A Second Day in Udaipur

Upon returning home, having dinner and then writing my blog I was totally exhausted and went straight to bedfor some well-deserved sleep. I slept like a baby and woke up refreshed the next morning. I went to have some tea and breakfast on the rooftop, where I met a fellow a traveller who had just checked-in early that morning.

We started chatting and got along straight away, deciding to spend the day together going to the City Palace and its museum and then discovering the local bazaar. The city palace is a huge palace, with some amazing views over Lake Pichola and a relatively mediocre museum. But the rooms were worthwhile seeing and just the layout of it all. The architecture of these palaces is just amazing and does not cease to be interesting, even when you see so many.

The day was well spent - sightseeing, chatting, taking pictures, discovering Udaipur and then, to top it all off we found a wonderful rooftop terrace where we thoroughly enjoyed the nighttime view over Udaipur with a nice G&T (gin and tonic), before returning to the hostel for some home-cooked dinner.

By the time I got to bed it was around 1 a.m. and I found it accordingly difficult to wake up this morning to catch my train to Ajmer at 6:15 a.m.

Udaipur

I arrived in a sleeping Udaipur after having taken the night bus from Jodhpur, on a very bumpy journey, at 4a.m. totally exhausted. I waited until daylight and then took an autorickshaw to the hostel that was recommended to me by the wonderful people I met in Jodhpur. Funnily enough I am the only person staying here for this night, so I was lucky enough to have the owner of the hostel offer to show me around some of the places in Udaipur.

So after a bit of rest, a shower and some breakfast, we set out to explore the less trodden paths of Udaipur.

Udaipur is a city surrounded by mountains and lakes, some artificial and others not. During the dry season the lakes dry-up and when the monsoons come, the lakes fill up. Apparently the last time the lakes totally dried up was six years ago. Since the monsoons have now started here in India, there is some water in the lakes, though not yet as much as there will be at the height of the season.

First we went to the Monsoon Palace, one of three palaces used by the Maharajah; there is also the lake palace for the summer and the city palace for the winter time. The palace is set at the top of a hill in the middle of a nature reserve - now administered by the government. The palace itself has so much potential, but is not really well kept; however, the views of Udaipur, the mountains surrounding it and the lakes are amazing.
The palace was constructed by Maharajah Sajjan Singh in the late 19th century and was originally used as an observatory; it later became the Monsoon Palace and a hunting lodge for the Maharajah.

After the Monsoon Palace we went to one of the lakes, called Tiger Lake, an artificial lake which is surrounded by mountains and offers a stunning landscape. This lake is not one of the two big lakes which border the city, but is further out in the country side. Children were swimming and a bit further on, women were washing their clothes in the lake.

Welcome to Rajasthan! First stop: Jodhpur

After a nice and relaxing night train journey from Delhi, I arrived in Jodhpur early this morning and took an autorickshaw to the centre, where I set about looking for a suitable hostel. Luckily enough, I found one quite quickly and settled in nicely. Arriving at the time that I did, I met other travellers who were having breakfast and arranged to go see the Jodhpur fort with them.

The fort, set up on a hilltop, is an impressive structure in true Maharajah style, with some amazing views of Jodhpur, also known as the "blue city". We spent a good half day there, taking the audio tour (which comes free with the tourist entry fee - I managed to get a student discount (the ID has come in handy once again)). The audio tour extensively explains the history of the fort in an interesting manner and is educative on cultural, political and social matters of the past and present - definitely worthwhile and interesting, unlike many other audio guides that I've listened to in the past.

After having been at the fort, we went back to the centre, where we thoroughly enjoyed a makhania lassi (safron flavoured lassi) before setting out to explore the bustling markets, where truly anything can be found.

In the late afternoon and tired from the heat and walking, we decided to buy some cold beers and head back to the rooftop of the hostel, where we sat enjoying the view and our beers, before heading out to another rooftop - this time a restaurant, where we thoroughly enjoyed a good Indian meal with a beautiful view of the fort.

Fatehghar (and around)

After a few days in Delhi, I was lucky enough to be invited to a village in the Punjab province and live with a family for one week. This has really been an invaluable experience. I am so grateful for having had this opportunity.

