Crossing Rajasthan to Jaipur (rather rambling I fear)

I arrived in Jaipur a few nights ago after an unplanned trip across Rajasthan with my new couchsurfing.org host.

I was introduced to amazing scenes of luxury hotels as well as the wild hair-raising experience of "highways" in India and rural countryside which remains nearly unspoiled.

I asked endless questions and learneda variety of interesting facts about India.

I saw scenes of farming, and rural villagers going about their daily chores.

I saw impossibly over-loaded trucks on the highway, faced traffic conditions that would surely be fatal on the orderly western roads.

I'm really not sure what to express, in this entry, or how to convey my present emotional state.

I do not feel the level of inspiration I have felt in recent days, and as such am more "thinking out loud", so forgive my lack of eloquence.

I am tired, again, in my body and soul, and physically "under the weather" as my cold and cough have returned full force, and I am again experiencing a lot of digestive troubles despite eating mostly healthy (although in the past two days a lot of fried) food.

I have not had much chance to get out on my own and explore Jaipur. I've been relying on my guide, who I have been meeting in the afternoons. I've been afraid of being cheated, ripped off, misled, or otherwise duped if I venture out on my own. I do not understand so much about this place, still, even though I learn more every day.

India remains a truly FOREIGN country. I hate to become repetitive, but I can't express how true that feels to me.

How do you know if you are getting a fair deal, a true price (like a local would pay)?

How do you find your way around without a local's assistance?

I see other foreigners out walking, even young white girls on their own. Where do THEY get the confidence to venture out so boldly, to stand up to touts, to bravely face what to me seems an incomprehensible system of roads and alleys?

What do you do if you get lost? I'm afraid of looking lost and confused because that indicates weakness, which opens the door to being taken advantage of.

Self-confidence is an issue for me even on the relatively familiar ground of the USA.

Here, I am like a helpless child, lost and longing for someone to hold my hand.

And yet, I still feel the need to maintain my solitude, my independence.

I refuse to be tied down to someone else's expectations of how I SHOULD act, or to rely solely on one person for all my needs.

Jaipur seems to be a nice city, relatively speaking. There are many development projects such as modern shopping areas, broad and fairly clean urban streets, and a better sense of organization...insomuch as anything in India is "organized".

Still, there is an old city, and on roads in the outskirts, too, the jumble of bazaars threatens to consume the uninitiated outsider.

If I had a higher (say, triple my actual) budget, I would be less intimidated. I wouldn't have to worry about being overcharged a hundred rupees because a hundred rupees would be utterly insignificant. But for me, a hundred rupees more a day will mean running out of money long before the scheduled end of my tour.

I think it's time to sit down and do some serious recalculation of finances.

Is it really practical for me to stay here til the last week of March, or should I cut roughly a month off of this tour?

I can change or cancel train reservations easily, if need be.

I would ideally like to upgrade to nicer accommodations when on my own in guesthouses.

Right now it is looking like I "should" cut about 4 weeks off this trip.

The issue now is deciding what I can miss and what should seriously NOT be missed.

Perhaps two weeks in Varanasi is more than enough. Possibly the same for Dharamsala.

After all, what's the point in being here if I can't even enjoy getting out and about and exploring/seeing/doing things on my own?

I'd be better off hiding under a pile of magazines and cats in Florida for a few extra weeks til my WWOOF starts in April!

Ahh, Udaipur...

Udaipur…what can I say about the almost magical beauty and yet still jolting realities of this place?

Imagine, if you can, being in a medieval world, where royalty holds sway in palaces (both real and metaphorical) and the common folk struggle to survive in narrow streets teaming with animals and refuse, where open sewage gutters flow in front of luxury restaurants.

Imagine the sounds of dogs, donkeys, cows and common folk echoing off plaster walls competing with motorbike engines and auto horns. Imagine muezzin’s prayer calls resounding from mosques throughout the day and Hindu chanting emanating from lakefront temples, competing with modern Bollywood music blaring from rooftop boom boxes and the sounds of construction.

Streets meander past fabulously painted and ornately carved doors and windows and intricate building facades. Shop fronts overflow with richly colored saris and pashminas, traditional antique silver and semi-precious stone jewelry, hand-tooled leather journals, and statues of various Hindu gods in all sizes, old and new. Fruit and vegetable sellers ply their goods between cyber cafes and mobile phone shops.

From the rooftops, especially at dawn and sunset/dusk, the city seems to float above Lake Pichola, as if emerging from or sinking into a dream. Five hundred year old palace ramparts rise on one side, ghats lined with shops and temples on the other, and in the shimmering lake, the mirage-like Jag Mandir and gleaming white Lake Palace complete the scene.

The incongruities of India continue to astound me, sometimes with laughter, sometimes with fears and tears. You never know what will happen next, here.

Currently I am suffering a deep chest cough (despite two types of medicine “prescribed” by a local chemist).

I have decided, for health reasons mostly, although it is also cheaper, to go vegetarian for the duration of my travels, unless one of my hosts treats me to dinner at an upscale establishment. Food handling standards are iffy and refrigeration often non-existent, so meats are questionable at best. Coincidence or not, my “Delhi belly” has gone away since switching off meats the past two days!

