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phileasdogg

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Trips:

Planes, Trains & Taxiwallahs

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Venice. Not.

Udaipur, India

Udaipur. The Venice of the East. Just without the gondolas. Or canals. Or Cornettos. But it's actually quite nice. Fairly peaceful (these things are all relative) and a bit cooler. The focal point is Lake Pichola, and the two man-made islands on it. One is Jagmandir Island, which is home to a royal palace built by the Maharaja in 1620. And the other is Jagniwas Island, upon which stands the outstanding Lake Palace hotel, where one can sip Cristal by a white marble pool underneath a mango tree for a trifling US$450 a night (cheapest room). And impressive enough for parts of Octopussy to be filmed there. And boy do you know about it. Just about every hotel in town shows screenings of Octopussy. Every night. I don't want to rain on their parade, but it wasn't even a good Bond movie. Roger was knocking on a bit. "Bond. James Bond. Licence to suck on a Werther's Original."

The journey here took 6 hours by bus, and I kid you not, three-quarters of it was on a road that was still being built. And it was in its early stages. So essentially it was 4 hours driving on a buiding site. And today I've got 16 hours on a sleeper bus to Bombay. Please can I have some tarmac for that one.

Met up with a great pair of Aussies for dinner the other day and we decided to give Indian wine a bash. A cheeky little number, with shades of balsamic vinegar washing over the palate fused with hints of Dettol and Toilet Duck. Think I'll stick to the Kingfisher from here on in.

permalink written by  phileasdogg on September 25, 2008 from Udaipur, India
from the travel blog: Planes, Trains & Taxiwallahs
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Animals

Udaipur, India

Not sure why, but it suddenly occurred to me last night that there was one animal I haven't seen since being here. I've seen most creatures that stepped onto Noah's Ark in the last couple of weeks - camels, elephants, deer, assorted rodents, enough dogs to feed China for a month, and thousands of cows. But not one cat. Maybe that's related to the fact that there's a malnourished feral dog on every street corner, but it still seemed odd. Still, I'm sure I'll struggle through the next few weeks sans mog.

And speaking of animals, the whole cow thing is just surreal. They are literally everywhere. Wandering aimlessly around markets, on main roads, up alleyways, everywhere. Now I know they're sacred to Hindus so can't be killed or harmed, but frankly they're such emaciated, disease-ridden, hapless looking creatures that it would be far kinder to take a bolt gun to them. Not that I'd be carving a steak off them. "Would monsieur like ze fillet steak? Our cows come from ze inner city of Delhi, feeding off a diet of cardboard and plastic waste, and drinking from ze open sewers." I think I'll have the omelette thanks garcon.

permalink written by  phileasdogg on September 25, 2008 from Udaipur, India
from the travel blog: Planes, Trains & Taxiwallahs
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Taboo or not taboo

Udaipur, India

There aren't many conversational taboos out here. Strangers will happily ask how old I am, how much money I earn, but they seem most interested in my relationship status. Here's a verbatim conversation that a local guy struck up with me in a cafe yesterday.

Him: So you are married?
Me: No, I'm single.
Him: But you have girlfriend?
Me: No, no girlfriend.
Him: So you have boyfriend?
Me: Not one of them either.
Him: How long you stay in India?
Me: About 7 weeks.
Him: And you are making sex with Indian girls?
Me: Excuse me?
Him: You are looking to make lots of sex with Indian girls?
Me: Erm, it's not exactly top of my list of priorities.
Him: I am liking to make sex with white girls, but they are not liking Indian men so much.
Me: Uh-huh (not wishing to point out that it was more likely his absence of teeth and direct approach that they found off-putting)
Him: From which country girls are you most liking making sex with?
Me: Waiter, bill please.

permalink written by  phileasdogg on September 25, 2008 from Udaipur, India
from the travel blog: Planes, Trains & Taxiwallahs
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Buses. Lots of them.

Abu Road, India

Mount Abu is a bit like the Blackpool of Rajasthan, a weekend retreat for Indians complete with ice cream, candy floss, pedaloes and amusement arcades. It's on a hilly plateau 1200m up, and the winding drive up the mountain felt more Alpine than Indian. Not that I was spending much time admiring the scenery. It was the final leg of a torturous 4-bus, 14-hour journey from Jaisalmer. When it comes to public transport, there's no room for politeness here. I was a bit too British in boarding the final bus amid the flailing arms and legs of the locals, so ended up in a cramped space in the driver's cabin. With 5 other people. And all our luggage. Not good.

What I really wanted on arrival was a slap-up feed and a beer. Sadly Mt Abu is on the border of Gujarat state, and 90% of Gujuratis are vegetarian and teetotal. But to my great surprise, the non-descript looking restaurant next to the hotel served up comfortably the best meal I've had out here. It was a thali, a meal made up of rice, chapatis, poppadums, salad, dry veg, curried veg, dhal and various relishes. Waiters just kept bringing the various component parts and ladling them onto my tray until I admitted defeat. It was fantastic. And the price of this princely feast? 70 rupees. About 90p. And I even managed to get a couple of beers to smuggle back to my room. Result.

permalink written by  phileasdogg on September 22, 2008 from Abu Road, India
from the travel blog: Planes, Trains & Taxiwallahs
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Trekking. Or maybe not.

