Varanasi, India 09.05

We arrived in the train station at Varanasi and searched for our drivers. We were told that we would have a driver and a guide at our disposal in Varanasi, and that they would take us on a tour of the city and a boat ride on the Ganges River. We found the guy waving a sign for ‘Ms Loren’, and followed him with our heavy bags all the way back through the busy train station to the other exit where he had parked the car.

They drove us to the hotel, chatting about Varanasi and India on the way. They showed their true greedy colours immediately, when they told us that our city tour would be about 15km from the city, so we could see some temples there, and that if we wanted to go to the city at night to see the festivities, they’d charge 400 rupees per person. We were told that they were going to be our drivers for the whole time, not just for the tour, and we were well aware that we could probably get to the city for about 40 rupees each by auto-rickshaw.

After settling into the hotel, the guide picked us up on his motorbike so we could use the internet at a nearby café. Soon after he and the driver picked us up for our ‘tour of the city’. The driver talked constantly, trying to describe different things about India, but we couldn’t understand a word he said, his accent was so strong. We just nodded and smiled.

Temple Tour
They dropped us off at the Stupa, which is the place where Buddha gave his first teachings. They brought over a guide that was waiting for us, and told us to tip him when we finished the tour. We had the impression that the tip was actually the fee for the tour, and even though we had pre-paid for the whole trip, they weren’t spending any of that money on paying for guides for us. The guide was very old and cute, he knew a lot about the places he was showing us.

After the Stupa, he took us to see a Jain Temple. This place was very unlike the Jain temple we saw in Udaipur. There were naked pictures and paintings of Jain monks, and our guide told us all about their religion. These monks refuse to kill any living organism. They only eat fruit and vegetables that have fallen from trees and bushes, because they believe that picking these things is killing them. They even pull out their hair by the roots to protect any bacteria that might be living there. No razors are used for hair removal, in case they cut the bacteria. They won’t step outside for at least 3 months after the rainy season, in case they step on any organism that has washed onto the ground. Each monk carries a broom of peacock feathers to sweep the ground in front of them, so that they don’t step on any insects.

The guide then took us to see a Thai Buddhist temple, a Chinese Buddhist temple and a Japanese one. The area is very popular for building temples, because of the nearby Stupa. It was interesting to see all the temples from countries that we had already visited. Loren was taking a photo of one of the Buddhist temples when a monk almost walked into the picture. He stopped and moved back out of sight for at least five minutes until he was sure he wouldn’t be interrupting the photo. When he finally emerged again, he smiled and nodded as he passed. It was a shock after being in India for so long. It made Loren remember how kind and generous the monks were in Buddhist temples.

We were asked for money by all the Hindu priests we saw, and if the people of India are a reflection of the Hindu religion, then Buddhism would win hands-down as a better religion.
In India, all the men stare openly at foreign women, and not in a nice way, even if they dress modestly. Women and children are thrown aside by men trying to shove their way onto trains and escalators etc. Indian merchants and drivers do not just try to rip off foreigners, but their own people too. Loren read the newspaper for maybe 3 days on the trip in India, and every day there was a violent murder of a woman. One day it was a woman murdered because she didn’t have her husbands dinner ready for him when he got home. The next day, it was a woman murdered by her husbands friend, it was payback because he and the woman’s husband were having a disagreement.

Muslim Silk Weaving Community

After seeing the temples, we were driven to some little streets where a Muslim association makes silk to sell all over India. Our drivers talked it up all the way there, then dropped us off to have a tour with a local guy. He took us through the narrow streets and told us about how the silk is made. We could hear some machines weaving silk, but he avoided those rooms and only showed us the rooms where people were weaving on manual weaving looms. Apparently it takes months to complete a piece of material. On our way through the streets, little kids grabbed our arms laughing and asking for rupees. They wouldn’t let go and they held on so hard that we couldn’t move. The guide had to tell them to go away, or we would have been stuck there for a while.

