Camel Trekking

I now find myself in Jaisalmer! Which is actually closer to Kabul than it is to Mumbai. Across the vast Thar Desert lies Pakistan. Such a wonderful part of the world to be in. Basically this city is one big fortress in the middle of the desert. My hotel is at the top of the fort, right beside some Jain temples. Very nice view.

But it wasn't the fort that brought us on the sandy train trip to Jaisalmer (there was a thin layer of sand over everything in the train) it was the camels and the prospect of trekking through the desert. We booked a tour with our hotel and were sent out. First we were driven by jeep about an hour outside of town, which meant we avoided some of the more tourist-packed areas of the desert. We soon met up with our guide Ramesh and our camels . Mine was a tempermental little guy. Didn't like to sit down to let me on or off and routinely made strange noises.

There are a few things you should know if you are ever going to ride a camel. First, they are a lot bigger than you think they will be. I was sort of imagining a horse-sized animal but with a hump. No no. They are much bigger. Easily 8 or 9 feet from toe to the top of their head. Second, if you are going to ride a camel- STRECH. I am in more pain now than I have ever been in. Those groin muscles are just not used to prolonged periods of clinging to a camel. Finally, remember that in Decemeber it is cold everywhere, including the desert. I set out wearing pants and a sweater and was very glad for it. Especially when the sun went down and I could easily see my breath.

The Thar desert is rather alive these days. There is a fair bit of a vegetation, punctuated at times by large sand dunes. Apparently there was a good solid rain last year and the desert is blooming. There are also a fair number of animals, including cows, goats, sheep and wild dogs. And since it is India and there are people everywhere, we would routinely walk by someone who appeared to have been walking for days or weeks without ever finding shelter. 1 billion people have to fit in this country somehow I guess.

We rode the camels for a couple of hours before finding our camp for the night beside one of the nicer dunes. Ramesh made some chai tea while Liz and I searched for firewood. This wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't for the huge number of tiny, dry, prickly things that clung to our clothing and poked our legs. They are like burrs from Canada, only much smaller and sharper. They would be the bigger irritant for most of our stay and in fact I am still finding some on me now.

So we spent the rest of the evening eating food made by Ramesh and his friend (who just showed up from somewhere, not sure how because he had no jeep or camel) and listening to them talk about India. At night we had an amazing view of the stars since we were far from any city and the pollution was slightly less than elsewhere in India. At night we nestled into our tent under 4 thick blankets (and were still cold). Neither of us slept too well on the hard ground and at one point we got a big scare when we hear a pack of wild dogs fighting just outside our tent. they were growling and biting and it sounded like they would come through the tent and get us. Kinda scary, but the guides soon got rid of them.

In the morning we awoke to more tea and breakfast before the long trek back on muscles that were already very sore. So that was the night in the desert. I do have some pictures, but I can't upload them since I am currently on a network that is sharing a single dial-up connection and uploading them would take me until Christmas. But I will post a huge number of pictures as soon as I can.

Shortly, I will get on the bus for the 14 hour ride to Udaipur, where I will spent the 24th. Then on the 25th I begin my long voyage to Rome, starting with a 17 hour overnight bus to Mumbai leaving at 3:30pm. So while you enjoy your Christmas dinner, think of me stuck on a bus in India. Here is how I will spent 6 nights: 1 in the desert, 2 on buses, 1 in a hotel, 1 in an airport/on the plane. It is not going to be fun, but at least it will be worth it when I finally made it to Rome for my birthday on the 28th.

In the meantime, Merry Christmas to all. I hope Santa is good to everyone. I will resume the posting after this long voyage provided I am still in one piece. Happy Holidays!

India is Special

I thought I would change things up a little here and rather than just describe things, give you more of an insight into what the differences are between traveling in Europe and traveling in India. Perhaps the best way to do this is to pick one aspect: buying a train ticket.

In Europe
The last time I needed to buy a train ticket was in Hannover at 3am on my way to Frankfurt for a train that left at 5:18am. Now this could present many complications. The ticket offices are closed, the language is different, and I had 5 euros cash on me.

