It's about 3pm right now and David and I are just hanging out and relaxing in our hotel. It's been pretty hot here in the Rajasthan region. Today I think it's supposed to get up to 105 degrees. It feels really great to have made it to our hotel after the 7 hour no AC bus trip from Jodhpur. It was quite an experience. Along with the heat we had to experience gusts of dust every so often because all the windows were open and we kept driving into these small villages with no pavement. By the time I got off the bus I was coated with a thick layer of dirt. The dirt was everywhere, in my hair, on my clothes, and all over my skin.
Through most of the trip I kept a eye out the window and observed everything. It was almost like an Indian village safari! I got to see so much over those 7 hours. Whenever we stopped for a break I would peep out the window and get so many stares back. Everyone LOVES to stare at us. I don't mean a causal stare or a 5-10 second stare, I mean a full blown 1-2-3-4-5 minute stare. I can't do anything without being watched here! Sometimes I smile at them or wave and they then realize that they are staring and usually smile or laugh back.
Everyone seems to be really friendly here though. We've come across many people (adults and kids)that politely say hello and ask what our names are and where were from. Many of the locals also love to take pictures of us with them. They always bust out their cameras and take pictures. The funniest is when they don't ask and try to secretly take a picture. Hmmm, let's see, is it really not going to be obvious when trying to snap a picture of someone? It's always SO obvious what they're doing! lol! It's better to ask for the picture because then it's not so awkward. I mean I understand where they're coming from, I take pictures of them so why not take some us strange white people. :)
So when we hopped off the bus (finally) it was 8:30pm and we rushed to the hotel.
We needed to get a hold of the bank right away because for the whole weekend we were stuck without being able to withdraw any money. I guess what happened way the bank changed something with the card providers and some people's cards were affected. And of course there had to be a problem with ours... and on a weekend. We seriously had $20 in our pocket hoping everything would work out... luckily it did.
So far Udaipur seem really nice. It's less hectic then Mumbai, Dehli, and Jaipur (at least in the older historic center area). I checked out some of the shops but they seemed too touristy for me. I really wish I could have done some shopping in Jodhpur because they had neat little markets that all the locals shopped at but that was where we didn't have a bank card working. Some of the cool things I've seen are journals, pictures of the gods, colorful clothing, scarves, bangles, stone necklaces, statues, wood carvings, spices, and so much more. So far I've only bought myself one outfit, some cheap jewelery, and a pair of flats. I need to smooth out the leather on the flats though because when I wore them they were rubbing my skin badly. :(
Ok well this is all for now... I have so much to say but little time to write!
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