We flew to New Dehli in a huge plane where we were fed lots of spicy curry amongst other foods and after a short layover we caught a small (nearly empty) flight to Mumbai. This is where we paid dearly for being unprepared. Unbenounced to us, once you leave the airport in Mumbai, you cannot go back in without a current departing ticket. Security was super tight and no one was breaking any rules for us. We had left the airport before talking with information, using the wifi, booking a hotel or making any plans whatsoever. We found ourselves stuck outside with thousands of other people from 1am until morning with no idea where to go or what to do. Tyson fell asleep quite easily while I sat up getting anhialated by giant mosquitos. It was not the best start to one of the most highly anticipated countries of the whole trip.
As Tyson slept my stomach started to get really angry and worked up, finally it got to the point that I had to wake him up to suffer with me. I guess the spicy airplane food was not agreeing with me. We tried again to find some help in the daylight but it was hopeless at the airport so we walked to the bus stop just a few minutes away. Rickshaw drivers fought each other tooth and nail behind us for our business that we had already told them they could NOT have. So we ignored them and a middle aged Indian guy who spoke very little English told us he was going in the same direction and we could follow him. Since we did not know anything at all about where we wanted to go, what to do, no contact info, no Lonely Planet and completely unprepared, we agreed. The bus was older than ever and crowded and did not stop at the stop but came to a slow roll. This was when we had to run and jump on. Yes, everything you have heard about busses in India is true, in fact the truth is probably even worse. There were far too many people on the bus but as soon as they noticed that I was in pain and not feeling well, people quickly and politely got up and gave me enough room to lay down. I did so and finally when it was time to get off we jumped off during the same type of slow rolling stop. This was when we walked through the city of Mumbai with all of our bags, feeling extremely unwell, while thousands of people stared at us.
The roads are unpaved and dusty, there are people, goats, cows, dogs and rats running around. Our first thoughts consisted of overwhelming, frustrating, intimidating and super interesting feelings. Coming from all black suits in Hong Kong to brightly printed and sparkly saris and suits, the whole place seemed more vibrant and beautiful. We had to take a train next and this was not a treat. About ten thousand other people were planning on taking the same train so (as we were slowly learning) we had to run and fight for our spot. I guess when you live in a country of over a billion people, everything becomes a race. Again however, the compassion of the people showed when they noticed that I was uncomfortable and several men got up from their seats and helped me to sit down. The man directing from the airport us even bought us the train tickets which would have been impossible for us to do on our own. After the train ride we were on our own again and had no idea where we were. So we asked at the train station how to get to the "backpacker area" and they told us to go to "Colaba". At that point I could not continue to travel so we took a rickshaw to a crappy overpriced hotel nearbywhere I passed out until evening. The whole morning and the exhausting trip is a blur to me now and once I woke up I was feeling much better.
India's literacy rate is around 60%, their life expectancy is about 65 years, and they have the most poverty than anywhere else in the world. The average income is 900 US per year and bearing in mind that they also have some of the top richest people to pull up the average by quite a bit, this number is extremely low. As we are starting to learn, this subcontinent is huge and each state is so different from the other that they may as well be different countries. One year would not be enough to see the whole thing and one month is only a small taste. This is definitely a repeat country.
That first night we walked out of our hotel and we were right in the heart of the local area. People stared at us as if they had never seen a foreigner in their whole lives. Again the roads were just rocks and it seemed that there were many more males than females out. So many people. Some would stop and say hi and others would just stare. Many were working and carrying products around on their heads or on giant carts. Some people asked for money but most were just interested in us and what we were doing. We walked all the way to Colaba and this is when we saw all the many many tourists in a much cleaner and nicer area of town. This is where the Taj Mahal hotel and many other beautiful places are. We walked around, ate ice cream and looked for a more reasonable place to stay for the next night. We also drank our first of hundreds of Indian teas in India. We took photos in front of the gate of India and there were many tourists around. Everyone was super friendly and two guys from Oman came up to us as if they'd known us for years and asked how we were. We bought frozen tea on a stick and ate it as a popsicle. We met many Indian families travelling from other parts of the country.