Finally they took us to the ‘sales room’ where they got us to sit down on the mattress that covers the floor of the room. Then they showed us bedspreads made of silk, in all different colours. They said they cost 500 Euros each. We said we weren’t interested, so they showed us cushion covers instead, then when we still weren’t interested they showed us scarves. The guy asked us what we wanted, and Artur said, ‘we told you already, we’re not interested’. So he finally got the hint, and we walked out to find our guide listening at the door. He seemed very disappointed, as this was no doubt a commission based operation for him.

The City of Varanasi

The tour was now over, so we asked the drivers to drop us off at the city instead of the hotel. They took us part of the way, then said they couldn’t take the car any further because of the road, even though we could other bigger cars continuing. So we took a rickshaw the rest of the way. This only confirmed how dodgy our guide and driver were. The distance they’d taken us from the hotel to the city was probably 5km, and this was the distance they said they’d charge us 400 rupees for, and they couldn’t even drive us the whole way!

The rickshaw ride through the city was great! This was the first time we’d taken a bicycle rickshaw, not a motorbike one. It was very exciting moving through the busy streets. There were so many people and the roads were lined with shops on every side. Eventually we got off, because the rest of the road was for pedestrians only. We made our way through the crowds and looked at the sparkling jewelry and beautiful dresses being sold by the side of the road.

Ceremony at the Ghat

When we finally reached the water, we saw crowds of people already gathering. Every night, there is a ceremony performed by the priests. We think the ceremony was for calling the spirits in the water of the Ganges, to help guide them on their way. There were big mattresses for people to sit on, just behind the ceremonial platforms, but we wanted to see the ceremony from above.

We found a building with big balconies with tourists already sitting there. They told us we only had to buy a drink, and we could sit there. The drinks were obviously overpriced, but the view was great. One of the waiters took us up to the second balcony where steps led up to a prime, central viewing spot. He said this was the Maharajah and Maharani viewing point. We secured our spots there with a tip for the waiter. Our seats were perfect, away from the crowds with a superb view over the platforms and the river. The people below us were so colourful in their saris and salwar kameez suits.

Finally the ceremony started, and loud music blared out of a huge loudspeaker. One priest stepped onto each platform and began to perform ceremonies with incense and burning lamps. Then they started ringing bells, which were attached to each platform. People by the water lit candles inside of flowers and set them floating on the Ganges river. The ceremony was extremely noisy, I have no doubt that if any spirits had been lurking in the water, they would have been woken up.

Varanasi by Night
After the ceremony, we went shopping at the stalls by the side of the road. We bought some sparkling bracelets to match the Indian dress that Loren had bought. She was wearing it that night, and was thrilled to finally have matching bracelets. She had hoped that wearing Indian clothes would provoke less stares from people, but in reality, it probably ended up provoking more.

A group of women who were thrilled by Loren's outfit.

We started to get hungry, so we went off in search of some safe food for our still fragile stomachs. We wandered through some back alleys that were so tiny it was hard to move past other people. Each side of the alley had stalls selling jewelry and clothes, and the place was packed full of locals. Even soldiers loitered in groups along the alleyways. It was so tight and congested, it was like being in a maze. We found it very hard to get out and very difficult to find the restaurant we were looking for. Eventually we found it, and managed to eat our first meal since we’d had food poisoning. We had been drinking gastrolyte water, and eating only scraps of plain bread since Jaipur.

By the time we were ready to go home, the once busy streets were now quiet. Rickshaw drivers called out to us, offering us their services, but we were hoping for an auto-rickshaw so we could get home faster. One guy finally convinced us to go with him, and told us he’d get us to our hotel in 30 minutes or we wouldn’t have to pay (bicycle driven rickshaw). On our way, a street jewelry seller called out to us, wanting us to buy his goods. We ignored him, and he yelled at our driver to stop. Our driver was on a time limit, so he kept going. The furious seller ran alongside our rickshaw hurling abuse at the driver for at least 300m! We were surprised at his persistence, but our poor driver was scared out of his wits. He complained to the traffic police nearby, then stopped so that he could hide his money further down into his pockets. He said it was a dangerous area.

