I can feeeel
it coming in the air tonigghht... Oh lorrddd...
It’s our 24th
and final country blog fans... The only thing you should be holding right now
is your popcorn, and your shorts... hold em tight blog fans... hold them
TIIIIIIIIGHHTT!!!.......
Before we get
on to the craaaaziness of India, let me tell you about our last day in BangKOK!
Which was prreeetttyyyy crrraaazzyyyy itself! ;) We arrived on a beautiful
sunrise, which started our day on a positive note. We had one main priority
that day, and that was to pick up our Indian visas. Before we could do that, we
revisited the same hostel we stayed at the last time we were in Bangkok. Which
meant trudging down the alcohol and piss stained streets of Soi Cowboy, at the
early hours again... Got to our hostel, and luckily the landlord was awake to
let us in. We dropped our bags, and had some free toast with pineapple jam :)
We knew the visa centre wasn’t open until 1pm, so we had quite a bit of time to
spare. The last time Cat withdrew money in Koh Toa a couple days back, she
decided to takeout like, $6000.... Not literally, but you know what I mean...
WAY too much for the next couple days. So we decided to use this spare time to
go to a money exchange and change up our Baht into Rupees. By the time we did
all this, it was time to head to the visa centre. At this point we still
weren’t 100% sure if the visa had been granted or not... And with all the
hassle last time, I just hoped it all went to plan... It did blog fans... It
did :) Nice big shiny visa slapped into the middle of our passports. All
gooooood bro! Now we only had 3 things we wanted to do before our last day in
Thailand was over... Climb the Ghost Tower, see a German friend (Julia) we made
in Mission Beach (Australia)... and maybe chill out a bit.... We gave ourselves
one hour to sit back in the hostel air-con, before attempting the other 2
missions... Firstly, the Ghost Tower.... Let me explain the mission...
The Ghost
Tower is like an urban legend. We had kinda heard of it before, but never
really knew where, or what it was... We bumped into a guy called Arash in Koh
Phangan, who had actually been there, and showed us an awesome video he took. So
this is when we decided we HAD to see it. When we got there, we were a bit
confused to where the entrance was. The whole thing was cornered off like a
high security building site. We saw 2 German girls around the bottom who had
the same idea... We asked some locals about it. Some just shook their heads,
some pointed to a certain area, some just watched us attempting to break in...
After everyone gave up watching, and we NEARLY gave up trying, suddenly some guy
opened a gate... He hushed us in quickly... He said “500”... We were like
“Whoa... No... We heard 200”... He then shook his head, and tried to chuck us straight
out... The 2 German girls left, but me and Cat decided to pay. When Arash spoke
to us before, he did actually say he paid 500, and thought “I’ll never be here
again, and it was well worth it.” So we did the same.... (500 baht is about
10GBP / 20AUD... Which is a lot of money in Thailand).... Anyway, it was proper
dodge, proper illegal, and proper rapey.... There had been stories about lots
of dead bodies being found there... Either murdered, suicide, or dumped from
somewhere else... Either way, that kinda ran through your mind, as we jogged up
the forty-something floors to the top. On our way, we came across broken toilet
seats, random bathtubs, lots of bats, and graffiti saying things like “All
you’ll find here is suffering”... It really set the mood nicely blog fans... Then, we finally got to the top.....
“woooowww!” :D Amaze baaalllsss! :D There were actually quite a few tourists up
there. They must have been part of the secret operation too ;) There were a lot
of snags, and 6000 foot drops that you could kill yourself with if you wished...
Or even if you were just a tiny bit clumsy... But we just enjoyed living life for
that moment blog fans... We got there just before sunset and got the best of
both worlds... Day and Night... Kid Cudi... We were literally a block or two
away from the very posh and expensive Hangover 2 bar. We were like “Wooo!! Look
at all you posh suckers, with all your stuuupid posh drinks!” But in reality,
we were there less than a month ago :/ And the 500 baht bribe we paid for the
Ghost Tower, was about as much as their drinks there... But still..... F*** the
system yeah ;)
After all
that excitement, we managed to fit in our reunion with Julia. Was really good
to see her, catch up, and we ended Thailand on a high... Then... it was on to
the next oonneee......
