Fort Festivities

So, time to reveal, for those of you who don't already know, the exciting thing that I am involved with in Jodhpur. My trip has been leading up to something, I knew that soon this state of constantly learning and adapting would, and should, be put into practice. In a way India itself was this challenge, but as happens so often with challenges once you start to tackle it you realise that you can push yourself just a little bit further. Now Jodhpur offers me that chance to push myself and luckily in a direction that is equally as enjoyable as challenging. 

I arrived in Jodhpur late and was greeted by another bustling town and Sharon, the woman who I would be staying with and Hanawant, her husbands best friend. Sharon was immediately friendly, talkative and welcoming and the worries I had had travelling on the train vanished. We drove through the town and out, through the army bases, to a housing estate where their cosy house was. At the house I met Govind, Sharon's husband, who has the most amazing moustache and a cheeky grin. Before bed we had some delicious home made meat curry. I very quickly realised that I was going to like it here.

Sharon and Govind both work to organise a festival called Jodhpur RIFF, an international folk festival held in the magnificent fort in the city (it's actually how they met) and this was the reason I was in Jodhpur. Months ago, I contacted the festival director and generally great guy, Divya, about helping out at the festival. I had met Divya two years ago on my first trip to India when I had been facilitating various applied theatre projects in Mumbai with a group from university. He had been the organiser and an expert for that project and while we were there he had mentioned RIFF. I have been dying to be involved since then. He was the one who had organised for me to stay with Govind and Sharon for my first few days in Jodhpur.

 My first full day with them was a relaxed one. I stayed in the house most of the day and started doing a bit of paperwork for the festival with regular breaks to eat amazing home made food. I learnt that Sharon was originally from Mumbai and so she found some of the Rajasthani traditions just as strange as I did. Her and Govind come from completely different backgrounds (Govind actually grew up in a small two room house inside the fort) and so they are a proper modern day Romeo and Juliet. That day, the 13th of October, was also the start of Navrati, a 9 day Hindu festival, so Govind and Hanawant were fasting during the day.

The next day it was time for me to explore the town of Jodhpur a bit more. I spent the first half of the day in the house waiting for the temperature to get cooler before going out. In the afternoon I took a tuk tuk to see the sights. The first stop was the palace which was just beautiful. You can walk around an area of the building which has been converted into a museum but the rest of this huge place was a luxury hotel and the private residence of the king of Jodhpur and his family. Walking around the museum just made me want to see inside the hotel, but there was no way I was passing for a distinguished guest (staying there is definitely on the bucket list now though). Next the tuk tuk took me to Jaswant Thada, a beautiful palace which is often called the Taj of Jodhpur. 

It is made entirely of white marble and, like so much old Indian arcitecture, was very intricately decorated. From the temple you can have a wonderful panorama of the city and the giant fort looking over it all. After this I walked to the Rao Jodha Desert Park, a recently renovated park which showcases flora and fauna found in Rajasthan. I had a guide lead me around the park where we had a gorgeous view of the fort and he pointed out various birds and plants to me. 

After the walk I made my way up and through the fort to get to the famous Blue City of Jodhpur. I marvelled at it as I passed through its huge spiked gates and looked up at what looked like an endless structure with arched windows and balconies on every side. What made this walk even more exciting was that, during the festival and just before, I would be living inside the fort! But we will get to that later. I zig zagged down the steep descent into the Blue City and instantly saw where it gets its name from. Most of the houses there are painted in a brilliant bright blue. There are many supposed reasons for this tradition. Some say it is because it is the colour of Vishnu, other say it keeps the houses cool, or even that the colour deters mosquitos, whatever the reason it makes for a really striking setting. I walked through the thin streets admiring the old blue buildings either side. The people of the town were draining the lake to clean it and so the street I was walking on had tirned into a shallow waterfall. 

Govind had arranged for me to meet a friend of his who owned a guesthouse in one of the old blue havelis. He found me and we walked to his house. On the way we passed a square which had been decorated with lights and coloured powder for the Navarti celebrations and would play host to a religious ceremony and dance every night for the festivals duration. We reached the house and he took me straight up to his roof which offered the most spectacular view of the city and the fort. We sat up on the roof for a while admiring the surroundings and I had another one of those 'wow, life is amazing' moments as I watched the sky darken, the lights of the city and the fort appear and heard the mantras being chanted from the nearby temple. 

We went and sat down in his living room and his wife made us chai and biscuits. The house was over 400 years old but still stands very strong and looks well looked-after and loved. He explained that the people of ten town repaint their house every year just before Diwali and told me how the house had been passed down from generation to generation. 

I caught a tuk tuk back to Sharon and Govinds and met Yash, another one of their friends working on the festival. Yash and I decided to go to the local Garba dancing event and talked about our experiences of south east Asia on the way, as he had also travelled there. Garba is a form of dance used to celebrate the festival and involves two sticks which the dancers hit against eachothers as they spin and dance. It reminded me a bit of morris dancing, expect it looked less silly. While we were watching, one of the young girls came up to us and asked if I wanted to dance with them. Well that was an offer I couldn't refuse. I was given my own pair of sticks and tried my best to copy the moves of the girls and we spun round in circles and kept rhythm with the beats. It was really special to be invited to take part in something like that and I enjoy it a lot (even though I almost certainly embarassed myself in front of a whole neighbourhood). We had an absoutely delicious daal for dinner that night, I LOVE INDIAN FOOD. 

The next day was just another day relaxing at the house and eating more awesome food. The next day it was my turn to make breakfast so I made some pancakes for everyone which I think everyone enjoyed. That day was exciting, and not just because we had pancakes, it was the day we were moving to the fort. We packed up all our stuff and jumped in the car. We got to the fort after sunset and it was lit up with golden lights and looked even more magical than before. I was shown to my home, and my jaw hit the floor. The room was just incredible. All the windows had views of the blue city, the bed was super comfy, the air con worked, I had my own desk and wardrobe and the bathroom...oh my god, the bathroom! It had a huge shower head fixed right in the middle of the ceiling and a circular window looking out onto the buildings below, so you felt like a king every time you took a shower.

