After saying a tearful goodbye to my friend at the airport and a near international incidence (security guard not allowing me in the airport to say goodbye...meltdown with a few strong words...not my proudest day in India), I went back to the guesthouse, tried to sleep a little, had some breakfast and arrived back at the airport for a jaunt up to North India with my aunt and cousin still in tow. I kept my head down praying that the security guard had finished up his shift from my rather irrational behavior at 4 am! Luckily I didn't see any signs of him and we made our flight without any issues. We had a 2 hour layover in Mumbai and I was well informed by my expat community that there was a Starbucks right outside the terminal. Oh happy day! It was indeed the truth and after 5 long months, my friend and I were reunited. Oh caramel iced latte, how I needed thee. Especially after a rough sleep and lots of on the go over the last week. We made it into Jaipur in Rajasthan around 8:30 and our hotel had sent a taxi to collect us. We checked in to our very cool hotel, had some dinner on the rooftop and crashed for the night.
The next day we visited a palace and also the famous Amber Fort. We did the tourist things, paid an exorbitant amount of money to ride an elephant to the top, my aunt sat with a snake charmer and watched as he hypnotically lulled a cobra out of a basket and said "no" a thousand times to the gads of salespeople milling around trying to hawk their items to unsuspecting tourists. I swear my aunt had a sign on her forehead that made people immediately make a beeline for her. She was a magnet! I so wish I had video recorded the tons of merchants trying to hound her into buying you name it. I will say, however, they were not wrong about their sixth sense. She certainly invested in the country's finer items and laughs that if "India's economy didn't improve with her visit, she can't be blamed. She did her part!" Many beautiful treasures either left with her or will soon arrive on her doorstep and I'm sure will be passed down to future generations. :)
We quickly formed a friendship with our driver Raj and decided to use him for the rest of our time there in Jaipur. He was very accommodating and knew a good thing when he saw it. I think we genuinely impacted him as he later told my aunt that he'd never seen foreigners show such strong emotion as they parted ways. Which is a nice way to say that we blubbered like "females" as we said our goodbyes. :) After spending the day touring the palaces and forts, we had decided to visit a place called "Choka doni" a well known Indian tourist place recommended to us. It was sort of a cross between a Renaissance Fair and Rawhide experience where you could watch dances, pay to play games, get henna, visit a fortune teller, ride camels that kind of thing. We had a pretty good time wandering around and our entrance fee was supposed to include dinner so we went over to the line around 9pm to let them know we were ready to eat. We happened to be there on a Sunday, which is the worst day to try and do things in India cause everyone is off and goes out so it was really busy. They told us to sit and wait and wait we did...for over an hour. We were hungry and getting perturbed at this point so we decided we would try and just order pizza to be sent to our hotel and try and get our money back. The crowds waiting were literally trying to storm the hostess and force their way inside the dining area. It was getting ugly. So we talked to the management and they refused to give us any money back and amazingly, a table was readily available in the A/C no less. But by this point, it was 10:30, we had already ordered pizza and we were tired and wanted to call it a night. Despite our firm insistence that we should be given half our entrance price back, they didn't budge and we left irritated a bit. I have since learned the valuable lesson that in India, there are absolutely NO REFUNDS!
The next day, we had one of the most memorable days that I've had in India. We visited a tour called Elefantastic, which is a rescue/rehab center for elephants that have been hurt or mistreated in captivity. It was an amazing experience and one I won't soon forget! The tour included transport, one on one time with an elephant which included feeding, painting, washing, and riding and then a nice traditional vegetarian meal. It was well worth the money to do this activity and my cousin and I sort of shared one elephant which was fun. She was rescued from a circus and was mostly blind and also 12 months pregnant! She was the sweetest, most docile creature and we could easily see the baby poking out of her enormous frame and when we pressed on her "stomach" and felt the baby moving, "Chinchil" our elephant leaned into us. It was one of the coolest things I've ever felt and all of you that know me well, know I'm not a huge animal lover. But this was super cool and we spent hours with her, feeding her and painting her all up. The washing part was a blast and like a dream of mine ever since I saw it on Sesame Street as a little girl. lol Then we took a long, leisurely ride through the desert and made some friends with others on the tour. The meal we had was simple and delicious, made by the tour host's mother. We decided to go get some drinks with our new friends at this rooftop bar that someone had recommended. It was a fun night, cool breezes, chatting with people from the UK and Chile, sipping on a local beer as we all shared what a fun experience it had been with the elephants. We were all pretty exhausted at the end of the day and soon went to bed after arriving back to the hotel.