Indings, aka
The Incredible India... We finally landed in our last destination, on Aug 15th...
Aug 15th, if you didn’t know, is Indian Independence Day... Where
they celebrate their independence from the bastard British... Welcome to India,
Rob and Cat ;) We arranged an airport pickup from the hotel, and it didn’t take
long before shiz started to get weird on the streets... I think the first thing
I saw was a monkey, trying to pull a pigs tail... Think about that... Monkey,
pulling a pigs tale... Dont know about you, but I learnt about farm animals,
and jungle animals... Never saw a pig in Jungle Book... Dont recall a monkey in
Babe... But it can be found in India blog fans.... We arrived at our hotel, and
it was located BANG in the middle of the craziness... Cat seemed a bit
overwhelmed by it all...
I was
like... “Wow, we’re actually in India!”:D
Cat was
like... “OMG, we’re actually in India...” :/
We walked
around a bit, but to be honest, we couldn’t venture too far. Especially at the
beginning. We were pretty used to us being stared at in other countries, or
looked at like walking dollar signs. But here was a different level. Kids would
grab your arms, ask for food, money, beer, stand in your way, everyone just
walking up to you, and talking, staring, hassling... Nothing we couldn’t deal
with, with a joke or smile, but we didn’t go too far away... After spending two
days in Delhi, seeing the local area, The Red Fort, etc... We were planning to
catch a train and head up north... We did a lot of planning and research, and
we decided Rishikesh was gonna be our next stop... So, we went to or reception
desk, asked about booking train tickets... And basically blog fans, all our
hard work, went STRAIGHT down the shitter! Vicky, the guy we were speaking to,
was like “Rishikesh? No.... Not good”... So this is how it went down...
We went into
a bedroom, sat down with a beer and Bombay mix (they call it Nampkin)... And
“discussed” what we were planning to do... Bare with me blog fans... I was like
“OK, we are going to the north, Rishikesh, Manali, Amritsar... Then to
Rajasthan to the west... Then Agra, Varanasi, and back up to Delhi.” Great
plan.... But then Vicky was like, “No, you will do it this way”... He told us
the weather in the north was bad, so suggested to go out west first, and end up
in the north before returning to Delhi... Obviously we were sceptical, but he
then started to write down our WHOLE itinerary! I was like, hold on... we are
experienced backpackers. We can do this... We’ve done our research... We don’t
need a package holiday! But then he went on... He explained the train
situation, not many cities are easily linked. When I suggested buses, he
laughed it off... No one takes buses... Only short runs... He basically knew
(from the experience of flogging off this plan to 100s of other tourists doing
almost the EXACT same thing as us) exactly what we were looking for, how much
our budget would be, and our schedule... I actually did speak to a Dutch guy
the night before who just came back from one of his scheduled routes. He said,
obviously you pay more, but trust me, its good, and ill do it again... Cat and
I were pretty much put on the spot.... 90% of what we wanted to do was in
there, a couple little extras we never heard of, and it was still all within
the daily budget that we always aimed for since leaving Australia... So, we bit
the bullet blog fans... For the next week and a half, we had a private driver,
whizzing us around the west, before we drops us off in Agra, where we get the train
from there to finish off in Varanasi, and then Manali... We had mixed emotions
to be honest. We were upset that we kinda cheated ourselves out of the
challenge of backpacking India. But on the other hand, we only had one month,
and this would be an enjoyable, and time productive way to do it... So, we paid
a chunk of cash, and headed to our first stop... Mandawa...
