Subject: Octopussy and life in India - from greg
Namaste Everyone!!
Jo and me are in Udaipur, (Well done some of you for guessing this!). We left Mount Abu a couple of days ago and took the 'vomit express' down the winding road, 1200 meters to ground level. I say vomit express because lots of Asian women we have experienced have had a tendency to get travel sickness when the going gets bumpy. I do have to admit to fearing for my life occasionally on the trip to Udaipur also.
We have ups and downs in the past week. We love the natural side of things and we have met some wonderful, genuine people, both Indian and westerners. Unfortunately, what we have found is constant harassment for our cash. Shop-keepers, taxi drivers, auto rickshaw drivers are constantly onto us to part with our wonger ALL THE TIME. It gets a bit much and has, at times, really spoilt a good moment. I/we are hardening up now though. We can walk by without even saying "no" anymore(which is bad, I know but it's the only way we can deal with it.)
Anyway, enough of the negatives. Mount Abu was amazing. It's the centre for honeymoon couples and because of this, the town is geared up to 'romance'. The main lake (Nakki) has pedaloes, gondolas and giant fibreglass swans in which you can be alone at sunset. The photographers hang around the lake like flies offering to take pictures and showing you their portfolio of romantic pics. If anything these put me off! One evening, we decided to go to 'Sunset Point'. There were(and I'm not kidding here,) what must have a thousand people all sat waiting for the sun to set over the plains below. We sat nearby at a beautiful point with some lovely people we'd previously met, from NZealand. We were the only people there. We could hear the loud chattering and could see the flashes of the cheesy photographers. I wish you could have seen the sunset, but more, I wish you could have seen the crowds of people who, it seems have no minds of their own when it comes to enjoying themselves.
It seems a lot of people here need to be shown how to have a good time. They need to be shown and guided in everything they do. This may explain why everyone here wants to guide you, show you their India and won't let you do anything by yourself. An Indian hotelier told me Indian people are guided constantly through their lives; Their parents have to be consulted before they go anywhere, they are chaperoned by family members and ultimately their parents choose their marriage partners. But this contradicts the way they live the rest of their lives. They believe they have no control over anything. They drive like they have god in the back seat telling them how to negotiate busy traffic. Careers, money, children and the success of marriage are matters that are guided by the stars, so astrology is big, REALLY BIG over here. Even on the train, the other day, a man was reading palms, the queue to have this done was seemingly never ending!
Anyway enough of my opinion, we're off for a beer now and watch the sun go down over the Lake Palace Hotel on Lake Pichola. (This was the setting for part of the film Octopussy, all the hotels around this area show the film every night and most have a Room Number 007.....)
all the best
xgregx
Friday, February 27, 2004
Friday, February 20, 2004
Subject: The Next installment
Dear All,
We have now left Jodhpur and are enjoying the sights of Jaisalmer. The fort is of a beautiful yellow stone with some superb temples sprinkled amongst the narrow streets. We went on a 4 day camel safari, which we thoroughly enjoyed. There is so much to see in the Thar desert; we saw a deserted village with peacocks flying overhead, an oasis, beetles scuttling over the sand, deer and some pristine sand dunes which we slept upon and watched the sun set. (Very touristy, but what can you expect from a safari tour company called 'Trotters Independent Tours', run by a guy calling himself DelBoy!)
We are enjoying the food at last and have sampled a local dish of bruschetta and penne - it never ceases to amaze us how resourceful Indian people are.
It may surprise some of you to hear that we have developed a taste for tea! We love a cup of hot sweet chai in the morning, especially after a long haul-train journey.
Next stop is Mount Abu and Udaipur (location for Octopussy) in the next few days.
Cheerio,
xgregandjox
p.s Internet still bloody slow.
Dear All,
We have now left Jodhpur and are enjoying the sights of Jaisalmer. The fort is of a beautiful yellow stone with some superb temples sprinkled amongst the narrow streets. We went on a 4 day camel safari, which we thoroughly enjoyed. There is so much to see in the Thar desert; we saw a deserted village with peacocks flying overhead, an oasis, beetles scuttling over the sand, deer and some pristine sand dunes which we slept upon and watched the sun set. (Very touristy, but what can you expect from a safari tour company called 'Trotters Independent Tours', run by a guy calling himself DelBoy!)
