Jaipur
I stand humbled and more wise since my last dispatch. Mohammed turned out to be the genuine article and he was very helpful and a generally nice guy. He took us to the sites around this city and introduced us to a cloth wholesaler who sells things like throws, pashminas, bed covers, suits, etc. This stuff was good quality too as it was geared to the export market. We even got shown around the factory where it was made. I admit I did buy a couple of things (Mohammed made his commission, though we were clear on this before we went in) though there was no sales pressure and the whole set up was professional and genuine.
There are many things to see in Jaipur of interest. It is quite a young city, having been founded in the mid 18th century by one of the Moghuls. There is an old astronomical observatory near the City Palace that is full of massive astronomical instruments made of bricks and mortar. A giant sundial stands about 100 feet high and is still accurate to within 20 seconds. The maharaja who built them was a keen astronomer and had a thing about accuracy, which is why they are all so big.
There is an older fort that predates the city itself a few KM out of Jaipur called the Amber Fort, so called not for its colour but for the people who built it. This is a big old rambling fortification that you pay entry into though you have practically unlimited access to all rooms and passageways. This was fun as you could walk around the whole thing and in the afternoon light it looked just like something from a film. I enjoyed walking around aimlessly, properly exploring the place. It was like being a child again, or more like me getting lost in my own hotel. All went well until my runny tummy started to wreak havoc and I had to break the men's 100m record to get to a latrine. Best not talked about really, though it was touch and go for a minute. One room in the fort was very interesting as the walls and ceiling were covered in small mirrors. It was like being inside a big chandelier.
Yesterday evening he took us on a very long drive in his rickshaw up a hill to the fort that overlooks the town; Tiger Fort. This is a nice place and is best seen in the evening just before sunset as the views of the surrounding area are beautiful. The fort itself is not a big pile like Amber, but a restaurant and conference/party facility with two large rooms for hire. I walked around the grounds with Mohammed and met a group of young Indian men who were drinking from a bottle of "Sprite". They seemed half-cut and it turns out that many young people make the trek up here in the evening to get tanked-up and then drive back down the hill. Yikes. Mohammed, being Muslim and never touches alcohol, was very disapproving and I agreed that it was anti-social, although the youths were not at all bad mannered, just loud. I told him the same thing goes on in England. We both tutted and walked off. Terrible thing, getting all old and grumpy like me.
However there is one thing here that is bothering me and that is the oppressive heat. The air temperature is about 40 degrees, though not too humid. To do anything in the daytime requires a good deal of stamina, of which I have little having been unwell. Add to this that our hotel room at the moment is like some giant solar panel absorbing heat throughout the afternoon and then slowly leaking it out at night and the temperature remains hot all the time. I must drink about 10 litres of water every day, or so it feels. In fact the tourist season is coming to an end here as Summer kicks in and things get very warm.
I was talking to Mohammed about beggars yesterday. I needed instructions on how to deal with them. He said that there are a lot of beggars who just try it on with tourists, though there are a few who are "genuine" needy, like mothers who have no husband, etc. I asked what the best thing to do was. He said that normally some restaurants take donations from customers and then use this money to feed the beggars who come to its doors at the end of the night. You do not end up giving cash out on the streets (something that I still think best avoided - if I'm seen giving money to one person, I should give to all people) and they get a good feed. Alternatively there are hostels that take donations of cash, clothing, etc. I intend to do this regularly while I am here, though I have to admit seeing poverty on such a scale has not "affected" me really. Some people say that seeing such things will change you, and so on. No so me, but it's not that I do not care as I do. It's just that I see problems like this and just want to help provide solutions. No sense crying over spilt milk. I just want to do the right thing by them as their need for food, shelter, and clean water is far greater than mine.
Tomorrow I climb back into one of the Iron Coffins (trains) to take the 16 hour journey to Mumbai. Most Indians I have spoken to still call it Bombay, but along with most of the other cities it's name changed recently, I think. This should be terrible so I am trying to get hold of some sedatives to take on the train with me. Those should make the journey more bearable. I slept well on the last one though I'm getting on this train at 1400, the hottest part of the day, so the temperature on the train should exceed 100 degrees. I'm not looking forward to this.
