of the himalayas.  all in all it was an incredible experience... a planes, trains, and automobiles (and camels) kinda trip... backpacking on a budget through northwest india.  i highly recommend it.  although, to be completely honest, i was SO ready to be back home with easy access to a real shower, actual laundry facilities, and my own bed.  to steal a signature sol line, a little backpacking goes a long way.

stories to follow...  

graffiti

jodhpur

love is sweet

ESL

cricket schmicket

m's in nyc for the next couple weeks.  a pdx friend of his is in town with his german traveling buddy.  that sounds kinky.  it's not.  (... i don't think.)  we've been having a great time.  we checked out an ipl cricket match wednesday night.  

not surprisingly, it was an exercise in patience, persistence, and copious amounts of sweat.  the match had already started when we arrived (the first time something's happened on time!), and it took us a good 15 minutes to locate the will call desk.  after much negotiating and pleading, we got our tickets and found the entrance.  due to the recent bombings in jaipur, security was beefed up, which in this case meant metal detectors were in abundance, but were not even turned on!  we gleefully waltzed through, only to be immediately halted by the overzealous security personnel because i was carrying a purse and cell phone, and because sol had a camera.  after spending a half hour online locating and trying to purchase the tickets, a 1.5 hour bouncy, stinky (the driver's feet ... OMDOUBLEG) hot cab ride, and a wild goose chase to get the actual tickets ... we were not about to be stopped at the door!  i've learned a valuable skill in india.  if you don't get what you need at first, simply continue to ask for it.  eventually, everyone is worn down and life continues.  so, we did.  for anoooother 15-20 minutes.  we smiled, we pleaded, we praised india and cricket and the fine, fine security personnel, we stayed calm.  finally, they made us promise not to take photos and let us in.  our tickets were useless.  not surprisingly, the event had been way oversold, and although we had assigned seats there was NO WAY in hell we were going to be able to sit!  the aisles, the fire exits, every single open space was packed with sweaty, zealous fans.  we managed to squeeze ourselves into a tight spot on a side aisle, and proceeded to get pushed around, sweating PROFUSELY and continuously for an hour and a half.  none of us know a lick about cricket, so after 90 minutes it just seemed pointless to stay.  we escaped to dome, had a cold beer and decompressed next to the pool.  the stadium is maybe a block from the bar, so we could hear and almost see into the stadium from our rooftop perch.  next time, we'll save ourselves all the headaches and catch the matches from there.

oh.  and on our way out, i got manhandled again.  to reach the exit, we had to fight our way through a tightly packed mob.  hmmm.  tightly packed isn't really describing it accurately.  we were literally pushing and shoving and throwing elbows in order to make space to move forward.  well, as often happens here, some random sleazeball took advantage and grabbed my boob.  i whipped around, sailed my fist through his forearm, and screamed at the top of my lungs, calling him an asshole and telling him he should be ashamed for grabbing a woman's breast.  i think it worked.  somehow, in that impossible-to-move situation, he managed to shrink and disappear into the crowd ... who all stopped in their tracks to stare at the crazy foreigner lady freaking out... and then swiveled their heads to find the offender!

tomorrow:  rajasthan!

i'm drowsy

i don't know if it's a safari+mac thing or what... i can't figure it out.  it's pissing me off.  the damn font changes after the first paragraph and it won't change back.  make it stop!!!

i faced death this week.  and lived.  and it only cost $75!  after 3 days of increasingly worse fever and coughing and pain and agony, we called the doc.  we'd never met him before, but he answered and happily paused his night out with his wife to make a house call at 9pm on friday, checked me out and gave me 4 prescriptions.  we called the chemist and the drugs were delivered immediately!  simply amazing.  i've gotta say, this is a big one.  a big plus for this crazy place.  a doctor and drugs without an appointment, co-pay, or insurance headaches... 

we were invited by a brit to a cinco de mayo party held on the 10th on the roof of the american consulate house.  go figure.  it was ok.  i was too doped up on cough meds to sample the stiff margaritas.  everyone got really wasted.  i sat and stared at this most of the night, which is well into construction and located next to the consulate house.  fucking unbelievable.

i'm jealous.  one of my favorite people in india is in japan right now with her guy.  maybe the blonde and m will move to japan after india?  hmmm.  it's not a bad idea at all.

more house guests are arriving tomorrow.  know what that means?  it means wine!  wine for me!  wine that's unspoiled by indian sun and poor storage.  you see, that's all we ask in exchange for a place to crash while you're in bombay... regardless of how long.  so, what are you waiting for?

vacancy soon

the job is over.  this one lasted a day.  the story of my early exit is just more fodder for the inevitable secret blog, but suffice it to say that i've been spoiled in the states by laws which protect against sexual harassment and insufficient wages.  

so i may not have super tight girlfriends here yet, but we do have kristen and michael, who we were friends with instantly, upon meeting in november at our first expat party.  they're moving to singapore dangerously soon, leaving an empty spot at the top of the friends list.  if interested, please be prepared for boozy days and evenings and lots of brunches and dinners.  successful candidates will be in possession of a digital projector as there will be endless movie nights.  

know anyone?