teaonthestairs | I'm not dead! Just demented! Or otherwise know as a UNI STUDENT! (Reply)

Okay, so yes. I'm Absent Gal! The new dodgy Superhero on the block. Now the excuse of jetlag has dried up - can I use the start (MY FIRST YEAR) of university as the reason? Because that would be shiny! And have the added bonus of being true.

Okay. You have ALL let me down! Yes. Feel the guilt! Spank yourselves sorry and buy me something pretty because I was lead to believe, but those OLDER and somewhat (non)WISER then myself that uni was a BREEZE! I have discovered that this is, infact, NOT TRUE. It's hard! and MIND NUMBING! And my lectures are sleep worthy! HOW DARE YOU LIE TO ME! but DO NOT FEAR! I'm still having fun. somehow. amongst all the science. yes! SCIENCE! tremble in my soon to be a nurse presence. I get to play with SHARP things. And dead body's. Ha!

anyhow. Onto something less wordy and more... pretty! And photograph like! The following are just from my shitty little digital. Film ones will come later.

India.

See! I actually WENT to India. First photo as proof I didn't just hide in my room for 4 weeks. Also to show Tricia, who I volunteered with in Kenya (which was a YEAR ago! How weird!) and then hitched along with her for a small part of her Asia trip.
we saw Agra last, so I'm mixing things up time wise! I'm hip! Agra was... well gross, and that wasn't JUST the weather - which was spitting and overcast, but the rubbish that COVERED the streets, and the smell. The only reason people go to Agra is to see the Taj, which is everything and more, but other then that. It's a dump.

Actually that photo looks kind of fake. but it's not! I swear on my tv.

okay, so. I arrived in New Delhi, tired and grumpy and a little freaked out. not the hyperventilating I was in Kenya. But still, you know, freaking out. but it turned out to be fine. I had a lift from the airport, who ripped me off! but got me to my hotel (goodtimes! oh! goodtimes hotel, yes seriously) and I was able to make it up the stairs and into my room before I died on the bed.

Delhi was fun, we did a little shopping, and got overwhelmed and it was all very travelly and exciting. Then we meet our group (intrepid travel is who I travelled with, nifty little backpacker tours) who were AWESOME, there were 11 of us (only one creep! score!) plus our trusty tour leader Badam Singh.

I don't have any pictures of the first 4 days (due to a slight complication with my camera) so we are going to skip ahead. But those four days were fun! really! I just... can't remember them. I think there was, like a fort, and lots of bus trips, and Mandawa, and a farming night ADVENTURE.

so skipping right along to:

The Rat Temple! famous for it's good!luck swarming rats who are mangy and smelly and who have there own TEMPLE. You go in there with BARE FEET and walk around, if a rat runs over your foot it is considered luck. If you just happen to step on rat poo - well it means nothing, but its really gross.

People come from all over India to worship in the Temple, they bring offering of milk and... something else I can't remember. And the rats swarm everywhere and it's really something. but still kinda gross.

after Bikinar, with the rat temple, we went off up to Jalismer (sp?) to have our camel safari! Which was really just an over night stay out in the desert, and like 2.5 hours of a camel to get there. It was fun! I actually RODE a CAMEL. And slept under the stars! and Peeed in a hole! And threw myself off a sand dune and landed on my head! (very graceful) and danced! It was one big, very pretty adventure.

And then the camel ate sand.

And then, after our heroic desert survival! We went and visited MORE temples. Which were very beautiful. but there was lots. and lots. and lots. and now they all sort of blend into one holy milkshake. Except this one. Which was SUPERsuper pretty. It is a Jain Temple, who believe in Do No Harm to the extreme. Like wouldn't hurt a fly. Literally. And they made there temple of BUTTER and CERMENT mixed TOGETHER. They are way cool.

Ofcourse it all wasn't temples and camels. There was lots of buses. lots and lots of buses. 5, 6, 7 hour bus trips, stuck in a small seat, with a large women sitting ON YOUR LAP and the women next to you leaning over to spit ACROSS you, out the window, and bad smells and pot smoking and the kids staring at you and then crying. BECAUSE I AM TAHT SCARY. It was a joy. No seriously. Non-sarcastic voice. Well, okay JOY is not the right word choice, but it was enjoyable. To an extent.

so I took photos. Out the bus window. HOW VERY ARTY OF ME!

Okay, this is where I talk traffic. Because the Indian traffic is INSANE. Like a two way highway - actually fits FIVE cars. side by side. all over taking each other. And roundabouts? We are so boring - only going around them ONE WAY! Where is the fun in that. And lets not forget the cows, who rule the roads. And the horns. Like car horns. Did you know you can have musical car horns? And its REALLY fun to have a driver who LOVES his horn. Especially at 5 IN THE MORNING. When you are TRYING to SLEEP because you were dragged onto the stinky bus at 4AM! And you need sleep to, I dontna know, function!

calming down. moving RIGHT ALONG to:

Udiapur! Home of the most romantic city in India and the setting for part of OCTOPUSSY! That palace (the beautiful lake palace, set in the middle of the artificial lake) was were they filmed some of the movie, and hence the movie is played in EVERY SINGLE mainland restaurant EVERY night at 7pm. Just want you need in the middle of India.

Me being an annoying tourist and invading peoples private lives. these ones played out on the shores of like lake in Udiapur. We went on a boat cruise. And took lots of photos. of people washing things. VERY EXCITING.

Jodhpur was somewhere inbetween the camels and the lake palace. Jodhpur was awesome, the old city was great to walk around in, I got everyone lost - because I was showing them an ADVENTURE. I got us found though. a couple of hours later.

so youknow, random people in the street.

and random shop keepers. BUT THEY ARE JUICERS! LIKE I WAS! WE CONNECTED!! MAGIC!

And also somewhere along the way, we went out to visited some rural villages. And took our weights worth in photos. It was interesting to see, and the kids were just beautiful.

before I go on, I just want to say. I did actually have another COUPLE of sets of clothes. I just happen to appear in the pink MOST often in good photos. Purely by chance. I did actually, you know, shower and change.

Okay, back to the village.

While we were there we just NEEDED to try balancing water on our heads. I was VERY pro, as you can see. (That's Mr Singh, behind me. He was awesome. He laughed at me a lot though. but I just declared myself tour leader in his place and TOOK OVER THE WORLD)