Jetstreamjitterbug's Weblog

Ajmer and Pushkar

jetstreamjitterbug — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 06:32:50 +0000

Guess what, I was ill again in Jaipur so didn’t do much. Had to take some antibiotics. I also missed my overnight train to Jaisalmer as I didn’t feel up to it.

Having lost another day, I didn’t feel like heading further away from Mumbai so decided to go to Ajmer instead where I saw an amazing Jain temple, which included a model representing the Jain view of the universe – model building and mountain with elephant, swan and tiger headed boats suspended in mid-air carrying musicians. All in a golden, mirrored room.

Then I travelled to the nearby town of Pushkar. This is a holy Hindu town and Ghandi’s ashes were scattered in the lake. It’s got some amazing hilltop temples. I’m staying here till Friday, then taking the bus back to Ajmer. I hope to visit the shrine of a Sufi saint in Ajmer, where many Muslims make a pilgramage, before catching a sleeper train on Friday evening to Mumbai. My flight from Mumbai to London is next Wednesday.

Jaipur

jetstreamjitterbug — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 06:28:46 +0000

Well despite 2 attempts, I didn’t get to see much else in Agra:

Firstly the taxi driver who took me to the station spent the whole journey persuading me to let him take me for a tour of the other sights (the Taj Mahal was walking distance from my hotel), but then didn’t turn up. As it was Holi, I decided just to stay in and go the next day – I had many warnings of the drunken behaviour, in fact that was the taxi driver’s selling point: he wasn’t going to be drunk.

So yesterday I was going to hail an autorickshaw (i.e. tuk-tuk as they’re known in Thailand) and see the fort, etc but had a bad stomach upset so spent the day in the hotel eating plain rice. It cleared up enough for me to take the evening train to Jaipur, arriving at 11pm.

The rickshaw driver from the station again tried to persuade me to take a tour with him, and though I didn’t agree to it this time, I said he could come to the hotel this morning and ask me again – and once again he didn’t turn up! Anyway, I was going to say no because the main sights in Jaipur can be done on foot, I think. I also need to go to the station to book onward travel on the sleeper to Jaisalmer. This time, I’ll go air-con – not because I like air-con but because for some reason they don’t enforce reservations in the fan carriages and it turns into a free-for-all. I coped last night, but I don’t think I’d want to do an actual sleep in there.

So I’ve not seen Jaipur yet (still in the hotel), but apparently the old city is very beautiful and all pink because of some old tradition.

Time is running out on my trip but I plan to blog a bit more while I’m in India having slacked off in Thailand…

Taj

jetstreamjitterbug — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 06:48:07 +0000

Went to the Taj Mahal this morning, just after sunrise. Very nice.

Today is the Holi festival which involves throwing dye at each other. I’m staying indoors. Got hit with a pre-Holi water bomb in Delhi, but thankfully no dye.

Tomorrow I go to Jaipur, in Rajestan.

Delhi

jetstreamjitterbug — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 12:02:12 +0000

Just arrived in Delhi. Sorry about the lack of bloggage recently – lack of internet access when not rushing around.

Plan to go to Agra (Taj Mahal) then visit a few places in Rajestan on the way down to Mumbai for my fligh home no March 25th…. Eek.

Anyway, I’ll post this while the computer’s still working…

BKK

jetstreamjitterbug — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 13:53:47 +0000

Now in Bangkok and surrounds – not sure where next…

To Bangkok

jetstreamjitterbug — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 11:38:24 +0000

Sukkhothai ruins were very nice, some of them quite well preserved / restored. But they’re in a park somewhere out of town, that you have to pay for and take a half-hour “bus” or taxi ride.

Rode around the park on a bicycle.

Tomorrow I plan to go to Bangkok. Not sure whether to get a bus to the nearest train station, or just a bus the whole way…

Sukkhothai

jetstreamjitterbug — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 11:38:16 +0000

I decided to go to Sukkhothai, the old old capital of Thailand.

So far I don’t like New Sukkhothai too much, but apparently the ruins (Which are outside the new city, unlike Ayuthhaya where I was 10 minutes walk away from most of them) are great.

I tried to get to the TR guesthouse, but they were full so I let the taxi driver take me to JJ guesthouse (there wasn’t an AWK, SED, etc. guest house). This is a nice place, but it’s a bit out of town and you have to walk down a ramshackle road where dogs, cats, chickens and humans live side-by-side in harmony (hopefully). Wouldn’t like to walk down there in the dark. Oh it’s dark…

Anyway, tomorrow the mission is how to get to the old city, then another night in JJ’s before bus to Bangkok, I think.

Cooking

jetstreamjitterbug — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 08:30:49 +0000

Today I did my cooking course, finally.

I made spring rolls with sweet peanut dipping sauce, Khao Soi (curry soup with noodles) and something I’ve forgotten the name of which was rice flour balls coloured with crushed vegetables, boiled then served in sweetened coconut milk with a poached egg… That was dessert.

Still not sure what I’m doing tomorrow but I reckon I’ll leave Chiang Mai

Then I had to eat it. Then I had to go and lie down for a while while I digested it. Still got half the spring rolls in a bag, don’t think I’ll manage to eat them.

Green shoots of recovery

jetstreamjitterbug — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 07:08:29 +0000

Looks like my bug was 48hr thing, had a big sleep and feel much better today.

I think I will stay here a couple more days and try to do a cookery course, then not sure if I’ll go back to Bangkok for a while or continue in the North.

Still in Chiang Mai

jetstreamjitterbug — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 11:02:52 +0000

Well I’m still in Chiang Mai. I decided I needed a few days rest, as I was still feeling a bit run down. So I just explored the city on foot and bicycle and read books.

Then on Saturday I was feeling a little more energetic, so I went on “Flight of the gibbon” where you zip-wire and abseil through the trees. This was great fun and in the evening, I went out for a “few” drinks with some of the people in my group.

Yesterday I felt a bit queasy, bit though it was probably just the hangover. However today, I’m a bit more ill, nothing too bad just an upset stomach.

I was going to do a cookery course today, then take the 7 hour bus journey to Nan tomorrow. However neither of those particularly appeal at the moment so I guess I’ll get some more books and stay put until I feel better.