Jodhpur 01/04 – 01/06

View of the "Blue City" from above.

Peter relaxes on the hotel rooftop.

Colors and chaos at the bazaar.

Nightime Fort view from rooftop restaurant.

Palace inside the Fort.

Rajasthani shoes for sale.  I, of course, had to get a pair.

The infamous Omelette Shop where all travelers converge to eat delicious omelette sandwiches.

The "Blue City" at street level.

Courtyard within the hotel.

Indian hospital with conveniently located pharmacy right next door.

Funny turban man at the bazaar.

"Blue City" side street.

Monkeys and turbans at the Fort.

The following morning we checked out of “Heaven” amongst much ado. “Where are you going, you are leaving? Why? I give you better room, just look...no stay, just look!” We didn't care to see the other rooms although I am sure they were just as good as all the reviews said they were. We felt like we were tricked into staying there. We also didn't appreciate the third degree interrogation at checkout. The lady sounded just like the touts that pester us everywhere we go. ”Just look, no buy!”

We went in search of different accommodation and found many rooms available. The competition must be cutthroat. We ended up in an old “haveli”, a Rajasthani mansion turned into a guesthouse. It was full of murals, stained glass, and mosaics. Quite beautiful. A quiet oasis away from all the beeping and dust. It even had a rooftop terrace with a view of the Fort...the main attraction in Jodhpur. And here we rested for the next two days. We didn't do too much sightseeing in Jodhpur. We visited the main market square and the bazaars. We also visited the Fort which was very impressive and looked like something out of Tomb Raider. We were both feeling tired and sick and decided it was time to go see a doctor. We couldn't find any travel clinics so our only choice was to visit an Indian hospital. But we were assured by our hotel that the doctor knew how to speak English and was the doctor for the Taj (the swanky, super expensive hotel that only the extremely rich can afford). So we went.

The Indian hospital was a small, communist style building. We had to pay up front for the visit, 200 INR (~$4.50). Inside the doctor's office there was a desk with some chairs in front of it, a few chairs next to the desk (waiting area), and an examination table screened with a curtain. We waited in the waiting area while the doctor examined someone behind the curtain and then spoke with a woman at his desk. Then as I was examined and interviewed, people waited in the waiting area for their turn. I guess there is no doctor – patient confidentiality. Anyway, turns out we probably have upper respiratory infections. Apparently many travelers catch colds due to the new environment which can then very easily develop into bacterial infections due to all the dust and grime in the air. This is why our colds just wouldn't go away. We got some antibiotics and this morning I woke up feeling much better. As I write, we are on our way to Udaipur. We are on a bus and the roads are horribly bumpy and the driver is a maniac! Its like riding a roller coaster. Once this is posted, though, you will know that we have arrived safely and have not been thrown out the window of the bus.

Jaipur 01/02 – 01/03

Ornate Mirror at the City Palace,

Here I am at Galta with the tank beyond.

Looking out to the tank.

We arrived in Jaipur early in the morning and checked in to a very clean and pleasant hotel...hot water AND heat this time. We sure are getting spoiled. It was still an Indian budget hotel, so of course there were annoyances like outlets not working and the tv being locked into one channel while black bars floated on the screen. But, we really can't complain about those kinds of details when basic necessities are provided and there are people sleeping outside under thin blankets, roaming around without shoes, and making little bonfires of garbage on the street for warmth. These are very typical sights in India.

We were both tired and in a daze while visiting Jaipur. At this point, we had both suffered from diarrhea and were both already in the throes of our second cold. We have both been sick with one thing or another for the last two weeks. But, of course, we carried on....roaming the streets of the “Pink City”. We visited the bazaars, the City Palace, and a strange park full of astronomical and astrological instruments called Jantar Mantar. That was pretty cool. Overall, though, the Pink City was just ok. It wasn't really Pink, it was kind of salmon colored. And, it was mostly just full of shops. The main excitement of the day was when we found a restaurant with butter chicken. We haven't eaten meat for weeks.

The next day we visited “Monkey Palace”, also known as Galta, which contains several ancient temples squeezed into a rocky ravine. There is a freshwater spring that keeps the tank full there as well and is where people as well as monkeys bathe. We accessed this area by climbing over a hill at the end of the Pink City. We passed many, many monkeys on the way there. It was a bit of a hike, but very pleasant, beautiful scenery, and great views of the city. Afterwards, we went to visit Nahargarth Fort perched atop the hills surrounding the city. This one was not even close to being as spectacular as the one in Agra....there was really nothing there except for a really awesome wall and more beautiful city views We wandered around a bit looking for the main path to the fort and then once we found it we embarked on another, even bigger hike.