The next day was our day trip to Agra to see the Taj Mahal! It wasn't really on my list of things to do while in India but it worked out nevertheless to see it while we were up north so I went for it. We had booked a tour guide and enjoyed our luxurious 3 hour ride from Jaipur by train. Our guide met us at the station and we hurried off to our destination. Now, it happened to be probably the hottest day we had had so far...about 122 degrees and so that put a little of a damper on our trip as we visited in the middle of the day. We were boiling! We did the tour much faster than if it had been a pleasant day and my aunt lamented that it was the only day she was not able to "well document" with her camera. It was just too bloody hot! We spend the rest of the afternoon indoors visiting shops that made and sold jewelry, carpets, swords, and beautiful artwork with a technique used on the Taj. We probably all spent more money than we intended but being indoors was worth taking extra time to visit the shops. We caught a train back to Jaipur and after a few moments of panic not being able to spot our faithful driver Raj, he finally found us and we made it safely back to our hotel.
The next day was my final day of touring around India with my family and I certainly didn't want it to come to an end. We had done a lot and I was so grateful they took so much time, money and effort to come visit me and I knew it was going to be a very sad goodbye when I returned back to Calicut. They spoiled me rotten with A/C cars and drivers, great meals, wonderful hotels, laughter, great tours, hugs and just plain old fun! We decided our last day to take in a Bollywood film. After a nice lunch, we headed to the theater but on the way I spotted a Dunkin Donuts and insisted on a pit stop. We bought a half dozen to take into the film and I attempted to get one last iced coffee, however, after many instructions and four employees trying to make it happen, I finally gave up and realized they must not get many foreigners at their shop. Oh well...Starbucks had come through. I had asked all my Indian friends to tell me which film to take my family to and they said we needed to see "Tanu Weds Manu Again." Because we had become chums with our driver Raj, we asked him to see it with us and he took up the role as translator and we sort of passed the story line down the row or asked questions a few times. I could tell he liked telling us about the movie and it made it more fun for us knowing a little more of what was going on. No subtitles unfortunately. After our Bollywood experience, it was time for me to go to the airport. We said our tearful goodbyes, I thanked them endlessly for coming and I boarded a plane bound for S. India. A trip that each of us will remember forever and I am very thankful to have shared it with such special people!
The next day we visited a palace and also the famous Amber Fort. We did the tourist things, paid an exorbitant amount of money to ride an elephant to the top, my aunt sat with a snake charmer and watched as he hypnotically lulled a cobra out of a basket and said "no" a thousand times to the gads of salespeople milling around trying to hawk their items to unsuspecting tourists. I swear my aunt had a sign on her forehead that made people immediately make a beeline for her. She was a magnet! I so wish I had video recorded the tons of merchants trying to hound her into buying you name it. I will say, however, they were not wrong about their sixth sense. She certainly invested in the country's finer items and laughs that if "India's economy didn't improve with her visit, she can't be blamed. She did her part!" Many beautiful treasures either left with her or will soon arrive on her doorstep and I'm sure will be passed down to future generations. :)
We quickly formed a friendship with our driver Raj and decided to use him for the rest of our time there in Jaipur. He was very accommodating and knew a good thing when he saw it. I think we genuinely impacted him as he later told my aunt that he'd never seen foreigners show such strong emotion as they parted ways. Which is a nice way to say that we blubbered like "females" as we said our goodbyes. :) After spending the day touring the palaces and forts, we had decided to visit a place called "Choka doni" a well known Indian tourist place recommended to us. It was sort of a cross between a Renaissance Fair and Rawhide experience where you could watch dances, pay to play games, get henna, visit a fortune teller, ride camels that kind of thing. We had a pretty good time wandering around and our entrance fee was supposed to include dinner so we went over to the line around 9pm to let them know we were ready to eat. We happened to be there on a Sunday, which is the worst day to try and do things in India cause everyone is off and goes out so it was really busy. They told us to sit and wait and wait we did...for over an hour. We were hungry and getting perturbed at this point so we decided we would try and just order pizza to be sent to our hotel and try and get our money back. The crowds waiting were literally trying to storm the hostess and force their way inside the dining area. It was getting ugly. So we talked to the management and they refused to give us any money back and amazingly, a table was readily available in the A/C no less. But by this point, it was 10:30, we had already ordered pizza and we were tired and wanted to call it a night. Despite our firm insistence that we should be given half our entrance price back, they didn't budge and we left irritated a bit. I have since learned the valuable lesson that in India, there are absolutely NO REFUNDS!
