Why I like to travel

I finished reading "Kim" by Rudyard Kipling. I don't know what really happened, it made very little sense, but I liked it. 

The following is what I liked best, I get the same kind of joy from the road. 

But Kim was in the seventh heaven of joy. The Grand Trunk at this point was built on an embankment to guard against winter floods from the foothills, so that one walked, as it were, a little above the country, along a stately corridor, seeing all India spread out to left and right. It was beautiful to behold the many-yoked grain and cotton wagons crawling over the country roads: one could hear their axles, complaining a mile away, coming nearer, till with shouts and yells and bad words they climbed up the steep incline and plunged on to the hard main road, carter reviling carter. It was equally beautiful to watch the people, little clumps of red and blue and pink and white and saffron, turning aside to go to their own villages, dispersing and growing small by twos and threes across the level plain. Kim felt these things, though he could not give tongue to his feelings, and so contented himself with buying peeled sugar-cane and spitting the pith generously about his path.
EXCERPT FROM

Kipling, Rudyard. "Kim." iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.

Camino: Via de la Plata, Day 1: robbed!

The trek can only get better for me. It was cold, it rained, and then I got robbed: At knife point by men wearing balaclavas.

Doing one of the Camino's is largely considered quite safe. It is considered that only a particularly nasty type would rob a pilgrim.

I was walking alone (as I had always wanted to do the pilgrimage alone), when 2 men came out from behind a tree, wearing balaclavas and carrying knives. The knife I remember was a big kitchen knife, I've forgotten the other.

At first a thought that it was some joke. That these 2 were going to a party, or something (ridiculous, as I was still in a rural area, but I'm clearly the trusting type).

They said something like take off your bags. But I was pretty reluctant so one snatched at my phone and tore it from the leather case I've been using. Then they grabbed at the bags. I had a daypack on my back and an old satchel bag at my front (just with food, but the phone had been attached to this), and an external money belt that my shirt was covering (which I've been travelling with for years).

I ended up on the ground. I'm not sure if they pushed me, but maybe I went to the ground to double over for protection (does this protect me?? I was guarding my money belt.)
I screamed as I knew there had been 4 Spanish pilgrims who passed me not much earlier and I thought they might hear me. One man told the other to make me shut up, I didn't want to find out what that meant so I shut up.

I pleaded, in Spanish. 'Not my passport' the talker replied that they just wanted money. I opened my money belt and gave them my money: about €60 and some US dollars which I'd had for years but not bothered to convert (sometimes USD are useful), I think it was $83. I had to show that it had no more money.

They spread the contents of all my bags all over the road. I guess so I wouldn't be able to leave immediately and to see if I had more cash, they opened each container I had: like toiletry bag,first aid kit. I heard camera get mentioned, but since mine wasn't working I left it in Seville in my backpack, so they lucked out there.

I wanted my phone back so I pleaded for it, telling them it had my guide and everything I needed for the camino (I'm travelling with apps only). They said no, that they'd leave it for me on the corner. I didn't trust or like this idea, so I pleaded that they just let me look at it. Yep, it seems I was trying to negotiate!

The talker got the other guy to give the phone to me to look at. I told them it doesn't work as a phone in Spain, only in Australia. I took the sim out to show them. Amazingly they stood and watched while I did this. It's actually a Spanish SIM card, but it's hard to tell. So I was lying, but I'm sure it's okay.

Then I think they saw a glimpse of another pilgrim coming and they casually walked away, with just my money.

I saw the pilgrim. I was rapidly throwing things into my bag, bawling my eyes out and hoping this was a pilgrim and not another thief.

The pilgrim walked me to town and we went to the police station. I made a statement and the police have been searching.

Tomorrow I'll walk with my new pilgrim friend. If he'd been in front of me he'd have been robbed. And at the hostel I met the 4 Spaniards, one of them started solo last year but had everything (all bags, money, everything) stolen earlier on (at a point where they might have saved me today because today the 4 of them had been following me for a large stretch.)