Boat Ride on the Ganges

The next morning, we woke up at 4.30am and packed our bags to leave Varanasi. This morning, we had a boat ride planned on the Ganges river, then we would leave on a bus for Kathmandu, Nepal. We were taken by our drivers close to the river, then we walked a long way to the Ghat where we would leave for the boat ride. On the way, we saw a huge group of boys practicing yoga. They were all wearing white outfits and performing the same moves.

When we reached the river, we were instructed to tip the boat driver too. No doubt they weren’t planning to pay him with our money either. As we started moving away from the shore, a guy hopped onto the boat. We assumed he was part of our tour, and he gave us each a flower with a candle in it. We were supposed to put it onto the water and say the name of a loved one. Then he told us it would cost us 50 rupees each. Loren laughed and asked if he was joking (well aware that he wasn’t). We told him he was a thief and paid him only10 rupees. He then got off the boat, to go and con someone else.

The Ganges river is the centre of life and death in Varanasi. 60,000 people come to the river each day to wash in the stagnant waters. You can see crowds of them splashing and playing in the water even at 5am. The days are hot in India, so people start as early as possible.

The Ganges river is also very important to the Indian people, because of their Hindu religion. If you have your body cremated, and the ashes sprinkled in the Ganges, the cycle of reincarnation ends for you. Instead of coming back to earth as an animal, you go to either Heaven or Hell. So if people think they have led a good life, and that they will go to Heaven, they go to die in Varanasi. Depending on which caste you were born into, you must be cremated with a certain type of wood. It can be quite expensive, as the wood for the higher castes can be very costly, and you must have enough wood to completely cremate the entire body. The people who can’t afford wood, can have their bodies cremated in an electric crematorium.

The Ghats which are located all along the river, are the place where bodies are cremated. Some Ghats are just used for bathing and washing clothes, but two specific ones that we saw, are for cremation. Others are used for ceremonies such as the one that we watched the night before.

Our boat ride took us past a cremation ghat first, but the only cremations happening were in the electric crematorium behind the ghat.

Most of the ghats that we saw were filled with people bathing and playing in the water, or washing their clothes. We saw lines of colourful saris laid out on the steps to dry. The saris are about 9 metres long, so you can see the beautiful stretches of material, all perfectly lined up, from a long way away.

The platform on the pink building is where we watched the ceremony from.

We also saw the ghat where the ceremony was performed the night before. The last ghat we visited was another cremation ghat, where several cremations were actually taking place. We didn’t get too close, but watched from a distance.

Final Attempts by Our Guides
After our boat ride, we asked to return to the hotel for breakfast. Our drivers said something about our hotel’s food being ‘bad season’, and that we should go to another one. So they took us to an expensive hotel restaurant a few blocks away from our own hotel. We were very sleepy and didn’t quite know how or why we were at this other hotel. We realized quickly that they had brought us to this hotel, because they would receive a commission on anything we ordered from there, whereas if we ate our hotel’s breakfast, they could make no money on us. They were not impressed when we insisted that they take us back to our hotel, where we had already paid for our breakfast to be included.

We could tell for the entire time we were with these guides, that they were hoping for a ‘big American tip’. We are not accustomed to giving tips in Australia, however we do it when we feel someone really deserves it. We were glad to tip our friendly boat driver and the old tour guide from the Stupa. However we were not impressed by our drivers. I don’t think we saw them smile once, and the whole time they acted as though taking us around Varanasi was beneath them. Not to mention the amount of times they tried to make commissions by forcing us into situations where we’d have to buy something expensive, or trying to charge us an exhorbitant amount for a quick ride into the city. We were thrilled to leave them behind and to give them no tip, despite their request for one, as a demonstration of what we thought of their scams and hostility.

Agra, India 08.05

We took a short train ride from Jaipur to Agra in the morning. We dumped our bags at the ‘Left Luggage’ room at the train station, where we had to convince the caretaker to take our baggage. He was in the process of cleaning out the room, and was not keen to have any more bags in there.

