Posted by: Jonathan
We arrived in Jodhpur in the early evening after roasting in a non-ac bus for the seven hour journey through the desert from Jaisalmer. It wouldn't have been so bad if the guy sitting in front of me would have allowed the window to be at least cracked if not wide open: circulating hot air is better than stagnant hot air any day.
Once we got a hotel room I headed to the train station to book some tickets. A mundane process, sure, but there is one aspect that I have been meaning to share with you. While standing in line for anything; ticket counter, boarding any mode of transportation, snack stand etc - you must always muscle to keep your spot in line. It is normal for people to step in front of you, push you out of line, stick their arm in front of you blocking you from the counter, or do possible to skip you. They aren't doing this to be rude, it is their culture and I guess a good combination of exercise and entertainment while waiting in line. Typically women and elderly people have their own line and men have a mosh pit in front of the counter. As you can imagine, since cutting is the norm, when you wait in line you have to literally hug the stranger in front of you to squash even the idea that someone might fit in between. On this particular occasion, I had survived in the line for over 30 minutes and worked my way up to the counter to be served next. A guy on my right side grabs the counter and starts boxing me out like the center in basketball looking for a rebound. Seeing my chances of getting a ticket disappearing, I acted quickly, and snatched his reservation form out of his hand (must have one filled out to get a ticket) and held it at arms length from him. This made him relinquish his grip on the counter to reclaim his form, allowing me my rightful spot back at the window. I returned to the hotel drenched in sweat, most of it not mine, but packing two tickets for a nearly sold out train that departs a week from now from a city over 400 miles away - yes that is how coveted some train tickets are. For such a friendly civilized country, always remember queueing follows cave man rules.
Jenn and I had planned to head south to Mumbai before returning to the north to cross into Nepal. We decided that the 40 some hours on the train weren't worth it so we pulled an audible and decided to have a couple rest days instead of being packed in a train car for two days. That morning I went out and booked us a deluxe room with cable TV, fridge, view, bathtub, complimentary room service, and most importantly AC (our first taste of it in India).
We arrived in Jodhpur in the early evening after roasting in a non-ac bus for the seven hour journey through the desert from Jaisalmer. It wouldn't have been so bad if the guy sitting in front of me would have allowed the window to be at least cracked if not wide open: circulating hot air is better than stagnant hot air any day.
Once we got a hotel room I headed to the train station to book some tickets. A mundane process, sure, but there is one aspect that I have been meaning to share with you. While standing in line for anything; ticket counter, boarding any mode of transportation, snack stand etc - you must always muscle to keep your spot in line. It is normal for people to step in front of you, push you out of line, stick their arm in front of you blocking you from the counter, or do possible to skip you. They aren't doing this to be rude, it is their culture and I guess a good combination of exercise and entertainment while waiting in line. Typically women and elderly people have their own line and men have a mosh pit in front of the counter. As you can imagine, since cutting is the norm, when you wait in line you have to literally hug the stranger in front of you to squash even the idea that someone might fit in between. On this particular occasion, I had survived in the line for over 30 minutes and worked my way up to the counter to be served next. A guy on my right side grabs the counter and starts boxing me out like the center in basketball looking for a rebound. Seeing my chances of getting a ticket disappearing, I acted quickly, and snatched his reservation form out of his hand (must have one filled out to get a ticket) and held it at arms length from him. This made him relinquish his grip on the counter to reclaim his form, allowing me my rightful spot back at the window. I returned to the hotel drenched in sweat, most of it not mine, but packing two tickets for a nearly sold out train that departs a week from now from a city over 400 miles away - yes that is how coveted some train tickets are. For such a friendly civilized country, always remember queueing follows cave man rules.
Jenn and I had planned to head south to Mumbai before returning to the north to cross into Nepal. We decided that the 40 some hours on the train weren't worth it so we pulled an audible and decided to have a couple rest days instead of being packed in a train car for two days. That morning I went out and booked us a deluxe room with cable TV, fridge, view, bathtub, complimentary room service, and most importantly AC (our first taste of it in India).
After cranking up the AC and basking in its glory we went in search of breakfast. JACKPOT! No more than two blocks away we stumbled upon a street stall omelet shop.
This wasn't any ordinary street stall, Ghanshyan has been perfecting his omelette's for over 35 years, cooking at least 2,000 eggs a day.
This wasn't any ordinary street stall, Ghanshyan has been perfecting his omelette's for over 35 years, cooking at least 2,000 eggs a day.
Four egg masala cheese omelet sandwiches hovered at $1. Needless to say I contributed to his daily 2k egg consumption by eating 16 sandwiches in 24 hours.
The following two days we spent the majority of the sweltering afternoons in our arctic safe haven watching movies on TV, taking a break from the hectic honking city below. We ventured out each morning and evening to explore the sights, sounds, and smells of the city. The most impressive of the sights was the Mehrangarh fort. It assumed a dominant position over the city with walls that would intimidate even the bravest of warriors - glad I was never commanded to storm the fort.
