Tuesday:
We took a bus to Bikaner, passing dozens of tanks that Papi was trying to convince us were up to no good but they were just training, still alarming to see though if you’re not used to it. Had lunch when we arrived and Bishal was trying to arrange a marriage between Neena and his cousin in Nepal. Visited the rat temple which was definitely strange, felt really out of place as the only tourists amongst so many devotees and we certainly got a lot of stares. Not nearly as many rats as we thought, it was easy not to accidentally step on them. As a treat, we went to Baskin Robins where they do have 31 flavors, like saffron gold and litchee gold swirl, highly recommended! Another rum night on a rooftop involving pinchy bruises and seeing who could use thier toes to pick up bottles, you kinda had to be there. Got the burningman vibe when walking back as the tuk-tuks had multicolored lights as well as everything else around, blinky lights FTW!

Wednesday:
Yet another bus, this time to Mandawa. This was a public one so Papi rented space at the front so that we wouldn’t be seperated from our bags. They had a fortune telling scale and apparently I’ve lost 4 kilo’s already and ‘you are quite, sensible, tender and patient’. We had a crazy stop when the bus had to detour and the girls had to use the loo so we jumped into a tuk-tuk and sped over to the original stopping point. Mel and I didn’t have to go and just tagged along for the ride and while we were waiting, a cow came up and hit Mel in the arm with her tail, much to the amusement of the men in the motorbike who had pulled up to stare at the whitey’s. Arrived at our haveli in Mandawa, so beautiful! A haveli is basically a multiple family manor with public and private courtyards and they are quite intricate, Mandawa is especially known for them. The doorways are all short (Paul would have to bend in half to make it through), the reason for this is to ensure people bow when they enter, not because smurfs use to live there as previously thought. After some sustenance, we took a tour of some of the other haveli’s in the town, in different states of repair and most contained resident caretakers going about thier day while we clicked pictures. We walked to the market after that, where I managed to convince some locals who were surprisingly fluent in Spanish that I was from Madrid and we also went and got some henna done for all the girls. It was in a smaller haveli in a small room that several lived in and there was a tiny girl who fell asleep on me while her mother did my henna. That night, another rooftop, got the burningman vibe again because of the cacaphony of sound surrounding us, mooing cows, honking horns, fireworks, chanting and it sounded like some temple was holding a rave. And I got eaten by Mosquitos again, it’s weird because I don’t notice until the heat of the next day when they start to swell and itch. Got rid of my repellant figuring it wasn’t doing much anyway and I could lose the weight in my pack.

Thursday:
We took private cars to Delhi and the highway (one lane total) was basically a 70km game of highway chicken. It helps if you don’t look out the window to see how close to catastrophe you are every other minute. It amazes me the sense of space everyone has here, they know their vehicle to the last millimeter of buffer before a collision. Another thing that almost caused a collision, we drove past car two of our caravan only to see Amy’s bare bottom pressed against the window. This is what happens when you get 5 girls being silly together, I pity our tour leader and his trainee for having to put up with us. Once in Delhi, we went on the metro to the Muslim quarter. Not sure what the locals thought of us as once again, we were being ridiculous together on the trains as we are everywhere. Feels like summercamp :) People are going to stare anyway, might as well put on a good show! Once we reached our destination, we had two goat legs between 5 of us, an interesting choice for me as I’ve barely eaten meat since I got here. It was goooood! Once back at the hotel, I managed to do some catching up online as the Max grew a little concerned as to my whereabouts. Lack of wifi, time and frequent blackouts have contributed to my slackness of communication. Finally had all the girls together on the roof past 10:00, I’m going to miss them all so much, we’ve had so much fun and many a tight bond was created over the last few weeks.