We took the night bus from Delhi to Hoshiarpur and from there caught a local bus to Dasuha, from where we were picked up by motorbike and taken to the village called Fatehghar. It’s quite an experience travelling with three people and luggage on a motorbike – but somehow it works and having done it more often now, it’s almost second nature.

The village is what you would expect a typical Indian village to look like, rice fields and all; families living all together, as is the custom, and a very friendly atmosphere in which the stranger was quite obvious J The people were all intrigued and asked many questions about me – which of course I couldn’t answer or understand. English is not spoken here at all; luckily the family I’m staying with is able to speak some English, so somehow we manage. Also, I’ve been learning and picking-up some Punjabi phrases and words, making it easier to communicate/understand what’s going on.

Amritsar

During my stay here we went for a day trip to Amritsar – where we saw the Golden Temple, a truly amazing sight! It was quite crowded the day we went, but surprisingly it was not too disturbing once inside – the grounds are huge! We had food in the dining hall, where food is prepared free of charge for all those visiting the temple. There is also a guest house, where one can spend the night for free, should the need arise (I didn’t go inside, so can’t say what it’s like).

We rushed the visit to the temple a little, so that we could get to Attari (the border between India and Pakistan) so as to be able to see the daily border closing ceremony. There are lots of people on both sides of the border and the military on both sides makes a show of power – evoking loud patriotic chants and songs from the spectators on either side of the border , making the whole thing quite an interesting across the border chant-off; definitely worth seeing if in the area. After a lot of shouting, chanting and goose-stepping, the border is then officially closed once the flags of Pakistan and India have been simultaneously lowered. Considering the political tensions between the two countries, it’s quite nice to see this friendly (if playfully unfriendly) daily interaction between the two nations.

Desuha

Desuha is the nearest market town to the village - so we went there for an afternoon of shopping. This was quite an experience. The market is quite large and the cloth so cheap! We bought quite a lot of clothes and cloth, so I’ll be making my own shalwar kameez. I’ve decided that the Indian clothes suit me quite well and I fully intend on acquiring quite a few garments. I also think that by wearing Indian style clothes I don’t stick out at all, which may be marginally easier when travelling.

Sewing and chilling

The next two days (22 and 23 June) were spent chilling at home – it was too hot to do anything – and sewing Punjabi suits. The suits are so nice! I’m so happy with them. I sewed a little bit (mainly just straight lines), but watched the whole process of how a suit is made – if you know what you’re doing it goes quite quickly. Hopefully before I leave I’ll have the chance at least to make the trousers, because those I want to make many of, so that I can wear them with t-shirts.

Also, I learnt that playing cards is not permitted in traditional households – which clearly is violated, but once the head of the family (i.e. eldest man) comes home any sign of the cards disappears immediately!

From speaking to the people around me I’ve discovered many interesting lessons about life and marriage in the villages and how the traditions are still upheld here (especially in the rural areas). Arranged marriages are still the norm, and the caste system – though officially abolished – is still very much present, making inter-caste marriages rather difficult. It seems that the government has tried to incentivise inter-caste marriage, by offering money or tax cuts or something along those lines to those who do have inter-caste marriages (I’m guessing in the hope that when they have children they will not belong to a specific caste and through this to abolish castes completely for the future).

I was also invited to go plant rice in the rice fields, but I ended up not going – deciding that spending a morning in stagnant water filled with rice seeds and who knows what else, may not be the most intelligent thing to do unless I’m asking to get some kind of disease. So I figured my being close to a rice field is a good enough farming experience J

Food

Since I’ve arrived here I’ve been eating so much, it’s unbelievable! The food, though it looks so simple to make, tastes amazing! There are so many different types of vegetable and fruits that I’ve never seen or heard of, and it all tastes amazing. Mangoes are here in abundance, coming in multiple shapes, sizes and textures – I’m loving this! I’m trying to learn how to make the food which, as mentioned earlier, looks very easy to make – but who knows what it’ll turn out to be like when I make it. The main foods are rice, potatoes, bread, lentils (various types), curd (yoghurt), lots of spices and fruits – surprisingly there is a multitude of things that can be made out of these foods and they all taste wonderful!

