Nimaj Bagh: Wearing a sari in public at a wedding – how did that happen?

The next day we all piled into a bus and headed off again to a village in the middle of nowhere but we were in for a treat. The place where we were staying was just beautiful, even a pool. We arrived around lunch time and after a fabulous lunch we headed off in jeeps to Ranny’s childhood village and got to wonder around his family home and then meet some of the locals who I must say, seemed rather intrigued by us. Apparently there aren’t many Western visitors in this neck of the woods so there were lots of photos to be had and some of the local older teenage males took an interest in some of the girls in the group (not that this was particularly unusual). What was great about meeting the locals was that there was no begging or asking for things just a genuine interest in each other which was really enjoyable. By the end we had drawn quite a crowd and peace was only found when we got back in the confines of the family home.

Jackie trying to save the hair do in the jeep

Fan club...well of the camera

These two followed us for ages. They were having a good giggle but almost came to grief because they weren't concentrating on the road!

Typical kids

We got back into the jeeps and headed off to the bachelors party for the wedding. In India this is not a mens only thing but almost two separate parties. Initially, and after a blessing and welcome to the house the men and women spend time together before splitting up to continue the party.

After having a quick samosa and watching the groom getting blessed by the women we jumped back into the jeeps and headed off to “farm” for drinks at the mens party. It all felt a bit weird because it felt like we were having drinks in a cattle pen. While having drinks, the caterer with his massive pot turned up to cook dinner of mutton curry. We stayed there for a bit and then headed back to the women’s party which involved more dancing (but no drinks). Unknown to me was that we were about to be hauled up to dance in front of all these women (Mary started it). I unfortunately ended up doing a solo which was awfully embarrassing. The rest of the group went up in groups of threes or more. Three of the guys were party poopers and didn’t dance. 

After being here for a while we were put back into our jeeps to head off to the farm for our mutton (goat) curry. Elisca and I ended up with our own table next to the massive pot which meant excellent service. It was also here that Elisca got introduced to “MBA” as he was named by us mainly because he mentioned in his introductory speech that he had an MBA (you will see a photo of him in the next post). I think he was quite keen Elisca. Anyway, the curry was really good and was accompanied by more drinks. Eventually, sometime after midnight we were shuffled back into the jeeps and returned to our accommodation for a well earned sleep.

Party cranking up

The next morning we went on a safari hunt. Well not a hunt per se but we went searching for antelope. As weird as it sounds there are wild antelope in India and they are quite big animals. We also went past some hillsides that are being blasted for their marble and causing lots of scarring on the hill side. Eventually, we made it to a lake for cuppa. The lake was so still and had great reflections. There was also a lot of trapdoor spiders living on the ground at this place as well which I didn’t explore too much.

After lunch we went for a walk around the village to the city palace. The walk was like running the gauntlet with kids asking for stuff and adults getting up close and personal. It was a bit full on for a while and the worst that I encountered on the whole trip. The palace would have been a grand place in its day and would have been an experience of exuberance and opulence. You can only dream and imagine what it would have been like.

The benefits of a long lens

Wonderful pottery

Wonderful eyes

A moment of thought

Off on the safari

A hotel across the lake...not ours

On return to our accommodation most of the girls had henna tattoos to hands, arms and/or feet. This meant that we had to sit for an hour after it was applied to let it dry, which meant sitting around drinking cold drinks in the garden – such a hardship. While sitting there I was debated (like a good woman should) about what to wear to the wedding later in the night and strangely I decided to wear the sari (huh????).

Jackie getting henna-ed

Henna on my very pale foot

After scrapping the dried henna off my foot I jumped into my board shorts and a tee shirt and went to get sari wrapped. If anything was to make me nervous it was the fact that the only thing that was keeping all this fabric on me was the fact that it was tucked into my non-elasticised, baggy board shorts (can anyone else see a problem!). The lady wrapping me seemed more confident than I and in the end 6m of fabric was entwined around my body but then she started folding up my tee shirt telling me that I need to show off my “sexy” belly button (what the heck!!!!). I left the room with belly button covered and as the night progressed I think belly button was exposed from time to time. I am not sure that I wore it with the elegance or beauty that it deserved but I would just like to add that sari’s are actually really comfortable and you can run in them but getting in and out of a bus is a different story! They don’t have pockets but there are heaps of places to hide things.