When we woke up the next morning we packed up our things and checked out. We tried to find a bus ticket to get to Udaipur, Rajasthan. This was the first of many attempts and the search went on until the next night. Amongst other lies, we were told that there was not much available because of the Holi festival that takes place on the 7-8 of March. So the prices we were quoted were reasonably high. We said we would keep looking. We checked into the Salvation Army Hostel for a much better rate than the previous place, but girls and boys were in separate rooms so we had to split up for the night. The hostel was great and attracted a great variety of travellers, mostly backpackers in their 20s. We met many people and were now in a much more comfotable environment. We spent the day walking around the street markets that were selling fabulous clothes, sandals, books and souveniers. We only bought food as usual though. We ate thali plates which consist of a big portion of white rice along with several types of curries, soup and a piece of chapati. It was a filling meal for under a dollar. Of course each meal had to be washed down with a cup of hot sugary tea with milk. Everyday has also included several samosas, indian sweets and ice cream (McDonalds). We checked out more transport tickets but each person told us something different and it was all sounding suspicious. So we went to the actual train station and found the foreign counter. India's rail system is the most extravagant and elaborate in the world. Millions of people travel on it everyday and it goes all over the country. Unfortunately it also sells out weeks in advance. They do save a few tickets from each of the eight classes of each train for tourists only though. So the lady at the counter offered us tickets for 617 Rupees each for the 6th of March. Since we did not want to be stuck in Mumbai for that long we said we would think about it. At that train station we met a local guy who said he could help us. Being in India, we were immediately suspicious and treaded carefully. He said that if we walked to Victoria station we would have more options of tickets. So he walked with us over half an hour to the next train station. The whole time giving us valuable information about travelling the country and interesting facts about the area. When we got to the station he waited in line with us and somehow managed to find us tickets so cheap and perfect (for the next afternoon) that it was unbelievable. Actually we really did not believe him, we asked over twenty times for the train station staff to confirm the times, locations, prices and everything about the ticket which they patiently did. We bought the ticket and were sure the man would ask us for a tip. He did not, he merely said it was nice to meet us and walked away. We were ashamed and thankful.
We ate many samosas and then noodles. Back at our hostel a guy invited us to do voice overs for a new bollywood movie. He offered us 500 Rupees, free transport and lots of food. We would have done it whole heartedly except we were leaving Mumbai before the shoot. Some Australian girls did it and we heard they had an awesome time. We slept in our separate areas and it was all good.
The next morning we enjoyed our free breakfast at the hostel and cancelled our original plan to go to Elephante Island. Instead, we packed up all our things and took the local train to Dharavi. This is the major slum area of Mumbai (the biggest in Asia) that the movie "Slumdog Millionaire" was filmed in. We arrived by train with all of our baggage and every head was turned in our direction. Immediately a few children ran up to us to say hello and asked for "school pens" or "one rupee" or "chocolate". All we had were some small candies. As soon as we pulled them out a dozen other children appeared out of nowhere with hands outstretched. We handed them all out and everyone thanked us and waved. Although handing out candy is seemingly harmless, it does promote and encourage begging so we are not meant to do it. But when it makes a very young poor child so happy, it is hard not to.
We walked over the foot bridge into the heart of the slum and at this point I became apprehensive as every eye was on us as if they were wondering what the heck we were doing there. We took a deep breath and walked forward down the stairs onto the filthy streets where an accurate description is impossible for me to form. You have to see it to believe it. I was uncomfortable taking photos because I was already out of place and did not want to draw more attention. We just walked and used our eyes to create memories. After the first couple of blocks we began to breathe a bit easier as we realized we would probably not die. The streets were so dirty that I did not even want to walk with my shoes on but the locals were barefoot. There were people selling fruits and making wicker baskets. They were dressed poorly and the buildings (if you can call them that) were extremely frail and poorly held up with sticks and tarps. Kids were not dressed and ran around with rats and dogs. We kept walking until we came accross a guy selling locks. We bought two from him because ours had been stolen back in Malaysia. Everyone was watching our every move and each time we stopped a small crowd would gather and gawk. A few people spoke with us in English and inquired about how we were doing.
