Pushkar

Well I ended up leaving Udaipur after afew nights - it was really pretty there but so touristy. I took a train for about 7hours and then a bus for the further 11km to Pushkar. The bus took almost an hour to go the 11km and was full of people, but they managed to stop and put more and more people on every hundred metres! So, I've been in Pushkar for just over a week now and am trying to organise my train out of here for tomorrow, so I'll try to do a vague recap of what I've been doing in this lovely little town.....
Pushkar is known for the camel fair that takes place in November, but since its not November and I'm not really in the market for buying camels, I've been meeting crazy people with crazy stories, hiding from gypsies, wandering the markets, sitting by the holy lake, watching the sun set from a quiet spot in the desert, talking to cows, eating good food, lying on cushions on the rooftop, and taking part in the Holi festival.
The Holi festival began the day before yesterday with a big haystack being set up in the town square and after alot of people throwing flowers and oil on it, it was set alight and the drums began and everyone went a little crazy and did these stick dances. The following day was the colour throwing part of the festival. The second I left my room in the morning I had my face smeared with bright pink and gold dye, as a sign of friendship. I think. So we headed into the town square for this massive trance party where everyone was throwing water and powdered dye and paint. It was mental and I'm still afew strange shades of pink and green today.
Pushkar has been really nice but it's time to leave the heat of deserts of Rajasthan for the cool mountains of Nepal...
The photos are: me at Agra Fort, in Agra. The view of the Taj Mahal from my hotel in Agra. The streets in Agra. Palace on the hill in Bundi. My new family in Bundi. The town of Bundi by the lake. A view of Pushkar. Me in the desert in Pushkar. Me after the Holi Festival.

India: delhi-agra-bundi-udaipur

I've been in India for about two weeks now so I'll try to catch up on whats been happening... after Delhi I got a train to Agra where I stayed the first night just out of town and away from all the touristyness of the place. It was really cool, all the people were really friendly, and I found the best samosas in the bazaars there. I moved into the Taj Ganj area and spent most of the time just hanging out and watching monkeys and enjoying the view of the Taj Mahal from the roof of my hotel. On my last day there I got struck down by delhi-belly - with a 12 hour train trip ahead of me that night. I spent most of the day dying in bed but managed to get up long enough to go and see the Taj Mahal. It was pretty cool but im not really that blown away by monuments and was dissapointed that there aren't actually any spikes in the lake there - which Id thought since I was a kid.
The train trip started off ok - the train was about an hour late but I met some nice Indian people in the station. Being a foreigner here is kind of like being a celebrity because everyone just stares at you and wants to come and talk to you and show you to their friends. I had a sleeper class train which consists of rows and rows of 3tier bunks. I was on the top bunk and lay down to try and sleep but all these guys were sitting there staring at me so I got out my sleeping sheet and covered myself, even my face, with it to try and sleep. The next minute someone pulled the sheet off me and grabbed my leg and it was about that time that I swore I'd never go on a train again. Turns out it was a begger just wanting money and after sean yelled at him and then an Indian woman yelled at him, he left and the rest of the trip was fine and 12 hours later I arrived in Bundi, a small town in Southern Rajasthan.
Bundi is really beautiful, and the town looks the same as it would have hundreds of years ago. Most of the houses there are painted blue (to signify that brahmen, the highest caste, live there) and theres a huge old palace and fort overlooking the town. The streets are full of roaming cows, pigs, dogs, and the odd camel and monkeys run around everywhere so you have to carry a monkey-stick with you to scare them off. I love how in India the people just live in harmony with all the animals and let them wander around wherever they want - if there was monkeys and pigs walking around the streets in NZ we'd probably set traps and kill them all! I stayed in an old haveli with this nice family and everyone in the town seemed to have decided taht I was their new best friend. I t was impossible to walk down to the bazaar (marketplace) without being called to come in and drink chai with my new friends. I got the flu while I was there and everyday the locals would ask me how I was feeling, all making sure I was ok and offering to take me to the hospital haha. A lady invited me to her house to look at her wedding photos and drink chai which was really amazing to see how she lived and to talk about Indian culture. I also go to see a Hindu wedding procession going down the street, which I watched from my roof with my monkey-stick at hand. Everyone was so colourful and dancing and playing brass instruments and riding crazy colourful horses. Later that night I got invited to go to the wedding and was made to eat heaps and heaps of really spicy food!
It was pretty sad leaving Bundi, but more adventures lay ahead of me in Udaipur, about 6hours by train. I just arrived in Udaipur last night and am surprised at how touristy it is here - its abit of a shock after being in a little town where there was barely any other foreigners! Its a really beautiful place though and has a big lake and heaps of palaces. The james bond movie octopussy was filmed here, so all of the guesthouses play it.
I'm loving the street food in India, and its so cheap. I can get a samosa for 2 rupees (about 6cents NZ) or a bowl of alu gobbi with a stack of chappati for 10 rupees (about 30cents NZ) or a thali of dhal, vege curry, rice, and chappati for 25 rupees (about 75 cents NZ). Darren - you'd love it here!
All of the horror stories you hear about India are (so far) not true at all. Its more dusty than dirty, the people are so welcoming and friendly, only the minority of men are creeps, and I am yet to come across any bottles of water that have been drained and filled with tap water. It's a crazy place and so much happens everyday that makes you stop and think.