February 12 - India
We had a very busy day yesterday, we were up early to go on a tour so Greg and Tia booked cars for us to travel in for the day. The SUVs were $3500 rupees and seated 4 comfortably with 2 jumpseats in the back and a car was $2500 rupees for 4 people. So for our SUV it was $75 CAD for 6 of us and the driver stayed with us ALL day! We left about 9:30 AM and returned at approx 7:30 PM and drove 2.5 hours away to a fort, then to lunch about 30 mins away, then to a temple that was another 30 minutes, and then back to the hotel.
The day started quite funny chaotic as we didn't have enough cars to fit everyone, so Eva and I ended up riding in the back seats of the SUV. They were jumpseats that faced each other and we're not great for cushioning, but we were up for the challenge even though the drivers were suggesting we get another car as the roads are quite bumpy. We figured how bumpy could they be, and when we were originally told how long the ride would be, we figured and hour wasn't too bad and we would suck it up. It really wasn't that terrible, but it was quite funny that every time the drivers quoted one hour, it was always 2.5 hours...
We had quite the drive though, we passed many villages in the rural areas where we seen beautiful women in colourful saris carrying loads of wood, leaves, hay or wheat, stones, jugs if water, large bowls of spices,etc on their heads and often with some cows or goats on a rope. The women of India work very hardy and many of the rural men as well, however the city men are very leisurely. The men in the rural areas all cut crops by hands as there is very little equipment, they cart loads of materials on wheels pushing by foot, break large rocks with sledge hammers for construction, etc. every village has shops lining the main road where they sell clothing, snacks, electronics, and various other items mainly for tourists. We seen many school children walking to and from school in the middle of nowhere all by themselves as young as 4/5 years old. We seen loads of kids in small tuktuks waving and smiling at us as we passed by. There are still many cows on the roads in the rural areas, although they are plumper, the cows in the city aren't as large since they live on garbage and donated vegetables from the locals. We seen many many cows and drove on a single lane highways that often had stone walls on either side (so the roads don't wash out in the rainy season), so it gets quite interesting when a large truck or tour bus needs to pass in the opposite direction while there are cows and motorbikes also sharing the road. The roads are also very windy, so each time we approached a blind corner at highway speeds the driver would honk...we were told yesterday that you only need three things to drive in India; a good horn, good brakes, and good luck! I cannot say enough how valid this statement is!
So we arrived at the fort after passing through dozens of villages and some terrible pot holes (we joked that they were no worse than the ones we have in Edmonton) and they also have speed bumps in many villages which added to our enjoyment in the jump seats. Our group was very sweet and we all took turns riding in the back throughout the day. We were following the car with Greg (the groom) and his friends Kristian and Kristians wife Jing and their two year old Dian Dian. Poor Dian Dian got sick in the car and they had to pull over and clean her up and everyone else and the car as well. Nobody was prepared for that and weren't sure if she was car sick from the windy roads or from breakfast or something, so they drove very slowly to the fort and we met them there,a long with the other SUV full of family. The fort was HUGE! Way bigger than any castle or grounds I have ever seen or imagined. We didn't know the history of the fort other than it was used to protect against invasion and was successful. It was set in the mountains and I took some photos but my camera died and so did Eva's. We have agreed with the group that we will all share photos afterwards and we have some amazing and professional photographers travelling with us so they should be good :). There was lots of walking uphill and stair climbing involved and it was very warm. We also seem our first monkeys which freaked us all out as Greg had warned us earlier about not taking pictures or staring at them as they feel it is an act of aggression. So his tips along with our travel nurse telling us to stay away from monkeys and that they are evil creatures had us a little nervous, but we managed not to get attacked :) LOL. I of course ended up walking with all the athletes in the group (3 joggers) but they were kind enough to go slowly for me. We walked for approx. two hours and then needed to head off to grab lunch and get to the temple as it closed at 5pm.
Jordan (I was calling him Jason in my last post - oops LOL) had spotted a restaurant to go to on the way to the fort but our drivers said it was too far in the wrong direction from the temple and suggested another place that would be quicker, so we went there. We all laughed when we arrived as we assume the drivers had come up with this plan before we had asked about going to the other restaurant Jordan suggested as when we arrive 30 minutes later there were tables and chairs set up with enough chairs for all of us and the food was prepared and waiting for our arrival (it was also very bland, so we figure they told them we were all foreigners and requested mild food for us). Oh and did I mention this place was in the middle of nowhere, a completely remote area...very strange.