I had this room all to myself until the 21st when more people were going to be arriving. I spent quite a long time accustoming myself to my new surroundings, which mainly meant me running around my room excitedly and looking out of the window wide-eyed and practically drooling.

The following morning, after a king shower, I went to explore the fort, or should I say, my house. The accomodation area we were staying in, called Scholars Retreat, was only a very small part of the huge fort. I took an audio guided tour around the main parts, including many beautiful courtyards, stained glass windowed rooms, temples and museums. The main part of the tour which really sticks in my memory are the widows handprints. On the wall past the final gate into the fort there are some handprints on the wall.

The story behind them is this. When the King of Mahran (the name used to describe the area surrounding Jodhpur, literally meaning land of death) died it was customary for the wives of the king to walk up to the fort placing their hands on this point of the wall before all joining their husbands body on the funeral pyre in a ritual called Sati. It struck me how something so gruesome could have happened somewhere so beautiful. I also learnt that legend has it that a hermit, called the bird king, lived on the rock and when the king built the fort there the hermit cursed it, saying that there will always be a shortage of water for the fort, which made me feel a bit guilty about my luxiourious shower earlier.

Later that afternoon Divya arrived and after a catch up he invited me to come with him and Govind to a meeting at the very very nice partner hotel. Afterwards, we went for some great Thali for dinner (Thali is a plate of various dishes each in a small bowl) in a restaurant called Gypsy in town.

The next morning I met with Divya and Govind for breakfast and had a great conversation with Divya about what I have leant and how my mind set has changed during my travels and how it can be put into practice when I get home. Over breakfast Divya and Govind told me about the accident that had happened in the fort in 2008. During the 9 day festival people come to the temple in the fort as a pilgrimage and that year they had thousands of people inside the fort. No one is sure what happened, a chair may have fallen over or someone may have dropped something but people started to panick thinking that it was gun fire. There was a huge rush and more than 200 people died. I was shocked I hadn't heard about this tragedy, especially as it had taken place just before RIFF was scheduled to start. They had cancelled the festival that year out of respect and now the fort takes extra precaution when handling the groups who visit. Divya and Govind both said they had noticed a large decrease in the amount of people coming here since then.

That afternoon I relaxed witn Sharon and she took me to go and watch the huge kite birds being fed. This happens every day at about 3:30pm but it's not public knowledge. Remember the hermit that had lived on the rock? Well, he also said that the day the kites stop flying over the fort, Jodhpur will crumble, so the same family have been feeding the birds for generations and generations. We walked up to the roof and waited, suddenly the sky became full of the birds, you could see them searching their surrounding with their beady eyes as they so gracefully glided overhead. When the man who feeds them arrived we knew because the birds suddenly started flying really low. He placed the bucket full of meat on the side and started to throw the meat into the air. The birds showed their skill by swooping and catching every last piece, sometimes one would miss a piece only for another to zoom below and catch it. It was exhilarating to watch, there must have been about 200 birds in total and they are BIG. 

The next day, after doing some paperwork, Sharon and I went shoppppiiinnngggg! I needed to get some long tops so that I would look smart while working on the festival, after Divya noticed that my clothes were all 'well-travelled'. We went to a shop called FabIndia and I bought two, one black and one with a pretty orange, black and white pattern. Next we went into Anokhi. This brand is famous world wide for its use of handprinted traditionally inspired patterns and quality material. The founders of the company John and Faith Singh are also the patrons of Jodhpur RIFF festival. We went in just to marvel at the clothes and bed spreads and I was not expecting to be able to afford anything but, there was a sale on and I got an amazing blue printed cotton shirt for £3.50! Tired out from our shopping we grabbed some food on the way back and sat in Sharon's room talking about the festival, and eating with Govind, Divya and Hanawant.

I worked some more on the paperwork the next day and more and more people started to arrive which made me feel gradually more and more excited to get started. Among the people I met were Kanupriya, the festival manager, Neiha, who has been working at RIFF for a number of years and gets leave from her work just to come and volunteer and Mana, who works with the collaborations between Rajasthani and international artists. The following day was another day working on sheets as well as eating an especially delicious lunch and going to watch the birds being fed again where I met some sassy little girls who live in the fort and had a lot of fun messing around with my GoPro.

On the 22nd and 23rd more people arrived, I no longer had the room to myself and I used the day to do some last minute paperwork and sign making. The evening of the 23rd was the opening concert of the festival and we all got into cars to go to the clock tower in town. Entry to this event was free so lots of local people were there as well as the festival pass holders. 

There were various acts performing including folk musicians, fire eaters, male dancers dressed as beautiful women and elderly dancers, who were just adorable. When the concert was finished we came back to the fort, ate and went to Sharons room, which apparently is always the social room, and had some drinks with a number of team members.

The first full day of the festival was wonderful. It began, for me, with an interactive session about percussion instruments of Rajasthan. Rajasthani musicians were there playing and explaining their instruments and the whole session was held in a tent in the lush gardens at the bottom of the fort. After that I ran all the way back up the fort (not an easy task) to set up and run a screening of a film called Their Last Weapon about one of the folk master musicians who would be playing later that day. I introduced the director and the film and ran a Q&A after the film had ended, which seems like a small thing but I felt pretty proud afterwards (got to start somewhere). Later on I went to watch the Living Legends performance as the sun set, the moon came out and hundreds of little birds flew and sang around us.

That evening I went to the main stage performance which ended with an amazing set from a Scottish folk band called Shooglenifty who did an amazing collaboration with a group of Rajasthani Manganiyar musicians. That night there was the club event at the partner hotel and we danced energetically to a set by Maga Bo until early the next morning. 