Everyone has asked if I'll keep going. "Yes", I say, "it can only get better."

Europe: the big walk

Having become wary of India I decided it was time to follow an ambition I've had for a while: to hike the Camino de Compostela.

So I did some searching and found a cheap flight to Madrid.

It turns out the the camino that everyone has heard about is way too popular, but all roads leading to Santiago de Compostela are Camino's de Compostela, so I've found another one to do.

It's called "Via de la Plata", and it runs 1000kms from Seville to Compostela. I am to allow at least 7 weeks to complete it.

So, a bit over a week ago I flew to Madrid. (Via Doha, Qatar, where I stopped for a look and to pass some time with an American friend I had become acquainted with in India). Then I passed some time there in Madrid, couch-surfing (Google it if you don't know), before I came to Seville.

I love Seville... So I've taken extra time here, but I'll start my hike tomorrow. Seville's beautiful, the food's great, and it feels nice to not be looked at constantly.

I'm packed and ready to go. I'm excited and a bit nervous. I seem to have way less stuff than others, but I think I've been reasonably generous (2 sets of clothes, and a pair of PJ's... PJ's are generous I'm sure). I don't have a sleeping bag, but I've read it's not necessary. I have a silk sleep sheet instead. I also have merino thermals to wear under my pjs if I'm cold.

I'm leaving my big pack here, so I get to return to Seville for it.

I actually haven't yet decided whether I will blog about the camino or not.
I plan not to be accessing Facebook or email for the entire time and my camera is only working 30% of the time, so I've decided to leave it out too.

So... No promises: I'll have to see what my mood is.

Reflections: India

India was never a country that was high on my too do list. It wasn't that I didn't want to go there, it's just that there were other places I'd put higher on my list of 'to do's' (like: Brazil, Patagonia, Cambodia, Vietnam, wildlife safaris in Africa, Victoria falls, Mongolia, Morocco, the Trans Sib, etc etc).

India is the quintessential Backpacker destination and the one place that people seemed surprised that I hadn't yet been to. So, when I was having a bad time at work last year and Louise (who I'd met a couple of years earlier in Lima, Peru) posted on Facebook some question about whether anybody wanted to come to India for a few months I said yes. I started planning, quit my job, and rearranged my life (sold and/or gave away almost everything). I bought a one way ticket and figured I'd keep traveling once I'd finished with India.

About India.
India is a complete assault to the senses. All the time.

It's dirty:
There is little facility for proper rubbish disposal and people often throw their household rubbish on the street and their travel rubbish out the bus or train window. Try to change this and the person you are trying to coach often shrugs his or her shoulders: 'I am one of a billion, what can I do?' (My response: 'well you have to start somewhere; be the change you want to see in the world')
Rivers and streams are so polluted that it would frequently bring tears to my eyes. (I feel that nature doesn't deserve this).
Hotels and restaurants were cleaner as I went into the areas with more foreign tourists but many times a hotel room simply hadn't been cleaned. Even if it had been cleaned, one shouldn't look too closely: behind bathroom doors are mostly dirty, there's old water splatter on the bathroom mirror, there's likely to be past guests rubbish under the bed, and if they mopped the floor the corners hadn't been bothered with for years. Funny thing is that if you said No, I'm going to look for some clean accommodation they'd say 'This is clean! ' or 'I clean this for you'.

It smells:
As there isn't proper rubbish disposal some people attempt to clean up by burning the rubbish. Since cows are everywhere eating what they can (the organic waste plus cardboard boxes), a lot of plastic is being burned in the streets. At least in many tourist areas plastic bags have been banned and in some areas you can pay for a water bottle refill (I often requested this... gotta start the thinking), so there are some attempts to improve things.
Old buses and trucks are also adding pollution to the streets.
Men don't want to pay even a single rupee to pee so they urinate on the street, everywhere. Stale urine (it was dry season so it wasn't being washed clean) spiced with the spicy diet. It reeked!