The Taj Mahal!
After a quick auto-rickshaw ride through Agra, we arrived near the outer walls of the Taj Mahal. Drivers can’t take you right to the entrance because of the damage that air pollution had inflicted on the Taj Mahal. Apparently acid rain has eroded a lot of the marble. On our walk towards the entrance, we attracted the attention of some locals. We had stopped to put on some sun-screen lotion, and they wanted to know what it did. They thought it was to protect you from the heat. They asked to try some and then had some fun smearing it over each others faces.

We bought our tickets to the Taj Mahal, which were pretty expensive for India – we obviously paid the foreigners price, which was 20 times as expensive as the Indian one! We managed to avoid the guides who chase you all the way to the entrance trying to sell you their services. Once again we were frisked in male and female lines, and sent through metal detectors. After all the fuss, we entered through the gates and saw the beautiful Taj Mahal!

Apparently the Taj Mahal was built by a Emperor Shah Jahan as a monument to his wife, who died while giving birth to his fourteenth son. He loved his wife so much, that he couldn’t forget her, and after he had completed the incredible white marble Taj Mahal, he wanted to build another one in black marble. One of his sons heard about this and had him arrested and put in prison, so that he would stop wasting their money. The poor, heartbroken emperor died in jail. He was buried next to his wife in the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal has been described as ‘a teardrop on the face of eternity’.

The Taj Mahal was beautiful, but after seeing so many pictures of it, we had high expectations. It seemed so much smaller than we had imagined. We also thought that there was a lot of water in front of the Taj Mahal, but the lanes of water and fountains are only about two metres wide. The pictures that we’ve seen were just taken at flattering angles.

We were surprised at the size of the mosques at either side of the Taj Mahal, they were so tall! The gardens and lawns around it were also huge. There were areas that were like little forests.

There was also a great exhibit along the walls surrounding the Taj Mahal grounds. It showed all the big archaeological features in India. We were shocked at how many there were. The buildings were as incredible and complex as Angkor Wat in Cambodia, but there were maybe 60 or more all over India! You could tour for months and not see them all.

After seeing the Taj Mahal we spent the afternoon in an internet café, which was nice and cool compared to the extreme heat outside. We spent most of the afternoon in there, until Loren started feeling unwell again.

Agra Fort

We decided to go to see the Agra Fort which was right next to the train station, because tourist attractions like these are the cleanest, safest place to lie down and rest in. The lawns are well-kept and spacious, compared to the filthy, noisy and crowded train station. Loren lay on the grass while had a look around the fort. That way Loren could see the photos, even though she was too sick to walk around herself.

The Fort was beautiful and the walls around it were enormous. The walls were a pink colour like all of the buildings in Jaipur. There wasn’t many buildings that you could actually go inside, but you could wander though the huge courtyards made of white marble, and the expansive lawns and gardens.

While Artur was exploring, a dust storm started tearing through the Fort. Loren was completely oblivious, and thought the things blowing against her face as she lay down, were falling from the tree above her. It was a big shock when she opened her eyes and saw that the sky was barely visible. Everyone wrapped scarves around their faces to filter the dust. We decided we should find shelter in the train station and wait for our train.

The sky turned grey from the dust, blurring buildings nearby.

We managed to find waiting rooms for the first and second class passengers. Unfortunately, the guy that booked the tickets couldn’t find tickets in the second class for us this time, and booked third class tickets. There are six classes overall! We snuck into the first class one, because the other was very crowded, and hoped that we could either pay to stay or that no one would notice.

A fat Indian guy that looked like Pavarotti, came over to us and asked to see our tickets. He took them, wrote our details on his book, then said thank-you and returned them! We were surprised, but didn’t question it. We figured he was hoping for a big tip when we left. He noticed that Loren was sick, and brought a sheet for her to lie on in the adjoining room. She lay on the ground passed out for a few hours until the train arrived. It turned out that Pavarotti was in charge of the toilets and charged us for using them, not for using the waiting room. We collapsed on the train when it finally came, taking us away to Varanasi.