The following two days we spent the majority of the sweltering afternoons in our arctic safe haven watching movies on TV, taking a break from the hectic honking city below. We ventured out each morning and evening to explore the sights, sounds, and smells of the city. The most impressive of the sights was the Mehrangarh fort. It assumed a dominant position over the city with walls that would intimidate even the bravest of warriors - glad I was never commanded to storm the fort.
Jodphur is referred to as the "blue city" and it is best seen why from the walls of the fort.
The city is also renowned for its markets surrounding the clock tower specializing in colorful fabrics and spices.
We spoke to one elderly man who (back in the day) made the costumes used in the non animated Jungle Book and had the credentials to prove it framed in his shop. Not needing a loin cloth like Mowgli's we pressed on.
I know I have mentioned this before, but cricket is unimaginably huge here. With that said it is also important to understand the rivalry between India and Pakistan. It goes all the way back to the partition of India in 1947 when Britain decided to relinquish their control of India and allow them to self-govern. There were two major political parties at that time; a Muslim one and a predominantly Hindu one. Since the two parties couldn't agree on how to move forward, it was decided to divide the country. The far east and west were predominantly Muslim so they would become East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and West Pakistan with India sandwiched in between. Once the lines were drawn as to which cities fell into which country, possibly the largest human exodus in history began - more than 10 million people were forced to relocate. The Hindus that had homes in what would soon become Pakistan were forced to gather what they could carry and head east into India and vice versa. The Muslims in India had to decide whether to stay and be a minority or move into the new Muslim dominated country. The exact same thing happened on the eastern side of India as well. During this time more than 500,000 people were killed by one side or the other in religious intolerance. It is paramount to remember that this occurred just 64 years ago - the older generation lived through it, and the younger generation hear the horror stories from their parents. Since then India and Pakistan have traded blows with a continuing border dispute over Kashmir in the north, giving way to frequent violence, and acts of terrorism by extremists (most recent 2008 bomb in Mumbai).
So now that you have a glimpse of how important cricket is here and have a grasp of the rivalry that runs as deep as bloodshed, you can imagine what it is like when these two countries stand face to face on the cricket field in the semi-final of the Cricket World Championship. Closest comparison: Superbowl Sunday with an all star string of NFL players taking on Afghanistan's theoretical finest football team. Every TV tuned in and anyone without one was on the doorsteps listening to the radios playing aloud clutching their bat anxiously anticipating the next run. In several low rent districts we saw baller flat screen TVs mounted outside with 50 plus people watching. Again, Indian hospitality, we were offered seats front and center if we even seemed the faintest bit interested in the game.
So now that you have a glimpse of how important cricket is here and have a grasp of the rivalry that runs as deep as bloodshed, you can imagine what it is like when these two countries stand face to face on the cricket field in the semi-final of the Cricket World Championship. Closest comparison: Superbowl Sunday with an all star string of NFL players taking on Afghanistan's theoretical finest football team. Every TV tuned in and anyone without one was on the doorsteps listening to the radios playing aloud clutching their bat anxiously anticipating the next run. In several low rent districts we saw baller flat screen TVs mounted outside with 50 plus people watching. Again, Indian hospitality, we were offered seats front and center if we even seemed the faintest bit interested in the game.
Jenn and I watched India secure the victory from our hotel's rooftop restaurant, which wasn't serving food since all the employees would have quit before taking their eyes off of the game. As the last ball was bowled the streets erupted with mobs of fans celebrating and the sky lit up by fireworks shot off by thousands of elated fans. Pandemonium.
From Jodhpur we caught a local bus to Pushkar, a small town nestled in the mountains with a religiously significant lake surrounded by ancient temples. Our recently showered non-dreaded hair stood out like a masked man in line at a bank. The town was overflowing with spiritual gurus and professional hippies, we were way out of our league here. Even as outcasts we still enjoyed a few lazy days exploring the ghats (steps by the water's edge) and temples. Unfortunately, we have limited photos since cameras aren't allowed in the temples and photography frowned upon at the ghats since locals bathe and perform religious rituals.
Again with Jenn needing her sandals fixed. I think she drags her feet because I refuse to believe it is the quality of craftsmanship of Thai footwear in question here.
One morning during breakfast we watched an entire troop of Satan's helpers (monkeys) leap from one rooftop to another on the other side of the road, over two stories up. Even the moms hurled themselves across the impossible gap with the petrified newborn babies clinging for dear life.
From Pushkar we caught a bus back to Delhi which should have taken eight hours but ended up taking a little over twelve hours. Flat tire, engine trouble you ask? No, no, no - it was the Cricket Championship game (India vs. Shri Lanka) and the bus driver decided to pull over and watch the game with some friends. India pulled out a come from behind nail biting victory (if cricket can even be considered suspenseful) to become World Champions!