We came accross a small group of kids playing cricket. This is the major sports obsession of the country and everywhere you go, you will find kids and adults playing or speaking about the game. As we watched the kids asked if Tyson would like to play, he took off his bag and played a few rounds. Afterwards a few of the kids came to us and asked us to buy them a ball. Their old ball was tattered and we agreed. As we followed the kids to the cart that sold balls, more and more people followed us until there was a crowd of over 50 people watching us purchase this ball that cost less than 50 cents. The kids were so thankful and they took photos with Tyson. One of the kid's favorite things to do is have us photograph them and then show them the picture on the digital camera. Every time we take out the camera the children will ask "photo?". The children are not the only ones though because a man stopped me on the street and asked me to be in a photo with him. He seemed very excited and had likely mistaken me for someone else. I agreed though and was flattered. We bought another bag of candy at a store and stocked up to buy more love from local kids.
We took the train straight to Mumbai Central where we bought food and caught the sitting train to Ahmedabad. This was not a pleasant experience. The sitting class is the lowest class and cheapest ticket. We had three people sitting where two people would be too many, for nine hours. We were lucky though because the train was packed and many people did not even have seats, they had to stand. Local people walked up and down the ailes selling all types of foods and of course, tea. We drank masala tea (spiced) and ate mixes of deep fried treats. We were next to some other backpackers including a girl from Vancouver Island who had also stayed at the Salvation Army Hostel and the same place as us in Udaipur. When we stopped in Ahmedabad we went for food in the hour and a half layover with our new backpacker friends from Germany and Japan. We ate masala dosas and omelette sandwiches. Then we bought several bags of chips to supplement dinner. The next train was a nine hour one to Udaipur. We had the middle and top sleeper bunks in rows that were three high. After paying off all the children with candies we chatted with our neighboring Indian friends. They were two young guys who spoke great English and were able to advise us about our trip. When they weren't speaking with us they were talking amongst themselves about the importance of education and politics. We slept well that night until the local men started waking up and horking and spitting. This is very Indian and it is what it is.
We arrived in Udaipur and immediately bought continuing train tickets to Jaipur for four days later to avoid another situation. We walked the several kilometers to a hotel that had left advertising flyers at the salvation army. This is where we have been staying for a few nights and plan to stay for the remainder of our time here. It is very inexpensive for what it is. It is a few kilometers away from all the action of the city but the rooms are large, wifi is free, the staff are friendly and there is about three minutes of hot water available for hot showers so we are golden. Our first night we took a bigger room with a private bathroom and TV because it was all that was available but we switched to the smaller/ shared bathroom one for the next few nights when it became available. We caught up on all the excitement in the internet world for several hours before heading out to explore.
We walked to the city where there are more foreigners and the locals stop staring as much although they never really seem to fully stop. We bought some samosas and then found the street stand that we became regulars at. A man and his son make pouranthas and thick chappatis with curry and yoghurt dips. This is fried layered bread ( 1 piece) and another of the same bread but with potatos and spices baked inside (2 pieces). We bought some local bangles and other things as we walked but the sales staff at the small street shops are very pushy and tricky when it comes to selling and we had to crawl out of a couple stores with difficulty. We saw the outside of the lake palace and decided to go back the next day. As we slowly made our way back in the direction of the hotel (while stopping to chat or check out some shawls) we met an interesting man. He invited us into his art studio and we hung out drinking tea, looking at art and chatting about life and spirituality. He paints on silk with natural stone colors and real gold and silver. Although we could not afford any of his art he asked us to take a piece for free. We refused but we had a great time listening and learning with him.
Later that night as Tyson was going out for the third time for snacks of spicy chips and bread, a young kid handed him money and asked him to buy smokes because the street shop guy would not sell any to him. Tyson refused and told the kid to be strong and not mess up his healthy lungs, the boy thought about it for a second, nodded, pounded fists and walked off. Another child saved by the lovely Tyson McLellan.
Today we slept in accidentally and managed to leave the hotel by a lazy 1pm. We walked by our now regular street stand and ate pouranthas and stopped at the sweets shop and tried three new sweets. The desserts here are a hundred times more sweet than anything we are used to back home and it hurts to eat them but they are still very tasty. We achieved our goal to not shop until we reached the lake palace. We bought our entrance tickets and spent a few hours wandering the museams and taking in the sights. It is a huge castle that is now a hotel, museam and tourist sight. It is right on the lake and overlooks other palaces (now hotels) on small islands. We walked into an area where all the locals live and a friendly man offered us tea. The woman who poured it for us let out a massive belch without batting an eye and handed us the cups. It was one of the best teas we've drank.