After our meal we hurried to get to the temple as it was 3:30 and it closes at 5:00. There were dozens upon dozens of monkeys on the road, we all giggled and stared at the monkeys from the protection of the vehicle! We were really tough behind windows LOL
At the temple they have a board posted with rules. My darn camera was dead so I couldn't take a picture of the sign, but I will at the next one. It had things like no leather items, no women that are menstrating, no bare shoulders or knees exposed, etc. I decided I didn't really feel like going in, along with a few others, but Eva and the rest of the gang went in and raved about the intricacy of the marble carvings inside. We were told about women pilgrims that dress all in white and travel from all over India by foot, walking 10 Kms or so per day and camping along the highways to reach this temple as it is very unique and special. I again don't have any pictures but it was very nice from the outside! The group finished at 5:00 and once again we were told it would be 1 hour back to the hotel but we didn't get back until 7:30. We stopped at an ATM on our way home as well and drained all it's cash...I'm sure the locals that lined up behind 8 or so of us weren't too happy as the 8th customer was not able to get any money as it was all gone!
Everyone was so tired that we all slept on the way back, I kept hitting my head on the window but it didn't seem to matter as it would wake me up but I couldn't keep my eyes open and would soon end up waking up again as my head would hit it again! If you see how rough the roads are and windy, and with all the traffic how much weaving and braking goes on, you would imagine how terrible it was to sleep and be thrown around in your seat.
We had a pretty quiet evening as we were zonked, but many of the group stayed up and drank - they weren't feeling so hot this morning though! I was falling asleep while writing in my journal, and Eva was falling asleep reading the blog post from the night before.
Today was another adventure! 4 of us women decided to go to the mall to find shoes and accessories for the wedding. So we took at tuk tuk to the mall and I took some video of it as well, the mall was very strange, it was western style, 4 levels with a food court and the whole bit. We had to go through metal detectors and get wanded by a women in a booth who also checked our bags before they would let us into the mall. Once we were inside it was dead, there were maybe 50 people in the whole mall other than staff working in the stores. There were many western stores and only a few local stores but we managed to find shoes for the wedding and a few of us found some extra shoes for home! We also found some earrings and a wrap to wear in the evenings when it gets cold as it is bloody freezing when the sun goes down. It was very strange as 95% of the staff were men and many of the people we seen were men. We attracted much attention as we stand out everywhere we go. Sometimes it's so weird as they will walk by and then there will be a roar of laughter. This has happened quite a few times in other places too and we aren't sure what it is, but apparently we either look, smell or dress funny! We also found an easy mart (walmarts international brand) so we grabbed a few toiletries and nail polish. We had to check our bags before entering there as well as another department store.
When we finished at the mall we went to the Bapu bazaar to pick up our dresses for the wedding as they required alterations and mine was being made. All the dresses turned out great which was a huge relief for me as I couldn't find anything that fit! Apparently they don't have women with broad shoulders as well as a large chest so even their largest sizes are too tight in the bust as everything is made with restrictive materials that have no give. We also stopped to grab a few scarves and wraps while we waited for Natalie's dress as they told her 1:30, then 2:00 and then when we came at 2 the guy said it was only 1:50 on his watch and needed another ten minutes...Greg has coined a term IFT (Indian Flexible Time) as nothing takes as long as they say.
We took another tuk tuk back to the hotel as we were supposed to get mehndi done with the bride Tia at 2:00 and it was almost 2:30 when we arrived back at the hotel. The mehndi guys were supposed to be there by 2:00 but didn't show up until almost 3:30. We all took turns getting ours done but it was quite entertaining as the prices kept increasing for each person that went next and the photos that we selected were nothing like what was drawn on us. I had asked for my left hand and my right leg to be done. The guy did my left hand and then he grabbed my right hand and I said no and pointed to my leg and he said yeah yeah and then grabbed my right arm and started working on it...so I went with the flow LOL. Then he did my leg, but I had asked for a peacock on my leg as it is the national bird. He said okay and then drew the henna on my leg. He asked me if I liked it and it was clearly not a peacock so I asked if it was a peacock and he said no...at which point he went back to work on it but is still didn't end up with a peacock! Eva asked for one and got it so maybe he liked her better!