Friday:
Last day of the tour for me! The rest are continuing on to Varanasi and Kathmandu amongst other locales and I had to get to Bombay. I made it out to make a couple phone calls home, had to walk on a plank over a big ditch and up rickety steps to get there. A lot of the sidewalks are being replaced in preparation for the commonwealth games later this year. Got to practise more Spanish with a local, I think this one was on to me though as his was obviously better than mine. I got some quick hugs with the girls but not a proper goodbye as I was trying to get myself sorted for Goa, I’ll hopefully have the info I’ll need before I go to the airport next Friday, eeps! Got to the airport with good time and got shuttled to my flight, I was the only non-local besides a fellow I met from Dubai. The flight was nice with subtle tunes and lots of tinkling from all the women’s jewellery, I slept most of it, could barely stay awake until take-off. This arrival was 1000x smoother than my first night in Delhi, I barely got throught the line of names before I spotted mine and we headed to the inn where there was a cold bottle of water awaiting me. I decided to finally get some proper local clothes as hippie doesn’t fit in as well in Bombay as it does in Pushkar. Also figured for yoga it was a good idea since my yoga pants were prompting many spanks from the girls throughout the last few weeks. I spent more than I intended but it was worth it, the fabrics are gorgeous and they’re really comfortable. I got casual ones though, not the fancy bejeweled ones, I stand out enough here and I don’t have my crew as a buffer for innapropriateness. Met some fellows at the hostel who ended up at the wrong one, as well as a couple girls from Germany. It’s weird being the somewhat seasoned traveller now and being able to hand out advice.

Now off to bed with an early wakeup to get myself into the Ashram. Going to enjoy the luxury of sleeping in my own room as I’ve been sharing one for over a month. It sounds a bit strange as I’m married and all but I had the house to myself for all but the equivilent of 3 months last year and that was only a week at a time.

Fails:
Mosquito repellent, cell phone, wi-fi

Wins:
Hip/shoulder pouch, Tibetan bag, speakers, joining the tour

Went on another shopping trip via motorcycle in Jaisalmer and my wardrobe finally feels near sufficient and weather appropriate. Still didn’t stop me from wearing jeans today in 40 degree weather but that’s how I roll. After shopping and water stockup, we hopped in a jeep to drive into the Thar desert. Absolutely gorgeous! This is what a real desert should look like, the dunes were amazing as was the softness of the sand.

My camel was named Babaloo and he liked to run and I’m pretty sure I have blisters in nameless places from the experience. Wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be and my driver let me hold the reins for most of it. Once we arrived at our destination, our tents were waiting as was tea and pakora, later to be followed with a tasty dinner. The only roughing it part of this particular desert was the lack of a loo, much nicer than busting my ass like I’m used to doing when I camp in deserts. Lots of dung beetles, so I got used to picking them up and hurling them away considering how squeemish I was at first. We also found a white scorpion when Papi’s tent was packed up (his was the last, one does not wake up Papi, don’t poke the bear!!)

We watched the sunset from a tarp and it was the first night ever that all the girls joined and we sat and stared and talked and watched for shooting stars while listening to music from the 50′s and Mel’s eclectic collection. Once the moon set, the stars were insane! Most I’ve ever seen! There were some dogs on the loose that were notorious for joining people in their tents and there was a moment of hilarity when I had just fallen asleep and was startled awake by one of the dogs and knowing that Neena is terrified of them my brain was in a panic and I hollered something or other. Fortunately, the outburst kept the dogs away the rest of the night which was good because we couldn’t close our tent.

In the morning we jeeped it back to town where we had Ayurvedic massages awaiting us. Didn’t realize how much the camels and sand dune wandering had beat on my muscles until I had it all worked out of me. Mosquito bites are mostly gone but I did manage to stab myself in the foot with something while heading to the business tree last night though. My lower extremeties are definitely taking a beating!

Had a Lassi for lunch, these are solely responsible for the health of my belly, then a nap, also got my flights booked for Goa. Only 4 more sleeps left with my girls until I’m on my own again, I suspect this time will not be as chaotic as my first night on my own though, I’m comfortable enough here that I’m even contemplating a return to Goa for early monsoon between England and Czech Republic but that’s too far away to know how I’ll feel then. Had dinner on a rooftop, this time sitting and we had one of our final briefings. A couple of the girls had some special cookies from the Bhang shop and had really long naps, one woke up at 6 pm and thought it was 6 am, oops! Tomorrow to Bikaneer for the Rat Temple, a night in Mandawa, then back to Delhi. Will be out of contact, ATM’s and internets until Thursday. Can’t wait for Delhi wi-fi!