And the sari. Not really slimming but I don't think that is the sari's fault

So, why the dress up? It was wedding time, well sort of. It was another night for the groom. A night where he gets paraded on a horse. A night where the band plays just for him and a night where there is lots of flashing lights and dancing just for him. The bride is nowhere to be seen and even the groom has no seen her by virtue of an arranged marriage. No wonder he looked petrified. Again drinks were on offer and we got as involved as you could possibly be. It was an amazing experience and a great honour. On both nights it felt like we were the guests of honour and somewhat overshadowed the groom which left me with an uneasy feeling not that we crashed the party, we were invited guests but especially the first night, we were treated with great honour.

We left the party (still in the sari) and headed on a 4-5 hour trip to Jodphur by bus. It was a long chilly and winding journey but eventually we made it at about 1am to our homestay. The owner was very gracious and had dinner all ready for us but for me there is a time to have food and 1am is not it. Our room was effectively on the roof top (4 storey’s up) and after climbing all those steps in the sari it was with much sadness I unwrapped myself from my sari and to be honest I don’t remember my head hitting the pillow I was so tired.

There are more photos of the wedding in the next post

Shopping in Jiapur “Oh no, that’s way too much. You give me your best price!”

It was a slow start to the morning, primarily because it was raining and we knew things would be on hold. This morning we were due to visit the Amber Fort which is one hill somewhere, usually visible but definitely not today. So, instead of doing that we went shopping at a fabric/Sari/Pashmina/bed cover/clothing/wall hanging/pyjama/clothing made to order shop. The shop workers are quite shrewd and it is one on one with the customer so that we could not compare prices with one another and drive the prices down. They are also very good sales people who didn’t let up. If you show a slightest hint of interest in something they will pounce and you have to be good to not buy it. We had been forewarned that we would be attending a wedding in the days to come so many chose here to get something made especially for the occasion including me. It was a bit weird being measured up and I am not sure if all the measurements were actually required but the important thing was that it would fit when it was made. Unfortunately for me I also showed a “slight” interest in a pashmina which ultimately led to me buying it (didn’t really need it). I retreated from my salesperson (phew) and waited with the guys who were taking advantage of the free wi-fi to catch up on news and emails. Eventually, everyone stopped buying and we headed off to a jewellery wholesaler. After a demonstration on how to polish jemstones we were let loose in the store. At this place I showed no interest in buying but rather sat back and chatted with those who were also not shopping. Others, though had a field day but overall I think the fabric place was the winner as far as purchases went.

We had lunch at a place that was named by three letters but I can’t remember them but the food there was quite different from the curries that we had become accustomed to. One of the difficulties with eating in India is that the menus are huge. There is often a choice of Italian (pizza and pasta), thai (stir fry) and then the Indian. It can take some time to get through the menu and then there is interpreting what you are trying to order. I had two samosa’s and a potato cake. The potato cake was quite spicy, not hot, just spicy if that makes sense. I only managed one of the samosa’s and managed to give the other one away (phew).

Palace of the Winds. A good landmark to find your way home

 After lunch we were let loose on the shops. Elisca and I quietly and steadily made our way down the street and down some back alleys. For some reason I brought a Sari for 300 rupees (a whole $6.80), some flip flops to go with the top that was being made for the wedding (200 rupees) and a another pair of flip flops to go with my jeans (275 rupees).

Road side saleman with the usual array of bangles

 There is a bit of a story about the sari because I saw it while we were down a back alley and then after several more turns in the maze decided that I wanted it. In order to find it again we had to head out to the street and retrace our steps. This may seem simple but do you think we could find the shop...nope. Eventually, I found what I thought was the shop and eureka, the sales person pulls out the sari I wanted. He had moved it from the pile that I saw the first time which led to my confusion. That alleyway didn’t smell that good either. Elisca proved to be a good haggler and the phrase “oh no, that’s way too much” was used with great effectiveness to her advantage and mine. After slowly making our way back to the hotel (which took 5 hours) we arrived with our shopping. Some of the other girls said that they had had issues with men touching them and if I remember right some got followed back to the hotel. We had none of these issues and totally enjoyed ourselves.

On the way to the sari shop for the second time. Down this alley, turn left, then right, then left, then left again and third shop on the left. Seems so easy now. Getting out of here was another story

Main street

 We went around the corner from the hotel for dinner, listened to some local music and watched a couple of women dance with pots balancing on their heads which would take a bit of skill.

