Four Eyes are Almost Always Better than Two

Looking for inspiration and i found it...first i must use the bathroom.............
.....and i’m back, i’m not even kidding, i literally got up to go to the bathroom. This past weekend I had a chance to visit Udaipur with my friend Imran who is based in Ahemnabad. Udaipur, to give you an idea, is like going from Waterloo to Kingston only double the time, double the people on the bus, double the...actually quadruple the bumpiness (assuming the 401 is still messed up with construction everywhere) and finally tenouple the amount of horn honking. I know you guys must be getting tired of the horn honking references but seriously I can’t get over how much of a part of their driving experience it is (did that make sense?). The bus I was on has a special horn that was like a hybrid between an ambulance siren and a donkey scream, only much louder. I wish the creativity was put to better use......

Anyway, I had a chance to travel in style, my seat was called a ‘sleeper’ seat...the only way I can describe it is as follows; imagine the luggage rack above the seats in a greyhound bus turned into a coffin with tinted windows. It sounds not so comfortable, but its actually rather enjoyable, you get your own little space to read, chill out and take in all the different smells of the outside (your window must stay open, otherwise you will roast).

I arrived early but our room was not ready. Udaipur is called the ‘city of lakes’, and our hotel was very close to one of the them so I had a chance to go and sit by the it and listen to the sound of absolutely nothing. It was actually really cool...there were no cars or people, just me, the lady washing her clothes, the man bathing, the pigeons and the lake. Of course that didn’t last too long, when a tour guide that was waiting for his party to wake up came and sat beside me. He started asking me questions about Canada and if I watch the WWF (World Wrestling Federation, not referring to the World Wildlife Federation) and what my marriage plans are...for whatever reason, people ask foreigners their marriage plans in the first 3 minutes of talking...I told him “i’m sorry we just met..and well...you’re a dude”, joookes, i didn’t say that, instead I told him that I am only 21 and that marriage is something I will think about doing when I am 65, or whenever the government decides we must retire. Anyways, eventually he asked me what the exchange rate was for a Canadian dollar ($1 = 40 INr) and he asked me if I had any money, I gave him a loony and he told me I am his ‘bestfriend’...I thought, ‘hey thats a better rate than what I pay for my friends in Canada’...it’s simple supply and demand: there are 1.4 billion Indians compared to 33 million Canadians. When supply>demand, price goes down.

Udaipur was unreal though, I walked for two kilometres in a Muslim procession, that that quite frankly I have no idea how I became part of, I just kind of followed the crowd...and then after we reached our destination we prayed with them...of course I know I didn’t pray the way that they prayed but hopefully someone in the sky heard me. After that random event, we ended up at a temple called Jagdesh temple, this place was siiiiik, the melody and rhythm that they have in their prayer is unreal, I found myself having the urge to get up and do the screw in the light bulb dance, but I was beat to the punch by another lady, I was absolutely shocked to see them dance during prayer...but what a cool thing to see, the people were so happy, indeed I had a cheesy moment; ‘witnessing the smile on their faces, made me smile’. Ew, no more cheese.

The next day, we decided to follow the lonely planet suggestions, and we did almost all the cool tourist stuff...all of which you can see pictures of on facebook (I only pay in Rupees if you try and add me as a friend). I won’t bore you with the details, you can buy your own guide book, but on the way home around 12 am, Imran and I were walking back to the hotel. On the way, we had to pass the Jagdesh temple and we heard some singing, so we thought we would check it out...turns out, it was an all night prayfest because there was a lunar eclipse coming later that night...we decided to stay and pray some more! It was wicked, they let me play one of their instruments (i just clapped some plates together, its not like I was playing the Yazz Flute), finally around 3am my hands were hurting and Imran’s lungs were worn out from singing so we decided to call it a night...BUT MAN, WHAT A NIGHT! My writing can’t do justice to what we saw and stuff, so please tell me to show you the videos I took when I come home.

Experiencing India like a tourist was very fun; in fact this past weekend was the best weekend I’ve had here to date. Would I recommend working in India for a living? Right now I would say no...mainly because the idea of ‘progress at work’, in my office at least, entails getting an internet connection. Maybe I’m being harsh, but seriously...the pace is slower than the snail from ‘Frog and Toad are Friends’ (only some of you will understand...it is one of my favourite books as a kid). But anyway, would I recommend travelling to India as a tourist? Absolutely, 100% ! Coming as a tourist, you know you’re an outsider so you have a different mindset, you’re able to appreciate things you wouldn’t necessarily appreciate acting as a local...the way I look at it is like this...when I go to work I never wear my glasses, i lost my contacts and i don’t like the sweat that comes with wearing glasses here, so for the most part, unless something is close to me I can’t really see it...but this past weekend, I wore my glasses the whole time (in fact I even bought a pair of prescription sunglasses that fit my small head) and I was able to see everything clearer, I saw positive things in almost everything, almost all the time...so maybe it’s time I start to wear my glasses more often.............or maybe i’m just on a high from such a sweet weekend!
...yes a little more cheese, I’m sorry.....

Astalavista baby, (not Hindi......)

Khalfan

P.S. next time you rent a movie, rent 'The Darjeeling Express' Owen Wilson and the guy from the Pianist is in it, it is hilarious, very dry humour. It is filmed in Rajasthan and the beginning part is shot in Jodhpur!