The interactive session the next day was focused on the younger generations of Rajasthani folk musicians and how the craft is passed down through the generations. The kids were so cute, their voices were amazing and some of them had these brilliant bright green eyes. There was also an elder with a bright orange henna-ed moustache that I very much approved of.

I hosted another film screening that afternoon of a film called Songs of Mashangva, which is set in north eastern India where the landscape, culture and even the way people look, is very different to Rajasthan. It followed a musician who was trying to save the folk music that was quickly being forgotten in an area effected heavily by western influence. After that I went and had a snooze in the room to try and catch up on some sleep before relaxing in Sharon's room and then going to the main stage where two grammy award winners, Yossi Fine, a incredible bassist, and Wouter Kellerman who won the grammy for new age music with his South African band, played. That night the event was Desert Lounge. The audience was invited to walk into Rao Jodha Desert Park and we sat and listened to acoustic music lit by the light of the crescent moon and with the backdrop of the fort lit up with gold. Such an unforgettable moment.

The final day of the festival began with an interactive session with camel herders of Rajasthan. There were no actual camels there but it was really eye-opening hearing about these peoples culture and traditions, something that is so seperate to my life. 

There was something about being in their presence, hearing their music and their stories that once again reminded me what a big world it is. Unfortunately, the world seems to be getting smaller and their way of life, like so many traditional communities is beginning to crumble. The need for camels has drastically decreased in recent years and a lot of their community has been forced to move to find work. On a positive note, there is an organisation working with the herders to start an annual camel festival to showcase the many products that can be yelded from the camel. The herders believe they are decendants of a man created by the gods to look after camels, so they treat the camel well and until recently have centred their whole lives around them. You could tell they were not used to performing publicly, their music normally used in private social occasions or to pass the time as the camels graze. They sat on stage lighting cigarettes, chatting and drinking camel milk from cups made from leaves, but I think this added to the performance. Their music was simple but the audience was almost hypnotised by it. At one point one of the herders showed us how he tied his huge, 10m long turban which stretched from one end of the tent to the other and impressed us all with his speed.

It is amazing that this festival can help educate and hopefully preserve some of these traditions. Obviously, people and communities have to change, they have been doing so since the human race began, but, and I have only fully realised this through the festival, it is so important that we help to continue these cultures which have exsisted for so long and help maintain the diversity of people into the future. What a shame it would be if it all disappeared. 

That afternoon there was no film screening so I had some tasty lunch and relaxed in the room with Neiha. The main stage performances that evening were phenomenal, starting with Sumitra, a famous Rajasthani singer who performs poetic songs with her incredible voice. There were two reggae/ska acts next, one from Delhi, The Ska Venger who brought a LOT of energy onto the stage and Papa Julius and Zion Nexus who absolutely smashed it. The performances finished with a 37 musician Mangaiyar musicians performing, including some of the children who had been at the interactive session the day before. Ghe grand finale was a performance called RIFF Rustle where a variety of the artists who had played during the festival had a jamming session late into the night. I absolutely crashed after that, barely being able to keep my eyes open by the end of the night.

And now I am sat in bed, slowly recuperating from the last few days. I can't imagine how tired the other people working at the festival must be, I barely had any work to do compared with them. Today is a rest day in the fort before I go with Govind, Sharon and a couple of others to visit Pushkar and relax for a couple of days before we part ways. 

Being involved with this festival, I can safely say, has been a huge hightlight of my trip. It is such an amazing project to be part of, even in a small way, and has taught me a lot about the history and cultures of the area I am in, something that I think a lot of people miss out on. I have enjoyed being given jobs to do and learninf about what goes into organising a fetsival and this has made me less nervous about getting a job when I return (ahhh, real life!). Most of all though, I have met some awesome people who have worked so hard to make this festival happen and have been so welcoming to a clueless British girl who can't soeak Hindi. Thank you. Atcha Batcha.

So there we have it, my time in Jodhpur has nearly come to an end and I will have to say a sad goodbye to my princess fort. Time to get myself ready for guesthouses and travelling again as I explore more of this fantastic country.

Thanks for reading

Emma x

Ride The Indian wave

'Resist and you'll be knocked over, dive into it and you will come out the other side.'

There have been many wise and inspiring musings from travellers who have chosen to make the journey through India but who would have thought that the one which would stamp itself on my mind would come from the mouth of Dame Judie Dench. On the plane ride from Colombo to Delhi I decided to calm my ever-growing nerves by watching a feel good film, with a familiar British cast (including Professor Mcgonagall, that woman who played Shauns mum in Shaun of the Dead and Bill Nighy playing....well, Bill Nighy, again). The film was set in India, and so what better way to ease myself into what was to come than to watch a load of older actors show me how easy it would all be. I found myself smiling and occasionally tearing up as I saw scenes of Indian chaos and vibrancy erupt onto the screen, finding my anxiety turn gradually into excitment. Not long into the film Dench's voice, over a montage of tuk tuk rides, smiling children and bustling markets, comes out with this one beautiful metaphor about India being like a wave and in that moment I knew exactly how I was going to approach the next two months, not just to come out the other side, but to come out having learnt, experienced, grown and taken full advantage of the last, and most dramatic country. I was going to dive in.

