Basically Uttarayan is kite flying day, and is very big in Gujarat especially Surat, and is celebrated with gusto. Lucky for me my counselor took Morie and I to visit some friends, and enjoy the kite festival in Surat. Uttarayan is one of the only festivals that follows the Gregorian calendar instead of the Hindu calendar which goes by the movement of the moon, and is the only festival that is always on the same date of January 14th when the sun starts to travel north.
I began my day of Uttayaran in Bharuch (which isn’t such a big deal in Bharuch, but you can still see a ton of people flying kites, and after spending the morning with my host family, and my host grandmother who was very sick at the time, I then walked to the relatives of my counselor to fly my first Indian kite. Kite flying isn’t really my special talent, and normally after flying for a minute or so the kite would dive bomb towards the ground, and one of the guys would quickly snatch the kite away from me. By the end of Uttarayan I became pretty good, but it took a while.
After lunch with some friends, and eating Jelebis (an amazing sweet that tastes like fried honey in a swirly shape) we started to Surat. Arriving into Surat you could see all the apartment terraces covered with people either looking up at their kites or down at the fallen kites down below. Being new to kite fighting, which is kind of what the whole festival is about I was amazed to find out that the string called manja is covered in glass powder making the kite string incredibly sharp to cut the strings of other kites, and your fingers, and by the time I returned back to Bharuch I had several cuts. This really is the whole object of flying the kites (cutting the other kite strings), and cheering and yelling is done throughout. Whenever you cut someone elses kite everyone in your group yells “Kypo Chhe!” (I cut the kite in Gujarati) and starts going wild.
We were lucky to be on a really high terrace, and have a bunch of other people around with lots of kite strings just begging to be cut. Morie and I were the first of our group to go up, and we made some new friends who let us fly their kites sometimes. Of course I had mine taken away occasionally, but it was still fun to feed off of their kite flying energy. Part of the fun of Uttarayan is that in Gujarat it is a holiday off of work and school so everyone can enjoy. On the terrace everyone is playing the latest hindi tunes booming through huge speakers, eating chiki (basically peanut brittle), and enjoying their surroundings.
The kites themselves look like a colorful flock of birds filling the sky, and in some places of Surat the sky was covered with kites. After a while not only the sky, but every tree, power line, roof, and lots of the ground was covered with kites. The terrace we were on looked over a huge park, and the trees looked like they were decorated for Christmas with all of the kites enhancing the green. At night everything became even more amazing when they started shooting off fireworks, and flying kites that held candles. With the candle kites they started off with one, and then gradually added more and more till you had huge strings of lights soaring in the sky all over in Surat.
By the time the kite light strings had started we had already changed locations to a little Rotary party, and I met the American Friendship team from Washington/Oregon. I really enjoyed chatting with them as I took pictures of the kites, and worked on my kite flying. That night we went to a outside food stand (which is the place to get food in Surat), and had some of the most amazing chicken I had ever tasted. The next night we again had nonveg, and I decided to be a bit daring and had mutton balls, and goat brain. To keep things a bit more on the normal side I had some egg dishes and a cold cocoa (which is a lot like liquefied chocolate mousse). We were supposed to go home, but everyone was having so much fun we decided to stay the night. Instead we went to the beach and danced in the parking lot for a while.
For the next day we went to see the International Kite Flying Festival, and tried to avoid the people taking pictures, asking for our autographs, and interviews. At this point I was glad I was in a smaller city where the attention isn’t as constant, but you do meet some very interesting people by being strange looking in India. We did meet some kite fliers from Italy, and Morie was thrilled to meet some from Japan and they gave her some of their kites. The kites at the festival weren’t the typical kites of Uttarayan, but huge ones that reached the size of a hot air balloon, and they were all different colors and shapes some with streamers, other solid, but with no two kites the same.
In the afternoon we went back for kite flying again, and I actually got a kite up, and flew it all by myself without too many dive bombings! I even cut some kites by myself (even if some were by accident). Then finally after the meal I have previously described we headed back to Bharuch at the very early hour of 10:00 pm. When I arrived home I was pooped, and after giving a quick summary I crashed into bed. Now the next time I go to the beach in the US I want to buy a kite!!!
Monday, January 21, 2008
District 3060 Rotary Conference
Not long after our north tour and the rest of my random travels my host Rotary district of 3060 had their annual Rotary conference in Ahmanabad. The conference wasn’t really for the students, and had many lectures that we didn’t attend, but we were part of the entertainment. For the first night all of the exchangers sang the Indian National anthem to end the meeting. One of my favorite parts of the whole conference was a concert given by famous singer Shreya Ghoshal! She was a truly amazing famous, and lucky for me she is the singer of some of my favorite hindi songs. I of course had a ton of fun dancing in front of the stage with some of the other exchangers, and singing the songs with her at the top of our lungs. What a blast!!!
