| Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 | |
INDIA - PART FIVE – Ranakpur & UdaipurInterest forums / Older Travellers | ||
India for us was a constant barrage of information, colour and differing cultures – with the unbelievably ancient rubbing elbows with the very modern. Always fascinating. Outside Jodhpur we were fortunate to visit a tiny commune of people – Dinesh called them ‘travellers’ in that they did not stay in any place very long – maybe a few weeks. Their protection from the elements was a few ratty tarps strung between poles or a very large tree with low branches. A very hard life. I wasn’t keen on walking into someone’s home uninvited no matter how open it appeared to the world – however, by now Dinesh was aware that I was fascinated with varying cultures and very willing to join in as best I could ….. so he walked onto the compound and explained my interest to the matriarch. We were again facing another dialect as she didn’t speak Hindi nor Urdu. Her face and chest were tattooed and of course her specific cultural identity was also clarified by the jewellery she wore on her upper arms and so forth. To my absolute pleasure, she welcomed us. As I went over to greet this woman, I walked by a young man sitting on the ground in a metal pan, having a bath. To complete his ablutions he used perhaps 5 cups of water. His face was wreathed in absolute pleasure and he was surrounded by laughing children. I was massively humbled by the joy dancing from his eyes, the amount of water he had for use, what was home for him and his welcoming of me. I asked if I could take a picture. The young ones. Travelling on, I met 2 young women who were heading for Jaisalmer. They had planned to travel from Mumbai to Jodhpur, and discovered the trains were booked solid weeks in advance. They added their names to a waiting list - waited 5 hours - finally gave up and took a bus. The bus left 1.5 hours later than scheduled and stopped at every village and bush and said hello to every pot hole along the way. It was double the time and energy they had planned. This experience reinforced my decision to hire a car and driver for this specific tour. We just didn’t have the time to waste in such regular and large amounts. On this stop I was entertained by a snake charmer – they really do exist :) We stopped at a large sandstone quarry of which the living/working conditions were brutal. http://www.flickr.com/photos/91119310@N07/8587151736/in/set-72157633081682728 2 fellows at the top of this crater, applied an ancient method entirely by hand to the job of reshaping and sharpening the hefty iron rock chisels that had been used to chop out the huge pieces of sandstone. As to size of the pieces hacked out by hand – here is a relatively small piece being only a hefty fence post for the mainstay were far larger pieces being required for walls of buildings. Unfortunately hubby and I each thought the other was taking a pic and we ended up with very few in this instance. However, the ingenuity was admirable with the other fellow in the back working bicycle pedals, which in turn were driving a fan that connected to a tubing affair - which connected to the grated chisel heating area and acted as bellows for the needed fire of the reshaping and sharpening. Here the other fellow laboriously hammered the iron chisels back into shape using the pot of water on his right to immerse and cool them …. Hissss! Further down the road we met these women walking to gather somewhere – such wonderful colour. Almost into Ranakpur we met this shepherdess wearing bangles everywhere: And later another group of people – those bracelets must be awfully hot in this heat Ranakpur area was lush with foliage and water was in abundance. A complete contrast to our previous travel areas. We enjoyed our stay in Ranakpur Hill Resort. We next visited Kumbhalgarh Fort. Built in the 1400s and situated on top of a mountain 1100 metres above sea level. When finally at the top, the views were stunning and reaching far into the Thar desert. The walls are 32k long – there were 7 fortified entrances, 360 temples and the walls were almost 5 metres thick - a fascinating place for me. About 80k down the road we entered Udaipur, an ancient city surrounded by lakes. A good deal is dilapidated with the people in extreme poverty yet there is much very up-to-the-minute. This is where the Exotic Marigold Hotel was filmed using the street scenes of Jaipur with office bits completed in Mumbai. A neat place for dinner with torches next to the water for evening lighting: Purchased lots of ankle