She never looked happy

While at dinner, our wedding costumes arrived. Once we got back to the hotel there was a bit of a fashion parade in our room for us girls and I must say Jackie looked good in her Christmas inspired clothes. Thankfully they all fitted amidst a lot of laughing (mainly at Jackie).

The road to Thordi: Playing chicken with trucks is the Indian way!!!

Early the next morning we were at it again. Up early and off to the next place. This was the first time that we had used public buses on the whole trip. This was a fast trip and our first experience of public bus driving. The road rules are simple: do what you can to get to the destination without crashing. This includes risky overtaking including on blind bends and when there is oncoming traffic (usually a truck). Non-overtaking traffic has right of way when confronted with a vehicle overtaking another vehicle but there is a fair amount of playing “chicken” involved and sometimes it is scarily close to the point where you can feel the draft of the oncoming vehicle.

There are thousands and thousands of these polluting trucks and they are the ones that have perfected  "playing chicken".

 The bus was to take us half way to our destination and the rest of the way was by jeep which isn’t as bad as it sounds. After surviving the bus trip (hallelujah), the jeeps took us over some wet, potholed country roads to a back blocks village of Thordi Garh. The journey included passing overloaded vehicles full of people including people riding on the bonnet (presumably hanging onto the window wipers) and camels, lots of camels.

Jeep pooling

Old and older modes of transport

We are so inefficient in the West!

Keeping the camels in line.

Camels, camels and more camels

It was quite an entertaining trip and certainly made you feel like you were off the beaten track somewhat. By this stage it was raining which according to Raj and Ranny “never happens in Rajasthan” which was where we were. It was also a bit chilly.  We were to do a camel cart ride around the village but it was too wet and cold so took time to meet some of the accommodations owners animals including his horse and his beautiful boxer dog ‘Tyson’.

Our accomodation in Thordi

Note the funny ears

Still only young but its destiny is edurance riding

The plan was to have dinner under the stars but there was still some rain so it was moved indoors. Dinner was meant to be a meal that was to blow the brains of a few people who had been crying out for a “hot” curry but yet again lead to disappointment. This could have been related to the consumption of rum which continued to flow for the rest of the night and nothing more will be mentioned about that night on this blog. What happens on tour, stays on tour but it was an excellent night.

Locals providing entertainment at dinner

Ranny and Raj getting the night time activity started

The next morning and everyone looking refreshed (not) we set off for a walk around the village to meet the locals and to see what life is like in rural India. Brightly coloured houses, some adorned with well wishes for a married couple filled the narrow “roads” that created the labyrinth that was the village. I am sure the continuing rain damped some of the activity that would normally happen as things seemed quite quiet. There was an opportunity to buy some saris (but some of us were not in a sari buying mood), just stroll at a leisurely pace and to also see a potter in action. Some of us just enjoyed the photo opportunities that were everywhere and the kids were fantastic models.

The village life of Thordi

Kids enjoying the foreigners passing by

Some of the housing

Narrow alley ways

Just plain cute!

Some of the local pottery

I think a few of us got this shot

Point of manufacture. All of these were made from a single piece of clay

Poser

Our eye stunning bathroom. No wonder I crashed getting out of here in the morning the tiles were a little unsettling on the eyes

After lunch we were back in our jeeps and off to Jiapur.

The jeeps used to get to the next place

The trip took about four hours and again there was some driving that left you holding your breath but late in the evening we arrived in Jiapur, did some quick laundry and then met together to decide on dinner. Surprisingly the choice was Pizza Hut so in the late evening Renee, Raj and I are tucked into a tuk tuk in search of Pizza Hut to retrieve pizza’s and drinks for the whole group. It seemed to take some time to get there and thankfully it had stopped raining (momentarily) which made the journey just a bit better. The tuk tuk driver took us to where he thought it was but it took us a bit longer to find it but it was to be found down the side alley. I am not sure what they thought of two westerners and an Indian buying so much food but the comment that we were really hungry drew a unusual smile from the Pizza Hut worker. Eventually we got the goods back to the hotel and tucked into it. For some of us this involved eating pizza in bed watching dodgy Bollywood which made it taste even better and I know that room 103 was asleep before the rest of the group.

