Week Six (That Damn GCSE Maths still elludes me.)
Somehow, I'm actually getting somewhere now, Spent a day in Pune, didn't like it. It was a big dirty City just like other big dirty cities and there wasn't much point in sticking around except that the nightlife is supposed to be pretty good. Unfortunately my guts betrayed me and going out at night was not an option so the next day I headed for Aurangabad, near the fantastic Ellora Caves.
I've been pretty touristy this week, can't see myself having as much fun as I did in Hampi till I get to the Himalayas so it's been a time of photos and sightseeing.
The Ellora Caves were amazing, it is a large range of caves temples and shrines cut into solid rock, created by Buddhists, Hindus and Jainists over a thousand years ago, they took about five hundred years to complete and even through centuries of erosion they are pretty stunning, been a tight git I didn't take a guide so didn't learn much, but it was a great half day mission accidentally going the wrong way up the hill and wandering about till I found myself in another cave with a big Stone Elephant staring at me.
After that I finally made the decision to skip Mumbai (Bombay). I've been changing my mind about that every five minutes since I got here, but realised that it wouldn't be worth the time or money as I'd only be able to stay there a few days.
My next destination was Ahmedabad in Gujarat, Home State of both Mohandas Gandhi and the guy who runs the Post Office in Hanborough. The Lonely Planet book bemoans the fact that most travellers miss out on exploring this wonderful State and just skip though it to get to Rajasthan.
Twenty Four hours later, I was in Rajasthan. To my shame I didn't do much in Ahmedabad, known as the dusty city, as I started getting the dodgy pains again, but while I was there I did visit the Subermati Ashram, set up by Gandhi at the beginning of the last century. An Ashram is a sanctuary set up by a Guru where strict disciplines are adhered to and the community work together to produce various ammenities such as rope and food, then indulge in meditation, yoga, reiki etc... (Before I got to India I'd been told that an Ashram was a kind of Brothel, but luckily was wise to this before I got to the place.) It was a really tranquil place, and as it is not a tourist attraction (though anyone's welcome) no one paid me any attention unless I approached them, which was really refreshing for half an hour before I headed back to India's most congested city.
Next day I left for my first stop in Rajasthan, Udaipur. This romantic city is famous for the stunningly beautiful Lake Palace whihc rests in the centre of the majestic Lake Pichola. Sadly, when I got there the Lake had gone on it's summer holiday and the Palace sat in the middle of a dry field full of kids playing cricket and Cows dropping dung. That didn't take away the magic of the place though, it's a fantastic city with friendly people and plenty to do. When I got to my guesthouse I noticed that the rooftop restaurant was advertising a 'Nightly Octopussy show, 7pm' this aroused my interest, I had no idea what an 'Octopussy Show' entailed, but was definitely up for it so I ascended the stairs for some sort of action, when I got to the roof I discovered that every night at 7pm they show the Bond Movie 'Octopussy'. I was slightly disappointed, but then noticed from looking accross the city from the roof that nearly every rooftop restaurant was showing Octopussy, turns out that it was filmed in Udaipur. Interesting, I guess.
NExt day was spent wandering around the museums and fortresses, hardcore tourist style. Then, in the evening I finally satisfied a personal quest of mine. I was promised Elephants at the Hindi Festival in Kochi, but onlyt saw the end of a trunk over a wall, I was promised Elephants at Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary, but they'd left for the day. But last night in Udaipur I finally rode an Elephant. Rajid (the Elephant) took me through the dry lake for a few minutes then dropped me off on some steps where his mate proceeded to rip me off. Nevermind, at least I can cross that off my things to do list.
Most of this may seem dull to read, it didn't seem dull to me as all the time I'm in India and random things will always happen. Got to Jodphur (the Blue city) today, hooked up with a NOrwegian girl and a guy from Brighton, my first company in ages, and went to the Meherangarh Fort, a huge place that overlooks the city. While we were there they were filming a chewing gum advert destined for western audiences, so if you see a new chewing gum advert set in India, you will know that I.... urrr... walked past it. Still, that's the best claim to fame I've got so far. NExt I'm off to Jaisalmer for a two (maybe three) day Camel Safari in the great Thar desert, so if there are no more entries on this site assume that I'm still there trying to find a cigarette shop.