Thankfully, I had had this realisation before landing in Delhi airport because I was about to have my confidence tested almost instantly. Delhi is relentless, a city full of people trying to build something for themselves in a place were its hard enough to keep yourself from falling apart. Unfortunately, along with ambition for the future comes the need to take advantage, and who better to try and take advantage of than from a young solo female traveller, who has landed only hours before? I got through immigration and collected my backpack, making an a line straight to the pre-paid taxi booth and paying way too much money for a taxi who I was assured would take me straight to my hostel. The driver was a friendly man and so, halfway down the highway, when he said he would need to ask someone for the directions to my accomadation, I believed him. He drove us to a shop with a large sign over the door saying GOVT OF INDIA TOURIST OFFICE and a man, in a loud flower print shirt and bouffant hair strolled out of the 'office' and over to the car. Now, luckily, the hostel that I had booked had a policy of sending out an email warning you of the common scams that you are likely to face in Delhi and so this situation started to look very familiar to me. The 'tourist office' worker (which is funny because the email warned that there were no official tourism offices in Delhi) asked me for the address and began to tell me that he 'would not recommend staying in this area, mam' and that he 'could help me find a much better place to stay nearby'. When I made it clear that this is the place I wanted to stay, he very kindly offered to call the hostel to ask for directions. I must say he had a very good act as he spoke on the phone, but what gave it away the most is that the person on the other end of the line was so keen to talk to me. I resisted the phone and said that he could just give the directions straight to the driver and then we could get on our way but I was told it was imperative that I speak to the hostel myself. The man on the other end of the line informed me that he worked at the hostel and that there were no rooms left so I would have to go directly to their sister hotel instead. I am very rarely pushed to the edge, but the fact that these people work together so much to lure unsuspecting tourists to the hotels that pay them commission disgusted me. I told the man on the phone that I knew exactly what was going on and that there was no way I would be taken to any hotel that wasn't that one I had booked and hung up. I sat there arms crossed in the car and repeated myself until the 'tourism office' worker gave the directions to the taxi driver, the directions he had probably known all along, and we head off, finally. When we arrived the driver had the cheek to ask for a tip, and I responded by literally laughing in his face and walking away.

As soon as I got into the hostel I felt a wave of relief hit me and I decided to wipe the slate clean for Delhi. The hostel, Stops Hostel, was great and I would recommend it for anyone going to Delhi. I was surprised to find such a well equiped, organised and cool hostel in India as I had been warned that the backpacker scene in India is much smaller than other places, but I would say this is one of the best  hostels I have stayed in this trip. The guy at the desk was super helpful and gave me a tour of the three story building which included a huge, very clean kitchen, a film room where the floor was just covered in pillows, a bar and an outside courtyard. My room was a 8 bed a/c dorm and I was especially excited to see that I would be sleeping with a duvet for the first time in AGES. I met Elena, Alex and Jack, who were sharing the dorm room with me, and after settling in and almost forgetting the drama that had greeted me in Delhi, got an early night.

The following morning Elena, Jack and I took advantage of the hostels organisation and went along for a walking tour of Old Delhi. A tuk tuk took us first to the Red Fort, a building built by the same ruler who built the Taj Mahal when the capital of the Mogul empire was moved from Agra to Delhi. We did not go inside the fort but even from the outside you could appreciate the vastness and impressiveness of the building.

We walked through the main market area in the old city, past building hundreds of years old and down a large road which was famous for having places of worship of 5 religions, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam and Christianity, all on the same road, a testament to the many identities that India represents. We walked past many shops, all with their own specific purpose, sari shops, kitchen utensil shops, shoe shops, furniture shops, jewelery shops and got to experience first hand the incredible buzz and bustle of an Indian city, constant movement and rarely a moment to take it all in. One moment where we could stop and relax was in a large mosque. We entered the grounds of the mosque, just off from the main road and found ourselves instantly in a calm and serene haven. India seems to offer, every once in a while, a place like this. Not far from the mayhem you can walk into a quiet, peaceful place, but it isn't long before you have to plunge yourself back into the mayhem once again. Near the mosque is the largest spice market in India, and Jack, Elena and I walked through it for a while taking in all the amazing smells and the sights of the many spices and herbs used in recipes here. The road in the market was absolutely full of horses, camels and men pulling carts full of market goods and it felt a bit like being thrown back in time.

We caught a rickshaw back to the hostel and caught our breath in the room for a while before meeting with Alex and getting a tuk tuk to a newly built, huge temple on the outskirts of the city called Akshardan temple. The site itself was really impressive, especially the detail in the constructiona and decoration which had taken 300 million hours of labour to create! The only down side to this temple was that it had a bot of a theme park feel about it, with queueing paths, food courts and music playing through speakers, however you couldn't help being impressed by the beauty of it all, especially on the inside of the temple where the domes were impossibly intricate. We were not allowed cameras inside so you will just have to use your imagination (or google). We returned to the hostel and rested, and I treated myself to an Old Monk rum and Thums Up, which brought back so many memories from my last trip to India.

Jack and I left Delhi the next day and took a train to Agra to see the infamous Taj Mahal. We had planned to spend another day exploring Delhi, which I had enjoyed more than expected, but the Taj is closed on a Friday so we thought it would be better to see it on Thursday than wait until Saturday. Our train took considerably longer than expected but we finally arrived in Agra, stored our luggage in the cloakroom at the station and caught a tuk tuk. The lead up to the Taj was not at all what I was expecting! You walk down a thin alleyway with endless souvenier shops either side and it seems impossible that such a large site could fit anywhere in such a crowded town. Then you get to the gate and buy your tickets and as soon as you walk through the gate the space around you opens up and I started to get goosebumps. Before you see that typical postcard view of the Taj you have to walk through a large orange gateway and as soon as you do there it is. I can't describe how surreal it is to actually be there, at a place you have seen so many photographs of. Although it is an image you have seen so many times before you can't help but be knocked over by its beauty and majesty.

As you walk towards it is feels like you have just jumped through the postcard image and the Taj becomes more than just a 2-D picture. You realise how huge it really is, and how detailed. It looks completely white from a distance but up close intricate designs made from precious rocks are revealed.