Jaipur, India 06.05

We arrived in Jaipur after another overnight train. We were getting used to the Indian trains by now, and enjoying ourselves on the ride. We arrived at a small hotel with a friendly receptionist who congratulated Loren when she told the auto-rickshaw driver that we wouldn’t need his services. They must get a lot of dumb tourists there.

We decided to check out the city by foot, despite the 43 degree heat. According to the Lonely Planet map, our hotel was quite close to the old city walls. In reality, it was much, much further than it looked, and the heat made every step seem like a mile. The walk wasn’t so bad though, as we got to see Jaipur in detail. We saw camels pulling carts, and every street was lined with the pink terracotta coloured buildings that Jaipur is famous for. It is known as the ‘Pink City’.

Eventually we reached the city gates and wandered through the little, dusty streets. Each street is known for selling different types of products. The one we went through sold bracelets, but we were too anxious to find somewhere cool to sit and rest our hot feet, so we didn’t stop to buy anything. We chose an ice-cream place in Lonely Planet, and decided to head there. Unfortunately for us, the place no longer existed, and we had to resort to McDonalds sundaes instead. The air-conditioning was spectacular though. We spent our time there admiring the range of Indian style burgers and vegetarian options available.

Our next idea for escaping the heat was to go to the cinemas which were located right next to the McDonalds. We had been watching Indian music videos on the TV at each of our hotels, and loving them. They are quite hilarious actually. The stars of most of them are Bollywood actors and one or two of them dominate the playing time on the music channels. Apparently some of them can’t even sing and have other people singing for them. We decided it was time for us to see a real Bollywood film. However the cinema wasn’t playing any movies with English subtitles.

Chokhi Duani

We had heard about a place just outside of Jaipur that had food, dancing and reconstructed Rajasthani villages, so we found ourselves a driver for the night. The ride in the auto-rickshaw was quite long, but we enjoyed it because we had the wind blowing around us. We arrived well before the action started, so we sat in the shade and searched for some water. They weren’t selling bottled water until later, so we stupidly tried some tap water. Not clever. We were dehydrated, so it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Eventually the crowds started arriving, and some performances started. Basically the place had several stages and when crowds gathered around them, the performers would begin. There were two stages with dancing, one with traditional Rajasthani dance, and another with women dancing the desert dance from Jaisalmer (the one where they carry 9 or 10 pots on their heads and dance on broken glass etc).

There were also painted elephants and horses and cows pulling carts. If you wanted, you could pay to go for a ride. Loren decided to just pat the elephant, that was good enough. There were supposed to be rabbits too, but we couldn’t find them.

There were some mystical events too, such as fortune telling and palm reading. We also saw a magician perform a few tricks with doves. He pulled three doves out of an empty hat! There was also a weird machine that plays music and you have to pay to look inside the little windows. We paid, but all it was, was a few pictures moving slowly in a circle.

One of the coolest things was for free! It was a lady who painted henna patterns on your hand. She covered the back and front of Loren’s hands with patterns. The patterns are made with a thick paste of ground henna, so they look black when they are painted.

However, you leave them for an hour, and then wash it all off. The patterns look red when the paste is washed off. Red is a lucky colour in India.

After this, dinner was served in one of the huts. Everyone sat on the floor along little rows of tables. The food was served in plates that seemed to be made of leaves – they were disposable ones. The drinks were served in wooden cups – water and lassi. The food was quite nice, some of it was quite spicy, but it was very tasty.

When we were at the magician’s show, we met a group of young boys who wanted Loren to hang out with them. So the two of us joined them, with Artur as a bodyguard, and we toured the park with them. They were all from Punjab in the North of India. We think that they had just finished high-school. They were nice guys, and fun to hang out with.

After a while we headed over to the games booths and shot bows and arrows at targets, and tried the air-rifles. The air-rifles were so out of shape that hitting anything was impossible, if you tried to line up the sights correctly.

After we left the group of guys, we found a tent where you could dress up in traditional Rajasthani clothes. Loren decided to try it out. The person who dressed her chose the outfit of a Maharani, the wife of a Maharajah. It took all of about 5 minutes to dress, take the photo and undress. Loren had no choice in the clothes, she just stood there as they attached various pieces of clothing and accessories to her, then ‘click, click’, and it was all over. The picture was pretty cool though.