Here is what happened: I went to the helpdesk, which had 1 guy at it. He walked me to the automated machine where I entered where I wanted to go (city name, this is important later) and paid for the ticket on my Visa.

It wasn't always easy. Once in Warsaw I had to deal with a lady who only seemed to speak Russian and was DETERMINED not to sell me anything, but even then I worked it out without too many problems.

In India
Liz and I enter the booking area, which is a wall of glass windows, in front of which are huge lines of Indian men (and only men) who stare at her the ENTIRE time we are in the place. You can't just walk up to one of the windows and ask for what you want, you must first fill out a form that asks for your passport number, home address, blood type, shoe size and hair colour. Now its not enough to know where you are going. You somehow have to know the name of the train that wil take you there, a name that appeares chosen at random from the dictionary. This also corresponds to a train number, which can be found on large painted boards that look like they were painted in the early 40s and you have to wonder how accurate THOSE still are.

Just getting the forms is a task in itself. There are never any to be found, and you have to either reach your way through the lines to get one or pick one off the dirty ground and hope no one peed on that exact spot shortly before. So you get your form all filled out and notice that there is a helpful line for "Ladies, foreigners, freedom fighters, journalists and the elderly" (that is not a joke, I have a the pictures to prove that "freedom fighters" is on the list). You would imagine that this line would be full of the more civilized aspects of society, but in fact it is often little more than a scrum with people trying to shove their tickets through the little hole first.

If you somehow manage to make it to the front (and Liz has a very good elbow technique that she has been perfecting) and get to buy your ticket, you now have to somehow pay for it. I say somehow because its not enough just to have rupees, you often have to prove where you got them. It is illegal to take rupees out of the country or bring them in, so you need a certificate to say that you exchanged money in India. If you just used a bank machine, that little receipt is not enough and they may not let you buy the ticket. Also, make sure you have your passport with valid Visa, because that gets checked too and it sucks if you have to go back to your hotel to get it....cough cough....not that I ever did that.

At last your are issued a ticket and are free to find the train station, which may not be anywhere near the reservation office.

Today Liz and I had to refund 3 tickets, buy 1 and then find out the one I needed to buy was sold out...lets just say it was not easy.

By the way, I am in Jodpour and it is beautiful. The city is blue and has a breathtaking fortress that I explored today. I love India, I really do. But some of the daily activities could be made easier. Also, India's trains are pretty good considering the old equipment and number of people that use them everyday. It is also the worlds largest employer.

So with that grab bag of info, I leave you to continue your holiday prepertions and have some eggnog in my honour.

In the footsteps on Mr. Bond

Things are moving fast here in India. Everyday a new city and something new to be amazed at. After Agra and the Taj Mahal we moved on to Jaipur, known as the pink city. It was painted pink for a royal visit in the 19th century and now is more orange, which is the lucky colour of Hinduism so that worked out well for them. Jaipur was a bit crazy. Had a really big tourist day that involved hiking to the top of the Amber Fort that overlooks the city. You have the option of riding an elephant to the top, but that was pretty expensive. The views from the fort were stunning. The region is full of flat lands punctured by mountains. Stunning is the only word for it.

Jaipur also made me realize that India is not really that big...at least for white people. When we left Agra we were a bit late for the train...ok an hour late...but fortunately the train was 4 hours late so we made it with no trouble. In the train station while waiting we met up with 3 guys who had also just met at the station- a dutch guy, a frenchman and a guy from the Czech Republic. We ended up talking and playing cards most of the trip. The next day we ran into them at 2 of the places we visited and then shared a reserved compartment with the french guy on the way to Udaipur (the city where I am now). The traveling community is never as big as you think it is.

