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Sorry it has been so long since an update! Rather than give you a long description of what we've been up to, I thought I'd just give you some of our observations about India that we've picked up along the way, along with a few interesting stories!
We had an interesting day in Pushkar, where after walking along the market-lined streets for a couple of hours, we decided to head homewards whilst filming the scenery. As Simon panned across the street, we heard the ear-piercing scream of a girl getting her foot run over - Simon had it all on film so we made a hasty retreat while all of the locals crowded round her for a gawp. That night we were in bed and at 1am were woken by the sound of running water. Amy went into the bathroom to discover that hot water was pouring through a hole in the ceiling! In a typically Indian fashion the hotel owner came up, turned off the water and walked off, and saying as an afterthought, "If you're scared, you can sleep next door".
Also in Pushkar we managed to get royally ripped off by the "priests" at the waterside temples, who do prayers for you and your family's health and prosperity. It's kind of the done thing to do when you get there, as it's such a holy city, so we thought we'd give it a go, and our guide simply handed us a plate with powder, flowers, string and a coconut, and pushed us forward. As we aren't married they made us sit seperately, and then we sat there chanting random things in Hindi and were splashed with rancid lake water. Only afterwards do they mention money, and start telling you how people regularly give 50 pounds or more (yeah right!) and then guilt-trip you into promising them money. Simon ended up paying 2000 rupees (as much as our hotel room for 2 nights!) and me 1500. We walked off feeling like complete mugs, although we were sporting cool red bracelets and red tikkas on our heads...
We've also managed to come down with a nasty tummy bug which is lovely, presumably from one of the places we had dinner. Our driver happended to mention today that a lot of the places we've stayed at (on his recommendation!) have had dirty kitchens - why he didn't tell us while we were there I have no idea! That meant our stay in Jodhpur was quite dull, staying in our room for one day and meekly venturing out to the fort on another. We were pretty happy to leave to be honest!
We've also visited Udaipur which is a beautiful city, and is where they filmed some of Octop**** The locals don't let you forget it either, with every restuarant showing it at 7pm sharp.
Another odd thing that we've found in India is that everyone wants a picture of us. We will be walking through one of the main touristy places, and as it's hot this time of year, there aren't many westerners about, just tonnes of Indian tourists. Groups of men will come up with a camera and get Simon and I to pose with them, and often men will just covertly take pictures of Amy or try putting their arms around her while shoving a camera in her face. It's a bit weird but harmless I suppose! People also ask you to post them a copy of the photo - even ones of some random tour guide and Simon!
When you visit India, you quickly realise a number of things:
- Brazen urination and defecation in the streets is widely accepted. In fact you're quite likely to find a fully plumbed in urinal, quite open, and next to a main road.
- Slowing down is not an option. Motorists will attempt to over-take, someone that is over-taking, whilst on the wrong side of the road. If a bus is hurtling towards you on the wrong side of the road, it is generally considered best practice to accelerate towards it and hope that one of you will at the last minute have room to swerve. Haven't they read the highway code?
- Belching is as fine, as is spitting.
- If there is a long queue of people, and there is a gap anywhere, it's fine to push in - it's their fault for leaving a gap! Also it's widely believed that if you want to queue to go quicker, it's best to push harder. Furthermore, don't ever let anyone beat you through a doorway or any type of bottleneck, under no circumstances must you give way to another pedestrian or motorist - it is a sign of weakness. Just simply launch into the narrowest point of the path/road with everyone else and hope for the best.
- Traffic lights are purely decorative, unless a policeman is about.
- If you're overtaking in a car, or perhaps even just sitting in your parked car, bored, SOUND YOUR HORN!
- I know the British are reknowned for bad teeth, but I've seen some pretty bad sets out here.
- Cows, pigs, goats and sheep should be free to wonder the streets and motorways at their leisure, eating the rubbish, and replacing it with large piles of excrement.
- Red hair is IN!
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