Yogic Flying

Yogi Flying is where one sits in a lotus position on a thin mattress. By thrusting down with the legs and springing up, it is possible to do a sort of hop, whereby the body leaves the mattress and then returns. In order to 'fly' as soon as you land back, you bounce again, and again, and again.......
So if you do this for say 10 minutes you will be flying for 5!! Yogic flyers believe, of course, that if you practice this then there will come a time when you bounce up and don't come down until you 'will' it. A bit like flying pigs!!

Anyway, on the overnight sleeper bus from Jaisalmer to Udaipur we both experienced a form of yogic flying. As we lay on our bunk beds (a kind of capsule on the upper tier of the bus) we were continuously thrown up into the air due to the road conditions, which ranged from bad through to diabolically outrageous. (If there had been an earthquake we would not have realised). Out of the 11 hour journey we spent about 5 hours airborne!!

This bus had air horns, I say 'horns', because it had 4. The driver could pick from a number of presets; one to scare the shit out of stray cows; another for the unwary pedestrian; an especially noisy blaring for slower vehicles, and a long, very loud tune when going through sleeping towns. We were surprised that 'Colonel Bogey' was not played when passing police and army posts.

Once again the driver and his accomplices seemed to have absolutely no regard for the fee paying passenger. The scheduled stop was at a run down street side vendor with no toilets. Okay for the men who just about piss anywhere, but a real problem for the women, many whom were oldish Indian ladies. Meanwhile only one couple ate at this establishment. The driver and his merry band had their meal for free!

We are not grumbling here. Its not a bad way to travel at all, and quite cheap. (And you get to fly)

It has, however, become more obvious how so many males hold women in utter (sexual) contempt. Maybe even the majority of middle aged men. Enough to give real vibes of menace and threat. This is not just our observation, but that of many of our fellow travelers, especially the females. The word most often used to describe this behaviour is 'nasty'.

On that somewhat sad note we leave you with some pictures of Jaisalmer fort, and our chariot.

Into the desert

Arrived in Jaisalmer. Staying at 'Dylan Cafe & Guest House.' www.dylancafeguesthouse.com.
Good big room with two outside windows and a balcony, separate toilet and shower. £3.50 a night, I know, I know extravagant!!

Went on a camel safari. Taken 40 km into the desert, by jeep, where we pick up a couple of camels (Lula and kula, both male) and a guide. Then ride camels for a couple of hours, about 10 km, into sand dunes. Mike has the grumbly one with lots of scars from fighting other camels. Set up camp, which means put a blanket on the sand!!
Collect some wood, make a fire and guide then cooks a potato, cauliflower, onion, tomato and chilli curry, with rice and chapati.

Watch sunset. Then it is dark. Time to relax. At 7.30 pm it starts to rain! We are on top of one blanket and under another. After a while rain stops and dung beetles come out to play, collecting fresh camel dung. Lots of them! There is a lot of dung!
Clouds depart and we are left with a spectacular display of stars. No light or indeed sound pollution. Time to sleep. Yvonne woken by dog attempting to steal our day sack which contains some biscuits, says 'shoo', dog obliged...
One more animal joins us, a lone scorpion.

Wake up at 5 am and watch the sky light up over the hour. Chai is served. Followed by breakfast of hard boiled eggs and toast. At 8.15 am the Jeep turns up and we make our way back to Jaisalmer.

Leave you with some pictures.

The Blue City

Jodhpur is known as the blue city. The Raj at the time did not like the view from his fort, Mehrangarh, so he ordered the houses painted different shades of blue. You can still see the effect from the fort.

Jodhpur is further west into the deserts of Rajasthan. It has a very medieval feel, a tangle of winding streets. Smells of spices, incense and sewers!

From the fort you can wizz down a series of wire cables called the 'flying fox'. So we did. The longest stretch is about 500 metres. The closest thing Mike got to his jet pack!!

After all that fun it started to rain, thunder and lightning. Just as well we had finished. Not sure that steel aerial cables and high voltages go together! Time for food.

We do not trust empty restaurants, and tend to eat where we see lots of local people eating. So we ended up at a place called Pilar's. As you can see a very nice thali for £1.50.

Tomorrow we go further towards and into proper desert, a place called Jaisalmer for a camel safari. A night sleeping in the desert, under the stars.

The Pink City

Caught train to Jaipur, Rajasthan, a/c sleeper. Both in different, but adjoining carriages. Not too happy about that. Decided to have word with ticket inspector. Not a problem, in fact had the whole four berth compartment to ourselves! Nice man.

2 a/c much nicer than 1st class non a/c. Don't tend to stick to the plastic covered bed as much, as it is cooler. Sealed, tinted windows. Compartments have curtains for some privacy. Remind us of the kind of curtains giving bed privacy in hospital. Getting used to sleeping on trains, or at least having long cat naps. We will be having a long stint on a train soon, 31 hours, when we head to Darjeeling.

