India

Welp, that's it for the India portion of the blog. There were some moments of great frustration, but overall it was a great five months. From India, I went to Philadelphia in the US for school for six months, and then Tokyo, Japan. I will go straight to the Japan pictures next, but will come back to Philadelphia later. As promised from the very beginning, add images and commentary from travels from the past couple years as well. And of course, as long as I continue to travel, this blog will continue to thrive well into the future. But first, let's take one more look at other random sights of India. Enjoy!

Fashion Queen

In the first pic, I am wearing the traditional outfit of the women in a certain rural community outside of Jodhpur. I tried this on during our rural tour. The 2^nd pic has more of a story. A local TV station was interviewing the couple who owns the inn we stayed at in Jodhpur. The story was about Diwali. They decided to ask some of the foreign women staying at the inn to dress up and celebrate in a traditional Diwali ceremony. Tada! This outfit belongs to the wife and I can’t believe it was long enough (though I had to wear my own bracelets since her bracelets could only fit over her itty-bitty tiny hands.)

Train Ride

We took many trains during our Rajasthani trip. Some cars were so intensely crowded that we actually saw a man accidentally fall out and bang his head on the track (he’s OK.) We took the more expensive, air-conditioned, less crowded cars. We sat in the trains, we slept in the trains, and we did nothing in the trains. Train rides ranged from 4 hours to 16 hours (yeah, I know, that’s crazy long.) At the main stations, vendors came onto the trains to sell food and drinks. The long-distance trains had two types of bathrooms as well. Can you guess which one I used?

Swimming Hinglish

You often see bad English written on signs here and there. That’s fine, especially since I’m not sure my written German is much better! Anyway, this sign at our little hotel is a great example of that. The fact that Indians and foreigners have separate swimming times is telling, as Indians tend to be more modest at the pool than Westerners. However, I’m not sure why foreigners get twice the amount of time as Indians. Perhaps the hotel attracted twice as many foreigners? Who knows?

Here’s a story for your amusement. By the time we checked-in, I was thoroughly starving so I immediately ordered a plate of spaghetti from room service. After waiting 45 minutes, I called to find out about the delay. Another 30 minutes passed and with hunger I never knew, I staggered downstairs to inquire about my food once again. Yet another promise that it would come soon. 15 minutes later, Leah decided to go explore the town but stopped at the kitchen first to check on my food. Do you know that after 2 hours of waiting, room service finally showed up with not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4, yes, 4 plates of spaghetti?!!?

Pushkar

Hippie town! A lot of Westerners live in this small town. They look like what one may term as “hippies.” Yeah, you know what I mean. Getting there meant being crammed into a bus that had to go up a mountain populated with lots of monkeys. We celebrated Diwali here and it was fun. However, it was also extremely loud and pretty dangerous because there were little kids everywhere setting off firecrackers and fireworks in the street. Watch yourself!

Think Pink in Jaipur

This is Jaipur, the pink city. It is the loudest and craziest of the cities we visited in Rajasthan. There is also so much dust in the air that we had to cover our mouths and noses as we drove around in traffic. Part of it was very glittery and kinda reminds me a bit of what I imagine Las Vegas must look like. These pics come from the center of town.

Look Into My Eyes…And My Hair

Many babies, like the one in this first pic, have their eyes rimmed in black eyeliner. I was told this is solely for beauty reasons. Also, one of the boys in this photo has his hair cut in a certain way to express the belief that he was born extra blessed. You can see the cut in the next two pics. A grandmother, sitting in the middle of the desert, surrounded by her grandchildren. Haunting.

Twist and Shout

Even though opium is officially illegal in India, the government allows some people to keep a little opium because it has become a part of their heritage. This man showed us a typical opium ceremony that is performed whenever he has guests. In the pic, you can see the process of making the opium elixir. To make it, he used my own bottled water (drinking the well water would’ve made me sick.) The elixir tasted extremely bitter but it was an honor to have this ceremony anyway.

He then showed us how he tied his massive turban, which you can see in the video. The turban can be used for shade, to collect water, as a mosquito net, to hold food, everything. So very useful. I’m not really a hat girl, but do you think I could rock a turban?

Where Art and Education Live

While on the rural trip, we saw people and the art they create. In the first three photos, you can see people who make clay pots, weave carpets and make cotton sheets and tablecloths. All this is done by hand and can be quite labor-intensive. Despite that, the money they make from selling their wares is often insufficient to support beyond basic needs.

In the last pic is a school for mothers and their young. The school, funded by the UN and run by local women, teaches women how to take care of themselves and their children while the children learn the basics of reading and writing.

Rural Tour

We took a daytrip to the rural communities outside Jodhpur. In these tiny villages, there is rarely any running water or electricity. At times, the ride in the American army jeep from the 1950s (don’t ask me how it’s still running) was very bumpy and very dusty. Well, here are some images. I don’t think I need to say anything about them. The pics say enough on their own.