The Conclusion to Jaipur

(we have included no pictures, for your own wellbeing)

After this we headed back to the hotel. Artur didn’t feel too well, and was anxious to get back to the hotel. Loren was fine until we got back to the hotel, and then the trouble began for both of us. We don’t know what it was that we ate. It could have been that our dinner or breakfast was badly prepared (as we had no lunch), or it could have been the water that we drank. Whatever it was, it poisoned us badly, and we had the worst night of our lives. No exaggeration. Loren was not any better the next day and struggled to keep any water down.

We rushed to the hospital in the morning, and got a prescription for some antibiotics and other stuff. The hospital was dirty and the stretchers and equipment looked like they were hand-me-downs from the 50s. Crowds of people sat outside cooling themselves in the shade of the hospital. Inside a woman lying on a bench was screaming while people tried to hold her down. Loren was still extremely sick but would not have stayed there for any amount of money.

We bought the medications from the pharmacy across the road and headed back the hotel, where we passed out for the rest of the day. Our sickness pretty much finished off our trip in Jaipur, as we were incapable of doing anything but lying on the bed and trying to swallow water.

Udaipur, India 04.05

We arrived at 6am in Udaipur and were immediately surrounded by prospective drivers. We walked with our eyes straight ahead, talking to no-one until we got to the pre-paid autorickshaw booth. Unfortunately, we ended up with one the drivers who had been following us from the station. These ones are not just in it for the fare, they want more business from you. They demand to know what time you want to be picked up for sightseeing, and tell you they will wait outside your hotel for you. We simply told him, we wouldn't need his services, and he sat for a while looking confused out the front of the hotel, until he finally got the hint and left.

We saw a brochure for the hotel, and the pushy travel agent told us that we would get rooms with views of the lake, as shown in the pictures. He said that we just had to ask for rooms on the second floor. Well, it turned out there was no second floor, and no view, unless you counted the view from the roof. They had tables and chairs on the flat rooftop, but the lakes were still very hard to see from there. We had breakfast on the roof, then gave in to our heat-induced sleepiness and went to bed.
Eventually we wandered out of the hotel, and tried to follow the receptionists directions to the old city centre. However the map he gave us had opposite directions to the ones he told us, so we got confused. We ended up walking in the wrong direction in the 40 degree heat, and found ourselves in the newer section of the town. Finally we took an autorickshaw to the right place, but everything we wanted to see was closed because it was Sunday and too late in the day.

Jain Temple
We familiarised ourselves with the area by walking around the old town and looking for little markets. Most were closed, but we found a big clock tower, which became a great reference point for finding our way around the town. We also came across a little private Jain temple. We came inside, and the priest told us about the temple and himself. He was of the Brahman caste, which is the highest caste. Most people of this caste are priests. We wandered around the temple, but we weren't allowed to take photos. He asked for a donation for the temple in exchange for our visit.
Impressions of Udaipur
Udaipur is a very interesting city. The old town which is centred around the lake, is essentially a beautiful place. There are palaces in the middle of the lake, and at night they glow with hundreds of lights. There are also palaces on the land and further up the mountain. The whole city is full of beautiful old buildings, big temples and colourful people. This is the Udaipur that you see when you get used to India and the dirt and filth lining the streets doesn't bother you anymore.

This beautiful city is the Udaipur we saw, but what you also see are cows and dogs roaming the street aimlessly, eating the food scraps and rubbish that people toss out their doors onto the pathways and streets. The result of having these animals wandering freely through the streets, and eating rubbish, is that the ground is covered with animal droppings and there is a putrid smell in the air. I can't imagine what quality of milk these cows produce for the locals, when there is no grass for them to eat, only rubbish.