As we walked around today one young kid threw white powder paint at Tyson and got him in the face. This is not a mean act but rather a traditional one. Tomorrow is Holi which is a huge two-day-long festival all over India. On the first day they burn trees and on the second day it is a festival of color where they throw bright paints at each other all day. If you look up some photos you can see what I mean. I guess this particular kid was starting early and many of the school kids were already covered in pink, red, green and yellow paints. During two other occasions throughout the day Tyson got pelted with a water balloon and we both got hit with water guns. This must be a part of the festival because there are water guns for sale alongside powder paint at every store. The kids got yelled at by adults but it was harmless.
They were setting up for the Holi festival tomorrow at the palace and it was very busy in the area. We lazily walked around the city and I was half heartedly looking for a nice scarf. We were peering into a tiny silver shop when we noticed that the guy pierces noses for ten dollars. Tyson suggested that I get it done. I have never wanted a nose piercing and unnecessary pain is not something I am ok with. After a tattoo and dreads I swore I would never put myself through pain for looks again. So we laughed and continued on. Then we noticed an old man sleeping in a tiny shop with a few rings and a sign that said "noise peercings". So we asked him how much and he said "two zero zero" (just over four dollars). So we continued on again and ended up back at the first place. They asked if I wanted to get it done and we said that we had found a lower price but they refused to match it. So we continued on again and ended up at the old man's shop where his son was now hanging out too. Tyson asked how the procedure works as the man pulled a ring off of his shelf and rubbed it in his dirty fingers. He cut the end of the needle with old pliers and grabbed my face and nearly shoved in the stud. I quickly turned my head and he looked confused. So he tried again and this time I didn't want to be rude so I hesitated and the needle was in. It kinda hurt and that's my story. Later on we recreated the scene for a photo opp but in reality I never agreed to the procedure. After the needle was in Tyson says "I guess we'll take it" and paid the man.
We stopped at our regular stand and got our meal to go along with pop, popcorn and local spicy potato chips. Today the kind man gave us two cups of tea for free as we waited for our meals. During our wait several children and about four different woman with babies begged us for food. They pointed to their mouths indicating that they were hungrey. We appologized and looked away and the man running the pourantha stand yelled at them to leave us alone. I feel for them and they are hungry while I eat. It's not right. I do not know their situation like why they cannot work or why they have children when they are so poor. It may be due to a lack of education and understanding. Tomorrow I think I should share my food.
Back at the hotel, I cleaned the piercing and showed my mom on skype. The worst should be over. Tomorrow is the first day of Holi.
"If we are not happy and joyous in this season for what season shall we wait"
As Tyson slept my stomach started to get really angry and worked up, finally it got to the point that I had to wake him up to suffer with me. I guess the spicy airplane food was not agreeing with me. We tried again to find some help in the daylight but it was hopeless at the airport so we walked to the bus stop just a few minutes away. Rickshaw drivers fought each other tooth and nail behind us for our business that we had already told them they could NOT have. So we ignored them and a middle aged Indian guy who spoke very little English told us he was going in the same direction and we could follow him. Since we did not know anything at all about where we wanted to go, what to do, no contact info, no Lonely Planet and completely unprepared, we agreed. The bus was older than ever and crowded and did not stop at the stop but came to a slow roll. This was when we had to run and jump on. Yes, everything you have heard about busses in India is true, in fact the truth is probably even worse. There were far too many people on the bus but as soon as they noticed that I was in pain and not feeling well, people quickly and politely got up and gave me enough room to lay down. I did so and finally when it was time to get off we jumped off during the same type of slow rolling stop. This was when we walked through the city of Mumbai with all of our bags, feeling extremely unwell, while thousands of people stared at us.
The roads are unpaved and dusty, there are people, goats, cows, dogs and rats running around. Our first thoughts consisted of overwhelming, frustrating, intimidating and super interesting feelings. Coming from all black suits in Hong Kong to brightly printed and sparkly saris and suits, the whole place seemed more vibrant and beautiful. We had to take a train next and this was not a treat. About ten thousand other people were planning on taking the same train so (as we were slowly learning) we had to run and fight for our spot. I guess when you live in a country of over a billion people, everything becomes a race. Again however, the compassion of the people showed when they noticed that I was uncomfortable and several men got up from their seats and helped me to sit down. The man directing from the airport us even bought us the train tickets which would have been impossible for us to do on our own. After the train ride we were on our own again and had no idea where we were. So we asked at the train station how to get to the "backpacker area" and they told us to go to "Colaba". At that point I could not continue to travel so we took a rickshaw to a crappy overpriced hotel nearbywhere I passed out until evening. The whole morning and the exhausting trip is a blur to me now and once I woke up I was feeling much better.
