Post #72 - December 22, 2012 - Jaipur, India

What we did: train from Agra to Jaipur, shopping in Indra Bazaar
Budget: 3500 Rupees/$70; Spent: 4785 Rupees/$96

Today was a very early morning. Our alarm rang at 4:00am. We quickly packed our things, brushed our teeth, and ran out the door. We had been told when we booked our taxi last night that the taxi would be waiting at the barrier to the Taj Mahal. We had given a down payment for the taxi ride when we booked last night and were afraid the guy wouldn't even show up. There are also several barriers near our hotel and we weren't sure which to wait at. To top it off, it was really dark and no one was on the streets. We were pretty much panicking since the second we left our hotel. We waited at the closest barrier, then decided to walk to the second barrier. We waited another five minutes or so before I asked a security guard to use his phone. Thankfully, the guy we booked the taxi through had given us his phone number in case of an emergency. We were told that the taxi was waiting at the third barrier about 500 metres back where we came. We ran for it.

We arrived at the taxi a minute or so later. He had been waiting the past 20 minutes for us to show up. It was now less than 20 minutes to our train's departure, but he said it would be fine. The ride took only five minutes, and when we arrived we did not have exact change, so we handed him a 500 rupee bill. When he took the bill he mumbled something about a tip. Essentially, he wasn't going to give us change, until I pleaded with him to be reasonable. We were already paying him 600 rupees ($12) for the 5 minute taxi ride, which is hugely excessive for India.

After we got our change, we ran into the train station, asked a worker where to go, and ran to our train. We jumped o to our train with five minutes to departure. Phew!

But, the fun wasn't over yet. The train car we were in had no heating and it was close to freezing. Thankfully, our previous train ride had somewhat prepared us, so we were wearing warmer clothing this time, but it still wasn't enough. We sat on that train for 4.5 hours more or less in total agony, sandwiched between various locals and their families who were clearly much tougher than us. I kept thinking of how comfy and warm I was sitting in the reclining chair in the movie theatre watching The Hobbit. Surprisingly, this really helped.

Near the end of the train ride, we began talking with another white guy who was sitting next to us. His name is Arnaud and he is from Belgium. He hadn’t booked a place to stay yet, so we invited him to come to our hotel to see if there was room. Getting to the hotel was an adventure, as always. What felt like dozens of taxi and auto-rickshaw drivers swarmed us asking where we were going. We’re pretty used to this by now, but it can still be pretty annoying, especially in our condition. Eventually, we gave in and paid one guy 20 rupees for the three minute taxi ride to our hotel.

We arrived at our hotel and checked in without problems. Arnaud was also able to get a room, although with a shared bathroom. We dropped our stuff in our room and then proceeded to the roof of our hotel for breakfast. Our hotel has a wonderful rooftop patio and it served us quite a nice breakfast. Arnaud sat with us and we chatted for some time.

Eventually we decided it was time to get going. First thing on our list was to book train tickets. We took an auto-rickshaw to the station, though it dropped us off nowhere near the entrance. Coincidentally, our charismatic taxi driver from earlier in the day was standing where we got dropped off and pointed us in the right direction. Once inside the station, we had no idea where to book tickets. I went to stand in “line” to ask where to go to buy tickets. This was interesting. When I asked someone whether he was in line, he said “there is no line.” Indeed, people were simply pushing their way into a clump of bodies gathered around a booth. So I did the same. Unfortunately, this cost me my sunglasses. Whether stolen or bumped off my body in the scuffle I can’t be sure, but I pushed my way to the front of the line pretty quickly. It’s nice being larger than average for once.

The lady told me to exit the station and go to the ticket reservation office. So we exited the station, but had trouble finding the correct building. Eventually we got there and booked one train ticket from Udaipur to Mumbai. Our other route, from Jaisalmer to Udaipur, will have to be by bus because trains do not operate between these cities.

From here we decided to head to Indra Bazaar to do some shopping. The bazaar is similar to those we visited in Delhi. The ride there got very interesting when the rickshaw driver who had agreed to give us a ride for 80 rupees began creating a scene and demanded 200 rupees saying that he meant it was 100 rupees per person. This was absurd and never has it been the case that rickshaw drivers charge per person. Jeff was even nice enough to tip him 20 rupees and ended up giving him 100 total. He began yelling at us in public and a group of people gathered around listening to what the whole ordeal was about. Jeff calmly explained to the guy that we were being nice and even tipped him but there was absolutely no reasoning with him. He was a unkind man trying to take advantage of us. A store owner who came out of his shop to ease the tension even took the rickshaw's side. We were disgusted with the whole spectacle and Patty in the end walked away after saying if it was 200 rupees he should have said that from the get go. Had it been the case the ride was 200 rupees never in a million years would we have gotten in the rickshaw as this would have been a ludacrous price for 5 minute trip. We walked away pretty riled up about it but felt comfort in knowing we did the right thing. Once we got shopping I managed to bargain down a pair of sandals from 950 to 650 rupees, which I was pretty pleased with. Patty bought three pashminas for 1300 rupees, a bangles for 190 rupees, two kurtas (long shirts) for 500 rupees, and a bag for 150 rupees. It was a pretty successful day.

We met Arnaud at a nearby post office and decided to go to a restaurant called Ganesh Restaurant. We took an auto-rickshaw, although the driver had to ask directions on three different occasions and several three-point turns in the middle of traffic. The restaurant was well hidden, sitting on top of the old city walls. It was an Indian restaurant that served vegetarian cuisine. We ordered three different dishes and some bread. All the dishes were alike, and they also had paneer, a kind of cheese. The cheese was delicious, but I’m terrified that it will not agree with my stomach. I suppose I’ll soon find out.

After this, we took another auto-rickshaw back to our hotel. Arnaud offered to buy us beer and to sit on the roof to chat. We stayed up there for over three hours. He is quite an interesting character. He is like me in the sense that he is hoping his year-long trip will help him find out more about himself. An hour or so into the conversation I received a Skype call from my parents and I talked with them and Chris for a couple minutes. I can’t say how wonderful it was to hear their voices and see their faces after such a long time.

After the Skype call, we chatted with Arnaud until about 11:00pm, when we decided it was time to get to bed. Tomorrow it’s back to the markets to look for a couple more things, including linen pants!!