Bagone-Ki-Haveli Performance
That evening we visited Bagone-Ki-Haveli, an Arts School, where a traditional Rajasthani dance performance is regularly held. We arrived early, so we were able to look at some of the art on display. A lot of it was abstract and very interesting. We also visited the rooftop where we had beautiful views of the two lake palaces.

We found seats on cushions on the floor, right at the front. The performances were thrilling! There were so many colourful costumes and themes to the dances. There were also musicians playing in the background. The dances started just as the sun was setting, so there was beautiful atmospheric light. The first dance was about the peacock, which is a much loved bird in India. The peacock dancer was accompanied by another beautiful dancer. This dancer was very graceful, probably the best dancer of the night.

One of the other dances involved a whole circle of women dancing. This one was very beautiful too. Each of the women had a dress in a different colour, and anklets with bells that tinkled as they moved their feet.Our other favourite dance was one from Jaisalmer, the desert region in the west of Rajasthan. Women have to walk a long way to collect water in this region, so they have a dance where a woman carries 10 pots on her head and does all sorts of tricks while carrying them. She walks on glass, tap dances with a shallow dish etc. She started with one pot, then they kept adding more and more until she had 10. It was good this way, because you knew they weren't all attached together. It was a thrilling performance.
Scary Ride Home
After the performance, we wandered back along the streets toward our hotel, not completely sure of where we were going, seeing as we had gotten lost on the way. We we offered ridiculous prices by rickshaw drivers, so we chose to walk. As we walked, a man on a motorcycle offered us a lift. He said he wouldn't charge us, so we accepted. It might sound stupid to you, but the people in India, annoying as they are, are not very scary. Everyone wants something from you though, and we knew this. This guy worked at another hotel, and wanted to give us his business card. We felt safer once we knew his agenda too. He freaked us out though on the way, because he took a very roundabout way of getting to our hotel. He drove in what seemed to be the opposite direction and for a very long time. However he did drop us off at where the sign was pointing to our hotel. We thanked him and walked the rest of the way to the hotel. We now think he was trying to make us think that our hotel was very far away, and that his hotel, which he had pointed out a the beginning, was in a better location. All this aside, we got home safely!

Shopping in Udaipur
We didn't get much done on the first day, so we decided to plan our time and see everything! We wanted to see the Royal Palace, the Jagdish temple and also visit the palaces on the water. Loren was also keen to buy some appropriate clothes for India. Anything shorter than ankle length provokes stares from the locals. Hali, Loren's sister had visited India before and bought some lovely salwar kameez dresses while she was there, so Loren decided to buy one too. The salwar kameez in like a tunic dress with pants underneath and a scarf.

We finally found a salwar kameez shop in a narrow alleyway. The shelves are full of folded salwar kameez dresses that are already made, and more shelves are also filled with the beaded material for dresses that have not yet been made. We got the tailor to pull out lots of different dresses until finally we found one that we liked. It was a royal blue colour with a beaded bodice and short sleeves. The pants were slim and fitted with more beading around the ankles, and the scarf was a matching blue colour. The price was already attached, so we knew we were getting the local price. Loren was very happy!At another more touristy shop, we found a long green skirt that would be good for the culture and the climate. The owner insisted that Loren try on a sari. It was a dark blue colour with some white sections, and he wrapped it around in the right way. It looked very cool! But saris are very big, and not the right size for our overstuffed bags.

Our next task was to find a store that sold adaptors for Indian power sockets. We asked about ten different people who pointed us in about ten different directions, saying 'oh about 15 shops in that direction'. Finally we found a little arcade where people had set up shops for repairing electrical goods. One guy said he had one, then searched through his drawer for about 10 minutes looking for it. It's not surprising it took so long, as his shop looked like a bomb had gone off inside it. There were wires and littles pieces and screws from every sort of appliance strewn around the benches and in every drawer, covering every surface. It was like a junkyard. Eventually he found it for us, and charged us only 25 rupees (about 50 cents).

Jagdish Temple
The next thing we found was the Jagdish Temple - apparently it was an Indo-Aryan temple. We took our shoes off at the entrance, and a boy started telling us about the temple. He lead us inside where we found a large group of women sitting on the floor. One woman was teaching the others about the Hindu religion. All the women listened intently, and at one point they started singing songs of praise. The gathering reminded Loren of ones from the Bible times, where women dressed similarly and people gathered around in temples to hear teachings.