Agra and the Taj Mahal: A dream fulfilled

After the eventful train trip we arrived in Agra in the early morning, grabbed a quick breakfast of chocolate chip muffin and then set out on another adventure. A few of us girls set out in a auto rickshaw for the bazaar that was seemingly close to the hotel so five of us jammed ourselves into a tuk tuk (not including the driver) and we were off but when we got to the bazaar that we wanted we realised that it was closed. Indian’s stay up late and sleep in it appears. With Renee with the map and a good memory of the Lonely Planet which suggested that there was a bigger and better bazaar, we headed off in the tuk tuk to another bazaar which was somewhere near a river.  This was definitely one for the locals and after the tuk tuk driver gave us a safety talk (probably well founded considering he didn’t get paid if we didn’t return) we headed off. This market was also mainly closed and we got the feeling we were just a bit too early to really enjoy the shopping opportunities. Despite this, fake turbans were brought and a sari for Renee. The turbans later turned out to be a packing nightmare and I am very thankful that I didn’t buy one. We paid way too much for the tuk tuk but the experience was worth it. I don’t think Raj (our guide) was terribly impressed that we had gone to this market from a safety point of view but there was enough of us to stay safe (I think anyway).

After lunch we headed to Agra Fort for a look around. I think most of the group was just desperate to get to the Taj but we got a small taste of it with the view from the fort.

The entrance to Agra Fort

Just inside the first gate

 Agra Fort was built somewhere around 1000AD. It is quite a majestic sight and it is hay day would have been an amazing place to be. One can only imagine the events that happened here. One of the puzzling things about the fort was that as you seemingly got further away from the Taj the closer and bigger it appeared. Not sure that worked but as we got to the far end of the fort, the Taj looked the biggest.

The Taj from Agra Fort

 We left the fort in the late afternoon and headed over to the Taj (via the hotel) to see it at as its colours changed at sunset. I have dreamt of visiting this place and it seemed so surreal to see it in the flesh (so to speak). I don’t really know what I was expecting but it was exactly like you see it in the picture – big, white, shiny and superbly built. As I walked through the archway and saw it in its entirety my heart skipped a beat. Another thing to tick off my bucket list! All of us quickly got out our cameras and started taking shots. Some of us commented that we should have worn better clothes for the occasion (including me). We did a few silly photos that made it look like we were picking up the Taj. I had had the idea of sitting on the seat like Lady Diana did but there was a long queue for that opportunity and I fear that there would have been more photos taken of me that I would have liked.

Mandatory silly photo

Some of the marble work on the outside of the Taj

Looking away from the Taj towards the entrance

Sunset at the Taj

After donning some protective sexy red over boots to protect the marble we joined the long queue to get a look inside under the careful watch of soldiers with guns who kept everyone in single file. Again, I hadn’t done much research on the Taj but the last thing I really expected were two coffins, albeit marble coffins. Another thing that surprised me was just how small it was inside. The wall and roof must be very thick because what seems so large on the outside is in fact quite small on the inside. I got some great shots as the sun went down and the changing colours of the Taj. Thankfully I had chose to wear my hat and didn’t get hassled for photographs as much as the other girls who are blonde.

My favourite India photo. Women in sari's lining up to get into the Taj

Sunset over the building next to the Taj

Ditto

Reflections in the water looking towards the entrance of the Taj

The Taj at sunset. As you can see it is a popular time to be there

The view of the Taj through the entrance

Me at the Taj

Taj at sunset



Taj at sunset



Up close and personal

It was really great to be able to see this place in person and to sit in peace and enjoy the view while I waited for the rest of the group to return.

Outside the main gate was another story. As soon as you step outside there are people trying to persuade you to come buy at “their” shop and they are a bit too enthusiastic with their attempts for it to be pleasant. The trick is to walk with purpose and just keep saying “No!”. The worst part about the Taj was attempting to catch the electric cart back to the entrance. We had waited and then when one became available, out of nowhere a bunch of Americans descended from out of nowhere (definitely not from the waiting queue) and took all the seats which lead to us being a bit more than brassed off. Then we attempted to get on an electric bus and again Americans appeared out of nowhere so with Renee and I blocking their attempts we got all our group on the bus much to their annoyance – too bad! To really top it off, they were only going about 200m down the road to a hotel and could have walked! We eventually made it back to the hotel and went out for dinner and at long last a bed that wasn’t moving (like last nights)

An almost complete group shot at Agra Fort