Spontaneous
So after we last spoke, I got really bored of Agra and decided to cut my stay short there ( 2 nights is well enough). I pretty much decided to get up early and go to the train station and let fate decide where I was off to next (I only had one spare day, before I had to return to Delhi, so my options were limited!)
I did exactly that, except at check out, I met a dippy crazy cool Belgian girl who was heading to Jaipur and wanted me to go with her! I thought that fate had drawn an early card, and so I trollied off with her to the bus station and hopped on. Go with the flow Abster! Why go back you are all asking...well it wasnt far, and I wanted to catch up with my chums at Shakuntalam again. Also, wanted to check to see if they had managed to post my Christmas parcel home to Ma n Pa (so there WAS a good reason for going back...honest!)
Nela (the Belgian chick) and I hit it off on the journey, and I think we are going to be cool mates. She is travelling on her own and is also having worse men problems than me (she is blonde and blue eyed and looks a lot like Cameron Diaz) She is just starting on Rajisthan, but is also heading to Goa over Christmas, and it transpires she chose exactly the same place to stay as I did! cool! We are going to share a beach hut.
Anyway, we merrily arrived in Jaipur and had an excellent evening at the Bollywood cinema in Jaipur - which is said to be the biggest cinema in Asia. Im not sure if this is substantiated, but it certainly is one of the most kitsch. Outside its like a giant pink wedding cake, and inside its a mirrored and tiled fantasy land. We splashed out and bought Diamond box tickets for the show, and had acess to the top most level of the auditorium, along with its own private lounge bars and snack shop (stocking popcorn along with the Indian favourite snacks like Samosa's and Pakora..and CAKE!) The lounge bar was like a GIANT Uk Indian restaurant - even down to the brown flock wallpaper, mirror tiles and the piped indian music. Quality. The film itself was about a wedding..and it detailed everything the couple got up to between thier dads deciding that they were to get married and the day they walked up the aisle. In typical Indian style though, there was a lot of singing and dancing, and a lot of sultry looks and misted shots...but NO KISSING or even holding hands...not even at the wedding. Also the crowd were really rowdy - shouting and clapping and laughing and talking on thier mobile phones at top volume. It was a really great experience!
Yesterday I left Jaipur again, heading for Delhi. I managed to catch the bus on time this time, and arrived in the back end of Delhi in the afternoon. I then zipped through the rush hour traffic to Vishals house in a moto rickshaw (which kept getting lost). Made it in the end. At the house, Lo and Behold, I found Jules, who is whizzing in and out of India to do some work with his campaign "Tour operators for Tigers" It was great to catch up and to know that Im still missed at DI :)
After attending a TOFT meeting with Jules this morning (just like old times!) I was driven to the central station in Delhi to plan my onward route. I have been increasingly worried about getting down to Goa in time to make it to my hotel on 22nd, as all the trains were showing as booked on the India rail website. After fighting my way through the chaos which is the station, I found myself in a mini oasis - the "foreigners" booking room. After filling in the three obigatory forms, I managed to get all my tickets without any hassle. Apparently the rail company keep secret quota's for foreigners, and even for ladies....so there IS something good about being both!! Anyway, im well sorted now right up until Christmas and beyond.
Tomorrow holds a new adventure. Im headed South again to the National Parks in Madhya Pradesh - should be good as all my transfers and accommodation are organised through DI contacts...so I might be in relative luxury compared to what ive been used to the last month. Hurrah.
I did exactly that, except at check out, I met a dippy crazy cool Belgian girl who was heading to Jaipur and wanted me to go with her! I thought that fate had drawn an early card, and so I trollied off with her to the bus station and hopped on. Go with the flow Abster! Why go back you are all asking...well it wasnt far, and I wanted to catch up with my chums at Shakuntalam again. Also, wanted to check to see if they had managed to post my Christmas parcel home to Ma n Pa (so there WAS a good reason for going back...honest!)
Nela (the Belgian chick) and I hit it off on the journey, and I think we are going to be cool mates. She is travelling on her own and is also having worse men problems than me (she is blonde and blue eyed and looks a lot like Cameron Diaz) She is just starting on Rajisthan, but is also heading to Goa over Christmas, and it transpires she chose exactly the same place to stay as I did! cool! We are going to share a beach hut.
Anyway, we merrily arrived in Jaipur and had an excellent evening at the Bollywood cinema in Jaipur - which is said to be the biggest cinema in Asia. Im not sure if this is substantiated, but it certainly is one of the most kitsch. Outside its like a giant pink wedding cake, and inside its a mirrored and tiled fantasy land. We splashed out and bought Diamond box tickets for the show, and had acess to the top most level of the auditorium, along with its own private lounge bars and snack shop (stocking popcorn along with the Indian favourite snacks like Samosa's and Pakora..and CAKE!) The lounge bar was like a GIANT Uk Indian restaurant - even down to the brown flock wallpaper, mirror tiles and the piped indian music. Quality. The film itself was about a wedding..and it detailed everything the couple got up to between thier dads deciding that they were to get married and the day they walked up the aisle. In typical Indian style though, there was a lot of singing and dancing, and a lot of sultry looks and misted shots...but NO KISSING or even holding hands...not even at the wedding. Also the crowd were really rowdy - shouting and clapping and laughing and talking on thier mobile phones at top volume. It was a really great experience!
Yesterday I left Jaipur again, heading for Delhi. I managed to catch the bus on time this time, and arrived in the back end of Delhi in the afternoon. I then zipped through the rush hour traffic to Vishals house in a moto rickshaw (which kept getting lost). Made it in the end. At the house, Lo and Behold, I found Jules, who is whizzing in and out of India to do some work with his campaign "Tour operators for Tigers" It was great to catch up and to know that Im still missed at DI :)
After attending a TOFT meeting with Jules this morning (just like old times!) I was driven to the central station in Delhi to plan my onward route. I have been increasingly worried about getting down to Goa in time to make it to my hotel on 22nd, as all the trains were showing as booked on the India rail website. After fighting my way through the chaos which is the station, I found myself in a mini oasis - the "foreigners" booking room. After filling in the three obigatory forms, I managed to get all my tickets without any hassle. Apparently the rail company keep secret quota's for foreigners, and even for ladies....so there IS something good about being both!! Anyway, im well sorted now right up until Christmas and beyond.
Tomorrow holds a new adventure. Im headed South again to the National Parks in Madhya Pradesh - should be good as all my transfers and accommodation are organised through DI contacts...so I might be in relative luxury compared to what ive been used to the last month. Hurrah.
posted by Abster at 2:48 pm
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