so..day 2 in Udaipur..breakfast at tourist bungalow.. as usually these cheap accomodation places fill up easily.. after a good breakfast..usually toast/eggs..I was ready.. to attack Udaipur again for sightseeing..walked again.. towards city palace..very near is the Jagdish temple.. typical Hindu temple with statues of goddesses etc.. a Hindu temple is called *mandir*in Hindi language.. this Jagdish mandir reminded me of so many temples i had visited before on my first overland trip to India.. I really became bit of a temple freak...ahaha.. this one..the usual devotees...incense..offerings(puja) a very nice entrance on this temple..with elephants(haathi) one sees funny folks in there..Hindus are very intense... in their religion..it's a total different sight then we know.. I did not took to much time in this temple..in fact..I felt.. sometimes bit out of place..amongst all these puja ceremonies.. http://hinduism.iskcon.com/practice/309.htm I will relate about my temple visits in South India..Tamil Nadu.. Madras..Madurai..aww..really some architecture..different.. funny thing..I met a young dude from Udaipur..started talking.. and discussing India..you know..Indians are very hospitable.. I did not say no to this fellow's offer to visit his house.. as lots of Indian youngsters..they are very curious about our western world..it must look as strange to them..as we looked upon their world...so..he took me to his home..the usual greetings.. just fold your hands in a prayer like position..and say *namaste* humble and simple house...I met his mother and sister.. usually bit shy..but very friendly..they open up..if you show respect.. they offered me chappati..these chappati's are made on a *tawa* it's a plate...where the *do*is rolled upon..and made into chappati.. do is the mixture..compare it to pizza making...they roll the do.. then put it on the hot *tawa*until it becomes a flat type bread.. *paratta*is another type..more heavier..my wife makes them.. in a typical Hindu home..one always sees a puja place.. usually a statue..or a picture..of a Hindu deity..nowadays.. lots of people worship Sai Baba..or the older Sai Baba.. I bet we Western folks will never understand the real meaning.. so..this dude..and his family..gave me a warm welcome.. I could not understand..I looked like a monkey...bwaahah.. with my long hair and beard..but in India..these hippie freaks.. were compared a bit to sadhus maybe..every Hindu..has to go through the stages of life..being an ascetic..is one of them.. guru's..oh...the real ones..one does not meet in India.. they are in caves in the Himalaya range..or wandering around.. by train,bus..throughout India..and like in this modern world.. false sadu's existed..they just are out to beg for money.. or smoke a free chillum of hasjish in Varanasi..a real scam... on my travells..I talked a lot to the Indian in the street.. I sometimes got invited for a cup of tea.. sometimes even a visit..to an Indian home.. if one knows the rules..it's an amazing experience. in this case..this dude in Udaipur..he was just curious.. and we talked about the west..he was saying..we were lucky.. lucky for what??for the capitalistic world we lived in?? I tried to explain to this family..that money..is not everything.. it's better to be poor..with a simple heart..then to be rich.. and full of envy..jealousy..guilt..remorse..and competition.. I never liked injustice and hate..and if I see it..I attack it.. I don't wanna go further into this...just catch my drift.. this is a free speech forum..I don't condemn or judge.. the ones who do..are dead wrong..in my humble opinion.. so..Udaipur..let's come back to that..was an eye opener.. certainly..because of its palace..it's lake..its people.. I was gonna take a day trip to Ranakpur Jain temple.. it involved train+bus travell...and back to Udaipur.. I went to the tourist ofice..and found out..what to do.. so a hectic day..I'll tell you later on about this trip.. Tiger
