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Hello! FINALLY we have left the elephant park where there is no signal and no computers so we can carry on telling you about our Indian adventures!
So as Ellie said, Tordi was a lovely little village that we stayed in for one night on 22nd March. It was very old fashioned, very industrious - with either farm work, laundry/tailor work, pottery and many more. The next morning, we made our way to Pushkar where we would stay for two nights. The highlight of that day was the news that there was a pool! That doesn't sound very cultured I realise but we had been in 30 degree celsius heat for around 3 weeks now, with no sea, no pool or any other body of water to cool ourselves in. And with our western little bodies used to 20 degrees being classed as a 'hot summer' which will last for a week at most, the news of the pool was welcomed :D
PUSHKAR
So when we arrived at the hotel in Pushkar by Jeep from Tordi, we set our things down in the room and chilled by/in the pool for the rest of the day, until the afternoon when we would have our orientation walk around town. Pushkar is very small comp[ared to any other town we've been to. It's a pilgrimage town, with the focus on religion and spirituality, so both these factors makes the town very peaceful and quiet and a good place to be after our hectic journey so far. So our walk took us through the main market (which was awesome) - I brought HOLY COW which is a chick lit about India . Ruby, our Chief Experience Officer (they really call themself that!) took us to the holy lake where we all took part in a holy ceremony to bless us and our travels. The purpose of this was two-fold: 1: to stop people on the street trying to sell you a wrist band which represents good luck, where they then take you down to the lake, make you take part in the ceremony and you end up paying anything up to 40 quid to the 'priest' which is all basically a massive scam. and 2: to bless us on our travels. We all sat around the lake and repeated mantra's that the priest led. Part of the ceremony was uthrowing the content of a silver platter in to the lake which consisted of rice (to ask for a lifetime of good food), yellow coloured powder (I think this was to represent good health for family), red coloured powder (for good blood) and flower petals (which I'm not sure I can remember what this was for). We got given a bracelet on our right hand at the end of the ceremony. We had dinner by the lake which was beautiful with the sun setting, the Brahma Temple lit on the hill in the distance (that I would trek up the next day) and the holy lake.
Ruby explained briefly about the god's of hinduism where there are three god's - Shiva (destroyer of all evil), Vishnu (the preserver) and Brahma (creator of the universe). These gods then have thousands of different names which is why there are as many god's in hinduism.
The next day in Pushkar, it was my turn to trek - up at 5am, walking shoes on (as I too shickingly own a pair) and off we went up the hill to the Brahma Temple. I found it hard but apparently the trek in Tordi was harder but I've chosen to preten people didn't tell me that. The view at the top was beautiful, we watched the sun rise (along with two dogs and two monkeys) then made our way down. We met Ellie for brekky and did some market shopping which was fun! After that, Ellie and I found a beauty salon where we had medi's and pedi's (which turned out to be rubbish quality but it was nice to pamper after dirty delhi and the constant travelling around). In the evening the whole group met for the camel safari. We had to sit on the camel when it crouches on the floor, and then try and stay on it whilst it climbs to its feet which is easier said than done. Ellie was a bit apprehensive before, but gave it a go, but decided she didn't like it so got to ride on the cart type thing at the front instead. So around 2 hours later at steady camel pace, after taking the desert scenery in and once all our bums had completely numbed, we arrived at our destination which was a hut in the middle of the desert. Small tables were set out in an L shape, each person sat on the rug next to their table and we watched a magic show which consisted of a man hiding balls, pennies, and pigeons, and making them appear somewhere different. He managed to regurgitate a massive ball by shouting weird noises to move his chest about so that the ball would rise from his mouth. Very weird but still impressive! The sun slowly set, and we ate some din dins that the camel boys had cooked and a local tribe danced for us. One man got us to repeat 'waddy waddy waddy' to give him some beat for the dancers. We still don't know what WADDY actually means, if it is even a word. After dinner we headed back to the hotel by Jeep with Ellie entertaining peeps with jokes - my fave was the one with the inflatable bear family :D. All in all an interesting experience but not one I think I would pay for again, I think my expectations were a bit too high. I think Ellie would agree.
UDAIPUR
So on 25th March we made our way to Udaipur. The train ride was about 6 hours and not very comfortable. Once at Udaipur we all ate together, then arranged to meet in the evening for the orientation walk. I didn't feel great and didn't go, so Ellie went with the rest of them. It was Kate's birthday (the German lady) so everyone had dinner and celebrated her Bday with champagne which sounded like a good night which I was annoyed to miss. I was feeling better the next morning (26th), and found out that some others had been ill too, so it was obviously something we had all eaten along the way (*camel food*). I stayed on the computer at the hotel whilst Ellie went to a cooking class with a few others, which she said was good! That evening, we had dinner, and with the annual Holi festival the next day, there were burning statues made of straw dotted about all the streets. They set a path of poppers up leading to the statue then light it. It was awesome! There was a main stage where lady boys (not sure if thats the correct termonology but I'm writing this in Thailand where it most definitely is!) were dancing with lots of TV cameras on them, and me and Ellie joined when they invited us, and apparently we were on a local TV channel reporting on the celebrations. So basically we're famous. yey! George from our tour group is more famous, people kept recognising him for the days after calling him the dancing man!
