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Tales of the Travelling Princess
We had wanted to spend a couple of weeks traveling around Rajhistan but Thailand got in the way. Maybe next time… We had 2 nights in Jaipur as there was a train (another 33hrs! this time our compartment was shared with cockroaches – hundreds of them) direct from Kolkata. “Hassle loaded” is how Lonely Planet describes it. Hmmm. Another gripe about this bloody book. DON’T BUY LP INDIA! Jaipur is actually relatively hassle free. Only the auto rickshaw drivers who give hassle but then it is the same everywhere.
We had picked up the tip of saying we weren’t from the UK in an effort to avoid getting ripped off. Someone suggested South Africa works on getting lower prices. Works until they start asking you about your country. Given that I know 2 facts on South Africa – one involves knowing the capital city – we quickly had to rethink and own up we were Scottish but really had no money and so don’t want ripped off. Our rickshaw guide for the day was a real w***er and I was struggling to be polite in telling him he had no social skills whatsoever and really was useless at talking to women.
Apart from the delightful (unwanted) attention we saw a completely different side to India than in other states. The saris are the most gorgeous colours and the women the most beautiful. The buildings (Jaipur, ‘Pink City’) are the most impressive and we found a McDonald’s! We watched another Bollywood film in a very fancy cinema (felt a little queasy about the popcorn vendor sticking his hand in the popcorn for mouthfuls but then once you’ve had worms you can face anything).
Jaipur does seem to have a million families living on the street and it is very odd to see coming back from Thailand. I don’t hate India and I’m glad we finished on a high in Jaipur but it is frustrating as hell to see a country run so badly when it has so many resources. Nat would have a very different idea. She can’t wait to leave.
Nearly forgot! We went to the Taj Mahal, too! Took bloody ages by car and the driver was a daredevil but it was great to see.
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