Usual hassle at the train station. Up to the 'prepaid taxi/tuk tuk' stand. Quite useful. You tell the official in the kiosk where you want to go. He tells you the price, gives you a ticket with that price on, you pay him. A tuk tuk then takes you. Give him the ticket, and he redeems the payment. Every one happy!! If you try to do it privately it becomes a tiresome haggle, and you are at a disadvantage because you don't know the distances. Still about 20% commission on top.

Very nice guest house. Bit more expensive, but we both agree that we need a bit of comfort, and some decent food. This place rated 8th out of 264. Called the Rajpunta. Family run. Best food we have had in India. But...... Yep there is always at least one downside, (this is India after all!!). Place is right next to one of the main railway lines. 60 trains coming and 60 trains going, in other words 120 trains in every 24 hours, or 1 train every 12 minutes. Big express trains, with very loud horns and pulling at least 15 - 20 plus carriages!!
Surprisingly we got used to them, and after a while only noticed the ones that vibrated the guest house. lol.

Saw:- Hawa Mahal, Jantar Mantra, Amber Fort. Tuk tuk to Amber Fort 5000 irp, local bus 17 irp each. We took the bus!

Yvonne brought a table cloth with elephants on it, and Mike brought a Rajasthani shirt.

Leave you with a few pictures of Jaipur. Man with Mike is the owner of the guesthouse, although his son, daughter and wife run it.

Agra Part 2

Before we move onto 'The Pink City', (Jaipur) we would like to say a little more about Agra. We saw the baby Taj, you guessed, like the Taj but very much smaller.
Went to Agra fort, the Red. Occupied/owned by lots of different people over time. One such owner had a harem of over 5000. He died in his thirties. Quite frankly I'm not surprised!!
Had a great afternoon/early evening in nature park/gardens that has great views of the Taj.

Our accommodation was a little trying in the end. Rooms very hot. Constant scratching, our first encounter with bed bugs, we think. Fortunately no sign if lice.

Mikes first encounter with 'Delhi Belly'. Oh what fun. (You might want to imagine/visualise this, or not).
He was surprised to find that for very little effort a surprising amount of downward thrust was produced when the bowel suddenly emptied. Now remember his wish to buy a jet pack? Well he imagined a couple of helium balloons and a strapped on funnel; point down for vertical momentum and horizontal for lateral. Rather like a water fueled rocket, you know, the ones you pump up! Fuel would be a diet of dates and custard...
Unfortunately he was better the next day.

Leave you with a picture of Mike and Yvonne in their new jobs. The Taj Mahal from the park at dusk.

Taj Mahal

Not going to say much about the Taj Mahal. Lots of stuff about its conception and construction on the net!
Both up before sunrise to watch the colour change on the 'Dream in Marble'.
So, just going to leave you with some photos.

Thanks for all your comments, we appreciate them.

Next 'The Pink City'.

Agra

Overnight to Agra, home of the famous Taj Mahal, via Delhi.
Overnight train to Delhi from Hardiwar. 2 a/c sleeper. Both of us are on the top bunks in the same compartment, the bottom bunks are occupied by two people, sleeping. You get a packet on your bunk. Inside are two clean sheets, smell of bleach!  Have to climb up 5 foot to get onto bunk. No place to stow rucksacks, so they have to sleep with us. We both get our heads down for a few hours sleep. Delhi at 5.15, a change of platform for the 6.00 to Agra. This time 2 a/c chair. Free tea on train, and breakfast. This an express train, takes 2.5 hours.

Early morning view of slum dwellers starting their breakfast cooking fires. Opulent buildings, slums, opulent buildings, slums, and then into lush green countryside.

Breakfast is served. On a tray are three containers, two small ones and a larger one. The small ones contain a white liquid, and a brown liquid, which has unidentified bits floating in it. (In general we call this curry sauce, the Indians call it gravy) The large container has a white blob and a brown doughnut shaped thing. I leave the diagnostic to the chief taster
(Yvonne). Based on expression and gurgling sounds decide to bypass this culinary delight! Fortunately there is bread butter, jam and a carton of apple juice. Not a patch on our first train breakfast.

Shortly after our hearty breakfast we pull into Agra station. We are now immune to in your face 'come, come, best price, where you go? Come, come 200 rupees I take you to the moon!! Return journey little bit more, bring own oxygen, no oxygen, worry not I sell very good price, no commission, you bet!

Bee line to tuk tuk where we get a good price to the 'Friends Paying Guesthouse', 500 (Indian metres) from the east gate of the Taj.
First room clean, but right next to the cafe/dinner area. Ask to move, not a problem. Good room on next floor. £5 a night. Staying 3 nights, then off by train to Jarpur, the pink city.

Leave with a photo of Yvonne inside our cell, I mean room, looking out. And a view of Agra (you can see bits of the Taj, look for the dome) from our roof.

Next blog, 'The Taj Mahal'