The food:
I enjoyed the Indian food, be it the fabulous Dosa's of the South or the curries of the North. But it is spicy, and relentlessly so. In the tourist areas you can get a rough estimation of something westernized, but otherwise it's spicy 3 times a day. In the state of Tamil Nadu it seemed especially difficult to get anything that wasn't spicy. My lips frequently burned from the chilli. But I did enjoy the spicy food, even at breakfast.

It's loud!
OMG! There is constant noise in India. Horns of buses, cars, trucks seem to make up most of it. Add it to engine noise and screeching brakes. Then there is the constant nagging of people trying to sell you their wares or services. "Hello Taxi". "Mam, rickshaw" (like I was somehow oblivious to all the ones I had just walked past). "Yes!, mam, please look; looking is free" (I didn't understand the yes and found it kind of crude). And from Indian tourists: "Mam, one snap/photo please".

It's colourful.
The southern landscapes aren't so colourful but the women wear beautiful saris which is wonderful to see. It the north the landscapes become more spectacular. It would be a beautiful country if they'd stop littering it.

One more sense: feel/touch
Well... the public transport. The buses are rough and a distance of 100kms will take about 3 hours of sitting cramped and being jolted along (whilst listening to the blaring horns, and screeching brakes). Trains are okay if you get a seat, but I more enjoyed the sensual assault of the buses (yep, I'm a bit strange); from the bus window I saw the daily goings on of the people. I always had earplugs for the buses.

So that's the senses covered but there's one more thing that bothered me... Safety.
I travelled first with Louise, then alone, then with a few women, then with Jon. I survived it alone, but I wouldn't recommend it, not even in the super touristy Rajasthan. I just didn't feel safe enough. The best was travelling with Jon. With him didn't get hassled. They'd even give my change (when I paid for something) back to him (!). So, find a guy if you can: one that you trust to hand your change back to you.

They put chilli sauce on my cornflakes!

India is all about spicy food. Eat cheaply and with the locals and you'll be having curry or something spicy for every meal of the day, even breakfast.

I coped well. I even found myself quite ready for curry in the morning. I had to be - I once saw boiled eggs on a menu and so returned there for breakfast the next day, only to be told that boiled eggs weren't served for breakfast. Neither was omelet, but the omelets off the tourist trail were super spicy anyway. (And get them from a pure veg restaurant and there'll be no egg in them too).

Last week I realized I was craving cornflakes. This craving went on for a few days until I saw cornflakes in a street food vendors selection of items.

'Cornflakes?' I said.
He nodded '30 rupees'.
I knew it was going to mixed with other stuff, but figured it might satisfy my urge. He added the cornflakes, puffed rice, and fried lentils to a disposable bowl and mixed them. Good, I thought.
Then he added chilli sauce.

Actually the whole thing was very nice, but I realized I wanted cornflakes with cold milk!

Wrong assumptions based on appearances

When, in India, I first saw a young man with a shaved head and a tuft of hair left at that back I said something, to my travel companion, not so flattering. It was when I hadn't been in India long and I saw his hair cut as an indication of a certain roughness. After all, anybody with a hair cut like that at home is likely to have an attitude, a surliness, and wouldn't be someone I'd keep company with.

My travel companion told me to go easy... His haircut is indicative of him being of the Brahma cast. This is the highest and priestly cast.

Later I thought how tricky it must be to make the 'right' friends when ones migrates overseas. Imagine moving to Australia and meeting a guy of this hairstyle, thinking he's of good standing and thinking "well if this is what the 'higher class' Aussies act like what does it mean for the rest?". I can see the confusion.

The same goes for pierced noses. At home they are surely indicative of a fairly radical woman. But in India the more traditional women and girls are likely to have their noses pierced while the radical types are off getting education and careers.

So, never judge a book by its cover, it might be from some place else.