India's literacy rate is around 60%, their life expectancy is about 65 years, and they have the most poverty than anywhere else in the world. The average income is 900 US per year and bearing in mind that they also have some of the top richest people to pull up the average by quite a bit, this number is extremely low. As we are starting to learn, this subcontinent is huge and each state is so different from the other that they may as well be different countries. One year would not be enough to see the whole thing and one month is only a small taste. This is definitely a repeat country.
That first night we walked out of our hotel and we were right in the heart of the local area. People stared at us as if they had never seen a foreigner in their whole lives. Again the roads were just rocks and it seemed that there were many more males than females out. So many people. Some would stop and say hi and others would just stare. Many were working and carrying products around on their heads or on giant carts. Some people asked for money but most were just interested in us and what we were doing. We walked all the way to Colaba and this is when we saw all the many many tourists in a much cleaner and nicer area of town. This is where the Taj Mahal hotel and many other beautiful places are. We walked around, ate ice cream and looked for a more reasonable place to stay for the next night. We also drank our first of hundreds of Indian teas in India. We took photos in front of the gate of India and there were many tourists around. Everyone was super friendly and two guys from Oman came up to us as if they'd known us for years and asked how we were. We bought frozen tea on a stick and ate it as a popsicle. We met many Indian families travelling from other parts of the country.
When we woke up the next morning we packed up our things and checked out. We tried to find a bus ticket to get to Udaipur, Rajasthan. This was the first of many attempts and the search went on until the next night. Amongst other lies, we were told that there was not much available because of the Holi festival that takes place on the 7-8 of March. So the prices we were quoted were reasonably high. We said we would keep looking. We checked into the Salvation Army Hostel for a much better rate than the previous place, but girls and boys were in separate rooms so we had to split up for the night. The hostel was great and attracted a great variety of travellers, mostly backpackers in their 20s. We met many people and were now in a much more comfotable environment. We spent the day walking around the street markets that were selling fabulous clothes, sandals, books and souveniers. We only bought food as usual though. We ate thali plates which consist of a big portion of white rice along with several types of curries, soup and a piece of chapati. It was a filling meal for under a dollar. Of course each meal had to be washed down with a cup of hot sugary tea with milk. Everyday has also included several samosas, indian sweets and ice cream (McDonalds). We checked out more transport tickets but each person told us something different and it was all sounding suspicious. So we went to the actual train station and found the foreign counter. India's rail system is the most extravagant and elaborate in the world. Millions of people travel on it everyday and it goes all over the country. Unfortunately it also sells out weeks in advance. They do save a few tickets from each of the eight classes of each train for tourists only though. So the lady at the counter offered us tickets for 617 Rupees each for the 6th of March. Since we did not want to be stuck in Mumbai for that long we said we would think about it. At that train station we met a local guy who said he could help us. Being in India, we were immediately suspicious and treaded carefully. He said that if we walked to Victoria station we would have more options of tickets. So he walked with us over half an hour to the next train station. The whole time giving us valuable information about travelling the country and interesting facts about the area. When we got to the station he waited in line with us and somehow managed to find us tickets so cheap and perfect (for the next afternoon) that it was unbelievable. Actually we really did not believe him, we asked over twenty times for the train station staff to confirm the times, locations, prices and everything about the ticket which they patiently did. We bought the ticket and were sure the man would ask us for a tip. He did not, he merely said it was nice to meet us and walked away. We were ashamed and thankful.
We ate many samosas and then noodles. Back at our hostel a guy invited us to do voice overs for a new bollywood movie. He offered us 500 Rupees, free transport and lots of food. We would have done it whole heartedly except we were leaving Mumbai before the shoot. Some Australian girls did it and we heard they had an awesome time. We slept in our separate areas and it was all good.
