Back Home - 24/03/2020
Dear Friends,
At lost seems to have happened since I wrote to you last! It is a beautiful day today, but strangely enough I am talking about England not India. I know that because I am sitting in the garden outside my house at home, admiring the clear blue skies and the the glistening sea. My departure happened so fast. I had got up early to go with some fellow group members to a sunrise Yoga class, overlooking the man made lake in Udaipur, supposedly the city of romance! It was such a beautiful morning and I started the day with such peace, I was so happy I had agreed to come. We all wondered back across the bridge to the old town and found a cute little backpacker style cafe. If you know me you know I have a rather undeniable sweet tooth, that morning was no different, I ordered Nutella and banana pancakes, they were delicious! I wondered back through the narrow streets to the heritage hotel and relaxed before the palm reading session I had signed up to. I know I know, I was sceptical too, and it is unlikely I will do anything like that again, regardless of the fact he was bizarrely accurate... What I am trying to get at is it was like any normal morning. I spent the afternoon wondering with various friends from the tour, and even had a local Indian suit tailored for 2,500 rupees. I chose the materials and they said it would be ready my midday the following day! We had planned to meet at 5:45pm in time for an sunset boat ride around the lake. My reflex to our guides news was to laugh, she said that the tour was cancelled and the ministry of tourism had reached out to all tour companies requesting the removal of all foreigners as soon as possible. I didn't think much of it at first, imagining it to be a slow process and we would sort it all out in the morning and possibly do something else before all of us left. However, my friend and I turned up at the pre-arranged dinner late, it was a celebration for one of our tour member's birthday, and I had been collecting my suit which they sped up for me and finished in 20 mins, seeing as though I had no idea when I would be leaving! Anyway, I was thrown into panic and was greeted with, "you are getting onto the train with us to Delhi tonight right Phoebe?" I was so confused but I wanted to stick with the other Brits on the tour, and they had decided to leave. Therefore, I made the split decision to pack my things and go with them to Delhi. I arranged a flight for tomorrow evening, with the help of my family, that then turned into a flight early the day after next because the previous had been booked our or was far more expensive I don't recall. My Australian friend and I spent 15 hours, from 1pm to 4am, in Delhi airport in preparation for our flight. Never have I had such a flipped 48 hours! Thinking back to when I left for India, I hadn't even heard about Corona, it was either not widespread in the news or hadn't even been broadcasted on yet. I was sad to leave but proud of myself on how everything had been handled and happy to be going back to see my family! Would prefer to be stuck with them then stuck by myself in a city half way across the world. There you have it!
I don't see why I shouldn't talk about the amazing last few days I had in India. I know I will be back and I want to remind myself of my last days. I'll begin with Jaisalmer. The 10th was Holi Festival. One fo the most celebrated festivals across India. Now, because of Covid-19, the government had banned all gatherings in celebration of it, to stop the spread. However, on that day, there were thousands gathered on the streets, covering each other in bright colours and shouting," happy Holi!" My friend and I made the wrong decision of going out in the streets inside the fort by ourselves. We returned shortly after because we had many uncomfortable encounters of people grabbing us and rubbing colour on us in a forceful way. Our guide had said that this was a time where sexual assault peaks, it is horrible to think that a tiny percentage of people are exploiting such a wonderful festival, and that experience freaked us out slightly. The next time we went out was with a large group of people, to a nicer area with lots of singing and dancing, and it lifted my whole experience. It was a lot of fun and I was so glad we got to be there on such an important occasion to all these people.
Jodhpur was the next city we visited. We were staying in the most beautiful guesthouse, hidden away down a seemingly dull street, it had a courtyard in the middle with vines and flowers, with the rooms all around the outside on two levels. In the two days we were there we visited the immense Mehrangarh fort, the step well, the old bazaar and also the market in the new town. We also went on a village safari, I even had a useless attempt at making some pottery and driving the jeep! I loved Jodphur because it was a place I remembered going with my family, there was s specific photo in the Fort with my brother, that I recreated when I visited. It reminded me of them, little did I know I would be seeing them shortly!
The day before I left for Delhi, was the day we arrived in Udaipur. We were spoilt by the view on the rooftop restaurant where we ate. You could see the lake palace, which according to a local was hosting a wedding that evening and there were fireworks due to be set off! (that never happened... maybe it was for the next night? I would never know hah). We spent the rest of the day exploring. Udaipur is known for silver, and as luck would have it one of our tour members was a geologist, he came round with us to all the jewellery shops and would tell us what was real or not and if it was worth anything. I picked out these lovely earrings that he detected were Larimar with a blue topaz stone above that had come from the Dominican Republic apparently?! I ended up buying them at a bargain according to him, I was very chuffed. My friend also came with me to get henna, which I had been wanted to do for ages. In the evening we went to see the Dharohar folk dance show with one of the acts being a woman dancing with large pots stacked above her head. Hurrah for the weird and wonderful talents of this world!
Looking back on it I am so grateful for the time I had in India. I am so blessed to have met such inspirational people and fallen into so many momentous experiences. I wrote this blog so I wouldn't forget all the adventures, my memory is diabolical, but I really don't think I could in this case. There were too many great ones. I have caught the travelling bug and I will definitely not be curing it.