Travels: Chandigarh and Delhi

My final two destinations in India were Chandigarh and Delhi.

Delhi is, of course, the capital and originally I had no intention of ever visiting it (I find cities tend to be too much the same and the best of museums and art galleries travel the world to other places).
Chandigarh has the distinction of being one of very few planned cities in India. As such it's easier on the senses. There is less congestion, less litter and pollution, and less visible poverty.

In Chandigarh Jon and I had the good fortune to meet Mr Narinder Singh. He found us on the street in the evening and introduced himself and showed us some referrals from other tourists to prove who he was.
Mr Singh is 77, retired since the age of 58, Sikh, and spends his days showing tourists his city. He even shows them cheap accommodation (it was too late for us) and meals.

Being guided by Mr Singh is quite a treat. He certainly doesn't make any money by doing this but he does ask for written referrals and for photos to be sent to him: He is trying to get an award for his services.

As well as showing us the sights he took us to cheap but good places for dinner and breakfast and gifted a Sikh bangle and a mango to Jon and a spangly blue and gold cloth and a banana to me.

We only had the following morning for sightseeing and, walking everywhere, Mr Singh promptly ensured we saw as much as possible. Chandigarh's Rock garden is really cool and Chandigarh also boasts the largest Rose garden in Asia.

In Delhi I said goodbye to Jon, as he was taking a train to Chennai, but first he was sweet enough to walk me to my hostel. On my day left I only visited the Ghandi Smirti (memorial and museum), and then had a good last Dosa (a south Indian dish), and posted some photos to Mr Singh, before I forgot.

Value of men vs women vs children

Beside the cable car just North of Manali, the is a big sign warning of all the terms and conditions of use. I normally wouldn't read it button friend was bored and read it and pointed it out to me. It's photograph is below.

It gives the amount that will be paid by insurance in the case of an accident:
Rs 50,000 for a child under 12 years.
Rs 100,000 for a Lady passenger
Rs 500,000 for a Gents passenger
Rs 1,000,000 for a foreign passenger.

Wait a minute! Men are worth more than women and children? I've been in India long enough to already have had the impression that if there were an Indian Titanic the men would be first on the lifeboats (but a few strong women would push their way on too). But to see this officially in writing!

Well, India .... The message has been strong for a while now: Women deserve respect! Don't de-value them!

(And yes, it's certainly not fair either that foreigners are given more value. But it might be to do with the insurance companies fight with our travel insurance companies and governments.)

Travels: Shimla

The drive from Dharamsala to Manali and Manali back down to Simla is really spectacular. Definitely do it by day: it'd be hard to sleep on the windy roads anyway. And, next time I might even take a car or motorbike.

Shimla (Simla, both spellings seem used), is an Indian tourist town. We got in at dark and left on the first train the next morning, so we didn't explore town.

The guide books (Lonely Planet) says that one of the delights to visiting Simla is taking the toy train up to it or down from it, so that's what we were there for. Jon wanted to take the 8.30am train for better light (for photography), turns out it's the locals train: Rs20 each (18c), 6 hours traveling, and over 100 tunnels with the young locals screaming throughout each tunnel (just for fun). It was definitely an earplugs day.

I made friends with some local teenage girls, and at the end one said it had been her dream to meet a foreigner and she was so happy. Of course we took photos for her memories, and I was happy to have brightened her day.

Travels: Manali

Traveling with my new companion (Jon) I spent 3 nights in Old Manali. I would have stayed longer and done some multi day trekking but it was still a bit too early in the season. The only trekking available and seeming worth doing was a single day trek to Solang Valley, which we did in the middle day.

The hike was lovely, but the final destination had been made a bit of a mess by overuse and undercare by Indian tourists: there were lots of Indian tourists, food stalls, paragliding, a cable car, zorbing, and pony rides. I did the cable car up to the snow which was fun for me as I rarely see snow.

The final day in Manali I booked a flight to Madrid.