As for my first real experience of India, I can say that it has been an eye-opener. Not that I consider myself a veteran just yet, that's going to take more time.
There are many things to see in Jaipur of interest. It is quite a young city, having been founded in the mid 18th century by one of the Moghuls. There is an old astronomical observatory near the City Palace that is full of massive astronomical instruments made of bricks and mortar. A giant sundial stands about 100 feet high and is still accurate to within 20 seconds. The maharaja who built them was a keen astronomer and had a thing about accuracy, which is why they are all so big.
There is an older fort that predates the city itself a few KM out of Jaipur called the Amber Fort, so called not for its colour but for the people who built it. This is a big old rambling fortification that you pay entry into though you have practically unlimited access to all rooms and passageways. This was fun as you could walk around the whole thing and in the afternoon light it looked just like something from a film. I enjoyed walking around aimlessly, properly exploring the place. It was like being a child again, or more like me getting lost in my own hotel. All went well until my runny tummy started to wreak havoc and I had to break the men's 100m record to get to a latrine. Best not talked about really, though it was touch and go for a minute. One room in the fort was very interesting as the walls and ceiling were covered in small mirrors. It was like being inside a big chandelier.
Yesterday evening he took us on a very long drive in his rickshaw up a hill to the fort that overlooks the town; Tiger Fort. This is a nice place and is best seen in the evening just before sunset as the views of the surrounding area are beautiful. The fort itself is not a big pile like Amber, but a restaurant and conference/party facility with two large rooms for hire. I walked around the grounds with Mohammed and met a group of young Indian men who were drinking from a bottle of "Sprite". They seemed half-cut and it turns out that many young people make the trek up here in the evening to get tanked-up and then drive back down the hill. Yikes. Mohammed, being Muslim and never touches alcohol, was very disapproving and I agreed that it was anti-social, although the youths were not at all bad mannered, just loud. I told him the same thing goes on in England. We both tutted and walked off. Terrible thing, getting all old and grumpy like me.
However there is one thing here that is bothering me and that is the oppressive heat. The air temperature is about 40 degrees, though not too humid. To do anything in the daytime requires a good deal of stamina, of which I have little having been unwell. Add to this that our hotel room at the moment is like some giant solar panel absorbing heat throughout the afternoon and then slowly leaking it out at night and the temperature remains hot all the time. I must drink about 10 litres of water every day, or so it feels. In fact the tourist season is coming to an end here as Summer kicks in and things get very warm.
I was talking to Mohammed about beggars yesterday. I needed instructions on how to deal with them. He said that there are a lot of beggars who just try it on with tourists, though there are a few who are "genuine" needy, like mothers who have no husband, etc. I asked what the best thing to do was. He said that normally some restaurants take donations from customers and then use this money to feed the beggars who come to its doors at the end of the night. You do not end up giving cash out on the streets (something that I still think best avoided - if I'm seen giving money to one person, I should give to all people) and they get a good feed. Alternatively there are hostels that take donations of cash, clothing, etc. I intend to do this regularly while I am here, though I have to admit seeing poverty on such a scale has not "affected" me really. Some people say that seeing such things will change you, and so on. No so me, but it's not that I do not care as I do. It's just that I see problems like this and just want to help provide solutions. No sense crying over spilt milk. I just want to do the right thing by them as their need for food, shelter, and clean water is far greater than mine.
Tomorrow I climb back into one of the Iron Coffins (trains) to take the 16 hour journey to Mumbai. Most Indians I have spoken to still call it Bombay, but along with most of the other cities it's name changed recently, I think. This should be terrible so I am trying to get hold of some sedatives to take on the train with me. Those should make the journey more bearable. I slept well on the last one though I'm getting on this train at 1400, the hottest part of the day, so the temperature on the train should exceed 100 degrees. I'm not looking forward to this.
As for my first real experience of India, I can say that it has been an eye-opener. Not that I consider myself a veteran just yet, that's going to take more time.