Saying Goodbye

My time in the village has come to an end and I’m now back in Delhi, from where the next part of my journey will begin. Saying goodbye was rather difficult after having spent one week with a wonderful family. I will miss them all and am ever grateful for their hospitality and patience in answering all my questions and including me in their family life irrespective of the language barrier. I have been invited to come back to the village before leaving India, which I would love to do, but I don’t think it will be possible due to the extensive travels I have ahead of me. I hope to stay in touch with everyone and it would be great to see them all again!

New Delhi!

 I arrived in New Delhi two days ago in the morning. I had organised a car to pick me up and take me around to find a hostel. I stayed at Youth Hostels International - where I stayed in a dorm (but was the only person there), it had a western toilet and shower; the room was bare, but clean and they have functioning wifi.

I then spent the day touring around Delhi - seeing some sites and markets and then organising my trip around the country. I have now finally booked my train tickets and have quite a hectic itinerary for the next month, allowing me to see a lot of the country. Night trains and I will become very good friends! 

My first impression of Delhi really is not as bad as it was sometimes portrayed. Yes it's dirty, but it's not noisier than any other city of this style. I haven't been hassled by anyone up until now (but that may be due to my complexion - so they think I'm Indian). The smells are a mixture of everything, but again not any different than a market place in the Middle East. There are temples and beautiful buildings and sights strewn across the city, making the entire city worthwhile seeing – every corner you turn there’s something new going on.

Yesterday was a special day for the Sikhs – once a year on this date they set-up stands from which they distribute water with milk and sugar to people for free; some stands also distribute food to the people. It was quite interesting to see, though I didn’t drink – I’m still too worried about the potential stomach problems.

On the way home, I saw two elephant just chilling in the middle of the city, next to a bridge. And this seemed to be something totally normal for everyone, nobody even took note! 

I spent the night at a friend’s house and had the pleasure of being taught how to cook Indian food (less spicy than they would normally eat). I started small with potato bread. Maybe today I will make something more complicated. The Indian food is divine, and there is so much vegetarian choice – which is just wonderful! I’m loving it!

Today I had my first experience of the metro. The system is very good and easy to use, the issues with public transport arise when you need to take a bus/mini-bus from the metro to your end destination – you need to know where you’re going, so they can drop you at the right place. Nevertheless, Delhi is a huge city and is quite daunting. I was glad to have a car to take me around for the first two days, just to get my bearings (though I’m sure one day would have been fine).

 I’ll upload photos once I have an internet connection that permits me to do so (note that it took about 4 hours to be able to post this..)!

A quick trip to Dubai

Being in the vicinity, I decided a quick trip to Dubai would be in order before heading to India. Having never been here before, I could only imagine what it's like - needless to say it is all that and more.

I can't really find the words to explain this city, except for that it is crazy. The place is spotless, everything functions and the people are friendly.

There are so many opposites here, you have women walking in shorts and t-shirts next to women who are fully covered; the new modern part of the city next to the old part; and then the desert, which also has roads that do not feature a single bump!

The Dubai Mall is just too huge - it contains an aquarium, ice-skating rink, waterfall, cinemas, restaurants and then shops, shops and more shops. I spent a few hours there and have still not seen even a third of it!

Each part of the mall has a different theme, and everything is shiny and clean. Absolutely crazy.. and that just represents what the city is like.

It sounds all pompous, which it is, but in a beautiful way; one can tell that a lot of thought went into the design of the city and everything is built to be aesthetically pleasing.

 

The Burj Khalifa is an amazing building, the pictures of which do not do it justice. The apartments, which we managed to view, are rather disappointing though. The layout of the flats is quite poor and so much more could have been done with the space; the views, however, are breathtaking!

Mulambwane

I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to be able to visit a local community in Mulambwane, near the border to Zimbabwe. Driving there and being able to see this gave me a little insight to the rural lifestyle, as opposed to life in Jo'burg. 

 The house of one of the elders of the community we visited.

 Jacuzzi with a view... the lodge is currently not being used.










Attending a community meeting.

 

Road Trip to Magaliesburg

After a fun and alcohol-filled Friday night, we left Saturday morning towards Magaliesburg where we had booked into a train cabin guest house - note the train theme that seems to have been established.

All of us were a bit sceptical as to whether this place would be cool, but it turned out to be an amazing cabin, the rooms were spacious and everything was functioning.









There was sun the entire day and the views over the countryside were beautiful! Sitting outside, having a drink and a braai (barbecue) whilst enjoying the view and weather was perfect.