It is now day 11 and we thought it was about time we let you lovely people know what we have been up to - what better way to start a Monday morning!!
Sorry about the group email but until we find a computer running off something other than camel dung I'm afraid it'll have to do...personal emails to follow when we reach civilisation!!
India can be summarsied as follows:
Delhi - helly!! Lots of hassling, lots of shit, lots of noise and lots of heat. Took the easy option and hired ourselves a personal driver to do a tour of Rajasthan - the 'flower' of India.
1st stop Pushkar - apparently a holy place where no meat, eggs or alcohol is allowed but still didn't stop them taking our money. Even the priests are at it - $40 for a prayer and a string bracelet (from a 'priest' in a baseball cap) - very unholy if you ask me...Rebelled by drinking 'good beer, strong beer' a brand called Bullet which went straight through us!! Still lots of hassling, more shit, less noise and more heat...
Next stop Udaipur - less hassling, less shit, more noise and even more heat! Our 'favourite' place so far. Octopussy was partly shot here and we had quite a surreal evening watching the film, eating curry and overlooking the Lake Palace hotel where some of it was shot. Pretty cool!
Onto Jodhpur (as in horsey type trousers) - less hassling (unless you include being asked to pose with random Indian families for photos), more shit, more noise and yet more heat (47 degrees - still haven't got a tan though!).
Now in Jaipur (the capital of Rajasthan) - more hassling, more shit, more noise, and thankfully slightly less heat! Good duvet covers though - if you like the mirrored ethnic look - we did and think it will go beautifully with our silk painted miniatures (Udaipur) and tie dyed purple smocks (!)
India has been quite an experience, some good some bad, and can be summed up as follows:
Heat - it really is hot here - the international weather forecasts on the BBC news ticker aint lying!
Poverty - it's well pikey!
People - generally Indian, mostly pikey and always keen to help you...
in return for a tip! Nice with it though!
Religion - they love it! Seen one temple, seen them all! Trying to get our head around the different gods, religions etc but too confusing!
Food - just like UK Indian food but cheaper! A few minor bouts of Delhi belly but nothing to really fill the bowl!
Roads - insane! Livestock / shit everywhere intermingled with Indian drivers (be they of lorries, cars, elephants, camels, horses or rickshaws) who live in blissful ignorance of the highway code or other road users...oh and there really are cows lying in the middle of roundabouts!! 'Beep first, think later' seems to be the Indian highway code.
We seem to be the only westerners in India at the moment...it is their off season apparently hence the heat. We have 4 more days in India (bird sanctuary (?), Taj Mahal and the Ganges to come...) before heading to Nepal.
Just to clarify however, we don't want you getting the idea from the tone of this email that we aren't having a brilliant time. Just because we haven't signed up to join a Jain fellowship and spend 6 months living off 'the fruits of the earth' in order to purify our inner selves doesn't mean this travelling lark isn't way better than work!! India has been fascinating although in hindsight a tough place to start...even with your own personal chauffeur!
Love to all and keep the emails coming
T&Jxxx
P.S Only 199 days to go until we're back. How are the preparations for the welcome home party going?
Rob / Vicki - make sure mum and dad see / get this as dad's email has been playing up.
Mum (rose) - are you still alive? Haven't heard from you...
Vicki - hope headache has gone. How is Camilla getting on with the cats?
Tory - thanks for the riveting emails - can't wait to hear what you got up to this weekend!!
Robyn - ditto
Sarah & Jim - have you booked our accomodation / world cup tickets / sightseeing in Oz yet?
Kirsten - ditto
James - shame you are not at work at the moment - we enjoyed the intellectual chat we had with you earlier in the week - slaaaaaaaaaag!
Clazza - whats the goss?!
Tom / Tim - saw a beautiful camel tie today (pure silk obviously) and thought of you. Still on the lookout for a 'binoculars' one to go with the infamous camera effort!
PwCers - if you've got this far your utilisation obviously isn't what it should be - haven't you got a summary of comfort to do?