Right now I am in Udaipur, which is so beautiful. Our hotel room overlooks the lake, which is lined with palaces and temples. It is stunning. Also, it is where they filmed parts of the James Bond movie Octopussy, which we watched at the hotel last night. So funny to see the movie and then look to one side and see the places they claim are in Dehli. I was also struck by the fact of all the places Bond went in the movie (London, Berlin and Dehli) I have been to them all!

Plans have changed for Christmas. I will now be spending it in India, probably coming back here to Udaipur to the same hotel (which costs 7.50 dollars split between Liz and I). We were going to head to the beaches of Goa, but there has been a terrorist alert there as members of Al Queda were caught carrying out dry-runs of some bombings they were planning. Plus it is rather far away and staying here will save travel time and money. All in all a much better plan...at least until it changes again.

Hello!

Well, as happens when traveling, plans change (see Dzido's blog for an excellent account of this). Instead of heading south, I went north. The train from Mumbai up to Dehli took 23 hours. As with many things in India, the train ride is hard to describe. You are assinged a bed in a compartment, but the compartment is open and people just sit on the lower beds. There were 12 people in my compartment most of the ride. Guys come by yelling "Chai Chair" or "Omletes, Cutlets!" almost singing what they say to offer you food. There are people EVERYWHERE! At first it was rather hot, but it got very cold at night. Poor Liz had only a sheet to sleep with and nearly froze. Delhi was cold. Not cool. Cold. I could see my breath at night and jeans and a sweater were essential. Funny how much variety there is between regions in India.

So we got to Dehli and did a quick tour of the main site. The large Mosque, the Red Fort and a few other places. The hotel room was a real deal at 150rupees per night for the 2 of us (about 1.75 cdn each) but it had a hole in the ground instead of a toilet (common here) and no hot water. Try showering in 3 degree weather. It isn't fun. This morning we came to Agra, which is where the Taj Mahal is. The Taj is one of those places that you hear so much about, yet you think may let you down because it has been over-hyped. The cost to get in for foreigners is high at 750 rupees (5 rupees for Indians) but let me say- worth every penny! It was incrediable. The only thing I can compare it to is Versaille in France and even then, I think the Taj may be more impressive. The marble makes it almost too bright to look at in the sun. It is perfectly symetical and the inlaid patterns around it are phenomenal. Really just amazing.

Today I got to see my first monkeys and watched cows clog up traffic in the streets. One thing I should mention is how much Liz and I get stared at. Well, mostly Liz, but it makes me feel like I am with a movie star. Seriously every man stares and often they will stop and just gawk. This is for 2 reasons: pale skin is considered a thing of beauty in India and so white women are beautiful. Secondly, Indian men assume, from seeing many white movies, that all white women are promiscuous. Its interesting, but also a bit annoying. It is hard to be on your guard all the time and feel like everyone is watching you or trying to scam you. But this is just a minor distration and the amazing sights and sounds of India are worth the social pressures.

Off to Jaipur tomorrow!

First Impressions of India

What can I say about India? It is very hard to describe to someone who has never been. There are people EVERYWHERE! Mumbai (or The City Formally Known as Bombay) has a population the size of Canada, but is the size of the GTA. Life is just so different. It is 30 degrees in the sun here, so I have had to buy all new clothes. But pants cost 2 dollars, shirts 1 dollar and shoes 3 dollars. At least I am not breaking the bank.

Sadly I did get scammed by first night here. I left Warsaw after a day of running around at 6pm Wednesday to get a train to Hannover arriving at 3am. Then a train to Frankfurt leaving at 5:20am. Upon getting to the airport I was told I wasnt getting on the Air India flight in the morning because it was oversold by 25 people. Luftansa put me on standby, despite there being 36 seats oversold. Unbelivably I made it on, but had to sit in the jump-seat, which is that folding seat the stewardesses sit on for take off and landing. Not the most comfortable 7 hour trip. When my meal came, I was about to take my first bite when a kid threw up right beside me (I was beside the washrooms).

