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Archive for December, 2006

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Motorbiking Through Rajasthan

Sunday, December 31st, 2006

Chai Maker
Chais 1-2.
We woke in the dark at 7:00am for our “tour” of Kumbulgarh fort and Ranakpur Temple. Farida had breakfast and chai waiting for us, which Cara and Azad needed much more than Adam.

[read on]

Ahmedabad

Thursday, December 28th, 2006

Besides being awfully fun to say, Ahmedabad isn’t such a bad city. Supposedly it has choking pollution, but maybe after a few of the other indian cities it doesn’t affect me so much. The runny black snot nose count is much lower (enjoy the visual). More people ask our names and where we are from, the default questions, but actually after the 50th time in the day begins to wear on you. The upside is those conversations rarely end in a sales pitch. It’s also nice that the 10-15 minute random conversations with people on the street are just that, conversations. In the past it has been trying to invest effort chatting just to have it end in some commercial prospect. The beggars here trump all others thus far and can be very tenacious, grabby, and persistent and evoke more annoyance than pity or generosity, which maybe says something about me.

The food here is the best we have had, cheap, and is threatening to add back the pounds I lost in NZ. It also did not agree with Cara’s tummy and she has been in bed all day long, hopefully to recover shortly.

Chai Garam Chai

Thursday, December 28th, 2006
Inevitably most of the stories of India will involve chai in some way. From the 9 chai in a day motorcycle ride (more on that later) to sipping Chai with Ansar in his auto repair shop, most of our memories ... [Continue reading this entry]

Merry Christmas!

Monday, December 25th, 2006
Cara making Christmas Chapati We did not wake up at the crack of dawn to see if Santa came. We did not have a decorated pine tree overflowing with presents ... [Continue reading this entry]

Udaipur

Friday, December 22nd, 2006
View from our room Entrance to our hotel We've been in Udaipur in the south of Rajasthan for three ... [Continue reading this entry]

Traffic

Friday, December 22nd, 2006
Anyone who likes playing racing games would probably enjoy driving in Indiai. Here are some valid driving techniques demonstrated by our various rickshaw drivers: Driving on the wrong side of the road Driving the wrong way down a 1 way street Ignoring red lights Fitting ... [Continue reading this entry]

Who is the Elephant?

Wednesday, December 20th, 2006
cara and chai for jj Despite a good amount of western tourists in India, the immense local population insures that we are ... [Continue reading this entry]

45 Rupees is $1 US

Sunday, December 17th, 2006
Taj Mahal Today's expenses: 4 Rupees - cup of yummy chai (tea steeped in milk with lots of sugar) 10 Rupees - bottle of mineral water 25 Rupees - basic Thali (rice, bread, daal, curry, ... [Continue reading this entry]

A Feast for the Senses

Saturday, December 16th, 2006
Cow and Chaos Mosque courtyard First impressions of Delhi/India: * Dingy, sparse airport * Persistent and dodgy touts * Zoo of taxis and more ... [Continue reading this entry]

One Night in Bangkok

Saturday, December 16th, 2006
Leave Melbourne at 2:10pm Arrive in Bangkok at 7:40pm (11:40pm australia) Eat Phad Thai at airport Try and sleep until checkin at midnight Wait until flight leaves at 3:50 am Arrive in Delhi at 7:10am, (8:40am Bangkok, 12:40pm australia) The things you do for cheap flights.