You walk inside the building and see the marble caskets of the Mogul emperor and his beloved third wife who died during child birth and who this entire construction is dedicated to. Call me romantic, but the fact that this was built all for the love of a woman adds to the magic of the place, I just feel sorry for the other three wives he had at the same time. We popped into the Taj Museum, which occupies one of the gatehouses and exhibites various artifacts including a map of where all the precious stones used in the construction where imported from, which turns out to be all over Asia and the Middle East, blueprints and old paintings of the building and the family who ruled at that time and sabers and swords from the guardsmen, who I wouldn't have messed with. Jack and I caught another train out of Agra to Jaipur that evening, which although slightly delayed, got us there pretty much on time. We sat in sleeper class which is a tiered bunk bed carriage with fans and were pleasantly surprised that we were able to catch some shut eye during the journey thanks to some friendly Indians who let us know when our station was coming up. 

When we got off the train in Jaipur we were greeted by endless tuk tuk drivers approaching us which we had to bat away like flies, and after some time found our way to our guesthouse Vinayak Guesthouse. I saw the sign but could not believe that this was where we would be staying for £3 a night! The building was beautiful and all lit up with golden lights. We were greeted most energetically by Raman, the owner, and his father and they even organised some fried rice for us to eat even though it was gone midnight. The whole building was so lovely, beautifully painted walls, Indian trinkets everywhere and a rooftop with Indian arches, paintings and fairy lights galore.

We shared the dormitory room with two British brothers, George and John (come all the way to India to share a dorm with George, John and Jack!) and the following day George, Jack and I went into the old city to explore. The Old City, or Pink City in Jaipur is full of buildings, all of which were painted pink, and not for a spiritual or ancient reason as I was expecting, but to celebrate the visit of the Prince of Wales to the area a few generations before. Another crazy busy area awaited us with constant beeping and pushing and stalls selling everything and we braced ourselves against it until we reached the first attraction, the observatory. I had no expectations when we arrived and the first impressions of the place were that it looked like some sort of postmodern art exhibition, or as Jack put it, a huge skatepark. There were countless strangely shaped objects ranging from small to absolutely huge. 

We all chipped in a got a guide for the tour which was a really good idea because he was able to explain all the instruments to us and answer our many questions. There were sundials and instruments lined up with constellations, and ones to decipher zodiac signs and to measure the angle of the sun etc etc etc and our guide explained them all, although I did not understand every mathematical equation he referenced. One of the most amazing parts was the biggest sundial in the world, which was accurate down to two seconds! 

After leaving the observatory feeling in awe of astronomers brains, we went to the Hawa Mahal which was a Islamic place of worship but which was most famous for having 365 small windiws which were used so that women could see into the main area, but not be seen by the men. It was a very beautiful building and offered great views of the city from the top.

Then.... I went shopping. I have been stopping myself from shopping during my entire trip knowing that I will have to either carry around the stuff I buy or ship it home, which I have only done once from Hong Kong where shipping cost back to the UK are ridiculously low. But now I have given myself permission to start treating myself and finding various presents for others. I bought a giant bag which I have lovingly called my Santa Sack and bargined for a few items but managed to stop before I got too carried away by remembering that there are still going to be many shopping opportunities to come. Back at the guesthouse we ate something and then played various card games with Jack, George and John (how is it that I have played so many card games since being away but I NEVER remember the rules!?)

On the 10th we explored more of what Jaipur has to offer starting with the Amber Fort, a huge fort outside the city where the king of Jaipur (many towns and cities still have kings) used to live before he moved to the city palace. The architecture was so detailed and the Islamic theme conjured up images of Morroco and Turkey as well as keeping a uniquely Indian feel.

We explored the numerous winding corridors and tiny stairwells of the fort before jumping back into our tuk tuk (which came with a very friendly and helpful driver all day for only £6!) and heading for Monkey Temple which was found up and over a hill from the city. We were dubious at first, concerned that the monkeys were going to be dangerous, but we soon realised that we were of no interest to them anyway. At the top of the hill there was the sun temple, paying homage to the god and goddess of the sun and where you could get stunning views of the noisy city below.

The monkey temple was full of monkeys, rolling around, jumping up walls, grooming eachother, fighting, swimming in the pools and generally monkeying around. There were tiny little baby ones everywhere with huge expectant eyes and energetic bounces. We were lucky to be there at this time because the monkeys were being feed by the locals, seeds, aubergines and chapatis. 

We got back to the guesthouse after a full day of activity in the sun and had some well deserved food on the rooftop restaurant at the guesthouse where we met some of the other guests including an older couple from Brighton (of all places) who had sold their house and have been travelling for 6 years, a yorkshireman and a guy from Brazil. We stayed up for a while talking about travelling and the UK until it was time to call it a night.

Sunday was a day of rest and, after two full days of trapsing around the city, I certainly needed it. I spent the day snoozing, skyping and eating with intervals of entertaining the owners very cute little daughter (or she was entertaining me, it was hard to tell). That evening Jack and I actually left the guesthouse and went to the huge cinema in the new part of town to watch, no, to experience a Bollywood film. The cinema was a really proud building, and the large foyer had mirrored tiles, bright colours and chandeliers. The screen room itself was also giant with two tiers and over 1000 seats. People piled in, all in their most beautiful clothing, and even during the colourful, vibrant trailers the audience was cheering and shouting and making me and Jack smile. The film, Singh Is Bling was amazing, so colourful and funny and the production was incredible, who knows how much money it took to make it. Luckily for us, as there were no subtitles, one character played by a bollywood actress called Amy Jackson only spoke English and the storyline was pretty easy to follow as the acting is all very physical and there are definite bad guys and good guys. The screening time was three hours including a 20 minutes interval and we got out, back to the mayhem of the city streets, past midnight.

The next morning it was time to say a fond goodbye to Jack, Vinayak Guesthouse and Jaipur and do my first bit of actual solo travelling in India. I left the guesthosue with an air of confidence and optimism but found my cinfidence tested when I innocently asked for directions to the station from a tuk tuk driver and was quickly surrounded by multiple drivers all shouting different directions at me. I think I can safely say, that after all of my time in Asia, tuk tuk drivers on a whole, are not in my good books. I bumped into Jack again who was going to the station to buy a train ticket and made it to the station in one piece, said goodbye to Jack again and discphered the overly complicated signs and timetables to find my platform number and waited for my train (which was, unsurprisingly, delayed) to arrive. This time I had decided to splash out and had bought a seat in the a/c compartment, which turned out to be too cold actually. About 5 hours later I arrived in Jodhpur, where I would be involved with something rather special. 