We boarded our train to Jodhpur after an early dinner of Kachori and a panicky search for our train. There was no indication at the station of which platform our train would arrive on...or even any acknowledgement that our train existed. But, by some miracle it was there. When we arrived at Jodhpur I was immediately approached by two rickshaw-wallahs as I stepped off the train. “Where are you going? Where are you going?” they repeated over and over as they circled me like flies. I just stared at them with wide eyes and shook my head slowly until the repetitious phrase slowed and they started shuffling away. Ahah! That is the key. Just look and act crazy and they will be confused and tire eventually.

This is the way to Galta....inviting no?

Descent down to the tank and temples after a long hike uphill.

"Pink City" rooftop view from the walk to the fort.

Cool fort wall.

As we left the platform, we noticed that there was someone waiting to pick us up from the guesthouse we had booked. Having the fancy internet stick, all the recent bad experiences with hotels, being sick and just needing a comfortable place to relax for a few days and recover, we researched well and chose a place with the best reviews on tripadvisor - 98% thumbs up from 60 reviews. You would think that this one would be a winner for sure. Also, now this pickup that we didn't expect? We must have done good. Nope. The rickshaw brought us to the guesthouse called “Heaven” where we were told that all the rooms were booked but that they have another room in another house somewhere and we could get a better room the next day. This after Peter called to confirm from the train and we were told that yes they have several different rooms available. We were taken through a maze of dark alleyways, a good five minute walk from “Heaven” to another guesthouse. The room was tiny at best...only fit one double bed, no sheets, no bathroom. But, again, arriving in a new city late at night what could we do? Start calling around for other hotels? Walk the streets hoping to find something better? We had, after all, just come from the train station where small barefoot children were sleeping on the ground in the chilly night. Yes, we would take the room and sleep on the cardboard-like beds. We were lucky to be sleeping indoors anyway and at least it seemed clean. I wondered if they would mind if I made a little bonfire out of the garbage in my bag to keep us warm. Silly me, of course it would be fine. Anything goes in India, after all.

Agra 12/31 - 01/01

The next morning we searched for better accommodation nearby, but everything looked pretty horrible. So, we stayed at the same hotel but upgraded to a nicer, more fragrant “deluxe” room. It wasn't too bad considering that the entire shanty town smelled like a sewer. We even had a trickle of slightly warm water from the shower. We really were living it up. Only the best to ring in the New Year! Peter wasn't feeling so good that morning (the traveller's disease finally got him), so after we settled in I left him to rest and went to explore Agra Fort which was quite spectacular. It's a huge fort with very well preserved palaces inside, views of the Taj Mahal in the distance, and an alligator moat (currently green slime, no alligators).

In the evening we went up to the rooftop restaurant of our hotel for their New Years Eve Party, met a couple from Australia and another from Germany. We exchanged travel recommendations and had some beer. But, our party didn't last long. Peter was feeling even worse by then so we went back to the room where I watched as he laid in bed with violent chills and a high fever. I thought we would have to go to the hospital, but the chills subsided quickly and by morning the fever was gone. So since Peter was able to walk without pooping or puking, we finally went to visit the Taj Mahal...the sole reason for which we had come to Agra in the first place. Taj Mahal is huge! I didn't expect it to be so big. From a distance it looks like something out of Star Wars and from up close...yeah it still looks like something out of Star Wars. It's just so massive and white. Set up high with the only backdrop being sky, it has a very magical surreal quality. The detail is amazing as well....all the pietra dura and marble work is beautiful. You can feel the blood and sweat that went into constructing this massive shrine.

Shanty town where we stayed right outside of the Taj.

Inside one of the palaces of Agra Fort.

New Year's Eve (Chicago Time)

Long lines to enter Taj Mahal.

More long lines.

Those little dots on top of the base are people.

The moat at the Fort.

We were supposed to leave Agra that evening, but because our train was 5 hours late again, it would mean that we wouldn't leave until midnight, arriving in Jaipur at 4 am. Unacceptable. We were too tired and Peter was too sick for that. We opted to stay another night and take an early morning train instead. This one originated in Agra, so there was a good chance for it to be on time. But, we really needed to change hotels so that we could finally wash. So, for the rest of the day we searched for better accommodation and we found a nice, clean hotel with hot water away from the craziness of the Taj. We also went back to the Fort (I didn't want Peter to miss out on that) and walked around like celebrities. People stared at us, whispered, and there were at least three occasions where we were asked to take pictures. Very strange. When we were in the South, people didn't seem quite so shocked by us, but since arriving in the north we seem to cause quite a stir wherever we go. I would think that somewhere like Agra, where there are many tourists, people would be used to them. But, I guess not. The requests for photos all seem to occur when Peter is around though. When I am by myself people leave me alone....except for young men who stare at me and snicker and follow me around.