Keep Smiling Buddy...
I've been pretty touristy this week, can't see myself having as much fun as I did in Hampi till I get to the Himalayas so it's been a time of photos and sightseeing.
The Ellora Caves were amazing, it is a large range of caves temples and shrines cut into solid rock, created by Buddhists, Hindus and Jainists over a thousand years ago, they took about five hundred years to complete and even through centuries of erosion they are pretty stunning, been a tight git I didn't take a guide so didn't learn much, but it was a great half day mission accidentally going the wrong way up the hill and wandering about till I found myself in another cave with a big Stone Elephant staring at me.
After that I finally made the decision to skip Mumbai (Bombay). I've been changing my mind about that every five minutes since I got here, but realised that it wouldn't be worth the time or money as I'd only be able to stay there a few days.
My next destination was Ahmedabad in Gujarat, Home State of both Mohandas Gandhi and the guy who runs the Post Office in Hanborough. The Lonely Planet book bemoans the fact that most travellers miss out on exploring this wonderful State and just skip though it to get to Rajasthan.
Twenty Four hours later, I was in Rajasthan. To my shame I didn't do much in Ahmedabad, known as the dusty city, as I started getting the dodgy pains again, but while I was there I did visit the Subermati Ashram, set up by Gandhi at the beginning of the last century. An Ashram is a sanctuary set up by a Guru where strict disciplines are adhered to and the community work together to produce various ammenities such as rope and food, then indulge in meditation, yoga, reiki etc... (Before I got to India I'd been told that an Ashram was a kind of Brothel, but luckily was wise to this before I got to the place.) It was a really tranquil place, and as it is not a tourist attraction (though anyone's welcome) no one paid me any attention unless I approached them, which was really refreshing for half an hour before I headed back to India's most congested city.
Next day I left for my first stop in Rajasthan, Udaipur. This romantic city is famous for the stunningly beautiful Lake Palace whihc rests in the centre of the majestic Lake Pichola. Sadly, when I got there the Lake had gone on it's summer holiday and the Palace sat in the middle of a dry field full of kids playing cricket and Cows dropping dung. That didn't take away the magic of the place though, it's a fantastic city with friendly people and plenty to do. When I got to my guesthouse I noticed that the rooftop restaurant was advertising a 'Nightly Octopussy show, 7pm' this aroused my interest, I had no idea what an 'Octopussy Show' entailed, but was definitely up for it so I ascended the stairs for some sort of action, when I got to the roof I discovered that every night at 7pm they show the Bond Movie 'Octopussy'. I was slightly disappointed, but then noticed from looking accross the city from the roof that nearly every rooftop restaurant was showing Octopussy, turns out that it was filmed in Udaipur. Interesting, I guess.
NExt day was spent wandering around the museums and fortresses, hardcore tourist style. Then, in the evening I finally satisfied a personal quest of mine. I was promised Elephants at the Hindi Festival in Kochi, but onlyt saw the end of a trunk over a wall, I was promised Elephants at Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary, but they'd left for the day. But last night in Udaipur I finally rode an Elephant. Rajid (the Elephant) took me through the dry lake for a few minutes then dropped me off on some steps where his mate proceeded to rip me off. Nevermind, at least I can cross that off my things to do list.
Most of this may seem dull to read, it didn't seem dull to me as all the time I'm in India and random things will always happen. Got to Jodphur (the Blue city) today, hooked up with a NOrwegian girl and a guy from Brighton, my first company in ages, and went to the Meherangarh Fort, a huge place that overlooks the city. While we were there they were filming a chewing gum advert destined for western audiences, so if you see a new chewing gum advert set in India, you will know that I.... urrr... walked past it. Still, that's the best claim to fame I've got so far. NExt I'm off to Jaisalmer for a two (maybe three) day Camel Safari in the great Thar desert, so if there are no more entries on this site assume that I'm still there trying to find a cigarette shop.
Keep Smiling Buddy...
posted by Martin O'Neill at 6:11 AM
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