I think that is enough information for now, India is a lot to take in when travelling here so I can imagine it is a lot to take in when reading about too. I am still finding my feet in this crazy torrent of a country and attempting to ignore that part of my brain that is telling me to resist. People here have been friendly and helpful (apart from the odd tuk tuk driver) and I am excited for what there is to come as I start to dive in deeper. 

Thanks for reading

Emma x

  

 

Par-tea animals!

ELEPHANTS!

I have left you hanging for longer than I planned, but as promised, I will now tell you about my favourite animal, ELEPHANTS! From Tangalle we took the long winded journey to Ude Walawe national park and slept breifly at our guesthouse before getting up just before sunrise to start our safari. The car we were in was a 4X4 with a raised part at the back with exposed seats for us excitable tourists and we drove, excitably, into the safari site. I have visted an African safari before, when I was quite small, in South Africa, and I found this safari to bring backward early childhood memories. The landscape itself felt like you had been transported to the African Savannah, wide open expanses with shallow lakes and impressive mountains in the distance, and dense parts of greenery concealing all sorts of wild and beautiful creautures. 

We drove over bumpy, uneven land but our guide obviously knew the park like the back of his hand as he pointed out things as small as chameleons and tiny birds to us. We saw many peacocks, which are native to Sri Lanka, but are such ridculous birds that I still believe they must just be fancy party decorations for rich people. The most magical part for me was when we were driving along and we heard an almighty CRUNCH next to us. The car stopped and slowly reversed revealing to us an elephant behind a tree munching away.

We all stood up to get a better view and saw that there was another one behind it. As we stood, mouths open, watching them, they both decided to cross the road, taking our gaze with them. Moments later more elephants appeared from the bush including...a two week old tiny little bumbling baby!  I would be lying if I said my eyes didn't well up. That wasn't the only amazing thing we saw that day though. There were also countless water buffalo relaxing in the mud, three types of eagles soring overhead, monitor lizards, and crocodiles sitting still and menacing by the water, no doubt with more hidden under the surface.

At one point, while sitting at the waterhole a whole drama unfurled before our eyes. We started hearing a strange noise coming from the distance and soon realised that it was coming from a little water buffalo calf running along the side of the water, soon we heard the responding voice of two adult buffalos who began to run towards the calf. Instantly we had ourselves a story which we started to energetically narrate. The calf called to its 'parents' across the water and soon jumped in and started paddling across, we saw a splash in the water, added drama, it was a crocodile! We started cheering the calf on as another buffalo jumped in to get it. The tension was high and finally the adult reached the baby and the car erupted with applause. The baby was reunited with its parents and the crocodile had to wait for another day.

After such an exciting day we finished it off with a very exciting bus ride up to Ella, in the mountains. The buses in Sri Lanka can be nail-biting even on a straight road and so up narrow road at high speeds, overtaking constantly definitely raised our heart rate, but more importantly, showed us some of the most breath-taking views so far. Huge valleys covered, completely and utterly covered in every shade of green possible and every so often the green gave way to huge gushing waterfalls cascading down into nothing. We reached Ella which is a endearing little town not adverse to backpackers and adventurous honeymoon couples with a very relaxed mood and lots of nice places to eat (very important). We found a cheap room for the four of us and had an early night after a day that had taken us from vast savannah to wet mountains.

The adventures continued the following day when we donned our trainers and set off for a walk down the train tracks, an act that makes me feel very rebellious but seems like the most normal thing in the world here.

We walked past stunning views of plantations and the surrounding mountains, men working in the sun to fix the rail track and women carrying HUGE logs on their heads (just another day at the office) until we went through a tunnel and came out the other side to see the Nine Arches Bridge, a very tall bridge with, you guessed it, nine arches.

 We daringly sat on the edge of the bridge for a while and then bought a ice lolly from the well placed shop right next to the attraction before walking back to Ella. We stopped for some delicious banana and chocolate roti and caught a bus down the mountain a bit to Rawana Waterfall, which used to be considered a wonder of the world. Already in an adventurous mood Carl, Emily and I started the ascent, climbing up the rocks next to the huge waterfall, determined to reach the top (or as close to as possible). Carl raced ahead of us and Emily and I thought we had reached a dead end until a local guy found us and lead us through the jungle and right to the top where there was a very cold pool which of course, we had to jump into! 

Before we had started back down again it began to rain and the local guy told us to 'hurry, hurry' as the rocks could become very slippery very fast. They lead us all the way down making sure we were keeping up and finally we reached the bottom where Hannah had been waiting for longer than expected (being asked for countless photographs by Sri Lankans).

The next day it was time to check out and after a very cheap breakfast (egg roti and a milk tea for under £1!) we jumped onto a train which Lonely Planet recommended as one of the most beautiful train journies in the world, and it did not disappoint. Winding through the mountains, towns, villages and plantations. This is a must see for anyone going to Sri Lanka!

I was amazed at the drop in temperature as we travelled and it was actually really cold when we arrived in Nuwara Eliya, a very colonial, windy town surrounded by tea, tea everywhere! We spent a while looking around for a reasonably priced guesthouse and after finding one went for some well needed rice and curry and waited for the rain to stop. That afternoon the man who worked at the guesthouse organised a trip to a local tea plantation for us, it would be a crime to leave Sri Lanka without seeing one, especially for a tea-loving Brit. We drove the snaking road down into the valley until we reached Mackwoods estate, a very well established plantation which had been started up by Mr.Mackwood, a Scottish ship captain, during the British colonisation. We were lead around the factory by a friendly woman who must have done the same tour time and time again but still managed to keep a smile on her face. We saw each stage of the drying and packaging process and learnt that on average 10-15,000 kilos of tea is picked per day by 1000 workers! The smell of the place was so so so good, Hannah, Emily and I drooled and Swedish Carl shrugged his shoulders. The tour ended with a free cup of tea and a piece of chocolate cake in the very quaint cafe area. No milk and no sugar, the tea was amazing and Carl sat with a bemused look on his face as the British girls around him talked passionately about it. 