We are enjoying the food at last and have sampled a local dish of bruschetta and penne - it never ceases to amaze us how resourceful Indian people are.
It may surprise some of you to hear that we have developed a taste for tea! We love a cup of hot sweet chai in the morning, especially after a long haul-train journey.
Next stop is Mount Abu and Udaipur (location for Octopussy) in the next few days.
Cheerio,
xgregandjox
p.s Internet still bloody slow.
Friday, February 13, 2004
Subject: Hello from G&J
Hi All,
Sorry we can't respond to you all individually right now, but the Internet can be very slow at times (10 mins to open inbox, so we don't have time to even open emails!).
After traveling on an overnight train from Delhi(The Mandore Express), we are now settled here in Jodhpur at the moment, which is a truly magical place. We walked up to the mighty Meherangarh Fort when it was cool this morning and took an 'audio tour' which was so sophisticated and informative. There are fantastic screens of carved sandstone to protect the Maharajah's wives from the prying eyes of men, and when we peered out from the shutters, the vertical drop made our toes curl up. There was a crude nest clinging to a ledge with a baby vulture in it - Bless! Walking around the fort's ramparts, we were descended on by a large group of chattering, colourful sari-clad women, who were very friendly. The view was stunning - the maze of blue houses beneath against the red sandstone was beautiful.
We've both now suffered from poorly stomachs and have gotten over it with the help of the wonderful banana lassi drinks (yoghurt, sugar and banana).
Taken over 80 photos so far and can get these burnt onto disk whenever we need to.
Must finish now, we are in a tiny Internet cafe and it's a bit cramped!
We'll try and e-mail you all ASAP and when the connection is better.
Bye for now,
xgregandjox
Hi All,
Sorry we can't respond to you all individually right now, but the Internet can be very slow at times (10 mins to open inbox, so we don't have time to even open emails!).
After traveling on an overnight train from Delhi(The Mandore Express), we are now settled here in Jodhpur at the moment, which is a truly magical place. We walked up to the mighty Meherangarh Fort when it was cool this morning and took an 'audio tour' which was so sophisticated and informative. There are fantastic screens of carved sandstone to protect the Maharajah's wives from the prying eyes of men, and when we peered out from the shutters, the vertical drop made our toes curl up. There was a crude nest clinging to a ledge with a baby vulture in it - Bless! Walking around the fort's ramparts, we were descended on by a large group of chattering, colourful sari-clad women, who were very friendly. The view was stunning - the maze of blue houses beneath against the red sandstone was beautiful.
We've both now suffered from poorly stomachs and have gotten over it with the help of the wonderful banana lassi drinks (yoghurt, sugar and banana).
Taken over 80 photos so far and can get these burnt onto disk whenever we need to.
Must finish now, we are in a tiny Internet cafe and it's a bit cramped!
We'll try and e-mail you all ASAP and when the connection is better.
Bye for now,
xgregandjox
Saturday, February 07, 2004
Hello again everyone,
Jo and I are working on separate computers as we think we can afford the 20 rupees an hour(20 pence). We have found it hard adjusting to the speed of things here. I thought London was fast and New York even faster, but my god! Actually I can see why you'd need god in a place like this. We've braved Tuk-Tuks(3 wheeled open taxis) now and even eaten a curry or two. Bottled water is easily obtainable so we're drinking plenty of that.
We got to visit the Red Palace today. A beautiful sandstone fort, beautiful arches and domes, just what we came to see. But more importantly we were not bothered, on the whole, by people wanting to sell us something. It really gets you down and I hope we get used to it. Must tell you about what happened there:
Jo and I were sitting reading the Lonely Planet guide when three young men(about 17 or so in age) came toward us and gestured toward me with their cameras. I thought they wanted me to take a photo of them in front of the buildings. I went to take their camera but they said "No, could we take your photo?" So at that Jo and I stood together and one by one they took turns to have their photo taken with us. I was a bit stunned and an american tourist, passing by said, "How does it feel to be a tourist attraction?" I then took a photo of the three of them along with Jo-they clung onto her and seemed absolutely thrilled with the digital picture I showed them on the back of the camera. "Magic!" they said and "Beautiful!" Words pulled from the air in a slightly appropriate way which so often the case here. A couple of young girls in sari's came over with open hands, Jo and I were a bit spooked, thinking they might be after money, but no, they just wanted to shake our hands and say hello.