The following day was spent practicing for our talent presentations, and after the morning practice most of us slept, and then practiced more until our actual presentations. The French girls from Baroda and us three Bharuch girls had prepared an Indian folk dance, and then the three of us did a Japanese dance. For the Japanese dance the three of us had to remain quite straight-faced so when we did the folk dance which was after I think something clicked and the entire dance all of us were cracking up, and truly enjoying ourselves. After a secret santa get together with all of the exchangers we went to bed late that night waking up early to drive to Baroda where we spent New Years.
The following day was spent practicing for our talent presentations, and after the morning practice most of us slept, and then practiced more until our actual presentations. The French girls from Baroda and us three Bharuch girls had prepared an Indian folk dance, and then the three of us did a Japanese dance. For the Japanese dance the three of us had to remain quite straight-faced so when we did the folk dance which was after I think something clicked and the entire dance all of us were cracking up, and truly enjoying ourselves. After a secret santa get together with all of the exchangers we went to bed late that night waking up early to drive to Baroda where we spent New Years.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Diamonds to Die for
The day after I arrived home from my North Tour my family took me on a few more travels one to Ahmanabad to spiritually intiate my host brother’s new apartment flat, and the day following to Surat to take a tour of a diamond factory called Venus Gems. Amazingly Surat produces 80% of the worlds diamonds (not mining, but cutting anyways), and I was lucky enough to visit one of the factories.
Upon arrival to the factory we were brought up to the head office where we had tea and lunch with the owner and one of his businessmen from Belgium; in short we were treated like VIPs. The tour of the diamond factory was pretty amazing, and the technology they use is phenomenal. In the first room we went into tables and tables of men were sitting and examining the diamonds for the quality. At the next group of tables, this time with computers men were using a computer program to see what would be the best cut for each diamond and in the market receive the maximum price.
Working our way to the next room was the first cutting of the diamond to split off the different cuts, and then in a several separate rooms the diamond is cut in more detail. For the major cut a laser is used, but for some of the smaller cuts it is a mix of saw, and then some of laser. Our guide said that by cutting with a saw more of the diamond can be saved than if they always use laser, but using a laser is much faster. For polishing and some small touch ups they use the powder of the diamond, and then in the diamonds final stages it goes through several more check throughs, and also quality tests.
In the final stages of making the diamond my host family enjoyed walking through and admiring the diamonds undergoing their finishing touches. AT one point I was holding a diamond worth $400,000, and with that diamond my host mother put the diamond in between her fingers, and gazed up at my host father. With a look of longing, my host mother’s dream was lost by the laughing of my host father. My favorite part of near the end when I saw them testing the quality by putting them under a black light to check the light reflection of the diamond. One thing that I found truly fascinating about diamonds was that each diamond is unique like a snowflake, and has its own special light reflection. All in all I learned a lot about diamond production, but after watching most of Blood Diamond I will try to stick with crystal.
Upon arrival to the factory we were brought up to the head office where we had tea and lunch with the owner and one of his businessmen from Belgium; in short we were treated like VIPs. The tour of the diamond factory was pretty amazing, and the technology they use is phenomenal. In the first room we went into tables and tables of men were sitting and examining the diamonds for the quality. At the next group of tables, this time with computers men were using a computer program to see what would be the best cut for each diamond and in the market receive the maximum price.
Working our way to the next room was the first cutting of the diamond to split off the different cuts, and then in a several separate rooms the diamond is cut in more detail. For the major cut a laser is used, but for some of the smaller cuts it is a mix of saw, and then some of laser. Our guide said that by cutting with a saw more of the diamond can be saved than if they always use laser, but using a laser is much faster. For polishing and some small touch ups they use the powder of the diamond, and then in the diamonds final stages it goes through several more check throughs, and also quality tests.
In the final stages of making the diamond my host family enjoyed walking through and admiring the diamonds undergoing their finishing touches. AT one point I was holding a diamond worth $400,000, and with that diamond my host mother put the diamond in between her fingers, and gazed up at my host father. With a look of longing, my host mother’s dream was lost by the laughing of my host father. My favorite part of near the end when I saw them testing the quality by putting them under a black light to check the light reflection of the diamond. One thing that I found truly fascinating about diamonds was that each diamond is unique like a snowflake, and has its own special light reflection. All in all I learned a lot about diamond production, but after watching most of Blood Diamond I will try to stick with crystal.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
North India Tour Part Three-Dharamshala
Of all of our destinations throughout my whole month on tour, Dharamshala was my favorite by a long shot. It could have been that we did see snow in December, or it might have been the welcoming community that we encountered throughout our stay.