The next day, and two long, nail biting buses later we arrived at the base of Adam's Peak, a famous mountain with, what is said to be, Buddha's preserved footprint at the top. It was raining really really really hard when we arrived and the whole place dripped with moisture. We met an amazing 88 year old woman called Brenda (I very much doubt that was the name on her birth certificate) who was still working as a guide up to the peak. We then had a quick and delicious rice and curry before heading to bed, preparing ourselves for a very early start. We started the walk at 2am in the pitch black. I started removing the many unessasary layers I had bought with me pretty quickly as the path got steeper and the numerous steps started to take their toll. Aproximately 6,000 steps up to the peak, climbing 7km. It was hard work, especially for Hannah who had had a major leg operation a few years ago, but we made it! The peak was pretty unimpressive, mainly because we were in a cloud for nearly the entire ascent and so the only indication that there was a sunrise happening was that the sky around us turned a lighter shade of grey. Without much of a view to keep us amused we caught our breath and started the walk down. So many steps up had made our legs turned to jelly and so stepping downwards was uncomfortable but hilarious. On the way down the clouds started to part every so often and would reveal the amazing surroundings to us. At one point, a cloud swept past and we saw a huge waterfall cascading from a mountain opposite, which made us all gasp with delight.

By the time we had reached the base again we were absolutely shattered but happy we had managed it. I had a quick nap at the guesthouse before we jumped, well actually more like slumped, into a taxi and then ANOTHER bus. This part of our time in Sri Lanka felt like we were constantly on the move, and we weren't stopping yet. 

The next destination was Kandy, the cultural capital of Sri Lanka and a bit of a disappointment to be honest. It was a large city and with every breath you could taste the pollution from the endless traffic. We checked in to our hostel, which was actually really nice, and ordered a Pizza Hut for all our hard work. We all agreed that a massage was exactly what we all wanted, so the next day we went looking for one. Now, in all the other asian countries I have been to, a massage parlour is never more than a few streets away, sometimes whole streets will have nothing on them but massage parlours but we searched high and low for anywhere and failed miserably, probably more tense than we had started. We were desperate to do something relaxing so Hannah, Carl and I went for a stroll around the botantical gardens, which turned out to be really fun and interesting, good old plants. 

As if our legs hadn't had enough of a work out we decided to undertake another mission. We met a British guy called Phil who was staying our dorm room and made a plan to visit Sigiriya, one of the wonders of the world. It is essentially a big rock, a big beautiful rock with ancient paintings and cultural  significence. It took us a very long time to get there, longer than expected, but we got there in the end. The Sigiriya rock itself costs a lot of money to climb, so, being the cheap backpackers that we are, we drove the short ride in a tuk tuk to another, cheaper, rock. Luckily there were nowhere near as many steps to the top as Adam's Peak but my legs certainly weren't back to normal yet. There was a large buddha statue near the top of the rock and when we did reach the top it started to rain. It started to rain and then it started to pour and then it started to thunder and lightning. Being on the top of a high object during a thunder storm is safe right? We took cover pretty swiftly after seeing a bolt of lightning hitting the rock slightly too close for comfort. 

After the storm had past, which was quickly as with most bad weather I have encountered, we climbed up to the very peak at took in the views around us. It is easy to see why it is a wonder of the world when you see the Sigiriya rock looming over the rest of the flat landscape (how did it get there?), and I was thankful that we had climbed the other rock in order to get a view of Sigiriya itself.

After all of the activity of the last few days it was time for some down time by the sea so the following day we took a very very long bus (yes, another one) to the east coast and a surfer town called Aragum Bay. When we arrived, tired and hungry we walked around trying to find a guesthouse, had a very very disappointing dinner (western food is always a disappointment) and then had some drinks and went to a party at a bar down the beach.

Lying on the beach all day was absolute bliss, I had a yummy passion fruit juice and watched the surfers and gradually more and more Sri Lankans splashing around in the sea and really did nothing else. We went for some food and then it was evening which, when you are in a sea side tourist area, means only one thing, drinking. We went to another party on a different beach but when we got there it wasn't as fun as we were hoping, so, after playing with some puppies who lived there, we all went home to bed. The next two days went pretty much the same way, chilling during the day and just enjoying feeling relaxed. On Saturday Emily, Phil and I rented mopeds and went a couple of kilometres to a beach called Peanut Farm, a secluded, chilled out surfing beach. 

We had some great rice and curry there and awed at the skill of some of the surfers before heading back and going partying AGAIN. After a full day recovering we decided to give the partying a rest on Sunday night and so the next day we felt alive enough to rent ourselves our own tuk tuk and go exploring, all 5 of us squeezed in. Emily drove us all the way to Peanut Farm again but right when we were getting to the beach we had an incident with another tuk tuk. The sand road that leads to the beach is narrow and difficult so as we were passing one tuk tuk we accidently knocked their mirror off. Emily got out straight away and apologised but the driver was really angry. He picked up the mirror and fixed it back on with no problem but pushed too hard on the glass and smashed it with his thumb. He then tried to blame us for the cracked glass,even though we had all just seen him break it. Emily told him she was happy to pay for a new clamp to fix the mirror on with but refused to pay for the mirror, rightly so, but he responded by throwing the mirror on the floor and smashing with his foot (very mature). He said he would call the police and after many tuk tuk drivers coming past and intervining we ended up paying him 1000 rupee just to leave us alone. Thankfully we were able to relax on the beautiful beach afterwards to calm ourselves down again. I had a go at driving the tuk tuk but I had nearly forgotten how to use gears after driving too many automatic mopeds. We had lunch in Aragum Bay and then Hannah and I went and sat in hammocks in a cafe area on the main beach while the others ventured to a different beach in the tuk tuk. 