Yes I know, I’m all over the place with my writing. Suck it. Going to go pack for another early morning of transport, this time a bus for 6 hours, wheee! >groan< Oh and Katy, I took a picture of your bull, he’s still chillin’ in the neighbourhood.

Title: the title of the book I was reading, seemed appropriate…

Thursday we went with an air-con van to Jodhpur, although the air-con wasn’t on so much, HOT! On the way, we checked out the Branakpur Jain temple which was beyond belief. Looked like something elves built in middle earth! The Jain religion is really interesting too and the food was amazing. We also stopped for roadside chai that’s made with a woodfire, bats chillin’ in daylight, and an old well that’s still used with bulls to pull fresh water from deep underground. There was a temple for a motorcycle at one of the truck stops along the way, the mixture of life and religion here is so fascinating. Once we arrived in Jodhpur, I saw a shooting star and began the arrangements to stay in India longer. I’ll be heading to Goa on the 2nd and I fly to Turkey on the 12th of April now. So lucky that Katy, my travel agent, was working her very last day when I called, what timing! I started the conversation telling her what a jerk my tour guide was and then promptly passed the phone to Papi for a good laugh :)

Friday we had another sleep in, it’s so HOT here, like 40 degrees and above! Keeping well hydrated and shaded though. I finally filled up my memory card after checking out Jaswant Thada (a memorial built by a wife for her husband) and Mehrangarh. I hit up the interwebs to try and upload pics but with the frequent blackouts and whatnot, it was much easier to burn to disk and will be sending package number 2 from Goa I think. At Mehrangarh, Indian tourists were taking photos with us which was fun, then became hilarious when Papi started barking like a dog and tried to convince some other guys that my iPod was really a magical phone put out by NASA that gets it’s signal from the moon. All of us are having so much ridiculous fun! We had dinner on the roof of our hotel with an amazing view of the fort and met a fascinating boy, age 9 (Lior) who was fluent in 3 languages, could understand 9 more, and such a beautiful little soul. Who says you can’t travel with kids? He and his brothers have been travelling for 5 months and I met a 16 month old from Goa who’s mother I may visit when I’m there.

Saturday we got up at the but-crack of dawn again to head to Jaiselmir by local train. It was the first one with bunks so we could sleep and we had to make sure to cover our faces for all the sand that was drifting in. (it was apparently much less than usual) I even braved the train loo, I’ve been extremely lucky with only having used western toilets so far. Once we had a nap in Jaiselmir, we checked out the living fort and got a briefing on our new location. We went to a rooftop and lounged, hookah-dome style, drinking honey-lemon-ginger, catching a stunning red sunset (all the sand). The girls played connect the dots with all the bites on my legs and I ended up with random constellations, elephants and lotus flowers amongst other scribbles. We had dinner on another rooftop and went back to chill only to find everyone was ready for bed so Papi hijacked another motorbike and we cruised through the silent city to a lake where there are structures for the wealthy to chill when the lake is full. Most are nearly completely dry until monsoon season.

Now that I’m caught up, it’s time to pack for the night. We’re heading out on camels to a dune where we’ll spend the night in tents. Our camel guy is the same one Sting used apparently, we are definitely traveling in style! This first leg of my journey is nearly over, I find it hard to believe it’s possible anything could be better than this. On Friday, I head to Bombay while the rest continue to Nepal. Afterwards, Goa! It was originally the first place on my list for India so I’m really glad I’m doing it!

Title quote: Rhez, upon seeing a coconut stand selling only banana’s.

Got to catch up so this will be abrupt!

Saturday:
Checked out the palace at Jaipur, weapons, textiles, art, etc. Saw my first random elephants wandering about. Went to the Amber Fort, stunning! Saw carpets and fabrics being made at a registered shop where I also got to try on Sari’s. Went to dinner where there were some beautiful ethnic dancers and musicians. Our fifth, a girl named Amy from Edmonton joined the group. Papi spanked cows.