Accommodation: family room at Dream River, old Manali. Rs600 (2 rooms, 2?beds, good location & view).

Meeting Mr Right

For quite some time now I've had my blinkers on. By this I mean that I have refused to entertain even the slightest thought of having any relationship with any guy who wasn't a traveller. And I mean a real traveller, not some vacationer, but someone whose major occupation in life is travel.
I added it to my existing list: non smoking, not a heavy drinker, good work ethic (hey I might travel a lot but I couldn't afford to if I didn't have a good work ethnic), not a free loader, and a suitable age.

I had decided that I could give up my other preference of dark skin and exotic looks if the guy had these other qualities: after all travellers are hard enough to find and they do seem to be mostly white.

Finally I met a guy who fits these qualities! ... But I'm not attracted to him.

It's not that he's not good looking, I identified this guy as handsome the moment I first saw him. He has stunning eyes.

It's not that he's not good company. I've immensely enjoyed my time with him even though he's been sick all of this time.

We've just parted after almost 2 weeks of getting along wonderfully. Theres been great conversations about so much stuff, agreed on lots of things, and become good friends, but nothing more.

So why?
Is it that he's been sick this past 2 weeks?
That he's over a foot taller than me?
That he's not exotic enough?
Could I just never fall for anyone whilst in India as the place stifles affection?

I wonder if it's the same for him... Because he's sick? Because I'm too short? Because I'm not exotic enough ...? Because India stifles affection?

Oh well, we've parted company to go separate ways now, but I'm sure we'll cross paths again one day if we both want too.

Importance of children.

The sign on the bus says:
10% of seat are reserved for below 14 years.
5% are reserved for senior citizens.
33% are reserved for ladies.

This is something that has surprised me about India since early on: the extreme importance of children.

I would say that manners in Australia dictate that an old lady be given top priority for any seat on transport, an old man next, then other ladies, then other men, and finally children should sit on their parents lap if small/young enough or give their seat to an old lady/gentleman if too old for a parents lap.

In visiting Indian friends who had a 2 year old child I was surprised when we went out to eat at a 'western style' organic market in a park. The child went off to play & climb trees which left his seat at the table vacant. Yet, when people asked if they could take (to another table) the vacant seat the parents refused to give it up as it was their son's seat. It was even refused when requested for an old lady.

I feel at home (Australia) the seat would have been given up and the child would sit on a parents lap. It just shows a cultural difference where children are prioritised over the elderly.

I'm proud of the way we do it, I hope we keep it up.

Travels: Little Tibet

When travellers talk of Dharamsala they usually mean the town of McLeod Ganj which is just up the road. It's also known as Little Tibet or Dharamlhasa due to the large Tibetan population: it being where the Dalai Lama has made his home since fleeing Tibet in exile.

Almost at the end of my bus journey to Dharamsala I turned around and discovered a white guy was sitting a few rows behind me. I said hello as we exited the bus and from that point we teamed up to find accommodation, meals, go walking etc.

Don't get excited, we are just friends.

Anyway, he wasn't well. I have always had the good fortune of having had support each time I've really been sick while travelling so I decided to stick by him and see him through his problems the best I could. This meant we stayed 5 nights in Little Tibet.

It didn't matter though, I really liked it there. (There is some irony that the place in India with the least Indians appeals so much to me.)

I learnt lots about the Tibetan problem. And ate plenty of Tibetan food (momos!), and just enjoyed not being hassled by Indians saying 'Mam, you want to buy something?' 'Hello Taxi!' 'Where you from? You look my shop... Looking is free'

I also have enjoyed having western male company. All comments are directed to him. I did notice that on the 2 occasions that I walked the streets alone I found myself with a willing suitor (Jon came along one time to witness me saying to a young Tibetan man "no, I don't want company for dinner, I'm happy to eat alone".) ... I'm sure that for many Tibetans visa problems can be assisted with a foreign bride.

