Cows n' Camels..

..and dogs and goats and sheep and kids and beggars and more cows. The streets are chaos and the smells are less than tantalizing. You can't swing a cat (which are suspiciously absent) without hitting a cow in this country. Looking up is a hazard as well because you can't be sure you won't be stepping in some kind of poo - moo poo, dog poo, people poo - you name it! We've nearly been butted by the buggers on more than one occasion and steer clear of the steers whenever possible. I feel so grubby here, what I wouldn't do for a pedi, a mani, a cut and a colour about now but in light of the fact that I will never pass this way again - it's all good.

So, we took the train to Delhi in 2 A/C which is second class air conditioning - there are more classes of trains than castes of people here which is saying a lot! Our train was not cheap but we got a 4 berth compartment and all the food paid for. I was happy that we did when I watched the other trains passing by with people hanging out the windows and doors packed wall to wall. We shared with a couple of guys from Afghanistan (Taliban I surmise-Ivan thinks better)(hey, can you say Taliban on the net without getting investigated)? who were as surprised about the sleeping arrangements as I was. I actually took the sheet from my bed and hung it from the top bunk so they would not feel too uncomfortable, well, I don't know about them but it eased my mind some. We reach Delhi after 17 hours and emerge into a hot, dusty fray of hustle, hustle, hustle. NO, I don't need a ride, no, I'll carry my own bag, no, I don't want to come to your shop - arrghhh..but this is India. Our hotel is a short walk from the train and the room is fairly reasonable but the touristy area where we are staying is chock full of dread locked hippies lost in their own version of spirituality, snake charmers (who charm more rupees than snakes), ornery cows, vendors etc. so we decide that we want to head to Rajisthan - The land of kings - and visit the most venerated places in northern India. We hire a car and driver from our hotel. At first we thought we'd take a train but the territory is big and this way we will see more. Overall, it seems more economical timewise - we would be toast at the end of this trip had we not opted for this.

Our first stop is Bikaner, then to Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Ranakpur and on to Udaipur where we are now. Along the way we have seen mind blowing forts - not the F-troop kind - the majestic towering Maharaja dreams come to fruition kind and amazing temples, bas reliefs and carvings taking thousands of man-hours to complete and colourful local life. One temple at Bikaner bears special mention if only for it's notoriety and our squeemishness at visiting. The temple of rats...yes, truly, there are actually people in this world who worship these vile, disease ridden vermin. Our driver, Satish says that 90 percent of tourists don't visit here but hey, it's us, we do these things! When we get to the temple we join the long queue to get in and every step takes us trepidatiously to the door. I'm thinking I'll scream if one runs across my feet (which is considered lucky - go figure) and Ivan's not much more enthused at this than I am. When we finally get to the temple, yup, sure enough, there they ARE - scuttling, eating, sipping milk from bowls set out for them, wriggling into holes, out of holes, running across the floor while the worshippers squeel with glee. We take one quick pass through looking for the VERY lucky white rat and hightail it back to our shoes. Yes folks, we went through there bare foot. That's ok, I saw one lady kissing the floor..eeeuuuwww. And enough about that.

Our driver Satish, is a very savvy guy, he's driven a lot of tourists over the years and while he is pleasant and helpful, he is also manipulative and sly at times. When we were in China a lady named Karla told us to be careful of the drivers here because they all lie and they are all out to make commissions. Yup. Sometimes it's very frustrating knowing that he's not telling us the truth or the whole story or even the real story but it beats the buses loaded with folks on top burning their bums off and he's ok overall. He is also a very good driver and that's the main thing - the cows and sheep here are semi- suicidal, and being good Hindus, are seeking their next life at any given moment. I just wish they weren't doing it on the highway! The other morning a dump truck was careening in a zig-zag pattern down the middle of the road. Judging by the crazed look in his eyes, he was either a) drunk b) drugged or c) sun stroked, in any case, he scared the bejeezus out of me and I don't think Satish was too impressed either.

We are in Udaipur now, spending an extra day here than planned because once again we are sick. Notice I said we. It's not just me this time, Ivan is sick too. Ivan has a bad cold and I have the Delhi belly. Yesterday we just lay in bed watching every bad movie that came on, moaning and groaning and not being much help to one another as it's every man for himself when you're both down. Today is better and tomorrow we push on to Pushkar where you can't eat eggs, meat or anything basically but veg. Oh joy.