Early the next morning we arrived at the train station in the dark. There were a group of commuters, all men, wrapped in blankets in the waiting area. When they saw us, the came out in awe, encircled us and proceeded to stare and smile. One man asked Peter if I was his wife. I was very creeped out. But they were harmless, just curious, and we boarded the train finally making it out of Agra.

Varanasi to Agra - 12/30

I woke up early in the morning and hooked up with some very nice Japanese tourists from our hotel for the famous Ganges boat ride during sunrise. Peter was grumpy because the monkeys kept him up during the night. Apparently they were throwing chairs and slapping each other. I didn't sleep through the night either as there were bells ringing for at least an hour during the night.

We made a mad dash through Varanasi traffic to the train station only to learn upon arrival that our train was delayed by several hours. No matter. We had our precious internet stick, so we spent our time at the train station booking more trains, hotels, and making plans. I love the magic internet stick.

This is how we sleep on the train.

Stinky Room.

Our train turned out to be over 5 hours late arriving in Agra. It was midnight by then and I absolutely hate arriving that late at the train station. It's scary and all the rickshaw men and taxi drivers flock to us like hungry wolves to raw meat. They always quote us a price we know is way more than what it should be. But this time what could we do? It was late and there was a dense fog in the air. You could barely see ten feet in front of you. Also, our hotel was not within walking distance. In addition to all this, there was a creepy young guy following me in very close proximity, staring at me like I was some alien. Very creepy indeed. We managed to find a fairly nice taxi driver who didn't rip us off too bad and made our way to the shanty town right outside the Taj Mahal. Our room was a nightmare. We have been staying in budget hotels which I am fine with, but this place was horrible. Thanks a lot Lonely Planet! The bed took up the size of the entire room, the attached toilet barely had enough room for you to use the actual toilet AND the toilet emitted a horrible sewer smell. It was disgusting. The sheets looked dirty so we slept in our sleeping bags after washing in the trickle of ice cold water that came out of the sink. It was not a very pleasant night.

Varanasi 12/28 – 12/29

I was feeling a bit better the next day and had slept for most of the night...although there was quite a monkey ruckus during the night. Sounded like the monkeys were having a civil war. Also, there was very loud chanting around 5:00 in the morning.

We started out by exploring Varanasi along the ghats....which were full of touts asking us to go on a boat ride, buy flowers, puja (offerings), jewelry, etc. We could not walk more than a few feet without being approached by someone asking us to take a boat ride. It's understandable because those people are just doing their jobs, but it can be very tiring after hours of travel or being sick. You want to help but you can't help everybody and it seems like everyone wants a piece of you. But, the ghats were interesting anyway. Ghats are basically steps that go down to the river. People bathe here. They do laundry. And most importantly, they cremate people at the burning ghats. The entire ghat area is constantly filled with smoke as they burn people 24 hours a day every single day and the smell of burning bodies is a constant presence. The bodies are wrapped in white cloth and placed on a stack of wood. It takes several hours to reduce a body to ashes. Once it is done, a family member (males only) will throw the leftover fragments into the river. Hindus believe that if you die or are cremated in Varanasi, you are guaranteed release from the incarnation process.

We made it to the main burning ghat quickly as it was very near our hotel. As we got closer, a man approached us and told me that it was forbidden to take pictures at the burning ghats. He told us he was an untouchable, the lowest class, and was one of the preparers of the bodies. He told us about the burning ghat and about how there are people living in the tower at the main burning ghat awaiting death. These are people with no families and hope for donations of powder (?) used as offerings during their burning ceremonies. He, of course, wanted us to make a donation. We told him that we had just arrived, we would think about this, and come back later. This, of course, upset him and he called us selfish people. We later learned from our guidebook that this is a typical ocurrance one should try to avoid at the burning ghat.

In the afternoon we headed inward past the old city to visit Monkey Temple when we ran into an Italian girl asking about a hotel recommendation....we tried to help and ended up following her to her homestay and then going off to explore the city with her and her companion Fernando. We spent the rest of the day with them hanging out in the city.

Varanasi is very strange...said to be the oldest city in the world. Its so old and filthy it feels like you are in medieval times. People seem to live in close relation with animals, there is crap and urine everywhere, cows and bulls walk the streets just like the tourists, the streets in the old city are tight and cool and smelly, there is a fog that hangs over the city, and of course there is the ever present smoke. Then there are the nightly noises. There can be chimes, bells, chanting, and people just yelling strange things in the night. Since there are so many small temples everywhere, it can be pretty loud due to all the ceremonies that take place day or night. It is quite surreal.