I arrived in Mumbai at 3am and had no clue what to do, where to go or anything. This was friday morning, so I had been traveling for a long time and the brain was not working. A man who claimed to work for the airport offered to set me up in a hotel. He had a badge and seemed legit. Appearances can be deceiving. He took me to a hotel and made me pay 9000 rupees per night. To put that in perspective, the double room I have now is 750 per night and a cup of coffee is about 10r. I realized about half way through I was being ripped off but by then I was far from the airport in a strange city at 4am and I didnt think I could just get out of the car and make my way. So I went along and got ripped off. At least the room was nice and clean and I got a good breakfast included and a bit of sleep. Lesson learned. It cost about 200 dollars, but I have heard of worse and much more dangerous scams.

So I made my way into the city to meet Liz. I sent her an email and set a meeting place, that I was not going to leave no matter what. I ended up waiting on a street in front of a clock tower for about 4 hours. If you want to see India, watching a busy street for 4 hours is a good way to do it. The lack of lanes, the CONSTANT blaring of horns, people running between speeding cards. It was nuts. Finally Liz came and rescued me and I was able to get some food, water and sleep.

Since then I have spent the days doing...well not much. Seeing a bit of the city, wandering around. It is all so fascinating. Eating is a bit tricky. Westerners can't eat the meat because they don't have proper refridgeration. Water must be from a bottle. Fruit must be peeled. There are lots of rules to avoid getting sick. Also, there is rarely bread, more rice. My system is still getting used to the new diet. But I am having a great time. On Tuesday we are headed down to Goa, which has a strong Portugese influence and some nice beaches. I will keep posting as much as I can, but I think pictures will have to wait until I am back in Europe. Take care all!

Spontaneous is My Middle Name

Alright, so this is pretty random, but I am off to India! Yeah, didn't see that coming did you? Well neither did I. It turns out that I have a friend, Liz, who is travelling India right now. So my choice was either to stay in Warsaw for 3 weeks, spend some cash doing nothing, or go to India. I am now just waiting on my visa from the Indian embassy and I will leave for India sometime next week, hopefully Tuesday, or as late as Thursday. I am really exited to try a different culture. Europe is great, but variety will be nice. So its India until Dec. 23rd when I fly to Geneva to spend Christmas with some friends from Smugglers. Then on the 27th, I head down to spend my birthday and New Years with Dzido, Laura, Laura's man Tom, Louise, JP and my lovely mummy. I am very excited. It will be great to see everyone. So that takes us up to Jan 3rd or 4th, after that I am planless! But come on, experience says I will find something crazy to do.

The 5th of December will mark 6 months since I left Canada. It is stunning to look back on the old blog posts and think about what I have done in these 6 months. I have done things I never would have imagined, met people from around the world and visited some of the most beautiful places in the world. Here are just a few interesting numbers:

Countries: 10 (not including stop overs while traveling)
Cities spending at least one night: 22
Fractured Bones: 1
Flights: 8 (though 3 of those were getting to Warsaw)
Bulls I have Escaped from: 8
Pub Fires: 1
Blog Posts: 37
Number of Towls Lost:2
Scalp-sunburns: 1 (ouchie!)

Amazing times. I am not sure how much longer I will last on the road, but it has been a great adventure so far, which much more still to go.

I went back and posted some pictures from my northern excusion. But here are a few funny ones too:

This sign if EVERYWHERE in the baltics and each country has its own variation. I am not sure what I am not supposed to do. Dont have houses? drive cars? play soccer? I thought the purpose of signs was to be simple and easy to understand.

I have always taken it as a given that you are not allowed to steal purses, but apparently this particular area in Tallinn was a no purse stealing zone.

Does that look like me kissing a big toe? Well that is because it is. There was a statue in Tallinn that looked like someone lounging in a bath, with their head, arms and toes sticking out of the water, except it was on grass and looked really cool.

This is me kissing a cow head. I feel bad for the cow, I had reindeer stew on my breath.

Well that is the update. I will post again when I make it to India, so check back for some excitement. In the meantime I will be living it up in Warsaw with Dzido for a couple more days. Best wishes to all back home!