Adventures in India

We just got in to Jaipur, India...also known as the Pink City. We are staying at a guest house that has so much character. I would have to say the places we have slept in this country are going down in history.  This guest house is a little old but there is something about it that I am really digging. Lots of porches and little common areas...I like the vibe. I think I also like that it is tucked in on a quite street and as of right now there are no horrible smells coming from anywhere. whooo hooo

Some updates..

-We tried. WE went to Indian places to eat and could never really read the menu or know what we were ordering.  I mean we did get lucky with some dishes and if I could be spoiled and have a complete explanation of what the dishes are, what's in them and how they are prepared I am sure I would have found some great meals....but that's just not how it works over here.  Danni has been eating french fries and cookies, I have tried my luck and have been eating a lot of peanuts and bananas, and Brian will eat pretty much anything. It's sad to say but I don't feel one bit guilty confessing that we found and ate Subway two days in a row. A girl has got to eat at least one good meal a day to keep her morals high. We may have also found ourselves eating McDonald's ice cream cones a few times as well...oh yeah, I like the Nan.

The Little Blue Lassi Shop

A popular place in Varanasi. Let me tell you a little about Lassi. It is curd....you know milk that has been sitting out for dayssss. Brian and I went and tried the pineapple lassi...yummmm. NOT. We got a clay pot full of this stuff and I just stirred it around laughing and gagging while Brian tried to eat it. He made me hold it while he paid. THEN HE RAN OFF. Leaving me with a clay pot and pineapple curdled milk in the little blue lassi shop with rats running around.  He had hardly made a dent. I guess the Lassi boy found me so charming when I was taking pictures of him whipping up the curd and calling him handsome that he came over and handed me a whole new pot of curd!! So now I had two clay pots full of curd...dammit Brian!!  To make a long story short I said thank you..sat there with my feet up away from the little rats and pawned it off on some Australian dudes who just loved it..thanks but no thanks on the Lassi.

Agra

Day Trip. Day Trip. We took a train from Varanasi to Agra and got in about 8AM....we had a train out of Agra at 6PM to New Delhi. Only a few hours in Agra is all you need. Gave us just enough time to grab a morning snack and check our bags then it was off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of all. Wait. No. That's not right. We were off to see The Taj Mahal!! I sat on the princess Dianna bench and took my pic just like she did...it was a dirty fight to get a picture on that bench but we all got single pics and a group picture. The Taj was breathtaking. So beautiful....it is considered to be one of the wonders of the world and there I was laying back on the cool marble of the Taj, just soaking it all in.  After we took TONS of pictures we took Brian to the local watering holes for some Birthday beers. Yep..Brian got to spend his 23rd birthday with his two favorite girls and the Taj Mahal...what a lucky guy.

New Delhi

By the time we got to New Delhi we were ready for a little breather/break. So we thought why not go to a movie...the gods were not having it. They seemed to be telling us if you are in India, experience India for petes sakes you babies!! All the English movies were playing over an hour tuk tuk drive away so we referred back to the Lonely Planet book and came up with a game plan. 

First, we went to see where Gandhi spent the last days of his life and where he was assassinated. It was a really beautiful memorial with lots of quotes by Gandhi and loads of history about his life and his work. We saw a lot of his belongings and beautiful artwork done in his honor. So cool.  Between mass at The Mother Teresa House, floating down the Ganges at sunrise, then visiting the place of Gandhi's life and death, I have to say I am feeling pretty enlightened...and of course keep pinching my right arm to make sure this is real life.

We then headed to the National Zoo. My advice to you, if you are in India...don't go to the National Zoo!!! I kid you not there were more then a dozen exhibits of DEER. There were also a few wild birds...other then that alot of empty cages, dried up water, one white tiger, a crocodile in verrry dirty water, so many people, random mounds of dirt....I tell ya the streets of India are more zooish as well as a few of the guest houses we have stayed in have had more animal activity then the New Delhi Zoo!  This was no Como Zoo or Lincoln Park Zoo.....

New Delhi is also where we found the Subway..it is also where we decided to test our luck with public transportation. We took the Metro to the train station, it was a piece of cake! Not only was it easy, fast, and cheap...it was clean and seemed very high tech.  The El could really take some pointers from the New Delhi Metro.

So this leads me to today....our first full day in Jaipur.  We ran around an old palace and fort..Amber Fort. I had to have been a princess in a past life, it felt so natural running around a palace. We went through markets, took tuk tuk rides, walked and walked, treated myself to a fountain diet coke and now about to go find a book store because I need a new book, I am flying through books on these trains! As our days dwindle I am actually wishing I had some more time to see more cities..which means ladies and gentleman..I may one day return to India.....

No I will never get used to the smells that attack our senses every turn
or
seeing men just pissing on the side of the road/street/building
or
being cut and budged in front of by men, realizing we are in the "wrong" line. Yes, there are separate lines for men and women at most public places
or
stop rolling my eyes and throwing my hands in the air when I see the difference of prices for things. There is a foreigner price/Indian price. Example... Taj...750 Rs for us...the locals..like 20 Rs!!!! The zoo...100 Rs for us...for the locals..10Rs....COME ON!

India so far has shown me things I never thought I would see or experience. I am so thankful to have had time in this county. I can not wait to put up pictures and tell more stories. Two train rides and one city left then it is time to say goodbye.

The 1st thing that happens when I touch down in Bali is laundry. I ran out of undies and socks so I bought a bar of laundry soap and did it old school in a bucket. I am getting so skilled in the most random things over here I tell ya! I am also good at brushing my teeth using a water from a water bottle.

Till next time.....
xo