On Touring - and a brush with Royalty

Our tour started two days ago. First things first - it's a really good group of people. First when we started gathering I was getting a little worried - seemed we were going to be a group of 20 somethings and two old farts (us!). However, we are no longer the only retirees. There are six others, a couple and a single travelling woman, one woman who hopes to retire next year, and two women travelling together one of whom is retired, but does dog grooming, and the other a social worker who has already been in India twice and is repeating many of the same places.

The surprise was to find that there seemed to be a majority of Australians. There are 14 of us, your boys from Canada, two from Switzerland, (not together), two from South Africa, two from England and the rest Aussies, although of those, two are German Aussies, and two are Polish Aussies - sounds very Canadian too, yes?

We got a tour of Delhi our first afternoon, which was not really that exciting. We had already seen some fascinating things so seeing the crowds at India Gate was a little anticlimactic. However it was a chance to meet our fellow travellers in travelling mode, and it looks like we are going to be all nicely compatible - yay!

The next morning we had to haul ourselves out of bed at 4:00 am to get to the train station for the 6:10 to Jaipur. And the train was on time. We were in airplane type seats if not quite so posh, but it was fun - we even got served breakfast - tea (twice), toast, a small plate with some spicy potato croquette things and five french fries with two green beans (well that was my plate, some got fewer french fries and more green beans, but we all got about 12 peas too).

Once we got out of Delhi the landscape turned interesting - in comparison the world suddenly looked clean and inviting - fields of yellow grain, corn stooks, an occasional camel cart going by, people out working in the fields. Looked lovely after the heavy smog and heavy traffic of Delhi. However, Jaipur is no less heavy trafficked, although the air is much more breathable.

We got an afternoon tour too, of the Amber Fort, which included a trip to the top by jeep and a guide who was not such a good guide. She did seem unhappy when we waxed less than enthusiastic about her lacklustre descriptions, we had a difficult time understanding her English and we were tired. Hey, we'd been up since 4 am after all.

We did have lunch first though - Geordie and I walked about a half hour to find a restaurant which we had read about in a National Geographic Traveller. It was good - we both ordered the Thali which came with about five different vegetarian options as well as a sweet yam like dish which we ate as a savoury but which I think was supposed to be dessert. Yogurt too. Walking back was like taking our lives in our hands - the traffic here is mad - chock-a-block with vehicles of every description. (Can you believe that Geordie and I have yet to try out a tuk tuk or cycle rickshaw?)

We were so full that in the evening we skipped dinner - well we went out and bought some cookies which Geordie had as his supper - I didn't bother. I didn't sleep well, had origami dreams, was awakened by a rooster at 5;00, the call to prayer at 5:30, the shrill of birds in the palm trees outside our window at 6:00 - might as well get up. But for breakfast we had our first eggs since leaving Canada - nice.

After breakfast was the City tour of Jaipur - the pink city, although I would call it muddy rose. WE also had a new tour guide - who is also the mayor of a town of 10000 people about 60 km from Jaipur - he was a great improvement on yesterday's guide, charming, entertaining and knowledgeable. The highlights of the tour were the Royal Observatory, a remarkable achievement for the 1700's with one sundial accurate to two minutes and another (the largest in the world according to the Guiness Book of World Records) accurate to two seconds. Honest! And Geordie and I took pictures of each other at our respective zodiac symbols. (No pictures this time though - another sticky keyboard and old computers with the USB port at the back).

After the observatory we got to see the City Palace, home of the Maharajah of Jaipur. And while we were there, his car sailed through and we could see him inside, wearing big sunglasses but nodding to the crowds. And if that wasn't enough we also got to see him being wheeled in his wheelchair across a courtyard and into his private residence - so six degrees of separation, people - there is only us between him and you! (Oh, and he was still wearing the sunglasses!)

Tomorrow we are off to Pushkar and the camel fair. I hope I can find a place where I can download some pictures of us on a camel cart or otherwise in compromising positions. I apologize for not taking pictures of us with snake charmers, Maharajah's guards, or the Sadhu (a holy man) who posed for the cameras with his tongue out and touching his nose. I'm sorry, I just didn't take pictures of those things, even though we saw them - can I be forgiven?

Now to rest for tomorrow and the hope that the earplugs I put in tonight will block the sound of the muzzein and the call to prayer tomorrow morning. I will look for opportunities to post photos of us - at the Peacock Gate in Jaipur, or with those camels tomorrow.