Sunday:
Caught up a little on-line (where my last post was written), also managed to make a few phone calls home, it was a pretty chill day overall. We went to see a Bollywood film which was hilarious and went for an amazing dinner, best Thali’s ever. The ‘groping’ started that day but it was humourous, men walking by, trying to be subtle while they lightly bumped into you and touched your arm or something. My chest got grabbed but by a young girl though, she grabbed and ran off. The whole crowdy, grabby, pickpockety, pervy chaos I was warned about was definitely overrated, I feel completely safe here, even wandering about on my own. Most people are just curious, like the little girl who reached up to shake my hand while we were driving around the jungles in a jeep, I felt a little like a movie star :)

Monday:
Left for Pushkar around 5 in the morning. Of course that’s when the power decided to go out! Had my trusty headlamp though so all was well. Arrived in Pushkar safe and sound and and had a brief intro to the market and visited Pushkar lake where a priest gave us a blessing and our Pushkar passports. In the night, we played with poi on the roof and we plan on playing with fire poi when we hit the desert (those who can).

Tuesday:
Ridiculously awesome day! Got to rip through the Pushkar markets on a motorbike (Papi drove) went to all the hidden awesome shops for clothing and incense and picked up a fantastic dress I wouldn’t have been able to squeeze into a month ago (much less 5 years ago). Went for lunch where it sounded like we were under fire but it was just monkeys jumping all over the bamboo roof.

Wednesday:
Left for Udaipur with private transport. It’s starting to get really hot, my desert training has come in handy for sure, ‘cept I can’t run around in my underpants like I can at burningman. Something cleansing about your body melting in the heat. (40 something degrees here). Went to Jagmandir Island palace and saw some proper dancers as well as checked out the work done by traditional miniature artists. Got eaten alive by more mosquitos, up to about 250 bites on EACH leg. I look pretty gross right now.

Tuesday:
Went to the Taj Mahal and it was beyond expectations. It looked like someone stuck a giant postcard in front of my face, it was so unreal and perfect! We were first in line for sunrise and took full advantage of the opportunity to take photos without many people in the shots. Oh yeah, apparently smurfs are not allowed. Chill smurf raised a ruckus when he was found in my bag and security didn’t quite know what to do. He was allowed in with the promise that I wouldn’t let him take any pictures of himself. Afterwards went back to chill in the cafe and was struck with the bizarre thought that seeing tuk-tuks, cows, camels and chaos felt quite normal. Met one of the notorious shoe shine boys that I had to dance around while trying to keep a conversation because he kept trying to polish my shoes. Wandered through one of the markets where a lot of the riots took place in the 90′s and found the electrical hookups rather interesting, I think Magyver was here bearing duct tape. Spent the afternoon checking out the Red Fort for a bit but only from the outside. Had my book go awol when I forgot it in the hotel lobby and it was accidentally given to another and couldn’t track it down, glad I brought more than one! Mel and I tried to go for a wander after mango frescatta’s but we were getting bothered quite a bit so we turned around after a short while. There were hijinx late in the night when Neena and I heard the flute in the hallway and found Mel giving Papi lessons. An english tourist came out and gave us heck (quite rude and it wasn’t that late) so when he went to get security, Papi told them to take him to his room and lock him in. Poor guy didn’t know who he was dealing with, there was much giggling. More giggling when Papi shoved me in front of our trainee tour leaders (Bishal, bengali born nepali) door and banged on it at 2:00 in the morning, making it look like it was me.

Wednesday:
Woke up early to head to Ranthambore. Got accosted by boys trying to sell me Kama Sutra books while getting into the tuk-tuks, thought it was pretty funny for 6 in the morning. This train was more comfortable this time but we were the entertainment. People were all crowded around to look at us but it really wasn’t bad, just curiousity. They also tried to defend us when some douche went to sit beside me even though I told him the spot was taken. Wouldn’t listen to me then but then looked pissed that I wouldn’t respond to his questions. As soon as Papi showed up he bolted immediately though, it’s quite safe traveling with a black belt. Arrived in the shangrila called Ranthambore, the property was amazing, trees, swimming pool, firepit and silence. Took an open air jeep into the park and hiked up to a Shiva and a Rama temple. Saw vultures, monkeys, blue bulls, gazelle’s and deer and caught a gorgeous sunset from one of the temples. Chilled at the firepit and called it a night.