Next destination was Udaipur..direct bus from Mount Abu.. had to be done by bus trip of 5 hours.. first I thought..Abu Road was linked by rail to Udaipur.. Abu Road is on the railway line to Ahmedabad... I went to Ammedabad after Udaipur-Ranakpur.. another bus trip..was not looking forward to it too much.. reached Udaipur...and checked in at tourist bungalow for 3 nights.. I wanted to explore this place..and Ranakpur as well.. a tourist bungalow..was a cheap way of accomodation.. usually in dormitory style..with 8 or 16 beds.. I always liked to stay in these places..in Udaipur..great place.. one could even take meals..or get tourist information there.. I felt very relaxed and at ease there...nice and friendly staff.. day 1..just took a shower first..some food..fried eggs/toast.. and went to the city palace....awww..this really was some sight... Udaipur lies on lake Pichola..built by Maharajah Udai Singh 2.. very ancient..it's one of the best palaces I've ever seen.. it's full of inner courtyards,balconies,nice views over the lake.. I really don't remember all these funny names of all these rooms.. usually ended with *mahal*don't know what that means?? the palace is visited in museum style..guides are available.. but one can wander around alone as well...which I did.. it's really impressiv..i did spend a whole afternoon in this place.. one usually meets with other tourists..Indian or foreign.. the lake palace hotel..is top end accomodation.. it's in the middle of lake Pichola..one has to get there by boat.. prices???ohhhh..not for hippie or backpackers budgets,my friends.. I bet you pay 300 to 600 U.S.dollars for 1 night?? no need to say...luxury abound..swimming pool..maharaja rooms?? Jacqueline Kennedy was a guest there once.. I'll try to get you peeps a link of this hotel.. hey hippie peeps..are you here?????? have a look at this..did I say luxury??? http://www.photowebusa.com/taj/lake-palace/index.htm so..Udaipur..if you walk around there in the little side streets.. it's amazing..some houses have these nice paintings.. like in the Shekawathi regio of Rajasthan..pity..never visited.. a Shekawathi village..maybe...maybe..one day..who knows?? I took my food in the tourist bungalow..and took again a shower.. i got really tired from sightseeing the palace.. i walked the whole stuff back to tourist bungalow as well.. apart from that..just wandered around the back alleys of Udaipur.. had a nice chat with some Indian family from Bombay.. damn..Indians can really talk..but..I could as well..ahahah.. crazy tiger
so..night train Jaisalmer to Jodhpur.. I got a berth sleeper reserved..but..funny.. I never slept a good night's sleep on any Indian train.. too noisy..every station hawkers screamed their heart out.. selling tea,snacks,fruits..even in the middle of the night.. Jodhpur was reached..changed train to Abu Road.. don't remember..if I had to wait long time there.. now..Abu road..nothing attractive about that place.. every 30 minutes a bus does the 25kms.to Mount Abu.. got that bus...with sleepy eyes..I watched the scenery.. woods..nice and cool..after Jaisalmer's heat and dust.. there is a lake called Nakki..lots of tourists as well.. specially Indians on honeymoon etc..Mount Abu is famous for its Dilwara Jain temples..I went to see them..amazing.. I will relate abut the Jain religion in a later posting.. after this..I went to Udaipur and Ranakpur.. Ranakpur..I remember forever..never seen such beautiful temple.. Jain temple as well..in marble..extremeley clean.. now..Mount Abu..is cooler..lots of bungalows..from richer Indians.. in this spot..around Nakki lake..lots of activity..touts...as well. there is a funny rock called Toad rock..very funny rock structure.. boating on this lake is possible..the Indian adults enjoyed themselves like little kids..in every Indian adult...harbours a kid really.. Indians are very spontaneous,outgoing folks..I loved it.. it's so damn touristical in Mount Abu..several viewpoints.. even a honeymoon viewpoint..well..I was not on a honeymoon trip.. I took a scooter ricksjah to the Dilwara temples=5kms.away.. now..these sooter wallah's..they try to cheat tourists... a *wallah* is a term used in Hindi for a fellow.. a taxi wallah is a taxidriver..a doobhi wallah=a washermen etc.. I'll come back to this term when I 'm in Bombay..now called Mumbai.. the Dilwara temples...awww..I stood amazed..about this architecture.. one must leave shoes outside..it's a piligrimage place for Jain people.. there are 2 temples there..very ancient..I bet 1100-1200 after Christ? I saw Buddha statues,elephants,lotus flowers..all carved in marble.. it's so damn clean..it's such an amazing sight..I could not believe.. it can be made and sculptured by human hands..in Jain temples.. shoes..or any leather stuff like handbags..are kept at the entrance.. it's NOT allowed to take them in..after this..went back to Mount Abu.. I slept in some cheap tourist bungalow..tomorrow..bus to Udaipur.... aww..that's another spot in my memory..Udaipur.. in 1999 i went back to Jaipur with my wife..I met a dude there.. who told me about the Om Shanti Bhavan in Mount Abu.. it's an ashram..for yoga,meditation,Indian way of thinking etc.. I'll try to get a link..if I can find one..wooohh..internet?? http://www.rajasthantravelguide.com/city/tourist_places/mount-abu/delwara_temple_mountabu.html http://sirohi.nic.in/peace.htm crazy Tiger