I’ve done way too much shopping here, worn down by the continual haggling of vendors. I am able to bargain, and usually able to walk away, but have become newly addicted to paisley pashminas and printed clothing/fabrics. I bought a bed sheet yesterday, for heavens sake! I’ve managed to avoid the jewelry, with one exception, but it has not been easy, as all my favorite styles and stones are available here at relatively (compared to US) low prices. Still, they are far above my daily budget, and I have another 4 months to survive.

Today is a day of rest, lounging in my cool, marble-floored budget room, happy to have found a local WiFi connection. I am also trying to avoid the guesthouse manager, as he has said some things which have made me uncomfortable regarding purchasing gifts for me….I am uncertain how to express that I am in NO way interested in having anything more than a business transaction and that to accept a gift would be totally inappropriate.

My couch surfing host from Jaipur, the next city on my itinerary, is a tour guide and will be in town here tomorrow. He has offered to take me to dinner then so we can plan my stay in his hometown.

I will have more access to internet after 19 November, and will try to update on twitter and face book daily from there, as well as add new pics to my Udaipur folder on flickr.

Please continue to hold me in your thoughts and prayers. I am especially in need of prayers for good health, good spirits and continued safety!

Thank you.

As I have decided to use my travel experiences in a future non-fiction manuscript, I regret I cannot wax more eloquently or more at length, to avoid not being able to sell the appropriate rights when the time comes. I am sure you will understand...and hope you will look for the book somewhere down the road!

Cool November Rain, and a Train

Cool, breezy rains began yesterday around 11am.

Mumbaikers are all a bit surprised as November rain is virtually unheard of.

Apparently it is also bad news, despite the lovely break in the heat, because important food crops that should be ripening around this time will, according to my acquaintances here, be spoiled with even a few days' rain.

I am loving the coolness but sad for this news.

Hopefully the rains (a tropical storm in the Northern Indian Ocean drifting NNE inland even towards Rajasthan) will pass quickly.

As the storm moves inland toward Rajasthan, so do I.

Today is the big day.

In about 3 hours from now, I'll be heading out in a taxi for Bandra Terminus where I'll board my 17 hour overnight train for Udaipur.

My host had an office meeting and is unable to take me to the station, so he is sending me with his (non-English-speaking) servant who will make sure I get the correct train, car, and so forth.

I have faith that I will be taken care of, but it is still emotionally stressful.

I am armed with two India-versions of well-known fashion/home making magazines for the train as well as my notebook, camera, and old iRiver music device.

I plan to buy bottled water and snacks for the journey at the station as I have heard train food is not good for the belly especially as mine is still very delicate, to put it nicely.

I have done everything I can to make detailed arrangements for my arrival in Udaipur, although in India plans do not seem to count for much.

My experience so far is that you get told a different thing every time you ask the same question!

(yes, even when asking the same person!)

My guesthouse is supposed to have arranged someone to meet me at the station and bring me to their location....first I was told a "driver" would pick me up, but when I emailed to "confirm" was told something to the effect of a "taxi" will be there to guide me to a "stand" at the station where I will be "met" be an unidentified-someone-else.

Uh...what?

So really not sure if there will be anyone waiting there holding my name placard as originally arranged, or if I'll have to take my chances and spend the money getting a taxi on my own.

This rain is giving Mumbai, and my soul, a much needed bath.

Yes, I am still anxious. That is just how I am (for those who are commenting that I need to relax and just let go).

I take medication for severe anxiety, folks. It's not like you can just turn off the wiring and say ok now I'm gonna do it differently. It's chemical!

I fret, I cry, I make detailed plans, I freak out to everyone who will listen.

And then I just do it.

I know that the rest of my travels will be different from Mumbai.

I know that I CAN manage on my own, like it or not.

Undoubtedly there will be much more to report as soon as I can get connected from Udaipur!

My current "plan" is to first get settled into the guesthouse, determine level of safety and room security there, and probably take a nap to settle my nerves.

If I feel up to it, and weather permitting (70% chance of storms in Udaipur Thursday), I may wander the immediate area of the guesthouse before sunset.

I have no set agenda other than a list of places to see, not date specific (even that is a a major improvement for me, folks!)

City Palace, Lake Palace, Jagdish Temple and so forth are my main destinations, plus I intend to sit on the rooftop terrace writing a lot.

If I feel comfortable, I may try to find a spot right on the lake front from where to write, also.

I am scheduled to meet my couchsurfing.org host for my next destination on 19 November and will be going next to Jaipur.

All his references on the couchsurfing site are positive, and hopefully he already understands my p-o-v regarding being a guest not a party partner!

My friend here in Mumbai has his name/contact info in case, heaven forbid, something bad happens.

A reminder, again, that my posts from here on may become far less frequent. The guesthouse told me they had WiFi.

Their listing on hostelworld's website says "internet available".

I am sure there is a cyber cafe there somewhere if I need to go that route.

So, if you do not hear from me on this blog, on twitter, or via email for several days, do not panic!!

If you do not hear from me before the 22nd...THEN panic!

lol

Thanks for following my adventure!