Thursday:
This was my favorite day up until that point. Our first sleep in since we started. Went up to the rooftop and did some yoga and overnight they filled the swimming pool so me and the girls hung out in the sun. Went on two safari’s, one where we saw a TIGER, another more fun one with just our group of merry pranksters where we saw Papi’s leopard, she was being kept safe from a tiger in the area and Papi actually went into the enclosure and was playing with her, he’s known her since she was 15 days old and she’s now 2. At the firepit that evening Bishal had a few too many which was funny enough but then a new group showed up and we were messing with them telling them that there are no tigers, I’m an anglo-Indian who works at a call center (which was why my north american accent was perfect), Bishal was the tour leader and Papi was just another member of our tour. When Bishal kept calling one of them with my name, we told her that Natalia was a maid, then a tuk-tuk driver, then god knows what else. We came clean in the morning though and it was a good laugh. Oh yeah, and a lizard crawled all the way up my leg, faster than you can say ‘look! a lizard!’

Friday:
Most comfortable train yet, and we got to sleep in. Had more traintertainment when a poor english bloke was trying to sleep and a band came up and starting drumming in his face. It was a chill day and we ate Italian, not much else to add.

Running out of time but here’s a summary on other bits:
Healthwise, all good, belly has been a bit of trouble, but not enough to hold me back, been trying to have yogurt every day now (mmm, mango lassi’s). Also have been eaten alive, my feet, lower back and parts of my face were looking a bit like a warzone for a bit.

Communication has been a bit harder than expected, mostly because we’re pretty go-go-go with the whole tour thing and when we’re not, there is no internet, the power is out, or the machines are taken. Will continue to catch up as I can, keeping little notes on my iPod so that I can remember.

The group is meshing really well, everyone is a ton of fun and we’re all teasing eachother and bonding. Mel is sweet, Rhez is crazy hilarious, and Neena keeps trying to speak ‘Canadian’ and comes off like a valley girl. Somehow, I’ve become the late night drinker of the group, still a light weight next to our tour leader though. Will the earth implode now? Only time will tell. Anyways, ciao, I’ll try to continue writing from our next stop. 5:00 am wake up tomorrow!

(Title is a quote from Papi, he wanted to make sure that was clear)

Got in my first Indian public train experience at the butt-crack of dawn this morning. There was definitely some stinky spots so I covered my face with a bandana scented with lotus flower essential oil. Actually got quite chilly too so Neena and I stole Papi’s shawl to keep warm. Papi also explained the significance of tomato plants at train stations (we’re talking London too). There were also small children performing for money on the train including a small boy, the same age as my nephew, dancing around with a spinning beenie and a painted beard on his face.

Once we settled in at our new digs, we popped down to the coffee shop where me and chill smurf had a mango frescata and the others dosed on caffeine. Then it was off to our first adventure, Fatehpur Sikri. The drive was a challenge with holy cows all over the roads and we almost hit this dopey kid who cut across the highway without even glancing, he was driving a tractor piled with potato’s twice as wide as a delivery truck. I still don’t understand how the roads work as it all seems so chaotic with everyone cutting everyone off, the lanes and lights mean nothing, and even on a divided freeway, cars are on either side going both directions and there’s cows everywhere! Amazingly, I have not seen a single collision take place.

Fatehpur Sikri was amazing with it’s integration of Buddhist, Christian, Jewish and Hindu styles in the structure and relief carvings in sandstone and marble. The best part had to be our guide though, a charming fellow, Kahn, in his 70′s from the Archeological society as opposed to the regular guys that make stuff up. Everyone seemed to know him and respect him as well as clear the path on command so that we could get decent shots.

It was a long day, both too hot and too cold sometimes, with over 5 hours of transport so I’m pretty pooped and wasn’t able to contribute much to Kahn’s riddles and questions about what he was teaching us. I felt like I was in school again and failing badly although I had just finished reading the history that morning. Haven’t done any shopping yet, it’s been recommended I wait until Pushkar and since all the recommendations to date have been spot on, I’ll be following the leader on this one. Starting to get disjointed which tells me it’s time for a shower and bed. Taj tomorrow!