After all the henna was done - approx 8:00 we had supper in the hotel restaurant and had to apply a sugar, lemon and water solution to our henna three times (once per hour) starting an hour after our henna was applied. This was all fine however the mixture had to be refilled a few times since there were about a dozen of us that got it done, so the mixture kept getting stickier and stickier as they put too much sugar in. This was all fine, other than everything sticking to our hands and arms, until we went to take the dried henna off tonight before going to bed. It is supposed to dry and flake off however when you baste it in sugary water it becomes a sticky glaze ontop. We all went outside to dust off the flakes but many of us were so sticky it felt like we were ripping our skin off and had to pick and scratch it off. We were all killing ourselves laughing as we were told not to use water or soap until morning, yet we were all sticky and the henna was not coming off! We were joking that if we had strips of cotton we could apply it and rip it off like we were waxing our arms since it was so sticky like sugaring or waxing is! Before we took our henna off though we all sat around and listened to Tia (the bride) tell us stories about Indian princesses and queens as well as her families history and some of her experiences in India and Canada while our henna dried. The boys went out for Greg's bachelor party and it was just us women sitting and chatting.
So after the giggle fest trying to get the henna off we headed off to bed. Tomorrow is a tour of Udaipur city and we are going to a few palaces. We are hoping to also hit a market again to get bangles and maybe some gifts to bring back for family and friends.
Mindy (aka Miranda)
We had a very busy day yesterday, we were up early to go on a tour so Greg and Tia booked cars for us to travel in for the day. The SUVs were $3500 rupees and seated 4 comfortably with 2 jumpseats in the back and a car was $2500 rupees for 4 people. So for our SUV it was $75 CAD for 6 of us and the driver stayed with us ALL day! We left about 9:30 AM and returned at approx 7:30 PM and drove 2.5 hours away to a fort, then to lunch about 30 mins away, then to a temple that was another 30 minutes, and then back to the hotel.
The day started quite funny chaotic as we didn't have enough cars to fit everyone, so Eva and I ended up riding in the back seats of the SUV. They were jumpseats that faced each other and we're not great for cushioning, but we were up for the challenge even though the drivers were suggesting we get another car as the roads are quite bumpy. We figured how bumpy could they be, and when we were originally told how long the ride would be, we figured and hour wasn't too bad and we would suck it up. It really wasn't that terrible, but it was quite funny that every time the drivers quoted one hour, it was always 2.5 hours...
We had quite the drive though, we passed many villages in the rural areas where we seen beautiful women in colourful saris carrying loads of wood, leaves, hay or wheat, stones, jugs if water, large bowls of spices,etc on their heads and often with some cows or goats on a rope. The women of India work very hardy and many of the rural men as well, however the city men are very leisurely. The men in the rural areas all cut crops by hands as there is very little equipment, they cart loads of materials on wheels pushing by foot, break large rocks with sledge hammers for construction, etc. every village has shops lining the main road where they sell clothing, snacks, electronics, and various other items mainly for tourists. We seen many school children walking to and from school in the middle of nowhere all by themselves as young as 4/5 years old. We seen loads of kids in small tuktuks waving and smiling at us as we passed by. There are still many cows on the roads in the rural areas, although they are plumper, the cows in the city aren't as large since they live on garbage and donated vegetables from the locals. We seen many many cows and drove on a single lane highways that often had stone walls on either side (so the roads don't wash out in the rainy season), so it gets quite interesting when a large truck or tour bus needs to pass in the opposite direction while there are cows and motorbikes also sharing the road. The roads are also very windy, so each time we approached a blind corner at highway speeds the driver would honk...we were told yesterday that you only need three things to drive in India; a good horn, good brakes, and good luck! I cannot say enough how valid this statement is!
