Trekking during a bad Nepali winter and crossing China without a guide book, two rather poorly thought out ideas. Touring round Rajasthan in the hot season now perhaps tops this list. As my flight from Shanghai touched down, the stewardess promptly announced "Welcome to Delhi, it's 3am local time and the temperature outside is currently 32 degrees". I knew it would be hot, but surely i'd mis-heard. I hadn't. Another poor start was compounded as I realised i'd also timed my visit to co-incide with Indian school holidays. Essentially this meant that pretty much every train going to every town, was fully booked days in advance. After much deliberation I decided that the only way to get around in the time I had was to hire a driver and avoid the sweltering chaos.
Suraj then, was a cheerful and friendly chap but was unfortunately only capable of two topics of conversation - sex and cricket, and with India's poor showing in the World Cup, he didn't want to talk much about cricket. This got a little tedious by the second week, but we got on well nonetheless. Of more concern was his obvious tendancy towards alcoholism as he never strayed far from his bottle of whisky, worrying given his profession.
We set off from Delhi and drove West for 3 days into the Thar Desert. The temperature every day hovered somewhere between 45 and 50 degrees, and I spent most of the journey dripping with sweat. On average I drank 6 litres of water a day but was permanently thirsty and only rarely needed the toilet. Walking outside between 10am and 6pm my eyes would sting in the hot air and my skin would burn. It was exactly how I imagined being cooked alive. After 2 months of the Nepali winter without a hot shower, it was with depressing irony that I found in Rajasthan, even the cold water is hot. Nevertheless, a shower was the highlight of every day.
After the genuine helpfulness and friendliness of the Nepalis and Tibetans, and the enthusiasm and honesty of the Chinese, it was rather disappointing to arrive back in India to find almost everyone desperate to lie, cheat, bribe or beg their way into my wallet. Being the hot season of course, foreign tourists in Rajasthan were very thin on the ground and as a result, every tout and con artist in every town went straight for me. It was the exact opposite of China where people would fall over themselves to help me, only to bring me a cucumber when i'd asked for the internet. In India, I understood them and they understood me. I knew they were trying to con me and they knew I knew they were trying to con me, but the devious smiles, lies and contradictions just kept coming.
"Yes, I realise that this is allegedly your first sale of the day special price, special price, but I don't think a 4ft high marble statue of an elephant will fit into my backpack to be honest."
"But sir, you must leave Rajasthan with special memory. England is great country, Birmingham very beautiful city."
"Even so, i'll just take the bottle of mineral water thanks."
"Ok sir no problem. How about unique jewellery only found here in this city?"
"No thanks, its exactly the same as the jewellery in Udaipur, just the mineral water thanks."
"Ok sir no problem. How about small block of wood that used to look like camel but for last year has been holding door open?"
"No thanks, the mineral water please."
"Ok sir no problem. You want University educated Indian bride?"
"What?"
In the heat, this got very irritating very quickly. To combat the onslaught, I decided to speak Welsh. Now I know what you're thinking, and no I can't, but a quick "Croeso y Cymru" was often enough to put any tout on the back foot, and by the time i'd wished him a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, he'd usually be confused enough to direct his attentions elsewhere. I was immensly pleased with this small victory and used it to great effect throughout the state.
We pressed on and reached the "Golden City" of Jaisalmer, every inch an old Arabian trading outpost marooned deep in the sands of the Thar Desert. The narrow alleys of its bustling fort only added to the atmoshpere as the sandstone glowed ever more yellow during sunset. Jaisalmer was also the base for my desert camel safari, an escapade which deserves an entry in its own right...
I survived both the camel and the heat, whilst Suraj spent his time getting into fights over bottles of whisky. We pressed on to Jodhpur, the "Blue City" which is indeed blue, but also dirty and crap. Fortunately though, it is also home to the mighty Mehrangarh Fort which towers high above the town. This for me, was by far the most impressive fort I saw, and the excellent audio tour gave me a great insight into the proud history of Rajput warriors and Mughal emperors as I wandered through palatial rooms stocked with artefacts from years gone by. I celebrated a jolly good day with Suraj, and a couple of whiskys.
I'd now spent a week in the searing heat and was desperate to reach Udaipur, the "White City" built on the shores of two lakes. Water, water! An oasis of calm and tranquility in an otherwise arid and unforgiving land. Unless of course, you arrive on the same day that local police corruption and murder is exposed and anarchy ensues. The city promptly shut down as all shops and businesses closed, and the population hit the streets to riot and burn tyres in protest. Not quite the peace and tranquility i'd hoped for then. Worried about my tendency towards calamity, we considered leaving immediately but hung around a bit and eventually I was able to sneak in the back of the palace to have a look around, and then enjoy the boat ride i'd dreamed about for a week. A drink by the lake at sunset made it all worthwhile.
The excellent Jain temple at Ranakpur provided a welcome stop en route to Pushkar, a town of particular religious significance to Hindus. I sat on the ghats of the lake for an hour in the evening chatting to a legless Brahmin priest. His pleasant and interesting conversation immediately made me feel bad for thinking I could at least walk away if he too turned out to be another con artist. He wasn't, and after he gave me a blessing, I moved on. Enjoying my meal in the evening, Pushkar remains the only place i've ever had to swat the cows away from my food.
Finally we reached Jaipur, the "Pink City" which wasn't very pink. They did make excellent glasses of Lassie though, and the Amber Fort was worth the long haul up the hill (it's too hot for the elephants to take you up in May apparently). I spent my last night in Rajasthan on the roof of a jewellery shop learning how to make Suraj's excellent mutton curry, whilst enjoying a couple of whiskys of course.
I'd survived the heat and hassles of Rajasthan, surely Agra couldn't be any worse...
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