Right out of the shoots (or in this case train), our adventures began with an intense rainstorm, and Morie jumping off the train as it was leaving (she had everyone scared). Of course when we got out of the station our bus is nowhere in sight, and most of the students were not properly prepared for sour weather. Lucky for me my parents have attempted to teach me to be prepared for everything, and amazingly on that trip I followed their advice, and I had my raincoat, an extra coat, hat and gloves. After about an hour wait we see our bus for the first time, and at the same time a cringe for how small it is for 19 people. Upon further inspection we find that not only is the bus lacking the proper amount of seats, but over half of the seats are either broken or wet from the rain. Another hour later our group escort decides to rent us three cars to caravan us up.
The car ride up was a winding one, but was so beautiful it was hard to not follow every curve with your eyes. Shortly after crowding in, packing our luggage in and out (lucky for me mine fit in the car), and driving a ways we stopped to eat a hot breakfast. One thing I should mention about Dharamshala is that compared to the temperature of Gujarat, Dharamshala was very cold for us even if it was only about 40 F (the lowest temp I’ve see in Bharuch has been 76 F, and everyone is wearing hats and sweaters). After our long drive of catching glimpses of the snow covered Himalayas, rivers, waterfalls, lots of monkeys, fields, and a new type of forest I had never seen before we finally reached Dharamshala.
Dharamshala is really famous for the residence of Tenzin Gyatso, the Dalai Lama, and a large Tibetan population, and in our less than 24 hour stay there we were able to see THE Buddhist temple, and a couple others as well. Along with our Buddhist temple viewing we walked up to a waterfall to really enjoy the rain, and the wonderful scenery, and then we saw a Hindu temple, and Catholic Church. Besides the major temples on the hike up to the waterfall you can look down and see small Hindu temples at the edges of cliffs looking down towards the valley. Kind of a dismal thought, but I told Mayara that if I died in India I wanted her to let my ashes go here. It was so fun to be there with everyone because you could see the joy in everyone’s eyes as they saw snow (some for the first time), and just enjoyed the cold. Everyone was just flushed with the excitement of being alive, together, and in India.
After our sightseeing adventures we went shopping, and met the community. The community in Dharamshala is different from any community I have encountered in India so far. Everyone, and I mean everyone greets you cheerfully on the street (even a cow mooed at me once), and the whole atmosphere is somewhat lighter. Also it is the cleanest town I have been to in India, and all the people I met there were really helpful too. In one shop I went into the family who owned the shop were eating their dinner there, just laughing and enjoying, and asking us if we needed any help if we looked undecided. Such a different atmosphere from the shouting and bargaining of where I live in India, and if you ask the price they give you a fairly direct and decent one, so much that you feel a little guilty if you bargain (I encountered several exceptions of course). After a late night of shopping, and a ton of fun enjoying everyone’s company we went to sleep with our heaters on high after a totally wonderful day.
The next morning several girls got up early to try and complete some last minute shopping before we had to go. Most of the shops didn’t open until 9:30 10:00 so we really missed the good shopping, but all good things must come to an end, and down the hill to the train station we left. On the way down the rain subsided, and actually became sunny, and a half an hour before our train came we arrived. For the 20 hour train ride I mainly slept, and the next day I said a sad farewell to everyone as we got off at Bharuch.
Right out of the shoots (or in this case train), our adventures began with an intense rainstorm, and Morie jumping off the train as it was leaving (she had everyone scared). Of course when we got out of the station our bus is nowhere in sight, and most of the students were not properly prepared for sour weather. Lucky for me my parents have attempted to teach me to be prepared for everything, and amazingly on that trip I followed their advice, and I had my raincoat, an extra coat, hat and gloves. After about an hour wait we see our bus for the first time, and at the same time a cringe for how small it is for 19 people. Upon further inspection we find that not only is the bus lacking the proper amount of seats, but over half of the seats are either broken or wet from the rain. Another hour later our group escort decides to rent us three cars to caravan us up.
The car ride up was a winding one, but was so beautiful it was hard to not follow every curve with your eyes. Shortly after crowding in, packing our luggage in and out (lucky for me mine fit in the car), and driving a ways we stopped to eat a hot breakfast. One thing I should mention about Dharamshala is that compared to the temperature of Gujarat, Dharamshala was very cold for us even if it was only about 40 F (the lowest temp I’ve see in Bharuch has been 76 F, and everyone is wearing hats and sweaters). After our long drive of catching glimpses of the snow covered Himalayas, rivers, waterfalls, lots of monkeys, fields, and a new type of forest I had never seen before we finally reached Dharamshala.
