India Mar to Apr - Rajasthan

Ana at the top of the monkey temple in Jaiper

So after a short train ride, we arrived in Mumbai and were all impressed with the organization of the city. Luckily, my friend Ananth who lives there picked us up from the crazy Victoria Mumbai train station, (yes the one that was bombed), and brought us to the hotel. It was awesome having a warm welcome. We enjoyed having western food choices but all three of us were not feeling that well. I think it was the intoxicating heat that made walking around the city really tough. But we managed to see a bit of the city, some cricket fields, and actually, the city was very clean with lots of trees and parks. But after two days of feeling in the dumps, we were ready to move again.

Another great train ride and we arrived in our first place in the state of Rajasthan, the capital, Jaiper. We learned quickly that the major towns in Rajasthan each had a theme color. For Jaiper, it was Pink. This was finally the India we had always imagined. The main attraction was the Pink City, or Old City area which was literally bound by pink walls, and was a bustling marketplace with everything from spices to car batteries. Most of the signs were in Hindi, and it was nice to be in a place that did NOT cater to tourists. But once again, I was not feeling that well. Luckily, before leaving, I was able to see the Monkey Temple which was an awesome temple built into a small mountain, and was COVERED with monkeys. It was a strange mix of excitement and fear as the cute, but persistent, monkeys tried to grab at anything we were holding that looked like food. Luckily, we escaped the temple bite free and full of monkey giggles….

Then we were off to Pushkar, the quaint, fairytale, Brahman city surrounding Pushkar Lake, (which was nearly dried out when we were there). No alcohol, meat or eggs are allowed in this religious Hindu pilgrimage town. The 400 milky-colored Hindu temples set the color of this town to creamy white. But the thing that stood out the most to me was the pervasive and unrelenting smell of cow dung everywhere we went. I was accustomed to dodging cow poop while I walked anywhere in India and seeing cows all over the streets but Pushkar, with its tiny, busy, dirt roads full of street stalls, people and motorbikes, the cow population went over the line. And were there are cows, there is lots of cow dung. Somehow though, the fairytale claim of this town shined through with the help of our awesome family run guesthouse. It was spotless with a lot of charm and cost the equivalent of $3 a night! The views from its rooftop restaurant of the city were great. It was here where I decided that my belly issues had gone on long enough and I reluctantly took an antibiotic pill that my doctor prescribed…. Within hours I felt completely different, and now, months later, have never had bad stomach issues again. Sometimes antibiotics are a good thing!

Next stop Bundi, the small “Brahmin- blue” town. (Literally most of the buildings were painted cool blue, the same that Hindu deities are often colored). Most of the guest houses were in the “haveli” style, which means that the rooms are surrounded by an open courtyard usually where tables are set up for eating. The town is clearly not a tourist-haven as there are literally no restaurants. Everyone eats at guesthouses, which are usually small family run businesses. As a result, we had home-cooked curries by the owners mother, that took over 2 hours to get after ordering but were well worth the wait. The aubergine curry (eggplant) was life-changing! We saw the incredible Bundi Palace which had several different owners through history, evident in the many styles of art found throught the palace. It also afforded great views of the city. There were certain damp, dark enclaves of the palace that were home to hundreds of bats, which were surprisingly cute as they slept upside down!

Me trying on a sari in the marketplace of Udaipur. I don't know how they do work in sari's!

Another bus ride and we were in Udaipur, often called Rajasthans romantic city. It’s situated around a lake and is a nice mix of busy and comfortable. The hotel was probably my favorite part. Poonam Haveli, was the nicest hotel Ive been in, in India. It was new, spotless and spacious. We had an amazing time just walking around the touristy but classic city complete with delicious choco balls, (non-descript, golf ball sized- chocolate confections that rivaled any chocolate cake!) This is where I bought my silver bangles and some other jewelry for steals and just enjoyed walking around and relaxing...

The group of us on the desert safari from Jaisalmer with our protective scarves!

From there we took a bus to Jodhpur, and on an impulse in the uncomfortable bus, we decided to just continue to Jaisalmer, the famous fort city of Rajasthan. What a good choice. We stayed outside the fort, but walked there each day. The fort was like a medeval old city but was bustling with life and afforded amazing views of the city from any rooftop restaurant within it. Its from here that we took an overnight desert safari which is how we met Colm from Ireland, and Abbey and Laura from Britain. The group of us took a jeep ride to the start of the desert, then 2 hour camel ride, then stop for lunch then another camel ride to the dunes. Although we just sat around during the hot parts of the day, we had a great time on the dunes that night, watching the fire and eating an amazing meal even though we could barely see our plates. I had brough some famous "Bang Cookies" from the bang shop in Jaisalmer and had quite the experience staring at the camp fire and laughing uncontrollably. When we got back to Jaisalmer we found a better hotel with amazing food and fast internet. The next day I was walking around the fort and stumbled upon a group of young women dressed in ornate sari's and holding trays of poojah offerings... through some form of communication, they informed me that it was a holiday and I follwed the girls to the main square in the fort, all the while gazing at their colorful saris. It was a magical India experience of music, dance and sari's. The Maharaja of Jaisalmer came to commeserate the celebration and I caught a glimpse of hin on his noble steed.

That was it for Rajasthan... I could have easily spent a week more in each city, but trekking in Nepal was calling, so we took a train to Delhi then to Gorakpur and then to the border of Nepal...