Summer like it hot (Rajasthan April, 2010)

I've always wanted to go to Rajasthan. It has this exotic quotient that has always enticed me. A region of deserts, camels, palaces, colorful clothes and spicy food. When my brother suggested we go in summer,I was apprehensive. "Only a fool goes to the desert in summer!" I said. So of course, it was only natural that few months after this conversation, we were on our way to Rajasthan in April.

There we were, in the middle of Jaipur enamored with its sites, burning, but enjoying its beautiful palaces. Hawa Mahal, Jantar Mantar and Jal Mahal standing out in the summer sun.

What really makes an impression though is Amber fort. Its ramparts go on forever. Walking down some of its quieter corridors, you can almost imagine what it would've been like 400 years ago.

We then headed to Ranthambore thinking that one safari and we'll have seen all the tigers we need. It's not that we haven't notice all the "Save the tiger" ads and how few remain in the wild. We thought, we would be those lucky few who would see a tiger at first safari. This is not how it went down. After 4 hours of staring at brambles and realizing how annoying peacocks really are, we headed off to Pushkar.

First impressions of Pushkar were of pushy pandit wannabes and overly tourist-friendly shops/restaurants. It has lost its charm and itself somewhere along the way while trying to please its guests. We rented bikes there and headed slightly outside Pushkar and were so happy we did! We rode its curving roads surrounded by bare hills on either side, we explored little temples and fixed punctures every few hours. We watched a cousin, impress all the kids with his cool sunglasses. We managed to watch the sun go down and the swirling oranges and pinks with it.

From Pushkar, we headed south towards Udaipur, city of lakes and magnificent palaces. Jaipur has nothing on Udaipur. It's just gorgeous. The Lake Palace and the City Palace make such an incredible impression! Although we didn't get a look inside Lake Palace, we gazed longingly from the outside and took a nice long boat ride around it.

We returned to Bombay, pretty sites on the inside and a nice and crispy on the outside!

Re-discovery

This blog was about keeping track of my travels, adventures primarily and then maybe random rants here and there. Not that there haven't been any adventures in the last year, I just haven't gotten down to words yet. 2010 was a pretty eventful year. A lot of firsts!

This year's starting out retro. I'm back in the city I was born in but I realize it's not that same city anymore or maybe I'm not that same person that I was 6 years ago. So this year I'm going to start my adventures small. I'll start by re-discovering the city that was home to me before and home to me once again. I'll start by re-discovering friends I've lost touch with and maybe discovering corners that I've never been to before, stepping in puddles I haven't stepped before. I'm excited to begin!

All Shook up

Today, as I watched "He's just not that into you" and made all sorts of "awww" sounds at the end of the movie, something profound hit me! I made a surprising discovery about myself I realised that I'm such a big ass sap! I didn't I was so sappy till just today when this movie ended. The movie was nice, it wasn't the greatest ever but at the end of it, I was all warm, gooey and happy. Like one of those cakes with melty chocolate stuff inside.(drool... why did i make this comparaison again?) Then realised I bought some of those a few days ago. This fact just solidified my mush theory.

Gawd, I used to think (keyword: think) I was so edgy! Haha! That I wasn't like the rest. Reality just bit me. I'm just as sappy as the rest. God help me!

Time's a bitch

Perpignan has been my home away from home for the last 8 months. For eight months, I have walked into my apartment with a feeling of well being, a feeling of home, a feeling of belonging. The last few days, this feeling has been less apparent. I think I've reached my limit of being away from my real home. I miss the people, the smells, the noise, everything! I'm even yearning for some good old fashioned work! I feel like I have been on pause for the past months and my life is going to start playing only once I get back! 9 months of mostly vacation seemed like such an awesome thing when I got here.

Now I know for sure, too much of anything is no good. I have loved nearly every minute that I've been here. I've met some great people, finally lived on french soil, eaten cheese and drunk fine wine to my hearts content, travelled some, seen something that I never thought I would. The fun experiences keep coming. I have pretty much been living my dream but now I'm waiting to get back to reality. Time has never moved slower! What a bitch time can be...

The Perfect day!

Last week, I spent a day in Marseille. From the moment I woke up that day, I felt good and the day felt good and it just got better and better. The weather was perfect, the city is just too pretty for words. It has one of the best cityscapes I've seen so far. But the thing that struck me the most was the atmosphere, it was lively. It felt like everyone was happy to be there. It was vibrant! People dancing on the street, bands playing music, someone trying to unicycle while another tries to push a friend around in a shopping cart! It had an old world charm to it but yet it was a modern city, a city that moved, a city with a gorgeous port!

We took the boat to a nearby island, chateau d'if. It was made famous by Alexandre Dumas and the Count of Monte Cristo! The vistas were just too good to be true. We met some nice people on the way and there. We explored, we oohed and aahed at the views. We sang at echo points. We shadow-danced!We did silly things to amuse ourselves but that just made the day more fun! And even the silly things we did, felt just right! We ended our day with a wonderful dinner cooked by our french aunties (that's what we're calling them from now on!) We drank some wine and we made merry. It really felt like we were part of a family for 2 days and it was great!

Couchsurfin'

A few weeks ago, I spent three days on the couch of someone I had never met before. I just wrote to them before I got there and they very generously opened their apartment to me, made me feel like home, fed me yummy honey and were such good hosts.

I spent the weekend with around 30 random people exploring the city of Montpellier! It was great! To meet different people who have the same motivation: travelling and doing new things! I've always been apprehensive about trying couchsurfing even though I love the idea of it. But I'm glad I did go ahead and try it. It was one of the best weekends I've had in France.

I lost horribly at petanque (my team was fun though!), we danced all night long, we walked around Montpellier and chilled at its beaches, we tasted wine and did not spit any out like we were supposed to, we built sand men and called them sandy and then jumped on him (poor fella) and felt evil! Of course, I proved I was me by losing some stuff along the way but the important things have not been lost yet (like my sanity! hee haa! though sandy is not so sure about that...)

Long Day Cycling!

For a while now, I've been talking about spending a weekend cycling. Just me and some friends riding across some villages in Southern France. Of course, all I did was talk and that too with people who weren't in France. But Sophie planned out a wonderful day cycling around some villages North of Perpignan and I was super excited at the prospect of cycling around some towns, wind in my hair, sense of freedom etc. I got nearly poetic in my head.

Then the day arrived, I got the inappropriately dressed, the idea of cycling 80 km really sinking in and feeling like an idiot ( but whats new!). These things have a way of working out though. One of the girls lent me her floaters (Gawd, i LOVE floaters!) and we were on our way. On days like these, I realise how out of shape I am. (I know this on other days too but it was just clearer that day!). I huffed I puffed, I murmured pep talks to myself. I referred to myself as the turtle. I faked reasons to stop and take rest( eg: time to tie my hair, time to untie my hair, time to put on a sweater, oh look! pretty flower etc...)

By the time the day ended, every muscle in my body hurt. I couldn't sit without making small squeaky sounds but I've never slept better! I slept the sleep of real fatigue!
All said, it was a super day spent with a great bunch of people exploring tiny villages by the sea. we cycled, we fixed flat tires, we ate, we watched a lady make funny hats, we lay on the beach, skipped stones. It was just one of those days where every little thing feels like an adventure! It was a super start to what feels like a great weekend!