The Happenings of Patrick and Tara: Adventures in Rajasthan

Heading out of the hills of Dharmasala, a very windey bus journey took us back to the state of Punjab to Pathankot city, where our train southward was due to leave the next day. After a few unnecessary trips crossing the city (going to the wrong railway station) we found the railway station's retiring rooms. For 250 rupees ($3) we got to enjoy dripping taps, grimy walls and a many legged little friend crawling on the floor. After the slightly stomach-sickening bus journey it was nice to lie still and horizontal. However the festiveness of Diwali (light festival) celebrations outside did not bring much peace. It literally sounded like there was a war going on outside with fireworks exploding in all directions. We have definitely learnt by now that Indians greatly enjoy making a racket.

Patrick using the handy side-street amenities

Set for Rajasthan we hopped on a night train. What was kind of unclear was when the train was to arrive in our wanted destination of Bikaner, as we were told everything between 12-3.30 am. Waking up as we unknowingly just pulled away from the station of Bikaner we spent 3 odd hours of the late night squinting out of the window hoping to see our stop. When we finally realised our stop had long since gone by we resolved to get a few more hours of sleep and get off in the major city of Jodhpur. All was not in vain, we got 5 hours free train ride.

Pushkar

On the train journey we experienced the very humble generousity of the Indian people. At dinner time all our neighbouring passengers insisted on sharing with us of their chapatis (Indian flat bread). In the end it seemed almost to turn into a competition of who could give us the most, and after stuffing down 5 chapatis each we made our best efforts to refuse more (which is very hard as Indians take this to think you are being modest and don't take no for an answer).

Patrick having a bat in Jodhpur

One scorching hot afternoon in Jodhpur we took a stroll around a big public garden, stumbling upon a group of children playing cricket. With some persuasion they insisted on us having a bat each. Luckily we didn't quite disgrace the Western world of sports and managed to hit the ball. On retiring to a park bench we became such a novelty to the Indian visitors in the park that we had a continuous hoard of people crowded around us quizzing us on everything from our sports interests to our piercings. Taking advantage of the gathering around us a local snack vendor set up his stall right next to us so as to snap up some extra customers. We felt like demanding a cut of the profit...

Camel fair in Pushkar

From Jodhpur to Pushkar we took a bone rattling bus ride where it felt like the bus driver tried to take a short cut over a field rather than on the road. There were copious amounts of holes and bumps in the road and we were literally flung half a metre up in the air every time we went over a bump. We also made the mistake of sitting on the back row of the bus, not only because this was an excellent place for three extra people at liberty to squeeze themselves in, but also because we had to battle our way through the crammed bus to get off. It was, to say the least, not an easy task with alot of jostling and stepping on people's feet even resulting in a part of Tara's bag getting torn off. To top it all off, they dropped us off 2km after the bus stop, out in the middle of nowhere, pointing to a speck in the distance to indicate which way to the town. It was definitely a bus journey we won't forget hastily.

Monkeys in Pushkar

The desert state of Rajasthan brought us some unexpected turns, one of which was the torrential downpour of rain, which is very uncommon here. Many people told us it was like the monsoon - only 3 months later. The city Jaisalmer has an average of 1mm of rainfall for November. Some places got 17mm in one day.

Rajasthan has a big folk culture from music to fashion. We loved the intricate Rajasthani murals (paintings) that clad palace walls as well as houses in the street. Rajasthani men wore traditional colourful turbans, we spotted many different styles in the street and even got to see the worlds largest turban at a museum in Udaipur.

Patrick enjoying a bhang lassie in Pushkar

Palace in Bundi

Patrick buying freshly roasted peanuts off a street vendor

Arun (next to Patrick) and family

While checking out the abandon palace in Bundi, we befriended an Indian man from the nearby city of Kota. We accepted his invite to come to his home to meet his family and took the bus out the next day. He met us at the bus stand and drove us all over the city on his motorcycle, showing all the city's landmarks and parading us in front of his surprised friends. We met his family and 3 other families, and got stuffed with so much food, sweets and chai we thought we were going to burst. As the evening got late, they insisted that we stay the night and the put us in the largest bed in the house. Everyone was so nice and friendly. Definitely a highlight of the trip. Thank you Arun!