Dharamshala is really famous for the residence of Tenzin Gyatso, the Dalai Lama, and a large Tibetan population, and in our less than 24 hour stay there we were able to see THE Buddhist temple, and a couple others as well. Along with our Buddhist temple viewing we walked up to a waterfall to really enjoy the rain, and the wonderful scenery, and then we saw a Hindu temple, and Catholic Church. Besides the major temples on the hike up to the waterfall you can look down and see small Hindu temples at the edges of cliffs looking down towards the valley. Kind of a dismal thought, but I told Mayara that if I died in India I wanted her to let my ashes go here. It was so fun to be there with everyone because you could see the joy in everyone’s eyes as they saw snow (some for the first time), and just enjoyed the cold. Everyone was just flushed with the excitement of being alive, together, and in India.
After our sightseeing adventures we went shopping, and met the community. The community in Dharamshala is different from any community I have encountered in India so far. Everyone, and I mean everyone greets you cheerfully on the street (even a cow mooed at me once), and the whole atmosphere is somewhat lighter. Also it is the cleanest town I have been to in India, and all the people I met there were really helpful too. In one shop I went into the family who owned the shop were eating their dinner there, just laughing and enjoying, and asking us if we needed any help if we looked undecided. Such a different atmosphere from the shouting and bargaining of where I live in India, and if you ask the price they give you a fairly direct and decent one, so much that you feel a little guilty if you bargain (I encountered several exceptions of course). After a late night of shopping, and a ton of fun enjoying everyone’s company we went to sleep with our heaters on high after a totally wonderful day.
The next morning several girls got up early to try and complete some last minute shopping before we had to go. Most of the shops didn’t open until 9:30 10:00 so we really missed the good shopping, but all good things must come to an end, and down the hill to the train station we left. On the way down the rain subsided, and actually became sunny, and a half an hour before our train came we arrived. For the 20 hour train ride I mainly slept, and the next day I said a sad farewell to everyone as we got off at Bharuch.
North India Tour Part Two-Agra/Delhi
Until we actually reached Agra we had essentially an all day drive stopping a couple times for a bathroom break, and once at our guide’s family house for a dab of tea. Also we stopped to see a mogul fort right on the outside of Agra which was really cool. Once we actually reached Agra you could feel the excitement as everyone yelled “WE ARE GOING TO SEE THE TAJ!” every few minutes. That night we didn’t get see the famous wonder of the world yet, but the restaurant of our motel did have a revolving dining area that looked out over the city; not bad for a first night.
The big day finally arrived after a short night of sleep everyone woke up early to try and catch the Taj as early as possible. After an international bus ride including some people from Katmandu and Spain we reached the Taj. Honestly when you first see it you kind of have to pinch yourself to make sure you’re not dreaming. Places like the Taj can’t have their magnificence on film or in any other way besides witnessing it in person. The buildings surrounding (which you don’t know are there by all of the pictures of the Taj) are pretty awesome too, but the tomb inside isn’t out of this world, but if you plan to see the Taj make sure you have a whole day to spend there alone.
Upon our arrival at the Taj everyone brought out their cameras and were taking pictures like crazy, and it was kind of like strike a pose, grab the closest person next to you and shoot like crazy. One kid in the group took 400 pictures at the Taj alone, and then as we were leaving he was adding to it. The park surrounding the Taj is a great place to wander around and enjoy the splendor you are beholding. Sadly when we went it was a bit smoggy, but the white marble managed to shine through. I think that one of the coolest parts about the Taj is that so many people from around the world come to see it and gape at it that it kind of is like an international convention. Everyone is soo excited to see the same thing that you find yourself exchanging looks with the person beside you and just smiling, and even if it is in a different language you know they are thinking the exact same thing as you “I can’t believe I am standing here!”
Our tour guide for the Taj had us on a really tight schedule, and every single one of us were about an hour late, and as a result we received a lecture, and had to skip the Agra fort to instead visit a temple in Delhi. After a quick stopped at the hotel to gather our things, and then one at MacDonalds for lunch (sadly, how typical of foreign teenagers, but when I tell them I rarely go to MacDonalds in the US they are kind of shocked) we were on our way to Delhi on a race against time to make it to the temple by 5:00 pm.
When we finally did reach Delhi, on time, but cutting it close, the traffic was crazy and every car was packed full of people. My personal record of people in a 5 seater car here in India is 9 full grown adults, and even for long journeys a single seat to yourself, is rare. In other words every car in Delhi is holding about 9 people, and all the buses are jammed pack. Luckily we made it to the temple which as it turns out was a Swaminarayan temple. To get in we had to remove anything metal, cameras, belts, and basically get patted down due to a bombing of one of their temples not so long ago.
