Mmmmh city life, not sure about that. It woud seem that Hannah and me are small town girls at heart, or at least small city girls. Jaipur is a big city and we just never managed to get a handle on it. We've got too used to being able to walk everywhere, and even though we still did walk in Jaipur, it was so much noisier, dirty, and full of traffic in an unpleasently frenetic way that it wasn't so much fun. We had heard that the Bazaar's in Jaipur are amazing, but having trawled there lengths concluded that actually we'd seen much nicer ones elsewhere. Maybe if you know what your looking for, or if your buying precious/semi precious stones this is the place. But when you want to just amble around taking in the sights its not so good. Also it's known as the pink city, but in truth its more terracotta coloured and then only in parts, not like the consistant blues of Jodhpur. Still I'm painting it in a harsh light, which is really just saying I guess neither of us liked it that much.
We saw some beautiful stones in various jewellers and some incredible jewellery too, displaying a intricate and advanced craftsmanship that left me pretty impressed. I enjoyed some of the more obscure parts of the Bazaar- the tool and hardwear sections, with little shops stacked floor to ceiling with nuts bolts and nails, the party sections with stalls catering for all your party needs from paper plates to big sticks wrapped in shiny tinsel stuff -there purpose can only be guessed at. Kite shops and firework shops, spice and grain stands with huge sacks of grains and one section where the smell of spice and bayleaves and herbs wafted around us as we walked. Flower stands covered in roses, marigolds and others making a whole street of colour, reds, oranges, pinks, yellows, whites. All these places surrounded by roads where cycles, cycle-rickshaws, auto-rickshaws, moterbikes, taxi's, trucks, buses, donkies, horses, and cows vie for space. A bit mad, and much more negotiable in some form of transport than on foot. The number of times I attempted to cross a road to become stranded in the middle with all of that hurtling towards me was a few more then I would've liked.
It all felt a bit stressful, and that coupled with the incredibly hard beds that felt like you were just lying on a block of wood and at twice the price of Pushkar meant we changed our planned 4 or 5 day stay and left after 2. I think that to get a grip on a big city like that you either need to hire a driver, or know someone who can show you round. In size Kolkata is probably similar, but didn't seem half as stressful- the differance of having time and people who know the place and accompany you, and having somewhere that feels like home at Mum and Dads must have made more difference than I gave it credit for.
So we decided perhaps slightly madly to come back to Udaipur. But it has definately been the right decision. We are both very happy to be back here, and the 10 hour bus journey took us through different towns and villages along the way, the journeys never seem a drag because there is always so much to see. Driving back into the centre of Udaipur it felt really nice to be coming back somewhere familiar, there is something good about returning to somewhere you know you're happy in. We have learnt that the local buses are better than private ones, more regular and cheaper, and we've learnt that you can often get much nicer accomadtion if you ignore the lonely planet reccomendations and just follow your nose. The lonely planet seems to make for inflated prices and slipping standards. So we're back in warmer climes, with the lakeside views and we're loving it.
We saw some beautiful stones in various jewellers and some incredible jewellery too, displaying a intricate and advanced craftsmanship that left me pretty impressed. I enjoyed some of the more obscure parts of the Bazaar- the tool and hardwear sections, with little shops stacked floor to ceiling with nuts bolts and nails, the party sections with stalls catering for all your party needs from paper plates to big sticks wrapped in shiny tinsel stuff -there purpose can only be guessed at. Kite shops and firework shops, spice and grain stands with huge sacks of grains and one section where the smell of spice and bayleaves and herbs wafted around us as we walked. Flower stands covered in roses, marigolds and others making a whole street of colour, reds, oranges, pinks, yellows, whites. All these places surrounded by roads where cycles, cycle-rickshaws, auto-rickshaws, moterbikes, taxi's, trucks, buses, donkies, horses, and cows vie for space. A bit mad, and much more negotiable in some form of transport than on foot. The number of times I attempted to cross a road to become stranded in the middle with all of that hurtling towards me was a few more then I would've liked.
It all felt a bit stressful, and that coupled with the incredibly hard beds that felt like you were just lying on a block of wood and at twice the price of Pushkar meant we changed our planned 4 or 5 day stay and left after 2. I think that to get a grip on a big city like that you either need to hire a driver, or know someone who can show you round. In size Kolkata is probably similar, but didn't seem half as stressful- the differance of having time and people who know the place and accompany you, and having somewhere that feels like home at Mum and Dads must have made more difference than I gave it credit for.
So we decided perhaps slightly madly to come back to Udaipur. But it has definately been the right decision. We are both very happy to be back here, and the 10 hour bus journey took us through different towns and villages along the way, the journeys never seem a drag because there is always so much to see. Driving back into the centre of Udaipur it felt really nice to be coming back somewhere familiar, there is something good about returning to somewhere you know you're happy in. We have learnt that the local buses are better than private ones, more regular and cheaper, and we've learnt that you can often get much nicer accomadtion if you ignore the lonely planet reccomendations and just follow your nose. The lonely planet seems to make for inflated prices and slipping standards. So we're back in warmer climes, with the lakeside views and we're loving it.
2 comments:
Yeah, break free from the clutches of the lying planet! have fun!
Hindu wedding processions in Pushkar - I wondered if the pots on heads were coconut - isn't there something about the groom having to break pots of coconut as he crosses the threshold of the bride's parent's house once married?? also is there a tradition about pots of fruit in the room on the wedding night?? I may be talking rubbish of course!?! maybe you need to get yourself an invite and find out?You could also demonstrate the english tradition of lager fuelled oops-up-side-your-head at midnight? great!!. take care Lisa x
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