I feel in demand here, we both do. Everyone wants something from us, money, smiles(this goes a long way when wanting help) or to just to shake our hands.
This place is absolutely beyond words. I have never been so taken over with fear and joy all at the same time. We are adjusting though. The idea of traveling for here three months is scary, but hopefully it will give us the confidence to move onto the other countries, hopefully traveling like this will get easier as we move on. Already, today seems ALOT easier than yesterday.
Anyway gotta go as the computer screen keeps turning off every three seconds. Must go before it blows up. This explains why I've not done a spell check
All the best for now,
xgregx
PS, If you don't wish to receive these e-mails please let me know and if you want to reply, GREAT, but please don't be offended if we takes ages to reply or not at all.
Jo and I are working on separate computers as we think we can afford the 20 rupees an hour(20 pence). We have found it hard adjusting to the speed of things here. I thought London was fast and New York even faster, but my god! Actually I can see why you'd need god in a place like this. We've braved Tuk-Tuks(3 wheeled open taxis) now and even eaten a curry or two. Bottled water is easily obtainable so we're drinking plenty of that.
We got to visit the Red Palace today. A beautiful sandstone fort, beautiful arches and domes, just what we came to see. But more importantly we were not bothered, on the whole, by people wanting to sell us something. It really gets you down and I hope we get used to it. Must tell you about what happened there:
Jo and I were sitting reading the Lonely Planet guide when three young men(about 17 or so in age) came toward us and gestured toward me with their cameras. I thought they wanted me to take a photo of them in front of the buildings. I went to take their camera but they said "No, could we take your photo?" So at that Jo and I stood together and one by one they took turns to have their photo taken with us. I was a bit stunned and an american tourist, passing by said, "How does it feel to be a tourist attraction?" I then took a photo of the three of them along with Jo-they clung onto her and seemed absolutely thrilled with the digital picture I showed them on the back of the camera. "Magic!" they said and "Beautiful!" Words pulled from the air in a slightly appropriate way which so often the case here. A couple of young girls in sari's came over with open hands, Jo and I were a bit spooked, thinking they might be after money, but no, they just wanted to shake our hands and say hello.
I feel in demand here, we both do. Everyone wants something from us, money, smiles(this goes a long way when wanting help) or to just to shake our hands.
This place is absolutely beyond words. I have never been so taken over with fear and joy all at the same time. We are adjusting though. The idea of traveling for here three months is scary, but hopefully it will give us the confidence to move onto the other countries, hopefully traveling like this will get easier as we move on. Already, today seems ALOT easier than yesterday.
Anyway gotta go as the computer screen keeps turning off every three seconds. Must go before it blows up. This explains why I've not done a spell check
All the best for now,
xgregx
PS, If you don't wish to receive these e-mails please let me know and if you want to reply, GREAT, but please don't be offended if we takes ages to reply or not at all.
Friday, February 06, 2004
Dear All,
Well the flight went reasonably quickly and we were safely 'deposited' at our hotel. Our hotel is clean, with helpful service but the pitfalls presented themselves once we got into bed and tried to sleep with traffic noise, dogs, hotel repair work etc etc. Never mind, we are thinking about our next moves now and are hopefully heading off to Jodhpur next. It is going to take some time to get used to traveling on the road. Anyway, just wanted to let you know all is well and we are safe. Sorry this is a short message, but we'll write again when there is more news!
Love from Jo and Greg x
Well the flight went reasonably quickly and we were safely 'deposited' at our hotel. Our hotel is clean, with helpful service but the pitfalls presented themselves once we got into bed and tried to sleep with traffic noise, dogs, hotel repair work etc etc. Never mind, we are thinking about our next moves now and are hopefully heading off to Jodhpur next. It is going to take some time to get used to traveling on the road. Anyway, just wanted to let you know all is well and we are safe. Sorry this is a short message, but we'll write again when there is more news!
Love from Jo and Greg x