Honestly upon entering the gardens and building surrounding the temple I didn’t think that it would be one of my favorite places, but it gives the Taj a run for its money. Before actually entering the temple most of the exchange students bought tickets to see the exhibition of the temple, a light/fountain show, and a boat ride/tour of the vedic ages. The exhibition included some informational movies and then a walking tour where some amazing robots narrated the life of Bhagwan Swaminarayan the holy man who began making the swaminayaran temples in the fist place. We then sat and watched the amazing fountain show of water and lights all coreographed to music! I think it was one of my favorite light/water shows (also one of the few I’ve seen), and the background was the temple decorated in its evening lights! After the light show we walked through an educational display on the teachings of Bhagvan Swaminayaran, and then following the boat ride that took us through the vedic ages and all of its discoveries. That night in Delhi we didn’t get into our hotel till around 10:00, and before going to bed managed to grab a bite to eat.
Our day in Delhi was much too short, and we only were able to see about half the things we were supposed to, but we still managed to have a good time. At Humayan’s Tomb we met some people from Pakistan, and one of the guys in the group started telling me about himself (and very proud of himself I might add), and then radomly gave me this CD of this band he was doing technical work for. About half way through the day we walked a ways to find a MacDonalds and met some amassadors kids from France. From there we visited some more sights before we had to head to the train station.
Since I have heard through the grape vine of some complaints about how long my posts are, from now on I am going to try to make more entries, but shorter. Happy New Year to everyone, and I will work on Part III of my north tour-Dharamshala soon!
The big day finally arrived after a short night of sleep everyone woke up early to try and catch the Taj as early as possible. After an international bus ride including some people from Katmandu and Spain we reached the Taj. Honestly when you first see it you kind of have to pinch yourself to make sure you’re not dreaming. Places like the Taj can’t have their magnificence on film or in any other way besides witnessing it in person. The buildings surrounding (which you don’t know are there by all of the pictures of the Taj) are pretty awesome too, but the tomb inside isn’t out of this world, but if you plan to see the Taj make sure you have a whole day to spend there alone.
Upon our arrival at the Taj everyone brought out their cameras and were taking pictures like crazy, and it was kind of like strike a pose, grab the closest person next to you and shoot like crazy. One kid in the group took 400 pictures at the Taj alone, and then as we were leaving he was adding to it. The park surrounding the Taj is a great place to wander around and enjoy the splendor you are beholding. Sadly when we went it was a bit smoggy, but the white marble managed to shine through. I think that one of the coolest parts about the Taj is that so many people from around the world come to see it and gape at it that it kind of is like an international convention. Everyone is soo excited to see the same thing that you find yourself exchanging looks with the person beside you and just smiling, and even if it is in a different language you know they are thinking the exact same thing as you “I can’t believe I am standing here!”
Our tour guide for the Taj had us on a really tight schedule, and every single one of us were about an hour late, and as a result we received a lecture, and had to skip the Agra fort to instead visit a temple in Delhi. After a quick stopped at the hotel to gather our things, and then one at MacDonalds for lunch (sadly, how typical of foreign teenagers, but when I tell them I rarely go to MacDonalds in the US they are kind of shocked) we were on our way to Delhi on a race against time to make it to the temple by 5:00 pm.
When we finally did reach Delhi, on time, but cutting it close, the traffic was crazy and every car was packed full of people. My personal record of people in a 5 seater car here in India is 9 full grown adults, and even for long journeys a single seat to yourself, is rare. In other words every car in Delhi is holding about 9 people, and all the buses are jammed pack. Luckily we made it to the temple which as it turns out was a Swaminarayan temple. To get in we had to remove anything metal, cameras, belts, and basically get patted down due to a bombing of one of their temples not so long ago.
Honestly upon entering the gardens and building surrounding the temple I didn’t think that it would be one of my favorite places, but it gives the Taj a run for its money. Before actually entering the temple most of the exchange students bought tickets to see the exhibition of the temple, a light/fountain show, and a boat ride/tour of the vedic ages. The exhibition included some informational movies and then a walking tour where some amazing robots narrated the life of Bhagwan Swaminarayan the holy man who began making the swaminayaran temples in the fist place. We then sat and watched the amazing fountain show of water and lights all coreographed to music! I think it was one of my favorite light/water shows (also one of the few I’ve seen), and the background was the temple decorated in its evening lights! After the light show we walked through an educational display on the teachings of Bhagvan Swaminayaran, and then following the boat ride that took us through the vedic ages and all of its discoveries. That night in Delhi we didn’t get into our hotel till around 10:00, and before going to bed managed to grab a bite to eat.
Our day in Delhi was much too short, and we only were able to see about half the things we were supposed to, but we still managed to have a good time. At Humayan’s Tomb we met some people from Pakistan, and one of the guys in the group started telling me about himself (and very proud of himself I might add), and then radomly gave me this CD of this band he was doing technical work for. About half way through the day we walked a ways to find a MacDonalds and met some amassadors kids from France. From there we visited some more sights before we had to head to the train station.