The next morning we enjoyed our free breakfast at the hostel and cancelled our original plan to go to Elephante Island. Instead, we packed up all our things and took the local train to Dharavi. This is the major slum area of Mumbai (the biggest in Asia) that the movie "Slumdog Millionaire" was filmed in. We arrived by train with all of our baggage and every head was turned in our direction. Immediately a few children ran up to us to say hello and asked for "school pens" or "one rupee" or "chocolate". All we had were some small candies. As soon as we pulled them out a dozen other children appeared out of nowhere with hands outstretched. We handed them all out and everyone thanked us and waved. Although handing out candy is seemingly harmless, it does promote and encourage begging so we are not meant to do it. But when it makes a very young poor child so happy, it is hard not to.
We walked over the foot bridge into the heart of the slum and at this point I became apprehensive as every eye was on us as if they were wondering what the heck we were doing there. We took a deep breath and walked forward down the stairs onto the filthy streets where an accurate description is impossible for me to form. You have to see it to believe it. I was uncomfortable taking photos because I was already out of place and did not want to draw more attention. We just walked and used our eyes to create memories. After the first couple of blocks we began to breathe a bit easier as we realized we would probably not die. The streets were so dirty that I did not even want to walk with my shoes on but the locals were barefoot. There were people selling fruits and making wicker baskets. They were dressed poorly and the buildings (if you can call them that) were extremely frail and poorly held up with sticks and tarps. Kids were not dressed and ran around with rats and dogs. We kept walking until we came accross a guy selling locks. We bought two from him because ours had been stolen back in Malaysia. Everyone was watching our every move and each time we stopped a small crowd would gather and gawk. A few people spoke with us in English and inquired about how we were doing.
We came accross a small group of kids playing cricket. This is the major sports obsession of the country and everywhere you go, you will find kids and adults playing or speaking about the game. As we watched the kids asked if Tyson would like to play, he took off his bag and played a few rounds. Afterwards a few of the kids came to us and asked us to buy them a ball. Their old ball was tattered and we agreed. As we followed the kids to the cart that sold balls, more and more people followed us until there was a crowd of over 50 people watching us purchase this ball that cost less than 50 cents. The kids were so thankful and they took photos with Tyson. One of the kid's favorite things to do is have us photograph them and then show them the picture on the digital camera. Every time we take out the camera the children will ask "photo?". The children are not the only ones though because a man stopped me on the street and asked me to be in a photo with him. He seemed very excited and had likely mistaken me for someone else. I agreed though and was flattered. We bought another bag of candy at a store and stocked up to buy more love from local kids.
We took the train straight to Mumbai Central where we bought food and caught the sitting train to Ahmedabad. This was not a pleasant experience. The sitting class is the lowest class and cheapest ticket. We had three people sitting where two people would be too many, for nine hours. We were lucky though because the train was packed and many people did not even have seats, they had to stand. Local people walked up and down the ailes selling all types of foods and of course, tea. We drank masala tea (spiced) and ate mixes of deep fried treats. We were next to some other backpackers including a girl from Vancouver Island who had also stayed at the Salvation Army Hostel and the same place as us in Udaipur. When we stopped in Ahmedabad we went for food in the hour and a half layover with our new backpacker friends from Germany and Japan. We ate masala dosas and omelette sandwiches. Then we bought several bags of chips to supplement dinner. The next train was a nine hour one to Udaipur. We had the middle and top sleeper bunks in rows that were three high. After paying off all the children with candies we chatted with our neighboring Indian friends. They were two young guys who spoke great English and were able to advise us about our trip. When they weren't speaking with us they were talking amongst themselves about the importance of education and politics. We slept well that night until the local men started waking up and horking and spitting. This is very Indian and it is what it is.
We arrived in Udaipur and immediately bought continuing train tickets to Jaipur for four days later to avoid another situation. We walked the several kilometers to a hotel that had left advertising flyers at the salvation army. This is where we have been staying for a few nights and plan to stay for the remainder of our time here. It is very inexpensive for what it is. It is a few kilometers away from all the action of the city but the rooms are large, wifi is free, the staff are friendly and there is about three minutes of hot water available for hot showers so we are golden. Our first night we took a bigger room with a private bathroom and TV because it was all that was available but we switched to the smaller/ shared bathroom one for the next few nights when it became available. We caught up on all the excitement in the internet world for several hours before heading out to explore.