So we arrived at the fort after passing through dozens of villages and some terrible pot holes (we joked that they were no worse than the ones we have in Edmonton) and they also have speed bumps in many villages which added to our enjoyment in the jump seats. Our group was very sweet and we all took turns riding in the back throughout the day. We were following the car with Greg (the groom) and his friends Kristian and Kristians wife Jing and their two year old Dian Dian. Poor Dian Dian got sick in the car and they had to pull over and clean her up and everyone else and the car as well. Nobody was prepared for that and weren't sure if she was car sick from the windy roads or from breakfast or something, so they drove very slowly to the fort and we met them there,a long with the other SUV full of family. The fort was HUGE! Way bigger than any castle or grounds I have ever seen or imagined. We didn't know the history of the fort other than it was used to protect against invasion and was successful. It was set in the mountains and I took some photos but my camera died and so did Eva's. We have agreed with the group that we will all share photos afterwards and we have some amazing and professional photographers travelling with us so they should be good :). There was lots of walking uphill and stair climbing involved and it was very warm. We also seem our first monkeys which freaked us all out as Greg had warned us earlier about not taking pictures or staring at them as they feel it is an act of aggression. So his tips along with our travel nurse telling us to stay away from monkeys and that they are evil creatures had us a little nervous, but we managed not to get attacked :) LOL. I of course ended up walking with all the athletes in the group (3 joggers) but they were kind enough to go slowly for me. We walked for approx. two hours and then needed to head off to grab lunch and get to the temple as it closed at 5pm.
Jordan (I was calling him Jason in my last post - oops LOL) had spotted a restaurant to go to on the way to the fort but our drivers said it was too far in the wrong direction from the temple and suggested another place that would be quicker, so we went there. We all laughed when we arrived as we assume the drivers had come up with this plan before we had asked about going to the other restaurant Jordan suggested as when we arrive 30 minutes later there were tables and chairs set up with enough chairs for all of us and the food was prepared and waiting for our arrival (it was also very bland, so we figure they told them we were all foreigners and requested mild food for us). Oh and did I mention this place was in the middle of nowhere, a completely remote area...very strange.
After our meal we hurried to get to the temple as it was 3:30 and it closes at 5:00. There were dozens upon dozens of monkeys on the road, we all giggled and stared at the monkeys from the protection of the vehicle! We were really tough behind windows LOL
At the temple they have a board posted with rules. My darn camera was dead so I couldn't take a picture of the sign, but I will at the next one. It had things like no leather items, no women that are menstrating, no bare shoulders or knees exposed, etc. I decided I didn't really feel like going in, along with a few others, but Eva and the rest of the gang went in and raved about the intricacy of the marble carvings inside. We were told about women pilgrims that dress all in white and travel from all over India by foot, walking 10 Kms or so per day and camping along the highways to reach this temple as it is very unique and special. I again don't have any pictures but it was very nice from the outside! The group finished at 5:00 and once again we were told it would be 1 hour back to the hotel but we didn't get back until 7:30. We stopped at an ATM on our way home as well and drained all it's cash...I'm sure the locals that lined up behind 8 or so of us weren't too happy as the 8th customer was not able to get any money as it was all gone!
Everyone was so tired that we all slept on the way back, I kept hitting my head on the window but it didn't seem to matter as it would wake me up but I couldn't keep my eyes open and would soon end up waking up again as my head would hit it again! If you see how rough the roads are and windy, and with all the traffic how much weaving and braking goes on, you would imagine how terrible it was to sleep and be thrown around in your seat.
We had a pretty quiet evening as we were zonked, but many of the group stayed up and drank - they weren't feeling so hot this morning though! I was falling asleep while writing in my journal, and Eva was falling asleep reading the blog post from the night before.
Today was another adventure! 4 of us women decided to go to the mall to find shoes and accessories for the wedding. So we took at tuk tuk to the mall and I took some video of it as well, the mall was very strange, it was western style, 4 levels with a food court and the whole bit. We had to go through metal detectors and get wanded by a women in a booth who also checked our bags before they would let us into the mall. Once we were inside it was dead, there were maybe 50 people in the whole mall other than staff working in the stores. There were many western stores and only a few local stores but we managed to find shoes for the wedding and a few of us found some extra shoes for home! We also found some earrings and a wrap to wear in the evenings when it gets cold as it is bloody freezing when the sun goes down. It was very strange as 95% of the staff were men and many of the people we seen were men. We attracted much attention as we stand out everywhere we go. Sometimes it's so weird as they will walk by and then there will be a roar of laughter. This has happened quite a few times in other places too and we aren't sure what it is, but apparently we either look, smell or dress funny! We also found an easy mart (walmarts international brand) so we grabbed a few toiletries and nail polish. We had to check our bags before entering there as well as another department store.
