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Ellen's Mini Adventure!
Dear All - hello, and welcome to day 10 of my India Adventure!!
As i have found a decent little man who has ok internet, i thought i would take this chance to update you all on the past few days!
Cant remember where i got up to last time, but basically we left the lovely Jaislemer on Friday, and headed via local bus to the hmmmm....interesting Jodhpur! And yes indeed it was here that the horse riding jodhpurs were created- woo woo!!
Arrived at Havali Guest House after an experience on the local bus- we were stared at by the locals for six hours solid- how lovely, and after a couple of hours we all began to get a bit peeved at them- all very close for comfort and a little intimidating- although Stephen, Steph and Sophie and i sang for a good four hours of it- iPods are a genious invention- so that could explain some of the staring we were receiving!! ha ha
When we arrived, the first thing i noticed was the pollution- it was dire! Low heavy layer of fog and fumes- very unwelcoming- and v busy, as we got off the bus at about 3pm, we could hear the tuk tuk drivers fighting and arguing outside and Binu our guide said it was all over who was going to get our custom...........so as we got off the bus the 12 of us were being pulled all over the place, so i just dug out my elbows and stormed through the lot of them, they soon left us alone- ha ha!!
We made our way to the hotel- in a tuk tuk where the driver had a death wish, Stephen and i held on for dear life, as he mounted kerbs, ran into pedestrians, skimmed past cows, and did not give way to any other moving vehicle, at one point was driving down the wrong way on a onw way street..........mad man!! Turns out that him at the other tuk tuks were racing........explains a lot!!!
First opinion of Jodhpur not fantastic, busy, polluted and hotel is no where near as nice as Deepak where we were staying before....hence for the first time mood of the group is pretty low......no power in our darkened rooms, squat toilets, and generally all v tired, we had been up til gone 5 the previous evening, so a nap was definitely called for at this point!!
As the evening drew in, Binu took us on a tour of the city, and my opinion began to change, busy street scenes, markets and shops galore, and the poverty levels were a lot less that elsewhere we had been- and the night ended with us going to a local restaurant/bar called On The Rocks- ACE!!! When we arrived they went out of their way to make us so comfortable, and within minutes the Western tunes were pumping and the dance floor was ours- i was in heaven, and Stephen and most of the group are all dancing divas too- therefore we donned our dancing shoes and were there til 3 am, listening to the likes of Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, S-Club 7, a real combination, and Aussies and Europeans all joined together to appreciate the music, its something you dont realise you miss until a night like this!!!
The next day, spirits a lot higher, and we (being me and Stephen) meet up with Steph and Sophie and the four of us head up the hill, which turned out to be a small mountain....ha ha ha, to the Mehrangarh Fort.....WOW! Beautiful scenes, and i indulged by having my palm read by Mr Sharma, he is a worldwide renowned palm reader and couldnt resist giving him a visit........wow! He was spot on. Stephen came in with me and made notes, and vice versa, and he described the two of us down to a tee! Very clever man, who predicted good things, dont know how much to believe, but lets just say he was well aware of pretty much every memorable experience so far, and what my aims may possibly be......so fingers crossed he's spot on, cos means i'll be successful in the near future- ace!
The evening continued and i indulged in my first shopping- and boy was it needed, ive been very restrained so far- as a back pack is pretty ridiculous for 18 months as it is, so buying gifts and clothes is not going to help my packing mission each evening!! ha ha. But i bought some beautiful jewellery, few pressies for a special few, and bits and pieces.....including Stephen buying me a new pair of trousers after the splitting incident on the camel safari.......which continues to be the tour group highlight!!!!! Sure it was hilarious for all them seeing me!! ha ha
Sunday saw us moving on to the beautiful Udaipur.......WOW WOW WOW..this place is the most scenic and beautiful city, also known as the most romantic city in India! Set around Piccola Lake, the palace and mass of rolling mountains and green banks combine all the best aspects of everywhere we have been so far.......pretty impressive i can tell you!
Our room is fantastic, amazing views, bay window and really comfortable- a western toilet for a start!! ha ha
We headed out for dinner and Binu had a suprise for us all.....he's full of suprises bless him....we got to the restaurant and he had hired out the whole roof top terrace on the lake for us, and there was a huge television screen.....it turns out Udaipur is famous for the filming of Octop**** ...so he planned a mass screening of it for us all....it was fantastic, James Bond, a beer, a beautiful meal, and a view to silence even me! ha ha
A beautiful city and we are here for three nights, so plenty to see and do, including the palace and a boat trip around the lake which we did yesterday, and we visited an Indian Cultural show in the evening- plenty of dancing and fun to be had!
Today has been ace, i went to an art class and did a beautiful (ha ha ha!) painting of a peacock, which a local artist hellped us do. the girls did elephants, and they all came out great- i have a secret talent for fine art after today!! ha ha
Tonight we are heading up to the highest point in the city- Monsoon Palace- looks fantastic from down here, so can only imagine the view and sunset from up there- will take lots of pics!
I think in the next hour i will have posted some pics on the website www.ellenmoriarty.com a little man in a shop has been helping me resize them as they were too big, so fingers crossed he hasnt lost them all!
Let me know if you see them ok, and all please keep in touch. Sorry the emails are far from short and sweet, but be rest assured that there are many things i am missing out....so plenty to tell on my return.
Lovely to hear from those of you that i have done so far, and keep the gossip and news coming- you know i like to be in the loop!
Heading to Jojawa tomorrow- v small village on our way to jaipur, so doubt internet ot phones will be accessible, but will be in touch soon.
Hope you are all well, and enjoying what England has to offer, and i will be in touch soon.
Allmy love, Ellen xxx
PS Apologies again for lack of personal emails, is near impossible, but willtry when get somewhere more central to reply to you all guys! xxx
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