Since I have heard through the grape vine of some complaints about how long my posts are, from now on I am going to try to make more entries, but shorter. Happy New Year to everyone, and I will work on Part III of my north tour-Dharamshala soon!
Thursday, January 3, 2008
North India Tour Part One-Rajasthan
North India Tour
The north tour like the Gujarat tour was amazing, but of the two the north tour was my favorite. Each day was jammed pack full of things to see or lots of travel time where we were able to cover tons of beautiful country. Over my month of touring I was able to hit all the extremes from the desert in Rajasthan, to the beautiful beaches at Diu, the lovely Himalayan peaks and forests in Dharamshala, the hard core city in New Delhi, and everything in between passing through terrain on the bus.
After some sad goodbyes to all of the short term Malaysians who weren’t going to join us for the North India tour, all 17 (5 from the US, Brazil, and France, and 1 from Japan and Mexico) of the exchange students departed on the train destined for Jodhpur, Rajasthan. We spent the night on the train which for those who have not spent the night in and Indian train it is quite an experience. Till about 11:00 at night people are walking through the Boogies yelling for people to buy soup, snacks, water normally in a really loud, high, nasally voice. In the particular tier that I was staying in there are 3 levels to beds to sleep in on two side for one side of the compartment and then on the other there are two levels of beds and they are both facing in the direction of the train. We ate train food tray dinners, and then after a little bit of chatting we all went to sleep, and magically woke up in Jodhpur.
From Jodhpur we took a desert drive in the bus to Jaisalmer where shortly after arriving we visited an ancient burial site. The interesting thing about the burial site was the more recent graves where a couple of us looking around found what looked like cut hair all around. Well the Indian girl who joined us from Bombay (she went to Florida last year on exchange) told us it was from coconuts, but none of us bought it, and now it remains a mystery.
After visiting the burial site, and each of us finding one ferile puppy that we wanted to take home in our purses we went to Gadisar lake where we had a film director ask us to be in his movie the next day. Apparently it was going to be “a frickin’ big movie,” but with language like that and the absence of a cast who would believe him. At the lake we rented boats to take us out at sunset, and enjoy the evening surroundings. It was so much fun to be out on the lake, and look over and see the lighted temples in the distance and on the other side trees emerged in water full of cormorants all haloed by the purple sunset lighting up the sky.
The next day was one full of sightseeing and we jumped from the Golden Fort, and then bunch of Havelis. the Haveli’s (big ornately designed old mansions) we went shopping, and I think everyone got to work on their bargaining. Bargaining in India is quite an event that normally starts with the merchant calling the buyer in to look at their things “oh madam! Come and have a look at my shop,” “today is my birthday I will give you special price,” “You are looking so beautiful today madam I think you need to treat yourself,” “I will give you indian price madam, come and shop”. If you ask the price; the first price is always ridiculously high, and if you laugh and walk away they normally automatically give you a lower price by a couple hundred rupees followed by “lowest price” or “don’t tell anyone, but this is only for you”. Once the Merchants mark it down once you know they will do it again, and so begins the chase. After some complaints about how they won’t break even if they give you a certain price yada yada yada, and some complaints on my side about how “I am just a student I can’t afford that ridiculous price.” Then after some time they hopefully ask you (if you start to walk away one last time) “fine. what is your price?” you give him a price, and they hopefully accept it. Sometimes bargaining can get quite heated, and I have seen Indians start yelling at each other during bargaining.
For the rest of the afternoon we then went camel riding out in the desert to enjoy the sunset and the sand. I think even more than the camel ride people enjoyed the sand, and a couple people were buried full body in the sand. Most of the people arrived back in the hotel with their clothes and hair full of sand, and desperate for a shower. Actually my friend Mayara had sand the pair of pants she was wearing for the rest of the trip. I managed to escape unscathed.
The next morning we left bright and early for a drive back to Jodhpur to see the fort and spend one night before heading up to Jaipur. On the drive to Jodhpur it was interesting because we kept on seeing all these military vehicles. Before anyone gets freaked out I should mention that about 80% of the desert inhabitants join the armed forces (the rest are in agriculture, tourism, or other industries) and also Jaisalmer is only like 150 km from Pakistan. Once we reached Jodhpur we toured through the fort which is full of palaces and has a great view of the “blue city” (which is literally the blue city almost every building is painted blue). During the evening in our hotel we juggled time spying on a wedding reception and watching a scary movie. Amazingly enough I sat through the entire scary movie, and didn’t have any nightmares!! (but I did scream when someone jumped out at me when I was walking out of the bathroom).
On the way to Jaipur we were back on the road again only to stop for the bathroom and then once to see a holy wishing tree. The wishing tree is special because if you make a wish and tie a string all the way around its trunk when your wish comes true you have to come back and remove the string you tied. Sadly there were a lot of strings on the 5,000 year old tree, but there is always hope. During the process of tying one of the holy men came up to me, and rushed his had up to give me a tika and then ran away. He left me standing there startled, left only with a red dot on my forehead.