Your Chariot Awaits

These are some of the ways the high and mighty residents of the fort used to travel in the past. Looking cool and elegant.

Mehrangarh Fort

This fort is so cool. But getting there isn’t. It sits high above Jodhpur. In the hot mid-afternoon desert heat, we walked all the way up steep, narrow winding steps to reach it. So best believe we were drenched in sweat by the time we got there.

You can see in the 4^th pic, the great big door in front of the fort. It has sharp spines sticking out way up high. This was to prevent enemies from using their elephants to knock down the doors. My favorite room, the queen’s room, is in the last photo. I think you can guess why it attracted my eye.

Egg All Over the Place

This omelet shop, in the center of Jodhpur, is famous and mentioned in a lot of guidebooks (the owner of the shop is standing underneath the sign.) Due to its popularity, there are a number of competitors that have spring up as well. Well we went to the original to see what was the big hullabaloo. I had an omelet with cheese, masala, and some other veggies I can’t remember. Anyway, it was, eh. It was OK, but not all that. Kinda greasy and sloppy for my taste. But hey people love it, so have a try.

Bracelets Galore

We spent a ridiculous amount of time sitting on the floor of this bracelet shop. . Our bracelets, made out of gum resin and formed over hot coals, were made by hand by hand right in front of our eyes. He and his brother worked full-time in this shop owned by their father. Everything they knew about the US came from watching WWF. Hulk Hogan was their hero. And because Rachel and I are tall, they thought we’d be perfect for WWF as well. Hmmm… I don’t know about that. I’d rather someone not hit me on the head with a chair, even if it is fake. I’m just sayin’.

Our Animal Friends

When it comes to animals, this is hands-down India. Rarely will a day go by that you won’t see a cow or, more especially, a dog regardless of whether you are in the city or on the countryside. In the blazing heat of Jodhpur, they lounge together quietly in the shade. Siesta!

Jodhpur

Check out a typical market scene in central Jodhpur has everything including sugar, fruit, tikka powder, candy, junk metal, flowers, and huge peacock feathers. In the middle of the video, you can see two young men. In India, it is very common for male friends to hold hands or put their arms around one another shoulders as they walk and chat. Hmm…I know there would be a number of people in the states who would be up in arms about that. Pity. Anyway, I do love how there’s music blasting from someone’s 1980s-style silver-plated boombox. Because, you know, every market should have its own theme music.

True Blue

Welcome to Jodhpur, the blue city in the middle of the Rajasthani desert. The blue paint is supposed to help keep houses cool and keep mosquitoes away.

It’s Even Higher than You Think

What trip to India is complete without a ride on an elephant? None, I say. Sure, some may say that seeing the Taj Mahal is most important but I say pshaw to that. This is an e-le-phant!! And look how beautifully it’s painted. Oh, one bad thing though? I forgot to get my sunglasses back from the elephant caretaker once the ride was over. Yeah, that hurt a bit, but your girl Stelli-Stel got a replacement and she’s back to looking as crazy? fierce? famous? as ever with her gigantic celebrity sunglasses.

Speaking of celebritydom, I think I’ve mentioned before the celebrity status my classmates enjoyed due to being the only non-Indians in our part of Mumbai. Since I looked the most different, I got the most attention. So when we were in Udaipur, we were surprised to see our celebrity continue since there were many tourists there. To make things a little more interesting for ourselves, whenever someone shouted, “Where you from?,” we decided to reply with different countries from around the world just to see their reaction. So now I am from Jamaica, Malaysia, Uganda, Brazil, Algeria, Luxembourg…. Yeah, you didn’t know I was so multicluti, dija?

Can We Get Them on a TV Talent Show Please?

We saw a fantastic cultural show in Udaipur. These people are so talented, don’t you agree? The women twirling in the outfits? Hypnotic. The woman clanging cymbals all over her body? Fascinating. And how bout the pots on the lady’s head? By the end of her routine, she had 10 pots on her head while dancing on glass! How many people do you know who could do that?

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Ok, I’m just going to be in-your-face with this endorsement: stay at the Panorama Guest House. The rooms are very cheap, very clean, and have gorgeous views. And like many Rajasthani hotels, it has a rooftop restaurant, which is really essential after you’ve been traveling for hours in the heat. The food at Panorama was a variety of Indian and Western fare and was extra delicious. I had French toast for the first time in almost a year here and it was oh so good.

Udaipur

Let’s take a step inside Udaipur, shall we? The following are various photos that may help you envision it. By the way, in the fourth pic, you can see the main temple of the city. Just so you know, most of the time you have to take your shoes off before entering temples in India, so just be sure those feet don’t look too dragon-like! ;-) Otherwise, wear some non-smelly, non-holey socks.