On our way
to this mystical place called Manawa (which we previously never heard of). We
got to know our driver Ashok, and he was a really cool guy. On one of our first
stops, he bought us a bottle of whisky. Which we reluctantly accepted, but
agreed to share with him. Then, his little gifts got even weirder lol... We
were having a conversation about lassies (the drinks). Saying we like them, how
are they made, etc etc... He then pulled up in some random area, on the side of
the road, took our empty bottle of water, and marched on towards some sort of
farm.... We looked on confused, and he came back clutching a WHOLE 2LTR bottle,
FULL of lassie.... We were like... OMG, what are we gonna do with this??... But
we were grateful anyway... We got to Mandawa several hours later, in the early
evening. Within a couple minutes, we already started to understand what Vicky
said to us. The roads were just tiny, skinny, bumpy dust paths. There were no
trains, no big cars, and the place basically looked like we were in some sort
of middle eastern / Asian time warp. I was kinda expecting to spot Aladdin and
Apu, just jamming on a street corner as we pulled up or something... But I was
LOVING the vibe lol... The driver had to ask a lot of people for our hotel
directions... We asked if he ever used sat-navs. He said “Yeah, in big
cities... Not here.” I could see what he meant... Whats the Tom-Tom gonna say?
“Turn right after the goat... At the cow, take the 3rd exit...” Ich
don’t think so blog fans... We finally found our hotel, and it was tha BOMB! It
was basically a palace! Almost felt embarrassing walking in there... We belong
in dorm bed hostels! Not HERE! We checked in, and then got a local guide to
walk us around the area, and explain the local history... It was awesome... It
was exactly the kind of thing I wanted out of India, and even though we hadn’t
been here long... I was starting to feel more happy and settled about our
situation...
Our next
stop was at Bikaner. Again, another place I had never heard of from my
research. And again, it was a really cool, old, tradition town... We got the
see the fort there, which had some of the most amazing and interesting artwork
and architecture inside. We walked around the local markets, bought samosas,
and then popped into a “miniature arts” shop. It had a couple artists there,
that were able to paint pictures in the most MICROSCOPIC details! You actually
had to look at them through a magnified glass to see the fine detail. They looked
like printings... Then, the guy we were speaking to painted a landscape of a
camel, an elephant, houses, hills, two people holding hands... All on my BLOODY
FINGERNAIL!! :o Ridiculous! We offered a tip, as we couldn’t really get sucked
into the slippery souvenir slope, but he refused... Which was kinda refreshing
to see...
Jaisalmer
was our next stop. We arrived in early evening, so we were gonna head straight
up to a view point, where we could see the fort and the sunset. We stopped off
with Ashok to buy some beers. Three extra strong Kingfishers ;) As we did that
a group of children came up to us asking for money. They were ridiculously
cute, and knew it. They were all smiling at us, holding out their hands for
money, with their sari’s and jewellery on. And we were like “what do you need
money for?” “cold beer”... Psst what!? This coming from an innocent looking,
little 10 year old girl? Ich don’t think so blog fans! They said we could take
a photo of them, but as we weren’t gonna feed the alcoholism, I felt we shouldn’t
exploit them either... Anyway, we headed up the hill, and Cat couldn’t finish
her beer... so I had half. Trust me, one and a half tall cans of that stuff got
me feeling pretty tipsy! We walked round the view point taking photos. I
couldn’t take many, because for some shitty reason, my brand spanking new,
expensive camera, is refusing to charge... Pissing me off.... India has the
same voltage as Thailand, so I don’t see why that’s happening... I brought my
backup camera Justin Case... (You know the one that broke, but then decided to
work again after I paid out my arse for this new one?)So at least it’s good I
have that... Unfortunately, I hadn’t used it or checked the battery on that for
a while. So after about 10 minutes of being on the viewpoint, I had two cameras
with dead batteries... And I missed the sunset moneyshot... Classic!
The day
after, we went to Jaisalmers main attraction, The Jaisalmer Fort. It was
A-MAZE-ZING! Considered one of the must see sights of Rajasthan, and it was
easy to see why. All the architecture, sculptures, and haveli’s... The view,
over all the rooftops. It was the shizniz... We had an audio guide for half of
it, and an actual real life guide for the rest. To be honest, I think I
preferred the mechanical guide this time... I usually prefer listening to
people, and asking questions. But this guy seemed a bit motivated to take us
into shops, and show us all the magical unique things you could buy off all the
“poor locals”... aka... his friends... At one point he took Cat into a shop
saying “Just look... Dont have to buy”. I made the point of standing on the
doorstep, with my back to the shop, looking out on to the street. Just people
watching, taking photos of buildings, walking up and down... “Robert, you want
to look?” “No thanks” He could see I wasn’t happy about it... “OK, next time
you tell me shops you want to see, and we can see there” “No... No shopping...