And the tour officially begins! After magically getting wireless in my room (very intermittent) and sending out my posts, it was time for the first meeting. Got the lowdown, met the girls (Neena from London, Melanie from Quebec City and Rhez from LA) and after the formalities were complete we all went for dinner. I’ve only been here a short time but it was a surprise to see so many caucasians at the restaurant and I find it funny that I was surprised. Our group all got on quite well and were already taking the ‘mick’ out of eachother.

After navigating the crazy streets, which already feels somewhat normal now, we got up to the roof, drank more rum, and listened to tunes until what turned out to be 3:00am, oops. Even managed to find some stuff on the iPod that Papi didn’t already know everything about and actually liked so I’ll be sending him some K’Naan and Macaco when I get home.

Got up way too early, I think it was because the water started working again and the toilet starting flushing itself unendingly until I got up to fix it. We all met up before 11:00 to head out for the first official day of touring. We rode in Tuk-Tuks which are a pile of fun, much more than being the pedestrian trying not to get hit by them. We went to the largest mosque in India where I think I may have stepped in fresh pigeon droppings barefoot but I was too squeamish to look. What you don’t know can’t hurt you! (the feet got a good scrub the moment I got back to the hotel) The mosque was beautiful and I can’t wait to get pictures up! We also checked out the neighbourhood nearby which was where the religious riots had taken place and then went to the Gandhi memorial and the India Gate.

After hanging in a local neighbourhood up until then, it was cool to see tourists and note that most of them were Indian and having little ones come up to you to practise saying ‘hello’ and the curious glances an smiles from everyone. It’s definitely not as smelly and polluted as I had heard and I certainly have not felt the need to stab anyone with a hatpin.

Oddest thing I saw today (apparently it’s unique to Delhi and everywhere else you would be fined) only the men wear helmets on motorbikes, not the women or children. Grossest thing was a kid hurling out the window while driving by. Most bizarre were the touts selling fake beards at the red fort.

I don’t think I’ll ever come close to understanding everything here and I don’t think anyone is meant to. I’ve also come up with a better word to describe it here and that would be: flexible. I’m having a hard time believing I’ve only been here 3 days! Anyways, early start to Agra tomorrow so off to bed!

First day was brilliant! It started with so much utter chaos and the fear that I was doing something really dumb by coming here but now I know I’m doing what is right for me. I have a belly full if good food and I had an excellent sleep, well into the evening, before heading out for some amazing south Indian food, and yes, I did it with my hands with my trusty guide showing me the way (you don’t drop it into your mouth, you push it with your thumb, still pretty klutzy with it though). He’s likely the most fascinating person I’ve ever met and I wouldn’t even be able to begin to describe him. We just sat on the roof and talked for hours drinking Cuba Libre’s and I have a suspicion I’ll be getting much more out of this trip than I thought and it’s only the first day! Pretty hyped for when the tour officially starts tomorrow evening and I get to meet the rest of the group, there’s 3 other girls who will be on the tour with a fourth joining in another city. I also need to get some clothes as I seem to have not enough clothes and too much other stuff. I’ll be sending stuff back home before we leave for the next city and hopefully make some room in my bag. I tried to pack light, I promise I did! It’s hard though when you haven’t done this yourself before and you’re relying on the advice of many others and I’m pretty sure they have bigger packs too.

If I had to use one word to describe this place that would be it. I’ve been here less than 12 hours and I’ve come to the conclusion that this place is completely insane!

I didn’t get much sleep due to the whole time zone thing and I found myself wide awake and alert at 6:00 am. At the time I thought the cooing pigeons and staff chatting in an old stone building was loud and now there’s hammering and drilling and yelling and honking and masses and masses of people. (Mom you thought Cabo was loud? Ha!)

I took some time to get myself grounded and sorted out my pack and took a shower with the friendly bathroom cockroach. Fortunately he’s not very big so there was no screeching or jumping when I discovered him.

I then took a quick wander down the street, not even the distance to my mailbox at home. There are no sidewalks, just holes and plywood laid out to reach entrances so you have to walk down the narrow road and piles of rubble congested with rickshaws, motorcycles and people all aiming to run you over while small children chase after you offering hash for 10 rupees.