At lost seems to have happened since I wrote to you last! It is a beautiful day today, but strangely enough I am talking about England not India. I know that because I am sitting in the garden outside my house at home, admiring the clear blue skies and the the glistening sea. My departure happened so fast. I had got up early to go with some fellow group members to a sunrise Yoga class, overlooking the man made lake in Udaipur, supposedly the city of romance! It was such a beautiful morning and I started the day with such peace, I was so happy I had agreed to come. We all wondered back across the bridge to the old town and found a cute little backpacker style cafe. If you know me you know I have a rather undeniable sweet tooth, that morning was no different, I ordered Nutella and banana pancakes, they were delicious! I wondered back through the narrow streets to the heritage hotel and relaxed before the palm reading session I had signed up to. I know I know, I was sceptical too, and it is unlikely I will do anything like that again, regardless of the fact he was bizarrely accurate... What I am trying to get at is it was like any normal morning. I spent the afternoon wondering with various friends from the tour, and even had a local Indian suit tailored for 2,500 rupees. I chose the materials and they said it would be ready my midday the following day! We had planned to meet at 5:45pm in time for an sunset boat ride around the lake. My reflex to our guides news was to laugh, she said that the tour was cancelled and the ministry of tourism had reached out to all tour companies requesting the removal of all foreigners as soon as possible. I didn't think much of it at first, imagining it to be a slow process and we would sort it all out in the morning and possibly do something else before all of us left. However, my friend and I turned up at the pre-arranged dinner late, it was a celebration for one of our tour member's birthday, and I had been collecting my suit which they sped up for me and finished in 20 mins, seeing as though I had no idea when I would be leaving! Anyway, I was thrown into panic and was greeted with, "you are getting onto the train with us to Delhi tonight right Phoebe?" I was so confused but I wanted to stick with the other Brits on the tour, and they had decided to leave. Therefore, I made the split decision to pack my things and go with them to Delhi. I arranged a flight for tomorrow evening, with the help of my family, that then turned into a flight early the day after next because the previous had been booked our or was far more expensive I don't recall. My Australian friend and I spent 15 hours, from 1pm to 4am, in Delhi airport in preparation for our flight. Never have I had such a flipped 48 hours! Thinking back to when I left for India, I hadn't even heard about Corona, it was either not widespread in the news or hadn't even been broadcasted on yet. I was sad to leave but proud of myself on how everything had been handled and happy to be going back to see my family! Would prefer to be stuck with them then stuck by myself in a city half way across the world. There you have it!
I don't see why I shouldn't talk about the amazing last few days I had in India. I know I will be back and I want to remind myself of my last days. I'll begin with Jaisalmer. The 10th was Holi Festival. One fo the most celebrated festivals across India. Now, because of Covid-19, the government had banned all gatherings in celebration of it, to stop the spread. However, on that day, there were thousands gathered on the streets, covering each other in bright colours and shouting," happy Holi!" My friend and I made the wrong decision of going out in the streets inside the fort by ourselves. We returned shortly after because we had many uncomfortable encounters of people grabbing us and rubbing colour on us in a forceful way. Our guide had said that this was a time where sexual assault peaks, it is horrible to think that a tiny percentage of people are exploiting such a wonderful festival, and that experience freaked us out slightly. The next time we went out was with a large group of people, to a nicer area with lots of singing and dancing, and it lifted my whole experience. It was a lot of fun and I was so glad we got to be there on such an important occasion to all these people.
Jodhpur was the next city we visited. We were staying in the most beautiful guesthouse, hidden away down a seemingly dull street, it had a courtyard in the middle with vines and flowers, with the rooms all around the outside on two levels. In the two days we were there we visited the immense Mehrangarh fort, the step well, the old bazaar and also the market in the new town. We also went on a village safari, I even had a useless attempt at making some pottery and driving the jeep! I loved Jodphur because it was a place I remembered going with my family, there was s specific photo in the Fort with my brother, that I recreated when I visited. It reminded me of them, little did I know I would be seeing them shortly!
The day before I left for Delhi, was the day we arrived in Udaipur. We were spoilt by the view on the rooftop restaurant where we ate. You could see the lake palace, which according to a local was hosting a wedding that evening and there were fireworks due to be set off! (that never happened... maybe it was for the next night? I would never know hah). We spent the rest of the day exploring. Udaipur is known for silver, and as luck would have it one of our tour members was a geologist, he came round with us to all the jewellery shops and would tell us what was real or not and if it was worth anything. I picked out these lovely earrings that he detected were Larimar with a blue topaz stone above that had come from the Dominican Republic apparently?! I ended up buying them at a bargain according to him, I was very chuffed. My friend also came with me to get henna, which I had been wanted to do for ages. In the evening we went to see the Dharohar folk dance show with one of the acts being a woman dancing with large pots stacked above her head. Hurrah for the weird and wonderful talents of this world!
Looking back on it I am so grateful for the time I had in India. I am so blessed to have met such inspirational people and fallen into so many momentous experiences. I wrote this blog so I wouldn't forget all the adventures, my memory is diabolical, but I really don't think I could in this case. There were too many great ones. I have caught the travelling bug and I will definitely not be curing it.
bye until the next average adventure!
Phoebe
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