Our guide told us that the women with shawls on their heads were married, and that the colour red symbolises blessing and luck. This is why women have red henna patterns painted on their hands, why they get married in red dresses, why people wear red dots on their foreheads and why married women wear a streak of red in the part of their hair.

He showed us around the outside courtyards of the temple, moving in a clockwise direction, as this is the correct way in Hindu temples. People visit the Ganesh statue first, because he brings wealth. We saw hundreds of figures carved on the outside of the temple. There were kama sutra carvings and carvings of cats, which was a surprise because Indians consider cats to be unlucky. Most cultures see black cats as unlucky, but for Indians, it is all cats. You see very few of them on the streets, because people release them into the forest far away.

Royal Palace
After the temple, we finally went to visit the Royal Palace. We hired an English speaking guide to take us around. He told us about the history of the palace and the materials used and what each room was used for. Apparently the palace still belongs to the 25th generation of the ancestor that built the palace. The building is carved into the rock that was there in the ground. The lake next to the palace is actually an artficial lake, and the locals are desperate for it to remain full, as it is a big part of their tourism. In drought, the lake can become empty, so people are now trying to conserve water.
Inside the wall around the palace the ground has some strange mounds or bumps in the concrete. Apparently these were built as pillows for the elephants that were kept there originally. The elephants lean against them as they lie down. They also had two levels near the palace with steps leading up to them. One level was for mounting horses, and the other level was for mounting elephants.
The courtyard also had a wall that was used for elephant fights. They would give alcohol to the elephants, who are normally placid animals, and they would become agressive. They locked trunks and pulled each other like a 'tug-of-war'. Whichever elephant became pressed up against the wall at the end, was the loser. Elephants were also given alcohol in battles, so opposing soldiers would attach trunks to their horses, to make them look like baby elephants, because that is one of the few things the elephants wouldn't attack.

Inside the palace, there were many rooms and courtyards. One courtyard was called the Peacock Courtyard because there were painting and mosaics of peacocks everywhere. There was also a Ruby Room, but apparently it had nothing to do with rubies. There was a lot of glass decorations in the palace. The Indians were very fond of Belgium glass, as they believed it would never fade.
The emperor who lived there at one point had 16 wives, so there were 16 windows built onto the front of the palace, so they could all watch the gatherings and ceremonies in front of the palace. A later emperor, became a paraplegic after a failed operation, so they built a lift for him. He built a false door next to the lift. He would take the lift and tell all his guests to take the stairs through that door. He found it hilarious when they couldn't open the door.

The palace is surrounded by balconies, towers and cuppolas, and there are beautiful views from there over the lake and the two palaces in the lake. One palace in the lake is the Summer Palace - this palace has been turned into a very expensive and exclusive hotel called the 'Lake Palace Hotel'. The other palace on the lake is the Pleasure Palace on Jagmandir Island, and this one can be visited by anyone. The palace on the mountain is the monsoon palace and is a great place to watch the sunset from.

Boat Ride on the Lake
After the tour of the palace, we took a boat ride around the lake. We didn't visit the Summer Palace, because you can only visit if you are staying there or eating there. The prices were exhorbitant, even for Westerners, and we had already eaten, so we decided to miss it. It was fun to see the city from the boat though, and to get closer to the Summer Palace, even if we couldn't go inside.
Pleasure Palace
We did get off at the Pleasure Palace though, it was very cool! There was a fountain in the centre of the courtyard and a huge, beautiful building behind the fountain.

Little bars along the outskirts of the courtyard offered pricy drinks and food, and the waiters wore traditional white pants and tunic with orange waist bands and turbans. The music playing was so relaxing, so we stayed for a while, soaking in the beauty and the sipping cold fruity drinks.

Eventually we took the boat back to the shore, and enjoyed the food and atmosphere of the old town, before walking back to our hotel.