I’ve decided to be a big chicken for now and chill at the hotel until I can find some mates to go wander with. Apparently several of the people I’ll be traveling with the next few weeks are already here as well as Papi, the guide Katy had when she was here.

Safe and sound at the Ashu Palace Hotel in New Delhi. It’s 4:20 am Friday in the morning here and I’ve been going since 5am Wednesday in Calgary. So that’s 35 hours of travel. Got to Minneapolis and Amsterdam with no problems minus sketchy wireless and an expensive 4 minute phone call to Max from Amsterdam. The flight to India was good too, on the biggest plane I’ve ever been on, it had 2 floors! I managed to sleep for about half of the flight (regularly dosing with Karen’s magical jetlag cure) and I had a good neighbour from Finland who was traveling with his brother. Also met some canucks from Montreal visiting family here. I arrive, get my bags, I’m raring to go, all chipper as usual and all is well.

Then the reality of India hits.

It starts with not seeing my name on a placard at the arrivals lineup, I suspect it was because my plane was late after being stuck on the tarmac for almost an hour until we could get our spot. Alright fine, I was prepared for this with address, directions and phone number for the hostel and I bought a prepaid taxi chit from inside the airport for a fair price. Go outside and I’m immediately bombarded with people trying to find out everthing about where I’m going, why, and if I need a cab. Found one of the approved ones and hopped in with a nice fellow who showed me pictures of his new, beautiful bride.

We went to the neighbourhood and drove around and around and around with the fellow asking directions from everyone he came across. I’m pretty sure I know exactly where it was but the only access point was blocked by a big truck and he didn’t think it was safe for me to walk the rest of the way as it was 2:30 at this point and there were wild dogs and ‘crazy men’ all over. We tried calling the number countless times with no answer. The radar went off a bit too when a silver car pulled up and the well dressed young men were staring at me and my driver drove off rather quickly instead of asking directions like he had with everyone else, apparently these were some of the ‘crazy men’ he was being cautious about. After another half hour of him desperately trying to find the place, I asked him to take me back to the airport. We had to pullover for gas at one point and he said I could get out to stretch my legs while he filled up, then the silver car pulled up as it must have followed us, and when their hood was up, my driver and the station attendant told me to get back in the car pronto and we drove off without getting gas. Thankfully he was a decent fellow and geniunely felt horrible about not being able to find it and was concerned for my safety and at no point was he trying to convince me to go to some sketchy ‘friend’s’ hotel or anything and he didn’t even try to charge me for the trip back to the airport. I did give him a good tip because I know it had cost him a significant amount of his time for what should have been a straight forward journey.

So then I’m back at the airport and on the verge of tears and wondering what the fuck I was thinking doing this trip and I was dehydrated and really had to pee and was not ready for squat toilets yet and the guard is giving me shit for going in and out of the airport. I took a deep breath, made sure I made eye contact with no-one even though everyone is openly staring at me, dug out my water bottle that I had been smart enough to refill on the plane and went over to the washrooms again and it turned out they weren’t all squat toilets. Went back into the airport found a corner near a tour group and pulled out “Pillars of the Earth” and read for a bit.

Once the chaos in my head had subsided, I dug out the phone number for the hostel again as well as the number for the hotel I was joining the tour at on Saturday and ended up getting a room at the hotel for quite a bit more than the hostel because I still couldn’t get an answer but it was past 3:00am now and I was beyond trying to pinch pennies at this point. A fellow who had been trying to help me from the start got me into a cab that was also more expensive but he told them exactly where to go and how much I was paying and they drove like total maniacs and got me to the hotel. Once there, I still had some brain power left and talked them down on the room so I was paying half as much as I would have had I booked it from Canada and now at the very least, I have a safe, relatively clean place to hang out in until the rest of the tour group gets here and a king size bed all to myself!

Learnings so far: prepaid taxi is good, arriving late at night is bad, being direct and repetitive is necessary, packing trail mix is awesome. Oh, and I’m completely insane.

Now to sleep and sleep and sleep, then bathe because I reek, then get wireless password, then eat dahl, then venture out to get a SIM card for my phone so people can call me from home, then eat more dahl…

I did want a challenge didn’t I? :)