Finally we did leave little Tibet, and went to Palumpur to see the tea being grown. My blog about Palumpur though refers to my most interesting hotel with a view.

Room with a view: Migrant tents.

As I write this I am sitting on a rough unkept balcony, probably just 60cm wide, that is at the end of the corridor of my hotel floor. It's in Palumpur.

I chose the hotel not for the niceness of the rooms (at $7 it's very basic) but for this view. It's of a temporary migrant camp.

The hotel manager tells me they are Rajasthani's (and I'm proud to say that I thought this as soon as I saw the decorated women), and they are here for the summer. They will work in agriculture here and return to hot Rajasthan for the winter.

It is easy to see that the camp is newly established for the season. It's on the banks of a mountain stream (oh, yes, I have a view of the Himalayas too, but it's not nearly as interesting...). Old rubbish (from last season) appears washed and caught (in trees, etc). There isn't much new rubbish yet. This is how i can see its a camp that been newly re-established.

In a country where there isn't yet much waste disposal for the wealthy, there certainly is less facility for the likes of these people. I expect that I am lucky to be seeing the view now instead of at the end of the season, when the rubbish would be more visual.

Unfortunately the dumped rubbish mostly will be washed downstream when there is rain.

The scene down below is rather active. The tents are made from heavy black plastic supported by bamboos and cut branches.

I counted and there are 110-120 tents in my view. They range from about 2 x 3 metres to about 5 x 5 metres. Some are grouped in compounds of 2 to 4 tents. Where there are 2 tents together one appears to be for sleeping and the other for cooking and other household activities; so I guess there are at least 50 families here.

I can see 2 buildings of corrugated iron. One appears to be a toilet/bathroom and I expect you would have to pay to use it. So, toilet activities are probably performed in the surrounding bushes and washing done with water from the stream. (It's snow fed and so quite clean). I can't decide on what the other corrugated iron building is for.

All and all, it all looks rather pleasant (aside from the lack of bathroom facilities). It has an air about it like going camping for leisure. I hear music. I see men chatting, children playing games, and women ... Well the women must be inside cooking dinner now as mostly they seem to have disappeared from the scene.

I'd love to go down for a closer look, but that would be too intrusive. I'm so pleased to have this view!
9 April 2013.

Photo's: Rishikesh

The Ganges, at it's less polluted end. Following are photo's of the pilgrims visiting the Ganges. Many bathed in it but I avoided photographing that. Next 4 photo's are on the Ghats.

Sadu's waiting for Chai.

Photo's: Agra

The Impressive step well between Jaipur and Agra.

 

The Taj Mahal, up close.

 

This proud lady, queuing to enter the Taj wanted to be photographed.

 

Foreigners pay more to enter the Taj, but we skip to queue. It's worth the money.

 

View from the Rooftop of my hotel.

Travels: Amritsar

Amritsar is famous for the Golden Temple, which is the most important of all Sikh temples in the world. Many Sikhs make a pilgrimage there but the religion is also accepting of visitors of all faiths and nationalities.

The temple has a kitchen that feeds some 50,000 people a day (this figure needs verification, but I'd believe it), and free dormitory accommodation for anybody that wants it.

I ate at the free dinning hall 3 times, each time the company varied and I really enjoyed it.
The first time I sat beside a German backpacker; she showed me the actual kitchens where we wondered through taking photos and as she was staying in the temple dormitory she showed me that too (I stayed in a hotel as it hadn't occurred to me to stay at the temple, and then I had a cold anyway so it was probably better that I didn't stay in the dorm as it was rather cramped.)
The second time I sat beside a young Amritsar local, a Hindu, who ate there with his friends every day.
And the third time I sat with a young Sikh from Delhi who had come to Amritsar on completion of his English exam and was enjoying a break. He kindly showed me some other Sikh temples of Amritsar. He hopes to apply to move to Australia to study.

I really don't believe in a free lunch, so I donated to the temple for this privilege of eating for free.