In the evening we arrived to Jaipur, and in the evening we celebrated the last day of Hanukkah. I don’t think I’ve mentioned it yet, but one of the American girls from New York is Jewish, and every other night or so we will celebrate one of the days of Hanukkah with her by lighting the candles saying a prayer and then playing Adam Sandler’s “Hanukkah Song.” For the last night of Hanukkah she went all out giving everyone dreidels, lighting all the candles on our make shift menorah, some prayers, Adam Sandler’s “Hanukkah Song,” traditional songs, and then playing dreidel for “gelt.” So I can now say I have celebrated Hanukkah in India with 6 different nationalities.
The next day in Jaipur we spent the entire day sightseeing, and then finished if off by a lot of shopping. To start off the day we went up to a huge fort on top of a hill looking out over a lake and the city and palace of Amer. We then drove down to go to Amer Palace, and RIDE ELEPHANTS!! Riding elephants up to the Palace was really cool, but throughout the ride up our driver was harassing us to exchange his euros, and then to give him a tip. The harassment continued when we got down, and a bunch of merchants stormed us to buy postcards, elephant statues, and paintings.
At the top of the palace, just before the entry most of our group decided they didn’t want to go into the palace. This left a small group of 5 to rush through in 30 minutes in this maze of a Palace (there was actually a maze in the palace called in hindi a Bhool Bhalaiya, which is also a hindi movie that was in cinemas a while back) and even though we had the shortest amount of time to look around I think we had the most fun because we had to rush. My personal favorite part was when we were running down the road where the elephants came up and one of the girls lost her sandal for a minute. When we reached the bottom, afraid we were going to be the last ones we were actually the first and a group of people was lost. Everyone finally found each other in time for lectures on the bus.
Our next destination was the city palace, and then shortly following a shopping extravaganza. The city palace was interesting, but what made it the most fun was meeting a group of French people with one of the French exchange students and then touring with their group (we then saw the same people when they were at the Taj Mahal). Mainly the city palace was a museum exhibit, and they had an amazing collection of paintings and decorative carpets. Afterwards shopping was crazy! There are so many things to choose, and everyone trying to convince you to come to their shop. Personally I had A LOT of fun shopping, and by the end of our shopping excursion I had several bags full of things. That night we did one last stop to see the evening view of a monument before returning to our hotel for the evening. Next stop AGRA!!!
The north tour like the Gujarat tour was amazing, but of the two the north tour was my favorite. Each day was jammed pack full of things to see or lots of travel time where we were able to cover tons of beautiful country. Over my month of touring I was able to hit all the extremes from the desert in Rajasthan, to the beautiful beaches at Diu, the lovely Himalayan peaks and forests in Dharamshala, the hard core city in New Delhi, and everything in between passing through terrain on the bus.
After some sad goodbyes to all of the short term Malaysians who weren’t going to join us for the North India tour, all 17 (5 from the US, Brazil, and France, and 1 from Japan and Mexico) of the exchange students departed on the train destined for Jodhpur, Rajasthan. We spent the night on the train which for those who have not spent the night in and Indian train it is quite an experience. Till about 11:00 at night people are walking through the Boogies yelling for people to buy soup, snacks, water normally in a really loud, high, nasally voice. In the particular tier that I was staying in there are 3 levels to beds to sleep in on two side for one side of the compartment and then on the other there are two levels of beds and they are both facing in the direction of the train. We ate train food tray dinners, and then after a little bit of chatting we all went to sleep, and magically woke up in Jodhpur.
From Jodhpur we took a desert drive in the bus to Jaisalmer where shortly after arriving we visited an ancient burial site. The interesting thing about the burial site was the more recent graves where a couple of us looking around found what looked like cut hair all around. Well the Indian girl who joined us from Bombay (she went to Florida last year on exchange) told us it was from coconuts, but none of us bought it, and now it remains a mystery.
After visiting the burial site, and each of us finding one ferile puppy that we wanted to take home in our purses we went to Gadisar lake where we had a film director ask us to be in his movie the next day. Apparently it was going to be “a frickin’ big movie,” but with language like that and the absence of a cast who would believe him. At the lake we rented boats to take us out at sunset, and enjoy the evening surroundings. It was so much fun to be out on the lake, and look over and see the lighted temples in the distance and on the other side trees emerged in water full of cormorants all haloed by the purple sunset lighting up the sky.