Abu Road, India

Mt Abu is a major pilgrimage centre, but because of its remote, forested location, also offers good walking and wildlife spotting opportunities including bears, cobras, wild boars and hyenas. So I went to see the local trekking guru, the improbably-named Charles, and he said he'd take me out in the morning for a few hours. He was going through the drill when I picked out some line about "don't bring any valuables, local tribe murdered a tourist in February." Perhaps sensing my apprehension, another guy smiled and said "Tourist was not with Charles, tourist was lonely. You are being safe with Charles." No disrespect to Charles, but he's about 5ft 3 and 9 Stone dripping wet. It would be like being protected by Paul Daniels, and at least he might be able to turn my would-be assailant into a rabbit. Anyway, the rains came and we couldn't go out anyway.

Udaipur tomorrow, a mere 4-5 hours away by bus.

permalink written by  phileasdogg on September 22, 2008 from Abu Road, India
from the travel blog: Planes, Trains & Taxiwallahs
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Saddle Sore

Jaisalmer, India

Hmm, don't think I'll be investing in a camel when I come back to London, they're not the most comfortable mode of transport. My backside hasn't been this sore since I left public school.

My Swiss co-rider Stephanie and I were driven out into the desert by jeep where we met our trusty steeds and two camel drivers. We then trekked about 20kms through the desert, but it's no Turkish Delight setting of rolling sand dunes and tumbleweeds, more like a cross between arable farm land and scrub, so not especially exciting. We had a 4-hour lunch stop because it's just too hot in the middle of the day, then trekked a further 10kms until we finally hit the sand dunes we'd been promised, and very impressive they were too. For about the last hour, sipping occasionally on hot water, I just couldn't stop thinking about a cold beer. It was like torture, but when we reached our destination the camel driver whipped out a few bottles of Kingfisher that he'd somehow managed to keep relatively cool. I can't begin to describe how good that tasted. So we cooked up some dinner over a fire and for the first time in 10 days just appreciated some complete silence. We just slept out on blankets on the dunes, and then trekked for another couple of hours in the morning to meet the jeep. I wasn't sorry to see the back of that camel (jokes to the usual address please).

Spent most of yesterday looking round Jaisalmer with a great Slovenian couple from Trieste, and have given myself a day of rest today before a gruelling 12-hour bus ride to Mt Abu tomorrow.

PS. Lest there be any ambiguity, the statement about public school was a joke!

permalink written by  phileasdogg on September 19, 2008 from Jaisalmer, India
from the travel blog: Planes, Trains & Taxiwallahs
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Another fort

Jaisalmer, India

This one of the Jaisalmer variety, as viewed from my hotel.

permalink written by  phileasdogg on September 19, 2008 from Jaisalmer, India
from the travel blog: Planes, Trains & Taxiwallahs
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Rules & Regulations

Jaisalmer, India

Note to self - must stop misusing drinking water.

permalink written by  phileasdogg on September 19, 2008 from Jaisalmer, India
from the travel blog: Planes, Trains & Taxiwallahs
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Scaffolding, Indian-stylee

Jaisalmer, India

Sooner you than me buddy...

permalink written by  phileasdogg on September 19, 2008 from Jaisalmer, India
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Camel Happy

Jaisalmer, India

Ah, peace at last. All my previous stops have had populations of at least 800,000, and within 24 hours you feel like you've been approached by every one of them. Jaisalmer only has 58,000 and they were all waiting at the bus stand when I arrived, so once I'd got through that melee, it got a whole lot better.

It's (another) fort-dominated town in the desert of western Rajasthan, and having once been a major trade route town, it now relies on tourism dollars, and specifically, camel safari dollars. So against my inherent unwillingness to be a typical tourist, I'm joining the throng of desert-trekkers tomorrow, with the promise of rolling sand dunes, and sleeping out under star-laden skies.

The 5-hour bus ride here was disappointingly incident-free. I'd been promised that I would fear for my life at least once every hour, but there was only one minor brake/swerve action caused by an errant bullock. I was in more danger getting off the bus - as the only white face on board I was besieged by a gaggle of teenagers eager to get my accommodation business. I now have some understanding of what it must be like to be a celebrity, but rather than flashbulbs, I was confronted by a sea of suspiciously amateurish business cards carrying such testimonials as "Hotel Jaisal View - most bestest hotel in hole of Rajasthan". Thankfully I'd booked in advance, though was slightly concerned on arrival to see that my hotel was next door to Hotel Swastika. As far as I know none of the Third Reich hail from Jaisalmer, but one can't be too careful.

permalink written by  phileasdogg on September 16, 2008 from Jaisalmer, India
from the travel blog: Planes, Trains & Taxiwallahs
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