The Burning Ghat.

Lunch Time.

Sunset Cruise.

Puja Ceremony.

Bulls on Parade at the Ghats.

Peter explores with fellow travelers.

Downtown Varanasi.

Me at crazy bamboo construction site.

Locals relaxing.

The next morning I awoke to find out that Peter broke the internet USB driver! He was up most of the night because of dogs howling outside our window and had apparently dropped the computer directly onto our internet stick!. We were going to have to somehow find a new one in this ancient town. We wandered around the streets until we found what were looking for...which of course meant having to jump through some hoops involving documentation on our hotel's official letterhead and some special stamp. In the evening we took a sunset boat ride to observe the city from the river and went back to the ghats to watch the Puja ceremony. This is a ceremony that occurs daily at the ghats in honor of the gods.   

Varanasi - 12/27

Afternoon Traffic in Varanasi.

Arrival in Varanasi - Walk down to Ghats.

Toward the end of the day at Chennai, I started to feel a bit sick and wouldn't you know it, I got the dreaded traveler's diarrhea again! This time it was much worse. I was unable to enjoy my comfy Ikea bed because I was up all night. I did enjoy the nice bathroom though.

The next day we took a plane to Varanasi, which in total took around 7 hours due to a layover in Kolkata and a random stop in Lucknow (which is by the way past Varanasi). Peter suggested we postpone our trip, but I was determined to make it North and stay on schedule. No way stomach cramps and diarrhea were going to stop me. It was quite a miserable trip though. Peter also did not sleep much due to a mosquito that mysteriously made it into our windowless room. We were both crabby and exhausted. I had a breakdown and yelled at the security guards at the airport because they didn't give me their stupid security stamp for my carry on bag...which I didn't know I needed until I had to board the plane and then was directed back to security which I had already cleared!

But, we finally made it to Varanasi by late afternoon. I was in no shape to visit the city at that point. Our hotel, though, was located right on the ghats and had a central courtyard/restaurant overlooking the Ganges river. It even had toast, grilled cheese sandwiches, and lemon tea! Heaven for someone with dysentery. But the best part was that it had monkeys living there. Red butted monkeys roaming around like they owned the place. I don't think they were kept by the hotel because some guy kept trying to scare them off with a big stick. But, they were having none of that.

Chennai - 12/26

From Madurai we took an overnight train to Chennai, the largest city and capital of Tamil Nadu but for us just a stepping stone on our way North. Peter couldn't sleep on the train at all so when we arrived at the central rail station, we decided to abandon our plan of trekking toward a hotel near the airport and find something nearby quickly. We found a hotel recommended by our trusty guidebook and made our way there. We passed it several times as the location looked like a construction site. We asked around and sure enough we were directed to the construction site. At the entrance was an elderly security guard who yelled at us “You want room?”. Sure enough there was a sign indicating “Nest Inn” and pointing at the construction zone. He told us to go through the scaffolding, over some cement, and take the elevator to the second floor. The second floor looked to be in the final stages of construction, but nowhere near being finished. Hmmm? The guidebook did mention some renovation being done...but our copy is from 2008..... We were skeptical but asked to see the room and we were led to the finest hotel room we have stayed in so far. It was like stepping into a new European hotel decked out in Ikea's finest. The beds were soft, it was super clean, there was a flat screen TV, and hot water in the shower. We couldn't believe our luck!

There is not all that much to do in Chennai It's a huge, sprawling city and much more modern than Madurai. They have traffic lights, less cars, less people and a shopping mall. They still have tons of auto rickshaws, though, so we were of course pestered all day. In Chennai, they are known to be ruthless and to take advantage of tourists so we tried to avoid them as much as possible. We asked one guy how much it would cost for a ride back to our hotel and he quoted us some number and said he would have to take a round about route due to the street being a one way (which we knew wasn't so because we just walked that way) and that he had a shop he could also take us to. Also, in Chennai, we noticed that there were men everywhere urinating in the streets. They would just pull over as they were driving, step out, and go. It was pretty stinky.

Crazy Mall Directory.

We spent most of the day at the shopping mall...which was a maze of shops full of scarves and handicrafts interspersed with stores such as Nike and Levis. All the handicraft stores looked like they were selling the same things. Even at the shopping mall there was a guy outside every shop trying to get us to come in. We purchased an internet stick...a USB modem so that we could connect to the internet on our laptop wherever we go. Also, I got a fancy new camera very cheap...almost too cheap...but this was a legitimate shopping mall after all.