***PLS PROCEED TO DAY ONE BEFORE READING THIS****>>>>>>>>>>
0600h! Rise & Shine!
Basically, the city of Jaipur attractions are almost concentrated, so we had to pass by the same route again & again. Went up the ridges and arrived at Amber Fort for the elephant ride as i've stated the day b4.
The elephant ride was real bumpy, shaky! i was swaying from side to side! Each elephant only allow accomodation of 4 people. Imagine going up the fort above the ridges. The slope up is real steep! There was a perfect clear view of the scenery around! Whoa! I was damn afraid that my shoes will drop off and down the cliff hundred of metres straight down at an angle of 70deg.
Again...more hawkers flooded us to peddle their goods....all trying to quote US$!!!! I have a simple technique...whenever they say something for US$20...i will say "nono...only 20 Rp"...everyone did that. we told them that we will use Rupees not US$ and in the same amt. Ha! We outsmart them! Anw....i dun come and buy such pirated stuff! What sandalwood! What a scam! !@##$%^=<
Hmm...okok...i dunno how to describe the palace...but the architecture is filled with marble & gems....For those who have seen mi on msn msgnr...yep...that pic is in that Amber Fort. The place is still well-preserved.:Lots of concubine rooms...some pitch-black tunnels...breathtaking scenery since its above the ridges.
Yep...forgotten to introduce this character in my tour group...its a vice-principal from dunno what school...very strict & stern from her expression. Grumble alot. Very intelligent...nvr fall into scams. Back to the story, we were in the jeep waiting for the driver to come....the locals are crowding the jeep like ants around a honey pot...making lots of noise..negotiating.
The VP was agitated..."Sir! Can we move?! what are we waiting for??!!! (she was irritated by the locals standing there chanting broken english to buy their goods)...Hurry up!!! Step on the acceleration pedal for goodness sake! Hellllooooo??!!! Can u hear me??!!"....That driver din understand English i suppose....the VP was frustrated....commanded the tour leader.."Can u tell the driver to start moving???!! i'm feeling very stuffy in this jeep!!!!@#$". Ok..finally an exchange of Hindi between the two..the jeep started moving down the bumpy, steep, pebbled route.
Waaaaaahhhh!! Damn it! The roof of the freaking jeep was so low...that i had to hunchback a little, and all the humps & bumps on the road is making me hammering the roof for a gazillion times!!! When we were finally back to the foothill....the jeep had to bring us back to the bus-park....along the main road...waaaaaahhh....the driver juz steer haphazardly, squeezing thru gaps, experience many near-accidents. Speed & break...u noe...this kinda of situations...and since the jeep was like a small vehicle in comparison to bus & trucks...whoa! and somemore its open air....we were inhaling all the toxic, obnoxious, greyish fumes coming out from all the "catalytic coverter-less vehicles" !@@##$!@#$@%!. I would be glad to have an portable O2 tank with me...=x.
After an interesting mode of morning adventure...we head back towards our Sheraton Hotel. Same scene...Lumps of faeces on the pavement..camels...dogs...half-naked men...u name it..they have it. It was getting boring...coz the meals out in the street or even restaurants are not suited for us or perhaps not safe...so we had to eat at some 5*-dining...lol....i feel sympathic for those pple outside the high-walled hotel.
The next destination was Jantar-Mantar...some kind of astrological site. Some sun-dials & enormous sculptures that can tell the time, day, angle of Sun verrrrrrry accurately!!! Most fascinating was the sundial, with its 27m high gnomon; the shadow this casts moves up to 4m/hr. The guide there spoke very fluent English...im impressed. The VP was impressed as well...in fact...astonished. Hahaha. Since the Maharaja City Palace was next to it...we visited that as well. Ok...no boring history facts here. My blog will look dull.
Between the armoury & art gallery is the Diwan-i-Khas (Hall of Private Audiences), with a marble-paved gallery, with enormous silver vessels 1.6m tall. Maharaja Madho Singh II used to take Holy Ganges water with those vessels to England since he was a devout Hindu...preferred to transport Ganges river rather than drink English water.
There are lots of touching, romantic, depressing stories abt the royal family. It'll be draggy if i post up. =X. basically...the whole place is much better than our Asian Civilisation Museum...xcept that its non-air-con and all the rattling fans. The stuff will erode faster..no sense of preservation i shld say....
The next stop was some Rajasthan Cottage Industry...all the tourists stuff...all the exorbitant profits eh...jewellery, carpets, silk, sarees, sculptures, jade.....blah blah blah. Not interested. =p Nyeh nyeh....tsk tsk....
After an hour journey to the outskirts...travelling in pitch-black roads(the only source of light amazingly....was the bright Moon), desert-terrain (this is actually a desert state)...we finally arrive at 2048h...Choki Dhanti Village!
A place whereby we'll experience real Rajput lifestyle...their tribes lifestyle & culture. It was rather chilly....12-15C. WoW! Its like some kind of African Village...everything is made of nature. Huts scattered everywhere. Candles lighted the whole place. I see horses, camels...blah blah....There were tribal people playing drums & some kinda weird Indian instruments welcoming us...scattering flowers.
Went to this stone house..had to take off shoes..(OmG!!!!!The damn stone slabs are sooooooooo cold....i was hopping around....couldnt stand the coldness in my feet). This time was something different. We indulge in tribal food. Plates are made of leaves!!! Ooooh!!! I was shocked//..they are water-proof! They are so beautifully-made!!!! How conservative! How eco-friendly!. Then the tribal pple served us food....ooooooooooo.....the food is like inedible to me...there were so many side-dishes (5)different kinds & colors of curry (=O), the usual naan, onions & peas mashed up, and the others i seriously dunno what is it...and dun wish to know. It was a perfect ambience.
Sitting on laid-out carpets, eating in a 'hut', dining under the moon-light. The food wasnt full for me defintely. Who knows what i ate???!!! Spiders? Scorpions? Tree-branches? Hmm/...???
This village is expansive...lotsa performances at different places...like puppet-show, balancing a pot on a head dancing around....and of course all the drummings and Hindu dancings. I love this ethnic village!
Yea...i was playing those swings and see-saws.....hvnt played since child-hood...lolx.....but i miss & love it! The temperature declined as the night passed. Had happy, unforgettable Rajput lifestyle in Jaipur,Rajasthan!!! Arrive back to luxury at 2321h!!!
Cheers! =D
Jaipur, Rajasthan
2358h (GMT+0530h)
We know life's hard, truth is hard, lies are hard, they are all hard to accept when they have been
found out, and i'm rushing history homework on the Abyissian Crisis about Italy and Abyssia going into war and that the League Of Nations cannot stop this from happening, and beacuse they are formed by means to stop war and
peace-keep the countries together, they have thus failed to achieve that. I think i tend to hold a class for history instead of telling you about me, i'm basically a what subject-realted lover (humanities) and thus
I am more analytical and critical about things, and likes to study about dead people, haha. lol. it's history what can you expect and also geography, it amazes me. I really like it alot, so what have you? Again to find this answer
you need to enter into your own reality and reflect
it's amazing. amzing how people change the way of things, like how I used to hate outdoors in Band
felt it was a complete waste of time, i've acquired to like it more, i guess people change, their thereotical means and applications in life just goes on into a new direction, and see things in another perspective, i guess- it's
all in the mind. It really amazes me how these comes into action, from someone so pessimistic has changed his own view of things, and thus my friend is scoring much better, being more optimisitc and not think of his old way of suicidal
thoughts, which are pretty daunting. and thus we need to see things, in another light, another perspective and another new way, to enable us to open up our minds, and make more new things, the new way it is.