The next day was one full of sightseeing and we jumped from the Golden Fort, and then bunch of Havelis. the Haveli’s (big ornately designed old mansions) we went shopping, and I think everyone got to work on their bargaining. Bargaining in India is quite an event that normally starts with the merchant calling the buyer in to look at their things “oh madam! Come and have a look at my shop,” “today is my birthday I will give you special price,” “You are looking so beautiful today madam I think you need to treat yourself,” “I will give you indian price madam, come and shop”. If you ask the price; the first price is always ridiculously high, and if you laugh and walk away they normally automatically give you a lower price by a couple hundred rupees followed by “lowest price” or “don’t tell anyone, but this is only for you”. Once the Merchants mark it down once you know they will do it again, and so begins the chase. After some complaints about how they won’t break even if they give you a certain price yada yada yada, and some complaints on my side about how “I am just a student I can’t afford that ridiculous price.” Then after some time they hopefully ask you (if you start to walk away one last time) “fine. what is your price?” you give him a price, and they hopefully accept it. Sometimes bargaining can get quite heated, and I have seen Indians start yelling at each other during bargaining.
For the rest of the afternoon we then went camel riding out in the desert to enjoy the sunset and the sand. I think even more than the camel ride people enjoyed the sand, and a couple people were buried full body in the sand. Most of the people arrived back in the hotel with their clothes and hair full of sand, and desperate for a shower. Actually my friend Mayara had sand the pair of pants she was wearing for the rest of the trip. I managed to escape unscathed.
The next morning we left bright and early for a drive back to Jodhpur to see the fort and spend one night before heading up to Jaipur. On the drive to Jodhpur it was interesting because we kept on seeing all these military vehicles. Before anyone gets freaked out I should mention that about 80% of the desert inhabitants join the armed forces (the rest are in agriculture, tourism, or other industries) and also Jaisalmer is only like 150 km from Pakistan. Once we reached Jodhpur we toured through the fort which is full of palaces and has a great view of the “blue city” (which is literally the blue city almost every building is painted blue). During the evening in our hotel we juggled time spying on a wedding reception and watching a scary movie. Amazingly enough I sat through the entire scary movie, and didn’t have any nightmares!! (but I did scream when someone jumped out at me when I was walking out of the bathroom).
On the way to Jaipur we were back on the road again only to stop for the bathroom and then once to see a holy wishing tree. The wishing tree is special because if you make a wish and tie a string all the way around its trunk when your wish comes true you have to come back and remove the string you tied. Sadly there were a lot of strings on the 5,000 year old tree, but there is always hope. During the process of tying one of the holy men came up to me, and rushed his had up to give me a tika and then ran away. He left me standing there startled, left only with a red dot on my forehead.
In the evening we arrived to Jaipur, and in the evening we celebrated the last day of Hanukkah. I don’t think I’ve mentioned it yet, but one of the American girls from New York is Jewish, and every other night or so we will celebrate one of the days of Hanukkah with her by lighting the candles saying a prayer and then playing Adam Sandler’s “Hanukkah Song.” For the last night of Hanukkah she went all out giving everyone dreidels, lighting all the candles on our make shift menorah, some prayers, Adam Sandler’s “Hanukkah Song,” traditional songs, and then playing dreidel for “gelt.” So I can now say I have celebrated Hanukkah in India with 6 different nationalities.
The next day in Jaipur we spent the entire day sightseeing, and then finished if off by a lot of shopping. To start off the day we went up to a huge fort on top of a hill looking out over a lake and the city and palace of Amer. We then drove down to go to Amer Palace, and RIDE ELEPHANTS!! Riding elephants up to the Palace was really cool, but throughout the ride up our driver was harassing us to exchange his euros, and then to give him a tip. The harassment continued when we got down, and a bunch of merchants stormed us to buy postcards, elephant statues, and paintings.
At the top of the palace, just before the entry most of our group decided they didn’t want to go into the palace. This left a small group of 5 to rush through in 30 minutes in this maze of a Palace (there was actually a maze in the palace called in hindi a Bhool Bhalaiya, which is also a hindi movie that was in cinemas a while back) and even though we had the shortest amount of time to look around I think we had the most fun because we had to rush. My personal favorite part was when we were running down the road where the elephants came up and one of the girls lost her sandal for a minute. When we reached the bottom, afraid we were going to be the last ones we were actually the first and a group of people was lost. Everyone finally found each other in time for lectures on the bus.
Our next destination was the city palace, and then shortly following a shopping extravaganza. The city palace was interesting, but what made it the most fun was meeting a group of French people with one of the French exchange students and then touring with their group (we then saw the same people when they were at the Taj Mahal). Mainly the city palace was a museum exhibit, and they had an amazing collection of paintings and decorative carpets. Afterwards shopping was crazy! There are so many things to choose, and everyone trying to convince you to come to their shop. Personally I had A LOT of fun shopping, and by the end of our shopping excursion I had several bags full of things. That night we did one last stop to see the evening view of a monument before returning to our hotel for the evening. Next stop AGRA!!!
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