When we finished at the mall we went to the Bapu bazaar to pick up our dresses for the wedding as they required alterations and mine was being made. All the dresses turned out great which was a huge relief for me as I couldn't find anything that fit! Apparently they don't have women with broad shoulders as well as a large chest so even their largest sizes are too tight in the bust as everything is made with restrictive materials that have no give. We also stopped to grab a few scarves and wraps while we waited for Natalie's dress as they told her 1:30, then 2:00 and then when we came at 2 the guy said it was only 1:50 on his watch and needed another ten minutes...Greg has coined a term IFT (Indian Flexible Time) as nothing takes as long as they say.
We took another tuk tuk back to the hotel as we were supposed to get mehndi done with the bride Tia at 2:00 and it was almost 2:30 when we arrived back at the hotel. The mehndi guys were supposed to be there by 2:00 but didn't show up until almost 3:30. We all took turns getting ours done but it was quite entertaining as the prices kept increasing for each person that went next and the photos that we selected were nothing like what was drawn on us. I had asked for my left hand and my right leg to be done. The guy did my left hand and then he grabbed my right hand and I said no and pointed to my leg and he said yeah yeah and then grabbed my right arm and started working on it...so I went with the flow LOL. Then he did my leg, but I had asked for a peacock on my leg as it is the national bird. He said okay and then drew the henna on my leg. He asked me if I liked it and it was clearly not a peacock so I asked if it was a peacock and he said no...at which point he went back to work on it but is still didn't end up with a peacock! Eva asked for one and got it so maybe he liked her better!
After all the henna was done - approx 8:00 we had supper in the hotel restaurant and had to apply a sugar, lemon and water solution to our henna three times (once per hour) starting an hour after our henna was applied. This was all fine however the mixture had to be refilled a few times since there were about a dozen of us that got it done, so the mixture kept getting stickier and stickier as they put too much sugar in. This was all fine, other than everything sticking to our hands and arms, until we went to take the dried henna off tonight before going to bed. It is supposed to dry and flake off however when you baste it in sugary water it becomes a sticky glaze ontop. We all went outside to dust off the flakes but many of us were so sticky it felt like we were ripping our skin off and had to pick and scratch it off. We were all killing ourselves laughing as we were told not to use water or soap until morning, yet we were all sticky and the henna was not coming off! We were joking that if we had strips of cotton we could apply it and rip it off like we were waxing our arms since it was so sticky like sugaring or waxing is! Before we took our henna off though we all sat around and listened to Tia (the bride) tell us stories about Indian princesses and queens as well as her families history and some of her experiences in India and Canada while our henna dried. The boys went out for Greg's bachelor party and it was just us women sitting and chatting.
So after the giggle fest trying to get the henna off we headed off to bed. Tomorrow is a tour of Udaipur city and we are going to a few palaces. We are hoping to also hit a market again to get bangles and maybe some gifts to bring back for family and friends.
Mindy (aka Miranda)
Sounds like you are having a blast! People are enjoying your updates, commenting on what a great writer you are. You writing on time and the mehndi reminds me of how we felt about some of the "expected" perks we have in Canada that are not the same elsewhere. Do you remember how we felt in England by the lack of elevators, escalators, etc.? Have fun, Wendy wants an elephant I believe (those wooden painted ones) so if you are able to grab one that would be excellent.
ReplyDeleteI am so jealous of all the shops I see, with scarves and purses. I would definitely need to throw away all my clothes to bring back stuff.LOL Love you. Big hugs...Mom said Taylor said you were not coming back, that you were taken on your holiday/field trip in a police car ROTFLMAO. Mom tried to let her know it was a cab, but she was adamant it was a police car....oh geez thats funny.