Jaipur Pt. 2

After the Amber Fort we were taken to the old city of Jaipur to take a rickshaw ride through the old city. It started on a nice ride until we hit the first roundabout. As I said before the driving here is insane. Rickshaws, bicycles,motorcycles cars all trying to get somewhere. There are no street lights and it seems there are no rules.



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Gridlock from the view on the rickshaw


I have never seen anything like this. This poor guy is carrying a couple of hundred pounds , fighting through traffic. it was crazy.
Then came time to try and walk across the street . The cars don't even stop for pedestrians. A man helped us across but of course he took us to his shop and we felt obligated to look. They are very aggressive with the shopping and it stresses me out. They just keep taking things out to show you. I did end up buying two pashmina and some silk scarves.

Then we went to a haveli and old home with incredible carvings and frescoes.











Ok I have to say, this is the dirtiest place I have yet to visit but there is beauty all around.

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We Wer up early for our trip to Amber . The wall that surrounded the Pink City was beautiful.
luckily we were one of the first groups to arrive at the fort. As the line moved on we were attacked by hawkers selling there trinkets. It is really hard to get away from them. I bought some jeweled pens to bring home for my students and wow I am getting better at the bargaining (Karen you would be proud). As we turned the corner there were elephants some with beautiful paints waiting to take us up to the fort.









What beautiful animals. I know I was not going to ride to make a statement but I couldnt help myself. Our beautiful girl was named Maria and was 25 years old. We began up the hill and it was a bumpy ride. The mahouts were all so sweet greeting us and trying out their english. As we got to the top I was holding on yo the bar that keeps you in and trying to take a photo at the same time. mariantook a step andmImliftedmthembar and it opened up leaving nothing to hold us in. I started going forward and almost fell out but the Sandra grabbed me and the mahout turned around and grabbed me as well, TERRIFYING. To think about what could have happened.


The Amber fort was amazing. I had no idea of the size of the place. there all these hallways and ornate carving. A man from the group and I were wondering and a guard beckoned us to follow him and he took us down into the water storage area where the water was collected from the rain. It was interesting.












I love this. Elephants and the Genasha are considered good luck

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Hindu temple outside Delhi. Motorcycles just stop and give a quick prayer and are on there way. I loved this.















Driving through the towns.

Mosque in Delhi


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Making marigold garlands for blessings at the temple.






The morning drive.






Prayers at the Mosque.



Hindu temple

drive to Jaipur

It is going to be a full day on the road. it started out even foggier than yesterday. We are warned traffic will be a nightmare. Once again the horn honking begins come to find out Indian drivers don't use their rear view mirrors so...drivers are responsible for only what is in front of them. They therefore honk every time they are passing a car or getting ready to pass. We saw motorcycles weaving, people running between cars and 2 buses whO just bullied a car down. I am glad I am in a bus because being at road level would freak me out. Our first stop out of town was another Hindu temple. It was beautiful. The statues against the fog gave a mystical feel. driving along the countryside we saw everyday life. People walking with heavy loads on their heads. Donkey carts, camel carts driving down the road. Now besides cows and dogs eating the trash we are now beginning to see lots of pigs! So the cow that are just wandering are abandoned cows. When they stop producing milk they are set free. Hindu people feed the cows as to please the gods and gain good karma We arrived at Jaipur known as the Pink City. It is surrounded by Pink stone walls. It was a long day of driving. looking forward to Amber ort tomorrow. picture to come....

Mosques, temples and markets

What a full day. It begins with a step into the hallway of the hotel thinking there must be a fire. The smoke from the outside seeps through the hotel each time the main door opens from the street. The fire are small wood fires that people use to keep warm, make tea and cook. They do this along the side of the road. Did you know that most buildings have no heat and get water for maybe 15 minutes a day. The power goes out constantly. We had two power outages last night but the hotel has a generator. Arvind warns us that in India nothing is measured in distance it I measured in time take. Once on the road you can see that it will take forever to get through the city. As we began driving the smog was so bad you could see nothing through the gray haze. You feel the effects immediately in your throat and eyes it is so bad. I guess this time of year is especially bad because of humidity and the need for fire to keep warm. Our first stop was the Jama Masjid India's largest mosque. The Mosque was beautiful. Stone archways with many men praying. The women had to cover their clothes with a wrap. There we're men bathing their feet in a pool preparing for prayer. it was a very peaceful place. As we drove through the Muslim quarter you could see the butchers on the side of the road, chickens in cages waiting to be dinner. Nothing, I mean nothing can prepare you for a drive in Delhi. It's a battle of wills, who will give first or who is bigger. We made our way to the Birla temple. This was a beautiful temple with an altar for the different gods. people would bring the marigolds as b Offerings and their were priests who gave blessings and put the red dot on your forhead to show your inner guru. The drive continued to show the craziness.It is truly going back in time.

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Delhi

Namaste from Delhi, India. the flight actually did not seem so bad believe it or not. Air India was extremely roomy, we had a lot of leg room and an empty seat next to me allowed me to stretch out. Met a couple from San Jose that I will be traveling with. i was happy with all my little gadgets especially the noise canceling headphones. We had along wait at immigration, they are very thorough. Met our group of travelers. There are 22 people in the group from all over the states, all age groups. As we left the airport I was expecting chaos as that was all I had read about. It was actually very calm. As we drove to the hotel My face was peeled to the window taking in all the sights. The roads are crazy, people on bikes, motorcycles, ricks haws and that's just the vehicles. Then there are the dogs, cows, people and there seems to be no rhyme or reason to how the roads work. no lanes people just drive and honk their horns it's like a game. It is going to be very interesting and scary crossing these streets. It was amazing to see what these people could carry on a bicycle or cart. The colorful women in sari are a sight to see against the gray. The day was extremely gray from Fog and pollution and people building fire along the street to keep warm. The smell of the smoke lingers even in my hotel room.It is nw 4am and I have been up still on Ca. Time. looking forward to the day. The full Parlaiment is in session so many people are protesting (power to the people) so we may not get to see some of the sights scheduled but I like a good protest:) I am having problems getting my photos up so I will post on face book. Namaste

Anticipation

Here I sit in Chicago...my mind is racing, anticipating the coming weeks. Am I prepared for this? I have done the research, read many books but I am constantly told India is nothing you could have imagined. We shall see...My heart and mind are open:)

The flight from Chicago to Delhi is 16 hours. That is better than the 20 I expected.

See you in Delhi!

Namaste

Itinerary

After losing a day I will be in Delhi Dec. 28

Then...

Jaipur

Agra (taj mahal)

Khajuraho

Varanasi (Ganges River)

Kathmandu

Thanks to all my traveler buddies for the advice.

Stocked up on antibiotics, hand sanitizer etc.

5 days to go...gotta start packing!!!

One of my crazy worries was put to rest...middle seat on a loooooong flight

Got a window. Phew (I know...the things I worry about):)

Preparation

And so it begins...preparing mentally for this trip. Hope to blog daily of my experiences. Stay tuned!


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