Je na dekhyo Jaipario, To kal men akar kya kario?*

One of the downsides (or I suppose advantages if you're a proper backpacker) of travelling independently, is that to work your way through any sort of itinerary you need to learn to navigate the public transport system of the country you're visiting. Unfortunately, in a country as vast and as addicted to beurocracy as India something as simple as buying a train ticket can easily become a whole-day odyssey. Back in Mumbai we tried in vain to buy a ticket to our next stop of Jaipur but were defeated by a system that, if we understood it correctly, involved: 1). queuing at one window to find out the number of the train you may wish to travel on, 2). queuing at a second window for a card to be taken away and completed with the train number, a mini biography of all passengers and full details of where you were staying at your destination, 3). queuing at a third window where, in the unlikely event you had filled out your card to the attendant's satisfaction, he would issue you a number for, 4). a fourth window where, if they weren't on break, someone may be willing to book you a ticket assuming, of course, you knew which of six classes you wanted and also understood the finer points of reserving against cancellation, waiting lists, the taktal quota and the tourist quota.

Thoroughly confused we eventually had to fall back on a very jolly travel agent who, for a mere 50% commission, booked us in with great confidence in about five minutes. Despite all of his assurances we were still surprised and relieved when we finally arrived at Udaipur station to find our names taped to the side of the third class AC car - 48 hours and 1000 miles from the tin hut where we had booked the tickets.

For all its complexity India's train system is reknowned for its efficiency and pulling away a short while later we began to appreciate just why the system is so treasured by the people who rely on it. Our third class ticket entitled us to two comfortable, air conditioned sleeper berths with all bedding provided and, once we had tucked our bags away and one of our fellow passengers had ended his mobile phone karaoke session, we slept very well.

Knowing we would stay in Jaipur for a few days we spent a little more than usual on our room (a hefty $19!) but secured our travelling holy trinity of a spacious air conditioned room, a clean bathroom with western toilet and decent wi-fi. The hotel itself is a grand old colonial building slightly out from the city center but a short tuk-tuk ride takes you quickly into the old "pink city" that is still the commercial and cultural heart of town.

Even limiting ourselves to around 5 hours a day due to the heat we've still managed to see a lot. We spent our first day walking the streets and getting our bearings but did stop in to visit Hawa Mehal or "the palace of the winds." The entire purpose of this beautiful structure was to allow the royal women to survey life in the city from behind a cool screen - the top three floors are just one room thick and honeycombed to allow breezes to pass through.


The second day we were a little more adventurous and took a tuk-tuk to the local monkey temple where a colony of monkeys try to steal your camera while you watch young locals dive into a murky pool. The water is supposed to be spiritually linked to the Ganges but we weren't tempted.

We spent that evening at a government run "cultural village" where for a six dollar entrance fee we enjoyed a huge buffet dinner and took part in all manner of Rajasthani cultural activites like riding a camel (finally!), shooting things with a bow and arrow and riding a human-powered ferris wheel.



Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan; a fairly recent amalgamation of 22 separate states ruled by dynasties of Hindu warrior-princes each with their own proud military traditions and legendary heroes. After centuries of resisting Moghul invasions they didn't seem to mind the British (who paid them off with riflles and introduced polo) and as a result many of the Rajputs ended up fighting for the Raj against independence. All of which is a round about way of explaining why the city is pink - they painted all 13 square kilometers of it in honour of a visit from Prince Albert in 1883! The other main legacy of Jaipur's warring past is the majestic hill-top forts which surround it on all sides. We hired a tuk-tuk to visit two of the most famous (Jaighar Fort and Amer Fort) on our third day in town and at Jaighar got to see the world's biggest cannon!

As Megan mentioned the food in India has been one of the highlights of the trip so far with even the simplest meal seeming to involve a huge range of herbs, spices, sauces and dressings. Staying away from fresh fruits and vegetables is proving quite hard though and while a day or two of deep-fried something for breakfast and lunch followed by curry for dinner can be great fun, three weeks may be close to my limit. Similarly, while many of the ingredients are quite alien to us there is no missing the huge quantities of vegetable oil and ghee (clarified butter) with which everything is cooked. At the buffet mentioned above Megan asked for a roti (round piece of bread) but before the server would present it to her he immersed it completely in a vat of hot fat! Ordinarily we would both consider this an improvement but right now I could eat cobb salad for a month.

The only other minor niggle we're suffering from is continuous low level headaches which we've decided is either caffeine withdrawal or the result of spending far too much time sitting in open tuk-tuks. These contraptions aren't much more than a lawnmower engine strapped to a bicycle surrounded with a dustbin and feel so precarious we are glad the roads are too crowded to get up any speed. The downside to traffic however is being stuck listening to an endless barrage of car horns and sitting in a fog of two-stroke exhaust fumes thick enough to leave black creases in our elbows every evening.

Apart from that everything is still going very well but we expect our next stop, Agra, to be a challenge. Reknowned as the dirtiest and hottest city in India there would be no good reason to visit ... were it not the staging post for trips to the Taj Mahal.

* "What have I accomplished in my life if I have not seen Jaipur?" - Rajasthani proverb