The following day (27/3/13) was the HOLI FESTIVAL!!! Because Ruby didn't want us going in to the main town for Holi, because she said the men get drunk and a bit touchy or aggressive, we had our own party on the hotel roof. Ellie and I took Holi very seriously; we got up early, attached our guns and bags of colour powder to us with rope (rope that my friend Ruth's bf gave to me - so thank you very much Steve, half of it has already gone to good use!) and waited for others to arrive. So we all got covered in water and colour, then some of us walked toward the town centre, and it definitely does get rough and friendly there with lingering hugs and cheek kisses from lots of men, but it was really fun! Apparently it gets really hectic at the temple so we didn't go as far as that. Holi is celebrated all over India, but each place celebrates it differently and finds its own reasons behind the celebration; some say its the celebrations of the changing of the seasons, in Udaipur we were apparently celebrating the burning of a witch centuries ago (hence the burning statues), and it symbolises the triumph of good over evil. I asked the taxi man in Goa what it was there, he took about 5 minutes to explain to me in a very complicated way that he had no idea.
AHMEDABAD AND MUMBAI
On 28th March we headed to Ahmedabad, which was more of a stop over where we stayed for one night. We were in the middle of nowhere and Ruby herself said there's not much to do there. We did go to the Ghandi museum though which was really interesting. It had the house that he lived in for some years, a chronology of his life which was very interesting, and a book shop where Ellie and I brought some books about him. He's a very interesting fellow indeed that Ghandi chap....
The next day was a 4am start for us, because we had to get a train at 6am! So we stayed in that evening and watched some films which was luuuuuuush!
So the next day (29/3/13) was spent in Mumbai. We had a walk with a guide around Dharavi Slum which is the second largest slum in Asia, in terms of size and also the most dense slum in terms of population vs area. Its nick-named the five-star slum because whilst there is basic living conditions in some areas, some areas are very rich, with sky dishes and plush cars. It is also the most developed slum in Asia. The slum was split in two - the industrial part and the residential part, and we walked around both. The industrial part produces something like 6.5 million dollars a year (officially. Unofficially its apparently 10x this).
GOA :)
So on 30th March we arrived in Goa! The tour group stayed together for two nights here in ALLUR hotel. Which was a bit pants but it was close to Baga main strip where all the bars are, and a beach. The first night in Goa was jokes, because we all went out to Kamaki in Goa, had dinner, played table football and pool, drank loads and danced for hours on end. I had sheesha with Synne, Rikke and Eirik which was a bit rank but you live and learn. It was a reeeeally good night. The next day was spent on Baga beach which isn't the best beach - people selling something to you every 2 minutes, it was very dirty and very noisy. We went to Ashrim beach another day with the Norwegians which was SOOO much nicer :) beautiful sands, much less sellers. I got a bit of sun stroke thought because I was sold sun tan lotion that didn't work. The two Irish girls - Anna and Joanne and the two Norwegian Girls - Rikke and Synne, had the same lotion and we all burnt where Ellie had Nivea and didn't burn. Swines. Other than all this we mooched in the market, perched by the pool and swam in the sea :) on 1st April Ellie and I got tattoos (as did Lisa, an Irish girl we met on the tour). Ellie got the symbol for Ohm, and I got Mia in Hindi. We said goodbye to the last few friends from the tour of India, and flew from Goa airport where we would eventually end up in Chiang Mai. Epic journey of three flights and over 24 hours travel.
So we have finished our journey in India and it truly is an experience. I'm not a skilled writer, and I think even if I was I would struggle to explain what India is like. You just have to go yourself to see. Aspects of this country are beautiful like the architecture, the fabrics, the clothing and colouring. Parts of this country are ugly, like the dirt and the dust, and the poverty. Parts of it are modern, like the metro and some are not; like the attitude toward women (atleast not modern to me). Some people are kind and calm, where others are rude. It truly is a country of contradictions. There may be a lot about India that I don't understand, but either way I do know India is a very proud country; very pleased of its accomplishments and of its people.
Now on to Thailand....starting with a week with the elephants and the Elephant Nature Park :) xxxx
- comments
Mummy Well written Mia, love you!!
Mia Thanks Mumsy LOVE YOU XXXXX