so..day 2 in this nice place..started with sun as usual.. Jaisalmer town very seldom gets rain.. it's on the edge of the great Thar desert..bordering Pakistan.. temperatures can soar up to over 45 degrees Celsius.. it's possible to make camel safari's into the desert. with a local guide of course..I was not interested at all.. first it's paying a tourist price..reminds me of the elephant ride in Jaipur's Amber palace..it's all about a nice pic.. for richer tourists..secondly..it's huffing/puffing in extreme heat.. it was already a torture for the body..just to walk around in town.. Jaisalmer got nice little backstreet alleys..if one wanders in there.. one sees family life..woman preparing food...rice on a tray.. is thrown up in a plate..to separate..good and bad bits? the local woman wear such nice dresses..very colourful indeed.. I went for information on train timings..and reservations... I was planning to go via Jodhpur up to Abu Road... and visit Mount Abu..that's a hill station..known for Jain temples.. Jodpur was about 7 hours train..I had to change there for Abu Rd. a night train would be ideal..since it saves a night's sleep cost.. so..I wandered a bit more around in Jaisalmer..the qila is always in view mostly..it's very impressiv..oh...and these haveli houses.. stunning..I visited the market street..very hectic..bought myself some fruits..always healthy..some tout wanted to get me into a dune safari trip to the dunes of Sam...about 45kms away.. expensiv as well..but..nice sunsets..no time..no money to waist.. and no interest as well..so...I was gonna take the night train.. towards Jodhpur..then train to Abu Road..cool hill station...awww.. crazy Tiger
aww..bus trips in India..lots of different types as well.. a deluxe bus..got video..reclining seats etc.. I took them as well..the noisy video's kept my night sleep away.. on this traject..I took an ordinary bus..wawww..it's something.. the bus was not full..when we left..the driver was a nice dude... in a red turban..he liked his noisy Indian music..the passengers.. were mostly ordinary villagers..I was the only foreigner.. can feel bit weird..lots of staring..yes...that's India as well.. I got myself a window seat..windows open for cooling.. dust blows in as well..next to me a tribal dude.. could not speak a word of bloody English..shit..languages?? the bus stopped all over..i don't know why...trains are quicker.. oh yes..it's little over 300kms..from Bikaner to Jaisalmer.. what a trip..in the aisle..these dudes drop their luggage(saman) toilet stops..oh well..yes..you just went out at a stop.. and do your thing...the driver was waiting.. Phalodi..first big stop..in the Thar desert..Pokaran the next. then finally..this lovely city called Jaisalmer..waww.. I would recommend a visit to this place..it got some charm.. touts abound..tourist industry spoiled a lot of values.. hotel,sir??change money,sir??hasjish,sir??well..well.. Jaisalmer is a city with walls around its qila(fort) the colours of the buildings,houses etc..and these *havelis* a haveli is a house built in sandstone..usually with a balcony.. the architecture of these houses..it's unbelieveable..go and see.. I decided to stay 2 nights in a cheap hotel...bit dirty..anyway.. I visited this impressiv qila(fort)it's a city in there on itself.. narrow lanes..colourful little homes..shops..hotels even.. it's a very ancient place..I believe it was built around 1160?? I got quite tired walking around..in that massive fort.. the bus trip..was still in my system as well.. that's India..peeps...it sucks some days.. took some cheap food around the hotel...and slept like a rose.. will try to get a link on Jaisalmer... http://www.jaisalmer.org.uk/index.html Tiger
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