bracelets from this lady – we were both delighted. Lots of good places to eat whether big or small. And then there is washday We stayed at the Panorama Guest House located in the Hanuman Ghat area. As most places, I reserved on the net before I left Canada. It’s the white building and we were very pleased. Our hostel was located in an interesting and quiet area yet close to everything. We had fantastic views from our balcony. Our bedroom Sitting on the hostel roof balcony restaurant, I watched the antics on a neighbouring rooftop. There was a swing large enough for an adult to lie down on and suddenly the swing made a large sweep which caught my eye. I looked over to see a very large monkey with long silver fur and big haunches clinging to the side of the swing . . . and a cute terrier type dog, now making an effort to balance on the wildly swinging seat. Suddenly a man appeared and bellowed at the monkey, who jumped to the outside of the roof edge. We realized that the monkey and dog wanted to play together for the dog kept strrrrretching up to place his paws on the roof edge. I could just see the eyes, ears and nose popping over the edge at which the monkey would leap to that spot and lean in – with the both of them going back and forth in this way in a game of sorts. I thought this was terrific until I was told that these monkeys were a scourge here and one would be in dire trouble if scratched or bitten, having to receive many shots. Of course the battery in my watch would choose to go kaput. So off I trotted to the bazaar to locate a replacement. After squeezing through many small alley ways I saw a sign saying “Watch”. I handed the fellow my watch, raised my eyebrows and queried “battery ?”, at which he reached under the counter to bring out 3 boxes stuffed with batteries. I had no idea there could be so many ! He took out my battery – sifted through the boxes – found a duplicate at the very bottom of the last and largest box. Phew !! I was thrilled and thanked him in my best Hindi. At this his face broke into a wide smile and he said most soberly, “Your battery is very expensive madam – 120 rupees”. I burst out in laughter and paid him adding a tip. Another day I walked by a shop possibly 2m x 2m in size – I nearly missed it. The fellow had a wildly beautiful wedding blanket hanging as a ‘door’. Tourism was down – hugely – and an idea came to mind. I asked him if he would consider cutting specific pieces and making them into at least 10 zip bags (lined approx 6" x 4.5"). Hubby thought I was crazy. The fellow in the bazaar thought I was crazy - just what he needed, a bored tourist. So I did my best to explain that I was serious and that he could make a good deal of money with tourists. No go. So next I offered him some money in hand - at which I thought he was going to jump out of his skin. He promptly took down the hanging, and with a piece of stone chalk confirmed each piece I liked with a X marking on the underside. I came back the next day and picked up many delightful 'funky' bags that went to appreciative people once back home. Even so our agreement was to pay Dinesh a specific amount for each day he was out on the road whether advising us or not – sometimes I felt a tiny bit of concern from him that we would want to spend any time ‘on the road’ without his guidance. However, it was his job to be responsible for us - knew the trouble we could get into – so I did appreciate this. He was always so caring in so many events – whether small or large. Our stay in Udaipur was for 5 days without his being about. He was noticeably twitchy in trying to find our hostel as it was located in a poor area with road access appropriate only for a cart and our hostel was certainly not a 5-star hotel. For us it was a beautiful and fascinating area. On top of that, 5-stars we have lots of at home and I can never learn as much nor experience nearly as much, by staying in such places. Continued Part 6 . . . | ||
great report, and pictures. now i have to go back and read the earlier ones. | 1 | |
Thanks for the great story. | 2 | |
Hi, Brill! Many thanks. | 3 | |
Mmmmm - lovely! Brings back memories. I loved Udaipur.... | 4 | |
Lovely post. Thanks for this. Nice pic and full of information,,, | 5 | |
Excellent! You're writing is full of charm. | 6 | |
Good post, good photos, good trip. | 7 | |
Excellent post and pics. Thank you. | 8 | |
Good post and useful for me ..................thanks. | 9 | |
Excellent to know :) | 10 | |
Fantastic pics, great report!!! | 11 | |
Its Good Post, for all users and it very nice post for me......!! | 12 | |