Only sightseeing”. Seems like people in most parts of Asia nearly die of shock
when they hear a white man literally has no interest in buying ANYTHING. But
hey....
The last
thing we did whilst in the Jaisalmer area, was a Camel Safari. Was really good.
We got driven into the desert, then rode camels over the sand dunes not too far
from the Pakistani border... Got to see a good sunset there... This time with a
camera... (Been using my backup camera permanently now... Annoying)... After
the camels, we came back to the camp for some Indian entertainment. Had
singing, dancing, and lots of food... We then had the choice to either go back
out to the desert to sleep, sleep in a cabin, or sleep outside on a rooftop...
Most people wanted to head out to the desert, but it was proper windy... Cat
knows how much I had sand in the bed... I have a shit fit brushing sand off a
mattress if it was over her feet... So imagine me in a DESERT! Not only that,
but I started to feel my stomach going a bit dodge. Surprisingly, I haven’t had
too much of a bad experience with the ol Delhi Belly so far... Ironic
considering I shat my way through every South East Asian country we visited. Anyway,
we decided to sleep on the rooftop. Everyone else went to the desert, so it was
just me and Cat. Was really nice. We managed to get a shower, brush our teeth,
and go up to the mattress waiting for us. An Indian couple who were also there
as tourists, started singing and humming Indian hymns from next door. Was
pretty spooky, but with all the stars at night sooooooo bright, it was also
pretty romantic times blog fans :p .... Well, it would of been... If Cat hadn’t
fallen straight to sleep, and if I hadn’t been hit by the worst case of
volcanic diarrhea EVEEERRRR... well.... at least since... last week :/ Must of
been the mixture of the spicy mango chilli, along with the sweet porridge
pudding.... I could still hear all the singing and humming though the windows,
but lets hope to God they didn’t hear me....
We are now
in Jodhpur!! Which is enough for me to write about for now, in this “Indian
Intro”. We had a village safari here, where we got to see an old man drinking
opium, and getting off his tits.... Also seen the Mehrangarh fort... Think
forts have become our new temples lol, everywhere... This one was also totally
amazing... Not so much the inside of this one, but the view... “Oh woooooow!!”
:D They call Jodhpur the “Blue City”, as a lot of the buildings are painted
baby blue. Looks so cool from birds-eye view... Now, we’re just in the hotel,
maxing and relaxing... We had a really good and CHEAP dinner today. Been
avoiding touristy things / prices as much as possible... Had 2 lassies, and a
massive BBQed shared plate for.... wait for it.... £3.20... We paid
4pounds with tip... How generous :/ Other than that, we’re both pretty ill at
the moment... Both got the flu, and I have a bad toothache... On a positive
note, my ankle is looking a lot better... Dont know if you saw a picture on
Facebook? But all my lovely friends suggested it was either aids, gangrene, or
a zombie bite... Luckily, I saw an Indian pharmacist, and he knew exactly what
I needed... Guess that’s why you see so many Indian doctors, and NOOO Thai ones
lol....
SOOOO.....
Until next time? The last time? The last time I rhyme a sublime line for your
mind? I don’t know??? Maybe... Still got quite a bit of India to see in our
tight schedule, before Armageddon happens... RobCat Travel, in ENG-GER-LAND :o
lol.... Im sure ill find something to blog about in the UK... Reunions, how it
feels being home, how it’s changed... I did a good blog after I left South
America with my “Top 10’s”. Top ten foods, drinks, hostels, towns, etc. Maybe I’ll
do that for Asia... If it’s possible...... So, like I just said, until
neeexxxttttt tiiiimmmmmeeeee!! Keep those shorts
tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiggghhhhhhhttt!!! For the next, breaking,
blog, NEEEEEEWWWWSSSS!!!!
Zooooooooooooooooooooooopatel!
x
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