That night was my favourite party. It was pretty quiet but we were all in a really good mood and Phil turned out to have the craziest dance moves, which of course I enjoyed! We stayed until the DJ finished but I could have stayed for longer! Our final day in Aragum Bay was spent hungover and stuffing our faces with amazing food. There were a lot of Isreali travellers there and so there was one Isreali restaurant offering AMAZING food. I had a humungous wrap with aubergine, feta, potato, boiled egg, lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes and it was glorious! We then sat with our food babies on the beach for a while until it was time to eat again. We had a fresh fish BBQ for dinner, tuna, snapper and big juicy prawns, and the best chips I have had my entire trip, they tasted just like fish&chip shop chips!! Hannah, Carl and I parted ways from Emily and Phil that evening to catch an over night coach back to Colombo, which was uncomfortable but necessary. We arrived in Colombo early in the morning and caught a bus to trusty Colombo Beach Hostel, where I had already stayed twice before. I had to take a tuk tuk to the Indian visa office to drop off my passport at 8:30am and then came back and snoozed in the communal area. When I woke up I was surrounded by people and felt very disorientated. We had some rice and curry, Hannah's final one, for lunch and then relaxed at the hostel until it was time for me and Hannah to say goodbye before her flight to Bangkok. I was really sad to see her go, we have had the most incredible month in Sri Lanka and I am so hapoy she chose to start her trip with me. I am also so excited for her and all the amazing things she is going to see and do on her 10 months away, can't wait to hear all about it :) Carl and I were very unsociable that evening and even though there was a little party going on upstairs on the hostel, chose an early night over meeting new people, but you've got to do when you've got to do! 

We visited the turtle sanctuary further down the beach the next day and saw some poor turtles who had lost limbs by getting caught in fishermans nets and were all waiting for prosthetic limbs to be made. We also saw some baby turtles, which they keep in the sanctuary until they are three to increase their chances of survival until adulthood. After another rice and curry I went back to the visa office and finally got my Indian Visa, which set a whole load of emotions off in my head like fireworks! We then caught a bus to a beach town called Hikkaduwa along the coast which was meant to have one of the best beaches in Sri Lanka. 

We spent the following day on the beach, which was really lovely, although the snorkelling we very disappointing, and this is where I had my near death experience. I was lying on a towel in the shade and decided to sit up to enjoy the view when I heard a large thump behind me. Something had fallen from the coconut tree to where my head had just been, and no, it wasn't a coconut! It was a big bit of concrete!! The local guys who were sat nearby explained that the concrete had probably got stuck up there when someone had used it to try and hit a coconut down but I was still shocked that it had happened and that if it had happened a minute sooner, my face would not be the way it is. Typical, of all the things I have done on my trip, it's lying in the shade on a peaceful beach that brings me closer to doom. Carl and I went shopping after that, the perfect way to forget about your own mortality, and then caught another bus that evening back to the first place out of Colombo I had visited in Sri Lanka, Unawatuna Hostel. When we got into Unawatuna the bus was speeding so fast that when it breaked suddenly Carl was thrown forwards and ended up hanging fully out of the bus door, luckily with a local man clinging onto his shirt. I was screaming profanities but after he managed to hoist himself successfully back inside and we had got off the bus when it was stationary we both laughed and blushed with adrenalin. Crazy crazy Asia! 

We got to the hostel and it felt like coming home. Bunche, the charasmatic owner was there, Emily was there and there was a new arrival, Cush, the little boxer puppy.  

We made pancakes that evening and went to bed pretty early. On the 3rd a girl called Ankie from Holland and Cass, a dutch guy we had met in Aragum Bay arrived at the hostel and we all went to the beach, which was a relief because it was an especially hot day. We returned to the hostel that evening and had even more yummy rice and curry before playing a game Cass taught us called Warewolves, which I wont explain now but am definitely bringing back to the UK.

I woke up with a knot in my stomach the following morning which may have been down to nerves. Not only was I heading to India in the next couple of days but, more pressingly, Glastonbury tickets went on sale that afternoons and I was determined to get one. It was surreal being sat in a dorm room in Sri Lanka with a Swedish guy refreshing the ticket page for Glastonbury, but after much co-operation from Sri Lanka and people in the UK we managed to do it! Sally ended up getting through in the end, and I will be eternally grateful for that! More people arrived in the afternoon and we made cocktails and chilled at the hostel all day before heading to the beach to have a beach BBQ with everyone and then having a house party back at the hostel to celebrate me getting Glasto tickets but also the last night that me and Emily would be able to party before leaving Sri Lanka.

The next morning was a struggle but after a chocolate ice-cream and some monging out on the sofa, Emily and I finally got ourselves together and said goodbye to everyone, including 'Bob Marley' Carl, who I had enjoyed spending nearly all my time in Sri Lanka travelling with. We got a lift with Bunche to Galle and then a fast coach back to Colombo and good ol' Colombo Beach Hostel for one final night. We parted ways the next morning when I started on my way to the airport, but I have no doubt we will see eachother again in the not too distant future! Good luck for the rest of your travels if you are reading this Emily!

Sri Lanka has been an incredible journey, through all kinds of landscapes, doing all sorts of activities and getting to share that with some pretty awesome people. I hope to return to this brilliant country and explore more of what the north has to offer, which I hear is a hell of a lot! I am now sat in a wonderful hostel in Delhi and feeling very excited for the next two months ahead!! But I will tell you all about that in the next post!

Thanks for reading,

Emma x