The temple itself is beautiful, but, moreover, the complex has a special spiritual feeling. It put an immense smile on my face each and every time I went there.

The other 'entertainment' to do while staying in Amritsar is to go to the Indian-Pakistani border crossing and witness the daily ceremony of closing the gate at sundown. For foreigners seeing the spectacle of high leg kicks and theatrics it is amusing and kind of laughable. But for the Indians it is a patriotic experience (so we were told).

Looking across to the Pakistani side they have a similar display with less audience. What most grabbed my attention was that on the Pakistani side the women were fully segregated from the men. I was glad not to be traveling there alone.

I loved my stay in Amritsar, and the north of India is proving much nicer and easier than the south.

Travels: Rishikesh

I went to Rishikesh just because my new Dutch friend and 2 American friends were going there and I was needing some travel companions for a while.

Rishikesh is the Yoga capital of the world. Yoga, I've tried it a few times, is okay but not really my thing.

For me, I did find it to be a nice place. The Ganges (river) is clean up there, and I found that to be a relief to me. There wasn't much hassle about town either so it was a nice retreat.

Photo's: Jaipur

 They really load trucks here!

 

Amber Fort (me)

 

View from Amber Fort (note the Elephants carrying people).

 

Inside Amber Fort.

 Holi Festival in Jaipur

 

In the pink city they use all manner of transport: Trucks, buses, cars, motorbikes, auto rickshaws, cycle rickshaws, bicycles, Camel carts, bullock carts, buffalo carts, and elephants!

Photo's: Camel Safari

 

Camel stretch

 Mr Khan prepares lunch

 

One of many villages

 

On the dunes

 

Camelmen: Raju,  Sargen, Mr Khan

 

Dung beetles on the sand. Annoying little blighters

 

Me, covered against sun and sand.

 

Ladies of the Desert.

 

We bought milk from her.

 

Me, enjoying the dunes.

Photo's: Jaisalmer

 Inside the living fort.

 From inside one of the Jain temples

 

Jaisalmer from a distance.

 

Feeding frenzy of catfish at the lake of Jaisalmer.

 

I love Rajasthani moustaches!

 

The lady on the left claims to be my sister. The one on the right is her sister, the child is her son. They sell jewellery to tourists.10 pieces for $1.70 ... quality stuff!

Travels: Jaipur

I stopped a while, with so many other tourists who also stopped a while, in Jaipur because they were going to have an Elephant Festival and I thought it would be fun to see. It was to be on Tuesday 26 March.

In the paper of the 25th it reported that some events had been cancelled due to animal rights concerns but the event would go on. These events were Elephant tug-of-war and Elephant polo. Better, I thought. I had myself already considered if I was willing to go the the festival due to treatment of the animals, but had decided to go along and see. I read somewhere, and I believe it is probably true, that Indian elephants would be long extinct in India if they hadn't made use of them as part of temple worship and used them for practical labour. So I was able to give some merit to this displaying of these beautiful creatures.

On the morning of the festival it was advised that all Elephant participation in the Elephant festival (a parade of decorated Elephants was left) was cancelled. But tourists could still see folkloric dance. (Yeah).

A new friend from the hostel and I went. It wasn't so much fun, so we left after just an hour.

The next day was the Holi festival. This day celebrates spring and people run around the streets throwing coloured powder all over each other. I went out with 4 other people and came back multicoloured. It was fun, but the day comes with big warnings to be wary of attacks since no-one is recognisable after a while. As the morning got later we noticed it certainly didn't feel as safe on the street and we returned to our hotels.

My hotel was having a party on the roof. The day is a Hindu celebration and my hotel was run by Sikhs that had no qualms about throwing a westernised party during this important Hindu day. It was fun! I danced like I hadn't been able to in 3 months!

The other important Jaipur must-see is Amber Fort. It certainly is impressive and I'm glad I visited.

Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan, it has plenty of sights and nice people.