Udaipur (octopussy country)

For the first time we meet a lovely tuk tuk driver from the onslaught at the train station, he offered to take us on a sunset ride and a city tour. We had breakfast and a nap asap- night trains are never good for sleeping, but Terry also choose not to sleep on the train and to read Into Thin Air (about the tourist tours and a disaster on Everest – READ IT). After waking we went walking about to find our bearings.

We went to a café called Lotus for a late lunch. They had a thing on the menu called a 'Special Lassi', so a conversation ensued about what made it so special. So of course Terry had to try one. It turns out that a special lassi is laced with special Indian dope called bang. Apparently it was actually very tasty. We headed up to a sunset point up a mountain; the scene was set for a lovely rosemantaic evening until terry started to be very paranoid…

So basically we had to head back to our room and stay in our room while terry questioned me for about two hours about the lassi, his health, time and relativity, Einstein, God, comas, and of course he thought I should write everything he was saying down. He is still upset I did not. It was very funny. They should have bang lassi’s at home.

So, the next day we were supposed to go on a tour with the tuk tuk driver from previous night but it was cancelled as he was sick so we went shopping and bumming about getting tickets to the next destination instead. We are getting a bus to Mumbai.

We took that tour of the city and environs with the tuk tuck driver. He took us to a spice market and then told us not to buy anything as the spices were crap there. He took us to the handmaid’s garden, the cenotaphs and to one of the man made lakes. Then of course the obligatory offer to take us to a shop he knows, so we went to a tailor and did buy a couple of bits.

The next day we were all plans to visit the Royal Place but these plans were scuppered when all the ATMs were empty. We took a tuk tuk drive to the other side of the city but they too were out of cash. Inside the bank they are unable access bank accounts and seem only to be able to cash cheques and do corporate banking, which apparently does not involve actual money. As the bank run didn’t turn up any cash we decided to wait it out by getting the cheap ticket for the palace (we had planned on a boat trip with lunch on an island palace in the middle of the lake) and to sneak in the camera as that costs more too. The ATM’s were still out when we finished. At this point we had almost no Rupees left so we go back to get our reserve dollars even though the exchange rate is really bad. We headed to the shop to collect our new clothes and on the way back the ATM was back in order.

Next day we had the worse trip of my life an overnight bus to Mumbai. We were in this small cabin with all of our luggage at the back of the bus. We had no light; with the window open it was cold and with it closed it was too hot. The bus had no suspension. Terry was close to having concussion when we got off, on the outskirts of Mumbai. People were sleeping in the aisles, how I don’t know, and I still cannot talk about the rest stops. Please don’t make me! According to terry the worst part was it didn’t have the IRE vs NZ game and he had to rely on his sisters to send him updates (he thanks both Jennifer and Susan very much).