2011 reached - only just!Wishing you all, somewhat belatedly, a happy and safe holiday season as we observe the halfway mark of our India adventure. We’ve decked the halls of our Pali guesthouse and chopped down a desert plant for a Christmas tree, despite being ardently warned by the locals that its white sap was poisonous (we really were quite desperate). Ingrid and Anna were dressed in traditional Rajasthani garb, bindi, mahendi, bangles and all, whilst Matt played Santa to the local kids, complete with a dismal attempt to fatten his wiry frame with a pillow tummy to enhance the jolliness of his appearance. We enjoyed a scrumptious Indian Christmas lunch with Manju and three of her sons, along with the family of Tejas, an Educate Girls staff member who, aside from being just an all-round top bloke, has already become a demi-god in the eyes of Matt and Anna for revealing the two establishments in Pali that serve meat after maintaining a meatless existence for six weeks.
Our week off began with an eight-hour sleeper bus trip to Jaipur airport along roads that caused Anna to audibly whimper from physical pain from a sustained lack of bladder relief as we drove over the numerous bumps and pot-holes. Prolonged negotiations with the airport guards followed as we attempted to convince them that we indeed had a flight to catch and were not simply there to hang out at the airport in the freezing cold at 3am. A few hours later, our holidays officially began with a flying start as we headed for Kolkata.
Oh Calcutta. We came, we saw. We treated ourselves to an English blockbuster starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp that would’ve been so woeful if it wasn’t for the constant amusement provided by the local Indian audience members. In addition to the original film, we were treated to live commentary as the plot unravelled, cheers and roars as the sexual tension built and an alternate Indian popular music soundtrack in lieu of the original, courtesy of mobile ringtones. As we headed towards the train station to take our leave, it suddenly struck Matt that we didn’t have any visual record of our visit, and he proceeded to start taking photos of the cityscape from the taxi. So, of course, we were then pulled over by a lone Indian policeman, who threatened to arrest Matt for taking photos of government buildings (or something along those lines) if he didn’t cough up a 3000 rupee fine. Verbal fisticuffs ensued and dare we say it, for the first time, all three Antipodeans were poised and ready to inflict some serious damage upon another human being.
Our next stop was Varanasi, a city on the Ganges that is one of the holiest places in India, and also arguably one of the most disorientated, with its maze of alleyways. We took a boat ride along the Ganges, passing by numerous ghats and witnessing the ceremonial cremation of the dead on its banks. We were expecting to be overwhelmed by touts and hordes of Hindu pilgrims washing away their sins, but the city was surprisingly calm despite the heavy police presence following a bombing that took place in the city mere weeks ago.
By the time we reached Agra, an integral part of most travellers’ agendas, we were all at varying stages of sickness (read: near death) from a combination of consecutive overnight travel on the frigid and hard sleeper carriages (it costs $5 to cross hundreds of kilometres overland so we’ll just let you imagine the conditions), an almost protein-less diet and the good old Delhi belly. Matt, who has already visited the Taj, took some time out to rest whilst Anna and Ingrid spent one full hour appreciating one of the modern wonders of the world to take some obligatory touristy shots, before also calling it quits.
And then the journey from hell really began. Our train to Udaipur, the stunning lake city and our preferred New Year’s Eve destination, was cancelled at the last minute. A train to an alternate destination was delayed by five hours. Matt deployed his bargaining skills to find a driver to take us to Udaipur and three changes of vehicles and four drivers later, we managed to make it a whole 50km in 3 hours from Agra due to heavy fog. Convinced that driving overnight would be a futile exercise, we were forced to stay overnight at Motel Rim Jihm’s, waking up with the fear that we had been abandoned by our drivers on the side of a highway on New Year’s Eve, 3000 rupees poorer.
But lo and behold, we were greeted by our driver and yet another new vehicle in the morning with the news that the fog has lifted and we were finally on our way to Udaipur. An eight hour journey turned into 12 hours as we encountered roadblocks along the only interstate highway. By roadblocks, we mean single rows of small rocks placed across the lanes guarded by a group of young men who refused to move them. Apparently, removing the rocks ourselves would have initiated a riot with the Gujjar community of Rajasthan, who are currently in some sort of political negotiations with the government, so we were forced to do battle along rural backstreets that could handle only one lane of traffic at a time.
Sickness, exhaustion and India in general began to take its toll, to the point which even our token vegetarian Ingrid succumbed to the siren calls of chicken for the promise of some nourishment. But we did arrive in Udaipur at 9pm on New Year’s Eve and by midnight were perched over the balcony on the highest rooftop in the city, watching the fireworks over Lake Pichola. Our NYE party ended at precisely 18 minutes past midnight, when we all trudged back to our hotel room for a much-needed rest on an unmoving bed.
Over the past week, we’ve spent 59 hours travelling over 3400 kilometres (almost coast to coast in Australia) and welcomed the new year with two new tattoos and two new piercings amongst the three of us as mementos. Despite having devoured some of the best tasting noodles, pizza, momos (Tibetan dumplings) and chicken in India, we’ve arrived home several kilos lighter (or less handsome in Indian terms) and are so relieved to be back in our own beds.
So Happy New Year and until next time,
Anna, Ingrid and Matt.
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