The next day, we had one of the most memorable days that I've had in India. We visited a tour called Elefantastic, which is a rescue/rehab center for elephants that have been hurt or mistreated in captivity. It was an amazing experience and one I won't soon forget! The tour included transport, one on one time with an elephant which included feeding, painting, washing, and riding and then a nice traditional vegetarian meal. It was well worth the money to do this activity and my cousin and I sort of shared one elephant which was fun. She was rescued from a circus and was mostly blind and also 12 months pregnant! She was the sweetest, most docile creature and we could easily see the baby poking out of her enormous frame and when we pressed on her "stomach" and felt the baby moving, "Chinchil" our elephant leaned into us. It was one of the coolest things I've ever felt and all of you that know me well, know I'm not a huge animal lover. But this was super cool and we spent hours with her, feeding her and painting her all up. The washing part was a blast and like a dream of mine ever since I saw it on Sesame Street as a little girl. lol Then we took a long, leisurely ride through the desert and made some friends with others on the tour. The meal we had was simple and delicious, made by the tour host's mother. We decided to go get some drinks with our new friends at this rooftop bar that someone had recommended. It was a fun night, cool breezes, chatting with people from the UK and Chile, sipping on a local beer as we all shared what a fun experience it had been with the elephants. We were all pretty exhausted at the end of the day and soon went to bed after arriving back to the hotel.
The next day was our day trip to Agra to see the Taj Mahal! It wasn't really on my list of things to do while in India but it worked out nevertheless to see it while we were up north so I went for it. We had booked a tour guide and enjoyed our luxurious 3 hour ride from Jaipur by train. Our guide met us at the station and we hurried off to our destination. Now, it happened to be probably the hottest day we had had so far...about 122 degrees and so that put a little of a damper on our trip as we visited in the middle of the day. We were boiling! We did the tour much faster than if it had been a pleasant day and my aunt lamented that it was the only day she was not able to "well document" with her camera. It was just too bloody hot! We spend the rest of the afternoon indoors visiting shops that made and sold jewelry, carpets, swords, and beautiful artwork with a technique used on the Taj. We probably all spent more money than we intended but being indoors was worth taking extra time to visit the shops. We caught a train back to Jaipur and after a few moments of panic not being able to spot our faithful driver Raj, he finally found us and we made it safely back to our hotel.
The next day was my final day of touring around India with my family and I certainly didn't want it to come to an end. We had done a lot and I was so grateful they took so much time, money and effort to come visit me and I knew it was going to be a very sad goodbye when I returned back to Calicut. They spoiled me rotten with A/C cars and drivers, great meals, wonderful hotels, laughter, great tours, hugs and just plain old fun! We decided our last day to take in a Bollywood film. After a nice lunch, we headed to the theater but on the way I spotted a Dunkin Donuts and insisted on a pit stop. We bought a half dozen to take into the film and I attempted to get one last iced coffee, however, after many instructions and four employees trying to make it happen, I finally gave up and realized they must not get many foreigners at their shop. Oh well...Starbucks had come through. I had asked all my Indian friends to tell me which film to take my family to and they said we needed to see "Tanu Weds Manu Again." Because we had become chums with our driver Raj, we asked him to see it with us and he took up the role as translator and we sort of passed the story line down the row or asked questions a few times. I could tell he liked telling us about the movie and it made it more fun for us knowing a little more of what was going on. No subtitles unfortunately. After our Bollywood experience, it was time for me to go to the airport. We said our tearful goodbyes, I thanked them endlessly for coming and I boarded a plane bound for S. India. A trip that each of us will remember forever and I am very thankful to have shared it with such special people!
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