We walked to the city where there are more foreigners and the locals stop staring as much although they never really seem to fully stop. We bought some samosas and then found the street stand that we became regulars at. A man and his son make pouranthas and thick chappatis with curry and yoghurt dips. This is fried layered bread ( 1 piece) and another of the same bread but with potatos and spices baked inside (2 pieces). We bought some local bangles and other things as we walked but the sales staff at the small street shops are very pushy and tricky when it comes to selling and we had to crawl out of a couple stores with difficulty. We saw the outside of the lake palace and decided to go back the next day. As we slowly made our way back in the direction of the hotel (while stopping to chat or check out some shawls) we met an interesting man. He invited us into his art studio and we hung out drinking tea, looking at art and chatting about life and spirituality. He paints on silk with natural stone colors and real gold and silver. Although we could not afford any of his art he asked us to take a piece for free. We refused but we had a great time listening and learning with him.
Later that night as Tyson was going out for the third time for snacks of spicy chips and bread, a young kid handed him money and asked him to buy smokes because the street shop guy would not sell any to him. Tyson refused and told the kid to be strong and not mess up his healthy lungs, the boy thought about it for a second, nodded, pounded fists and walked off. Another child saved by the lovely Tyson McLellan.
Today we slept in accidentally and managed to leave the hotel by a lazy 1pm. We walked by our now regular street stand and ate pouranthas and stopped at the sweets shop and tried three new sweets. The desserts here are a hundred times more sweet than anything we are used to back home and it hurts to eat them but they are still very tasty. We achieved our goal to not shop until we reached the lake palace. We bought our entrance tickets and spent a few hours wandering the museams and taking in the sights. It is a huge castle that is now a hotel, museam and tourist sight. It is right on the lake and overlooks other palaces (now hotels) on small islands. We walked into an area where all the locals live and a friendly man offered us tea. The woman who poured it for us let out a massive belch without batting an eye and handed us the cups. It was one of the best teas we've drank.
As we walked around today one young kid threw white powder paint at Tyson and got him in the face. This is not a mean act but rather a traditional one. Tomorrow is Holi which is a huge two-day-long festival all over India. On the first day they burn trees and on the second day it is a festival of color where they throw bright paints at each other all day. If you look up some photos you can see what I mean. I guess this particular kid was starting early and many of the school kids were already covered in pink, red, green and yellow paints. During two other occasions throughout the day Tyson got pelted with a water balloon and we both got hit with water guns. This must be a part of the festival because there are water guns for sale alongside powder paint at every store. The kids got yelled at by adults but it was harmless.
They were setting up for the Holi festival tomorrow at the palace and it was very busy in the area. We lazily walked around the city and I was half heartedly looking for a nice scarf. We were peering into a tiny silver shop when we noticed that the guy pierces noses for ten dollars. Tyson suggested that I get it done. I have never wanted a nose piercing and unnecessary pain is not something I am ok with. After a tattoo and dreads I swore I would never put myself through pain for looks again. So we laughed and continued on. Then we noticed an old man sleeping in a tiny shop with a few rings and a sign that said "noise peercings". So we asked him how much and he said "two zero zero" (just over four dollars). So we continued on again and ended up back at the first place. They asked if I wanted to get it done and we said that we had found a lower price but they refused to match it. So we continued on again and ended up at the old man's shop where his son was now hanging out too. Tyson asked how the procedure works as the man pulled a ring off of his shelf and rubbed it in his dirty fingers. He cut the end of the needle with old pliers and grabbed my face and nearly shoved in the stud. I quickly turned my head and he looked confused. So he tried again and this time I didn't want to be rude so I hesitated and the needle was in. It kinda hurt and that's my story. Later on we recreated the scene for a photo opp but in reality I never agreed to the procedure. After the needle was in Tyson says "I guess we'll take it" and paid the man.
We stopped at our regular stand and got our meal to go along with pop, popcorn and local spicy potato chips. Today the kind man gave us two cups of tea for free as we waited for our meals. During our wait several children and about four different woman with babies begged us for food. They pointed to their mouths indicating that they were hungrey. We appologized and looked away and the man running the pourantha stand yelled at them to leave us alone. I feel for them and they are hungry while I eat. It's not right. I do not know their situation like why they cannot work or why they have children when they are so poor. It may be due to a lack of education and understanding. Tomorrow I think I should share my food.
Back at the hotel, I cleaned the piercing and showed my mom on skype. The worst should be over. Tomorrow is the first day of Holi.
"If we are not happy and joyous in this season for what season shall we wait"
