India, Part Two

On arrival at Agra, the driver we picked kept telling us we did not have enough time to see the Taj because we were running late. We did fly all the way to India just to see the Taj, so we were not going to miss it. Sam thought he drove slow and was trying to sabotage our trip so we'd have to spend the night in Agra. We didn't want to do that and we had tickets on the 6p train to Jaipur. We got to the Taj, had an amazing time and saw as much as we could in 90 minutes. We told the driver to return at 445, which of course he did not. We waited about 5 minutes and hopped in a rickshaw back to the train station. We saw lots of cows on the side of the road, makshift open-air barbershops and people burning leaves and small twigs. At the train station we were again hounded by beggars and waited paitiently for the train. I kept thinking the original taxi driver would show up because we hadn't paid him for the trip to the Taj and had agreed to pay for the return trip, guaranteeing that he would return. Oh well, it all worked out in the end.
Our train to Jaipur was the highest first class seat would could buy and it was still much less than we expected. We had a compartment to ourselves for the five of us and quickly fell asleep. It was a four hour ride and there was nothing to eat, so we snacked on more trail mix and chips. We got to Jaipur, the Pink City, after 10PM and a driver met us to take us to the hotel. It was an older one with quaint features and stiff mattresses. I fell asleep, exhausted on another day. After breakfast we headed to the old city and tried to walk, but after seeing several people urinating everywhere. we grabbed a rickshaw. In the old town everything is painted pink, which really translated to more of a peach color. Sean and Nicole haggled and bragained for scarves and other Indian wares, while Sam and I went for snacks. I bought some local Indian desserts that were not good and later passed them out to two small kids playing quietly by themselves. Sam got butterscotch ice cream that tasted like curry. We went to visit an old building that was for royalty and afforded good views of the city. It was busy with locals as it was Republic Day. While it was nice to get views of the city and surrounding landscape, the chaos of the city was also unfurled below. One Indian man asked if I would be in a picture with him. I later took my photo with a taxi driver as he had a great moustache. I have also declared India to be the Land of Many Moustaches. We also visited another monument/garden full of various and often giant compasses and astrological equipment built for one of the Maharajahs. It was nice and leisurely. For lunch we passed on a reommended restaurant because the cook didn't seem to care about his cigarette ashes dropping into the cooking pans. We had to take another richshaw and ended up at a buffet at a business restaurant. Alcohol was only sold to foreigners on account of Republic Day, so it was a good thing Sean and Sam brought their passports. After the chaos of the Pink City we all needed a beer with lunch. If you haven'd had Kingfisher, the Indian beer, its not bad and it is your standard pilsner.
We had to plan our next move to Udaipur and bought plane tickets to fly out early the next morning. Then we relaxed and napped. Sam and I had coffee (in a french press) down in the large gardenand read for awhile. The garden and courtyard of the hotel are a welcome and tranquil relief from the constant din of carhorns on the street. There was later a puppet and marionette show we enjoyed or tolerated, depending on your view. It was a father and his son, the performance was short and sweet and ranged from traditional stories to Romeo and Juliet and Michael Jackson. Nicole and I were also recruited to get up and dance with the boy while he showed us his Indian moves. We dined at a fancy place that was divided into three sections: Indian food, Mexican and Indian, and Chinese. We had pizzas and pastas for a break from naan and paneer. The local wine is not bad, but about four times the price of beer. We laughed and talked more about how crazy the day was and how Jaipur wasn't very impressive, despite it being part of the Golden Triangle and frequently visited by tourists. I was also realizing that for all the advertising India does and all the wonderful things it has to offer, its very difficult to get around as a tourist. I suppose if all is booked in advance or through a travel agency then it isn't as bad. But then again, we wouldn't be having the amazing and adventurous time that had already taken place.